by Katie Penryn
Felix came back and handed me the tea. I was so shaky he had to help me hold the mug. The tea was the classic treatment for shock — hot and sweet. I took the sugar hit. It steadied me down, stopped the shakes and cleared my head.
I drained the mug and put it down on the floor beside my chair. “I don’t know what to do, Felix.”
“I can see that, but whatever you do it will be the right choice.”
“It’s a moral dilemma. Do I report Madame Tidot senior for what she did? She’s an old lady. She’s horrified that her actions led to the death of her son. Maybe that’s punishment enough. That’s a kind of justice. On the other hand—”
“On the other hand, there’s the justice of the courts. And she’s dangerous, Penzi. Anyone who can indulge in such a degree of spite against her own son….”
“When in France do as the French do. They say, La nuit porte conseil.”
“Or as we would say, Sleep on it. That’s a great idea. But if you are to sleep tonight, we must organize the new Level Four protection spell for you.”
“I’ll fetch the Book of Spells,” I said, not looking forward to the mental effort required to learn a new spell even if the pay-off would be a good night’s sleep.
When I returned Felix was dozing. I kicked his foot and asked him, “Sleeping on the job?”
He awakened with a start and came to stand beside me at the desk. I opened the book to the last page of the index for him.
“It’s there,” he said. “Just as the High Council promised. Semper tuens Level Four. That’s astonishing.”
“It’s magic. Shall I turn to the end of the book?”
He checked the page number and nodded. I found the last page and waited for him to read the instructions.
“Magic is expensive,” he said. “This time you have to stand on gold while you cast the spell.”
“Does it have to be gold dust, or will solid gold do? And what carat?” I asked.
“It doesn’t specify but the purer the better, I would think.”
I laced my arm through his and pulled him out of the study. “Another trip to the brocante.”
As we had left the Book of Spells open on the desk, I cast the lock door spell, not that anyone except Gwinny could touch it, but I didn’t want Audrey getting a fright if she decided to dust.
*
We found a small golden salver. It was so old it had no hallmarks on it, but it was a bright yellow even after all the years it had lain hidden in the brocante. It would do. Back in the study again Felix with his usual patience taught me the new words and symbols. The day had drained my energy, and so I was slow to pick up the symbols. I paused to think how lucky I was that it was Felix helping me. He never snapped at me or became frustrated. Kind and considerate as Sam was, he would have given up on me long before.
At last I was ready. We placed the salver on the rug. I took my shoes off for fear of scratching it.
“That’s a waste of time, Penzi. It’s going to disintegrate when you cast the spell.”
This time the aura reached beyond the study walls, and the salver stayed solid beneath my feet.
“The High Council must be worried about the world’s gold reserves,” said Felix picking the salver up as I stepped aside. “We’ll store it in here in case we need it again.”
As he turned away from the cupboard, I wrapped him in a hug. “Thank you, Felix. You are so kind to me.”
He kissed the top of my head and pushed me away gently. “It’s my job, boss.”
I stamped my foot. “Don’t call me boss.”
“Come along,” he said drawing me towards the door. “Time out now until tomorrow morning when you have an important decision to make. It’ll be clearer after a good night’s sleep.”
I sighed with relief. “It’s so good to know we’ve solved the crime, but we won’t say anything about it to anyone until after we decide what to do. We may have to remain silent for ever if we don’t report old Madame Tidot to the police.”
Chapter 30
Felix
When I peeped into Penzi’s room next morning to see if she was ready for her morning tea, she was fast asleep, her long auburn curls spread out across the pillow and her beautiful brown eyes tight shut. I didn’t wake her. She had been worn out the night before with all that had happened and with the burden of having to decide whether we should report Madame Tidot senior or not.
Yes, we had found out who had killed Jerome Tidot, the baker, but I didn’t like loose ends, and we had several. The most important to me was who was Tidot’s lover? Had she played any part in what had happened? I had to track her down and eliminate her from our list of suspects for the sake of my peace of mind otherwise I would always wonder who she was.
My first idea was to hack into Tidot’s phone records to find out if there was a number he had called frequently, more frequently than would have been plausible for a business relationship.
I had the study to myself as Penzi slept on. Sam was off with Emmanuelle doing whatever eighteen-year-olds do during their summer holidays. Audrey shepherded Jimbo along with her children on a shopping excursion. Gwinny popped in from time to time to bring me cups of tea or coffee as demanded. I had Zig, Zag and Piffle for company.
I traced Tidot’s number to the major phone and internet service and from there it wasn’t too difficult to bring up his records. I copied three months’ worth of calls and put them in a spreadsheet. Then I ranked them in numerical order so that calls to the same number were grouped together. When I began checking the recipients it became clear that Tidot had used the same phone for his business and private life.
As one would expect the largest number of calls was to his wife, followed by his mother. I could find no pattern in the other calls to indicate an affair. The groupings suggested calls to place orders as most were made during business hours. If Tidot had been calling his lover he had to have been using an untraceable phone, an off-the-counter purchase, a burner.
*
I checked on Penzi again but she was still fast asleep, lying on her back snoring gently. I was amused but being a gentleman I would never tell her so.
I racked my brains at what I could do on my own that would be useful. In the end I decided to pay a visit to the buildings neighboring the site of Tidot’s bakery. It wasn’t far on foot. With our lives being so filled with investigations, my exercise regimen had been suffering. The walk would do me good.
When I reached the site, I realized what I should have remembered, the buildings on either side of the site where the bakery had stood were shops. It was unlikely that anyone in either shop would have been there late at night but I checked. No one knew anything or saw anyone. The comment I received was they would have told the police if they had known anything.
I thought it was worth checking with the little old lady who had helped us before, the one who lived in the old townhouse opposite the bakery.
“What exactly do you want to know?” she asked me.
“Have you noticed anyone visiting the bakery late at night, particularly last Saturday night before the explosion?”
She gave me an odd look. “Anyone?”
“Yes, a regular visitor for example.”
“Every night or just Saturdays?”
“Madame, please just tell me what you know.”
She dropped her voice. “Well, young man, I know you are working to help our mayor. I didn’t tell the police this, but, yes.”
“So?” I asked trying to hide my impatience.
The heat was building towards midday and she hadn’t invited me in. Although my feline personae are from Africa, leopards and serval cats are both nocturnal. They don’t hang about in the midday sun unnecessarily.
“Madame?” I prompted her.
This time her smile was coy.
“There’s his petite amie,” she said.
“Petite amie? As in little friend?”
She laughed. “It’s what we French call a girlfriend. He had a girlfrie
nd, you know, Tidot did.”
At last, confirmation of what the bakery cats had told me. Tidot had been cheating on his wife.
“Why didn’t you tell us this last time we spoke to you, madame?”
She had the grace to look discomforted. “You didn’t ask me, monsieur, did you?”
I had to admit we didn’t.
“So,” she went on, “I didn’t want to spoil Tidot’s reputation or cause pain to his wife who is a lovely lady.”
“Why are you telling me now?”
She touched her finger to the side of her nose. “You haven’t found the murderer yet. I want Tidot’s murderer punished. He was kind to me. Used to give me unsold cakes for the weekend and my daily bread for free. You know what they say?”
“No, what do they say?”
“Cherchez la femme! Look for the woman in the case. Nine times out of ten it starts with a woman.”
I moved further into the shade. “So you think the murderer is a woman?”
“Not necessarily, but you will find it concerns a woman.”
And with that she ducked back into her hallway and closed the door in my face.
I cursed silently when I realized she hadn’t told me who the woman was, but perhaps she didn’t know.
Chapter 31
We had already started lunch when Felix returned from his walk into town. After a long glass of iced water he called me away from the table saying he wanted to talk to me in the study. He told me what he’d been doing.
“I wanted to tie up the loose ends. The story about a lover bothers me and so I hacked into the phone records as we had planned to do before we stumbled on the Madame Tidot senior scenario.”
“Did you find her? The lover?”
“No. The phone records were a wash-out so I called on Tidot’s neighbors in the street. No one knew anything so that didn’t get me very far.”
“I’ve been thinking,” I said. “We only have the cats’ word for it that there was a lover. And we have our murderer, Madame Tidot senior, like it or not.”
“I’m not sure that’s the whole story, boss.”
“Don’t—”
“Sorry. I was about to leave when I thought of the old lady. You know the one who lives opposite where the bakery used to be?”
I nodded.
“She confirmed that Tidot had a petite amie, but she turned coy and wouldn’t tell me who she is.”
“You are serious about this, Felix?” I asked him.
“Absolutely. If I were in my leopard state, my whiskers would be quivering.”
If Felix thought something was still awry, we should definitely track it down to the end to eliminate all doubt.
“Felix, you’ll have to visit the bakery cats again. Make them tell you who she is this time. Explain there’s no such thing as discretion in a murder case. Do you think you can do that?”
“You took the words out of my mouth. I thought I’d go tonight. They’ll be more welcoming at night and I can check if someone has been feeding them. The mayor said he would arrange it but I need to make sure.”
“Shall I come with you this time?”
“Not necessary and you need an early night. Have you come to a decision about Madame Tidot yet?”
“No, I didn’t sleep well last night that’s why I overslept for so long this morning. I’ve decided to pay a visit to Father Pedro.”
“But you’re not a Catholic.”
I laughed. “No. I’m not anything really like most of our generation, but I am on the same side as Father Pedro. As a white witch my mission is to fight evil and nurture goodness. I asked Audrey. She said Father Pedro would be happy to see me and listen to my story.”
“You didn’t tell her about Tidot’s mother, I hope.”
“Of course not. I said I was struggling with a difficult moral issue and she said Father Pedro was just the man to consult. I thought I’d go later on this afternoon when it starts to cool down.”
Felix rose to leave the room. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s have our lunch. I’m starving after walking into town and back.”
*
I drove to the church to avoid walking in the residual heat of what had been a scorching summer’s day. I had to fight Felix off from accompanying me telling him I would go straight to the church and straight back.
“Anyway,” I told him. “I have my ten foot ring of protection now from the semper tuens spell. That should protect me from all evil both human and supernatural.”
“I hope you’re right,” he said as he waved me off.
The church in Beaucoup-sur-mer dates from the same time as the Saxon churches in England. Originally built with a square tower topped with a four-sided roof it had been embellished later with a pepper pot dome.
Stepping out of the bright sunshine into the dimness of the church I went from the summer heat into the coolness of a deep cave and my cares washed away from me. I walked down the aisle conscious of the noise my heels made on the ancient pavers, hoping to find Father Pedro. When I reached the front row I sat down and let the peace permeate my being. It had been such a hectic few days and my soul had brushed against evil.
“Good afternoon, Madame Munro,” said a quiet voice behind me.
I turned to find Father Pedro smiling at me and holding out his hand.
“It’s good to see you in our church. Your little brother is having no more problems, I hope?”
I shook my head. “But I would like to talk to you.”
“I have half an hour before I take confession, my child. Follow me over to the side chapel. We’ll be private there.”
I stood quietly by while Father Pedro genuflected and crossed himself before the altar in the Lady Chapel.
“Please sit, my dear.”
I settled myself on one of the old oaken pews. “Everything I tell you, Father Pedro, is confidential isn’t it?” I asked. Not being a Catholic I wasn’t sure what the rules were.
“Of course. What is troubling you?”
I poured out my story: how the mayor had commissioned me to carry out a parallel investigation into the murder of the baker, and how Felix and I had discovered who had caused the explosion that killed him.
“But the culprits didn’t intend to kill him, Father. They only wanted to punish him by blowing up his bakery.”
“So no mens rea. You as a lawyer would know that.”
“Yes, Father. I know there was no intent and so they cannot be found guilty of murder, but should they face a charge of manslaughter?”
“Why do you hesitate, my child? There is something you are not telling me.”
“Father the main instigator was his mother, his own mother, Madame Tidot senior.”
“And you think she has been punished enough finding out she engineered the death of her own son?”
“Yes, Father.”
“I see. I cannot tell you what to do, Mpenzi. You will have to search your conscience and ask for guidance from whatever power you believe in. You do believe in the power of good over evil?”
I nodded.
“For all its past mistakes the church does not offer judgment here on earth and so I cannot make the decision for you. For what it’s worth, I’ve always found that the harder of two choices is usually the one to make. It’s easier to let things be, not to do anything. Taking action is difficult. Does that help you my child?”
“Yes, Father. I will think some more.”
As I rose to leave, he said to me. “Thank you for telling me. I shall visit Madame Tidot in the retirement home tomorrow. She will have a lot on her conscience and need spiritual solace.”
We shook hands again, and I left passing out of the cool tranquility of the church into the bustling heat of a summer’s evening.
Chapter 32
Felix
I borrowed Gwinny’s car. It was still too hot for a second trip on foot to the site of the bakery. I didn’t shift down to cat mode this time as Brutus and Naomi had already met me in my human form.
&
nbsp; The first thing I noticed was someone had been feeding them. Two half-full bowls of kibble and a deep bowl of fresh water stood on the gravel beside the cat flap. Maybe the fact that I had kept my promise would go some way to encouraging them to give up their secret — the identity of Tidot’s lover.
I jiggled the cat flap to attract their attention.
Naomi came out first and sat down in the late sunshine. I waited while she licked her paw and ran it over her ears and her whiskers to wake herself up.
I crouched down to talk to her on her level and she looked at me with a smile.
“Thank you for organizing the food for us, Felix. The rats and mice haven’t returned yet. We would be starving by now with our territory bare of prey.”
“Where’s Brutus?”
“He’s still asleep. We don’t usually go on duty until nightfall. I have to admit we’re taking things easy at the moment with there being no vermin around.”
“We need him here, Naomi. Would you mind fetching him?”
She gave me another cat smile, turned tail and slipped through the cat flap returning a couple of minutes later with Brutus. A rather bad tempered Brutus.
“Hi, Felix,” he said as his tail lashed to and fro.
He made an attempt to still it with his front paw but it defied him.
“Sorry, about this hostile greeting. It’s involuntary, you know, because I haven’t woken up properly yet.”
“That’s all right,” I said. “I know what it’s like. I’ll wait until you’ve pulled yourself together.”
He sloped towards the water bowl and lapped up a healthy sized drink.
“That’s better,” he said coming towards me and offering me his nose in greeting.
I touched it with my palm and he sat down.
“Oh, thanks for the supplies. I guess Naomi has explained our situation. Do you know when something will be done about the stock of flour in our store? And we need new jobs? Can you do anything about that?”
