by Adele Abbott
“How much is the toll?”
“Forty pence each way.”
“That’s hardly going to break the bank, is it?”
“It’s the principle.”
“What principle? The ‘I’m too tight to pay forty pence’ principle?”
“Auntie Jill! Auntie Jill!” Lizzie came rushing into the room. “We’re going to the seaside tomorrow.”
“Lucky you. Will you be making sandcastles?”
“Yeah, and I’m going to ride on the donkeys. Why don’t you come with us?”
“I can’t. I’m moving into my new house, tomorrow.”
“Can we come and see it?”
“Yeah, but not until we’ve settled in properly.”
The thought of Lizzie and Mikey descending on the new house filled me with dread. The kids were all greasy fingerprints and dirty shoes. I’d just have to keep coming up with excuses to put them off.
“I’m your witness, Lizzie,” Kathy said. “Auntie Jill has promised that you and Mikey can visit her as soon as they’re settled in.”
“Where is Mikey anyway?” I said.
“He’s down at Tom Tom; it’s his drum lesson today.”
“Why aren’t you there with him?”
“Are you kidding me? I value my sanity too much. I drop him off, and then Pete or me picks him up afterwards. Anyway, I seem to remember that you were the one who promised you’d go and listen to him.”
Oh bum! Kathy’s memory was way too good. She was like an elephant.
“And I will, but I’ve been so busy preparing for the move, and I landed a new case only today.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a bit of a weird one.”
“Most of your cases are.”
“Apparently, there have been a number of robberies from jewellers in Washbridge.”
“I haven’t seen anything about that on the news.”
“It’s had precious little coverage.” I laughed. “Precious? Jewellery? Get it?”
Kathy rolled her eyes. My comedic talents were wasted here.
“The weird thing is that the jewellery just disappeared.”
“What do you mean? Jewellery can’t just disappear.”
“It did. One minute the shop owner was showing a customer a display of jewellery, and then ‘poof’, the jewellery had vanished.”
“Are you sure the owner hadn’t been drinking?”
“It’s happened to this particular shop three times, and it’s happened to several other shops. It’s a real mystery.”
“Why did they contact you?”
“Why do you think? Because I’m Washbridge’s foremost private investigator, of course.”
“And the cheapest.”
“Who are you calling cheap? I’m not cheap; I’m competitive.”
Kathy made us both a cup of tea.
“Any custard creams?” I said, more in hope than expectation.
“Yes. And no.”
“What does that mean?”
“They didn’t have the brand you like, so I had to buy the—err—competitive ones.”
“You can’t expect me to eat those cheap imitations.”
“They’re all I’ve got. Take them or leave them.”
“Go on, then.”
The sacrifices I had to make.
“How’s Jack settling into his new job?”
“He’s not over fond of the commute, but he says the people are okay, and they seem to be better organised than in Washbridge. It’s not like anyone forced him to transfer over there.”
“Come on, Jill. What choice did he have? How could he stay here when you and he are living together, and you get involved with at least half of the cases he’s working on?”
“It’s not as though I ever got in his way or caused him any problems.”
“You were always stepping on his toes. He did the right thing. At least this way, he can focus on his work without having to worry that you’re going to embarrass him at any moment.”
“I’ve never embarrassed him.”
“Okay, if you say so. Anyway, what about Jack’s successor here in Washbridge? Have you met him yet?”
“No. It’s only a month since Jack transferred. Since then, a couple of people have stood in for him. According to Jack, his permanent replacement starts next Monday.”
“What’s he like, do you know?”
“Jack doesn’t know anything about him apart from his name: Lee O’Reilly. Jack left him a note specifically about me—explaining who I am, and my relationship with Jack. He’s asked him to cut me a bit of slack, so hopefully that will mean things are a bit easier with this new guy than they were with Jack when he first arrived. What about you? How are things at Ever?”
“Busy. Really busy. Ever since Best Wool closed down, things have been crazy. All the people who’d taken out subscriptions for Never-ending Wool are now swapping to Everlasting Wool. And, never one to miss a trick, your grandmother has offered a twenty percent discount to all those who can show that they had a subscription for Never-ending Wool.”
“Miles Best was such a fool. He really had me convinced that he’d changed.”
“He had everyone fooled. Even your grandmother for a while.”
“Yeah, but she soon shut him down when he tried to double-cross her. He came crawling to me again, you know. He had the audacity to ask me to have another word with Grandma. I told him to sling his hook. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? I don’t think so. What’s happened to his shop, anyway?”
“It’s all boarded up now. That’s probably the last we’ll see of Miles Best.”
Little did Kathy know that Miles and his girlfriend, Mindy, were still plying their trade in Candlefield. Their cake shop and tea room, Best Cakes, was located directly opposite the twins’ shop, Cuppy C. For a while, he’d pretended to turn over a new leaf, and had been ultra-friendly towards Grandma, the twins and me. But it hadn’t taken long for him to reveal his true colours. When he did, Grandma had easily got the better of him, and kicked him out of Washbridge. Since then, he’d turned his anger towards the twins. They’d have to be on their guard because he no doubt had more audacious plans up his sleeve.
Just then, Peter arrived home. “Hi Jill, are you here for dinner, again?”
“No, I can’t stay. I have things to organise.”
“Oh yes, it’s your big day tomorrow, isn’t it?”
I sighed.
“You’re not allowed to call it that,” Kathy said. “According to Jill, it isn’t a ‘big day’.”
“But aren’t you moving into your new house?” he said.
“Yep.”
“You could try to look a little more excited about it.”
“I’ll be happy once we’re in there. I could just do without the hassle of the move.”
“You should know by now, Pete.” Kathy chimed in. “Jill is allergic to anything which smacks of hard work.”
“That’s not true.” I objected.
“What about Jack? Is he excited?” Peter said.
“Oh, yeah. He’s excited enough for both of us. I’ll just be relieved to get out of that poky little flat of his, and to get my furniture out of storage and into the new house.”
“What about Jack’s furniture?”
“What about it? If it was up to me, it would go in a skip. Or on a bonfire. Most of it is rubbish anyway.”
“Does he know that?”
“Not yet.”
“Can I come and watch you tell him?” Peter grinned.
“No, you can’t. Anyway, Kathy was telling me you’ve taken on another employee.”
“Yeah, I struck really lucky. I found another guy with tons of experience who was out of work. His name is Sebastian.”
No! It couldn’t be. Surely not.
“He’s a really good looking guy. If you weren’t already with Jack, I’d put in a good word for you.”
Oh boy. I deliberately hadn’t told the twins that Jethro was working in
Washbridge. If they found out that both he and Sebastian were here, I’d never hear the end of it.
Talking of the twins, I’d promised to go to Aunt Lucy’s for dinner, so I made my excuses to Kathy and Peter. Once I was outside the house, and was sure no one was around, I magicked myself over to Candlefield.
Chapter 3
“Jill! How lovely to see you.” Aunt Lucy gave me a big hug. “Isn’t it your big day tomorrow?”
Apparently.
“You and Jack must be really excited about moving into the new house.”
“I’ll just be glad when we’re in.”
“I hope you’ll let us come over to see the new place once you’re settled.”
“I suppose so. It’s just difficult, you know, what with Jack not knowing that I’m a witch.”
“But he does know about us, doesn’t he?”
“He knows I have ‘another’ family. He keeps saying he’d like to meet you all.”
“What’s the problem, then? Why not have a housewarming party? You could invite me, Lester, Grandma, the twins and their husbands over.”
Husbands? I still couldn’t get my head around the idea that the twins were now married.
“It would be lovely.” Aunt Lucy beamed.
“Lovely, yeah. I’ll see what I can arrange.”
Never. Going. To. Happen.
I know that sounds mean, but Aunt Lucy didn’t realise how difficult my situation was. Let’s say I did have them all over. What did I say to Jack when he asked if we could pay a return visit to them? I’d long since come to the conclusion that I needed to keep Jack and my Candlefield family apart.
“Where are Lester and the twins, Aunt Lucy?”
“Lester has to work late; he won’t be able to join us for dinner, I’m afraid. But the twins should be here any minute.”
“Are the guys coming with them?”
“I think so. The girls said Alan and William would be making their own way here straight from work.”
“How are the twins settling into their new homes?”
“Haven’t you been over to see them yet?”
“Not yet. To be fair, they have both invited me, but I’ve been rather busy. What about the rooms above Cuppy C? Have they managed to rent them out?”
“The girls have advertised them in The Candle, but I don’t know if they’ve had any response yet. Are you keeping your room on there?”
“Definitely. It’s handy to have a base here in Candlefield even if I don’t use it very often. I suppose I should offer the twins some rent money now. I don’t get the chance to help out in Cuppy C much these days.”
“You could offer, but I doubt they’d take anything from you.”
“Thanks again for taking Barry and Hamlet in. I didn’t like to leave them above Cuppy C once the twins had moved out. I’m not sure the new tenants would have approved.”
“No problem. It’s doing me good to have a dog in the house; it means I get plenty of exercise.”
Just then, the twins arrived. “Jill! Hi!” Amber shouted.
“Hiya, Jill!” Pearl followed her sister into the room. “It’s your big day tomorrow, isn’t it?”
Sheesh!
A few minutes after the twins had arrived, Alan and William turned up. William was his usual happy self. He shouted hello, and went over to join Amber. Alan, though, seemed rather subdued.
Ten minutes later, everyone was chatting when Alan tapped me on the shoulder.
“Jill, do you think I could have a quiet word in the kitchen?”
“Yeah, of course.” I followed him through. “Is everything okay?”
“Two vampire friends of mine have been taken ill in the last week. One of them is still in hospital.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“The thing is, I think someone poisoned them.”
“Deliberately?”
“Yes.”
“What do the police say?”
“Nothing. Everyone is trying to make out it’s some kind of virus.”
“What makes you think it’s not.”
“They’re both players in my BoundBall team. I think someone is trying to nobble our team ahead of the big match.”
“What match is that?”
“It’s the top of the league clash. First and second place in the league play one another next. Whichever team wins is guaranteed to finish top of the league.”
“If it’s poison, why haven’t the medical authorities notified the police?”
“I don’t know. It’s like there’s some kind of conspiracy to cover it up. I didn’t know who else to turn to. Do you have time to see if you can find out what’s happening?”
“Sure. Leave it with me, and I’ll see what I can dig up. Try not to worry about it.”
“Easier said than done.”
“I know. What does Pearl think about it?”
“She doesn’t know, and I’d prefer to keep it that way. She’d only worry that I might be next.”
“I understand. I won’t say anything to her. Why don’t you go back in there and try to enjoy dinner?”
“Okay, I’ll do my best. Thanks, Jill.”
While we’d been out of the room, there’d been a new arrival. Grandma was seated at the head of the table, and I could tell by the look on Aunt Lucy’s face that she hadn’t been expecting her.
“How much longer is dinner going to be?” Grandma grumbled.
“About five minutes, Mother. Surely even you’ve got enough patience to wait another five minutes.”
“It had better be worth waiting for. I’m starving. What is it, anyway?”
“A nice roast chicken.”
“Chicken? I had chicken the last time I was here.”
“Well you’ve got it again. Now pour yourself a drink and be quiet.”
“The way kids talk to their parents these days.” Grandma tutted. “It’s terrible.”
Fifteen minutes later, we were all tucking into dinner; it was doubly delicious. I wish I could make gravy like Aunt Lucy. It was such a shame that Jack could never join one of these family dinners. It was becoming more and more frustrating that I wasn’t able to tell him about my life in Candlefield. Whenever he asked about my birth family, I either had to change the subject, or even resort to the ‘forget’ spell. I hated using magic on Jack, but what choice did I have?
“Have you come to your senses yet, Jill?” Grandma said, when we’d all finished the main course, and were waiting for Aunt Lucy to serve dessert.
“Sorry?”
“I asked if you’d come to your senses yet?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Grandma.”
“I’m talking about the fact that you’re still on level four when you could be on level seven.”
“Do we really have to go through this all over again?”
“Mother,” Aunt Lucy shouted. “I warned you about bringing this up.”
“Well someone has to. The new level was introduced especially for her at the EGM, but then she refused to accept promotion to level seven.”
“We’re all aware of what happened,” Aunt Lucy said. “It was well documented in the press at the time, and goodness knows, you bring it up at every possible opportunity.”
“It bears repeating. Why would anybody refuse the opportunity to be recognised as the most powerful witch in Candlefield?”
“I’ve explained my reasons,” I said. “A thousand times. Like I said at the EGM, I was honoured that the level six witches thought me worthy of being the first level seven witch, but I don’t feel worthy.”
“But you’re the most powerful witch in Candlefield, girl. What else would it take to make you feel worthy?”
“I may or may not be the most powerful witch; I don’t know. But that isn’t the point.”
“What is the point, then? Do enlighten us.”
“I may have the power, but I don’t yet have the experience, and I need that in order to use the power wisely.”
Gr
andma sighed. “That same old story again?”
“It isn’t a story, Grandma. I’d prefer to work my way through the levels like everyone else. Unless, of course, I was to win the Levels competition.”
“You can’t win it if you don’t even enter it.”
“I’ve explained a thousand times why I didn’t enter any competitions last year. So much had happened to me in such a short period of time, that I needed a break to regroup.”
“You sound like a bad corporate training video. Will you be entering the Levels competition this year, or will you still be too busy regrouping?”
“I will be entering it.”
“And if you win, will you take the promotion to level seven?”
“No, I won’t. The Levels competition should stay the same. The winner should still become a level six witch. I’ll only consider moving to level seven when I’m sure I have enough experience to do justice to that position.”
“You’re impossible.” Grandma banged her knife and fork down onto the table. “How do you think this makes me look?”
“Why should it affect you?”
“I was the one who pushed for level seven in the first place.”
“Yes, but that was at the AGM. That motion was defeated, so the introduction of level seven is not down to you. Every level six witch at the latest EGM voted for the change. Except for Ma Chivers, that is.”
“What good is introducing level seven, if there isn’t a level seven witch?”
“There will be one eventually. Whether or not it turns out to be me is an altogether different matter.”
“Who else would it be?”
“You?”
“Me?” Grandma sounded exasperated. “I have no desire to move to another level at my age. I’m perfectly happy being where I am.”
“Okay, that’s enough talk of the Levels.” Aunt Lucy was handing out dessert. “It’s time for pudding.”
The toffee pudding was delicious, and thankfully seemed to take Grandma’s mind off the subject of me becoming the first level seven witch. Ever since the EGM, I’d had to field questions as to why I’d turned down the opportunity. I always answered in the same way. Power alone was not enough; I needed experience too. The majority of level six witches had respected and accepted my reasoning. Unfortunately, Grandma hadn’t.