by Adele Abbott
“More drinks!” Jess demanded when they returned to their seats for a breather.
“Yeah! More drinks!” Dreams screamed.
“I’ll get them.” Susan volunteered. Although she’d had much more to drink than usual, she hadn’t had anywhere near as much as the other two. All she wanted now was a coke, but she knew if she allowed either of the others to go to the bar, they would insist she had yet another short.
“A vodka and coke, a rum and black, and a coke, please,” she shouted to the barman.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t find you?” The man’s voice came from behind her, and had the effect of immediately sobering her up.
“Eddie? What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come for you.”
“It’s over, Eddie.”
“It isn’t over until I say so.” He grabbed her arm. “Why don’t we go outside to talk about it?”
“Get off me!”
He began to pull her away from the bar.
Before she could react, a giant of a man grabbed Eddie’s arm, and forced him to release his grip on Susan.
“The lady isn’t interested,” the bouncer said, releasing Eddie’s arm.
Eddie took a swing at the man who easily ducked the punch. “Time for you to leave.” The bouncer grabbed Eddie, and frogmarched him to the exit.
Susan was still at the bar when the bouncer returned.
“I didn’t need your assistance,” she said. “I could have handled him.”
“Just trying to help.” He shrugged, and then walked away.
She felt bad now. There had been no need for her to take the anger, which she felt at Eddie, out on the bouncer.
Susan didn’t mention the ‘Eddie’ incident to the other two; there was no sense in spoiling the evening. When they eventually called it a night, just after two in the morning, Dreams and Jess shared one taxi—Susan took another.
The apartment block was in darkness when she arrived home. It was hardly surprising—anyone with any sense would have been asleep ages ago.
When she reached the door to her apartment, Susan noticed a smell. Smoke? It seemed to be coming from the floor above. Although she was bushed, and desperate to fall into bed, she knew she had to check it out. As soon as she reached the next landing, she saw smoke coming from under one of the doors.
“Is anyone in there?” She began to pound on the door.
There was no reply, and no way she could force the door open. But she knew someone who would be able to.
After racing down the stairs, she rushed straight to Charlie’s bedroom.
“Charlie! Wake up!”
He sat up. “What’s happening?”
“Quick, Charlie. There’s a fire upstairs. I think someone might be trapped.”
Charlie was now wide awake. Still in his vest and shorts, he charged out of the apartment.
“Susan, call the fire brigade. And an ambulance.”
She did as he said while following him upstairs.
The door gave way on the second attempt; the lock splintered under Charlie’s huge bulk.
“Tilly!” he shouted, as he made his way into the smoke-filled hallway. “Stay back, Susan.”
She ignored him. It would take less time for two of them to search the apartment.
Charlie headed for the kitchen, which seemed to be the source of the fire. Susan checked the first door on her left where she found Tilly, lying unconscious on the floor. Susan’s eyes were watering, and she was starting to choke, but she managed to shout, “Charlie! She’s in here.”
Together, they managed to drag her out of the apartment. They were both exhausted, and barely able to see through their streaming eyes.
Moments later, the sirens could be heard. The fire brigade were the first on the scene, and they quickly had the blaze under control.
“Susan? Are you okay?” Brian, her brother, was standing over her.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“The fire is out.”
“What about Tilly? The woman who was in there?”
“She’ll be okay. Did you call in the fire?”
Susan nodded.
“It’s a good thing you did. Another few minutes, and the whole block might have gone.”
Just then, one of the paramedics came over.
“How are you, Miss?” One of them knelt next to Susan.
“I’m okay.”
Another two paramedics came walking past, carrying Tilly on a stretcher. She had an oxygen mask over her face, but didn’t appear to have suffered any burns.
“Come on.” Charlie helped Susan up. “Let’s go home.”
“What’s all the racket about?” Dorothy greeted them when they got back to the apartment.
Chapter 18
A police officer dropped by early on Sunday morning to speak to Susan and Charlie.
“How’s Tilly doing?” Charlie asked.
“She’s going to be okay, thanks to your prompt actions. I believe the hospital is hoping to discharge her later today. Which of you was it who raised the alarm?”
“It was Susan who discovered the fire,” Charlie said.
“I’d been on a night out with a couple of friends, and got back about two-thirty. I was just about to let myself in here when I smelled the smoke.”
“Did you see anyone else in the apartment block?”
“No. I assume most people would have been in bed by then.”
“How did you gain access to the apartment?”
“That was Charlie.”
The officer took one look at Charlie’s physique, and nodded. “Do you both know Tilly?”
“I don’t know her very well. I’ve only recently moved in,” Susan said. “She’s a good friend of Dorothy’s.”
“Who’s Dorothy?”
“She’s one of our other flatmates. She’s in her bedroom. I can get her for you if you like?”
“That won’t be necessary just now.” The officer made a note on her pad. “Where was Tilly when you found her?”
“In the bedroom. She was unconscious on the floor.”
“And you dragged her out?”
“Between us, yes.”
“Okay. That should do for now. If you could both just give me a contact number in case anything else crops up?”
“How’s Tilly?” Dorothy came out of her bedroom shortly after the police officer had left. Neil was only moments behind her.
“Okay,” Charlie said. “She should be out of hospital later today.”
“Thank goodness.” Dorothy turned to Susan. “Thanks for what you did. I dread to think what might have happened.”
“It’s a good job you’re a dirty stop out.” Neil grinned.
“I’m suffering for it now.” Susan rubbed her temple. “I think I’ll take some tablets, and have a lie down. I’m supposed to draw up the housework rota today, but it won’t get done unless I can shift this headache. I’ll catch you guys later.”
“How did the fire start?” Dorothy asked Charlie, once Susan was inside her bedroom.
“I don’t know. It seemed to have started in the kitchen, but I can’t be sure. We were focussed on finding Tilly. The fire brigade will no doubt be investigating.”
“Onto more important issues,” Neil said. “How did your first date with Amelia go?”
“Okay, I guess.” Charlie shrugged.
“Whoa! Steady on, buddy. Don’t go too overboard.”
“What happened?” Dorothy asked.
“To be honest, it was a bit of a nightmare.” Charlie sighed. “Amelia is beautiful, and I really fancied her—”
“But?”
“She’s a bit of a psycho. There were two young women, sitting in the row in front of us in the cinema—humans. They started talking to me while Amelia was in the loo.”
“Flirting, you mean?” Neil nudged Charlie.
“Not really. It was nothing. But then Amelia came back and turned them both into mice.”
“In the cinema? In
front of everyone?”
“Yeah. Luckily it was dark and there weren’t many people around, so no one noticed. I asked her to reverse the spell, but she refused. She said it would wear off in an hour.”
“What if they report her to the police?” Dorothy said.
“Tell the police that someone turned them into mice?” Neil scoffed. “Do you really think anyone would believe them?” He turned to Charlie. “What about afterwards? Did you get down and dirty?”
“Neil!” Dorothy glared at him. “Not everyone has your total lack of morals.”
“Did you?” Neil asked again.
“She did invite me back to her place.”
“And?”
“I told her I had a bad stomach, and needed to call it a day.”
“I give up on you.” Neil shook his head.
“Are you going to see her again?” Dorothy asked.
“To be honest, I’d rather not, but I don’t know how I’m going to tell her. Maybe next time it will be better.”
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
“Who’s that, at this time on a Sunday morning?” Neil yawned.
“You might find out if you got off your backside.” Dorothy stood up, and walked over to the door.
“Mr Redman?” She hadn’t expected to see her landlord standing there. The last time he’d called, he hadn’t bothered to knock; he’d just charged in.
They hadn’t had the chance to adopt the new housework rota yet, and if anything, the place was even more untidy than on his last visit. The flatmates knew what that meant.
“We’re starting a new housework regime tomorrow, Mr Redman,” Charlie said.
“Yeah. Things will be much better after tomorrow, honestly,” Neil added.
“I’m not here for that.” Redman waved away their comments. “I’m here to thank you for your prompt actions last night. I believe it was some of you who alerted the fire brigade.”
“It was Charlie and Susan,” Neil said. “Susan’s having a lie down, but I can get her if you like?”
“No. Don’t disturb her. The fire brigade told me that if the fire had taken hold, the whole block could have gone. It doesn’t bear thinking about. As it is, the damage has been confined to a couple of rooms in that one apartment, and no one was seriously hurt. I may not always have seen eye to eye with you lot, but I want you to know that I’m very grateful.” He turned back to the door. “I’ll leave you to the rest of your Sunday.”
“What just happened?” Neil looked incredulous.
“Was that really Redman?” Dorothy said.
Neil’s phone rang, so he ducked into his bedroom to take the call.
“It’s Trev.”
“Hi. I’ve been to see Selena at Real Magic.”
“I know. That’s why I’m calling. I have a gig this afternoon, and I wondered if you wanted to tag along.”
“Today?”
“Yeah. It’s a kid’s birthday party. The family is rolling in it. Do you want to come?”
“Err—yeah. Why not?”
“Okay. I’ll pick you up at your place at three.”
“See you then.”
***
It was just before eleven when Susan woke again. Her head felt much better, but her mouth tasted like a small creature had crawled inside and died there. She dreaded to think how bad Dreams and Jess must have been feeling. With all the drama of the fire, she’d almost forgotten about Eddie, but now the memories came flooding back. Not just of the previous night, but of the last few months she’d spent in London. Susan had told everyone that she’d returned to Washbridge because she’d lost her job, and that was true, but it wasn’t the only reason. She’d thought she knew Eddie, and that he was one of the good guys. Heck, there had been a time when she’d thought he might be the one.
She’d been wrong on all counts.
He hadn’t hurt her—not physically, at least. But there were other ways to hurt someone, and Eddie had been a past master at that. He had got inside her head in a way that no one had ever done before, and that she was determined no one would do again.
What to do about him? That was the question. She knew he was in Washbridge, but where was he staying? She wasn’t stupid enough to think she’d seen the back of him yet.
To take her mind off him, she made a start on the housework rota. Now, what colours had Dorothy and Charlie said they wanted to be?
***
This time, Charlie was in no doubt about what he’d heard. He’d deliberately crept into his bedroom to try to catch them, and sure enough, there were the voices: Bunty and Biddy.
“What’s going on?” he said.
The two of them were outside Bunty’s house, sharing a bottle of wine. There was no sign of Greta.
“We’re just having a drink.” Bunty raised her glass. “You should try it, Charlie. Let your hair down occasionally.”
“I told you that Biddy can’t live here. Sorry, Biddy.”
“She’s just visiting,” Bunty said. “Aren’t you, Biddy?”
“Yeah. Just a flying visit.” Biddy brushed her wings.
They both laughed raucously. Something told Charlie this was not their first bottle of wine.
“I don’t believe you. I know she’s moved in.”
“Are you calling me a liar, Charlie?” Bunty stood up; she had her hands on her hips.
This kind of confrontation didn’t sit well with Charlie, but he had Greta to think of. “Yes, I’m afraid I am. If Biddy isn’t out by the end of the day, I’ll have to take your house back to Candlefield.”
“You wouldn’t do that.”
“Try me.”
With that, he left the bedroom. He wasn’t sure if his ultimatum would have the desired effect, or if Bunty would call his bluff. If she did, he had no idea what he’d do.
***
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to come with you?” Neil said when Trevor collected him.
“Yeah. I’ll tell them that you’re my assistant. Maybe you should wear a sparkly dress?”
Neil looked horrified.
“Only kidding, mate. You’ll be fine. Just keep out of the way and observe.”
“Where are we going?”
“Upper Duckham. It’s about ten miles.”
“It’s very posh there.”
“No kidding. It’s like I told you, that’s the kind of kids’ parties we get. Real Magic’s prices are so high that only the rich crowd can afford them.”
“How long does your show last?”
“The kids don’t have a long attention span, so I usually do two twenty minute spots, but it depends how old the children are. Teenagers are the worst.”
“How old are this lot today?”
“The birthday boy is eight, so we should be okay.”
Neil figured that the house had to be worth at least a couple of million—maybe more. A maid answered the door, and showed them to the room where Trevor was to perform his act.
“Where are the kids?” Trevor asked, as he began to prepare his props.
“Having their tea. Mrs Wells said to tell you they’d be ready in about fifteen minutes, if that’s okay.”
“Fine.”
Trevor showed no sign of nerves as they waited for the kids to arrive. Ten minutes later, a middle-aged woman, dripping in jewellery, came into the room.
“The Great Makepiece, I assume.” She approached Trevor who was now wearing his magician’s outfit. “I’m Lucinda Wells. Bobby is so looking forward to this. Me too.” She turned to Neil. “Who’s this?”
“Neil is my assistant.”
“Right. Well, are you ready for the little darlings?”
“Send them in.”
Neil was very impressed with Trevor’s act. The children seemed to lap it up. Neil of course knew something the rest of the audience didn’t. Every ‘trick’ that Trevor performed was in fact ‘real’ magic. Neil was familiar with most of the spells which Trevor cast, but he hadn’t used some of them in anger for some
considerable time.
Just as Trevor had suggested, the performance was split into two twenty minute sessions, in between which the kids refuelled on sandwiches, ice cream and pop.
After the grand finale, Trevor took a bow to loud cheers from the young audience.
“Excellent! Really first class!” Lucinda Wells said, after the children had gone through to another room for a game of musical chairs.
“The kids seemed to enjoy it,” Trevor said.
“Indeed. And so did I. This is a little something extra for you.” She handed him an envelope.
“What did she give you?” Neil asked, once they were back in the car.
“Thirty quid.”
“On top of the fee?”
“Yeah. I quite often get a tip, and I get to keep all of those.”
Neil was really warming to the idea of being a magician.
***
“What do you think?” Susan placed the housework rota on the coffee table.
The other three flatmates studied it intently.
“I’ve made you orange, Dorothy. And purple for you, Charlie.”
“It looks like a lot of work,” Dorothy mused.
“It will only work if we all agree to stick to it,” Susan said.
“I’m in,” Charlie said.
“Me too.” Neil nodded.
All eyes were on Dorothy.
“Yes, okay. I’m in, but if you start slacking.” She pointed an accusing finger at Neil. “You’ll have me to answer to.”
Before Neil could respond, there was a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it.” Susan left the others studying the rota.
“Hello,” Craig said. “We were never properly introduced. I’m Craig. I live on the ground floor.”
“Susan Hall.”
“Nice to meet you, Susan. I’m the one who organises most of the parties around here. You must come to the next one.”
“I’d like that, thanks. Won’t you come in?”
The three other flatmates had overheard that exchange, and were staring at Craig open-mouthed.
“Hi, you three. I just popped in to let you know that the thing I was organising. The thing you three weren’t interested in. We’ve decided to scrap it.”