Witch Is Why Another Door Opened (A Witch P.I. Mystery Book 15)

by Adele Abbott

  As soon as I got close to him, my senses confirmed my suspicions. He was a werewolf. I cursed myself for being so stupid. If I’d got closer to him earlier, I would have sensed it immediately, but I’d deliberately kept my distance so that he wouldn’t spot me.

  He spun around. “Who are you?”

  “Your wife asked me to follow you.”

  “Oh, no.” He looked shocked. “I knew this would happen one day. Does she know?”

  “That you’re a werewolf? No. She thinks you’re cheating on her.”

  “What? Why would she think that?”

  “What did you expect? The squash courts where you’re supposed to be playing tonight have been closed for months.”

  “I had no idea.”

  “Your wife knows you’ve been lying to her. She’s known for a long time. That’s why she hired me to follow you.”

  “But you’re a witch.”

  “I’m also a private investigator. It’s a good thing for you that I’m a sup. If she’d gone to any other P.I, you’d really be in trouble. What do you think would have happened if a human had found you just now?”

  “I dread to think.”

  “You can’t go werewolf here.”

  “I have to. Any moment now, I’ll change anyway. I can’t stop it.”

  “The Rogue Retrievers are patrolling this park tonight.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I just do. If you go werewolf in here tonight, you’ll be back in Candlefield before the morning.”

  “What am I going to do? I’m going to change any moment now.”

  “Grab your bag, and take my hand.”

  He did as I said, and I magicked us both over to the werewolf Range in Candlefield.

  “Get in there. And from now on, you come here every month. Understand?”

  “Yes, of course. But what about Sarah?”

  “Don’t worry about that. I have an idea.”

  I told him my plan, and he agreed to go along with it. I then magicked myself back to Washbridge and made a call.

  “Sarah?”

  “Jill? Have you found him? Is he seeing someone else?”

  “No, he isn’t.”

  “What is he doing? Where has he been going?”

  “You’re not going to like this. He’s been playing poker with his friends into the early hours of the morning. He told me that you are totally against gambling.”

  “I am, but I’d rather he was doing that than having an affair. I just wish he’d told me.”

  “The two of you will need to have a long talk. Maybe you could see your way clear to allowing him to play once a month?”

  “I suppose so—provided it doesn’t go beyond that.”

  “I’m sure it won’t. Once a month will be absolutely fine.”

  Chapter 13

  “Grandma! Wait for me. Grandma!”

  She was ahead of me in the corridor, but no matter how fast I ran, I couldn’t catch up with her.

  “Grandma! Stop!”

  She didn’t seem to hear me.

  There were no doors on either side of the corridor, which turned first this way, and then that.

  “Grandma! Stop!”

  Eventually, she came to a staircase, and began to descend. I followed. When I reached the bottom, I found her standing in front of a door. There was danger behind it; something evil was lurking in there.

  “Grandma! Don’t open that door!”

  She turned around. “Jill? What are you doing here?”

  “Don’t open that door, Grandma. It’s dangerous.”

  “Don’t be silly. It’s perfectly safe.” She turned the handle.

  I sat up in bed, in a cold sweat.

  Not again! I’d had that same horrible nightmare, but this time, I’d been following Grandma instead of Aunt Lucy. She’d ended up at the same door, and despite my warning that there was danger lurking inside, she’d opened it. But what was in there? Once again, I’d woken before I could find out.

  The horrible images from the nightmare were still buzzing around my head as I showered and dressed. I had no appetite for breakfast, and managed just a few mouthfuls of corn flakes.

  I’d no sooner stepped out of the door than I heard Mrs Rollo calling to me. She came rushing over; I’d never seen her move so fast.

  “Jill. Wait!” She was positively beaming.

  “Mrs Rollo. Slow down. You’ll hurt yourself.”

  “I’ve got great news.”

  Only then did I notice that she had something in her hand.

  “Look.” She held up the tiniest trophy I’d ever seen. It was barely three inches high.

  “Look what I’ve won! It’s for the best fruit cake. I’m so proud. I didn’t think I stood a chance, but I won first prize.”

  Engraved on the front of the trophy was: ‘First Prize. Fruit Cake Category. Mrs Rita Rollo.’

  “That’s great.”

  I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the only reason she’d won was because I’d replaced her monstrosity with a cake I’d magicked up for the occasion. So much for Petunia Smallpiece’s hat trick.

  ***

  I’d arranged to meet Callum Hamilton at Washbridge Studios where he was scheduled to do a photo shoot. It took me a while to find the place; the only sign was a small plaque next to the door. I pressed the buzzer, but no one responded. I waited a few seconds and tried again. This time, the door clicked open, and I stepped inside.

  “Are you Callum?”

  The guy was bald, and in his forties. He certainly wasn’t how I’d pictured Callum Hamilton.

  “No, I’m Shane Fairweather. This is my studio. Who are you?”

  There was something familiar about the man. I felt as though I knew him from somewhere, but I couldn’t think where.

  “My name’s Jill Gooder. I’m a private investigator. I arranged to meet Callum Hamilton here today.”

  “That’s just dandy! So not only is he going to turn up late as per usual, but he expects me to hang around while he talks to you. Well, he’s got another think coming. I’m sorry, lady, but assuming he does ever turn up, you’ll have to wait in line. I need to get this session rolling.”

  “That’s fine. I don’t want to interfere with your work. Is he often late?”

  “Always, but then they’re all the same. Appointments and deadlines seem to mean nothing to them these days. What do you want to speak to him about, anyway?”

  “The recent death at Wool TV.”

  “Lucinda Gray?”

  “That’s right. Did you know her?”

  “Callum has mentioned her name. I believe he’s been seeing her. You’d better take a seat over there in the corner. And please don’t distract Callum while he’s working.”

  Callum eventually turned up thirty minutes later.

  “What time do you call this?” Shane Fairweather was none too pleased.

  “Sorry, mate. I got delayed. You know how it is.”

  “Not really. I always manage to get here on time.”

  Callum Hamilton was tall and slim. With his bed hair, he looked as though he’d just been dragged through a hedge backwards.

  “You’d better go and see Jean,” Fairweather said. “Hurry up.”

  I guessed that Jean must be the makeup artist. Callum certainly needed one.

  Fifteen minutes later, he re-emerged; the transformation was incredible. He had gone from slob to eye candy. His hair was now immaculate, and he looked every bit the model.

  “Hurry up.” Fairweather’s patience was growing thin. “Start with the blue cardigan, would you?”

  Callum had been booked to model a range of knitwear for an Autumn collection. He may not have been a good timekeeper, but once in front of the lens, he became the consummate professional, following Fairweather’s instructions to the letter. An hour later, and the photo shoot was finished. Shane Fairweather began to pack up his equipment, and Callum made his way over to me.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting.”


  “No problem.”

  “I had planned to get here earlier, but you know how it is. It can be difficult to get out of bed some mornings.”

  “I understand.”

  “How come you’re investigating Lucinda’s murder? Who hired you to do it?”

  “No one hired me as such. My sister, Kathy, works at Wool TV.”

  “Oh, yeah. I know her. She does the weekly magazine show, doesn’t she?”

  “That’s right. The police are treating her as a suspect.”

  “Really? I can’t believe she had anything to do with it.”

  “She didn’t. That’s why I’m trying to find out who did. Could you tell me how you and Lucinda met?”

  “I do a lot of work at Wool TV, modelling their knitwear. The two of us got chatting one day, and we seemed to hit it off.”

  “Was she still married to Michael when you started seeing each other?”

  “No. That was long since over. She’d been out with a few other guys since then. We hadn’t been seeing each other very long at all. Only a few weeks, in fact.”

  “When did you last see her?”

  “The same day she died. She came to see me here, as it happens. We’d arranged to meet at about ten am, but I was late.” He smiled. “I’m often late. When I got here, she was arguing with Shane, but you’ve seen how he is. He hates people interrupting his shoots.”

  “I heard that you had a somewhat fiery relationship with Lucinda?”

  “Who told you that?”

  “I’d rather not say. Is it true?”

  “I wouldn’t call it fiery. I’d call it passionate.”

  “Is there anyone you can think of who might have wanted to hurt Lucinda?”

  “She could be a bit abrasive, and often rubbed people up the wrong way. Not enough to make someone want to kill her though.”

  “Had she received any threats?”

  “If she had, she never mentioned them to me.”

  “So she didn’t seem worried about anything? She wasn’t acting differently?”

  “No, nothing like that.”

  “Where were you on the evening that Lucinda was murdered?”

  “In my flat. I’d done three photo shoots that day, and I was absolutely spent. I bought a bottle of wine, and was waiting for Lucinda to come over.”

  “Can anyone vouch for that?”

  “No. I was by myself all evening.”

  Just like Michael Gray, Callum had supposedly been alone that evening. It may have been true, but it was also very convenient. It still bothered me that Callum didn’t seem at all affected by Lucinda’s untimely death, but then they had only been seeing one another for a few weeks.

  ***

  I’d arranged to meet the twins at Aunt Lucy’s.

  “What’s this all about, Jill?” Amber said.

  “Yeah, why have you dragged us here?” Pearl complained.

  “I wanted to talk to you away from the shop. Away from any eavesdroppers.”

  “About what?” Amber said.

  “I think I might know why Cuppy C is losing customers.”

  Now I had their attention.

  “I’m absolutely sure that Flora and Laura are behind it.”

  “Oh, give it a rest, Jill.” Amber sighed.

  “What is it with you and the girls?” Pearl said. “Why have you got it in for them? Flora and Laura are okay. I don’t know why you don’t like them.”

  “They’ve got you both fooled.”

  “No they haven’t,” Pearl objected. “We’re not stupid.”

  “Just hear me out. The other day, when you’d left them in charge of the shop, I went in there in disguise. They thought they were serving a little old lady.”

  “So?”

  “So, they had doubled all the prices.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m positive. Every price was twice what it should have been.”

  “I’ll kill them!” Pearl said. “I’m going to go back there now, and kill them.”

  “Hold on.” I grabbed her arm. “We need to catch them in the act.”

  “How are we meant to do that?” Amber said.

  “We’ll all go there in disguise, just like I did the other day.”

  “That’s not going to work,” Pearl said. “Our magic isn’t strong enough to fool them. They’ll see straight through it.”

  “Not if I cast the spell on all three of us. When they look at us, they’ll see three old ladies. That way you’ll be able to see the prices for yourselves.”

  The twins agreed, so I cast the spell. The three of us now looked like old biddies.

  “Look at you.” Amber pointed at Pearl. “You’re really old, and ugly. You look like Grandma.”

  “You can’t talk.” Pearl laughed. “You make Grandma look attractive.”

  It took us a while to walk over there; we had to stay in character. When we got to Cuppy C, Flora recognised ‘old lady’ me.

  “Hello, dear. Back again? Same as last time, is it? A cup of tea and a blueberry muffin? What about your two friends?”

  The twins were staring wide-eyed at the prices, all of which had been doubled. That was my cue. I reversed the spell, and the three of us reverted to our normal appearance. Flora and Laura looked gobsmacked.

  “You two are sacked!” Pearl spat the words.

  “And you can get out of your rooms right now!” Amber said. “How dare you do this to us? You could have put us out of business.”

  It didn’t take Flora and Laura long to recover their composure.

  “You two were easy to fool.” Laura grinned. “You’re idiots.”

  “Get out of here,” Pearl yelled.

  I had to hold her back, otherwise she would have been over the counter to them.

  “It’ll be our pleasure to get out of this dump,” Laura said. “But don’t think you’ve heard the last of us. Cuppy C’s days are numbered.”

  They both cackled as they disappeared upstairs. The twins were still seething, so it was left to me to cast a spell to change the prices back to what they should have been.

  “We’re going to have to do some advertising,” Pearl said. “To let people know that our prices are back to normal. We’ll place an advert in The Candle.”

  “Thanks, Jill,” Amber said. “You may just have saved Cuppy C.”

  “Yeah. Thanks, Jill. I’m sorry we doubted you.”

  “That’s okay. I’m just pleased everything turned out all right.”

  Moments later, the two ice maidens came downstairs, carrying their suitcases.

  “Get out,” Pearl shouted. “Get out of here now!”

  “Our pleasure,” Flora said.

  “We’ll be seeing you soon.” Laura gave us a little wave.

  Chapter 14

  It had just turned midday when I arrived at the office. Jules was busy knitting.

  “Have you managed to sort things out with Jethro?”

  “No. He still insists that he’s going to resume his dancing career.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. I really like him, but I’m not sure I can handle the idea of him strutting his stuff in front of a room full of women.”

  “Time to give him an ultimatum, maybe?”

  I’d just started towards my office door when Jules called after me, “By the way, Jill, don’t forget that it’s Woolcon on Friday.”

  I’d been hoping I might worm my way out of that, but Jules and Mrs V were never going to let me. Whatever had possessed me to agree to go to a convention where adults walked around dressed as knitting needles or balls of wool? One thing was for sure—Jill Gooder wouldn’t be wearing a silly costume—I was way too sensible to participate in anything so puerile. I’d told Mrs V and Jules in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t getting dressed up.

  Thirty minutes later, Grandma came charging into my office. She was obviously not best pleased about something; the wart on the end of her nose was glowing red again.

&nbs
p; “Do you have an appointment?” I quipped.

  What? I’m not scared of Grandma. Well, not much, anyway.

  “I don’t need an appointment to see my granddaughter. They’re still at it!”

  “Who is still at what?”

  “Those fish people. They’re still blocking my window! I thought you were going to do something about it.”

  “I did have a word with them. I’m sure that promotion won’t go on for much longer.”

  “It’s gone on too long already. If you can’t stop them, then I guess I’ll just turn them into toads.”

  “You can’t do that, Grandma.”

  “Who says?”

  “I do.”

  “And since when did you give me orders, young lady?”

  “It’s not an order. It’s a request from your granddaughter. Please don’t turn them into toads.”

  “Okay. I won’t turn them into toads.”

  “Do you promise?”

  “Yes, I promise.” She stormed back out of the office.

  I wasn’t sure if I should believe her or not, but I hoped for Betty’s sake that Grandma would keep her word.

  An hour later, my phone rang. It was Betty Longbottom; she sounded desperate.

  “Jill! You’ve got to help me!”

  “Whatever’s the matter?”

  “Can you come down here now, please?”

  Before I could ask any more questions, the line went dead. Even though I didn’t consider Betty to be one of my best friends, I couldn’t ignore her plea for help.

  When I arrived at She Sells, Betty was waiting for me by the door.

  “Jill, come in.”

  As I did, she turned the sign on the door to read ‘closed.’

  “What is it, Betty? What’s wrong?”

  “Come through to the back, and you’ll see for yourself.”

  I followed her into what appeared to be a large store room. Lying on the floor were the three giant sea creatures. The people inside the costumes were desperately trying to get out of them, but without any success.

  “Something’s happened to these costumes!” Betty screamed at me. “They’ve been trying to get out of them for the last thirty minutes, but the costumes are getting smaller all the time. Your grandmother must have done this.”