by Adele Abbott
Having heard the voices, at least I now knew that this wasn’t a horrible spell cast by Grandma as retribution for some perceived slight. This was much worse: It was Mrs V and Jules in their Woolcon costumes.
“You’re not actually going to wear those on the day, are you?”
“Of course we are,” Mrs V, the ball of wool, said.
“I think we look cool,” Jules, the knitting needle, agreed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Winky, sitting on the sofa. He was shaking his head—no doubt in total disbelief at what he saw.
“There’s still time for you to get a costume, Jill,” the knitting needle said. “We thought you could go as a crochet hook.”
“Not a chance! I told you when I agreed to go to Woolcon that I wasn’t going to wear fancy dress.”
“But everyone will be in costume.”
“Not everyone. I won’t, for a start.”
“You’re a spoilsport.” The ball of wool admonished me. “Come on, Jules. Jill is just a killjoy.”
The ball of wool and knitting needle both squeezed through the door, and went back into the outer office.
“Do you think we’re safe from the crazy in here?” Winky said.
***
Something was bugging me. When I’d had the run-in with Leo Riley, I’d asked him whether they were treating the two poisonings as being linked. As always, he’d been evasive, and had given me a ‘no comment’ response.
This was crucial to the whole case. If the two murders had been committed by the same person, that should make it easier to prove that Kathy hadn’t been involved. I needed to find out what was happening with the police investigation into both murders. Had they linked them? And if not, why not?
Asking Leo Riley would have been a complete waste of time. If I wanted to find out what was going on inside Washbridge police station then I was going to have to get inside there, and take a look for myself.
The first time I’d ever used magic to get inside the police station was shortly after Jack had moved to the area. I’d been investigating what had then been known as the Animal Serial Killer murders. On that occasion, I’d come very close to being discovered, and had had to hide under the desk at the front of the incident room. It was the first time I’d seen Jack’s Tweety Pie socks.
The process of getting inside the police station was much easier for me now because I’d done it so many times before. Also, the fact that I was no longer restricted to only thirty minutes of invisibility was a great help. I was now able to become invisible at will for long periods of time.
Once inside the building, I made my way past the reception desk, and then waited until someone opened the door so I could follow them into the main building. Once there, I made my way upstairs to where I knew the incident rooms were located. The first one I came to was deserted. After checking to make sure there was no one in the corridor, I pushed the door open and went inside. It was obvious from the photos on the whiteboards that I was in the right room. It was the same room I’d been in when I’d had to hide from Jack. One whiteboard showed details of Lucinda Gray’s murder. The other one had details of the murder of a Mr Lucas Wright—the first poisoning victim. Lucinda had died almost instantly after drinking water that had been laced with a quick-acting poison. The other victim had also died after drinking water that had been poisoned, but his death had been much slower. According to the notes on the whiteboard, it had taken over an hour for him to die. The poisons used in the two murders had obviously been very different. Although their names meant nothing to me, the notes written beside them seemed quite significant. The one used to kill the first victim was readily available at most hardware stores, but the one which had been used to kill Lucinda was available only in commercial laboratories. That at least explained why the police hadn’t linked the two cases. It would be very unusual for the same killer to use two such different poisons. Unusual but not unheard of.
I was about to make my exit when I heard voices and footsteps. They were headed my way. But there was no reason to panic—I was still invisible. I hurried over to the door, and waited. Moments later, a number of police officers, led by Leo Riley, came through the door. Before it closed behind them, I managed to sneak out.
***
I dreaded to think what kind of affair Deli and Nails’ wedding would be. I’d seen the way Deli dressed, and I’d seen Nails in action. I had a horrible vision of him clipping his toenails while waiting for his bride to walk down the aisle. I’d pleaded with Jack to let me decline the invitation, but he was determined to go to what would no doubt be the Wedding of the Year.
I hadn’t seen Mad for a while, so rather than post the reply, I’d decided to deliver it to her at the library.
Unsurprisingly, she wasn’t behind the front desk. Instead, I found her in her favourite hiding place—the stock room at the back of the building.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
“Jill! You scared me to death.”
“You’re a Ghost Hunter. How can I possibly scare you?”
“What brings you to this hive of activity?”
“I brought you this.” I handed over the envelope.
Mad grinned. “Is this what I think it is?”
“I’m afraid so. I’ll be honest with you, I wanted to make an excuse not to go, but Jack wouldn’t hear of it. He says he wants to meet more of my friends. It turns out I’m living with the only man in Washbridge who actually likes weddings.”
“Don’t worry, Jill. After he’s been to my mother’s, he’ll never want to go to another one in his life.”
“I don’t suppose there’s any chance that your mother and Nails will fall out and call it off, is there?”
“I live in hope. You should see the monstrous bridesmaid’s dress she wants me to wear.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Seeing you in a bridesmaid’s dress might actually make the day bearable.” I laughed. “I can see that your library duties are keeping you busy as usual.”
“Oh yeah. I’m run off my feet.”
“What about the ghost hunting? How’s that going?”
“Still very busy. There’s something strange going on in Washbridge. Something which is attracting more and more ghosts from Ghost Town, but I have no idea what it is. Even with Henry to help, we’re still struggling.”
“Oh yeah, I meant to ask. How are you and Henry getting along?”
“Really well.” Mad had a wicked smile. “And, I do mean ‘really well’.”
“I think it’s time I met this guy of yours. Maybe we should have a night out; the four of us.”
“I’d be up for that, and I’m sure Henry would.”
“Great. I’ll have a word with Jack, and give you a call.”
***
On my way home, I decided to call in on Kathy to see how she was bearing up. I knew she’d still be anxious about the Lucinda Gray case, so thought it best to bring her up to speed—not that I had much to tell her.
Peter made tea for all of us while I spoke to Kathy.
“How are you doing?” I asked. It was a stupid question because I could see that she wasn’t coping well.
“I just want this over with. It seems like it’s been going on forever. I feel like I have the Sword of Damocles hanging over me—knowing at any moment that they could turn up and take me away.”
“I did find out something interesting earlier today. The poison that killed Lucinda, and the poison used in the earlier murder were very different. That’s why the police haven’t linked the two cases yet.”
Just then, there was a knock at the door; Peter went to answer it.
“It’s Mandy Drake from Wool TV. She’d like a word with you, Kathy. Do you want to talk to her?”
“Yes. Bring her through.” Kathy turned to me, and said, “She’s one of the production assistants.”
“Hey, Kathy.” The woman followed Peter into the room. “I’m sorry to trouble you at home.”
“It’s okay,
Mandy. Come and sit down. This is my sister, Jill.”
“Pleased to meet you,” I said.
“Would you like a drink, Mandy?” Peter offered. “I was just making tea.”
“No, thanks. I can’t stay long. They asked me to come and tell you that they’ve taken on a news anchor from Needles TV.”
I knew how much Kathy had wanted that job, so I expected her to be disappointed, but she just shrugged.
“It’s probably for the best. I’m not ready for that responsibility yet.”
“When will you be coming back?” Mandy asked.
“I don’t know. While I have this thing hanging over me, I’m not sure I can.”
“Have you heard any more from the police?”
“Not really. Jill is a private investigator. She’s been looking into the murder too.”
“I haven’t made much headway so far,” I said.
“Have you spoken to Donna Proudlove?”
“Yeah. Why do you ask about her in particular?”
“I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I saw Donna and Lucinda having a stand-up slanging match on the morning of the day of the murder.”
“Could you hear what it was about?”
“No. But they were really going at it.”
Mandy left not long after that. I said my goodbyes thirty minutes later. I was intrigued by what Mandy had said about Donna Proudlove. Perhaps her relationship with Lucinda hadn’t been quite as cordial as Donna had led me to believe. Maybe I should have another word with her tomorrow.
Chapter 19
I’d spent the last ten minutes trying to avoid Mrs Mopp and her vacuum cleaner. At least this time both Jack and I had been up and dressed by the time she arrived. We would have been in serious trouble otherwise.
“I’m off,” I called to Jack.
He came to the door, and gave me a quick peck on the lips.
“I really don’t know why you make out that Mrs Mopp is so difficult to get along with,” he said. “She seems perfectly nice to me.”
“Are you sure we’re talking about the same woman?”
“I just asked her if she’d mind ironing my shirts.”
“Are you crazy? I’m surprised you’re still breathing.”
“She was perfectly nice, and said she’d be delighted to do it.”
“Were they her exact words?”
“More or less. Your problem, Jill, is that you don’t have any people skills.”
“Apparently not.”
I tried to contact Donna Proudlove by phone, but all my calls went straight to voicemail. I needed to talk to her sooner rather than later, so I decided to go straight over to the Wool TV studios. She would have to come out eventually. I hid behind one of the pillars closest to the entrance. It was freezing cold, and like a fool, I wasn’t wearing a coat. If Donna didn’t show up soon, I’d probably die of hypothermia.
It was just before midday, and I was so busy blowing my hands to try to warm them that I almost missed her.
“Donna! Hold on!”
“Jill? What are you doing here?”
“I wanted a word. I’ve called you several times.”
“Sorry, I’ve been rushed off my feet. Could it wait? I’m in a bit of a hurry just now. Maybe I could call you later?”
She wasn’t going to fob me off that easily. I ushered her back inside.
“This won’t take long.” I led the way over to the seating area.
“What’s wrong, Jill? I told you everything I knew last time.”
“You didn’t tell me that you’d had a blazing row with Lucinda on the morning of the day she was murdered.”
“Who told you?”
“That doesn’t matter. What was going on between you and Lucinda on that day?”
“It was nothing.”
“That’s not what I heard. You might as well tell me because I’m going to find out one way or another.”
Donna took a seat. “I thought she was my friend. I assumed when she got the job offer that she’d take me with her.”
“I take it she wasn’t going to do that?”
“No. She told me about the job—she was really excited. And I was excited for her too. I said, ‘When do we leave?’ She said, ‘We don’t’.”
“Did she say why she wasn’t going to take you with her?”
“She said, ‘New job, new start.’ When I asked her, ‘What about me?’ She just shrugged, like I didn’t matter. And then I realised that I didn’t. Not to her, at least. It’s my own fault. I should have known that she’d stab me in the back sooner or later. She’d done it plenty of times before to other people.”
“How do you mean? Who else had she done it to?”
“It’s what Lucinda did. If you crossed her, or if she no longer needed you, she’d cast you aside like a pair of old socks. She did it to one of the make-up girls, Sally-Ann West. And to one of the cameramen, Giles Lingard. There was a photographer too—I can’t remember his name. I’m an idiot. I’d managed to convince myself that I was indispensable to her. Boy, did I get that wrong!”
“No wonder you were angry.”
“Of course I was angry, but I didn’t kill her if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“You were in the studio on the day she died, and you had more access to her than anyone else.”
“Look!” She stood up. “I don’t care if you believe me or not. I did not kill Lucinda!”
Where did that leave me with the Lucinda Gray case? So far, I’d spoken to her ex-husband, Michael, who hadn’t come across as a murderer. The man had seemed much too wishy-washy to do anything like that. But he did have access to commercial chemicals and poisons, and that meant he had to be a strong suspect. Then there was Lucinda’s boyfriend, Callum. There was no obvious reason why he would have wanted Lucinda dead. The only thing I found a little disconcerting about him was that he seemed untouched by his girlfriend’s recent death. Donna Proudlove was certainly annoyed at Lucinda who had been all set to dump her young personal assistant. Donna had definitely been angry enough to do something stupid, but had she had the means? The poison used was only available in commercial laboratories, so probably not. Audrey Bone had long since washed her hands of her sister. I’d all but ruled her out of my thinking.
***
“Please, Jack!” I begged.
“No, Jill, I’m not going to lie for you.”
“But it’s only a small, white lie.”
“If you didn’t want to see Mrs Rollo’s TV show, you shouldn’t have offered to go.”
“I know. I suppose I’m just going to have to suck it up. What will you be doing while I’m going through that purgatory?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe, I’ll watch some TV. I might even order in takeaway. Or I might give Blake a call, and ask if he wants to go for a drink.”
Jack was enjoying this way too much for my liking. He’d be sorry—I’d get my revenge. Much as I would have liked to have given the baking programme a miss, I owed it to Mrs Rollo not to let her make a fool of herself on TV.
There was a knock at the door. The hour had come.
“I’ll get it,” Jack said with a huge smirk on his face. “It’s Mrs Rollo,” he shouted.
“Mrs Rollo? I didn’t realise your daughter and grandson would be coming with us.”
As if this evening wasn’t already bad enough, now I had to contend with that loathsome little brat, Justin.
Mrs Rollo was dressed to the nines, and looked as though she had an audience with the Queen.
“I couldn’t let Sheila and Justin miss my big night, could I?” She beamed.
“I guess not.”
We took my car to the TV station. Mrs Rollo sat beside me; Sheila and the little monster sat in the back. He never stopped talking all the way there. I was so tempted to use the ‘sleep’ spell on him, but didn’t think his mother or grandmother would approve.
Once at the TV station, Mrs Rollo was escorted backstage while the three of us were shown to the
studio from where the programme was to be broadcast.
“You sit between Jill and Mummy, Justin. And you mustn’t talk once the programme has started.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather sit next to me, Sheila?” I offered. Anything to put some distance between me and the little monster.
“No, I’m okay here.”
Every time I looked at Justin, he stuck his tongue out at me. The temptation to turn him into a worm was almost too strong to resist.
Half an hour later, a man dressed in an evening suit walked to the front of the set.
“Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us tonight. In a few minutes, we will begin the programme. I’m sure that most of you are already familiar with the format of the Big Bake Challenge, but for those of you who aren’t, I’ll quickly run through the rules.”
It took the man another fifteen minutes to explain the format of the show, which essentially came down to whoever baked the best cake would be the winner. A few minutes later, the title music played, and the three contestants walked onto the set. They each stood behind their own table, which was already full of baking equipment and ingredients. The host, a man named Jake Lake, introduced the three contestants. Mrs Rollo was up against Arthur Black, a slim man in his mid-forties. His permanent smile was already beginning to grate on me. The third contestant was Connie Bradshaw who was around the same age as Mrs Rollo. Connie was as miserable as Arthur was happy. Mrs Rollo, meanwhile, looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
The compère introduced the two judges who would determine the evening’s winner. I’d never heard of either of them, but judging by the round of applause they received from the audience, I could only assume that they were minor celebrities of some kind. The contestants were to bake an almond and raisin cake.
The compere counted down, “Three, two, one. Off you go!”
As the three contestants mixed the ingredients, the judges walked from one table to the next, making notes as they went. As the programme proceeded, I noticed that the judges kept whispering to one another. They appeared to be pointing at Mrs Rollo’s handiwork. It was quite obvious that they found her efforts amusing.