by Elle Adams
“I know where the chicken is.” I was pretty sure all the neighbours did as well. Including the Henbanes.
The Henbanes. Persephone was one of the few people I hadn’t watched closely throughout the last round of the contest, which might have been a mistake. Yet she hadn’t been anywhere near our headquarters when Malcolm had died.
I exited the lobby and found Tansy chasing Myrtle the magpie away from the chicken. Minty had hidden herself in a bush, but that didn’t stop Myrtle from circling overhead and making derisive cawing noises.
“Not this again.” I walked over to the bushes. “Go away, Myrtle. Tansy, have you seen Malcolm’s cat?”
“No,” she said. “Wait, is he not here?”
“Wherever he is, he might have seen the killer.” I shooed the magpie away from the bush. “Myrtle, can you please stop your witch from arguing with my mother so we can find out who tried to assassinate me?”
“You think you were the intended target?” Tansy’s tail began to wag. “Was it that aunt of yours?”
“If she killed Malcolm, then she did the other contenders a favour, if anything.” Unless he and my aunt had been working together, but he wasn’t local. Vanessa was… and so was Persephone Henbane.
I found myself approaching the fence dividing our garden from the Henbane Coven’s, though I would have thought Tiffany would be keeping her distance after we’d come to blows last week over her attempts to sabotage the Head Witch ceremony.
“They talked to the press a couple of days ago and told them I was guaranteed not to last a week,” I muttered to Tansy. “I never did have the chance to read their interview.”
“I doubt it’s worth the effort,” said my familiar. “Do you think they might be involved?”
“Tiffany doesn’t like to do her own dirty work, so maybe.” Persephone had made the final four, but I doubted she’d win the contest and gain the Henbanes the prestige they so deeply craved. Whether they wanted to win or not, killing someone who’d already been eliminated from the contest made little sense.
I searched the garden from top to bottom, but Malcolm’s cat was nowhere to be seen. Minty, meanwhile, remained hiding in the bushes and refused to come out even after the magpie went to join her master. Since she was no longer screaming, I opted to leave her out of her cage and returned to the lobby.
Ramsey had moved Malcolm’s body out of the way of the doors and had also secured the pen in a container so nobody could touch it with their bare hands. While he talked to someone on the phone, Mum and Chloe stood in the corner, having a hushed conversation while Aunt Shannon talked to her own familiar.
Carmilla sat watching from the office doorway, so I approached her first. “Are you sure you didn’t hear anything when Malcolm came in?”
Carmilla yawned. “I can’t keep track of every tedious human who comes here.”
“Well, try to keep your eyes open next time,” I said. “I thought you had a vested interest in keeping me alive.”
Aunt Shannon made a disparaging noise. “If she’s your security, then it’s no wonder an intruder got in.”
“He didn’t get into the office,” I pointed out. “Someone killed him first. Seems a bit of an overreaction if you ask me, unless he accidentally grabbed his own cursed pen.”
Where had he even got it from? Everyone had been searched prior to the contest and had even left their wands in a secure room at the town hall, Vanessa included. Aunt Shannon, though, had all manner of magical advantages at her disposal, and she’d definitely been inside the building when he’d come in… which meant that either she’d ignored his intrusion, or she’d brought him to a halt in her own way. I wouldn’t lie; the thought of her protecting me was too weird to contemplate. It was far more likely that she’d shrugged and looked away when she saw him enter. As for where the pen had come from, though? I didn’t know.
“Robin.” Mum beckoned me over to her. “You didn’t find his familiar?”
“I can’t find that cat anywhere,” I said. “What’s the plan for the other contenders?”
“Ramsey is going to send a team to search all their rooms for more of those pens,” she said. “Other than that, they’ve been ordered not to leave town for the time being.”
“Good call,” I said. “I don’t see how they could possibly have smuggled something that lethal into town without being caught, though.”
“There are plenty of possibilities if one is inventive enough,” said Aunt Shannon. “May I ask why you insist on keeping me in here? Am I a suspect?”
“You’re a potential witness,” Mum said. “Especially with regard to our security.”
No kidding. I should have done more than leave invisible ink on the door, but I hadn’t expected anyone else to break in so soon after the last time. Nobody could have anticipated that the intruder would drop dead before anyone caught him, either.
Aunt Shannon must have known. Not that she’d admit to a thing… and it was beyond me to figure out if she’d been the one who’d seen to his premature end.
9
I’d privately hoped I might be able to get in a quick nap before the next round of the contest, but I couldn’t even get any work done with Ramsey’s team roaming around my office. Carmilla was napping on Chloe’s desk as if there wasn’t a dead body in the lobby, while Mum barked orders at anyone unlucky enough to walk past.
“Mum.” I tensed as she turned her glare towards me. “I can’t get anything done in here. Should I look for Malcolm’s missing familiar?”
“Not alone,” she said. “Also, someone needs to tell the other contenders about Malcolm’s unfortunate demise.”
“You want me to tell them?” I frowned. “They might have scattered all over town.”
“I’m sure you can track them down between the two of you.” She clearly wasn’t in the mood to take no for an answer, so I seized on the chance to get away and left the witches’ headquarters with Tansy at my heels.
“Maybe his cat went back to the inn,” said Tansy. “He might not know his wizard is dead.”
“I don’t know. I thought they went everywhere together.”
Either way, I had to break the news to the other contenders, and I had zero clue how they’d take it. Malcolm had cheated, attacked my cousin’s familiar, and generally behaved unscrupulously, so I doubted he had any friends among them. Yet his death was sudden and unnerving enough that I found myself watching my back as Chloe and I walked down the road towards the town’s centre.
“There’s your cousin,” said Chloe.
Vanessa. She strode purposefully in the direction we’d just come from. Had her mother called her in as backup?
“Vanessa.” I approached her, cutting off her path. “You should know… Malcolm was murdered. His body showed up inside the coven’s headquarters when I went back to my office.”
She looked momentarily surprised before her expression settled back into its usual scowl. “Is there a reason you’re telling me this?”
“I figured you might want to know why the police are all over our road,” I said. “Also, he was found holding a cursed pen, the same as Anne was, with no obvious signs of who gave it to him.”
“What’s your point?” she asked. “You think one of the other contenders bumped him off?”
“Actually, your mother was the only person in the building at the time,” I said. “She’s talking to the police.”
Vanessa’s eyes narrowed. “Your brother had better not be hassling her.”
More like the other way around. “If you see Malcolm’s familiar, would you send him my way?”
“Fine, whatever.” She sidestepped me and marched on with her hands clenched at her sides.
“That was instructive.” I resumed walking, Chloe hurrying alongside me. We wouldn’t find all the contenders at the inn, since Persephone Henbane wouldn’t be staying there, and Rowan would have returned to the café to help her familiar.
Chloe kept pace with me as we approached the Owl’s Nest. �
�Ah—there’s Piper.”
“Robin.” Piper gave me a wave. “I thought you were going back to the office.”
“Malcolm was murdered.”
“What?” Piper looked at me with blank shock on her face. “How?”
“I found him outside my office with one of those cursed pens in his hand,” I said. “His familiar is missing.”
“That’s bizarre.” Her forehead crinkled. “Why’re you here, then? To find his familiar?”
“My mother has decided that I have to tell all the other contenders the news in person,” I said. “Are they all back at the inns?”
“Most of them are, I think,” she said. “I’ll go with you.”
“Chloe,” I addressed my assistant. “Can you go to the other inn and tell the guests there? Piper and I will tell everyone at the Owl’s Nest.”
“What?” she said. “No, I’m supposed to stay beside you at all times.”
“It’ll be quicker,” I said. “Piper will watch my back.”
“You bet,” said Piper. “We’ll meet you outside.”
Chloe looked a little unsettled, but she nodded. “Okay.”
“Malcolm was staying here.” I indicated the inn as she walked away. “I need to find that cat of his. The two of them were inseparable, but I didn’t find him anywhere near where he died.”
“Sounds dodgy.” She led the way into the Owl’s Nest, a pleasant inn with a blue-carpeted lobby and a bronze-haired shifter sitting behind the front desk.
“Head Witch!” The shifter receptionist jumped to his feet when he saw me. “Can I help you?”
“Yes.” I approached the desk. “I’m afraid one of your guests was involved in a tragic accident. I’m here to inform the other contenders.”
His face fell. “Oh, that’s terrible news. Is there anything I can do?”
“Can you tell me which room Malcolm was staying in?”
“Let me check.” He consulted a book on his desk. “He was in the second dorm on the first floor.”
“Thanks,” I said. “My mother—ah, Lady Wildwood—will be in touch soon to let you know the next steps, I’m sure.” Unless my brother’s team showed up first.
Meanwhile, Piper and I went up the short staircase to the first floor. When we reached the corridor, Nolan emerged from one of the dorms with a suitcase in his hand.
“Hold on.” I barred his way. “Where are you going?”
“Home,” he said. “I’m out of the running. Aren’t I?”
“Malcolm was murdered,” I said. “We’d prefer for all the contenders to stay in town until my brother gives the all clear.”
His brows shot up. “Seriously?”
“Yes,” I said. “Have you seen Malcolm’s cat?”
He looked troubled. “No, but I’ll keep an eye out for him.”
Nolan himself had been nowhere near Malcolm when he’d died, and neither had any of the other contenders, but I remained on edge when I entered the dormitory.
“Head Witch,” said Patrick, spotting me. “What is it?”
I raised my voice for everyone in the room to hear. “I’m afraid Malcolm has been murdered. As of now, the contest will proceed as planned, but the police will soon be here to search your rooms.”
A shocked murmur passed among the contenders.
“Was it like Anne?” someone asked.
“Yes,” said Piper. “Other than that, we can’t give any details. Has anyone seen his cat?”
No signs of Malcolm’s missing familiar materialised, and the same happened in the dorm next door. When we left for the stairs, we found the lobby had been completely taken over by Ramsey’s team. He must have sent them to scour the place for any hidden cursed pens, so Piper and I left the inn before we got bombarded with questions.
“What now?” asked Piper. “Chloe is at the other inn, I suppose, but I can’t see why Malcolm’s cat would have gone there instead of to his own dorm.”
“He’s got to be somewhere,” said Tansy. “Want to search the forest?”
“That’ll take a while.” On the other hand, the forest was rife with potential hiding places for cursed pens as well as missing cats. I didn’t believe for a minute that the killer had been foolish enough to hide them in the dormitory. “I should check in with Rowan first.”
“Is she going to apologise for accusing me of hurting her familiar?” Piper rolled her eyes. “I’ll come with you, but I’ll wait outside.”
Inside Were’s My Coffee?, Rowan wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but I did see Harvey sitting in the corner with a couple of friends. When he looked in my direction, I gave an awkward wave, but I didn’t quite dare walk any closer in case Carmilla appeared and stabbed me in the leg again.
Seemingly unconcerned, Harvey left his table and approached me. “Hey, Robin.”
“Hey,” I said. “Ah—have you seen Rowan anywhere?”
“Your cousin?” he asked. “I saw her a while ago. She looked pretty upset, and she was carrying a bottle of some kind of healing formula.”
“Must have been for her familiar,” I explained. “He got injured in the last round of the contest.”
“Oh,” he said. “Sorry to hear that. Is that your brother?”
When the door opened behind me, I instinctively turned around, suppressing a groan. “Ramsey, what are you doing here?”
“I might ask you the same question, Robin,” he said. “I need to talk to you.”
I doubted Harvey would want to hear about the latest dead body I’d run into, so I said, “Sorry, Harvey. Talk soon?”
“Sure.” He waved me off, and I ducked out of the café after my brother.
“I was checking up on Rowan,” I said to Ramsey before he or Prickles could start lecturing me again. “Since her familiar was injured in the last round of the contest. Then Piper and I were going to go and look for Malcolm’s missing familiar.”
“I know where his cat is,” said Ramsey. “He showed up at the police station when I was at your office, and because I wasn’t there, nobody could understand a word he said.”
What? “He knows what happened to Malcolm, then?”
“Yes, he does.”
“You found the missing cat?” asked Piper, overhearing. “That’ll save us some searching.”
“True,” I said. “I’d better go and see what he has to say. Can you tell Chloe where I am?”
“Sure,” she said. “Do what you have to.”
At least I wouldn’t have to break the news to Malcolm’s familiar, but I wished we’d known his whereabouts sooner.
Ramsey led me to the police station just down the road from the town hall. It’d been a while since I’d set foot in there, but the plain brick building hadn’t changed an inch and neither had the beige wallpaper or the navy-blue carpets in the entryway. What had changed was the fact that my brother had his own office now, as I hadn’t visited home since before he’d been promoted to the head of the local police force. I gave the cosy room an appreciative glance when we followed him in. Unlike my chaotic office space, his cabinets were neatly ordered, and not a single scrap of paper littered the neat desk. I had to admit, the décor was a bit plain, with a single abstract painting on the wall and nothing more.
Tansy ran up and down the room, peering around every corner, while Prickles climbed on top of the desk. “Have you come to remove that animal?”
“Where is he?” I jumped when a hissing sound came from underneath the desk. Crouching, I spotted the stripy cat curled up, his amber eyes glowing in the darkness. “I’m sorry for what happened to your master.”
The cat shuddered. “I don’t understand how he died.”
“He touched a cursed pen,” I said. “Did you see where he picked it up?”
“He pulled it out of his pocket.”
What? “He already had it?”
That meant Aunt Shannon might not be responsible after all… while the suspect pool widened to include all the contenders who might have got close enough to slip a cursed pen
into Malcolm’s pocket while he wasn’t paying attention.
“It wasn’t his,” the cat insisted.
“He got it from somewhere,” said Tansy. “I thought you were his familiar. Aren’t you meant to watch out for people who might attack your wizard?”
The cat’s ears flattened. “How dare you imply I didn’t do enough to stop his killer?”
“What was he doing outside my office to begin with?” I put in. “I found his body in the headquarters of the Wildwood Coven. Why was he there?”
The cat didn’t say anything. Tansy jumped under the desk, only to recoil from his claws. “Don’t point your claws at me. He wanted to speak to Robin, did he? Is that why he was there?”
“That or he wanted to break into my office,” I added. “Did he try the same this morning?”
“What?” The cat blinked in apparently genuine confusion. “No. I’ve never been to that building before. I didn’t know the office was yours.”
“He didn’t tell you?” I found that hard to believe.
“It’s true,” he insisted. “He took off as soon as the last contest round ended and ran back to town without telling me where he was going.”
“Maybe he was mad at you for attacking my cousin’s familiar.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Or he wanted to explain to me in person that you both cheated.”
The cat’s ears flattened again. “He didn’t deserve to die.”
“But he did cheat,” Tansy said. “Who gave him that pen, I wonder? Or was he trying to give it to the Head Witch himself?”
“It wasn’t his.” The cat’s head drooped. “He didn’t tell me why he went into that building. He just reached for his wand and pulled out that pen instead… and he died.”
So he’d definitely been trying to get into my office at the time. He must have known I wasn’t in, surely, which meant the odds of him not being up to mischief were low.
“When did he last check his pockets? Did you see?” I asked. “Do you know when the pen might have been slipped in there?”
“He got covered in mud in the first trial,” said the cat in a tremulous voice. “Then he took off his coat when he went to shower and left it lying on the bed.”