Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 2

by April Fernsby

  Gia quietly arrived with another bowl of ice cream for Jeremy. She placed a cup of tea in front of me. I gave her a grateful smile. A cup of tea was just what I needed. Gia winked before silently moving away.

  I said to Rex, “Why do you need me to give you orders about the sirens?”

  “You can overrule Nerita. As a justice witch, you have the power to do that.”

  “Do I?”

  Rex nodded. “Your mum had the same authority. She had to assert her powers now and again with certain creatures around here.” His look turned more serious. “Cassia, we need to know where the sirens have gone, and why they left Brimstone Beach. Nerita is doing her best to look for them, but we can help her if we have your authority. She doesn’t have to know, we can continue to be discreet. If we have your authority, we can question the sea creatures too. The sirens have never gone missing before and I’m concerned.”

  With bits of ice cream around his mouth, Jeremy said, “I’m concerned too. The sirens need to be found as soon as possible.”

  “Well?” Rex waited for my answer.

  I took a sip of tea and immediately felt Mum’s presence again. I suddenly recalled how she’d let me have my own cup of tea whenever she had one. She made sure it was lukewarm before giving it to me. I instinctively knew what Mum would say.

  “Rex, I’d like you to investigate the disappearance of the sirens. If you run into Nerita, let her know that I’ve told you to do so. Report straight back to me. Thank you.”

  The admiration in Rex’s eyes made me feel warm and I knew I’d said the right thing.

  Rex said, “You’ve made the right decision. I’ll be in touch soon.” He gave me a nod, stood up and strode purposefully away.

  Stanley said, “I like him. He smells strong and brave.”

  We watched Rex as he walked over to his colleagues and began to talk to them. When he’d finished talking, they turned back into white horses and galloped into the sea. I was half expecting them to transform into huge waves again, but they didn’t. They kept galloping into the water until their heads disappeared beneath the sea.

  I said to Jeremy, “What do you think is going on with the sirens? Has anything like this ever happened before?”

  He shook his head and put his empty bowl next to the other two empty ones. “I can’t help feeling that something terrible is going to happen soon. Can you feel it too?”

  Despite the heat of the day and the warmth of the tea in my stomach, I shivered. I said, “I can feel that. I can feel something else too. It’s like events have already been put in motion and there’s nothing I can do to stop them.”

  Chapter 8

  As if sensing my unease, dark clouds moved across the sky and blotted out the sun.

  Jeremy looked skywards and said, “It’s going to rain. There’s nothing more miserable than rain when you’re at the beach.”

  I glanced at the merpeople who were now packing up their belongings. “Are they leaving?”

  Jeremy nodded. “They’ll return to the sea for a while. Do you want to talk to them?”

  “I do. I wanted to get to know them a bit better before asking about the sirens.”

  I watched a group of merpeople walk to the edge of the water and wade in. As soon as they were chest high in the water, they dipped under it and I saw tails flipping up and catching the last rays of the sun as it vanished behind the grey clouds.

  Gia came over to us and said, “I’m going to start putting the café walls up to stop the rain coming in. I’ll keep the café open in case anyone wants a hot drink. Do you want anything else?”

  I shook my head. “We’ll head back to Brimstone for now, but we’ll come back later.”

  Gia said, “Say hello to Gilda for me. She hasn’t been over here for a visit for a long time and I know she misses the beach.” She glanced towards the sandy beach. “Could you take her a shell back, please? One of the round, silver ones. They’re magical and they carry the sounds of this beach with them. Gilda would love that. I’ll go and find one for you.”

  Stanley leapt off my lap and declared, “I’ve seen some of those shells. I’ll find a good one for you.” He scampered off with an eager look on his furry face.

  I called out, “Stay away from the water’s edge!”

  “Will do!” Stanley shouted back.

  Stanley came back a minute later with a beautiful silver shell in his mouth. He dropped it at Gia’s feet and smiled up at her.

  Gia picked it up and nodded in approval. “Perfect. Just perfect. Thank you, Stanley. Would you like some fish ice cream to go? I can put it in a special container so that it doesn’t melt.”

  “I would love that! Thank you.”

  Jeremy noisily cleared his throat.

  I said, “Could we have some too, please?”

  Jeremy cleared his throat again.

  I added, “Not the fish one, the one you gave us before.”

  Gia smiled. “I’ll sort that out immediately.”

  As soon as we had our ice cream tubs, we said thank you and goodbye to Gia and then took to the grey skies on our broomsticks. I insisted Stanley sit with me as I still hadn’t fully got over the shock of him almost drowning.

  The beach was completely deserted by the time we left. The rain had started and soft drops landed on the sand like tears. I looked away from the depressing sight and rose above the clouds until we came to blue sky. One of the perks of having a broomstick.

  We were silent as we flew back to Brimstone. My stomach was in knots about leaving the beach. I knew something terrible was going to happen, but I also knew I couldn’t stop it. It was an awful feeling and I couldn’t shake it at all.

  The clouds beneath us drifted away as we reached the town leaving us with a clear sky.

  We went straight to the apartment that Gran has in town as I wanted to put the ice cream in the freezer before Jeremy gobbled it all up. I’d seen how he’d been looking at the tubs on our return flight.

  Gran’s apartment was located over the Mooncrest Café. It had a spacious living area with a small kitchen to one side. The best thing about the apartment was the huge windows which overlooked the town square. The windows were tinted and Stanley and I had spent a lot of time staring out at the residents of Brimstone in the safe knowledge that they couldn’t see us spying on them.

  As soon as Jeremy came into the apartment, he clasped his hands together and said, “This is magnificent. Wow. What a lovely place for you to hang out in.” He scanned left and right. “A fully stocked bookcase. Perfect. DVDs. Super. Is that the full series of Murder, She Wrote? I watched them with your mum sometimes. Between you and me, I have a crush on Angela Lansbury.”

  “Where did you watch them with Mum?” I asked. “Here?”

  Jeremy didn’t answer as he moved swiftly over to the windows and pressed his face against one of them. “Who is that over there? Is he a vampire?” He squinted. “I can’t see his fangs properly. Who’s he talking to? Is that a goblin or a gnome?”

  Stanley trotted over to his side and said helpfully, “There are some binoculars over there at your side. Cassia uses them all the time. I’ve got some too.” He moved over to where his cat-sized binoculars had been fixed to the window sill at the perfect height for him. He peered through and said, “Jeremy, look to your left. That’s a garden gnome. She’s called Mrs Tarblast. I can tell you a thing or two about her if you don’t mind a bit of gossip?”

  “I never mind a bit of gossip.” Jeremy located the binoculars, shuffled over to Stanley and peered out at the residents of Brimstone. Stanley proceeded to tell him everything he knew about the creatures outside.

  I propped the broomsticks against the wall near the door. Jeremy had dropped his in excitement the second he’d entered the apartment. I took the ice cream tubs over to the freezer and put them in. I checked the contents of the fridge to see if I needed to buy anything. I had a feeling we wouldn’t be returning to Gran’s house until this business with the sirens was settled.

/>   I smiled when I saw the fridge was stocked with everything we needed. Gilda had access to this apartment and she always knew when Stanley and I would be returning for a while.

  That reminded me.

  I walked over to the spies at the window and said, “When you’ve quite finished gossiping about everyone, I’d like to call on Gilda and give her that shell.”

  Jeremy immediately lowered his binoculars. “Gilda! The Mooncrest Café! I haven’t been there for years.” He patted his stomach. “I think I could manage a snack or two.”

  I took in his skinny frame. “Where do you put it all?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I can eat what I want and stay thin.”

  I shook my head at him. “That’s so annoying. It’s a good job I like you. Come on.”

  We left the apartment and headed downstairs to the café. Stanley insisted on carrying the shell in his mouth. As we entered the café, he padded over to Gilda and proudly dropped the shell in front of her.

  Gilda picked it up with a quizzical expression on her face.

  I followed Stanley and explained to Gilda about our visit to the beach.

  Jeremy stepped forward and gave Gilda a big hug. He said, “It’s so good to see you again. You smell delicious.”

  Gilda laughed as she was released from his hug. “You are one of my favourite customers, Jeremy Spring. You never leave anything on your plate. Could you manage something to eat now? I know you’ve had some of my sister’s ice cream. I can smell it on you.”

  Jeremy said, “Perhaps a snack or two, just to be polite. Thank you.”

  Gilda nodded and then put the shell to her ear. She sighed happily. “I’d forgotten how soothing it is to hear the sea. I can’t hear anyone talking, but I can hear the sound of the rain. Is it raining now?”

  I frowned. “It was when we left. How can you hear the rain through that shell?”

  “It’s a Brimstone shell. It’s magical,” Gilda explained. “It picks up on sounds that are going on right now.” She smiled. “I can hear Gia singing in the distance. Take a seat and I’ll bring you something over.” She glided away with the shell pressed against her ear and a smile on her face.

  I took Jeremy over to my favourite table. It was next to the window which gave me a view of the town and also a view of the rest of the café.

  As we sat down, the café door opened and Luca entered. He immediately looked our way and I saw his nostrils flaring as if he’d just smelled something revolting.

  Stanley called out from my lap, “Luca! We’re over here. We’ve been to the beach. I nearly drowned!”

  I hissed, “Stanley, he’s not our friend at the moment. He doesn’t know who we are.”

  Stanley’s head dropped. “I forgot.”

  Luca stared at Stanley and I saw a flicker of concern in his eyes. Just as abruptly, it was gone. He hesitated as if he wasn’t sure how he should respond to Stanley’s outburst.

  Jeremy got swiftly to his feet and walked over to Luca. He grabbed his hand and shook it. “I’m Jeremy Spring. I don’t think we’ve ever met. I believe you’re a guardian in this town. Is that right?”

  Luca gave him a reluctant nod and cast a hostile look my way.

  Jeremy continued brightly, “In that case, I’m sure you’d like to hear about Cassia’s latest case. Well, it’s not really a case yet but we suspect it will turn into one. Join us at the table and we’ll fill you in.”

  “No, thank you,” Luca replied curtly.

  Jeremy wasn’t put off by Luca’s cold attitude and told him briefly what we’d been up to.

  Luca listened silently with no expression on his face. When Jeremy came to the bit about the grindylows grabbing Stanley, the concern came into Luca’s eyes again and he gave Stanley a curious look.

  When Jeremy had finished, Luca said coldly, “Thanks for telling me. The Brimstone beach is not my concern.” He gave Stanley another quizzical look before abruptly walking out of the café.

  Jeremy shook his head at his departure and returned to our table. He said, “Thanks to the spell Astrid put on him, Luca does not like you one little bit. There is intense hate for you, Cassia. I could almost taste it.”

  I nodded. “I know.”

  “His hate is a temporary thing, I felt that too. It’s not stable and keeps wavering. Did you see how he looked at Stanley? It was like he knew him, but he didn’t know how he knew him.”

  “I noticed that,” Stanley said. His tone was hopeful as he continued, “I think he remembers me. Somewhere in the back of his mind, I think he remembers his good friend, Stanley.”

  I stroked Stanley’s head. “I hope you’re right, but don’t be disappointed if you’re not.”

  “I’ll try not to.”

  Jeremy looked over my shoulder and rubbed his hands together. “Gilda’s coming back.” His expression changed and his hands dropped to his lap. “Something’s wrong.”

  Gilda’s face was even paler than usual as she came to our table. Her hand trembled as she gave me the shell. “Cassia, listen.”

  I put the shell to my ear and heard Gia cry out, “She’s dead! Nerita’s dead!”

  Chapter 9

  Jeremy, Stanley and I rushed back to Brimstone Beach as quickly as our broomsticks would allow. From the air, we saw a group of merpeople clustered around a cave a short distance from the café. We landed behind the merpeople who moved out of the way when they recognised us.

  I placed my broomstick at the entrance to the cave and walked slowly in. There was a stillness inside as if the cave were holding its breath. I felt like doing the same. I could feel Stanley’s fur brushing my legs as he walked slowly at my side. Jeremy was right behind us.

  There was a tailed figure lying on the sand near the back of the cave. As I walked closer, the top part of the body came into view. I recognised the short, spiky hair on the motionless head. Nerita’s eyes were open and she stared unseeing at the cave roof. Her face was white and her left hand was resting on her throat.

  I didn’t want to move too close and contaminate the scene. I whispered to Jeremy, “What’s happened to her? Why is she in her mermaid form so far from the sea?”

  Jeremy replied, “I don’t know. Merpeople don’t change into their tails until they’re in the sea. It’s dangerous for them to be in this form on land as they can’t breathe properly.” He crouched at Nerita’s side and looked closer at her face. “It looks like she was struggling to breathe. You can see how her left hand has clawed at her throat, possibly in terror. I don’t understand why she changed into her tailed self so far from the sea.”

  I crouched next to Jeremy and kept my voice low, “Would something or someone have caused her to change into her present form? Could someone have forced her to do it?”

  Jeremy looked into my eyes and gave me a slight nod. It seems he was just aware as me of the merpeople behind us who were listening to our words. He whispered, “This must be the dreadful thing I’ve been expecting.” He shook his head sorrowfully. “I didn’t think it was going to be this, though. Poor Nerita.”

  Stanley was sniffing the sand. He looked at me and said, “Something doesn’t smell right.” He moved carefully along, still sniffing. He stopped at the side of a small rock and popped his head behind it. “Cassia, there’s something here. Come and have a look.”

  I went over to Stanley and saw what he was looking at. I used a tissue from my pocket to pick up the bottle of water which had been half buried in the sand. Brimstone didn’t have facilities for checking fingerprints yet, but I was hoping I could sort something out in the future. I’d bought something off Amazon which would allow me to highlight fingerprints on objects. It wasn’t much of a start to my forensics department, but it was something.

  I took the bottle over to Jeremy and showed him it.

  He straightened up and said, “That’s saltwater. All the merpeople drink that. Gia sells it at the café.”

  “Why do they drink saltwater?” I asked. “And why would they buy it from
Gia if there’s an ocean full of it out there?”

  “Gia filters it first to get rid of any contamination and then she chills it. I don’t know why it’s been left in this cave. Merpeople always take their empty bottles back to Gia.”

  I held the bottle up. It was half full. I said, “What would happen if they drank normal water? Like the water you and I would drink?”

  Jeremy’s eyes widened. “It would be like poison to them.”

  “What exactly would it do to them? Would it…?” I sent a pointed look towards Nerita’s lifeless body.

  Jeremy gave me a slow nod. “It would. The water would cause an immediate change in them from legs to a tail. But we don’t know if it is pure water in that bottle. The label says that it’s seawater. Gia is very careful to keep her bottles of water clearly labelled and in different places in the café.”

  Using the tissue, I took the lid off the bottle and sniffed the liquid inside. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I didn’t get an aroma of anything. I lifted the bottle.

  Stanley yelled, “Cassia! Don’t drink it! It could have poison in it.”

  There was a collective gasp behind me from the merpeople.

  Someone called out, “Nerita has been poisoned! She’s been murdered!”

  I looked over at the crowd and said calmly, “We don’t know that yet.” I turned back to Jeremy. “We need to get this water analysed. Dr Morgan can do that for us. I’d like her to look at the body too. I don’t suppose there are any butterflies around here ready to take a message to the doctor?”

  Jeremy said, “I can summon one. That’s the wonderful thing about your Brimstone butterflies; they are always on call, no matter how far away you are. I’ll go outside and summon one now.” He turned away from me and swiftly left the cave.

  I was putting the lid back on the bottle when a someone came running through the cave yelling, “My sister! Where’s my sister?”

  Conway came to an abrupt halt when he saw Nerita lying on the sand. His face turned as pale as hers. “No!” he wailed. “No! This can’t be! She can’t be dead.” He turned his stricken face to me and his glance went to the bottle in my hand. “What is that? Has it got something to do with Nerita? What’s in it?”