Stanley nodded. “And it’s getting colder.”
I used the light on my phone to illuminate the steps ahead of us. We came to the bottom and walked onto a stone passageway. It was only a short passageway and we soon came to another set of steps which went up. At the top we found ourselves in a similar cave to that of Leonard’s, only this one didn’t have any furniture in it and was completely empty of any kind of life.
Stanley looked as if he were going to run towards the entrance of the cave, but one glance from me made him stay in his place.
I could feel a draught all over my body now and considered using the warming spell.
Stanley said, “Shall we go to the entrance of the cave? I can see lots of snow outside and plenty of trees.”
We made our way towards the entrance of the cave and peered out. Just as Stanley said, there was a lot of snow outside and many trees. The landscape looked similar to that of Brimstone. I would have thought we were in another magical land if I hadn’t noticed the mobile phone tower a short distance away.
Stanley raised his nose and sniffed. “We’re back in the human world, I can smell it. The air smells like it does back home but a bit fresher. Where do you think we are? Shall we go up on your broomstick and look down? It would be like looking at Google maps.”
“No, we might be seen. I can’t see any houses or buildings nearby, but it’s better to be safe.” I pointed to the mobile phone tower. “I should be able to get a signal and, hopefully, get on the internet.”
I held my phone out and watched the screen silently. The lovely arched symbol appeared to show me I was online. Phew.
Within minutes, I’d found our location and lowered my phone to show Stanley where we were. I said, “We’re in Scotland. Look, the nearest town is about three miles away. Look at all this open space here. If Leonard found his way through the passageway, he would have loved running around here.”
Stanley agreed. “Perhaps that’s what he was doing on the day he was filmed? He was just having a lovely run around, and someone caught him on camera.”
“That does sound a possibility.” I looked around the area. “Let me bring up the video of Leonard again and we’ll see if this is the same area. Those mountains over there are quite remarkable and I think I saw them in the video.”
I lowered myself next to Stanley when I found the video. I played it a few times to confirm the mountains in the video’s background were the same ones that were behind us now.
I said, “That proves it then; Leonard was definitely here.”
Stanley sighed. “Look how happy Leonard is. Do you think he knew someone was watching him? Do you think he was aware that a human followed him back to Brimstone? It could be the smooth-faced creature who Boris was talking to.” He paused. “The one who killed Leonard.”
“Those are my thoughts too, Stanley. I’ll make a note of this location on my phone. There’s not much more we can do here. Let’s go back to Gran’s house and see if Oliver has found out who uploaded the video yet. If Dr Morgan has spoken to him about the substance in Leonard’s body, Oliver might have found out where that came from too.”
I straightened up and we took one last look around before returning to the passageway.
As we went back, Stanley said, “I wonder what Leonard thought when he came through here? He must have been happy about all this space to run about it with no one to bother him. Poor Leonard.”
“Don’t feel too sad, Stanley. We’re going to find out what happened to Leonard. We’re getting closer to finding out who killed him.”
Stanley nodded. “I know. I really want to know why someone killed him. I can’t get my head around why someone would do that to him.” A little sob escaped from him.
I shoved my broomstick under one arm and used my other to pick up my little friend. I held him close as we returned to Brimstone. I was sad too about Leonard, but there was also anger growing in me. I would not rest until I found the evil being who committed this terrible act.
Chapter 20
Once back in Brimstone Mountains, we headed to the central area and noticed Xodia standing near the line of ice sculptures. She was staring down at the broken fragments of Boris’ sculpture.
Stanley said, “What is she doing now? At least she’s not shouting at anyone this time.”
I aimed my broomstick towards the Amazon and called out, “Xodia! Stay there. I want to talk to you.”
Xodia jumped at my words and looked startled as we zoomed towards her. That didn’t stop her from abruptly turning away and racing off the ice at high-speed.
“She’s getting away! Use your magic,” Stanley urged.
I aimed an immobilising spell at Xodia, but she was too quick for my magic and had disappeared behind a line of log cabins before the magic hit her.
“She’s too fast! Why does she have to be so athletic?” I said to Stanley. “We’ll catch up with her soon. Let’s see what she was finding so fascinating about those broken pieces of ice. Do you remember what Ravette said about Boris’ imagination? She said it was unusual. Maybe he used his unusual imagination when making his sculpture.”
We landed at the side of the shattered ice pieces and Stanley immediately began to examine it. I wasn’t sure what I was looking at, but after a minute of squinting at it and tilting my head, I recognised something. It gave me quite a shock to see an arm and a leg amongst the ice. Thankfully, they were made of ice too. It was like a frozen version of a horror movie where someone finds dismembered body parts.
Stanley came over to me and said, “Come over here and look at this. I think it’s a mobile phone.” He took me to the rear of the broken sculpture and aimed his paw towards a square object. I bent down to examine it and could make out the details on the item. It was a mobile phone complete with the maker’s name and logo.
I looked at Stanley. “Are you thinking the same as me? That Boris made a sculpture of that man who gave him meat?”
Stanley nodded. “How are we going to put this back together?”
I wiggled my fingers at him and said, “I’ll use my magic sculpting fingers. I know a repair spell that might work.”
I hadn’t used the spell before but there was a first time for everything. I recited what I hoped were the right words. The last thing we needed was the broken pieces to break even more or melt.
There was a tinkling sound, a flash of white light and then the broken pieces began to move together as if drawn by a central magnet.
Stanley hopped from paw to paw and shouted, “It’s working! It’s all coming together like magic.” He chuckled at his last words.
The ice sculpture pieced itself back together. Stanley and I took a step back so we could take it all in. The structure was a human man holding a mobile phone to his ear. He was wearing a big coat and a hat. A scarf was pulled over the bottom part of this face so we were unable to make out his features.
Stanley walked around the structure and declared, “This must be the man who came through the secret door in Leonard’s cave. It must be.”
I took my phone out and snapped some pictures of the man even though we couldn’t make out what he looked like. It was something to go on, no matter how small.
I felt someone nudging into the back of my leg and looked down to see Boris there. He grinned up at me.
He pointed to the ice sculpture and said, “That’s him. That’s the funny creature with a smooth face who gave me meat. Do you know who he is? I want to get some more meat from him.” He rubbed his tummy. “It was so delicious. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
I quickly looked around for an angry Ravette but couldn’t see her anywhere. I said to Boris, “What are you doing out of bed? Does your mum know where you are?”
Boris sniggered and said, “I escaped from my room. I do it all the time.” He reached out and pulled at my pocket. “Have you got any meat with you?”
I shoved his hand away and replied, “Even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you. You know it’s agai
nst your mum’s wishes.”
Boris’ bottom lip stuck out. He started to walk away.
I called out to him, “Just a minute. Come back here. I want to ask you something about this creature.”
“Nope, I don’t want to.” Boris continued walking away.
“Boris! Get back here right now! Before I use my magic on you.”
Boris stopped walking and looked over his shoulder. “Can you magic some meat up for me, please? Just a little bit.”
I gave him a stern look. “There will be no more talk of meat. What happened when you took this creature to Leonard’s cave? Were you there when Leonard came back?”
Boris rolled his eyes and said, “We waited ages and ages. I told you that before.”
“Tell me again. Tell me every detail.”
Boris said, “I told him Leonard was out and he might not be back for ages. He said he would wait and he asked me to stay with him. I talked to that box for a bit. We waited some more. I did some singing. We waited again. I got bored and said I had to go home. He didn’t like that. I said I had to go because Mum would be worried. He asked me how big Mum was, and I said she was massive. He looked scared when I said that and told me to go. So I did.”
There was a funny look on Boris’ face. I said, “What else?”
“When I left the cave, I saw someone hiding behind a rock watching us. I’ll tell you who it was if you give me some meat.” A sneaky look came into his eyes and he stared at Stanley. “Can I have a nibble of your cat’s tail? He doesn’t really need a tail, does he?”
Stanley gulped and padded over to my side. He whispered, “Tell him to stop looking at me like that. He’s got hungry eyes.”
I picked Stanley up. “Boris, this is a serious matter. Do you know that Leonard has been hurt?” I didn’t want to tell him Leonard was dead.
Boris gave me a sad nod. “Mum said Leonard won’t be running anymore. What happened to him? Why won’t he be running anymore?”
“I think your mum should explain that to you. It’s very important that I know who was outside Leonard’s cave when you were there. It could help me to find out who hurt Leonard.”
Boris glanced over his shoulder before saying, “It was Xodia. I’ve seen her hiding in the forest before. She’s no nosy. I think she saw me in the cave with that creature.” He pointed to the ice sculpture. “I think she heard what we were talking about. Do you think it was Xodia who hurt Leonard?”
“I don’t know yet. Boris, when I was talking to you earlier in your bedroom, you said you’d told your mum about your meetings with this creature. Is that true?”
“It is. I told Mum everything. I had to tell her three times because she thought I was making it up at first. She got very angry and her eyes went black. She said she’d deal with the creature and told me to keep away from him.” He shrugged. “But I had to meet him again because he kept promising to feed me. I love meat. I love the taste of it. It makes me feel strong.” He looked at my bare hand. “Could I have a munch on your little finger? You don’t need all your fingers. I’ll just take the little one.”
“No, you can’t. You need to go back home now, Boris. That creature you’ve been meeting is a man from my world. He’s a human. He could be dangerous. I don’t want you to ever meet him again, okay?”
Boris sighed. “I don’t think he’s coming back anyway. I’ve been looking for him for days and I can’t find him.”
“Promise me you won’t meet him. I don’t want you to get hurt like Leonard did.”
Boris sighed again. “Okay, I promise. It’s not fair, you know. It’s not my fault I like meat. I don’t see what the problem is.” He turned away and continued complaining to himself as he headed back to his cabin.
I said to Stanley, “We need to find out who this man is and what his connection was with Leonard. I wonder if Ravette found this man somewhere and threatened him? You’ve seen how protective she is of Boris.”
Stanley mused, “What if this man had that synthetic poison and followed Leonard into Brimstone? And what if Ravette caught up with this man and discovered the poison on him? She might have blamed Leonard for leading this man into Brimstone and killed him. That’s why she’s pretending she knows nothing about this human; she’s trying to cover her tracks.”
We stared at the ice sculpture for a while.
I said, “Our priority is finding this man somehow. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Chapter 21
We made our way over to Dr Morgan’s office. Seeing as Blythe and Gran wanted me out of the way, it felt like Dr Morgan was my only ally in Brimstone.
We found the doctor in her office with papers scattered over her desk. She looked tired as she gave us a smile of welcome and invited us to take a seat.
I quickly told her what we discovered so far concerning the secret passageway and the ice sculpture.
Dr Morgan pressed her lips tightly together as she listened. Anger flashed in her eyes. When I’d finished talking, she slammed her hand on her desk and said, “This is all due to that evil dark magic! It’s opening up passageways all over the place. What’s going to happen next? Are vampires going to sneak into the human world and cause mayhem? Will werewolves wander the streets of Yorkshire scaring the living daylights out of everyone? Will gnomes run riot across the fields of Dartmoor? This isn’t acceptable at all.”
I said, “I’m just as worried as you. I’ll have to speak to Blythe about this later. Did you speak to Oliver about the synthetic poison?”
Dr Morgan took a deep, calming breath and said, “Yes, I did.” The corners of her mouth moved into a smile. “Oliver is amazing on the computer. I’ve never seen a cat’s paws move so quickly. I asked him to look into who’s supplying the poison. I’ve made a few enquiries myself about that too. I’m getting a coffee. Cassia, would you like one?”
“I’d love one, thank you.”
Dr Morgan moved over to a coffee machine next to the window and said, “I’ve got some cream in the fridge, Stanley. Could I tempt you to a small bowl?”
Stanley chuckled and said, “Always. Thank you.”
Dr Morgan provided us with our drinks before returning to her seat behind the desk. She took a sip of coffee before saying, “My sources have tracked the synthetic poison down to a laboratory in London. It’s an experimental poison and hasn’t been given the all-clear yet. It’s not widely available. However, a batch of it was stolen and it is now being sold on a dodgy website. This website sent out the poison to a number of addresses around the world.”
My heart sank. “If it’s been dispatched to people around the world, how are we going to find out who poisoned Leonard?”
Dr Morgan explained, “Don’t despair, there is good news. You mentioned the passageway leading you to an area in Scotland.” She tapped a sheet of paper in front of her. “I’ve got a list of addresses that the poison was sent to. I’m not sure if my sources have broken any privacy laws to get this information, but I’ll worry about that later. One of the addresses is a post office box in a small town in Scotland. The town is called Kirkbury Moor.”
Stanley cried out, “That’s the town near the cave! That can’t be a coincidence.”
“It’s not a coincidence; it can’t be,” Dr Morgan said. She took another sip of her coffee and I noticed her hands were shaking. “I’m furious about this. How dare someone go into Leonard’s cave and poison him? I’m going to find out who rented this post office box. The post office doesn’t usually give out that sort of information, but I’ll ask my sources for help again. Oliver has got this information too, and I know he’s trying to track down who’s renting that box too. Together, we’ll find the culprit.”
“Thank you,” I said to her, “but I don’t want you getting too involved in this. It’s down to me to find out who killed Leonard. You need to think about your blood pressure.” I flashed her a small smile. “If you get ill, who’s going to look after you?”
Dr Morgan laughed and put her coffee down. “
You’re quite right. I know you and Stanley are more than capable of dealing with this investigation. I just thought you could do with some extra help. Speaking of extra help, I don’t know why your gran and Blythe have been so difficult about your relationship with Luca. I know what they’ve said to you and why. I totally disagree with them. Luca could be helping you with this investigation. It’s probably not my place to say this, but I don’t see what the problem is. You and Luca should be allowed to have whatever relationship you want. It’s nothing to do with anyone else.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I’m too busy with my investigation to worry about Luca.” It was a lie, but sometimes it’s easier to tell a lie than to admit the truth.
Dr Morgan gave me an understanding look and said, “I see. You don’t want to talk about Luca; that’s fair enough. If you’re planning to go back to Scotland, are you going to use your magic when you get there?”
“I’m not sure if it’s allowed. I’d like to talk to Blythe and Gran about this case, but they’ve made it clear they want me to stay away from Brimstone.”
Anger came into Dr Morgan’s eyes again and her hands clenched into fists. “That’s their problem, not yours. You’ve got an important investigation to deal with. You need to know whether or not you can use magic in the human world, and they are the only ones who can answer that question for you. I know they’re both at Blythe’s house at the moment. I think you should go there right now. Stop worrying about their opinions and focus your attention on Leonard’s death.” She looked away. “I don’t know why Leonard’s death is getting to me so much. I’ve helped you with murders before, but this one seems particularly sad. I can’t stop thinking about him.” She looked back at us and I was surprised to see her eyes glistening.
I took a big drink of coffee, put my cup down and said, “I don’t want you to worry about this a moment longer. I’m going to march round to Blythe’s house right now and get all the information I need from her. I appreciate your concern, and I want you to know that you can leave everything to us now. I can’t have you getting stressed about this. I never meant that to happen.”
Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 2 Page 41