by Adele Abbott
“Barry’s much bigger than Buddy, Daddy.”
“Is he nice?”
“Yes, he’s really friendly. We were playing with him in the back garden. And Rhymes wrote a poem for me. Would you like to hear it?”
“I—err—”
“Of course he would,” I chimed in. “Daddy loves Rhymes’ poetry.”
She took the sheet of paper out of her pocket and read out loud.
Florence is a pretty girl,
Who’s very clever as well,
The only thing that would make her better,
Is if she had a shell.
“Do you like it, Daddy?”
“It’s really great. It sounds like you had a lovely time in Candlefield.”
“I did.” Her face fell a little. “I wish you could come with us, Daddy.”
“So do I, darling, but it’s alright. I don’t mind. As long as you enjoy yourself, that’s all that matters.”
“Mummy says we can go back there again soon.” She jumped out of his lap. “Is it time to go freaky now?”
“Not yet, darling,” I said. “Freaking Tweaking doesn’t start until after lunch.”
She gave me a puzzled look. “But we’ve been in Candlefield for ages.”
“Don’t you remember what I told you? When we go to Candlefield, the time here doesn’t change.”
“Why?”
“No one really knows. When we left here, it was ten o’clock. It’s only five past ten now.”
“That’s silly. How long is it until freaky, then?”
“A couple of hours.”
“That’s ages.” She sighed.
“It isn’t all that long, and it will give me time to teach you a new spell. Would you like that?”
“Yes, please.” Her face lit up. “Which spell can I learn?”
“I’m going to teach you the ‘grow’ spell.”
“Will that make me grow so I’m as big as you and Daddy?”
“No, darling, that’s not what the ‘grow’ spell does. It makes plants grow taller.”
“Can we do it now?”
“Yeah, let’s go into the garden.”
On our way out of the lounge, I grabbed the spell book. Buddy was fast asleep on his bed and he didn’t stir as we walked past him. Out in the garden, Florence walked around, looking at the various flowers.
“Which one shall we make grow, Mummy?”
“You can choose.”
“This one.”
“The yellow pansy?”
“Yes, please.”
“Okay, come and sit on the step next to me and we’ll look at the spell together.” Once she’d joined me, I opened the spell book at the appropriate page. “You have to remember all of these pictures to cast the spell.”
“There’s a lot, Mummy. I don’t think I can remember all of them.”
“You will. Just keep practising until you get it right. Okay?”
“I’ll try.” She studied the page, looking at each picture in turn. After a few minutes, she said, “I think I know them now.”
“Okay, why don’t you give it a try.” She put the book down on the step and walked over to the pansy. “Now, close your eyes and think about each picture in turn.”
“I have to focus too, don’t I, Mummy?”
“That’s right. That’s the most important part.”
She screwed up her eyes really tight and after a few seconds, opened them again.
Nothing had happened.
“It didn’t work, Mummy.”
“Don’t worry. Maybe you got the pictures in the wrong order or forgot one of them. Why don’t you take another look at the spell book?”
“Okay.” She came back to the step, picked up the book and studied the spell for a few more minutes. “I think I know it now.”
“Okay, give it another try.”
She closed her eyes again and within a few seconds, the pansy started to grow.
“It’s working, Florence, but don’t open your eyes yet or it will stop growing. I’ll tell you when to open them.”
I waited until the pansy had grown to twice its original height. “Okay, you can open your eyes now.”
“Look, Mummy! Look how big it is.”
“Good job!” I gave her a kiss. “Aren’t you a clever little witch?”
“Can I do it to another flower, Mummy?”
“Okay, why don’t you try the one next to it?” She did, and this time it worked first time. “Very good. That’ll do for today. Why don’t you go upstairs and play for a while and then, after lunch, we’ll go to Freaking Tweaking?”
***
Jack, Florence and I had a light lunch of sandwiches. We’d just finished eating when Kathy and Lizzie arrived. I could see straight away that Lizzie wasn’t her usual bubbly self, so when she’d gone through to the garden with Florence, I asked Kathy what was wrong.
“It’s that stupid charm bracelet of hers.”
“Is she still bugging you to buy her some more charms?”
“No, it’s not that. They’ve disappeared.”
“Disappeared?” I acted suitably surprised. “What do you mean, disappeared?”
“It’s the weirdest thing. When she woke up this morning, the bracelet was still there, but all the charms had gone.”
“Stolen, you mean? Did someone break in?”
“There’s no sign of a break-in, and nothing else has been taken. Those charms are ridiculously expensive, but it’s not like they’re solid silver. They’re not worth anything. And why not take the bracelet? Why just the charms?”
“That is weird. Is it possible she lost them and doesn’t want to tell you?”
“I thought the same thing at first, but it’s happened to her friends too. She’s spoken to several of them this morning, and they’ve all lost their charms. It’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.”
After Florence had fed Buddy, we all made our way to Tweaking Meadows, which was just outside the village. The area had been completely taken over by the carnival. In addition to all the usual rides, there were lots of stalls, including the obligatory hook-a-duck. There was no shortage of food stalls too, although you would have struggled to find anything remotely healthy.
Kathy came up with a great idea.
Yes, I was surprised too.
She suggested that one of us should accompany the girls while the other two grabbed a rest and a cup of tea. The plan was that we’d each take a shift. Jack volunteered to go first, so Kathy and I queued at the refreshments stall where we bought what was laughingly described as tea, but which resembled and tasted like lukewarm dishwater.
“Thank goodness it was the carnival today,” Kathy said. “It seems to have taken Lizzie’s mind off her charm bracelet.”
“She seems to be having fun. They both do. I was surprised when Jack told me that Mikey had gone go-karting with Peter. I thought he’d given up on that.”
“He had, but Pete managed to persuade him to give it another go. Mikey does enjoy it once he’s there, but it’s not cool to be seen doing anything with your parents.”
When Jack came back, it was my turn to accompany the kids.
“Okay, you two. What would you like to do next?”
The kids dragged me to the ring-toss stall where you had to throw a hoop over a soft toy to win it. As always with these stalls, it was clearly fixed, but a little magic ensured both of the girls came away with a teddy bear, much to the consternation of the stall owner. Next, we went on the dodgems. Florence shared a car with me while Lizzie drove her own. I wasn’t sure if Florence would like it, but the more we crashed into other cars, the more she whooped with delight. The kids wanted to go on the helter-skelter next, but the guy in charge said they’d had to close it because of the high winds that had started to gust since we arrived.
When my time was up, I took the kids back to the refreshment stall, and Kathy took over. When she’d gone, Jack said, “Do you know anything about those charm bracelets?”
“I do, actually. Those charms were real elves. They’d been abducted from Candlefield, dipped in silver gunk and then shrunk.”
“That’s awful.”
“I know. Luckily, the scientists in Candlefield have found a way to reverse the effects. Daze’s people have been retrieving the charms from the human world, so they can rescue the elves. It’s a bit hard on poor old Lizzie and her friends, but it’s for the best.”
It was only a few minutes later when Kathy came back to join us.
“Hey, your time isn’t up yet.” I tapped my watch.
“They’re closing the carnival because of the high wind, so I bought the kids some candy floss to make up for it.”
“It’s yummy, Mummy.” Florence held it out to me. “Try some.”
Before I could decline, a gust of wind blew the stick of candyfloss out of her hand, and onto my face.
“Yuk!” Although I managed to pull the stick away, most of the candy floss was still stuck to my face and hair.
Jack, Kathy and Lizzie were in hysterics.
“It’s not funny!”
Florence clearly didn’t think so either because her bottom lip began to quiver. “I don’t have any candyfloss left.”
“It’s alright, pumpkin.” Jack put his arm around her. “We’ll go and get you some more before they close.”
“Yes, thanks, I’m fine,” I said while pulling candyfloss from my hair. “Thanks for asking.”
“Why don’t you shoot off home and wash your hair,” Jack said. “We won’t be long.”
“We should be making tracks, too.” Kathy took Lizzie’s hand.
“What happened to you?” Buddy began to roll around the floor, laughing. It was the first time I’d seen him crack a smile since he’d arrived.
Ignoring him, I made my way upstairs to the bathroom and decided it would be easier just to have a shower. It took ages to get all the candy floss out of my hair, but I eventually managed it. I was sitting on the bed, blow-drying my hair, when I heard Jack calling from downstairs.
“Jill, come down here. Quick.”
I hurried down to find him in the kitchen, staring out at the garden. “What’s wrong? Where’s Florence?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.” He pointed to the lawn, which was now over five feet tall. “She’s out there somewhere with Buddy.”
I stepped outside. “Florence, where are you?”
“Over here, Mummy.” Her voice came from the far side of the garden.
“What did you do?”
“I’ve been practising the ‘grow’ spell.”
“Stay where you are.”
I reversed the spell, and little by little, the grass returned to its normal height.
“Sorry, Mummy. I think I did it for too long.”
Chapter 26
It was Monday morning. I’d just kissed Florence goodbye, and I was on my way out of the door when Jack called me back.
“Jill, you haven’t forgotten that it’s the open day at the hotel this afternoon, have you?”
“I had, actually. We’re not going, are we? It’ll most probably be rubbish.”
“We have to. I’ve already told Florence and she’s looking forward to going.”
“Okay. What time is it?”
“It starts at midday, but I thought we could go about four, after I’ve picked her up from school. Can you make it back home by then?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here.”
“Okay. See you this afternoon.”
***
Mrs V had a plaster on her forehead and another one on the top of her ear.
“Oh dear. Are you okay, Mrs V?”
“No, I’m not. Those squirrels are getting more and more belligerent. I was sitting under the parasol, but they still managed to hit me with their acorns. Armi is furious about it. He’s talking about getting a catapult.”
“There’s really no need for him to resort to that.”
“That’s easy for you to say, Jill. You’re not the one under attack in your own back garden.”
“That’s true, but I happen to know quite a lot about squirrels.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. Haven’t I ever mentioned that I did a special project on them at school?”
“I don’t think so.”
“It was part of the biology curriculum back then. It’s a little-known fact that squirrels’ moods are affected by the moon’s cycle.”
“They are?”
“Absolutely. I’m confident you’ll notice a marked improvement in their behaviour over the next few days as the moon phase changes.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Positive.”
“I hope you’re right.” She clearly wasn’t convinced. “Because if this continues, it will be the catapult for them.”
“If you ask me,” Winky said, “those acorns are affecting the old bag lady’s brain. She’s even nuttier than she used to be.”
“As far as I recall, I didn’t ask you. Anyway, how’s the life coaching coming along?”
“Brilliantly. I should have got one years ago.”
“What sort of things do you do?”
“Learn to set attainable goals, create action plans, find the right work-life balance, to name just a few.”
“And you really think it’s helped you?”
“I’m a different cat since I started doing it. You should give it a try.”
“Me? Do you really think so?”
“Definitely. Let’s be honest, your life’s a mess.”
“That’s not true.”
“Of course it is. You stumble from one disaster to another.”
Harsh, but quite possibly true.
“I’ll think about it.”
“While you’re doing that, how about some salmon?”
“You’re on a ban, remember?”
“Not anymore.” He waved a sheet of paper in front of me.
“What’s that?”
“This is the name and address of the person who’s been hacking the old bag lady’s account.”
“Already?”
“Nobby doesn’t hang around.”
“Let me see.” I grabbed the paper from him. “Is he sure about this?”
“One-hundred percent. Nobby doesn’t make mistakes.”
“Okay.”
“Come on, then. Let the cat see the salmon.”
“Coming right up.”
Around mid-morning, Mrs V popped her head around the door to inform me that Mr Edwards was here to see me.
“Send him in, would you?”
I was a little taken aback when he walked through the door because his white hair was now bright red. He’d clearly been at the hair colouring.
“Thanks for seeing me, Jill.” Rusty ran his fingers through his hair. “What do you think of it?”
“It looks—err—good.”
“I think so too. It’s made me feel twenty years younger.”
“Good for you.”
“I won’t stay long, but I have some good news that I wanted to share with you.”
“What’s that?” As if I didn’t already know.
“I had a visit yesterday from the man who lives across the park.”
“The man you saw at the window, you mean?”
“That’s right. He was accompanied by the woman who shot him.”
“What?” Another Oscar-worthy performance from me.
“Don’t worry. It turns out I’m not a crazy old man after all. I really did see what I thought I saw. Apparently, they’d been rehearsing for a play.”
“But I thought you said the woman in the park wasn’t the same woman you saw doing the shooting?”
“I—err—must have been mistaken about that.”
“Right. I wonder why Mr and Mrs Smart didn’t tell the police they’d been rehearsing for a play.”
“I have no idea.”
“It sounds like there’s something funny going on.”
“I don’t think so.
I’m sure it’s all above board.”
“Perhaps I should pay them another visit?”
“No, don’t do that. Better to forget the whole incident. I just thought I’d let you know, and thank you again for all your help.”
“It was my pleasure, Rusty. I’m glad it’s all been cleared up.”
Just as I’d expected, Rusty was far too much of a gentleman to tittle-tattle and tell me that the woman he’d seen wasn’t the man’s wife. Not long after he’d left, Mrs V came through to my office again.
“Jill, now that the Tweaking Manor case is closed, shall I prepare the invoice?”
“No, don’t bother. I’m not going to bill them.”
“Why not?”
“The financial situation over at Tweaking Manor is dire; it looks like they’re going to lose the house. An invoice from me is only going to add to their misery.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. Just mark the case closed, please.”
As soon as she’d left the room, Winky jumped onto my desk.
“Are you insane?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why aren’t you going to invoice the Tweaking woman? You did the work, didn’t you?”
“Yes, the goblet has been found and a man has been arrested for the murder of the butler.”
“And you found the secret vault too, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but that’s no good to Caroline because no one knows the combination. All they have is an old parchment that doesn’t make any sense.”
“Do you have a photo of it?”
“The parchment? Yeah, why?”
“Show it to me.”
“What good would that do?”
“It can’t do any harm, can it?”
“I guess not.” I took out my phone and flipped through the photos. “This is the goblet, that’s the vault, and this is the parchment. You can just about read the legend.”
“Give it here.” He’d snatched the phone before I had chance to object.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” he said.
“What’s obvious?”
“The combination to the vault of course.”
“If you’re talking about those numbers engraved inside the goblet, it isn’t those. We tried them.”
