by Adele Abbott
I’d obviously made him jump because he backed away, and bared his teeth.
“You have to change back to human form before someone sees you.”
The wolf didn’t move for the longest moment, but then shifted into human form. The young boy grabbed the clothes that he’d obviously discarded earlier.
“Get dressed, quickly.” I turned my back on him while he did. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve lost my dad.”
“Where did you last see him?”
“I don’t know.” He looked around. “It was a long way away. In a town. I went to look in a shop, but he’d gone when I came out. I couldn’t find him anywhere.”
“How did you end up here?”
“I just ran and ran. I thought if I ran far enough I might get back home.”
“Do you live in Washbridge?”
“No, in Candlefield. This is my first trip to the human world. It’s a bit scary.”
“You’re not afraid of me, are you?”
“No.” He didn’t look too sure. “You’re a witch, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. You can’t stay here. It’s too dangerous. You’d better come back to my house, and we’ll find your dad in the morning.”
“Okay.”
“What’s your name?”
“Conrad.”
“Look, Conrad, there’s something you need to know. The man I live with, Jack, is a human. He doesn’t know I’m a witch, and he mustn’t know you’re a werewolf.”
The boy nodded.
“No shifting. Understood?”
“Okay.”
“Look who I’ve found.” I was back in the house. Conrad was holding my hand.
“Who’s this?” Jack gave me a quizzical look.
“I found him wandering the streets. He’s lost his dad.”
“Oh dear. Don’t worry, young man. I’m a policeman. I’ll call my colleagues, and they’ll—”
“No!” I snapped. “That’s not necessary.”
“Why ever not? His parents will be crazy with worry.”
“I’ve spoken to them already,” I lied. “I told them he’s safe. His father is going to come and collect him in the morning.”
“And they were okay with that?”
“Yeah. They were just relieved to know he’s alright.”
“Fair enough.”
“He can sleep on the sofa, but first I’ll make him something to eat. He must be starving.”
After Conrad had finished his supper, Jack and I decided to call it a day. Jack went up first.
“Will you be okay down here?” I put a blanket over the young boy.
“Yes, thanks. Have you really spoken to my dad?”
“No, but I didn’t want Jack to call the police. Don’t worry, we’ll find your dad first thing tomorrow. Now, try to get some sleep.”
“Okay. Goodnight.”
Chapter 22
It had taken me a while to get off to sleep because I’d half expected Conrad to call out, but he’d been as quiet as a lamb, or at least a lamb in wolf’s clothing.
“Do you think we should go down and check on him?” Jack nudged me awake the next morning.
“Leave me alone. I’m asleep.”
“It’s gone seven.”
“Already? Are you sure?”
“Yes. Come on. What time did his dad say he was coming to collect him?”
“He couldn’t get here until after nine. You go to work as normal. I’ll wait in for him to arrive.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind waiting with you.”
“That’s not necessary. And besides, you said you had a lot on. I’ll be fine.”
I led the way downstairs. There was no sign of Conrad on the sofa, but then I spotted him curled up under the table.
In wolf form.
“Wait there!” I slammed the lounge door in Jack’s face.
“Jill? What’s going on?” Jack shouted.
“Nothing. If Conrad wakes up and finds you looking down at him, he might be scared.” I turned to the young wolf. “Conrad! Wake up! Conrad!”
“Why would he be scared of me?” Jack tried to push the door open, but I’d cast the ‘power’ spell so I was able to keep it closed.
“You haven’t had a shave. You look scary with your stubble.” I managed to tap the wolf with my foot. “Conrad! Wake up!”
The wolf stirred, and got to his feet.
“You have to shift back into human form,” I said, in a hushed voice.
Jack pushed at the door again.
As soon as Conrad had shifted back into human form, and put on his clothes, I let Jack in.
“What was that all about?” Jack gave me a puzzled look.
“Conrad was a little disorientated when he woke up, but he’s okay now, aren’t you?”
The young boy nodded.
“Would you like some breakfast?”
Before the boy could answer, there was a loud knock at the door.
“Who’s that at this time?” Jack started for the door.
“Wait!” I had a horrible feeling I knew who it would be, but I was too slow to stop Jack.
The man at the door was an enormous werewolf, in human form. “You’ve taken my son, human!”
Oh bum!
“I didn’t think you were coming until after nine,” Jack said.
“I’m going to tear your throat out.” The man reached out to grab Jack.
I had to act quickly, so I used the ‘faster’ spell to get between Jack and his assailant. After casting a ‘freeze’ spell on Jack, I cast the ‘power’ spell to allow me to hold back the werewolf.
“Get out of my way!” He growled.
“Wait! Conrad is safe.”
“Why did this human take him?”
“No one took him. He was lost. I found him in the fields behind our house. Where were you? Why did you leave him alone?”
“I didn’t. I turned my back for a few seconds, and he’d gone. I’ve been tracking him all night. Is he really okay?”
“He’s fine. Come through—he’s in here.”
“Conrad!” He picked up the boy and held him tight. “Why did you wander off? I’ve been really worried.”
“Sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re okay, that’s all I care about.”
The werewolf’s name was Simon Small (ironic, I know). He refused my offer of a cup of tea because he wanted to get his son back to Candlefield.
“Thank you again,” he said, as they were leaving. “And I’m sorry for what I said to the human.”
“That’s okay. I’ll sort it.”
I reversed the ‘freeze’ spell, and quickly cast the ‘forget’ spell.
“Where’s the boy gone?” Jack looked around.
“His dad came early to collect him.”
“He did? How come I didn’t see him?”
“You were in the loo.”
“Oh? Right. I must still be half asleep.”
***
Jules was knitting a hat/sock/something unrecognisable.
“Morning, Jill. The weirdest thing happened last night. You’ll never guess what.”
“A werewolf slept on your sofa?”
“Huh? No. I found a lipstick that I lost last year.”
“That is weird.”
“I rang Gilbert to tell him.”
“Right.”
“He thought it was weird too.”
But not half as weird as this conversation.
“Hey, Jill, did you know they’re making a zombie movie, right here in Washbridge?”
“I did hear something about it.”
“It’s great, isn’t it? I love zombie movies, even though they make me jump. I can’t wait to see it.”
“You might be waiting a while. I hear they ran into some difficulties.”
The office always seemed empty when Winky wasn’t there. He might have driven me insane most of the time, but I kind of missed him in a sort of mas
ochistic way.
“Jill? Why are you stooping down like that?” Jules had followed me into my office.
“Err—I—err dropped something.” I could hardly tell her that I was trying to avoid being seen by the cat from across the way, could I?
“What did you drop? I’ll help you look for it.”
“It was a—err—paperclip.”
“I’ve got plenty more in my desk.”
“It’s my favourite one.”
“You have a favourite paperclip?”
“Was there something you wanted, Jules?”
“I was wondering if I could have a day’s holiday on Wednesday next week?”
“Couldn’t you just swap days with Mrs V?”
“I’ll ask her, but she seems rather busy with that wheelie mealie thing.”
“Did you want to do something in particular next Wednesday?”
“Me and Gilbert are going on the BP Getaway.”
“BP?”
“Black Pudding. It’s where I used to work, remember?”
“Of course.” How could I forget?
“I’m still in touch with the people there. They have a Getaway Day every year. It’s Skegness this year.”
“Okay. Well, if Mrs V can’t swap, you can still take the day off.”
“Thanks, Jill. I’ll bring you back a stick of rock.”
I spent the best part of the next hour going over all my notes on the Dale Thomas death. Had Robert Lane been having an affair with Dale’s wife? I only had Philip Thomas’s word for that. If it was true, it might have given one or both of them a motive to get rid of Dale. All of that seemed irrelevant, though, because Gerry Southland had been adamant that Dale had been conscious and in good health when he’d jumped from the plane.
I reread the notes I’d made after speaking to Jake Hanby, the young boy who lived at the farmhouse close to the drop site. He’d said he hadn’t seen the fall, but he had seen two skydivers land safely. I hadn’t thought much of it at the time because I’d assumed he must have seen two other skydivers. But, before I told Carver that there was no evidence of foul play, I decided to have another chat with the young boy—just to be sure.
Before I went to speak to Jake, I wanted to look through the recording that I’d made of the QC department at Elf Washing Machines. The camera, which I’d hidden there, was saving images to the ‘cloud’, which I could access directly from my computer.
Come on, be honest. You’re impressed with my computer savvy, aren’t you? Oh, alright, I admit it. I paid someone to set it up, so all I had to do was plant the camera.
I fast forwarded through hours of footage, which was almost as boring as Celebrity Candle Makers. There was nothing to see. Every washing machine went through the same thorough checks, and was then sealed ready for shipment. The only people captured on the footage were Jimmy Underlake and his staff.
Another dead end.
Both of the cases I was working on were headed nowhere fast.
“Jill!” Jules stepped into my office, and pulled the door closed behind her. “There’s a young woman who’d like to see you.”
I’d been about to go and see Jake Hanby, but a few more minutes wouldn’t make any difference.
“Okay. Show her in, would you?”
“There’s something I should warn you about.”
“What’s that?”
“Her hat. It’s strange—really strange.”
“Okay, thanks. Consider me forewarned.”
The woman’s hat was indeed strange, but I knew why she was wearing it. She was an elf, and the hat was to hide her ears, which were a bit of a giveaway in the human world.
“Thanks for seeing me. I’m Lola Bodmore.” She took a seat, and then removed her hat. “I’m glad to get that off. My ears are burning.”
“What can I do for you, Lola?”
“I believe you’re investigating the problems over at Elf Washing Machines?”
“I am, yes.”
“I work there in R&D. I’ve been there for six years now.”
“Do you know what’s been causing the issues with the washing machines?”
“No, I don’t.”
“So, why are you here?”
“I’m worried about Bob Binns. He and I started at Elf around the same time. I’m concerned that he may end up carrying the can for this.”
“Are you saying he may be responsible for the damage?”
“Good gracious, no. He would never do anything like that. Bob has more integrity than anyone I know. I just think he’ll be blamed because these problems started on his watch.”
“I see.”
“Did you know that Jimmy Underlake was passed over for the position of factory manager?”
“I didn’t.”
“Jimmy has been there much longer, but Archie thought Bob was the better candidate. And he was right. Jimmy is too full of himself.”
“Are you suggesting that Underlake may be behind this? That he’s trying to get Bob Binns sacked?”
“I have no proof, but yes.”
“It isn’t much to go on.”
“I know.” She stood up, and put on her hat. “I’m sorry if I’ve wasted your time. I just felt I had to try to help Bob.”
***
I’d expected to have to go to the farmhouse to talk to Jake Hanby, but I found him sitting on the same wooden fence as before.
“Hi!” I called to him. “Watching for skydivers, again?”
“Yeah. There haven’t been any today, though.”
I climbed onto the fence next to him.
“When I spoke to you last time, you mentioned that you saw two skydivers land on the day of the accident.”
“Yeah, I did.”
“How many others did you see jump that day?”
“They were the only ones.”
“Maybe there were some other skydivers before you came out or after you went back home.”
“There weren’t.”
“You seem very sure.”
“I am. I came out as soon as it was light, and I brought a packed lunch with me so I didn’t have to go back to the house. When I needed to—err—you know—I went behind that tree. I didn’t go back home until it was starting to go dark. They never jump after dark.”
“I believe you, but isn’t it possible that you only saw one parachute open?”
“No!” He looked most indignant. “I know how to count to two!”
“Sorry, yes, of course. Just so I’m absolutely clear, that was the only aeroplane that came over that day?”
“I didn’t say that. I said there weren’t any more skydivers.”
“But there was another plane?”
“Yeah.”
“Was that before or after the one with the skydivers in it?”
“Before. It was really early—it was only just light. I heard it go over, and had to hurry out of the house to see it.”
“And did you?”
“Yeah. In the distance.”
“But there were no skydivers?”
“No, or I would have seen their parachutes.”
“Had you seen that plane before?”
“Yeah. Lots of times. But there’s always been jumpers before.”
“Can you describe that first plane? What colour was it?”
“White with a purple tail.”
Chapter 23
For the first time since I’d started work on the Thomas case, I had a lead, or at least the makings of one. To confirm my suspicions, I wanted to speak to Gerry Southland again. Before I did, I needed to get hold of the photograph that Alan Carver had shown me when he’d first visited my offices. I called him, and asked him to email me a copy. He pressed me to tell him why I wanted it, but I managed to stall him with a promise that I’d update him as soon as I could.
“Hello, again,” Gerry Southland was cleaning his plane with a jet wash. “Whoops, sorry!”
When he’d turned around to greet me, he’d failed to switch off the jet wash
straight away; I was soaked to the skin.
“That’s okay. I’ll dry.” Eventually.
“Are you still investigating the Thomas death?”
“Just clearing up a few loose ends before I report back. Would you take a quick look at this photograph?” I took out my phone, and pulled up the photo which Carver had sent to me. “Can you confirm that these are the two people that you took skydiving that day?”
Gerry took my phone, and studied the image. “Yeah. That’s Mrs Thomas, and that guy is Mr Thomas.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Positive. Why?”
“No reason.” I took my phone back. “I just wanted to be absolutely sure.”
***
I was now convinced that Dale Thomas’s death had not been an accident or suicide. He had been murdered, but proving it wasn’t going to be easy. What I needed was a confession, but to get that I was going to have to resort to magic.
Once I was outside of Lesley Thomas’s front door, I used a burner phone to make an anonymous call to Washbridge police station. The officer who took the call asked several times for my name, but I ignored him, and insisted he passed the message to Leo Riley straight away. The clock was now running, so this had to work, or I would be in deep doo doo.
I cast the ‘doppelganger’ spell, and knocked on the door.
“Dale?” Lesley screamed, and her legs buckled, but I managed to catch her before she hit the deck.
“Let me help you inside, my sweet.” I put her arm over my shoulder, pushed the door closed with my foot, and then led her into the lounge, where I lowered her gently onto the sofa.
Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was open, but she didn’t speak for several minutes. Eventually, she managed, “Dale?”
“Surprised to see me, dear?”
“It can’t be you.”
“I’m pretty sure it is.”
“This is a dream.” She began to cry. “It’s just a bad dream.”
I touched her hand. “Does that feel like a dream?”
She pulled her hand away. “Go away! Go away!”
“Not until you tell me why you did it.”
“It wasn’t my idea. It was Bob’s.”
“But you went along with it?”