Witch Swindled in Westerham

by Dionne Lister

  “Good that you can drive, and for the other, I’ll cast a no-notice spell over us.” The lift dinged. “Now, no more discussion.” I followed her into the lift, where she mumbled something, the skin on my scalp prickling. We came out on the ground floor and made our way to the bathroom. None of the doctors, nurses, or random people walking past so much as glanced at us. I’d have to learn that one for walking past building sites or groups of drunk guys when I was at the pub, not that I went there much. It was nice to be invisible. As we entered the bathroom, I asked, “How come you don’t put a permanent no-notice spell on me, and then no one will have to watch that I don't get kidnapped?”

  She checked there was no one in any of the four stalls. “Because other witches can see past a spell like that. It only works for non-witches. Now come in here.” She pulled me into the stall at the end with the Out of Order sign on the door. Once locked inside, she mumbled something, and a dark hole, just taller and wider than us, opened up in the wall. “Come on, Lily.”

  She stepped through, and I followed.

  Chapter 9

  After picking up my equipment and William’s car, I set to work editing what few engagement photos I’d taken, and on Tuesday, I saved them onto a memory stick and met Olivia at Costa. The day was warm at twenty degrees, and I braved it in a T-shirt and jeans, although I had a black cardigan tucked into my handbag, just in case. The café smelled divine as usual.

  Olivia was at her spot behind the register.

  “Hey, Liv. Sorry again about the other day.”

  “I told you; it’s fine.” She beamed. “So, what can I get you?”

  “The usual, thanks. And I see there’s no... difficult customers in today.” Camilla was missing, thank God.

  “Yes. Today has been awesome, except Ernie went away for work. He left this morning, and he won’t be back until Sunday. Some mega investment conference in Dublin.”

  “Oh. Sounds super exciting. Not.” I laughed. “If you’re at a loose end, feel free to call me. Maybe we could visit a local castle, and I promise not to vomit.” Another thing to feel bad about. Wow, I was wracking things up. But also, Camilla was missing from witch-face duty at Costa, and Ernie was away. Suspicious much? And did Olivia not know Camilla was Ernest’s boss? She hadn’t acted like she’d known her when Camilla was in here being a total witch.

  “Ha! You’re on.” She held her hand out, and I passed her the money and memory stick and stepped to the side to wait for my food. “I’ll call you tonight.”

  “Awesome! Oh, by the way, have you ever met Ernest’s boss?”

  She frowned. “No. He doesn’t like me visiting him at work, because she’s really strict about employees doing anything personal during working hours. And he tends to work through his lunch hour. She’s a total slave driver, apparently.”

  “Ah, cool.” The next customer was waiting to order, so I stepped away to wait for my coffee.

  I focussed on the fact that Olivia was going to call me tonight, and we were hopefully going to visit a castle this weekend. Olivia was so nice. What if I helped break her heart? Gah. Why did life have to suck so much? My order arrived, and I took it to a table at the back—my usual window-seat was taken.

  I pushed aside my dilemma—how unusual, I know—and savoured my coffee and cake. When I got home later, I called Angelica. “Hi, Ma’am.”

  “Hello, dear. What is it?” Why did she always sound so unhappy to hear from me? It would be nice to hear some excitement in her voice for a change.

  “Camilla’s missing from her usual morning harassment of Olivia at Costa, and Ernest supposedly left for a week-long conference this morning.”

  She left me hanging for a few seconds before answering. “Yes, that’s right. We’ve been watching them. After what happened with William, we added Ernest to our surveillance schedule. I was just going to call you. Everyone else is here having a meeting. I may as well move the meeting to you. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Oh, okay. But why didn’t she invite me to the meeting in the first place? She knew I was invested in this case, or maybe that’s why she didn’t want to tell me. What if I spilled the beans to Olivia by accident? Or what if my personal feelings got in the way and I accidentally-on-purpose ruined something they’d planned? I’d never do that because I believed in right and fair over personal feelings, but Angelica couldn’t know that for sure. Plus, there was a first time for everything. Even I had accidents.

  I’d just seated myself on one of the Chesterfields when Angelica, James, William, and Beren walked in from the reception room. “Hi. Nice of you to bring the PIB to me.”

  Beren bowed then sat next to me. “Glad to be of service, Milady.” Nut. But he was such a nice nut.

  James sat on the other side of Beren, and William and Angelica took the Chesterfield opposite. I spoke to William first, because I’d wanted to ask a certain question since the engagement. “How are you feeling?” That wasn’t the actual question, but I did want to know how he was feeling. Even though I didn’t want to like him, I did. Poor me.

  “I’m feeling fine, thanks.”

  “Great. Also, I’m not sure if you can remember anything from your discussion with Ernest, but is he cheating on Olivia willingly, or is Camilla tampering with things?” I held my breath. I did but didn’t want to know the answer. If he were cheating on her willingly, he was so going down.

  William shook his head. “I can’t remember anything, but I don’t think I got that far anyway.” He blushed. Oh, that was different. He was embarrassed. I shifted and looked at the ground. Argh, I hated awkwardness. The whole room reeked of it as everyone’s gazes ducked for cover. It was better if I could tease him or rub him the wrong way and get a reaction, and my mind did not just go there. Nope.

  Time to change the subject. “Ma’am, do you know where they went?”

  It was her turn to blush. Now I was worried. Something had knocked her poker face off. “They left this morning, and we lost them. Well, our agents lost them. But we checked, and they’re not where they said they were going. There is a conference in Dublin, but they’re not signed up to attend.”

  A vortex of rage opened inside me. That cheating bastard. But what if he wasn’t doing it willingly? Did that mean Camilla could technically be charged with rape? But what if he was in love or lust or whatever with Camilla just because? Gah, my brain couldn’t keep up with itself.

  “Slow down, Lily.” Angelica stared at me.

  “Yeah, Lily, your thoughts are even driving me crazy.” Smart arse. William seemed to have recovered from his embarrassment. I glared at him.

  I quickly performed my thought-protection spell. I was so bad at witching. And oh crap, but did he hear that slightly dirty thought I’d had? My cheeks heated. “Okay, so what are you doing about it? How’s the investigation going? Is there anything I can do to help?”

  James looked at me. “Yes, actually, there is. At this point, Camilla has hidden all the evidence so well that Ernest’s memory is all we have left, and she’ll know we tried to sift through it. He’s in danger. If Camilla doesn’t have any feelings for him, or maybe even if she does, she’s likely to kill him to save herself. If he dies, his memories die with him.”

  I swallowed. Crappety crap crap. This was bad. “And you don’t know where they are?” My voice rose an octave. What if he were innocent? Even if he wasn’t, if he disappeared or was murdered, and Olivia had no answers, she’d spend the rest of her life wondering and pining for him. Just like I had for my parents. “We have to find them.”

  “Yes, we do.” Beren put his hand on mine. “And that’s why you’re going to help us find them.”

  “You know I’ll do anything.”

  Beren squeezed my hand. Why was William looking at me like that? Now he was looking at Beren with his cranky face too. I looked down at our hands. Oh. No way! He couldn’t be jealous. There I went, reading into shit again, not to mention we had more important things to deal with. “Do you need me to grab
my camera? What are we doing? Where are we going?”

  James snorted. “One thing at a time, sis. Just dress comfortable, go to the bathroom, then grab your camera gear, plus a warm jacket. We’re going to start with Ernest’s apartment this time, but wherever the information takes us is where we’re going. We don’t have any time to waste. We could be working through the night.”

  “Is Millicent safe by herself?” She was pregnant, which made her a target of those chasing me, although she wasn’t showing, so maybe the bad guys didn’t know yet.

  “She’s staying the night at her parents’.” Phew, that was a relief.

  Angelica spoke. “The rest of you have things to get, so do it now, and I’ll see you back here in ten minutes. Time is of the essence. Let’s go.” She clapped sharply twice, and everyone disappeared. I didn’t think she disappeared them. I was sure they simply had awesome timing. Synchronised witching should totally be in the Olympics.

  I ran upstairs to do everything James said, and I was back down in only eight minutes, ready for action. Angelica was waiting for me. “Everyone’s going to meet us there. Are you ready?”

  “Yep. But is this going to tire you out?”

  “No, Lily. I'm one of the strongest witches around. Besides, if I get tired, someone else can help you jump to the next place, providing we need to. We may end up having to grab a car and doing it the non-witch way. Ready?”

  “Yes.” The black hole opened in front of us, and we stepped through to a grey-carpeted hallway. The halls were painted light yellow. It looked like a common hallway in an apartment building.

  James, William, and Beren were already there, James knocking on a front door. “Open up. Police.” They were allowed to lie? I’d have to ask about that later, but I supposed they couldn’t just announce they were from the PIB.

  No one answered. James nodded. “I’m going in.” He placed his palm and ear against the door. Then he pushed the handle down and opened the door. Nifty. No banging and drawing more attention to themselves, plus no bruised or broken shoulders.

  We all filed in, the guys spreading out with guns drawn. They disappeared further into the apartment. Angelica stayed with me in the open-plan living area. Dark stained timber floors and creamy-coloured walls gave the room a masculine feel. Two plush faux-suede couches in white lined two walls, and a huge TV hung from another wall. The all-white kitchen opened to the living space. There was way too much white in here. I’d have those couches dirty in a nanosecond if they were in my place.

  “All clear,” James confirmed as he returned to the living area. “No sign of a struggle, but all his clothes are gone.”

  My stomach dropped out. “He’s done a runner?”

  James gave me a sympathetic look, probably realising I was thinking of my friend. “I’d say so. It’s not normal to take all your clothes when you go away for a week, is it?”

  “Maybe he didn’t have much here? You know, like, maybe he spent a lot of time at Olivia’s?” I was trying to be positive. I went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Milk, butter, cheese and a bottle of wine confirmed he’d at least been here some of the time. But the food couldn’t tell me when he was coming back. Stupid silent food. “Ah, I have a question. If he’s in because he wants to be, and he knows she’s a witch, if you read his mind, won’t he die?”

  James shook his head. “No, because we’re witches, but if he told Olivia, yes, unless Camilla didn’t swear him in, and who knows, she may not have, but I doubt it. If people find out we exist, there’s sure to be calls for us to be burnt, locked up, or studied. Nothing good can come of it. The select few in government who know have been sworn to secrecy, and it suits them because we help solve crimes, even non-witch ones when they’re desperate.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “Can you take some photos, dear? I’m going to check for magic signatures.” Angelica slowly wandered around the living room, seeking, and James turned and went back down the hallway to where I assumed the bedrooms and bathroom were. I took my camera out of my bag, turned it on, and put the lens cap in my pocket. Time to get down to business.

  I had to be careful what I thought about, because I didn’t want to get any porno shots of Ernest and Camilla, or Ernest and Olivia for that matter. I whispered, “Show me travel tickets,” and focussed on the dining table, then the kitchen benchtops. Nothing. Time to visit the bedrooms. The guest bedroom was set up as a study, with a glass and steel table and black office chair. I concentrated on the table. The neat tabletop remained empty. “Show me confirmed travel details on an electronic device.”

  An open laptop and printer appeared on the table. Ernest sat on the office chair and was leaning over, about to grab a piece of paper that had just popped out of the printer. I snapped the screen and the piece of paper then checked what it was. I zoomed in on the photos on my screen. Damn. The date was from a year and a half ago. I’d keep them, just in case they proved anything else, but they may have been for a getaway with Olivia.

  “Show me the most recent confirmed travel details on paper or electronic device that were made from this apartment.” Nothing appeared, so I made my way to the next bedroom, where Beren was going through a chest of drawers, and William was checking out the contents of a built-in wardrobe. Standing next to the bed, fully clothed—thank goodness—was in-the-past Ernest. He had his mobile phone up to his ear while he looked at a piece of paper. His grin looked too damned happy. I walked over to him and snapped shots of the paper. I tried to get a look at the phone screen, to see who he was talking to, but it was too close to his ear.

  I lowered the camera, switched to play, and zoomed in on the image on the screen. A plane ticket dated today, first class to Paris, but the name on the ticket was Arnauld Frazer. Did Ernest have an alias? If so, which name was really his? The flight had left two hours ago. Time was of the essence, but I needed to ask one question first, and I hoped Camilla’s magic didn’t interfere.

  I stood in the doorway to the bedroom, held my camera up with my eyes shut, and said, “Show me the woman Ernest loves.” Please be Olivia. Please. I didn’t really want to know, but we needed to.

  My heart raced as I opened my eyes. I bit my bottom lip. So that was it then. Camilla straddled Ernest on the bed. Was it hot in here? I resisted the urge to fan myself. That was the second time this month. Maybe I should just buy myself a hand fan.

  Camilla and Ernest were both naked, and you didn’t need a degree in reproduction to know what they were doing. I blushed, then went to the wall at the head of the bed so I could see her face because who knew, maybe Olivia liked to wear blond wigs. But, nope. Camilla’s ecstatic face gazed lovingly down, past her sickeningly perky boobs, at Ernest, or Arnauld, or whoever the hell he was. Arsehole was what he was, and that was going to be my name for him from now on. Bastard.

  I shivered. This was awkward as hell. I felt like a perv, but at least I had the information I needed. I took one photo from the side of the bed, just in case I needed to prove this to Angelica. Lowering the camera, I went to the doorway and called out. “Ma’am. I know where they are. They flew to Paris this morning. Their plane left two hours ago.” Angelica and James hurried into the hallway, and I felt the reassuring presence of Beren and William behind me. “He’s travelling under an alias I think. Here.” I brought up the plane-ticket picture and handed it to Ma’am.

  James looked at the camera over Ma’am’s shoulder. “You’ve done it again, sis. Great work. Looks like we’re off to Paris.”

  I knew it was a case, but oh my God, Paris! I’d always wanted to go. Just thinking about French pastries made my mouth water. “Do I get to come? I mean, is it going to be hard to transport me?”

  “I’ll spot you this time. Just let me lock up first.” James squeezed past Angelica and walked through to the living area.

  “Did anyone find anything else?” Angelica asked.

  “I found this in a secret compartment in the bottom of a drawer.”

  I turned around.
William stood just behind me, to my right. Entirely too close. I could almost feel the heat radiating from him. Yep, it was definitely hot in here. He waved a blue manila folder.

  “Can you just wave that over here for a bit?” I pointed to my face.

  He gave me a you’re-an-idiot look and turned to Angelica. “I haven’t had a chance to look through it all yet, but maybe Ernest wasn’t as gullible as we thought. This looks to be records linking Camilla to some of it.”

  He handed it to Angelica, who leafed through it and smiled. “I think we’ve finally got her on something. I’m sending this to evidence.” It was there, then it wasn’t.

  I sighed. Goodbye fan that never was. What a waste. “Um, there’s something else.” Stupid hot cheeks. I needed to warn them that I thought Ernest was on Camilla’s side willingly. I’m pretty sure it changed how they would approach everything. If he was on her side, maybe he was gone for good, with her. If he wasn’t with her willingly, she would be more likely to off him before we found them. “Scroll to the last photo. I asked the universe to show me who Ernest was in love with.”

  “The universe?” William smirked.

  I folded my arms. “Well, smarty pants, what would you call it? My magic, the magic, the gods, what?” He shrugged. “Wow, great answer. Genius.”

  “Now, now, children, behave. We’re heading off to the city of love. Maybe that’ll make you act in a more charitable manner towards each other.” Beren grinned. We both glared at him.

  “We ready?” James was back in the hallway.

  “Not yet. Lily said there’s one more photo we need to see.” Angelica held up the camera.

  “Well, on second thoughts, maybe you don’t need to see the photo. Just take my word for it. Ernest loves Camilla willingly. I mean, I asked the universe”—I narrowed my eyes at William, daring him to open his mouth—“to show me who Ernest really loved. If she’d influenced him magically, that wouldn’t be his truth, would it?”