by Adele Abbott
“I can see how that might be a problem.”
“What I’m doing now is inviting them to re-join my practice. That’s why I’m here today. I wonder if you’d like to carry on where we left off, so to speak?”
“I’m sorry, Mr Roberts, but I’ve moved my business to Luther Stone.”
“Ah, yes, Mr Stone. I’m aware of him.”
“He’s doing a very good job for me. I couldn’t simply drop him.”
“What if I was to offer to provide the same service as Mr Stone, and to give you a discount of, let’s say, twenty-five percent? Would that be enough to tempt you back?”
“It’s a very generous offer, Mr Roberts, but it would be extremely unfair to dump Luther. I’ve been very happy with the service he’s provided.” Plus, he was way hotter than Robert Roberts.
“I see.” Mr Roberts frowned. “What if, hypothetically speaking, something was to happen to Mr Stone? If say, he was incapacitated in some way, and no longer able to provide you with accountancy services. How would you feel then?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think about it, Miss Gooder. One never knows what might happen, does one?”
With that, Robert Roberts turned on his heels, and walked out of my office. As soon as he’d left, Winky jumped onto my desk.
“That guy gives me the creeps.” Winky shuddered.
“Me too.”
Chapter 4
As I pulled onto my drive, I noticed a van parked on Megan’s driveway. She’d obviously bought it for her new business venture, which she’d recently been discussing with Peter. The whole side of the van was covered with a huge picture of Megan, wearing a skimpy low-cut top, and ultra-short shorts. As always, she looked fantastic. In big, bold letters above her head, were the words ‘Hot Plants.’ The letter ‘L’ was in a smaller font than the other letters, so from a distance it looked as though it read ‘Hot Pants.’ It appeared that Peter now had competition.
I was still staring at the van when Megan’s front door opened, and she came skipping out; she had a newspaper in her hand.
“What do you think, Jill?” She beamed. “Be honest. Do you like it?”
“It’s—err—it’s very nice. There’s a lot of you on it, isn’t there?”
“The guy who designed the artwork for the van seemed to think that having my picture on there would work best. I’m not sure why.”
“It’s hard to imagine.”
“There’s also a feature on my new business in today’s Bugle.” She handed me the newspaper. “I didn’t think they’d be interested, but I spoke to a guy named Dougal Andrews, and he seemed very keen.”
I just bet he did.
“You can keep that,” she said. “I’ve got loads more copies in the house.”
“Thanks. What’s going to happen with the modelling?”
“I haven’t given it up entirely because it’ll take a while to build up a customer base for the gardening business. I’ve told my agent to only book me out in the mornings. That leaves my afternoons free for the gardening. As I build up the new business, I’ll gradually reduce the modelling assignments until I don’t need them anymore.”
“I’m really pleased for you, Megan. Best of luck with it.”
“Thanks, Jill. You will tell Peter, won’t you?”
“Oh yeah. I’ll definitely tell Peter. In fact, I’ll take a photo of your van, and send it to him.”
Once inside, I emailed the photo to Peter, and then skimmed The Bugle’s article on Megan. It was essentially just a large photo of her standing next to the van, and a few words about her new venture. The front-page headline was a little more interesting. ‘Man found poisoned.’ Apparently, a man had been found dead in his apartment, having been poisoned by person or persons unknown.
The front door opened.
“Jack? Is that you?”
“Who else did you think it would be?” He walked through to the kitchen. “Have you seen the van next door?”
“I could hardly miss it?”
“Hot plants! Wow! Does Peter know yet?”
“I’ve just sent him a photo of the van—Kathy’s going to love it. Anyway, what are you doing home so early?”
“I’ve got to go away on a residential course for four days.”
“You didn’t mention it.”
“That’s because the first I knew about it was an hour ago. The boss came to see me, and said that someone had dropped out. I wasn’t supposed to go for another three months.”
“When do you have to leave?”
“Tonight.”
“Tonight? How long will you be gone for?”
“Four nights.”
“That’s just great!”
“Don’t blame me.” He pulled me close and gave me a kiss. “It’s the job.”
“I know, but what am I supposed to do while you’re away?”
“Eat custard creams and watch TV?”
“Now you mention it, that does sound like a good idea. You should go away more often.”
I made coffee, and we went through to the lounge.
“Where has it gone?” Jack said.
“Where’s what gone?” I decided to play dumb.
“You know what. Where’s my bowling trophy? The one I won with Megan.”
Megan had partnered with Jack in a bowling competition, which by all accounts they’d won easily.
“It’s enormous. It’s too overpowering to be in this room, so I put it somewhere it wouldn’t be quite so conspicuous.”
“Where?”
“In the spare bedroom. On a chair, just inside the door.”
“How is anyone meant to see my trophy if it’s hidden away in the spare bedroom? Megan and I worked hard to win that. I want to keep it somewhere people can see it.”
“Couldn’t you take it to work with you?”
“I don’t want it at work—I want it here.”
“Okay. I’ll bring it out the next time I’m up there.” Unless of course I happened to forget. My memory wasn’t what it used to be.
After dinner, I offered to do the dishes so that Jack could pack. After I’d finished, I took the rubbish outside to the dustbin.
“Hello, Jill,” Mrs Rollo shouted over the fence.
We couldn’t have wished for a nicer neighbour than Mrs Rollo. The only problem was that she loved to bake, and without exception, everything she made was practically inedible. I didn’t like to say anything because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
A young boy appeared at her side.
“This is Justin.”
He had ginger hair and freckles, and his two front teeth were missing, so I couldn’t make out if he was smiling or scowling at me.
“Justin’s my grandson, Jill. He’s staying with me today and tomorrow, aren’t you Justin?”
“Yes, Grandma.” He had a very high pitched voice.
“His mummy and daddy have gone to see Justin’s auntie who isn’t very well at the moment. I told them Justin could stay here with me.”
“Hello, Justin,” I said.
“Hello.”
“Do you like staying with your grandma?”
“It’s okay.”
“I’m sure you’ll have a great time.”
“He will.” Mrs Rollo hugged him to her. “He’s such a good boy. Aren’t you Justin? He’s a little angel.”
After seeing Jack off, I decided that I should treat myself to a glass of wine and a few of the chocolates I’d bought the night Jack had been bowling with Megan. I still had the bottom layer left. As I poured myself a glass of wine, I looked out onto the back garden at the bird bath. It was the one that I’d had at my old flat. I’d had to put it into storage when I’d been at Jack’s place, but now we had our own house, I’d got it back.
Three sparrows were drinking and bathing when something spooked them, and they flew away. A few minutes later, another two sparrows perched on the bird bath, but within moments, something had spooked them too. This time I saw what had c
aused them to take flight. There was a tiny head peeping over Mrs Rollo’s fence. It was Justin, and he was holding a catapult. What had she called him? Her little angel? Little monster, more like. How dare he fire his catapult at those innocent little birds?
I charged out of the back door, and down the garden. When I looked over the fence, there was no sign of Mrs Rollo, but Justin was still standing there.
“Excuse me, Justin.”
“What?”
“You mustn’t fire your catapult at the birds.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not a nice thing to do.”
“It’s funny.”
“It’s not funny. It’s cruel.”
“I haven’t hit them yet.”
“The bird bath is there for them to bathe and drink. I think you should give me that catapult.”
“No.” He took a step back.
“If you do it again I’ll have to tell your grandma.”
“Don’t care.”
What a horrible child he was. I walked back up the garden until I was behind the shed, where I knew he wouldn’t be able to see me.
I waited and watched.
A few minutes later, a blackbird perched on the bird bath, and began to take sips of water. Justin was pulling back the elastic on his catapult, so I quickly cast the ‘illusion’ spell, to make him see not a catapult but a snake, in his hand. The boy threw the catapult/snake onto the ground, and stared at it in horror. The snake started slithering towards him, so Justin turned tail and ran into the house. That would teach the little monster. Moments later Mrs Rollo emerged from the back door, holding Justin’s hand.
“There are no snakes around here, Justin. You must be imagining things.”
“But, Grandma, I saw it. It was in my hand.”
“If you saw a snake, why did you pick it up? That’s a silly thing to do.”
“I didn’t pick it up. I was holding my catapult, and it turned into a snake.”
“What has your mummy told you about telling lies, Justin?”
“It’s not a lie, Grandma. That’s what happened. It was a catapult, and then it was a snake. Come and see.” He led her down the garden. When he found the catapult lying on the ground, he stared at it in disbelief.
“The snake’s gone,” he said.
“What were you doing with that catapult, anyway?”
“Err—nothing.”
“You know better than to play with those horrible things.” She picked it up. “I’m confiscating this until you go back home, and I shall tell your mother that I do not approve of these.”
After Mrs Rollo had taken the catapult back into the house, I stepped out from behind the shed, and called to Justin.
“That will teach you to be horrible to little birds, young man.”
He scowled.
I’d no sooner got back into the house than someone knocked on the front door. It was Blake, the wizard who lived across the road.
“Are you okay, Blake?” He didn’t look it—he looked rather drawn. “Do you want to come in?”
“Just for a minute. Jack’s not in, is he?”
“No, he’s had to go away for a few days on a course.”
“Good. I was hoping to catch you by yourself.”
“What is it? Is everything okay? Is Jen alright?”
“You remember I mentioned how difficult I’ve been finding it to keep my secret from Jen.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve decided I can’t do it any longer. It’s going to destroy our marriage. She still thinks I’m hiding something from her, and I can’t think of any way to dispel her doubts other than to tell her the truth.”
“Tell her that you’re a wizard?”
“Yes.”
“You mustn’t do that, Blake. It’s too dangerous. You know what will happen if word gets back to Candlefield. The Rogue Retrievers will come for you.”
“I know, but what choice do I have? If I do nothing, sooner or later Jen is going to get fed up with the subterfuge, and leave me. At least this way I have a chance.”
“But who’s to say that Jen will believe you?”
“I might have to prove it to her. That’s what other sups have done in my position. If I show her a few spells, I’m sure I can convince her, and then we can live together without this horrible black cloud hanging over us. It would mean that Jen will no longer suspect me of seeing someone else behind her back.”
“I’m still not sure it’s a good idea.”
“I don’t have any other option.”
“When you tell her, you’re not going to mention anything about me, are you?”
“Of course not. I shall just say that I’m a wizard.”
“Well, I can’t say I agree with your decision, but I wish you luck. Will you let me know how she reacts?”
“Yes, of course.”
Chapter 5
Jack had trotted off to the Lake District for his residential course, leaving me on my lonesome. I’d just settled down to watch a movie when my phone beeped. It was a text message from Kathy:
‘Don’t forget to watch Wool TV tonight. I’ve got a new hairstyle. Let me know what you think of it.’
Great! So, instead of watching a blockbuster movie, I now had to endure Wool TV. This evening was just getting better and better. I could always pretend that I hadn’t seen her text, but she’d know I was lying. But, then it occurred to me that I didn’t need to watch the whole programme. As long as I saw Kathy’s new hairstyle, then I’d be okay. I’d just have to hope that she didn’t quiz me on the content of the programme.
When I tuned into Wool TV, I was a few minutes early, so I caught the news programme ahead of Kathy’s regular spot. The news presenter was the ‘famous’ Lucinda Gray; the woman who Kathy had mentioned to me. The one she thought might be about to hand in her notice to pave the way for Kathy to take over as news anchor.
I had to admit that Lucinda Gray was a pro. She somehow managed to make yarn-related news at least somewhat interesting. After reading an article on the world-wide shortage of Blue Sapphire yarn, she took a quick sip of water from the glass on her desk. Then, without warning, she lurched forward, and collapsed face-down onto the desk. It took me a few moments to register what had happened. The screen went blank for a few seconds, and the next thing I knew, Kathy was on screen.
“Good evening, and welcome to Wool Talk, a little earlier than scheduled.” She was obviously a little flustered, but her hair did look nice. It was shorter than she usually wore it.
Oh, well, I’d done my duty. I’d be able to tell her, hand on heart, that I’d seen her programme, and that I liked her hair.
***
What had I been thinking? Of all the films I could have chosen, I’d opted for a horror movie. I was hopeless when it came to watching them. It’s not that they scared me, exactly. They just made me jump. I practically jumped off the sofa every time something unexpected happened. How was it that I routinely came into contact with real ghosts, vampires and werewolves, and none of those bothered me in the slightest, and yet here I was, hiding my face?
Just then, my phone rang, and I almost fell off the sofa.
“It’s me,” Kathy said.
“Hi. I thought your hair was—”
“Never mind my hair.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Did you see what happened to Lucinda?”
“I saw her collapse, but I thought you handled it like a pro.”
“She’s dead, Jill. Lucinda is dead.”
“What? How?”
“No one knows. The police are here now. There are all kinds of rumours flying around.”
“What kind of rumours?”
“That it could be murder.”
“How?”
“I’ve no idea. Look, the reason I rang you is because I’ve been trying to get hold of Pete, but he’s not answering his phone. Would you go around there and let him know what’s happened? The police have said that we can’t lea
ve the building until they’ve spoken to everyone, so I’ve no idea what time I’m going to get home.”
“Of course. Don’t worry about it. I’ll go straight over there. Keep me posted.”
“Will do. I’d better go.”
I jumped in the car, and drove to Kathy’s house. Peter’s car was on the driveway.
“Jill? Kathy’s not in.”
“I know. She asked me to come around and see you.”
“Come in. Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. She’s been trying to call you, but she said you weren’t answering your phone.”
He took his phone out of his pocket. “Five missed calls. I should have checked. I was at Tom Tom with Mikey; it’s his practice day. I couldn’t hear anything while he was banging those drums. What’s going on?”
“There’s been an incident at Wool TV, but Kathy’s fine.”
“What kind of incident?”
“Do you know the newsreader, Lucinda Gray?”
“I’ve never met her, but I’ve seen her on TV. Kathy mentioned she thought she might be looking for another job.”
“She won’t be now. She’s dead.”
“How?”
“It happened live on TV. I was watching Lucinda Gray reading the news, and suddenly she fell forward onto the desk. According to Kathy, it could be murder. Anyway, she asked me to tell you that the police have said that no one can leave until they’ve interviewed everyone, so she has no idea what time she’ll get home.”
“Okay. Thanks for coming over. Do you want a coffee or something?”
“Yeah, I might as well now that I’m here. Where are the kids?”
“Mikey’s playing on his computer. Lizzie is in her room. I’m not sure what she’s up to. She’s been a little quiet since she got home from school.”
“By the way, Peter, what did you make of Megan’s van?”
He laughed. “It will certainly get her noticed.”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Megan’s nice enough, but how good a gardener is she?”