Witch Is Where Squirrels Go Nuts (Witch P.I. Mystery Book 39) Read online

  It took me a while, but I eventually managed to compose myself. “It’s not about the video. I don’t care about that.”

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “I know something is and I’m not moving until you tell me what’s going on.”

  “I’m scared, Jack. Someone is after Florence.”

  “What do you mean? Who’s after her?”

  “I don’t know.” I took out the photos and handed them to him.

  “Who took these?”

  “I’ve no idea, but I think it may have something to do with a wizard called Braxmore.”

  “Who’s he?”

  “I don’t really know. No one does. He’s been lurking in the background ever since I discovered I was a witch. Do you remember Drake?”

  “Drake? The name rings a bell, but I—”

  “I went on a date with him a couple of times around the same time as you and I started seeing one another. You did meet him once.”

  “Oh, yeah. I think I know who you mean now, but what does he have to do with anything?”

  “Drake wasn’t his real name. He’d been sent by Braxmore to kill me, and he almost succeeded.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “He’s dead. I killed him. Do you remember when my brother, Martin, suddenly disappeared some years ago?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “The last thing he said to me was that he had to leave to make sure my child would be safe.”

  “But that was before Florence was born.”

  “I know.”

  “And you never thought to mention any of this?”

  “I wasn’t sure what he meant, and I didn’t want to worry you.”

  “I’m Florence’s father. I’m supposed to worry if someone means my little girl harm. You had no right to keep it from me, Jill.”

  “I know, and I’m really sorry. I just didn’t know what to do for the best.”

  “What are we going to do now? Should we go to the police?”

  “That won’t do any good. Braxmore lives in the paranormal world. How are we going to explain that to them? Martin came to see me a few days ago, to tell me that he needed my help to stop Braxmore.”

  “What does he want you to do?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “When will you know?”

  “Soon, I hope.”

  “Is it safe for Florence to go to school? What about dance class or Wendy’s house?”

  “We have to carry on as normal. We can’t let her know about any of this; it will terrify her.”

  “That’s not going to be easy.”

  “I know, but we have to do it, anyway.”

  “I’m scared, Jill.”

  “I am too, but we have to be strong. For Florence’s sake.”

  “You’re right.”

  “We’ll both have to be ultra-vigilant. If you see anything unusual, let me know.”

  “Can you stop this Braxmore guy?”

  “I have to.”

  Chapter 25

  It was Sunday morning. Florence had finished her breakfast and was in the garden, playing with Buddy. Jack and I were still at the kitchen table, both bleary-eyed.

  “Do you think I should go out and watch her?” Jack said.

  “No, she’ll be fine.”

  “But one of those photographs was taken in our garden.”

  “She’s with Buddy. He’ll bark if anyone tries to get in. If we start following her around, she’s going to pick up on it and realise that something’s wrong.”

  “I guess you’re right. Did you get any sleep last night?”

  “Not much. What about you?”

  “No.” He yawned. “I couldn’t stop thinking about those photographs. Have you ever met this Braxmore guy?”

  “No, or at least, I don’t think so.”

  My phone rang; it was Martin.

  “Where are you, Martin?”

  “In Candlefield. How are things with you?”

  “Not great. Someone left an envelope full of photographs with the twins at Cuppy C yesterday. They’re all of Florence and they were taken around the village where we live. Someone has been stalking us.”

  “Who dropped them off at the tea room?”

  “I don’t know. The twins said it was a strange man, wearing a long cloak, with the hood pulled down over his face. Do you think it could have been Braxmore?”

  “Definitely not. It would probably have been one of his minions. Don’t worry about it, Jill.”

  “Easier said than done.”

  “I know, but its only purpose is to scare you. Braxmore can’t get to Florence. Not at the moment, anyway.”

  “That’s not very comforting.”

  “Let’s meet later today and I’ll explain everything.”

  “I can come over now.”

  “Sorry, there’s something I have to do first. How about we get together straight after lunch? Say one o’clock?”

  “That works for me. Where?”

  “Cuppy C?”

  “Okay. I’ll see you there.”

  “I take it that was Martin?” Jack said.

  “Yes, I’m seeing him this afternoon.”

  “What did he say about the photographs?”

  “He reckons there’s nothing to worry about, and that they’re just intended to scare us.”

  “They succeeded.”

  “He’s adamant that Braxmore can’t get to Florence at the moment.”

  “None of this is very reassuring, Jill.”

  “I know. Hopefully, I’ll learn more this afternoon. Is it okay if I nip out now for a while? I need to pay a visit to a couple of sweetheart fairies, and then I want to pop into the office.”

  “Sure. Wendy is coming over to play with Florence in about fifteen minutes, so that will keep her busy this morning.”

  “I’d totally forgotten she was coming over.”

  “Will you be back for lunch?”

  “Yeah, but I’ll have to go straight out afterwards, to see Martin.”

  “No problem.”

  “You’re the best.” I gave Jack a peck on the lips. “I’ll just go and say goodbye to Florence.”

  I found her staring up at the tree.

  “What are you looking at, darling?”

  “I’m trying to see that squirrel, but I think he’s gone.”

  “It looks like it.”

  “Aww, not fair. I liked the squirrel.”

  “Me too. Maybe he’ll come back one day. Mummy has to go to work for a little while now.”

  “How long is it until Wendy comes over?”

  “About ten minutes. What are you two going to be doing?”

  “Looking for caterpillars.”

  “Again? You’re really into caterpillars at the moment.”

  “That’s because they’re super brilliant. They have lots of legs and they walk really funny. Do you like caterpillars, Mummy?”

  “Not particularly, but I do like them when they’ve turned into butterflies.”

  “How do they do that?”

  “I—err—I don’t know.”

  “Do they use magic?”

  “No, but it’s like magic, isn’t it?”

  “I think caterpillars must be sups.”

  “Hmm, I don’t think so.”

  “Mummy, did you ask the queen unicorn if I can go and see her?”

  “Err, not yet.”

  “You said you would. You promised.”

  “And I will.”

  “Wendy too.”

  “We’ll see.”

  ***

  Edna had given me the address for the two sweetheart fairies who’d been seen talking to Devon. They shared an apartment in Angel Buildings, which was in the Fairy Parade district of Candlefield. Before magicking myself over there, I turned myself into a sweetheart fairy because their buildings were tiny, and I didn’t want to crush them underfoot. When I arrived outside the third-floor apartment, I could hear loud,
heavy-metal music coming from inside. If this was typical of their behaviour, I didn’t envy their neighbours.

  I knocked on the door, but there was no reply, which was hardly surprising, given the volume of the music coming from inside. I tried again, hammering on it much louder this time. A couple of minutes later, a sweetheart fairy opened the door. She wasn’t typical of the sweetheart fairies I’d encountered before. They’d been delicate, charming little things. This one was covered in tattoos; she was leaning against the door, chewing gum, and had apparently applied her makeup with a trowel. All in all, she looked a real ruffian.

  “Yeah?” She somehow managed to speak and blow a gum bubble at the same time. “What do you want?”

  “Are you Sharon?”

  “No, I’m Karen. I asked what you want.”

  “I’d like to speak to both you and Sharon, please.”

  “What about? Who are you, anyway?”

  “My name is Jill Maxwell, and I’d like to talk to you about Devon.”

  “Isn’t that a county in the human world?” She laughed.

  “I mean Devon, the unicorn. Queen Ursula’s brother.”

  “Never heard of him.”

  “That’s not true, is it?”

  “We’re busy. We’re doing our nails.”

  She tried to close the door, but I’d already wedged my foot in the gap. “I really think you should talk to me.”

  “Do you have any idea who you’re dealing with?” Without any warning, she threw a punch, but I managed to duck out of the way. After casting the ‘power’ spell, I grabbed both of her arms and dragged her, kicking and shouting, into the living room where a second sweetheart fairy was lying on the sofa, smoking a cigarette.

  “Turn that music off,” I shouted.

  The second sweetheart fairy, who I assumed to be Sharon, jumped off the sofa. “Who are you? What are you doing here? Let go of Karen.”

  “I’ll let go of her when you turn off that awful music.”

  “It is not awful! This is Oliver More and the Empty Bowls.”

  “I don’t care who it is. It’s making my ears bleed. Turn it off.”

  She walked over to the record player and lifted the needle off the vinyl record. “Okay, now let Karen go.”

  “My pleasure.” I released her. “Why don’t you both sit on the sofa, so we can chat?”

  They hesitated but then did as I said.

  “What do you want?” Sharon snapped.

  “I’m the one asking the questions, and if I don’t get answers, I’ll turn you both over to the authorities.”

  “What are we supposed to have done?”

  “Are you deaf? I said I’m the one asking the questions. Why don’t you start by telling me what business you have with Devon?”

  They exchanged a glance, then Karen said, “We don’t have any business with him. You’ve got the wrong people.”

  “You’re lying. I’ve had Devon followed, and he was seen talking to both of you on a couple of occasions. Devon is definitely going down. The only question is whether you two want to go down with him.”

  “Go down for what? We haven’t done anything.”

  “Don’t come the innocent with me. I know you’ve been stealing unicorn horns.”

  “We did no such thing,” Sharon said.

  “Okay, if that’s the way you want to play it, I guess I’ll just give the police a call.”

  “No, hang on. There’s no need for that.”

  “Are you saying that if we tell you everything we know, we’ll get full immunity?” Karen said.

  “I can’t guarantee that, but if you come clean, I promise that I’ll put in a good word for you.”

  They had a brief, whispered conversation, and eventually agreed to co-operate.

  “Okay. What do you want to know?” Sharon said.

  “What do you do with the horns?”

  “We don’t do anything with them. We just give them to Devon.”

  “What does he do with them?”

  “No idea.” Karen shrugged.

  “You said that you’d tell me everything.”

  “We don’t know what he wants them for. He pays us and that’s all we care about. We don’t ask any questions.”

  “How did this little arrangement come about?”

  “He approached us not long after we’d come out of prison. We couldn’t get any other work.”

  “When was this?”

  “About seven years ago.”

  “Seven years? But the thefts only started recently.”

  “I’m talking about the first time we worked for him.”

  “Let me get this straight. Are you saying that you two were stealing unicorn horns for Devon seven years ago as well?”

  “Yeah, we were making a killing until he suddenly called a halt to it.”

  “Why did he do that?”

  “No idea. Like I said, we don’t ask questions.”

  “How do you decide which unicorns to target?”

  “We don’t. Devon tells us who to take them from.”

  “How do you two tiny things manage to carry those horns?”

  “We’re stronger than we look. We can carry one between us easily, can’t we, Karen?”

  “Yeah, no problem.”

  “And how do you remove them? Do you use magic?”

  “Nah, a hacksaw.”

  ***

  I had planned to drop into the office, but after hearing what Karen and Sharon had to say, I decided instead to check out the industrial unit that Edna had seen Devon visit. There was no signage on the building to indicate what was inside. In fact, from the exterior, it looked as though it could have been abandoned.

  I magicked myself inside, but I didn’t bother with the ‘invisible’ spell because it was obvious that the place was deserted. In the centre of the unit was a small assembly line. At one end of the conveyor belt were boxes full of small, empty glass bottles. At the other end was a machine with a glass tank mounted on top; it was full of powder of some kind. When the production line was running, the bottles presumably travelled along the conveyor belt, were filled with powder, and then labelled. I picked up one of the sheets of labels. On each one was printed the name of the product: U-Sleep. Underneath that were the words: the world’s most effective sleeping solution. That name rang a bell: It was the one that Mrs V had used. The same one that had put one of her friends in hospital.

  The adjoining room, which was much smaller, appeared to be the despatch office where several boxes, full of bottles, were waiting to be collected. I opened one of the boxes, took out a bottle, and poured some of the powder onto the back of my hand. It had a very pleasing smell, and one that I recognised.

  I called Ursula and arranged to pay her a visit the following day.

  ***

  There was no sign of Martin when I arrived at Cuppy C, where Pearl was by herself behind the counter.

  “Pearl, have you seen Martin?”

  “Who’s Martin?”

  “My brother of course.”

  “I haven’t seen him in years.”

  “I arranged to meet him here. Maybe he’s running a little late.”

  “Where’s he been hiding all this time?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Complicated?” She rolled her eyes. “That’s what people say when they don’t want you to know something. Why the big secret?”

  “I can’t go into it right now. I’ll tell you another time, I promise.”

  “Fair enough. Did you find out who was behind those photographs?”

  “No. That’s one of the things I want to talk to Martin about. Could I get a caramel latte, please?”

  “I’ll pay for that.” The voice came from behind me. I spun around to find Martin standing there.

  “Long time, no see, Martin,” Pearl said.

  “Hi. How are you and your sister?”

  “We’re both fine, thanks. What can I get for you?”

  “I’ll have an American
o, please. Black. I see you’ve closed the cake shop.”

  “We did that some time ago. It’s much better now that we only have the tea room to deal with. Why don’t you two go and grab a table? I’ll bring the drinks over for you.”

  “I haven’t paid you yet,” Martin said.

  “That’s alright. These are on the house. Call it your welcome back present.”

  “Thanks.”

  We grabbed a table by the window.

  “Are you sure that I don’t need to worry about those photographs, Martin?”

  “Positive. Like I told you this morning, Braxmore just wants to scare you.”

  “So, what’s the plan? How do we keep Florence safe?”

  “There’s only one way to ensure Florence’s long-term safety. And yours, for that matter. That’s to kill Braxmore.”

  “Is that all? For a horrible moment there, I thought it might be something difficult.”

  “You can do it, Jill. Remember that Braxmore tried to destroy you once before, but failed.”

  “When he sent Drake to kill me, you mean?”

  “Yeah. Having missed that opportunity, he realised he had no option but to bide his time.”

  “Until when?”

  “Until he could match your power.”

  “Hang on. Are you telling me that I’m more powerful than he is?”

  “It’s close, but I would say so, yes. But that won’t always be the case. He’s spent the last few years expanding his powers. It’s only a matter of time until he’ll be able to match you in a head-to-head confrontation.”

  “What do you mean when you say he has been expanding his powers? How does he do that?”

  “By absorbing the power of others.”

  “Is that as grisly as it sounds?”

  “Worse.”

  “And when he believes that he’s powerful enough?”

  “That’s when he’ll come after you, and—” He hesitated.

  “Florence?”

  “Yes. She’s inherited your powers. If he can absorb both of you, he’ll be unstoppable.”

  “What can we do about it?”

  “You have to go on the offensive. You have to destroy him before he destroys you.”

  “How?”

  “Braxmore is no fool. He knows he’s vulnerable, so he’s put in place a number of defences to stop you getting to him. To breach those defences, you’re going to need the four compass stones.”