by R K Dreaming
“No thanks,” I said. “If I’m going on the rebound, I plan on trampling every single thing in my path, including you if you get in my way.”
He laughed so hard that he nearly fell off his stool.
The sound of a scream made us look sharply towards the door. We both sprang to our feet.
“I’m fine, it’s fine!” Allegra called from the distance, somewhere in the castle. “It was just… A rat! A big one!”
Jasper and I looked at each other. He might not know her very well, but he knew her well enough to know that a measly rat was hardly going to make Allegra Westbrim scream.
We both hurried in the direction of the noise and found Allegra in the old outhouse near the family garden. Fortunately the outhouse was attached to the castle much in the way that a garage might be attached to a Humble home, so I didn’t have to brave the sunshine to get in there.
“What is it?” I asked her urgently as soon as we walked in the door.
She glanced behind me and Jasper and looked relieved to see we were alone.
“Oh good. I was worried that Aunt Adele might follow you in here.”
“Why? What didn’t you want her to see?”
She carefully held up a twisted metal object with just the tips of her fingers. There was a grimace on her face. “This.”
The thing looked like a cross between a rake and a cleaver.
The smell of the blood came to me immediately. In the dimly lit interior of the outhouse, I had to get close to Allegra before I could see the sticky remnants of the stuff coating the sharp ends of the metal. They were twisted like claws.
“What the hell is it?” said Jasper, looking disgusted.
“Do you think Aunt Adele…?” Allegra’s voice trailed off. She was looking worried.
I shook my head.
I went close to the thing and bent my head a little and took a sniff.
My head reared back half with revulsion, half because the smell had been attractive to me. But I had achieved my aim. It might have sounded odd if I said it to these two, but I could smell the differences in the blood the same way one might be able to smell the difference between a beef casserole and a chicken sandwich.
And I had smelled this blood before. It was Lily Silverswift’s.
I couldn’t believe it. What the heck was this thing coated in Lily’s blood for?
But I couldn’t even ask this question out loud, because then I would have had to explain why I could smell that it was her blood. And I couldn’t admit that. Not even to Allegra.
Jasper was looking sickened. “Lily?” he said quietly.
I nodded my head. “I think so. Where did you find that?” I asked Allegra.
She pointed to a crate nearby. It was full of odds and ends like bits of metal, empty plant pots, rusty old tools — all things which might have been lying around the garden.
In fact, the entire outhouse was piled with crates of stuff like this and with old furniture towering precariously high. This was Aunt Adele’s storage shed.
“You think this was used to kill Lily?” said Allegra sharply to Jasper.
He nodded. “Esme told us that the body had been clawed up. What if it wasn’t real claws? What if it was that?”
Allegra looked outraged. “But why would it be in here?” she said. Then she gasped loudly and looked at me in horror. “Aunt Adele? You don’t think she would have done that? You said she was mad at Lily for trying to use magic on you. And she broke Lily’s wand…”
She looked sickened.
I was outraged. “No, of course it wasn’t her. That’s just the sort of thing that Granny Selma would say. Determined to believe Aunt Adele is a traitor to the family when all she’s been is a big sweetheart. You’ve been hanging out with granny too long.”
Allegra blushed. She shook her head as if to shake some sense back into herself. “Of course it wasn’t her. I don’t know what I was thinking. Just that maybe she’s been confused since she’s come back. I've heard the transition can be tough in the beginning.”
“Er, sorry to say this,” said Jasper hesitantly. He looked a bit shamefaced. “But Dele does have motive. She didn’t really think you would come back to Mansion House remember? Maybe she wants it back for herself.”
“You take that back, Jasper Echo!” I said. “Poor Aunt Adele would be mortified if she heard you say that. She’s been nothing but welcoming, and she told me she and her husband always wanted to leave this place to me. And quite frankly, she could throw me out easily if she wanted to. The seven ghosts are her friends, not mine.”
“Sorry,” he said. “I just had to float the possibility.”
“I never want to hear you float that possibility again,” I said.
“It could have been the seven ghosts then?” he suggested.
I shook my head. “Aunt Adele said they had nothing to do with it. She trusts them. She says they’re loyal to whoever owns the castle and that’s me. Scary, but loyal. So they wouldn’t have done anything to get me in such big trouble.”
“The intruder!” said Allegra suddenly. “What if they broke in not to steal something, but to plant this thing?” she waved the spiky metal claws around. “What if someone is trying to frame you for Lily’s murder?”
Jasper nodded. He looked angry just at the thought of someone trying to frame me. He began pacing.
“You told us that you’d been arguing with Lily the night that she died,” he said to me. “It would make sense that someone would try to make you into a murder suspect.”
I shook my head. Seeing the murder weapon here, something had clicked into place in my mind. I swallowed hard.
“There were only five people who knew that I was arguing with Lily. Who saw that argument.”
“Oberon, Lorcan, Petra and Paolo,” Allegra reeled off.
“And James, the ex-boyfriend,” Jasper added.
“One of them is trying to frame you!” said Allegra angrily. “One of them snuck in here to plant this thing. They’re probably going to call Agent Constantine and tell him it’s here if he doesn’t find it soon!”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. At least, I don’t think that they planted it. I think someone broke in here looking for it. I think they lost it.”
“Lost it?” Allegra echoed.
I nodded. “Aunt Adele must have found that weapon out in the garden the night that Lily got murdered and thought it was a bit of old rubbish. She must not have seen the blood in the dark. She must have brought it in here. I think the killer realised that it was missing and they came looking for it.”
“Lorcan Hardwick,” said Allegra immediately.
I shook my head. “It could have been any of them. Allegra, put that down carefully. It’s got the killer’s fingerprints on it.”
She gasped, and then put it down very quickly.
“We need to call Agent Constantine right now,” said Allegra.
Jasper was already reaching into his pocket for his phone.
“No,” I said. “He’s already suspicious of me. You saw the way he arrested me so easily last night. What if he thinks it was me?”
Allegra groaned. “And Chief Hardwick will push for a quick arrest without waiting for the facts,” she added.
“But you said you think it’s got the killer’s fingerprints on it,” said Jasper.
I nodded. “The problem is that Allegra and I are witches, remember? Hawke Hardwick will say we could have put the fingerprints on there ourselves. And Agent Constantine already said to me that witches could do anything.”
“Not you,” Allegra said immediately. And then she flushed and looked uncomfortable. “You know what I mean…” Her voice trailed off.
I nodded. She hadn’t meant it offensively. “The thing is you’re my cousin. And you could have done it to protect me. Everyone knows that you’ve been protecting me my whole life.”
“I can back you up,” said Jasper immediately. “We saw you find it.”
“But we didn’t,” I
said. “We didn’t see her find it, and there’s no reason for him to believe it. And it wouldn’t stand up if they decided to give you a truth potion.”
“Then what will we do?” Allegra said, looking worried.
“The only thing we can do,” I said. “Set a trap for the killer.”
18. The Best Laid Plan
“Set a trap how?” said Jasper.
“They’ll never confess,” said Allegra. “Whoever did it has as good as got away with it already.”
“We’ll have to lure them in by saying that we’ve got the murder weapon,” I said.
“We can’t tell them that!” said Allegra. “That’s giving our trump card away.”
“It’s the only bait we have to make them come,” I said. “After that somehow we’ll have to trick them into confessing.”
“How?” said Allegra bluntly.
“Captain Villain,” I said. “I know this might sound crazy, but I’m pretty sure that cat is psychic.”
Jasper snorted.
I glared at him. “Didn’t you see Captain Villain lead us out to where the body was yesterday? He sat on the concrete right over where it was buried.”
“That’s true,” he said grudgingly. “But really? A psychic cat?”
“You might not be able to hear him speaking, but I can,” I said.
“It’ll never be enough,” said Allegra. “You really think Hawke Hardwick is going to take your word when you say that you know what you know because a psychic cat has told you?”
I nodded. “I agree with you. He won’t. Agent Constantine’s already told me that a cat can’t be a witness to things. But all I’m saying is that if we get the four of them here —“
“Five,” said Allegra. “James the ex-boyfriend as well, remember?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think he was in on it. Captain Villain already said that he saw James getting drunk on the beach the night that Lily was killed. So it can’t have been him.”
“Are we really going to take the word of a cat?” said Jasper.
“It’s not like the cat has got any skin in this game,” I said.
Jasper snorted with laughter.
“Even so,” said Allegra. “Agent Constantine would never take a cat’s word as an alibi.” She couldn’t help but laugh as she said it.
“I’m not expecting him to. All I’m saying is that the three of us can take Captain Villain’s word about James’s alibi. But if you’d rather question James anyway, whoever goes to find Captain Villain can also see if James is still sleeping on that beach and ask him to come up here too. He can be part of this. But I don’t think it was him.”
“I can go and find the cat,” volunteered Allegra. “You should stay indoors in the warmth. It’ll only take one of us.”
I nodded, grateful for her overprotectiveness for once. I couldn’t have gone out into the midday sun even if I had wanted to, and had been hoping one of them would volunteer.
“And I’ll get Oberon and his friends here,” said Jasper. “I’ll go find them and figure out a way to persuade them to come to the café.”
“I don’t think you’ll need a ruse,” I said. “You can tell them straight up that we found the weapon. I bet the killer will want to come to try to steal it. We’ll get them talking, and Captain Villain can tell us if he senses anything. He said that Lily’s spirit has been wafting around. Maybe she’ll appear and remember who the killer was.”
Even as I said it, it all sounded a bit airy fairy and like it needed a lot of pieces coming together. I wasn’t sure we would be that lucky.
“We have to try,” I said.
The other two nodded.
“The nerve of trying to frame my cousin!” Allegra spat. “I am not having you going to prison because of one of them. My money is on Lorcan Hardwick. Or Oberon.”
An unhappy look came onto my face and she saw it.
“I know you like Oberon,” she said. “But let’s face it, he is a vampire. Vampires are unpredictable. They’re undead. It’s not like we living people can really understand their motivations or why they do things.”
“You’re being prejudiced,” I said shortly. “People don’t ask to be made into vampires.”
“I agree. It’s not their fault that they get made into vampires. At least, not the fault of the ones who didn’t want it, because some of them do want it. You know that.”
“Do they?” I said. “Some of them have been under the influence of mesmerism for so long that they don’t have a choice. Not really. It’s like a narcotic, isn’t it?”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Jasper quietly. “The truth is that once it’s done, once a person does become a vampire, it changes them. They’re not like normal people any more. That’s just a fact.”
“Why must we lump all vampires in together?” I said heatedly. “They’re all different. They’re individuals. Individuals aren’t accountable for the actions of the masses.”
“There’s a reason for people’s prejudice against vampires,” Allegra insisted. “Esme, you know that vampires don’t have the same emotions that we have. They’re like… sociopaths. They’re entirely selfish. They do bad stuff sometimes just because they want to. We normal people can’t figure out why Oberon might have done it.”
“Oberon isn’t a vampire,” I insisted. “He’s a dhampire. It’s different. He’s not fully undead. He does have emotions. I’m sure of it. He was so heartbroken over what happened to Lily.”
“But that’s the mark of a sociopath,” said Allegra. “They’re really good at faking emotions.”
“I don’t think he is,” I said stubbornly. “I don’t know who did this, but I’ll be glad if it’s not Oberon.”
“We should keep an open mind about it,” said Jasper firmly.
I nodded. “And anyway, Captain Villain doesn’t take sides with different species of people. He doesn’t care. He’ll tell us the truth.”
Allegra and Jasper left shortly afterwards. Allegra to go hunt down James the werewolf and Captain Villain in Kitten Cove, and Jasper to persuade Oberon and his friends to come over to Mansion House.
We agreed to meet again in an hour. I was jittery with nerves. Soon it would be over. Soon Lily’s sprit would be at rest, and I would no longer have the threat of being arrested hanging over me, and I could focus on sorting out my own big problem.
I couldn’t wait to see Agent Constantine’s face when I brought the killer to him.
Silly maybe, but after what he had put me through last night I wanted that satisfaction. I wasn’t weak and pathetic. I was every bit as good at life as he was.
The problem was sometimes not even the best laid of plans worked out. Especially when it involved cats.
Jasper arrived on the hour saying that he had persuaded the others to meet him here, and they would be arriving soon. Allegra arrived later than expected. She had not had so much luck. She hadn’t been able to find James the werewolf, who had not been at Kitten Cove. But even worse, there had been no sign of Captain Villain either.
We were going to have to do this on our own. And none of us had any idea how.
19. Trickery & Confessions
We didn’t have time to think up a plan, because within five minutes a knock sounded on the front door of the castle.
Allegra and Jasper went to open it. They returned with Oberon, Lorcan, Petra and Paolo.
They were all here, and one of them was the killer. It was time to do or die.
Lorcan firmly shut the door behind himself after they had all come in, as if he was paranoid that someone would interrupt us.
He didn’t need to be so worried. It was nearing lunchtime, and the café was busy, which meant that Aunt Adele was busy serving her customers. It was Sunday and weekends were her busiest times, when everyone was out on the beach having fun.
“We won’t be disturbed,” I reassured the four of them.
Petra’s face was pale. She came to take a stance next to Oberon, and crossed her arms stiffly
over her chest.
She licked her lips nervously. “Why did you ask us to come here?”
Lorcan’s eyes flicked nervously from me to Jasper to Allegra, who had both come to stand beside me.
“Jasper, what did you mean that you found something to do with Lily’s murder?” he demanded.
Lorcan looked tense. He had his hand in his pocket where I knew that his wand was. Allegra had hers in her wand-pocket too. I didn’t want this to turn into a duel.
“We’ve got something we need to talk to you all about,” I said to them. “Something urgent. But I can tell that you’re all feeling tense about it. So why don’t you all take a seat and we can have a chat?”
The four of them stood there staring at me. Lorcan shook his head. He didn’t want to take a seat. Clearly, neither did the others.
“Just get on with it,” said Oberon.
Petra glanced at the door like she was afraid of what she might hear and she wanted to get out of here.
“I don’t want this to turn into anything heated,” I said. “And Aunt Adele will be mad if this turns into another Westbrim and Hardwick family issue, so out of consideration for her let’s just put our wands away, shall we?”
I had deliberately avoided using the words fight and duel, afraid this might make things worse.
I did it first, taking my wand out of my pocket and putting it onto the coffee table. I knew of course that this meant very little since I was the least dangerous wand-bearer in the room.
Allegra took her wand out of her pocket, but she looked hard at Lorcan before she made any move to put hers down.
When he grudgingly put his on the table, she did too.
“Excellent,” I said in a light voice. “Now that’s what I call a show of trust. If only everyone in our families could behave that way!”
Lorcan didn’t chuckle. “Just get on with it,” he bit out. “It’s past lunchtime. We haven’t got all day.”
“You want me to get some snacks from the kitchen?” I offered. Hangriness wasn’t going to make things any easier for anyone.
