by Elle Adams
“Have you made much progress?” I asked.
“For a start, we have to figure out what to do with this extension she had put in a couple of years ago,” he said. “I’d like to tear the whole thing down, but Mr Renner was furious at me for suggesting it.”
“Which extension?” I followed his line of sight to the doorway leading to the second half of the hall the back. “Oh—the house used to be smaller?”
“Yes, until we added in the back rooms,” he said. “I say ‘we’—someone else was in charge of renovations when they were originally put in, of course. There’s no upstairs floor at the back there… just the kitchen. That’s why the roof at the back is lower.”
The same place where those roof tiles had fallen off. And the doorway linking the two halves of the house was where Mrs Renner had died. Now I looked closer, it was the source of why the house looked so patchy and unsteady, as though someone had used a spell to fuse both parts of the building together without checking if the foundations were stable first.
“So that’s why there are fewer rooms upstairs than there are down here,” I surmised. “How long ago was this extension added?”
“Oh, years ago,” he said. “I believe flood-proofing spells were used in the setup, but it’s not surprising that the protective spells are failing. They’re not supposed to be used for this long.”
“Flood-proof?”
He bowed his head. “Yes, for the river, you know… her house is right on top of it.”
“That explains why half the garden has turned into a swamp,” I remarked, remembering my conversation with Mart while the police had been here yesterday. “Did someone from your team put those spells on the house?”
“No, we didn’t,” he said. “As I said—this was years ago.”
“You mentioned there might be a spell on the house yesterday,” I said. “I mean, the sort that might have been intended to cause damage. How can you tell?”
“Wizardly matters aren’t my strong point.” He cleared his throat. “My team can’t take the spell off without potentially causing damage to the house, either.”
“Can’t you… I don’t know, just use a tracking spell to sense what kind of magic was used, then?” I asked. “That seems to me like the obvious choice, if you want to know for certain if there was some kind of sabotage intended.”
He glanced nervously up at the ceiling. “Without Mr Renner’s permission… I’m loath to say it, but he’s been quite uncooperative, and if we use a spell without his say-so, he might well send us packing without pay.”
“Is he going to live in this house or not?” I asked. “Either way, he needs it to be in one piece. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with using a spell to detect if any magical interference is causing some of the trouble. It’s not my area of expertise either, but it’s worth looking into.”
“I suppose you’re right,” he said. “At first, we thought it might be the ghost moving things around… and then there’s the matter of the upstairs floorboards, too, but that’s just as likely to be ordinary wear and tear, given the age of the house.”
“Yes, but you might as well take a look.” Was his reluctance due to not wanting to tick off Mr Renner, or might he have lied about his team’s innocence in the damage which had ended in the roof tiles falling off? I wasn’t one to point fingers, but something about this whole setup raised my suspicions. “Is there a wizard on your team who can cast a revealing spell?”
“I’ll ask.” He moved to talk to the rest of his team, while I stepped back to Carey’s side.
“Why didn’t he think of it earlier?” Carey whispered.
Was it a sign of guilt? Or was he just worried about upsetting Mr Renner? Either might be true, and without any proof either way, I was better off letting him cast the spell and then deciding how to proceed afterwards.
After several minutes of quiet discussion, one of the wizards raised his wand and pointed it at the ceiling. He waved the wand in a series of complex movements, which revealed nothing.
“I don’t think it’s working,” Louis said. “Wait…”
A pattern of vivid lines spread up the wall, across the ceiling and through the entire room. I followed the lines with my vision, eyeing the way they spread and splintered until they covered the entire back section of the house.
“Whoa,” I breathed. I might not be accomplished in construction magic, but I knew a destructive spell when I saw one. Someone had cleverly hidden it inside the very walls, and I wouldn’t have spotted it at all if not for the revealing spell.
“I’ll go and see where it started,” said Louis. The rest of the team crowded into the corridor, which seemed like tempting fate with the evidence of the house’s instability literally above their heads. “It’s only on the extension for the most part… I wonder who built it.”
“I couldn’t say,” said an older wizard with grey hair. “By all accounts, the woman herself kept trying to take over the job. Maybe she’s the one responsible.”
“She wanted to knock down her own house? I doubt it.” I turned back to Carey and startled at the sight of a transparent greyish figure hovering at the foot of the stairs.
Mrs Renner stood beneath the lines of the spell spreading across the hall ceiling, a scowl on her face.
“Whoa.” I half-tripped over my own feet in a hurry to reach her before she vanished. “Mrs Renner. Want to talk now?”
Carey grabbed my arm. “Is she there? Mrs Renner’s ghost?”
“She is.” I looked the ghostly figure in the eyes. “You probably heard we found a destructive spell someone used on your house which seems designed to make it fall apart. Did that cause your death?”
Her eyes narrowed. “So that’s what did it. I always knew there was something amiss, but my eyesight isn’t what it used to be. Especially now.”
My heart swooped uneasily. It’s true? How did she not notice for years?
“Who put up the extension?” I asked her. “Did someone put the spell on the house back then, when the extension was built, or was it a recent thing?”
Had Dolores visited her house? It sounded like their history went back years. Mr Renner had visited beforehand, too, as I’d found out yesterday. He certainly had reason to want to turf her out of the house, but without proof, I’d only get myself into trouble if I accused him. And then there was his odd rapport with the Reaper. Maybe he wanted to convince the Reaper to get rid of her ghost to ensure the truth was never exposed. But again… no proof, and the Reaper was unlikely to cooperate, either.
One of Louis’s wizard assistants poked his head back into the hallway. “Is she there? Mrs Renner? Did she say who put up the extension?”
“She confirmed the extension has been there for years,” I said, “but she doesn’t know when the spell was cast. Whatever the case, I don’t think it’s likely that she put it there herself.”
Not if she’d lived here the whole time. I scanned the cracks on the ceiling, looking for a starting point, but they faded out when they reached the front of the house. Carey hovered behind me, goggles on, her mouth pinched in concentration.
“Carey, can you keep an eye on the others?” I asked her. “Let me know if you need me. I’m going to see if I can talk to her alone.”
Mrs Renner’s ghost hovered in the hall, floating up the stairs a little more with each passing second. I trod as lightly as I dared, one eye on the ceiling, one eye on the ghost. The lines of the destructive spell petered out before they reached the stairs.
“Mrs Renner,” I said. “Is there a reason your grandson might be meeting with the Reaper?”
“That scoundrel,” she snapped. “I won’t leave this house. I won’t let him have it.”
“Hey—” I took a step forward, and a cold breeze pushed me backwards. In the same instant, Mrs Renner vanished. Not again.
I stepped off the stairs, cursing under my breath. What had she meant? Did she think her grandson wanted to banish her out of his desire to sell the house,
or might there be something else he wanted to cover up? Asking the Reaper would get me nowhere, but… wait. I still hadn’t found Mart.
“Mart?” I called out in a whisper. It wasn’t like Mart to vanish, but I didn’t blame him for avoiding the house. If I didn’t talk to him and find out what had transpired between Mr Renner and the Reaper, though, I’d have no proof but my own suspicions, and they weren’t good enough to prove Mr Renner might have been responsible for the damage to his grandmother’s house.
Why now, Mart? It would be a fine thing if I finally got rid of him at a time when I desperately needed his expertise.
The front door to the house opened and Mr Renner himself entered the hallway, followed by his wife. At least he’d saved me from looking for him myself, because it was about time I got his side of the story. Without any lies, this time.
12
“Oh, hey, Mr Renner.” My cheery tone sounded false to my own ears, not least because I had no adequate explanation for why I was lurking on the stairs now the ghost had gone.
Mr Renner looked me up and down with disdain in his expression. “You again? Have you finally got rid of my grandmother’s ghost?”
“I’ve spoken to her.” I sensed from his mood that I’d have to proceed delicately or else he might well kick me out. Especially when he found out about the sabotage spell. “Also, we’ve exposed a spell in the house’s foundations which might have been intended to harm her.”
“Is that so?” he said. “Let’s see it, then.”
He and Claudie entered together, closing the door behind them.
“There.” I pointed to the visible lines of the revealing spell criss-crossing the ceiling at the back of the hall. “I think someone may have put a spell on the house when the extension was being constructed.”
“They did what?” he said, his face flushing with anger. “Who?”
“Your grandmother didn’t say,” I said. “She vanished before she could tell me. How long ago was the extension put in? Did you see the people who worked on it?”
“No,” he said shortly. “I came here afterwards. Isn’t someone going to remove that spell?”
“The construction workers are back there.” I pointed through to the kitchen. “I’m not sure if it can be moved without damaging the house… and there’s still the matter of who cast it to begin with. If their actions caused your grandmother’s death—”
“They’ll have to answer to me.” He made to march through the hall, only for someone else to walk into the house. A tall, broad-shouldered someone.
Oh, no. The detective was here, too. Which meant the ghost would definitely not make another appearance anytime soon.
“Hey,” said Drew. “What’s going on here?”
His gaze went to mine, and my heart did a weird skip that I couldn’t entirely put down to surprise at his appearance.
Mr Renner accosted him. “She says there’s a destructive spell on the house.”
“The wizards on Louis’s team exposed it,” I explained, pointing up at the ceiling. “It’s been there a while. Possibly since the extension was put in, years ago.”
“You’re saying the spell was cast years ago?” said Claudie. “If that’s the case, how can it be responsible for her death? She lived in this house for fifty years or more, didn’t she, Henry?”
“That’s right.” Mr Renner turned on me with a frown. “Did my grandmother tell you that herself?”
“No, the construction workers did.”
“Then someone here is being less than truthful.” His gaze went from me to Drew, and then to the group of construction workers who’d realised he was there and drifted out of the kitchen into the hallway to meet him.
Does that mean you’re going to confess to meeting with the Reaper? I managed to hold back that comment… just.
“The spell doesn’t have to be recent to cause damage,” Louis told him. “However, if it turns out to be the cause of the trouble, then we will have to halt all construction work until we can determine if it’s safe to remain in the house. Especially with the recent spiritual disturbances.”
“I thought that’s why you were here,” Mr Renner said to me. “You and the girl, too. Where is she?”
Carey popped her head out of the kitchen. “In here. The spell’s all over the house, and Maura was going to ask the ghost if she knew who put it there.”
Mr Renner scowled at her. “Then what are you doing back here?”
Carey’s face flushed. “Um. I can’t see ghosts… not without my goggles, anyway.”
“Hold on,” Drew said.
Mr Renner cut through his words. “Is this a joke? What kind of ghost hunter are you?”
Carey’s red cheeks turned even redder, and a wave of anger washed over me.
“Look,” I cut in. “The ghost is a witness to two deaths, potentially. And she’s the only one of us who was here when the extension was put in. If you want her to show up and give you answers, pointing fingers and being rude to my assistant isn’t the best way to go about it.”
I wanted to say several less polite things to Mr Renner on top of that, but I managed to hold my tongue. He seemed entirely too keen for us to get rid of the only other witness, and besides, he had no right to be so rude to Carey. Yet the look of gratitude Carey gave me for defending her didn’t quell my growing dread when Mr Renner’s anger focused on me.
“I could hardly care less about what a ghost has to say,” he said. “And I’m inclined to think you and the little schoolgirl are here to get your hands on my grandmother’s inheritance instead.”
A little gasp escaped Carey, and several tears slid down her cheeks.
My temper snapped. “I thought that’s why you hired the Reaper. So he could get rid of her ghost and leave you to sell all her possessions without her getting in the way.”
His furious gaze burned through me. “Yes, I did speak to the Reaper yesterday. As it happens, he told me a few interesting things about you… and your brother.”
It was suddenly hard to breathe. “How did you—?”
“You don’t think I’d let an amateur ghost hunter and a child walk onto my property without looking you up?” he said. “Especially an ex-Reaper?”
I saw Drew move in the corner of my eye, but I didn’t look directly at him. I couldn’t. He knows what I am.
“That is none of your business.” My voice shook a little despite my efforts to keep it steady. “Did the Reaper refuse to help you out, then? Or were you hoping he’d get rid of the proof that you already knew about the spell, because you came here to hassle your grandmother to leave this house a couple of years back?”
Carey’s mouth fell open, while several gasps came from the direction of the construction workers. This wasn’t how I’d imagined it going at all. Mostly because I hadn’t planned for my past to return to haunt me at a time like this. I’d really thought I was safe here.
Mr Renner took a threatening step towards me, his wand in his hand. “If I were you, I’d leave this house before I have you arrested.”
“Henry, stop it!” Claudie said.
“That won’t be necessary,” Drew interjected. “I’ll escort her out. The girl, too.”
Shame heated my cheeks, but I kept my head held high as I walked to the door with Carey trailing behind me. Silent tears continued to fall down her cheeks, and it took great effort for me to resist turning around and giving Mr Renner a tongue-lashing for upsetting her.
“Evil man,” I muttered under my breath. “If you ask me, he did have his grandmother bumped off.”
“I wouldn’t advise you to suggest that within hearing distance of him.” Drew’s disapproving tone made me wilt on the spot. On top of everything else I’d managed to ruin in the last few minutes, I’d accidentally sent our rapport back to square one. “Is there really a spell on the house?”
“Why would I lie about something like that?” Hurt bled into my tone despite my best efforts. “One of Louis’s people used a revealing charm wh
ich exposed a spell in the extension on the house, and I find it hard to believe that Mr Renner didn’t notice when he visited his grandmother two years ago.”
Carey glanced at me, wiping her eyes. “She’s right.”
“How do you know he visited here two years ago?” The suspicion in his tone shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did.
“A ghost told me,” I said. “At the retirement home. If Mr Renner came here in the past, then it’s not too much of a stretch to wonder if he did the same back when the extension was put in.”
“Even if it is true, Mr Renner would still have been a teenager when the extension was put in,” he said. “According to my research, the extension was built more than a decade ago. I doubt Mrs Renner’s grandson was the person who used a slow-acting destructive spell in a long-term plan to get his grandmother’s property.”
Oh. I should have thought of that. “He’s not exactly acting in an innocent manner. If he really cared for his grandmother, he’d want to get justice for her death. And what about poor Dolores?”
“Perhaps he doesn’t trust his grandmother’s ghost to tell the truth.”
Since I’d had the same thought myself once or twice, I had no argument for that. “I thought you wanted justice, too. Or at least closure.” I still hadn’t the faintest clue what he could possibly get out of solving this case. If I was in his position, I’d have backed off as soon as Mr Renner arrived in town at the very latest.
“There’s definitely a spell on the house,” said Carey. “Did Mrs Renner tell you who did it?”
“No,” I said. “She did call her grandson a scoundrel and said she wouldn’t let him have the house. Make of that what you will.”
“I’ll go and deal with him myself,” Drew said. “See if I can get some sense out of him. Both of you—go back to the inn.”
“What makes you think he’s likely to listen to you?” A warning voice inside my head urged me to let it drop, but I couldn’t forget he’d heard every word Mr Renner had said about my Reaper history. Now I’d been kicked out the house, my excuses to stay here in town had evaporated, yet I didn’t want to leave without getting some kind of closure. “Look, I saw Mr Renner meeting with the Reaper. Twice. Doesn’t that merit another questioning?”
