Murder Most Fowl

by Elle Adams

  “She was hiding in a bush in the garden the last I saw,” I said. “I don’t trust Aunt Shannon or her familiar, though.”

  Instinct told me to go and look for her, but I had an obligation to show up at the contest, and I had yet to figure out how to use the sceptre to create a clone to attend instead of me. In fact, I hadn’t got the chance to practise using it at all.

  The door opened, and Mum came into the waiting room. “How is the questioning going?”

  “We found out Malcolm offered the potions to most of the contenders,” I said. “Not all of them accepted, but I think it’s easier to ask who didn’t get the offer from him at this stage. But he didn’t ask for money, and nobody seems to know what he had to gain.”

  “The final round is starting in five minutes, Robin,” Mum said.

  “I know. I’m coming.” I rose to my feet. “Ramsey, let me know if you learn anything else.”

  Mum didn’t say another word until we reached the doors at the back of the town hall. “Robin, you need to leave the investigation to Ramsey. It’s his job, not yours.”

  “Excuse me?” She chose now to stonewall me? “I know I’m Head Witch, but I might be the killer’s target. I’m not sold on this simply being a grudge from a dissatisfied customer.”

  “Nevertheless,” she said. “If the Head Witch finds herself under threat, it’s customary for her not to take a direct role in the investigation.”

  “So you don’t want me to delegate paperwork, but you want me to turn my back on a threat to my life?” Unbelievable. “The contest is almost over. Once it’s done, we’ll lose our shot at cornering the killer.”

  “Let Chloe keep an eye out for threats,” she said. “That’s her job.”

  “She’s my assistant. I won’t ask her to take a bullet for me.” Or cursed pen, as it were. Besides, I was so close to putting the pieces of the puzzle together. I was happy to leave Ramsey in charge of the questioning while I played the role of Head Witch, but the final round of the contest might be the killer’s last chance to reach me.

  One way or another, this was where it would end.

  12

  Mum and I reentered the arena for the final round of the contest and climbed onto the same platform as before while the crowd filed back into the seats around the arena to watch. This time, three separate platforms stood at intervals across the grassy field, one for each contender to stand on, and a considerable number of mutters and stares ensued when the audience noticed there were only three platforms, no doubt wondering where the fourth contender was.

  Mum called everyone to attention. “Welcome to the final round of the Familiar Contest. As you might have noticed, there’s been a change of arrangements for the final round, but I’m sure the contenders will be happy to adapt.”

  A questioning murmur passed through the audience before fading to silence.

  Mum went on: “Persephone Henbane has been disqualified for cheating.”

  This time, shock reverberated through the crowd, and Mum waited for silence before continuing.

  “That said, the other three contenders will still be taking part in an altered version of the final round,” said Mum. “Congratulations to Patrick Wellman, Roxy Denton, and Vanessa Wildwood.”

  Cheering rose as the three remaining contenders entered the arena, waiting behind a line which had been painted on the grass near the platforms.

  “There will be one final round, not two, and all three contenders will receive a prize no matter how they fare in this trial,” Mum said. “When the Head Witch gives the signal, each of you is to climb onto the platform which corresponds to your starting point. The aim of this round is simply to be the last person standing. If either you or your familiar falls off the platform, then both of you lose by default. The last to remain standing will be declared the victor.”

  Another murmur travelled through the audience. When Mum nodded to me, I raised the sceptre into the air. “Begin.”

  The three contenders climbed onto the platforms, as did their familiars. The instant they did, Mum raised her wand, and the three platforms rose like towers, trembling as though an earthquake shook the ground underfoot. Light ignited Mum’s wand as she sent various spells at the contenders in an attempt to knock them off the platforms. The crowd roared and cheered throughout, eager to see who would come out on top.

  Tansy nudged me in the arm. “Is she supposed to be here?”

  “Who?” I squinted past the platforms, and my heart plunged when I heard a distinct squawking noise amid the sound of the cheering crowd. Then a bundle of feathers ran onto the grass, heading straight for our platform.

  What is she doing?

  I waved and called to the chicken, “Get over here!”

  The chicken ignored me. She probably couldn’t hear over the sound of the audience, though I heard some laughter from behind me as they caught on to the intruder’s presence. Who’d let her in here? I moved to the edge of the platform and spotted someone who definitely hadn’t been present at the start of the final round. Aunt Shannon.

  “Robin,” Mum hissed at me as I made to climb off the platform and into the audience. “What are you doing?”

  “Getting that chicken out of here.” I dropped to the ground before she or Chloe could stop me, Tansy clinging to my shoulder as I ducked through the audience. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any way to hide the fact that I had the sceptre, so everyone knew the Head Witch was on the move, including Aunt Shannon herself.

  The chicken, meanwhile, ran in panicked circles below the contenders’ platforms, seemingly oblivious to the contest taking place. I hadn’t a hope of reaching her from the audience, so I skirted the crowd until I caught up to Aunt Shannon near the exit. “What are you doing?”

  “Me?” She arched a brow. “Watching my daughter, of course.”

  “You think I don’t know your familiar has been taunting that chicken all day?” I whispered. “You brought her here, didn’t you?”

  “You think I’m to blame for that ridiculous bird interrupting the contest?” she said. “I’m not the person who let it loose in the garden.”

  “I’ll get her.” Tansy jumped off my shoulder and streaked into the arena. A red squirrel was even more noticeable than a chicken, and the crowd’s attention followed her bright tail as she sprinted across the grass and attempted to herd the chicken towards the exit. As she did so, Patrick fell off his platform and tumbled over on the grass.

  “You seriously did this for Vanessa to win the contest?” I hissed at Aunt Shannon. “That’s low, even for you.”

  “The bird left the garden of her own accord,” she replied. “See? Here she comes.”

  The chicken came barrelling towards the exit with Tansy in close pursuit. Aunt Shannon seized the chance to vanish among the crowd, while I waved goodbye to the last shreds of my dignity and ran after my familiar. The chicken continued to flee, wings pumping, ignoring Tansy’s attempts to grab her from behind.

  “Get back here!” I called after her.

  The chicken ignored me, pelting through the back doors of the town hall and straight through the lobby. If she got into the main part of town, she might well take off into the forest again. I had to catch her first.

  Tansy caught up to her, but all she managed to do was pull out a few feathers before Minty escaped her grasp and sprinted off. Panic gripped me. “Stop!”

  The chicken didn’t so much as slow down. A fresh wave of alarm hit me when she veered close to the coffee shop. Raising the sceptre, I cast an immobilising charm. A flash of light went off, brighter than I’d expected, and the chicken keeled over at once.

  “Now you’ve done it,” said Tansy. “Or should I say, overdone it.”

  I hurried over to the chicken. “Oh no.”

  The chicken wasn’t moving at all. Why had I used the sceptre and not my wand? I tucked the sceptre under my arm before I crouched down and scooped her up in my arms, which felt like picking up a feathery statue rather than a living bird. At le
ast she’d stopped trying to escape, if nothing else.

  “I need to put her somewhere secure.” I paced down the road. “Maybe the police station…”

  “Ramsey will be thrilled to have a chicken statue to go with his new cat,” said Tansy.

  “Don’t even.” While most people were watching the final round of the contest, I saw a few faces staring at me from inside the café. A flush heated my face as I walked over to the automatic doors to the police station.

  The receptionist goggled at the sight of the Head Witch carrying a chicken into the police station. “Your brother is questioning some suspects.”

  Ramsey emerged from behind a door a moment later, as if he’d detected my presence through some brotherly sixth sense. “What are you doing with that chicken?”

  “She interrupted the contest,” I said. “I think Aunt Shannon’s familiar chased her across town.”

  “What’s wrong with her?” He strode over to peer down at the bird. “Is she frozen?”

  “I used an immobilising spell,” I said. When he raised a brow, I added, “With the sceptre.”

  “Robin.” He sighed. “Really.”

  “She was running amok outside. I didn’t have many options.” I held out the chicken. “Can you keep an eye on her? I need to find Aunt Shannon, and she’s hidden herself among the crowd.”

  “I’m sure our mother will be watching her.”

  “She won’t,” I said. “She’s too focused on the contest. Which suspects are you questioning?”

  “Persephone Henbane,” he said. “She didn’t answer all my questions to my satisfaction, so I brought her here. I couldn’t help noticing that Tiffany Henbane has yet to show up to defend her niece.”

  “She’s not at the arena either.” I frowned. “She must know her niece got kicked out for cheating by now.”

  “Is the final round still in progress?”

  “Last I checked.”

  At this point, I hardly cared who won. Vanessa would get a shiny trophy one way or another, but her mother’s underhanded tactics reminded me that I still had yet to wrangle a decent set of answers from the chicken as to whether Anne had been in any way connected to Malcolm’s schemes or to his death. “Can I leave Minty in your office?”

  He blew out a frustrated breath. “Fine, but I’m not letting any other wayward familiars into my office.”

  “I’m guessing that doesn’t include me?” Tansy scampered ahead and pushed open the door to Ramsey’s office while I carried the chicken through and placed her on the desk.

  “What are you doing?” Ramsey asked when I raised the sceptre over her frozen body.

  “Undoing this spell.” I gave the sceptre a wave, but the chicken simply drifted a couple of inches across the desk and didn’t stir. “Maybe not.”

  “You used a simple immobilising spell?” Ramsey stepped behind me. “They generally wear off on their own.”

  “Not sure this one will.” I tried again, but the chicken didn’t budge an inch.

  Ramsey pulled out his wand. “I’ll see if I can undo it, then.”

  Movement stirred under the desk, and Malcolm’s familiar stuck his head out. He then withdrew when I crouched down to talk to him.

  “Hey,” I said. “Jarvis, isn’t it? I heard your master had quite the business operation going on.”

  The cat said nothing.

  “He won’t talk,” said Ramsey. “I tried asking about the potions, and he mysteriously lost his ability to communicate.”

  “Let me try.” I moved onto my knees to make it easier to see the stripy cat sitting beneath the desk. “I found out Malcolm was giving potions to the other contenders to enable them to speak to their familiars. Did he ever take one himself?”

  The cat didn’t answer.

  “It sounds like he’s been doing the same thing for years,” I went on. “Did you help him?”

  Tansy hopped down to speak to Jarvis. “I know he was your partner, but if one of his customers wanted him dead, don’t you want to know who it was?”

  “Nobody knows.” His tail twitched with unhappiness. “I don’t know who killed Malcolm. It might have been any of them.”

  “Or none of them.” Another thought occurred to me. “Did he offer a potion to Anne?”

  “No,” he said. “He didn’t.”

  It didn’t surprise me, given her late arrival to the contest, but what had put her on the killer’s radar? And if there wasn’t a connection, had he found her killer and paid for that discovery with his life? I had a hard time believing he was entirely innocent, but I had yet to find any proof that his business had been connected to the murderer, whoever it was.

  A flash of light from Ramsey’s wand made me rise to my feet, but the chicken remained immobile on the desk. “You did a thorough job with that spell, Robin.”

  “Wish I’d done the same to Aunt Shannon.” My hands clenched at the thought of her smugly watching the contest at the arena as if she hadn’t purposefully tried to undermine me in front of the audience.

  Ramsey put his wand away. “I’m sure the spell will wear off eventually.”

  “It’s supposed to last for five seconds, not hours.” So much for the chicken calming down enough to answer my questions. “Though it would come in handy if I used it on the killer.”

  His brows rose. “The Head Witch isn’t supposed to endanger her life. Mum was right… I never should have invited you to help with the questioning.”

  I gave him a hard stare. “It’s one thing asking me not to intervene in a murder investigation, but if I’m the killer’s target, then I ought to be allowed to defend myself.”

  His gaze broke away. “I don’t make the rules.”

  “They aren’t rules.” Taking a back seat had made sense for Grandma, who’d been over ninety by the time she’d died, but if someone wanted me dead, I wanted to confront them directly. Hiding wasn’t my style, and neither was forcing someone else to take the hit on my behalf. Admittedly, I’d left Chloe behind when I’d sprinted out of the arena, but she was my assistant, not my bodyguard.

  Speaking of the arena, it was a safe bet the contest would be over by this point, and Mum would be furious if I didn’t come back to congratulate the winner.

  Ramsey exhaled in a sigh as I made for the door. “Where are you going?”

  “To find out who won.” And corner Aunt Shannon before she slips away.

  As I left the police station, I heard a loud roar from the field behind the town hall.

  “I think it’s over,” Tansy remarked.

  I broke into a sprint, glad that I’d at least caught the chicken and had something to show for my absence. Upon reaching the arena, I slowed my pace to make my way through the crowd, cheers echoing from the spectators. My heart gave an unpleasant jolt when I spotted Vanessa standing in the centre of her platform, beaming, her familiar sitting on her shoulder. She won?

  “The winner,” Mum said from her platform, “is Vanessa Wildwood and her familiar, Hector.”

  Vanessa had won. Whether it was entirely due to her mother’s antics, I couldn’t say, but Patrick and Roxy both stood on the grass below, looking dejected. Especially Roxy. How had she managed to lose to Vanessa of all people? Had she thrown the match on purpose out of guilt over not reporting Malcolm? Or had she been distracted by the interrogation? Questions swirled around my head, and it wasn’t until I heard Aunt Shannon loudly boasting, “That’s my daughter!” that I spotted her amid the spectators.

  She’d also seen me, but the crowd thickened around her as everyone went to offer their congratulations. I had zero chance of getting her alone to question her yet, so I continued to make my way through the audience until I reached the platform where Mum and Chloe stood.

  Bracing myself, I climbed onto the platform and whispered to Mum, “I caught the chicken. She’s with Ramsey.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t humiliate both of us for nothing.” Her words were sharp as hailstones, and without waiting for a reply, she spoke int
o the microphone “The Head Witch would like to say a few words.”

  No, she wouldn’t. Yet despite the ongoing cheers, the crowd’s attention turned to me.

  “Congratulations to Vanessa Wildwood.” The fact that I managed to say those words with a straight face was prizeworthy in itself. “All three winners will receive their prizes at the trophy ceremony, which starts this evening at seven.” I assumed that hadn’t changed, at least.

  The crowd’s cheering rose in volume. Vanessa basked in the attention, while Aunt Shannon remained surrounded by a throng of admirers. It seemed she had no intention of letting me corner her.

  Mum glowered at me. “You left the bird with Ramsey, did you?”

  “Yes, I did,” I said. “Look, I’m sorry I ran out on you, but you can’t pretend that chicken wasn’t a major distraction. I’m sure Aunt Shannon brought her in here on purpose to make sure Vanessa won.”

  “Vanessa won fair and square,” she said. “I saw it with my own eyes.”

  “She didn’t break the rules,” Chloe said in apologetic tones. “I watched her carefully.”

  “Sorry I left you behind,” I said. “There’s nothing remotely fair about what Aunt Shannon did, though. She was trying to create a scene.”

  “And you helped her do it,” said Mum. “Your habit of making decisions without thinking them through has to stop, Robin.”

  “The chicken witnessed Anne’s murder and might have vital information for the police,” I pointed out. “Aunt Shannon has been tormenting her for the past day. Even if Vanessa herself didn’t cheat, her mother is a potential suspect.”

  “That makes it all the more dangerous for you to get involved,” Mum said. “My sister is not to be trifled with.”

  “I already snatched the sceptre from her grasp.” If she wanted me dead, then I’d be more than happy to use the sceptre to apprehend her. “If you want me to hand Vanessa a trophy anyway, then I will, but I don’t have to forget what she did.”