by Mandy Morton
Surprisingly, only one Golden Rain disappointed by fizzling out with a thud. It was immediately dispatched to Hettie’s safety bucket, and the display continued to much applause until the tin box was empty. The grand finale involved Hettie, Jessie, Poppa and Bruiser all stationed in front of two rockets each, with Tilly moving swiftly down the line with the matches. At Hettie’s signal, the rockets were ignited in perfect synchronicity and whooshed into the sky as one. The crowd began to count, and the sky exploded as the rockets danced and twisted in glittering showers of red, gold, silver and blue; eventually, they began to fall to earth, leaving a shimmering purple trail of dust which illuminated the joyful faces of all the Butters’ guests.
A roar of approval went up as Hettie and her firework crew took their bows. Beryl signalled that sweet pastries and biscuits were now being served, and Bruiser and Poppa headed for the bonfire in preparation for the next stage of the party. Jessie returned to her punchbowl, which had been heavily laced by Meridian Hambone while no one was looking, and Hettie and Tilly – flushed with success – mingled and munched their way through a considerable quantity of bonfire treats.
The night had grown bitterly cold, and an air frost began to settle as the party dragged chairs and blankets to the bottom of the garden, ready for the lighting of the bonfire. Tilly, Hettie and Jessie perched on upturned flower pots right at the front, as Bruiser and Poppa put a match to each side of the giant pyre. Within seconds, the fire took hold and the flames began their journey towards Lavender Stamp’s Mr Fawkes.
Hettie stared up at his face and suddenly all was quiet. The clapping and dancing had stopped, and snowflakes began to tumble from the sky. She rubbed her eyes, realising how very tired she was. The flames from the bonfire had turned blue and were giving out a strange, ethereal light. She shivered as the effigy began to disintegrate and the layers of wool peeled away, revealing a face she had come to know well. Jacob Surplus stared down from a throne of electric blue fire, and it was the most beautiful thing that Hettie had ever seen. He smiled, and his eyes bore into her, filling her with peace, then a host of figures began to form around him. Hettie knew that she was looking at the Myers family, then came Mavis Spitforce, and finally Teezle Makepeace. They all smiled down at her, and an important understanding passed between them.
‘Are you all right?’ asked Tilly, passing Hettie another shard of bonfire toffee as she twirled her own name with a sparkler.
‘Yes,’ replied Hettie with a smile, wedging the toffee into her mouth. ‘I’m absolutely fine.’
NEXT IN THE SERIES …
The Death of Downton Tabby
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About the Author
MANDY MORTON began her professional life as a musician. More recently, she has worked as a freelance arts journalist for national and local radio. She currently presents the radio arts magazine The Eclectic Light Show and lives with her partner, who is also a crime writer, in Cambridge and Cornwall, where there is always a place for an ageing long haired tabby cat.
@icloudmandy
@hettiebagshot
HettieBagshotMysteries
By Mandy Morton
The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency
Cat Among the Pumpkins
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
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allisonandbusby.com
First published in 2014.
This ebook edition published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2015.
Copyright © 2014 by MANDY MORTON
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-7490-1901-3