Witch Is How Berries Tasted Good

by Adele Abbott

  The following hour saw a similar mix of customers. The next bigxie to come through the door was alone.

  “Yes, Sir.” Driller had once again brushed me aside. “I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before?”

  “No, this is my first time.”

  “Just finished work, have you?”

  “I wish. I’m just about to start my shift.”

  “No rest for the wicked. What can I get for you today?”

  “A flat white to go, please. Make it a large one.”

  “Coming right up.”

  Once again, I watched him very closely, and this time, I saw him drop a pill into the cup. As soon as the bigxie was out of the door, I took off the apron, and pushed it into Driller’s hands.

  “What’s this? You haven’t finished your trial yet.”

  “Sorry, I’ve changed my mind about the job.”

  “Timewaster!” he called after me, as I hurried out of the shop.

  Once outside, I spotted the bigxie, and set off in pursuit.

  I deliberately bumped into him. “Whoops! Sorry.” Just as I’d hoped, he dropped the cup, and spilled its contents all over the pavement.

  “Watch where you’re going!”

  “Sorry, I’m such a klutz.” I hurried away.

  When I was out of sight of the coffee shop, I called Bob Bobb.

  “Bob, it’s Jill. I think I may have some good news for you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’m in Candlefield now. Could we meet up?”

  “Of course. I can be at Slurp in twenty minutes.”

  “Not in Slurp. Would you mind if we met up in Cuppy C?”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay, see you soon.”

  As it was such a beautiful day, I decided to take a short detour through Primrose Park. The flowerbeds were in full bloom, and in the centre of the park, children were cooling down by running through the jets of water that shot up from beneath their feet.

  That’s when I spotted two familiar figures: Miles Best and Cuppy C’s newest recruit, Gloria Huss. I hid behind a tree, so they wouldn’t see me, but I needn’t have bothered because they only had eyes for one another.

  ***

  “Hi, Mindy.” I glanced around the shop. “No Amber?”

  “Didn’t you know? She and Pearl have both gone down with sup flu.”

  “Oh dear. Who’s looking after Lily and Lil?”

  “Your aunt Lucy has got both of them.”

  “Poor Aunt Lucy. She’ll be run ragged. It’s a good thing they have you to hold the fort here.”

  “They might not think so when they find out that money is going missing.”

  “Has it happened again?”

  “Yes. Twenty-pounds yesterday. I’m going to have to tell them this time.”

  “Don’t do that just yet.”

  “What else can I do? I can’t afford to make it up from my own purse.”

  “I understand that, but listen: On my way here, I walked through Primrose Park, and you’ll never guess who I saw in there. Your old boyfriend; he was with Gloria.”

  “Gloria Huss?”

  “None other.”

  “And they were together?”

  “Very much so.”

  “Do you think she took the money?”

  “I’d bet my life on it. We both know what Miles is capable of, and he’s obviously still bitter at the way you dumped him. He must have put her up to it.”

  “I’ll kill him!” Mindy was livid.

  “All in good time. First, though, you need to catch her in the act.”

  “Don’t worry. I will.”

  Just then, Bob Bobb arrived.

  “What would you like to drink, Jill?”

  “Something cold, please.”

  “Ice tea?”

  “That would be great.”

  Once we had our drinks, we found a free table away from the other customers.

  “What have you found out, Jill?”

  “I know who is nobbling your operators.”

  “Who?”

  “Driller.”

  “You must be joking.” He laughed. “Driller has always been a good friend to the bigxies.”

  “That’s what he’d have you believe, but in fact, he’s being paid to spike the drinks of bigxies who are on their way to work.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “I got lucky. While I was being interviewed at Mimage, I heard the owner talking to someone on the phone. They were chasing her for money she owed them.”

  “So?”

  “I heard her refer to the caller by name: Driller.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “One-hundred percent certain. I was only a few feet away.”

  “But you can’t know the money owed was for nobbling bigxies. It could have been for anything. Maybe he supplies food and drink to Mimage.”

  “Trust me, Driller is your man. I applied for a job at Slurp. In fact, I’ve just come from there. He gave me a trial to see if I was up to the job, and one of his first instructions to me was that he wanted to serve all the bigxies.”

  “But I’ve been in there numerous times and nothing has ever happened to me.”

  “He’s very clever about who he selects. He only picks the bigxies who aren’t regulars, and who are on their way to work. I bet if you check with Johnny and Mickey, you’ll find out that they called into Slurp on their way into work on the day they were nobbled. It’s ingenious when you think about it.”

  “I’ll ask them. I still can’t believe Driller would do something like this.”

  “I saw him with my own eyes. He spiked the coffee of a bigxie just now.”

  “Are you absolutely sure?”

  “Positive. I told Driller that I didn’t want his job, and then I chased after the bigxie to make sure he didn’t drink the coffee.”

  “I’m going to kill him!” Bob stood up.

  “Wait!” I grabbed his arm. “That might make you feel better, but it will also land you behind bars. Sit down.”

  “Sorry. What’s the plan, then?”

  “You have to speak to the police. Tell them what I’ve just told you, and try to persuade them to run a sting operation.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “They’ll need to get one of their people inside the shop, preferably seated at a table close to the counter. Once the undercover police officer is in place, send in one of your operators—it should be someone who has never been in Slurp before. When Driller makes small talk with him, make sure your operator says he’s just on his way to work. As soon as Driller has served the coffee, the police can pounce. It should be easy enough for them to confirm that the drink has been spiked.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better if you spoke to the police?”

  “Not really. Maxine Jewell isn’t a fan of mine. If she knows I’m involved, she’ll want nothing to do with it.”

  “Fair enough, but don’t you want to be involved in the sting itself?”

  “Much as I’d like to be there to see Driller get his comeuppance, he might smell a rat if I showed up again. Just make sure you let me know how it goes.”

  “Don’t worry. I will. Thanks, Jill.”

  ***

  Mrs V had come up trumps with her research into Mark Sobers: he worked out of the head office, which was located in Canary Wharf. Even better, she’d managed to track down his private residence: a large house in rural Oxfordshire.

  All very nice, and if I wasn’t mistaken, paid for with the blood of some of our most vulnerable citizens.

  I gave Aunt Lucy a call. It rang out for ages, and I was just beginning to think she wasn’t around when she picked up.

  “Hello? Jill? Sorry it took me so long to answer. I’ve got Lil and Lily here. I had to put them both down first.”

  “Mindy told me that the twins were poorly. How are you coping?”

  “Alright, but I’ll definitely sleep tonight. I just hope I don’t go down with the bug too.”

/>   “I’m sorry to trouble you, but is there any way I can get hold of Lester?”

  “It’s his day off, actually. He’s just nipped out to the shops for me—hold on, I think I just heard him come back in. Do you want to speak to him?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Once I’d outlined my plan to Lester, he immediately agreed to help. There wasn’t time to travel to London by conventional means, so I magicked myself there, and met Lester outside the office block where SobersCare head office was located.

  “Thanks for doing this, Lester.”

  “No problem. To be honest, I’m glad to get away from the two youngsters for a while.”

  “They must be hard work?”

  “Lucy seems to take it all in her stride, but I find them exhausting. What exactly do you need me to do?”

  “Not much, actually. I just want you by my side when I confront Sobers.”

  “Do you have an appointment to see him?”

  “Not exactly. Come on, let’s do this.”

  SobersCare’s head office was located on the fifth floor of the building.

  If the woman behind reception had smiled, her face would have cracked. “How can I help?”

  “We’d like to see Mr Sobers.”

  She checked the computer screen. “I don’t have any appointments for Mr Sobers this afternoon.”

  “That’s a pity.” I cast the ‘sleep’ spell, and she slumped onto the desk. “Lester, follow me.” I led the way down the corridor, checking the names on the doors as we went. “Bingo!”

  Mark Sobers’ suit definitely wasn’t off-the-peg; I could have paid my mortgage for a whole year with what it must have cost. And those teeth? So many and so very white.

  “Who are you?” He stood up from behind the huge semi-circular desk.

  “I’m Jill and this is Lester. Thank you for agreeing to see us.”

  “I did no such thing. If you haven’t left in five seconds, I’ll have security throw you out.”

  “There’s no need for that.” I sat at one of the chairs next to his desk, and gestured for Lester to sit next to me.

  “What do you want?” Sobers demanded.

  “I’d like you to hold a press conference to admit that you’re responsible for murdering the residents of your care homes.”

  “What?” He laughed. “Are you insane? Our residents receive the very best in care.”

  “That may be true, but only for as long as they’re alive. And you make sure that isn’t very long, by bumping them off before they get the chance to outstay their welcome, don’t you?”

  “Really?” He laughed. “And how exactly am I supposed to have done that?”

  “You scare them to death.”

  “What nonsense. I’d like you to leave now.”

  “It takes a particular type of lowlife to do what you do. Can you imagine how an elderly person feels when they wake up to find what they think is the grim reaper at their bedside? They’re terrified. But of course you know that. That’s the whole idea, isn’t it?”

  He picked up the phone. “I’m calling security.”

  “Guess what Lester here does for a living.”

  “Sorry?”

  “His job? Guess what it is.”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Tell him, Lester.”

  “I’m a grim reaper.”

  “You see, Mark—can I call you Mark? I feel as though we’ve bonded already. There really are such things as grim reapers, but they don’t go around dressed in hooded robes or carry sickles.”

  “You’re mad. Barking mad.”

  “Not only are grim reapers real, so too are ghosts. And right now, there are a lot of very angry ghosts who would like nothing better than to spend some time with you. Have you ever been haunted, Mark? It can be a very unpleasant experience. You’ll never get another good night’s sleep.”

  “Security? This is Mark Sobers on the fifth floor. Can you get someone up here straight away? Thanks.” He replaced the receiver. “They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

  “That’s okay. We were just leaving, anyway.” I stood up. “But think on it, Mark, the only way to stop the haunting will be to give a press conference and admit your guilt to the nation. I’ll be keeping an eye out for it.”

  After Lester and I had left Sobers’ office, I revived the receptionist, and then we both magicked ourselves out of the building before the security men arrived.

  “Thanks for that, Lester.”

  “No problem. Do you really think Sobers will make a full confession on national TV?”

  “Right now? Not a chance. But something tells me that by tomorrow morning, he may have had a change of heart.”

  “I’d better get back to help Lucy.”

  “Okay, tell her I’ll see her soon.”

  Chapter 21

  Just before midnight, I magicked myself to Mark Sobers’ mansion where Constance Bowler and several other ghosts were already waiting for me.

  “Hi, guys,” I greeted them. “This is a great turn out.”

  “They didn’t need any persuading,” Constance said.

  “I had no idea that Sobers had been responsible for so many deaths.”

  “This isn’t even all of them. A few of them had prior commitments so weren’t able to come.”

  “Have you told them what I’d like them to do?”

  “Only briefly. It might be a good idea if you were to run through it with them now.”

  “Sure.” I turned to the assembled ghosts. “Thanks for coming here tonight. You all have one thing in common, and that’s that Mark Sobers was responsible for your untimely death.”

  “He should be strung up!” the old girl at the front of the crowd shouted.

  “That’s too good for him,” the man next to her said.

  “We won’t be stringing him up, but if everything goes according to plan, we’ll shut down his cruel organisation, and put him behind bars for the rest of his miserable life.”

  “That sounds good to me.” The old girl obviously approved. “What do you need us to do?”

  “I want you to do to him what he did to you. I want you to give him the scare of his life.”

  “I have a question, Jill,” Constance said. “No one here is attached to Sobers, so he won’t actually see anything. Do you think that the drop in temperature and the sense of their presence will be enough to scare him?”

  “Probably not. That’s why I’m going to cast a spell that will allow you to be visible to him. The spell will only last for a few hours, but hopefully that will be long enough to do the trick.”

  “Are you going to wait here, Jill?” Constance said.

  “No. Once I’ve cast the spell, there isn’t really anything else I can do, and besides, I’ve barely had any sleep over the last couple of days.” I turned to the others. “I’m relying on you lot to scare him witless. Can you do it?”

  Their response was emphatic, and left me in no doubt that Sobers was in for the worst night of his life.

  By the time I arrived home, Jack was snoring. I joined him in our new bed, and no sooner had my head hit the pillow than I too was fast asleep.

  ***

  “Hey, Lazy Bones.” Jack gently shook my shoulder. “I’m just off.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Just turned seven.”

  I sat up in bed. “How come you’re going so early?”

  “It’s my course. Had you forgotten?”

  “I thought you were going tonight?”

  “It’s the meet and greet this afternoon, so I’m driving there this morning. What time did you get in last night?”

  “After midnight. I’m shattered.”

  “You’ll have all weekend to rest up.”

  “I intend to. This weekend is officially designated: Jill’s pamper time.”

  “I’ll see you late on Sunday, then.” He gave me a kiss.

  “Drive carefully.”

  I had planned on having just another thirty minute
s in bed, but the next thing I knew, I woke up to find it was nine o’clock.

  I called Mrs V.

  “These are the offices of—”

  “Mrs V, it’s me.”

  “Good morning, dear.”

  Morning. I need you to do something for me. Will you call Sir Arthur Hasbene, and ask him to come to my office today? Any time after ten. Tell him I have some positive news about the missing jewellery.”

  “I’ll get straight on it.”

  “He’ll probably try to insist that I go to Hasbene Hall. If he does, you have to persuade him that the meeting must be at my office.”

  “Don’t worry, dear. I can be very persuasive when I need to be. I’ll tell him I have no way of contacting you to rearrange the venue.”

  “Great, thanks. Call me back when you know what time he’s coming over, would you?”

  “Will do.”

  I didn’t normally get to watch breakfast TV because either I was in too much of a rush, or Jack was watching TenPin TV. This morning, though, the TV was all mine.

  The news was as depressing as always, and I was just about to turn it off when I spotted something on the news ticker on the bottom of the screen:

  Business Newsflash: Mark Sobers, CEO of SobersCare, has called an emergency press conference at ten am.

  Mrs V rang back.

  “Jill, Sir Arthur wasn’t very happy, but he’s agreed to come in at eleven-thirty.”

  “Well done. I’ll see you just before then.”

  After making two more calls, I settled down in front of the TV, and waited for the press conference.

  On screen, Mark Sobers was standing outside the offices of SobersCare. He looked a shadow of the man I’d met only the day before; he had a haunted look in his eyes.

  “I’ve called this press conference this morning because there’s something very important I have to say.” He hesitated, took a deep breath, and then in a wavering voice continued, “I am personally responsible for the deaths of many of the residents who entrusted their safety to my organisation. SobersCare is profitable only because of these unforgivable acts. I’m also responsible for the death of Donna Lewis, a reporter who was going to publish an expose of SobersCare. As soon as this press conference has concluded, I intend to hand myself over to the authorities.”