by Adele Abbott
“The biggest.”
“You must be delighted.”
“I am.” Her smile faded a little. “It’s just that—I—err”
“What’s the problem?”
“When they contacted me about doing the profile, they asked me a number of preliminary questions over the phone. One of the things they asked was if I had a boyfriend, and I said yes.”
“Well you do, don’t you? I assume you’re still seeing Sid?”
“I am, and I think the world of him, but I’m not sure he has the right image for the readers of Crustacean Monthly. He’s a bit on the rough side. Don’t get me wrong; that’s one of the things I like about him, but I don’t think it’s the image I should be projecting for the business.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Sid doesn’t know about any of this, so I’m thinking of hiring a male escort to act as my boyfriend when the magazine comes to interview me.”
“Right. I suppose that could work.”
***
When I walked into the office, Mrs V was waltzing around the room with an imaginary partner, and she almost collided with me.
“Careful, Mrs V.”
“Sorry, dear. I got a little carried away there. I take it you’ve heard the good news?”
“What good news?”
“About the new ballroom, of course.”
“Oh? That good news.”
“It’s exciting, isn’t it?”
“Very.”
“I know your grandmother and I have our differences, but I have to give credit where credit is due, this is a masterstroke. There isn’t much for the older population of Washbridge to do; most places cater for the younger crowd. I have a feeling this ballroom will be very popular with the senior citizens.” She took a deep breath; the dancing had clearly taken it out of her. “I imagine you’ll be a regular there, Jill?
Huh? “I’m not a senior citizen.”
“I realise that, dear, but I know how much Jack loves to dance.”
Oh bum! I hadn’t thought of that. I would have to make sure he didn’t find out about the ballroom.
“I don’t think so. We both have a lot on our plates right now. Incidentally, I heard back from my friend, and we can go over to the sock factory apartments later today if you’re still keen to see them?”
“Definitely. Thank you. I’m really excited at the prospect of being in the building where my ancestor once worked. Tobias Fotheringham—such a noble name, don’t you think?”
“I guess so. I’ll give you a shout later, then.”
Winky looked down in the dumps.
“Morning, Winky. How did the dinner go?”
“Don’t ask.”
“That bad, eh?”
“If I have to spend another evening with Tom, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
“He did sound like a bit of a prat.”
“How would you know?”
Oh bum! “I—err—I was in the outer office.”
“Were you eavesdropping?”
“No, of course not. I just came in to check if Jules had left any messages for me, and I happened to overhear a few things he said. I’m surprised you didn’t floor him.”
“He thinks he’s something special, but he’s actually just a—”
“How about some salmon to cheer you up?”
“That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said. This month.”
“Cheek.”
“Incidentally, my crew have reported back on the surveillance detail.”
“Has Lolly’s boyfriend been stalking her?”
“No. My guys have tailed him twenty-four seven for the last few days, and he hasn’t been anywhere near Molly.”
“Lolly.”
“Whatever. He hasn’t been near her.”
“Right. Thanks for that. It doesn’t look like she has anything to worry about after all.”
“Do you want me to call my chaps off?”
“Have them follow him over the weekend, would you? Just to be sure.”
“Okay. Now, where’s that salmon? A cat could die of starvation.”
***
As Mrs V and I made our way over to the old sock factory apartments, she talked non-stop about Grandma’s new ballroom. If Mrs V’s enthusiasm was anything to go by, it appeared that Grandma had identified a gap in the market, and stood to make a pretty penny from her new enterprise.
Daze was waiting for us outside the apartment building.
“Daze, this is my PA, Mrs V.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mrs V.”
“Do call me Annabel. Everyone does.”
Huh? Everyone except me, apparently.
“Jill tells me that a relative of yours owned this place when it was the old sock factory?”
“That’s right, dear. I suspect it looks a lot different now.”
“On the inside, maybe, but from what I hear, most of the original building is pretty much the same. Would you like to take a look inside? I’m afraid I can only show you around the communal areas and my apartment.”
Mrs V took a sheet of paper from her bag, unfolded it, and put it up against the wall. “I got this from the library. It’s a copy of the old plans of this building, dating back to the time when my relative was alive. It would appear that his office used to be located right there.” She pointed to the spot.
Daze studied it carefully. “I’m no expert on this kind of thing, but if I’m right, his office would have been where the third-floor apartments are now. In fact, that appears to be where Charlie lives.” Daze turned to me. “You remember Charlie, don’t you, Jill?”
“Is that the were—”
“Yes! It’s were the guy with the cat named Pretty lives.” Daze had interrupted me just in time. I’d been about to say: werewolf. She turned to Mrs V. “I can’t make any promises, Annabel, but Charlie is a nice guy. If you like, we can check if he’s in, and if so, ask if you could take a look inside his apartment?”
“Would you, dear? That would be lovely.”
Daze led the way to the third floor, and knocked on the door.
“Yes?”
It wasn’t Charlie who answered; it was Dorothy. She clearly wasn’t pleased to find a rogue retriever on her doorstep.
“Hi, Dorothy.” I stepped forward.
“Jill? I didn’t see you there.”
“Is Charlie in?”
“He’s at work.”
“Oh, okay. It doesn’t matter.”
Just then, a young man appeared at Dorothy’s side. I recognised him as the wizard who managed the fancy dress shop.
“Hi. I’m Neil. Don’t I know you from somewhere?”
“I came into your shop recently to hire a vampire costume.”
“Oh, yeah.” He grinned. “How did you get on at SupsCon?”
“We won the vampire section.”
“That’s rather ironic, seeing as how you’re a—”
“Neil! This is Mrs V. She’s my PA.”
“Nice to meet you both.” Mrs V stepped forward.
“Likewise,” Neil said. “What did you want Charlie for?”
“Actually, the reason we’re here is that Mrs V has been researching her family tree. It turns out that one of her relatives used to own the sock factory many years ago. What was his name, Mrs V?”
“Tobias Fotheringham.”
“We were going to ask Charlie if we could take a quick look around your apartment because, according to the plans, this is where his office was based.”
“Come on in.” Neil stepped aside to allow us to enter. As he did, I caught Dorothy shoot him a look. She plainly wasn’t thrilled at him inviting a rogue retriever into the apartment. “This is the room you want.” He began to walk towards one of the bedrooms.
The three of us followed.
“After you.” He held open the door, and Mrs V and Daze stepped inside.
I grabbed Neil’s arm, and whispered, “How did you know this room was his office?”
<
br /> “Socky’s ghost still haunts this bedroom.”
“Socky?”
“Sorry. That’s what we call Tobias. Although I wouldn’t recommend you say it to his face.”
Neil and I joined Daze and Mrs V inside.
“Isn’t this exciting!” Mrs V was taking it all in. “To think my relative once walked this very floor.” She shivered. “It’s very cold in here, isn’t it?”
“The heating is on the blink,” Neil said.
He was lying. The reason that the room was so cold was standing over by the window. The male ghost had a wooden leg, and unless I was very much mistaken, he was Tobias Fotheringham, AKA Socky. He didn’t look very happy about the intrusion.
Neither Mrs V nor Daze could see the ghost, but Neil and I watched as Socky made his way over to us.
“What’s the meaning of this invasion?” Socky addressed Neil.
“Shush!”
“Did you say something, dear?” Mrs V turned to Neil.
“No. I was just sneezing.”
“This is not some kind of showroom.” Socky complained. “This is my office. Get them out of here now!”
“It’s funny,” Mrs V said. “It’s almost as though I can feel his presence in this room.”
“Maybe you’d like to take a look at Daze’s apartment now, Mrs V?” I suggested.
She took another look around the room. “I don’t think that will be necessary. I’ve seen all I need to see. I feel as though I’ve made a connection with the past.”
Little did she know that she was only inches away from Socky, who seemed far less enamoured of her.
“Thank you so much for letting me look around,” Mrs V said, as we made our way out of the apartment.
“My pleasure.” Neil held the door for us. “Call again anytime.”
Chapter 15
As we made our way back to the office, Mrs V was still on cloud nine.
“I can’t believe I was in the same room that Tobias once stood in. I know you’ll think I’m just a crazy old woman, but it almost felt as though he was there with me.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy at all.”
“Today has inspired me to trace even more of my ancestors.”
“Good for you, Mrs V.”
We were only a few streets from the office when I spotted a familiar face down an alley. A familiar feline face, to be precise.
“Mrs V, would you mind going on ahead? I’ve just remembered something I need to do.”
“Another muffin, dear? Think of your waistline.”
“No, not a muffin. There’s something I need to check. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Okay, but don’t forget what I said about your waistline.”
Cheek! Anyone would think I did nothing but eat muffins all day.
Once Mrs V was out of sight, I edged my way down the alley. I didn’t want to alert my quarry before I’d had a chance to gather the evidence I needed. There were several large waste bins, and I managed to move from one to another without being spotted. When I got as close as I dared, I took out my phone and snapped a few photos.
Gotcha!
***
It occurred to me that if Ella Brand didn’t hear from me, she might fly into a blind panic. As I saw it, I had two options. Option one was to tell her the truth:
Your owl is actually a supernatural creature who shifts into owl form. Oh, and by the way, the reason he hasn’t come back is that he fell off his bike.
Maybe not.
Option two, and the one I decided to go with, was to try to set her mind at ease for now. That way, I would buy myself time to actually try to sort out the mess.
“Ella, it’s Jill Gooder.”
“Have you found him, Jill? Have you found Alfie?”
“Not yet, but I think I might be onto something. I won’t know for sure until after the weekend, so please don’t get your hopes up just yet.”
“I’ll try not to. Thank you, Jill. I really do appreciate this.”
Next, I called Aunt Lucy.
“I’m really sorry to ask, Aunt Lucy, but I wonder if you could do me a small favour?”
“Of course, dear. Anything.”
“Would you see if you can find contact details for OSA, the Owl Shifter Alliance. I need to speak to whoever is in charge there as a matter of some urgency.”
“No problem.”
“Will you be in Cuppy C later for the book signing?”
“I don’t have any choice. The twins would never forgive me if I didn’t go.”
“Okay. I’ll see you there later, then.”
***
Mrs V was busy updating her family tree, and barely noticed my arrival. Winky was still down in the dumps, but I suspected that was about to change.
“Say thank you, Winky.”
“What for?” He looked puzzled.
“For being such a wonderful friend to you.”
“Have you been in the wine bar again?”
“I haven’t had a single drink.”
“Then what are you going on about?”
“There’s something on my phone that I think you’re going to want to see.”
“If you’ve downloaded some stupid game app, I’m not interested.”
“It’s not a game. It’s photos of your friend, Tom.”
“Why would I want to see a photo of him? I’m doing my best to forget his ugly mug.”
“I think you’ll want to see these.” I held up my phone, and began to swipe through the photos, which had captured Tom, flirting with two female cats—neither of whom was Carrie.
“Give me that.” He snatched it from my hand. “When did you take these?”
“A few minutes ago—in an alley just down the road.”
“Can I have copies?”
“Of course. I can email them to you.”
“Why don’t you put them into our shared Dropbox. It will be easier.”
“Since when did we have a shared Dropbox account?”
“Since I opened one using your business credit card.” He handed back the phone. “Tom is soooo dead.”
“Haven’t you forgotten something?”
“Don’t worry. I’m going to email them to Peggy and Carrie in a few minutes. I just need to come up with an appropriate message.”
“I was thinking more of a ‘thank you’.”
“Yeah, of course. Thanks. You did good.”
After I’d got over the shock of receiving praise from Winky, I spent some time on the phone, tracking down Susan Bowles and Michelle Wright—the two other women who had been with Angie Potts on the night of her disappearance. They both agreed to meet with me, and I set up separate meetings with them for the following Tuesday.
“Jill.” Mrs V appeared in the doorway. “I have a Mr Puddle out here. He has a letter for you, but he won’t leave it with me.”
“That’s fine. Send him in, would you?”
Puddle was smiling as always. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t leave this with your secretary; the rules are very clear on this kind of thing.”
“That’s okay, Puddle.”
“Would you like me to wait for a reply?”
“Yes, please. Take a seat.”
“That’s a very handsome cat you have there.”
Winky’s ears pricked up at that. He jumped off the sofa, and onto Puddle’s lap.
“Get down, Winky. Puddle doesn’t want your hairs all over his uniform.”
“He’s okay.” Puddle began to stroke him. “I have two of my own, but they’re not as handsome as this fellow.”
Winky would be unbearable after this.
I read the letter from Desdemona Nightowl. Apparently, it was the last week of term at CASS, and they were busy with exams. She asked if I’d mind delaying my visit until the following week. That wasn’t a problem, so I scribbled a quick reply in confirmation. After slipping it into an envelope, I handed it to Puddle.
“Come on, boy. You’ll have to get down now.” He lifted
Winky gently onto the floor.
As soon as Puddle was out of the door, Winky was on my desk. “Did you hear what he said?”
“Can’t say I did.”
“Handsome, he said.”
“Did he?”
“You don’t realise just how lucky you are to have me.”
“I should do. You tell me often enough.”
***
I arrived at Cuppy C much later than I’d planned. So late in fact, that I couldn’t get through the door. I’d thought the place had been busy for the Adrenaline Boys, but it was nothing compared to this. The twins certainly had come up trumps this time. I was just about to leave when it occurred to me that I might be able to sneak in the back way, so I walked around the building until I came to the alley, where the drive-thru had been situated for a short and inglorious period of time.
Parked outside the back of Cuppy C, level with the redundant serving hatch, was an old green van that had seen better days. The bodywork was rusty, and two of the tyres were almost bald.
“The drive-thru has closed,” I shouted to the scruffy-looking wizard.
“That’s okay. I’m not here for food.” He opened the back door of the van; it was full of books. “I’m doing a book signing, but I couldn’t get through the front door. Do you think I’ll be able to pass them through this hatch?”
“What’s your name, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Timmy Vinestock.”
“Timmy? Vinestock?”
“Yes. Have you heard of me?”
“Sorry. I can’t say I have. What’s your new book called?”
“A Hundred Things to do with Asparagus.”
“Right. Would you like a hand with those books?”
“Yes, please. That’s very kind.”
Timmy climbed through the hatch, and I passed the books to him.
“Tell me, Timmy. Do you do many book signings?”
“Not many. In fact, hardly any really. Generally, people aren’t very interested, but my agent said the twins, who run this place, were very keen.”
“I suppose you must get mixed up with Tammy Winestock quite often?”
“Who? Can’t say I’ve ever heard of her.”
I suspected that he would have before the day was over.