Murder Of A Werewolf (A Brimstone Witch Mystery Book 1)

by Fernsby, April

  I looked in Flint and Anju’s direction as they departed the square. “For all we know, it could have been Flint who attacked Gran just for the fun of it.”

  “That’s true. What should we do now?”

  I considered the matter for a moment and then said, “Let’s go back home and check on Gran. I want to make sure she’s okay, and it’ll give me the chance to fill her in on my conversation with Anju.”

  We made our way back to the cellar door, checking on the butterfly tree as we went. The butterflies were still in their unmoving state.

  We found Gran in the kitchen. Or more correctly, she was floating inches from the kitchen ceiling.

  I put my hands on my hips and stared up at her. “Gran, what are you doing up there?”

  Gran gave us a cheery smile and said, “I took a tad too much of the levitation potion.”

  “Do you want me to get you down? If I stand on a chair, I can grab your ankles.”

  Gran flapped a yellow duster at me. “Not just yet, thank you. This gives me the perfect opportunity to get to those hard to reach places.” She made a swimming motion with her arms and headed over towards the corner of the room. She dabbed away at a spider’s web with her duster.

  I shook my head at her. “How long have you been up there? Are you in pain?”

  Gran looked down at us. “I’m not in any pain at all. I feel as if I’m floating on air.” She chuckled. “That’s exactly what I am doing. It’s great fun. Tell me about your investigation while I finish cleaning the ceiling.”

  I took a seat at the kitchen table and started to tell Gran about my conversation with Anju. It’s very peculiar to have a conversation with an elderly woman who’s floating around the ceiling cleaning up cobwebs. But I managed.

  Gran made tutting noises as I told her about Flint turning up. She said, “That werewolf needs taking down a peg or two. I’ll be having a word with Strom about him as soon as I’m able to. I always suspected Anju had something to do with Gregor’s attack on Jonathan’s family. Whenever Gregor was mentioned, she always had a guilty look on her face. Poor girl. It must be a heavy burden that she’s carrying around. I met Jonathan a few times, and he was the decent sort, so I can understand how he would have forgiven Anju’s part in the attack on his family.”

  Stanley jumped onto my lap and settled himself down. He reminded me about the butterfly incident. I told Gran that the butterflies had returned, and the feelings that had come over me as I touched the tree.

  Gran descended a few inches and gave me a concerned look. “The butterflies never close their wings like that. That’s most unusual. And those feelings you describe are extremely worrying. Did you speak to Blythe about it?”

  I shook my head. “She wasn’t in. Brin wasn’t in either.”

  Gran descended another inch. “Not in? That is beyond peculiar. That never happens. If Blythe isn’t available to see people, Brin is always there to do so. Something very weird is going on in Brimstone.”

  “Gran, do you want me to pull you down now?”

  “Not yet. I can get to the top of the cupboards from this height. I know who you should speak to next. You should speak to Mrs Merryweather.”

  “Mrs Merryweather? She sounds like a nice person.”

  Oliver took that moment to walk in and join in with our conversation. “Mrs Merryweather? She’s a gossipy goblin who can’t keep her pointy nose out of other people’s business.”

  Gran added, “Which makes her the perfect one to talk to. Everyone tells Mrs Merryweather their problems or concerns, whether they want to or not.”

  “What do you mean by that?” I asked. “Does she have magical abilities?”

  Oliver made a snorting noise. “She wishes. No, she’s just a nosy old so-and-so who lives her life through other people. Good luck talking to her. You’ll need it.”

  Gran gave Oliver sharp look. “Just because you’ve had a bad experience with Mrs Merryweather doesn’t mean that Cassia will.”

  Gran turned her attention to me. “Although, try not to spend more than five or ten minutes with Mrs Merryweather or you’ll regret it.”

  I shifted in my chair. “What do you mean by that?”

  Gran descended a few more inches and gave me a big smile. “You’ll soon see. It’s all good experience for you, Cassia. Go and see her right now. There’s no time like the present.”

  I stroked Stanley’s head and said to him, “Well? Do you want come with me to see a gossipy goblin?”

  Stanley nodded. “Anywhere you go, I’ll be right at your side.”

  Chapter 22

  With Gran’s directions, Stanley and I returned to Brimstone and made our way to the forest to find Mrs Merryweather’s cottage. According to Gran, the cottage wasn’t far from the oak tree where Jonathan Tidewell had died. As I’d already visited the tree before, it didn’t take us long to find the cottage.

  My heart lifted at the sight of the cottage. It was a charming building with a thatched roof and straw-coloured walls. There were roses blooming up and around the front door. It was the perfect cottage.

  I tensed when I saw the creature standing at the front door. She wasn’t at all charming. All her features were angular, from her long, pointed nose to her sharp chin. Even her ears were long, thin and pointy. She was wearing a floral dress which had a handkerchief-style hem with points aimed towards the stone path she was standing on.

  With a tremor in his voice, Stanley said, “Is that Mrs Merryweather? I don’t like the look of her. Are you sure we’ve got the right place? I can’t imagine anyone telling their secrets to someone who looks that menacing.”

  “This is the only cottage around here, so it must be Mrs Merryweather’s. I don’t like the look of her either, but we have to talk to her.”

  Tentatively, we walked down the path and towards the goblin who was watching us with beady, calculating eyes.

  My hand shook somewhat as I raised it in greeting, and I said, “Mrs Merryweather?”

  The goblin nodded and gave us a smile. All of a sudden, her sharp angular features softened and were replaced by the most jovial-looking face I’d ever seen. Her eyes were warm and her tone welcoming as she said, “Yes, that’s me. Hello there, Cassia dear. And hello to you too, Stanley. It’s an absolute pleasure to see you both. How kind you are to come and pay me a visit this lovely day. Come closer so I can get a good look at you both.”

  We didn’t hesitate in moving closer, and when we came to a stop in front of Mrs Merryweather, she gave us loving looks as if we were the most important beings in the world. A warm feeling travelled all the way down my body as if someone had tipped hot chocolate down me.

  Mrs Merryweather was about a foot smaller than me, and as she looked up into my eyes the love I felt coming from her intensified. She put her hand under my chin and said, “Cassia, tell me how you are. This must be a very difficult time for you; you’ve suddenly found yourself with a great deal of responsibility. How are you feeling about it all? Remembering you’re a witch must have taken its toll on you. Tell me everything you’re thinking and feeling.”

  I couldn’t take my gaze away from her kind, probing eyes. I said, “It’s okay. It’s a bit of a shock, and I’m still coming to terms with it. But I know I can deal with being a witch, and with my new responsibilities. Although, I feel as if I – ” I abruptly stopped. I wasn’t here to talk about myself.

  Mrs Merryweather nodded in understanding and released my chin. She said, “You can tell me more about it inside. Now, let me talk to this beautiful cat at your side.” She hunkered down and gave her full attention to Stanley. He immediately purred.

  “Now then, Stanley,” Mrs Merryweather began. “How are you doing? I can see you’ve been through a very stressful time, and that you’ve done a wonderful job of keeping Cassia company all these years. That must have been such a strain on you considering that you’ve known all along she was a witch, and a clever witch at that. What a huge responsibility on such little shoulders. How do you fe
el about it all?”

  Stanley purred again before saying, “It has been a very difficult time, and I’ve been tempted to talk to Cassia on many occasions. I’ve done my best, but I feel as if I’ve let her down.” He shook his head sorrowfully and added, “I’ve spent many a restless night worrying about her.”

  Mrs Merryweather nodded in understanding. “You’ve been such a brave cat, Stanley. And now you’ve got to be even braver. How do you feel about that?”

  I thought back to Gran and Oliver’s comments about Mrs Merryweather, and I could now understand why people would tell her all their problems. She had a very accommodating manner about her, and she gave the impression of having all the time in the world to listen to your woes. While that was quite tempting, we didn’t have time for it.

  Mrs Merryweather hadn’t finished with Stanley yet, and she went on, “I spoke to your brother, Oliver, recently. He’s been very worried about you, and he’s had many restless nights too. It took him a while to open up to me, but when he did, he told me about his concerns for himself, you and the future of witchcraft. Your brother worries an awful lot. I think another chat with me might help him. You must tell him to come and see me again soon.”

  “I will.”

  Mrs Merryweather put her hand on top of Stanley’s head. “You look as if you haven’t been taking care of your own needs. Tell me about that.”

  Before Stanley could reply, I said to Mrs Merryweather, “I’m sorry, but we don’t have time to chat about ourselves. We’re here to talk about Jonathan Tidewell. My gran seems to think you might be able to help us.”

  Mrs Merryweather straightened up and gave me a warm smile. “Yes, Esther is right, of course. I can tell you about Jonathan.” She moved over to the front door and pushed it open. “Please, do come inside and take a seat in the kitchen. I’ve just made some chocolate chip cookies, and there’s a pan of hot chocolate simmering on the stove. I’ve got some delicious double cream for you, Stanley, if you would like some?”

  Stanley purred once again. I’d never heard him purr so many times in a day. In fact, I hadn’t heard him purr much since we moved into our apartment. That ever ready guilt over Stanley prodded me again.

  Mrs Merryweather had already gone through the open door, so we had no option but to follow her. As soon as we stepped into her house, the tantalising aroma of freshly baked cookies tickled my nose. We followed the smell and headed down the hallway and into the lovely open kitchen.

  Mrs Merryweather invited me to take a seat at the kitchen table. She placed a cushion on the floor for Stanley to put his bottom on. In front of the cushion was a bowl of cream. Stanley was lapping it up before I’d even sat down. Mrs Merryweather brought me a huge mug of hot chocolate which had been topped with whipped cream and sprinkles of chocolate. As if that wasn’t enough, she placed a plate with cookies right in front of me. It would have been impolite of me to refuse so I immediately picked a cookie up and bit into it. They were just as delicious as they smelled.

  Mrs Merryweather sat herself down opposite me and placed her hands on the table. She said, “Cassia, you enjoy your snack while I tell you what I know about Jonathan.”

  She didn’t need to tell me twice. I pulled the hot chocolate towards me and scooped some of the whipped cream up using the spoon which Mrs Merryweather had thoughtfully placed at the side of the mug.

  Mrs Merryweather said, “Jonathan Tidewell was a lovely man. Always softly spoken and extremely thoughtful. He wasn’t like any of the other werewolves at all. I wasn’t sure about him at first when he offered to do odd jobs for me around the house and garden, but I took stock of him, and I could see he was honest and trustworthy. He didn’t prove me wrong, and I could always rely on him to do a good job around here. At first, I got the impression he wanted to kept busy so he could spend time away from his pack. Despite saying he had accepted his changed circumstances, I sensed it was difficult for him to completely accept it. Well, it would be for anyone, wouldn’t it? To suddenly find yourself a werewolf, and your family slain, is not an easy thing to accept.”

  I nodded in agreement, and then scooped more of the delicious whipped cream into my mouth.

  “Jonathan made the best out of every situation, and it wasn’t long before I could see his happiness was genuine. We had many chats in this kitchen, and he told me about his increasing fondness for Anju. That fondness soon turned into love, and he was over the moon with delight.” She let out a little chuckle and continued, “If that’s the right expression to use for a werewolf. He was beaming with joy when he told me about their engagement. He said he was finally putting his past behind him and he was ready to move on with his life. I was so happy for him. He deserved all the happiness in the world after what had happened to his family.

  “But then a few days after telling me about the engagement, his behaviour started to change. It was almost as if he was battling with his inner demons. He said he was having bad dreams which were incredibly vivid; so vivid that they felt real.”

  “What sort of dreams?” I asked. “I spoke to Anju earlier, and she mentioned the same thing about his dreams. But Jonathan wouldn’t go into details with her about the dreams.”

  Mrs Merryweather gave me a knowing look. “Jonathan opened up to me. He always did. His dreams, well nightmares really, were about the night his family had been attacked. He kept having the same dreams in which he was unable to protect his family. He dreamt that he hid in a shed during the attack when he should have been outside protecting them. In his dream, Jonathan trembled in the shed whilst his wife and son were killed.”

  I frowned. “Did that actually happen? I knew he’d been injured but did Jonathan hide in the shed during the attack?”

  Mrs Merryweather shook her head. “I spoke to Strom about this. He had a conversation with the werewolf who attacked Jonathan’s family. The werewolf, Gregor, admitted that Jonathan did his best to defend his family, and he threw himself at Gregor over and over again in an attempt to hurt him. Gregor said he lashed out at Jonathan and threw him against a wall. Jonathan blacked out, and Gregor thought he was dead. This evil werewolf then attacked Jonathan’s wife and son, and there was nothing Jonathan could have done to prevent it. Thankfully, Strom disposed of Gregor before he could ever attack again.”

  I asked, “Did Jonathan know the truth about what had happened?”

  “He did. I told him, and Strom told him too. But the dreams Jonathan was having kept interfering with reality. He believed the dreams were more real than what Strom and I were telling him.”

  I frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense at all. Do you think Jonathan felt so guilty about being happy that he brought those dreams upon himself?”

  “That is entirely possible. But you would expect the dreams to go away after a while, especially with all the reassuring talks Strom and I were having with Jonathan. That wasn’t the case. The dreams increased in intensity, and the details became more real. He was plagued by his nightmares and could barely function.”

  “When did you last see Jonathan alive?”

  “It was on the morning he died. I was on my way to the market and was in a hurry because the fresh bread soon sells out there. I caught a glimpse of Jonathan as he was fixing somebody’s fence. He’d received a butterfly message. It was one of those messages which was written on the butterfly’s wings. I saw its wings opening and Jonathan reading the message. He had his back to me, and I didn’t see his expression. Like I said, I was in a rush to get to the market, and I didn’t stop to observe anything further. We get messages all the time around here, so it didn’t strike me as an unusual occurrence.” She sighed heavily. “Of course, now I know different, and I realise that message could have been important.”

  I asked, “Is it possible to find out what the message said? Would the butterfly who delivered the message remember it?”

  Mrs Merryweather gave me a puzzled look. “How much witch training have you had since coming back here?”

  “Not much; barel
y anything. I’m relying on my common sense; what there is of that.”

  “Don’t put yourself down, Cassia. You’re doing a marvellous job. I can feel the strength and courage in you. The reason why I’m asking about how much training you’ve had is because there’s a spell you could use on the butterflies to find out which one took the message to Jonathan. You might even be able to find out what the message was. I think it’s a spell which involves the essence of the memory of the butterfly in question. Esther would know more about it. You should speak to her about it. Would you like some more hot chocolate? You soon finished that one.”

  I looked down in surprise at my empty mug. I hadn’t realised I’d drunk it so quickly. “No, thank you. We’d better be going. We’ve got work to do.”

  Mrs Merryweather laid a hand on top of mine and said, “Are you sure? I feel like you have a great burden on your shoulders, and it would be a comfort to you if you told me what those burdens where. I’m an extremely good listener, and I’ve got nothing else to do today but listen to you.” She gave me the kindest of smiles, and I was so tempted to stay in that lovely kitchen with delicious hot chocolate all day and to spill my every care and concern out to her.

  Reluctantly, I pulled my hand from beneath hers and forced myself to stand up. “No, thank you again. It’s been great to meet you. Thank you for the information about Jonathan. We really must get going.”

  I turned around and looked at Stanley. He was fast asleep on the cushion with his eyes closed and was snoring gently. Bits of cream were dabbed around his mouth and on his whiskers.

  Mrs Merryweather stood up and said, “You can leave Stanley here with me if you like. I could have a good chat with him. It would do him the world of good to talk about what’s been troubling him these last few months. Poor little thing.”

  Again, I was tempted to do as she asked. But no, Stanley was my cat, and he was coming with me, whether he liked it or not. I said thank you again to Mrs Merryweather for her kind offer, then I strode over to Stanley, picked him up and tucked him under my arm. I strode purposefully out of Mrs Merryweather’s enchanted cottage.