by Adele Abbott
Sophie and I reassured her that she had done her best. Once again, Grandma said nothing.
It was now all down to the final round which was for the level six witches. If the West quadrant won the next round, the tournament would be a four-way tie, but if any of the other quadrants won, there would be an outright winner.
The witch from the West quadrant was eliminated first, so now we were sure to have an overall winner. The next witch to be eliminated was from the East quadrant which meant whoever won the final round would take the cup. The two level six witches remaining were Grandma and Ma Chivers. This was a rerun of the final of the Elite competition, which had ended in stalemate, much to Grandma’s annoyance. The spell to be used was also the same one as in the Elite competition. The difference this time was there was no time limit; there had to be a winner.
As we were waiting for them to start, my mind went back to my recent visit to Grandma’s house. When I’d seen her in her bedroom, she’d seemed so vulnerable, and annoyed at herself because her magic had failed her. Was she losing her power? Would she be able to withstand the might of Ma Chivers, or would she fold under pressure? The tension in the stadium was almost unbearable.
Three—two—one.
The two powerful witches locked minds just as they had in the Elite competition. The stress on both women’s faces was evident. One moment Grandma seemed to have the upper-hand, the next moment, Ma Chivers looked to be in control. I was terrified that Grandma would crack under the pressure. I didn’t mind if we lost the tournament; it was the long-term effect on Grandma that worried me. Losing to Ma Chivers was not something that she would get over easily.
Then, out of nowhere, Ma Chivers stumbled and slumped to the floor. Grandma had won! She’d overcome her! The crowd erupted. Sophie, Jasmine and me rushed over to Grandma.
“Don’t make such a fuss.” She brushed us aside.
I glanced over at Ma Chivers who was stumbling to her feet. She was obviously okay, but a little stunned, and more than a little annoyed.
Aunt Lucy and the twins joined us down on the playing field to congratulate Grandma. We’d won the Compass competition! Grandma had once again proven herself to be the most powerful witch in Candlefield. Perhaps I need no longer worry about what I’d witnessed at her house that day. Maybe it had been no more than a blip. Today was Grandma’s day. Today she had led her team to victory in the Compass competition for the third year in a row.
And it felt good.
Chapter 25
I thought Jack might have called me by now to arrange a date, but I hadn’t heard a word from him since he’d told me that his transfer had been cancelled. I’d tried to call him on his mobile a couple of times—just to check he was okay, but he hadn’t picked up. I’d left voicemails, but he hadn’t returned them. Maybe he was ill. Or maybe he was being an idiot. Either way, I needed to know what was going on.
I decided to call the main desk at the police station to see if I could get through to him that way.
“Hello, Washbridge Police,” a tired and bored voice said.
“Hi, there. My name is Jill Gooder. Could I speak to Jack Maxwell, please?”
“Sorry, that’s not possible.”
“Is he in?”
“Like I said, it’s not possible to speak to Detective Maxwell at the moment.”
“Do you know when he’ll be in?”
“Like I said, it’s not possible to speak to Detective Maxwell at the moment.”
I was getting nowhere fast, so I hung up. Was he trying to avoid me? It certainly seemed that way, and yet after his transfer had been cancelled, I thought we’d really made a connection for the first time. I’d thought this was a new beginning for us. Had I got it wrong? Again?
If he was messing me about, I at least deserved to know, so I decided to go to the police station to confront him. It was easy to ignore a ringing phone, but it would be much more difficult to ignore me if I was in his face.
When I walked into the main reception area, there was a queue a mile long. Great! Oh, well. There was nothing to do but wait. I could just about handle the queue and the wait, but I couldn’t handle the idiot who was standing in front of me. Not only did he have more mouth than brains, but he also had bad breath. And, he insisted on turning around every few minutes to tell me why he was there, how the police were incompetent, and what he would do if he was in charge. None of which made a lick of sense.
In the end, I couldn’t stand it any longer. There were a few chairs at the side of the room. I pulled one of them over, and the next time he turned around, I cast the ‘sleep’ spell. He slumped quietly and peacefully onto the chair.
It was forty minutes before I eventually made it to the front of the queue. The police officer, who had a red nose and sunken eyes, lifted his head.
“Yes, how can I help you, madam?”
“My name is Jill Gooder, and I’m here to see Detective Maxwell.”
“He’s not available.”
“What do you mean, ‘not available’? Is he in?”
“Detective Maxwell is not available.”
“Where is he?”
“He isn’t here.”
“But where is he?”
“Not here.”
The conversation went back and forth for a good five minutes, but I was no further forward. Something wasn’t right. There was more to this than just Jack ignoring me. Where could he be? Why did they keep saying he wasn’t there? I had to find out what was going on.
I stepped outside the police station, found a quiet doorway, made myself invisible, and then followed someone back inside the building. It was easy for me to slip over the desk without being noticed. I’d been in the police station several times before, and knew my way around. When I reached Jack Maxwell’s office, it was empty, so I made my way to the conference rooms. There were two men in the first one, and I could overhear their conversation.
“Who’s going to be leading the investigation now that Maxwell’s been thrown off the case?” one of them said.
Thrown off the case? Not taken off the case, or moved to another case. That didn’t sound good.
“It’s ridiculous,” the second man said. “The idea that Jack would take a bribe is just too daft for words.”
“No smoke without fire.”
“Shut up, Arthur. Jack Maxwell is as honest as the day is long. This is a setup. Somebody has screwed him over right and proper.”
I could hardly believe my ears. No wonder they’d been so cagey when I tried to contact Jack by phone, and then again at the desk. It sounded as though he’d been suspended on suspicion of taking a bribe. Jack Maxwell might have his faults; I knew that better than most, but there was no way that he would ever take a bribe. Somebody had definitely set him up. I had to find Jack. Maybe I could help him?
If he’d let me.
After what felt like a thousand phone calls to his mobile, and almost as many voicemails, Jack Maxwell eventually called me back.
“Jill, have you been trying to contact me?”
“Only all day. I must have called you a thousand times.”
“Sorry, I switched my phone off.”
He sounded remarkably calm under the circumstances.
“Where are you?”
“I’m in a bar. The Sheep Shank on Evil Street, do you know it?”
“Yeah. I’m coming over now.”
I made my way over to Evil Street, and found him sitting at the bar with another man.
“This is my second in command, Tom Hawk. Tom, this is Jill Gooder, the private investigator I told you about.”
“So, you’re the infamous Jill Gooder, are you?” Tom Hawk grinned. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“All bad I imagine?”
“Most of it.” He laughed.
“Look, I’d better get going,” Tom said. “I’ll catch up with you later, Jack.”
“Okay. See you later.”
“I hear you’ve been suspended,” I said, as soon as
we were on our own.
He looked surprised. “How did you find out?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“No doubt from that inside source of yours?”
“We’ve had this conversation before. I don’t have an ‘inside source’.”
“So, how do you know? It’s not common knowledge.”
“I’m a P.I. It’s what I do. Anyway, never mind how I found out. What have they accused you of?”
“Look, I don’t really want to discuss it.”
“Come on, Jack. What’s going on? Why have they suspended you?”
“If you must know, they found money in the boot of my car. A lot of money.”
“That’s ridiculous! Even if you were on the take, you’d hardly leave the cash in the boot of your car.”
“Obviously I wouldn’t. Someone planted it there.”
“So, why suspend you? Surely your bosses must realise you’ve been set up?”
“I’m sure they do, but they have to follow protocol. You know what it’s like; everything has to be done by the book. The first step is to suspend me, then they’ll bring in internal affairs. Once that happens, it’ll all be cleared up pretty quickly, and I’ll be back at work.”
“I admire your blind faith in the system.”
“What else can I do?”
“Why don’t you let me help?”
“Definitely not! I don’t want you sticking your oar in. Internal affairs will sort this out in no time; I’ll be back at work in a matter of days. A week or two at the most. Whereas if you get involved—heaven knows what might happen.”
“Thank you for that vote of confidence.”
“I mean it, Jill. I don’t want you getting involved. Promise me you won’t.”
“But—”
“Promise!”
“Okay, okay. I promise.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
***
“Why the long face, lady?” Winky jumped onto my desk.
“No reason.”
“Come on. You can tell your uncle Winky. You know I’m a good listener.”
“If you must know, Jack Maxwell has been suspended. Those idiots he works for have accused him of taking a bribe. Just when I thought he and I had a clear run, this gets in the way.”
“Jack Maxwell, eh? Problems with his job, eh? You see. Madam Winkesca really can see into the future.” He grinned that stupid grin of his. “Hey, what are you doing with that stapler? Put it down! Don’t you dare throw that—”
Drat! Missed him again.
What’s next for your favourite P.I. and witch superstar, Jill Gooder?
What craziness does Winky have in store?
Find out in the next book:
Witch Is When I Said Goodbye
(Witch P.I. Mysteries #10)
Web Site: http:www.AdeleAbbott.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AdeleAbbottAuthor
Also from Adele Abbott
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WHOOPS!
OUR NEW FLATMATE IS A HUMAN!
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Charlie (a werewolf), Dorothy (a vampire) and Neil (a wizard) share a huge loft in Washbridge, but they can no longer make rent. They’ve been trying to find another supernatural (sup) to take the fourth bedroom for months now, but with no success. Their landlord is tired of waiting for his money so takes matters into his own hands, and finds them a new flatmate.
Susan Hall is an investigative reporter who has just joined The Bugle. She is ambitious, and determined to clean up the paper’s sleazy image with hard hitting stories. She’s been living out of a suitcase in a crummy hotel for weeks, so is delighted to be offered a flat share in a beautiful loft space.
The three original flatmates are horrified. It’s bad enough that their new flatmate is a reporter, but what’s even worse: she’s human.
To be published: Late 2016/Early 2017
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CANDLEFIELD HIGH
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Polly is not happy! She was born and raised in Washbridge amongst humans, and doesn’t like to be reminded that she’s actually a witch. Despite the best efforts of her parents, Polly has zero interest in magic.
So, imagine Polly’s delight when her parents announce that they are moving back to Candlefield – home to witches, wizards and all manner of supernaturals (sups) – just in time for her to start at senior school.
Join Polly as she begins her adventure in Adele Abbott’s first children’s book.
To be published: Late 2016/Early 2017