‘Nope. Never going to let you away with that totally inappropriate turn of humour. And speaking of inappropriate, Mrs Dove’s actions were about as far from an appropriate response as it gets. She decided to ruin peoples’ holiday by murdering them?’ He threw his legs up on the chair opposite, and tried to quell a yawn. ‘And the worst thing is, she had no reason to feel miserable. She had people around her who loved her. She just couldn’t see it.’
I sighed, holding my head in my hands. I felt less glamorous than ever in my golden dress. My yet-unworn mask was now scuffed and bent. My hair was a mess, and what little make-up I’d put on was long worn away by tears and frustration. ‘It’s not that simple. She doesn’t need our anger. She needs a psych evaluation. And by the end of it, she’ll probably end up in the last place she wants to be – completely on her own, with only her healers for company. But right now, Max is safe. Everyone she could have killed, they’re alive. So we can let the experts figure out what to do with Mrs Dove, while we figure out who really killed Winnie.’
Finn glanced at the clock, and I followed his eyes. ‘It’s 2 a.m., Wanda. And I don’t know about you, but I haven’t got the brainpower to think. We didn’t sleep last night. We’ve been on the go all day. Why don’t we go to the Masked Ball for the last couple of hours? Have a drink. Eat some food. Go home and get some shut eye when they throw us out of the community hall, and then we can work on it tomorrow afternoon.’
I didn’t want to admit it, but he was right. I was exhausted, but I was also wired, and it wasn’t the sort of combination that was going to solve a murder.
‘Okay. We’ll go to the ball for some food and a drink so we can wind down. Then we’ll get some rest. But we have to get back on this tomorrow, Finn. There’s a murderer walking free, and some mice that really want to pass on and be with Winnie.’
He stood up, tugged on his mask, then grabbed mine and held it out. I pulled it down over my face, looking out at him through the eye holes and marvelling at the effect – sure, I could see the eyes of my friend, but other than that, I could have been looking at a stranger.
‘Perfect,’ he said, pulling me to my feet. ‘With that mask covering up your stubborn determination, you almost look pleasant.’
20. Unmasking
When Finn and I arrived at the community hall, we walked in to a room full of masked people. This late into the proceedings, they were all incredibly merry, too.
I managed to pick out Melissa and Christine, because of their dark red hair. And I thought I spied my mother, because she shared the same short stature and curvy figure as mine. That would make the guy she was dancing so happily with my father, then.
Max was so tall that I could pick him out, too. Although I couldn’t see his face beneath his mask, the way he was dancing with Wolfie and Lassie told me that he was much recovered. I just gazed at him for a moment, letting the reality set in: I almost lost Max this evening. It seemed like one of the worst thoughts imaginable. And now, even though people had teased me about the amount of presents I’d bought for him, it didn’t seem like enough. He was the best housemate in the world. And I was the luckiest witch in the world, to get to live with him. I might just have to buy even more surprises to stick under the tree.
‘I em ... I think I might head over in that direction,’ said Finn, interrupting my schmaltzy reverie.
‘Oh yeah? Over to that gorgeous female weredog who you totally don’t recognise, despite the long brown hair spilling out from the back of her mask?’
‘Exactly.’ Judging by the way his mask moved, I think he was grinning. ‘Because isn’t that the whole point of the Masked Ball? To spend time with all people, no matter their coven, no matter whether they’re witches, vampires, werewolves, weredogs or wizards. And that woman over there – who, as you said, I totally don’t recognise – seems like she just might share that same inclusive philosophy. Catch you later.’
I watched him sway across the floor and whisper something to Lassie. As the music dipped, I heard her giggle, and she joined him for a dance. Aw. I was about to go and keep Max and Wolfie from being a third wheel – or two third wheels? Or a third and fourth wheel? You know what I mean. Either way, I was almost across the dance floor when I saw someone else approach Max. Light brown curls peeped out from beneath her mask, so it was most likely Emily Caulfield.
Aw. Again.
I made my way to the snack table instead, and played a game of guess the supernatural. There was Kevin Caulfield, bowing in front of Christine and pulling her onto the dancefloor. There was Callum Cool on the stage, pulling off his mask so he could wink at Melissa before returning to drumming. There was Ronnie, our potions’ expert, dragging a shy but delighted Arthur Albright towards a sprig of hanging mistletoe.
Shall we have another Aw?
Although I was enjoying my game, I knew that I was secretly just keeping my eye out for Gabriel. I spotted lots of rings and necklaces and other little identifying jewels throughout the hall, but his idea was never an original one. No one’s jewellery was quite as fabulous as the holly brooch, thanks to Lassie. I poured myself some mulled wine – it was far stronger than usual, so I did the sensible thing and followed it up with a glass of champagne. And then another.
I danced with a few friends, and had nice little chats here and there, but I still saw no sign of Gabriel. After my third champagne, I was beginning to feel tipsy. I was also feeling the need to pee, so I rushed outside to where a row of portable toilets had been set up. Yes, witches can do a lot of magic, but we’re just as bad at organising big events as humans.
By the time I finished what I had to do, the crowd between the portable toilets and the front door had grown tenfold. I guessed everyone had imbibed just as much of the festive spirits as I had, then. I knew there was a back entrance, so I inched my way in that direction instead. It was far quieter by that door, and as I made my way into the back corridor, I saw only one person inside.
He was slouched against a wall, a glass of something that smelled like whiskey in his hand. I was about to rush away and leave him to his lonesome slouching, when I noticed the ring on his hand. It was ruby and emerald, fashioned into a sprig of holly, and it glinted in the borrowed light that seeped through from the main hall.
A million thoughts rushed through my drunken little brain, some so fleeting that I couldn’t quite catch a hold. But there were a few main contenders for my attention. The first was that I still wasn’t sure if Max wanted me to be with someone as volatile as Gabriel. Another was that I wasn’t sure if I wanted me to be with someone as volatile as Gabriel. The third was that I missed him holding me. The fourth was that I missed holding him.
The fifth was that I should probably wait until I was sober to think a little more about this.
The sixth was that there was a sprig of mistletoe hanging above his head, and it was probably against some law or other not to obey the lure of mistletoe.
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner.
‘Just the man I’ve been looking for,’ I said, striding towards him.
The music seemed to have turned up a notch, almost drowning out my voice. Callum’s drums and Jasper’s bass swelled some more, and then Mack’s voice began to growl. The noise was good noise, but it was still noise. Noise so loud that Gabriel looked like he hadn’t heard me. He looked up and said something that sounded like, ‘Listen, I told you I’m not in the mood. Can you just leave me alone for a while, please?’
I shook my head and poked at my ears. ‘I think I must have heard you wrong. You’re joking, right?’ I said, drawing closer. ‘This is because I was all indecisive?’ I smelled him, then. Not his usual cologne, but lovely all the same. Maybe he hadn’t been able to track down a new bottle, either. But whatever this new scent was, it was even better than the cinnamon smell I liked so much. It suffused the air around me, making me feel warm, safe, and also a little desperate to rush into his arms.
‘Listen, I know we have things we need to work on,’ I went on.
‘But just right now, it’s Winter Solstice. And all I want to do is kiss you. We can figure everything else out afterwards, okay?’
He cupped a hand to his ear and said, ‘What did you say?’
I moved closer, and pointed at the mistletoe on the ceiling above him. ‘I said I want to kiss you,’ I replied as, standing on my tiptoes, I pressed my lips against his. He hesitated for a long, painful moment, and then finally kissed me back.
And kissed me ... and kissed me ... and kissed me ...
In all the times I’d kissed Gabriel, I’d never let it go too far. All of a sudden, I had no idea why. Why had I been holding back? Why had there always been that little voice at the back of my mind saying, ‘Stop.’? Because this kiss set all of those fears aside. This was it, the kiss I had been waiting for, the kiss that finally let me know: this was the guy I wanted to be with.
All of my former hesitation rushed away from me, all of the doubts and fears lifted from my mind, and I moved closer to him, running my hands through his hair. He was just as swept up in the moment as I was. I could feel him press tighter and tighter to me, feel the kiss grow deeper and deeper, feel the longing that was palpable between us. His hands began to rove – through my hair, down my back, over my hips.
Suddenly, he pulled away. I gaped at him, feeling like I’d just been dragged from the most delicious dream.
‘Why did you stop?’ I asked groggily. ‘And why ...?’ I trailed off, as a splash of light from the hall beyond caught his eyes. Why did those eyes look so different? They looked bigger. Lighter. In fact, they looked positively sea-green. I jumped back, gaping at him. ‘Will?’
He pulled off his mask, lashes fluttering wildly, and he stared at my brooch. ‘I thought you were Mandy,’ he said, shocked, his hand moving to my mask, pulling it up over my hair, and gazing at my face. ‘I thought you were Mandy, but then ... your hips. She got us some holly jewellery so we’d know each other.’
‘From Lassie’s stall?’ I asked with a groan, wrenching my mask back down. As he nodded, I took another step away. ‘Listen, don’t worry about it. I thought you were someone else. You thought I was someone else. It was just ... one of those things.’ I turned to walk away, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.
‘No,’ he said with a gasping breath. ‘It wasn’t just one of those things. It was ... it was ...’
The smell of whiskey suddenly hit my nostrils, and I looked away from him. The glass he’d been holding when I arrived was smashed on the floor, and the alcohol had spilled over both our shoes. He must have dropped it when we were doing that thing that we shouldn’t have been doing. How had I not noticed?
‘It was the drink,’ I said with a tight smile, looking at his hand, still clasped to my wrist. ‘That’s all it was. It just made the kiss feel ...’ I stopped myself before I could voice exactly how it had made me feel. Neither of us needed to hear that right now. ‘Anyway, don’t worry. I won’t tell Mandy. I heard you guys got engaged. I wouldn’t want to ruin that.’
‘Wouldn’t you?’ he asked, his voice strangely wistful. ‘No. I guess you wouldn’t. That’s not the kind of girl you are. You’re honest. Straightforward.’
I couldn’t help but laugh. ‘I thought that as far as you were concerned, I was nothing but a scheming, snooping Wayfair.’
He blinked, winding his free hand through his dirty blond hair. ‘People can be more than one thing. Wanda ...’
‘Whatever it is, don’t say it.’ I looked pointedly at my wrist. ‘You need to let me go, Will.’
‘What if I said I didn’t want to?’
I stared at him. His eyes looked sincere. And just like the last time we’d had an awkward moment at a ball, they also looked like they held far too many worries inside. But it didn’t matter how tormented he looked. And it definitely didn’t matter how he looked at me. Because his breath had tasted like whiskey, and I was drunk on champagne. I pulled my wrist away from him, hard and swift.
‘What if I said you’re an idiot when you’re drunk?’ I cried. ‘Don’t touch me again, Will.’
I rushed into the hall, ignoring his deep, anguished voice calling me back, while I thought of all the things I wanted to ask him. Like: if he thought I was Mandy when I first approached him, then why did he ask me to leave him alone? Or: why did he help me, time and time again, when he supposedly hated me so much? Or: why the hell did that kiss have to be the best kiss of my life?
And then there was the most urgent question of all, the one I couldn’t believe I hadn’t considered until now: did he know about the ex-Minister’s deal with his father when he helped me get her arrested?
I marched back to the drinks, and grabbed myself some more champagne. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. By now, I shouldn’t be under any illusions when it came to Will Berry. He didn’t help me time and again because he cared. He helped me only when it meant he could help himself. If he did know about the Minister’s deal with his father, then the only reason he’d scuppered it was so he could stay head of the coven. There was no point in asking him when I already knew the answer. There was no point in being anywhere near him. He was a power-hungry Berry. And I was just a girl he’d mistaken for his girlfriend.
The front door of the hall opened, and a crowd of people walked in. Even in golden robes and masks, Gabriel and his TV buddies were easy to recognise. I saw the ruby and emerald ring sparkle on his finger, and I looked him up and down. How could I ever have mistaken Will for him? Gabriel wasn’t as tall, for starters. His hair was darker than Will’s. And he had a completely different way of holding himself.
Champagne goggles had a lot to answer for.
I cringed into my glass as Gabriel’s eyes found me, and watched nervously as he strode in my direction.
‘See?’ he whispered into my ear. ‘I told you that this jewellery would make it easier for me to find you tonight.’
‘You and your TV mates all just got here?’ I nodded to the people he had arrived with. Mask or not, I could tell that his horse-faced lady friend was giving me an extremely dirty look. I shivered, feeling suddenly cold.
‘Yeah. Sorry about that,’ he said. ‘The party at the station went on a bit longer than I thought. But I’m here now.’ He wound his arm around my waist and nuzzled into my neck. ‘And I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you wear the brooch, Wanda. I knew you’d see sense. Me and you are meant to be together. Shall we dance?’
I knocked back my drink, smiled through my mask and said, ‘Yeah. Yeah, let’s go and have a dance.’
21. Drunken Mumblings
When I woke up, it was to the sound of a bat and three mice squeaking away. It hurt to open my eyes, so I did it very, very slowly. Dizzy was at the bottom of my bed, curled up with the mice in the crook of his wing. As he saw me looking their way, he placed his opposite wing to his mouth and said, ‘Shush. I’ve only just got them comfortable. They had a bad night.’
‘Of course they did, the poor things,’ I said, somehow dragging my body to a sitting position. ‘They must miss Winnie so much. And I doubt my drunken stumblings helped matters. Oh, Dizzy! My head hurts so much.’
He shrugged and curled his wing closer around the mice. ‘If you think your head is bad, then what do you think mine is like with the way you were going on when you got home? Forget drunken stumblings, Wanda. It was drunken mumblings that kept us awake.’
I did my best to focus on him. For some reason, though, my eyes weren’t operating at their optimum level. The bat had a fuzzy outline, and unless I squinted, there seemed to be two of him. ‘What are you going on about?’ I asked. ‘And have you done something weird to yourself? Because it looks like there are two of you.’
‘Firstly, you need to sober up quickly, because there are not two of me. This world couldn’t handle two bats as awesome as me. And secondly, I’ll tell you what I’m going on about. I’m going on about you. You were stamping around your room, talking about expense reports and cologne and wedding licences and ... I don’t
know. You marched off to Melissa’s room and came back saying, “Aha! Now I understand!” I thought that you were about to tell me you’d figured something out, but then you fell asleep with your clothes still on. And after that you snored. A lot.’
My eyesight hadn’t yet improved, because there were definitely two angry bats talking to me. But what those two angry bats were saying sure did kick-start my brain.
‘I did figure it out!’ I said, jumping out of the bed. ‘I’ve got to go arrest someone. Hey ... why am I still wearing this stupid golden robe?’
‘Because like I told you less than a minute ago, Miss Attentive, you fell asleep with your clothes still on. Listen, before you stagger off to solve the murder, maybe you could take a trip to the shower first. You smell like a brewery. A brewery where all the staff got drunk and threw up, and then got drunk again. And then–’
‘All right!’ I held my arms up. ‘I get the message. I’ll go take a shower.’
≈
As I wiped the steam from the bathroom mirror, it became clear that the incredibly long shower had not been enough. My eyes were bloodshot, with puffy bags beneath. My skin was paler than I’d ever seen it, and don’t ask me how, but it was even puffier than my eye-bags. Not for the first time, I wondered why I hadn’t made more of an effort to learn glamour spells.
Oh well, seeing as I hadn’t mastered glamour spells, and I definitely wasn’t about to trust myself with an eyeliner pencil or even a blusher brush right now, the world would just have to witness me in my true form. And if I scared a few children when I went outside, well, that was just an outcome that I’d have to live with.
As I lumbered down the stairs, I could smell coffee. Thick, strong coffee. The elixir of life. As I headed into the kitchen, two Melissas waved two cups under my nose and said, ‘I was just about to bring this up to you.’
Wrapping Up (A Wayfair Witches' Cozy Mystery #5) Page 13