by Katie Penryn
I had to regain his respect. Only one way to do that. I shifted.
The two cats shrank back against the wall. Naomi recovered first. “You’re magic,’ she said.
“Not magic, supernatural. I work for a white witch. A beautiful redhead.”
“Nice work if you can get it,” said Brutus. “But why are you here?”
“My witch, Mpenzi Munro, has been asked by the mayor, Monsieur Bonhomie, to find out who set the explosion.”
“You mean who killed our boss Monsieur Tidot? He was a good boss. Always kind. We had the whole package: annual vaccinations, plenty of food and respect. He gave us respect.”
“So you want to find his murderer as much as Penzi and I do then?”
“Absolument. What can we do to help?”
“Think back. Did you see anything out of the ordinary on the day of the explosion? Anyone hanging about who shouldn’t have been?”
They both thought for a few minutes but shook their heads. “Nobody but the joiner.”
Naomi interrupted. “And I remember now, you went into the shop with a pretty girl. Was that your boss?”
I nodded and turned to walk away saying I would make sure someone came and fed them every day until alternative employment could be found for them.
“Wait,” Naomi called out. “This wasn’t unusual but it might be important. Our boss had his girlfriend here on that night, just like he always does on Satur—”
“Naomi, you shouldn’t tell tales out of school. That’s Tidot’s private business.”
Naomi wiped a paw over her head and gave Brutus a look of frustration. “For heaven’s sake, Brutus. We’re talking about murder here.”
Wow. That was news to me. So Tidot had a bit on the side. Sly old devil. That opened up a whole new line of inquiry.
“You don’t happen to know who she is, do you?”
Naomi was about to answer me when Brutus quelled her with a dark look.
Brutus answered for her. “That’s as far as we’ll go. I am certain she had nothing to do with the murder and I don’t want her marriage damaged by the fallout from this.”
“So you do know who she is. You know she’s married?”
Naomi nodded. “Sorry I can’t tell you any more. Confidentiality clause and all that.”
It would have been easier if they had given me a name, but it wouldn’t be too difficult to find out who Tidot’s lover was in a town as small as Beaucoup-sur-mer.
I thanked the two cats and set off for Les Dragons. On the way I had second thoughts, it might not be that easy. No one had given us the slightest inkling of an affair. I hated to think what it would do to the already grieving Beatrice Tidot when it became public knowledge.
Chapter 26
When I heard Felix rattle the cat flap on the back door, I hurried into the hallway to greet him.
“Phew,” he said ignoring me and making straight for his water bowl in the kitchen.
I waited while he lapped up half the bowl.
“Study,” I said pointing the way.
He gave Zig, Zag and Piffle a friendly swipe with his paw as he passed them and followed me into the study where he shifted back up to Felix the man.
“How did you get on?” I asked him. “Find out anything new?”
“Yes, but you go first. What did Brioche say?”
“Brioche says the same term that Morrison bought his new scooter the inter-school silver tennis cup went missing, and they never found the culprit.”
“That confirms the confession Madame Tidot had hidden in her photograph frame. What do you think it all means?”
“It looks as if Morrison stole the cup and sold it to buy the scooter. Madame Tidot found out and made him sign a confession.”
“But she never reported him. Why? And does it have anything to do with the murder?”
I found it as puzzling as Felix did. “I can’t see the connection at the moment, but I’m sure there is one. Maybe it will come to me if I let it simmer in my subconscious for a while.”
“Don’t let it simmer too long.”
“How did you get on with cats? What did they tell you?”
“An interesting development. Tidot had a lover. They used to meet every Saturday at the flat above the bakery, but the cats wouldn’t tell me who she is.”
“So, was Tidot cheating on this lover?”
“She’s married by the way.”
“Even more interesting,” I said. “We have to find out who she is.”
“I might pick up something when I hack into Tidot’s phone records. I’ll do that before I do the bank statements if I can.”
“Can you start now?”
Felix checked the time. “It’s getting late. We have to prepare for a trip to the dolmen to visit the High Council of the Guild of White Witches, remember. We can’t have you going another night without a good sleep.”
“Oh Felix, I want to get on with solving this crime. I want my life back.”
“If that witchdoctor gets to you, you won’t have a life. So, please, get your priorities in order, boss.”
I let it go that time. “You’re right. What do we need?” I counted off on my fingers. “A living creature — the dogs again. Cognac. Is there any left?”
Felix nodded.
I continued. “A branch of sweet laurel – bay leaves.”
I looked out of the window at the bay tree in the corner of the yard and wondered how much longer we could plunder its leaves. We’d cut several branches when we tried to protect the mirror in the brocante. “Magic is heavy on bay trees,” I said.
Felix answered, “We can buy and plant another tree. At the rate we’re going we’ll probably have to plant a forest. However, the biggest problem is we ground up the silver goblet for the semper tuens spell. And, of course, we need another diamond.”
“We’ll have to raid the brocante again. Come along,” I said taking hold of Felix’s arm and pulling him out of his seat.
He sighed. “I had no idea I would have to work so hard when I took on this job, Penzi. It was a long walk back from the bakery in the hot afternoon sun.”
“Don’t be such a wimp, Felix.”
He lolled back in his chair and grinned at me. “I could get on with the hacking while you hunt down the ingredients.”
“Very well, then,” I said as I walked out of the room in a huff. “I’ll get the silver and the diamond on my own. You’d better have some results to show me when I get back.”
*
I knew where to look for another silver goblet and so that didn’t take me long. The diamond I levered out of the opposite corner of the ornate mirror that had given us the first gemstone. I fetched the cognac from the kitchen cupboard together with a box of matches, cut a branch off the bay tree and put all the items in a basket by the front door ready for our trip to the High Council later on that night.
Felix looked up from his laptop as I walked into the study.
“I couldn’t get anywhere with the phone records. I’m at a low mental ebb this afternoon. I’ll try them again later when I’ve had a rest. At this rate that won’t be until tomorrow.”
“So what are you working on?” I asked as I leaned over to look at the screen.
It didn’t mean much to me, of course. A hotchpotch of figures.
“It’s his bank statements. Something funny has been going on. Every month a large payment has gone of his account to an unnamed beneficiary.”
“Regular amounts?”
“No, that’s what’s odd. It can’t be a child maintenance payment or alimony or a debt because that would be a constant amount.”
“It could be blackmail,” I suggested.
“Aren’t blackmail payments usually paid in cash?”
“I suppose so, but we should bear the possibility in mind. Can you trace the payments?”
Felix sighed with exasperation. “What do you think I’m doing? It’s taking longer than usual because the payee account is in a different bank, but I’m
getting there.”
I took myself off to the kitchen to give Felix the peace he needed to concentrate. While I was there, the mayor rang to ask if we’d found the murderer yet. I told him we were making progress but still had some way to go.
“Oh dear,” he said. “The local chamber of commerce told me today that many of the hotels in the town are reporting cancellations. It seems the foreign press have reported the incident as a possible terrorist attack. We need a solution to the case quickly so we can prove the journalists wrong.”
“What about Dubois?” I asked. “How’s he doing?”
“I don’t know but it can’t be good. Every time I phone him to ask he refers me to Fer-de-Lance and you know how that always ends.”
Poor Monsieur Bonhomie. Worried about the reputation of his little town and about his sister who was not taking her husband’s death easily. As if anyone would.
A thought occurred to me. Had she known about her husband’s affair? If we didn’t get somewhere soon, we would have to ask her. And, of course, if she had, it increased her likelihood of being the perpetrator. I’d ask Felix what he thought.
I prepared a tray with glasses of iced beer and a plate of salted cashews and took them with me to the study.
The sound of the door clicking shut behind me jolted Felix out of his concentration on the screen.
“What a wonderful idea, Penzi. I’ve a great thirst on me.”
“Not been taking nips out of your flask?”
“It’s much too hot for scotch. Hand me one of those beers and I’ll tell you want I’ve found because you’re never going to believe it.”
He reached for the glass I handed him and took three or four gulps.
“Well then. Tell me.”
“The payee is only Tidot’s younger brother, Laurent Tidot.”
“I didn’t expect that. Are the amounts significant?”
Felix frowned. “I’d say so. They must have impacted Tidot’s style of living. Each month it was a chunk off the top of his earnings. Every month except the last month. Tidot didn’t pay his brother anything this month.”
“We’ll have to find out the reason for the payments. The brother could have been angry when the payments stopped and sought revenge on Tidot.”
“We’ll interview him as soon as we can, tomorrow if possible.”
“What about Tidot’s wife? If she knew her husband was having an affair, she might have killed him out of jealousy.”
“Penzi,” said Felix giving me a stern look. “You couldn’t possibly think so. She’s in such a state I can’t believe it’s put on.”
“Time for the family, Felix. Leave the phone records for the moment. We’ll take the dogs for a long walk and spend the evening like normal human beings. I’ve been ignoring my brothers and Gwinny.”
“Only until ten thirty,” Felix reminded me. “We don’t want to be haring across the country for fear of missing midnight like we did last time. Let’s take it slowly so you arrive at the dolmen looking like an earnest witch who’s in control of her life.”
Chapter 27
By eleven o’clock Felix and I were on our way to the dolmen with Zig and Zag in the back of the car. Piffle we left behind at home. I knew the way this time and so we had time to spare. The trip was nothing like as stressful as the last one had been. Even so, I was apprehensive about the reception we would receive from the High Council. What if they thought I was a whinger? What if they didn’t believe me about the witchdoctor?
We parked at the foot of the hill. The phases of the moon had run through their monthly cycle and the night was dark this time. No moonlight. It was too early for the stars to come out so close to the light pollution of Beaucoup-sur-mer.
Zig and Zag hung back when I opened the hatchback to let them out. Two treats later and Zag jumped out but sister whined and refused to move.
“Do you think it’ll be all right to have only one dog?” I asked Felix.
“Gwinny told you a natural creature, didn’t she? I’m sure one dog will do.”
While I fastened Zag’s leash to his collar Felix lifted the basket of magic ingredients out of the car.
I waited for him to let down the windows a way for Zig. As the night cooled down around us, the ripe maize rustled, stirred by a soft breeze that came out of nowhere, and wafted dust from their fronds into the air. The cicadas and the frogs fell silent. The night held its breath as if forewarned of the magic ceremony to be performed.
We clambered up the hill, our way lit only by Felix’s pencil flashlight. Nothing had changed. The ancient oaks still towered over the clearing, guarding the ancient dolmen. The prehistoric portal between life and death, between the natural world and the world of magic, loomed up at us out of the dark. I hadn’t been frightened on our first visit, but this time in the absence of moonlight the scene spooked me. I grabbed hold of Felix’s arm with my spare hand. He dropped his torch and the bulb went out.
“Dammit, Penzi. That’s the only light we have, and it’s pitch black here, in case you haven’t noticed.”
I squeezed up next to him. “Sorry. I’m scared. It’s not like last time.”
He scrabbled around in his bag of tricks. A match flared. We had light for as long as it took to burn out.
“Give me Zag’s lead and see if you can find something we can light when I strike the next match.”
I passed him the leash. He put his hand through the loop and struck another match.
Scraps of paper and old burger boxes lay beneath the dolmen. Luckily, visitors to the ancient monument hadn’t been litter conscious.
“Pity we didn’t bring some of those dry corn leaves up here with us,” said Felix as he watched me build a small fire at the side of the dolmen.
I fed it with scraps of wood foraged from beneath the trees until it was bright enough for us to see by.
“Here, take Zag,” he said handing the lead back to me.
Zag eyed us both. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said and tucked his tail between his legs.
I told him to sit and keep quiet.
Felix placed the diamond, the bay leaves and the silver goblet on the table of the dolmen. He uncapped the cognac and took a couple of swallows before filling up the goblet. This time he knew he had to warm the eau-de-vie before he set it alight. He pulled a burning branch out of the fire and held it beneath the goblet. Then he tipped the branch over the lip of goblet and the cognac sprang into life, blue flames spiraling up into the cold night air.
“Quickly,” he said. “Before it burns down.”
We held hands and hurried three times round the dolmen in a clockwise direction. I tightened my grip on Felix’s hand as we neared the end of the third circumnavigation dreading what I knew was to come. The foreknowledge made me close my eyes.
Flasssssh!
The darkness lit up with the power of an atomic explosion. I could see it through my eyelids. I rubbed my eyes and opened them slowly afraid of what I might see or not see.
The seven members of the High Council of the Guild of White Witches hung in the surrounding air, their images strong in the center and fading out towards the edges. So, they had answered my summons, but would they be approachable?
I bobbed a curtsey and waited for the chief witch to speak.
“Mpenzi Munro, we see you. What can be so important that you ask for an audience twice within two weeks?”
Felix began, “Your Ladyship—”
She turned her head his way. “Speak only when you’re spoken to, young man. I’ve warned you before. Although you are a supernatural being, you are not one of us. You are only here with our permission because you are helping our young novice.”
Felix bowed his head and crossed his arms in a posture of apology.
I waited until the head witch looked my way again. “Your Ladyship, I’m in dire need of help.”
“How can that be? We have already given you someone to help you learn the spells in your mother’s grimoire.” She paused
and looked round at her colleagues. They nodded back at her. “And you don’t seem to be making much progress.”
I couldn’t argue with that but at the same time her summation wasn’t fair given my circumstances.
“Your Ladyship, there are hundreds of spells in the book. I am learning them as and when I need them. I haven’t had much time, you know. I’ve been in Beaucoup-sur-mer for only two weeks and already I am attempting to solve another murder, the second one since I arrived. It takes time. We have to interview people. Scout out the location. Work out motives.”
The head witch conferred with the other members of the council.
“Mpenzi Munro, we are prepared to take that into account, but as soon as this task is over you must return to your studies. You are come late to your calling and your pedigree isn’t of the best.”
Poor Gwinny. “Your Ladyship, my mother did what she could.”
“We understand that. Not every witch has the same magic intelligence quotient. If you want to progress, you must take your studies seriously. You can’t move up to Level Two, if you haven’t mastered Level One.”
“Your Ladyship, that is why I have asked for an audience tonight. I am in danger from the witchdoctor of the Wazini. From the Middle Congo in Afr—”
“How come I don’t know about this,” the chief witch hissed at the secretary of the council.
The secretary fumbled through her papers.
“Madam Secretary?”
The secretary looked up from her search. “I don’t know, your Ladyship, but we have had problems with our intelligence gathering on the African continent for the past month. You were informed, your Ladyship.”
The chief witch shook off the answer and bent her fierce regard on me again.
“What has he been doing, this witchdoctor?”
I explained everything that had happened. How I had cast the semper tuens spell.
Felix lifted his head and spoke. “If I may, your Ladyship?”
“You may,” she said.
“That spell gives only three feet of protection. It’s not enough. Penzi can’t sleep.”
