Westerham Witches and a Venetian Vendetta

by Dionne Lister

  That was super weird. “Interesting, isn’t it? You’d think if you wanted to kill someone that old, you’d do it subtly. If you made it look like a heart attack, no one would even bother checking—they’d just take it for granted. Why would the killer draw attention to themselves like that?” We’d briefly touched on this in the square, but I wanted to see if the Italians had any ideas.

  Will looked at Agent Tondato. “So, the killer was making a point. But why?”

  Agent Tondato’s offsider spoke. “It’s simple. Arrogance or a warning. If anyone else knows something, they won’t talk.”

  Agent Tondato’s magic vibrated my scalp, and all the papers and file disappeared. He stood. “We will gather the security footage. I will call you back here to watch them when it is done. Maybe in one or two hours?”

  Will stood. “Okay. Grazie.” I smiled at Will’s one Italian word. Even I knew how to say thank you. But something was better than nothing. Will held his hand out, and they shook. Beren and I stood. Agent Tondato shook Beren’s hand but didn’t bother to reach out for mine. Well, stuff you, then, Mr Sexist Pig.

  At least I knew the landing address for the hotel’s reception room. I didn’t bother saying goodbye to the Italian agents. Instead, I turned to Will. “I’ll see you back at the hotel.” I made my doorway and stepped through. Why did some men have to be so rude? That guy didn’t know it, but I could outmagic him any day.

  I buzzed the intercom. After a minute or so, Isabella, the old lady, answered the door. Her weak smile didn’t reach her blue eyes. “Ciao.” The stress of having her boss killed was probably getting to her and everyone else who worked at the hotel.

  “Ciao.” I smiled. “Grazie.” I hurried past her and up the stairs to my room. I went to the bathroom, then texted my mother to see where she, Liv, and Imani were. A text came back straight away. We’re in my room. That made sense. Just in case a miracle occurred and Angelica found her way out of her predicament, she’d go back to her room, likely thinking one of us would be there waiting for her.

  I texted Will to tell him where we all were, then rushed to my mother’s room and knocked. “It’s me, Mum.”

  She opened the door. Her gaze searched mine, worry wrinkling her brow. “Any news?”

  “Not really.” I went in and shut the door. Imani and Liv sat at the two-seater table, and my mum plonked herself on her bed. I sat at the end of Angelica’s bed and made a bubble of silence. “The Italian agents are going to pull security footage for us. They said they should be ready to view in about an hour. Once they confirm she disappeared—because I couldn’t exactly show them my photos or tell them why—they’ve agreed to question the wife.”

  Imani turned her phone over and over in her hands. “Well, that’s a start.”

  “They’ve also agreed to let Sarah and Will sit in on the interview.”

  “That’s something, at least,” my mother said. “Do they have any suspects other than the wife and Lorenzo?”

  “No. I don’t know. These guys are pretty hopeless, or they’re secretive. I’m not sure which. How did they ever get to represent the PIB?”

  Liv raised a brow. “You’re serious, right? I give you one word: Chad.”

  I sighed. “You make a very good point. There are probably lots of Chads heading up PIB departments all over the place. I should think before I speak.”

  Imani smirked. “Yes, you should.”

  My mother shook her head, and her shoulders sagged. “It’s not like the old days. Most agents were competent and professional. We weren’t underfunded back then. It’s sad to see the bureau in such a state. I dread to think what’s going to happen in the future. Without a strong bureau, bad witches are going to create havoc, and there won’t be anyone there to hold them accountable.”

  A vibration snaked down my spine. “That sounds scary. I hope they fix it before it’s too late.” I hoped that creepy sensation wasn’t a premonition of worse things to come. Now that RP was all but destroyed, things should improve, shouldn’t they?

  A knock sounded on the door, and I jumped. Mum looked at me and chuckled as she stood. “For a brave woman, you sure are nervous. I’m still surprised you didn’t grow out of it.”

  “I blame you and Dad. It’s in my genes. I can’t help it if I got some dud ones. You should’ve done a better job.”

  Mum opened the door. “Come in.” She returned to her spot on the bed, and Will came and sat next to me. Beren gave Liv a quick kiss on the lips and sat on the end of Mum’s bed.

  “Well, this is cosy, loves.” Imani shut the door, turned her gaze on Will, and cast another bubble of silence. “I’m assuming that interviewing Mr Dal Lago’s wife might uncover some other suspects we’ve missed?”

  “We can hope. As well as that, I want Lily to observe Mrs Dal Lago’s magical strength. If she did do it, maybe she had help.” Will looked at me. “Is that okay?”

  I shrugged. “I’m happy to do that, but how am I supposed to find out? I can’t exactly shadow her all day. I don’t know what her magic feels like, so it’s not as if I can sit somewhere on-site and just wait.”

  Liv’s eyes lit up. “We can orchestrate something. Maybe you could make a mess in front of her and get her to clean it up.”

  I blinked. “That would be rude of me, not cleaning up after myself, since I’m a witch.”

  Liv smiled. “So? Who cares? Be rude. If that’s what it takes to get some info that might help, do it. Does it matter what she thinks of you?”

  “Hmm, I suppose not.” I turned and looked at Will. “But couldn’t I just be there during the interview when they ask for her magic signature? They’d have to make her cast a small spell to get it, right?”

  “Yes, but they’ll cast a magic-dampening spell to make sure she doesn’t draw too much power—no one wants a suspect to go berserk and escape. That’s likely to affect your perception of it.” Will grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently, sincerity leaching from his gaze. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble making a mess in front of her.”

  My mother laughed, and Liv snorted. I narrowed my eyes. “Very funny.” I twisted around and glared at my mother. “I thought you were supposed to be on my side?”

  “I am on your side, but I’m also honest. You were always so messy. The number of times your father and I grounded you for not tidying your room…. And don’t get me started on what a grubby eater you were. I had to have a mat under your chair until you were twelve, and even then, you didn’t need to be a genius to work out where you’d sat.”

  “Why did you hide that you were a witch back then? You could’ve just magicked it away instead of used the vacuum cleaner.” My mother licked her lips. This was a subject I hadn’t broached with her yet, and I was pretty sure now wasn’t the time, but my brain was slow to catch up. “Don’t worry, Mum. We don’t have to do this now. But be warned that I want the answer to that question when this is all over and done with. When my twenty-fourth birthday came around, it was one hell of a bad week.” Not only had my electronics gone haywire the day after my birthday—my phone didn’t work properly, my coffee machine died—but that was also the day I found out James was missing. I could safely say that it had been the worst birthday ever, and thanks to not knowing my mother was a witch, I’d had no warning.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie. I had my reasons, and I’ll be happy to share them with you later… when we have Angelica safe and sound.”

  “Okay.” I wasn’t going to give her a hard time. None of us were in the mood, and Mum had been through enough. I didn’t miss the sympathetic look Liv gave me, though. It was nice that she cared.

  Will looked at his phone. “Agent Tondato should be contacting me in about forty-five minutes to an hour, so let’s get Lily downstairs and fishing for some info. Mrs Dal Lago might go into hiding once they’ve spoken to her, so now’s our best chance.”

  “Can I go with her?” asked Liv.

  “Me too, please.” Imani smirked.

  I squin
ted at both of them. “What gives?”

  Imani answered, “We want to see you make a mess. It should be fun.”

  My top lip hitched up at the corner. “Weirdos. Out of all the things you could be doing in Venice, that’s your choice?”

  Liv nodded. “Yep.” She looked at Will. “So can we?”

  He chuckled. “I guess so. But don’t look suspicious.”

  Imani gave him a “you have got to be kidding me look,” then deadpanned, “I’m a professional.”

  I jumped up. “Okay, then. Let’s get this over and done with. I reckon we head to the bar and order a milky cocktail. That should spill nicely everywhere, and it’ll stink if she doesn’t clean it up straight away.”

  My friends stood, and we made our way to the door. “Ooh, I know!” Liv was a little too excited, so I was dreading what she was going to say. “Can you vomit at will? No one could ignore that.”

  I looked at her as if she was one sandwich short of a picnic. “Ah, no. What the hell, woman? Maybe you could do it since you think it’s such a great idea?”

  Her excitement disappeared. “No, no, it’s okay. I don’t know how to do that. The cocktail idea is fine.”

  I rolled my eyes and opened the door. “Come on.” The trick was going to be finding Mrs Dal Lago. If she wasn’t around, we’d miss our chance. We reached the bottom of the stairs. We were in luck; she was manning—or was that womanning?—the small reception desk. I smiled. “Hi.”

  Her return smile was subdued. “Hello. Are you enjoying your stay?”

  Liv answered, “Yes, thanks. Venice is so beautiful, and your hotel is full of charm. How long have you had it?”

  “Many years. This is our seventeenth year.” She frowned and looked down at her hands on the shelf on the inside of the reception desk. When she looked up again, her jaw bunched, as if she were holding something in. “Now I must run it without my husband. It will be difficult.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Imani’s voice was gentle. “We’re sorry for your loss.”

  Mrs Dal Lago gave us a sad smile. “Thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must get back to work.”

  We said goodbye and strolled down the hall to the bar where we ordered our drinks, and I paid. We moved away from the bar and stood in the middle of the room. I made a bubble of silence. “So, she seemed genuinely sad, didn’t she.”

  Imani nodded. “Yes. Although you’d think she’d be happy to be rid of him so she could enjoy her dalliances without his disapproval.”

  She was forgetting something. “But they had an open marriage.” I sniffed my chocolatey cocktail. It smelled so sweet and yummy. I needed enough to make a mess, but surely I was entitled to a taste? I sucked a small amount through the straw. Oh my God, so good. It was going to be such a shame to spill it on the floor.

  Liv sipped her red wine. “I don’t know about that. I mean, maybe they did, but what if he didn’t want one? What if he agreed so he wouldn’t lose her? Have we found anyone he was having an affair with?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ll have to ask Will to bring it up with Mr Sexist Agent.”

  Imani’s brow furrowed. “What?”

  “When we left their office before, Agent Tondato shook everyone’s hands except mine… because I was the woman.”

  Liv pressed her lips together. “How do you know it was because of that? Maybe he knows you’re not an agent, and that’s why?”

  “I s’pose you could be right, but either way, he doesn’t respect me.”

  Imani slapped my back. “Don’t worry about it. We respect you. Will, Beren, Angelica, and your mum respect you. Even the squirrels respect you. We’re the only ones who matter.”

  “Thanks. Now I’d better keep that respect. It’s time to find out how strong this witch is.” I wished we could find out right now if she’d taken Angelica. Not knowing where she was and how she was, killed me.

  As we got to the doorway, the bartender called out. “Excuse me! You can’t take your drinks out there.”

  “Keep going,” I whispered. “Pretend we didn’t hear.” I wasn’t stopping for anything.

  “Hey!” I didn’t dare look behind, but he was probably on his way to drag us back inside.

  I jogged down the hallway towards the reception desk. Thank God Mrs Dal Lago was still there. I hadn’t figured out how I was going to spill it—maybe pretend to trip?—but I needn’t have worried. Imani grabbed my arm, the one holding the cocktail. “Wait! We can’t leave the bar with these drinks, Lily.” She jerked me to a stop. It would’ve been enough to spill some but not all of my drink, so I let go of my glass, feigning surprise.

  “Oh no! Look what you did!” I put my hands on my hips. “You’ll have to buy me another one. That was really good, and it was expensive.”

  The bartender had caught up to us, and Mrs Dal Lago had come out from behind the reception desk. What if she made the bartender clean it up? I turned to him. “Sorry, but I needed to go to the toilet, and it’s not safe to leave a drink unattended. Do you think you could make me another? This lady will pay for it.” I pointed at Imani.

  “Mio Dio.” Mrs Dal Lago said something else in Italian, her tone of voice… passionate. She waved one arm in the air and shook her head. Before she had time to ask him to clean it up, I took his hand and dragged him down the hallway.

  “Come on. I really need another drink. Maybe you could make it while I’m in the loo, and when I get back, I promise I’ll stay in here to drink it.”

  He tugged his arm out of my grip. “You are crazy, lady. I’ll make you a drink, but don’t grab me again.”

  I put my hands up. “Sorry. I’m just really thirsty.”

  Familiar magic tingled my scalp—I remembered it from the morning Mrs and Mr Dal Lago had fought. I turned. Mrs Dal Lago was casting a spell to clean up my mess. Her aura shone brightly as she did it, amplified by her magic use. But it wasn’t out-of-the-ordinary bright. Her power was average, and I doubted enough to cast a travel spell from a long way away. I wasn’t sure how much magic it took to turn someone into glass, but surely it was more than average?

  I gave Imani a nod. She smiled at Mrs Dal Lago. “I’m so sorry about my friend. We can’t take her anywhere.” She rolled her eyes as if I were such a troublemaker.

  Mrs Dal Lago looked at Imani but didn’t smile. “Just make sure you stay in there or in your room with the drinks, or we could lose our licence.”

  Imani nodded. “Of course. Sorry. We’ll just go back in the bar and make sure we do that.” Imani and Liv sat on one of the couches in the corner furthest from the bar.

  I went to the bathroom because the ruse needed to be believable. When I returned, I paid for my new drink and went and sat with Liv and Imani. I waved my cocktail at Imani. “You owe me ten euros for this.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “You cheapskate. Are you kidding, love? You’re the one who dropped it.”

  “You grabbed me.” I created a bubble of silence. “I’m just kidding. I wanted to make sure they bought the charade. And I was supposed to make a mess. Remember?”

  Her eyes widened. “You had me, love. I thought you were serious.”

  Liv had an “I’m impressed” expression. “You fooled me too. Nice acting.”

  “Thanks. Maybe I should consider a career change.” I slid my phone from my pocket. “I’ll message Will and let him know… about Mrs D’s magic, not my potential career change.”

  Imani chuckled and shook her head. “What did you find out?”

  “Her magic feels normal and boring with a hint of flirtation. And don’t ask me how I know. It just is. Anyway, it’s of average powerfulness. Nothing special. She’s definitely a fair bit weaker than all of us. It’d be a struggle for her to cast a spell from far away, and even if she managed it, the vibration would have woken all of us. But she is a similar size and build to that person in my photo with the coat on.”

  Since we’d rescued my mother, I’d been reading up on magic and the level of power needed fo
r different spells. Part of it was to try and find a way to heal Mum, so she could use her magic again, and the other was to understand exactly how powerful I was. I’d managed to kill Piranha, even though she had a return to sender up. My spell had destroyed hers. I didn’t know exactly how powerful I was, but it was humbling to know I had more power than probably 95 per cent of witches, at least based on my power point score, which was kind of like an IQ test but for magic. My skill level wasn’t as high as some witches with less power—I definitely needed more practice, especially with complex spells—but I had potential. The fact that I could gauge how powerful another witch was and detect how their magic felt was a testament to my innate ability. We’d all decided to keep this as secret as possible—story of my adult life. The less magic I performed in front of other witches, the better. If another witch could feel power levels as I could—and there were a few—I might become a target… yet again. Seemed like as free as I finally was, I would always have to watch my back.

  Imani stared at the far wall for a moment. “Right, so she’s probably not our suspect, but we can’t rule her out just yet. If it’s not her, and it’s not the glass-blower guy, then who? What are we missing?”

  I turned my head and checked out the bartender. Was he jealous of his lover’s husband? He’d made our drinks with magic, but it didn’t feel particularly special either, so I discounted him. Was Mr Dal Lago a bad boss? Or did he owe more people money?

  Will, Beren, and my mother walked in. Beren went straight to the bar, and Will and Mum came and sat on the couch opposite where Liv, Imani, and I sat. Mum smiled. “Glad to see whatever mess you made didn’t get you banned from the hotel. What’s the verdict?”

  I made a bubble of silence, and my eyes widened. “You thought I might get banned?”

  She shrugged. “You never know.”

  My own mother had sent me to the potential slaughter. Okay, so I might have been overdramatising it, but still…. “I can’t believe you let me do it while thinking that.”