He paced on the spot turning first to look at the ceiling away from the others, and then turning back to them, one hand on his hip. “Buying my fix in the streets and back alleys like a common addict. You think I like it? I don’t do it because it’s easy or natural. It’s not. But it’s the right thing. Look, Karl, Tarquin, Ronnie, I know I messed up, but if I wasn’t buying from the hospital, I’d be killing for blood. Besides, it’s really not as bad as it could have been. I mean, I didn’t even drain this one. I snapped his neck. A normal could snap a neck. It doesn’t have to be a vampire. People break their necks all the time… in falls, in fights. It happens. Nothing about this killing shows it was for blood.”
“Except the fact that you were buying blood at the time,” Karl pointed out.
Cliff had no answer for that. Suddenly, he felt stupid and lost.
“Where’s the body?” Karl asked.
“In the boot of my car.”
Karl slumped back down into the chair and put his face in his hands. Tarquin rubbed his eyes wearily. Ronnie just stared daggers at Cliff.
With a deep sigh, Karl composed himself. “Okay,” he said. “We’ll deal with it.”
Cliff pulled the car keys from his pocket, ready to leave. “Without blood,” he said, “I’m going to get antsy. I won’t be much fun at all to be around.”
Karl sighed. “You can use the drink and release method.”
“I don’t have the control for that,” replied Cliff, “hence the blood packets!”
Karl nodded calmly. “It’s okay. I’m going to help you. It’s all about control.”
“I’m not sure…”
Ronnie narrowed his eyes at Cliff. “About what?”
“Not sure I can control myself.”
Karl placed a comforting hand on Cliff’s shoulder. He was older and more experienced. “It’s just for a while,” he told him gently. “Until you can establish a new supplier.”
Cliff couldn’t shake the pit of anxiety building in his core. “It won’t be easy. And finding a new supplier could take months.”
“No, it certainly won’t be easy,” Karl agreed, then turned to Tarquin. “Maybe our sorcerer friend can help us with that?”
“What did you have in mind?” Tarquin asked.
“There must be some kind of spell or potion for self-control.”
Tarquin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “There are several that might be effective in this case. Let me think on it. Yes, I’m quite sure it can be done. Give me a couple days. I don’t have all the necessary ingredients on hand, but that can be remedied. A few days at most. I’ll call you when I have something.”
“Thank you,” Karl said. “For both of us.”
“For all of us,” Ronnie added. “The last thing we need is ravenous vampires wreaking havoc on our quiet little town.”
“Days?” Cliff said, feeling his anxiety growing stronger. “Well, I have enough blood for that, I suppose.”
Tarquin fixed him with a stern look. “Just try not to kill anyone else.”
Karl patted Cliff’s shoulder and strode out the door into the atrium of the bookshop. Cliff followed him out and into the street, his head bowed in shame. He felt like a teenager who needed his parents to clean up his messes for him.
Behind him, Cliff could hear Ronnie still in the back room muttering bitterly. “Vampires. It’s always vampires. They’ll be the undoing of us all.”
“You might be right,” Tarquin agreed quietly. The skin around his eyes was taught with anxiety, though the rest of his face remained neutral. “You might be right,” he repeated.
+++
Villandry Restaurant, Bicester Village, Bicester
Jade arrived back at the table and smiled at her friend.
“Food’s here,” Alexis said excitedly, stating the obvious as Jade shuffled back into her seat.
Jade looked at her fresh salmon and took in the aromas. “Smells delicious,” she smiled. Her freshly reapplied lipstick made her face even more vibrant than it had appeared when she arrived at the restaurant.
Alexis noticed, and then quietly wondered what the point was of refreshing her lipstick if she was about to eat. “So, how are things going with Frank these days?” she asked between mouthfuls of dressed salad.
The restaurant was noisy on account of the hard floors and metal surfaces everywhere. A constant din echoed from the kitchen that was only feet away from them, forcing them to speak up.
“Oh, you know. It’s going ok,” Jade relayed. “He’s making an effort… which is something.” Jade paused, her fork full of food, hovering in midair. “But then, I’ve been making more of an effort too.” She shrugged. “As they say… it takes two to tango.” She continued eating.
Alexis forced a smile. “Sure does,” she agreed poignantly.
They ate for a few moments, neither talking.
“How lo-,”
“The food is-”
They both tried to speak at the same time.
“Sorry,” Alexis said.
Another awkward silence followed for a moment.
“You go,” Jade smiled, a faint twitch in the corner of her mouth.
“Oh nothing, I was just going to say, it feels like a long time since we did this.”
Jade nodded. “Yeah, it has been. I’m sorry. I just had to-“
Alexis nodded, her eyes fixed firmly on her salad plate. “I know.”
Jade’s freshly rouged lip quivered in one corner again. “I sorry. But we talked about it. I really needed to-“
Alexis looked up at her. Jade could tell there was a flash of anger in her eyes. She was obviously hurt. Alexis composed herself. “We talked about it. Besides, it’s for the best.”
Jade scrambled for the right words to say but came up with nothing. She went back to eating her salmon.
“You sure you don’t want a glass?” Alexis asked, taking a sip of her white wine.
Jade shook her head. “I’ve got to go back to the office after this. String of appointments and showings this afternoon.”
Alexis nodded. “Always working. Work. Work. Work.” She tried to make her voice brighter, but only really sounded like she was nagging.
Jade pressed her lips together. “I know. But some of us have to work to afford their shopping trips,” she said, as congenially as she could, indicating to the shopping bags Jade had brought into the restaurant with her.
Alexis sighed. “I suppose. I know you’ve got a lot going on,” she conceded, some of the anger now gone. “Anyway, hurry up and eat. Maybe we’ll have time for a coffee before you have to head back?”
Chapter Four
Jones’s Estate Agents, Bicester, England
Tim Clarke parked his car outside Ronald Jones’s Estate Agents. He stopped a moment to think everything over. Buying an apartment was a big investment, but he was tired of life at the garrison. He needed his privacy.
His investigations had to be done mostly off-base, which typically meant getting a hotel room in town. This had worked out well before, but living in hotel rooms was getting old. He needed a place he could call his own, and the privacy of his own apartment meant not having to sleep in the barracks and work in town. He could do much of his work at his own place without worrying about locking up evidence like he would in a public place like a hotel.
Decision made, Tim stepped out of the car.
Inside the estate agent’s office, he was met by a woman who appeared to be in her late thirties or early forties. She looked professional in her tight skirt and blouse with her straight hair done up. Her smile was infectious.
“You must be Tim Clarke,” she said, eyeing his uniform.
“Yes, I am.”
“I’m Jade Hogarth. We spoke on the phone.”
He recognized her name from their conversation this morning. They shook hands, and she led him back to her office.
“Would you care for something to drink? Water? Tea? Coffee?”
“No, I’m fine,” he said. “I just had
some coffee.”
“Perfect. You’ll want to be awake for this.”
He laughed at that, winning himself another warm smile.
It was just before two, and the place was mostly quiet. Jade sat behind her desk and motioned for Tim to take one of the client chairs. He sat in the one closest to the door.
Tim could see through to the back, where there was another office. He could see Ronnie seated at his desk, talking on the phone. Ronnie glanced up and watched Tim enter, but there was no sign of recognition in his face.
Ronald Jones was the top estate agent in Oxfordshire, and came highly recommended. Tim had spoken with a few of the officers on the base who had bought homes in town. They had all used his services.
Jade opened a notepad and reviewed it. “You said you were looking for a one-bedroom?”
“That’s right, a flat.”
“You know, we might be able to find you a detached unit. Plus we have a larger selection of two-bedrooms.”
“I’m on a budget. Military.”
“I understand.” She read some more. “You’re looking to live off-base, but does that mean close to the village, or more on the outskirts?”
“Close to the village,” Tim said.
“We have properties throughout the county if you’d care to widen the net a bit.”
“No, I need stay in Bicester.”
“Of course,” Jade said. “Our priority is to meet your needs. I have quite a number of listings we could look at. Just trying to get a feel for what might be a good fit, you understand.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“So, Tim, you’re stationed at the garrison currently.”
“Yes.”
“So you’ve got room and board covered. Why move?”
Tim bristled slightly at the question. “Is that important?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She smiled. “Part of finding the right place is knowing what’s important. The better I know you, the better I can help you. Our clients seem to appreciate this approach. It’s the personal touch that matters.”
“You came recommended.”
“By whom, may I ask?”
“Warrant Officer Cody, for one. He bought a house in town last year. And Flight Lieutenant Slater, he got married in the spring and they bought a unit near the village.”
Jade jotted down the names. “That’s good to hear. I’ll let Ronnie know.”
“But to answer your question…. I’m moving for work, mostly. These days, I’m mostly working off-base.”
“I see.”
“I could use a bit more normality to my life, to pull myself out of myself, if you know what I mean?”
“I know exactly what you mean, Tim,” Jade agreed.
Jade was taking notes throughout their conversation. “It must be hard living such a regimented life. Easier when you’re young, I suppose. But grown men need their freedom, don’t they?”
“Freedom, independence, privacy.”
Jade nodded. “Especially when it comes to having a social life.”
“Not much of that at the garrison, to be honest. If you want a good time, you go to the village.”
“And if you find a girl you like, you can’t just bring her to the barracks.”
Tim laughed. “You can, but…”
Jade smiled and raised a hand. “Tim, I totally understand. We’re looking for a bachelor pad, then?”
“You might say so.”
“The first step in getting what you want,” she began, taking on a more flirtatious tone, “is asking for what you want.”
“That’s what I want.”
Jade turned to her computer and typed for a bit. Tim waited. He couldn’t see her screen, but he imagined she was looking through listings and reviewing the best options.
“You know the town well?” she asked.
“Pretty well.”
“Tim, I’ve got a one-bedroom end-of-terrace on Stable Road. It’s within walking distance to the train station and town square.”
“Sounds promising,” he offered noncommittally. “How much is that?”
“Listed at two hundred ten thousand.”
Tim swallowed. He had money saved up and a solid career with every chance of advancement, but he’d never bought anything more expensive than a car. He’d done some browsing online and had a general sense of what things would cost, but spoken out loud like that, the cold hard figure hit him like a slap in the face.
“Is that in the right range?” she asked.
“Could be,” he answered with as much confidence as he could muster. “But I’d like to look at a few different options.”
“Yes, of course.” She moved her mouse and clicked. “I’m seeing a lovely unit in Westbury Court, that’s closer to the town center. One bedroom with a balcony. Should I add that to the list?”
“Why not?”
“Why not indeed.” She continued clicking.
Jade mentioned several others but without seeing more details Tim didn’t want to turn any of them down, so he said yes to them all. He was hoping to find a one-bedroom apartment in the range of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds, but the market had moved past that figure several years ago. He was starting to regret not buying a few years earlier, but that couldn’t be helped now.
With a dozen options to start with, Jade paused her database search and looked over at him.
“So just to be clear, Tim, you’re looking to live alone? Because if not, there are some flat shares available.”
“No, no,” Tim said. “I definitely need my own space.”
“Understood.” She stood up from the desk. “I printed out some options to look at. Follow me to the display window.”
Tim stood and followed her out of her office to the foyer where his choices were now displayed in a mosaic of frameless LED light boxes on a wall.
+++
Bicester Vintners, Bicester, England
Scarlett left the wine shop around 2pm. She had Amanda’s passport ID with her and needed to drop it off at Ronnie’s real estate office.
It was a cool, overcast day with a slight breeze. She moved briskly along the sidewalk, conscious of the time.
She’d taken her lunch early and this was her afternoon break and she only had fifteen minutes to get there and get back. Under normal circumstances that wouldn’t be a problem, but Scarlett wanted to make sure she had time to spare. She didn’t want to disappoint her roommate, who was counting on her to come through.
Scarlett and Amanda had been arguing the week before because of the homicide investigation. That whole business with Bill Knight’s murder and the arguments and accusations that followed had worn them both ragged.
Tensions had run high, but in the last couple of days Scarlett and Amanda had managed to work through it, apologizing and patching things up. Their lives were more or less back to normal. It had helped that Amanda had gone away for a few days.
Now, Scarlett felt like she needed to go the extra mile to preserve their friendship.
The plan was to give Amanda’s passport ID to Ronnie, who would then meet Amanda at Oxford train station. She needed it for some business in town and had been away visiting her parents in Stafford. Though the trip had been planned weeks before, it was a welcome break after the recent madness. Now, Scarlett was beginning to miss her roommate, and looked forward to having long talks with her again.
Before leaving the wine shop, Scarlett had checked and double-checked the train schedule, and she knew that the Stafford train was scheduled to arrive at Oxford station at 5:13 PM. There should be plenty of time left, but she couldn’t afford to dawdle.
She checked her watch and picked up the pace.
+++
Jones’s Estate Agents, Bicester, England
When Scarlett entered Ronnie’s estate office she saw Tim Clarke standing at the display wall with Jade, one of Ronnie’s top agents. They were looking at property listings in the LCD light boxes that made everything look bright, shiny and
new.
She was surprised to see Tim there. He was the military investigator on the Bill Knight case who had accused Scarlett of the crime before Karl, Ronnie, Tarquin, and Cliff had managed to successfully cover it up and compel Tim to forget their involvement. She thought her involvement with Tim was over, but now their paths were crossing again.
Scarlett hoped it was just a coincidence.
She knew that Tim lived at the barracks. It seemed odd to see him shopping for an apartment, but she supposed that a lot of the young men on base wanted to move closer to town, gain a bit of freedom, and sidle up to the social scene.
Jade was handling him, pointing to one image and then the next, pitching her wares.
When Scarlett stepped inside, both Tim and Jade turned to see who had just walk in.
Jade flashed Scarlett a smile. “Hey, girl!”
“Hi, Jade.”
“You looking for Ronnie?”
“Yeah, I’m just here to drop something off for him.”
“He’s in with Carla right now, but he’ll be out in just a minute.”
Carla was the administrative assistant and receptionist.
“I’ll wait,” Scarlett said, and took a seat on the sofa by the window.
She checked her watch again, making note of the time. Ronnie had time to get to Amanda before her train arrived. She only had a few minutes before she needed to be back across the square at work though.
Tim Clarke looked at Scarlett and cocked his head with apparent recognition, though his expression seemed to say that he didn’t remember her name or where they’d met.
Better if you don’t remember, Scarlett thought.
After Tim nearly discovered the truth about Bill Knight’s murder, Cliff had compelled him to forget. Scarlett wasn’t sure how much Tim might remember of the investigation, but some residual memory of their encounters could still be lurking in his mind.
A Very British Witch Boxed Set Page 26