The Witch Who Mysteries Box Set

by Katie Penryn

  “I’m tired and I want to go to bed now,” Zack answered, shrugging Jonny’s hand away.

  I looked at Felix. I was tired, too. I didn’t fancy a long drive home at that time in the morning.

  Felix stepped forward. “Jonny, everyone wants to stay here for the night. After all the hotel rooms are booked.”

  Johnny sighed, took off his red bandana and shook out his hair. “I can’t pay the bill. We must make a run for it. Sorry folks. Heavy expenses and all that.”

  “What’s happened to the advance?” asked Petey. “They paid you, didn’t they?”

  “All gone. Car hire. Rental deposits and all that,” said Jonny.

  “Hell man,” said Zack raising his fists. “We haven’t been paid for weeks. You promised you’d pay us when we got to Cognac.”

  Kiki turned to Felix and me saying, “Same old story. Nothing’s changed.”

  Felix took control. Someone had to. “Right, we move out tonight. You heard the man. He can’t pay. You have beds waiting for you back in Beaucoup-sur-mer. I suggest we make the best of a bad job and leave now.”

  We collected our bags and tiptoed out of the hotel and mounted the bus. At least we’d be home in an hour and a half. That’s when we discovered the tank was on empty. Finding a service station open at two o’clock in the morning took us another forty minutes, all the while wondering if we’d run out before we had the chance to refill.

  With the tank full, Jonny climbed onto the bus and asked if anyone had any cash.

  That’s when Zack exploded. He jumped out of his seat and stomped down the bus fists at the ready. Felix grabbed him as he passed and wrestled him back into a seat.

  Marie scrambled over Kiki and ran to the front and pummeled Jonny’s chest. “How could you? You haven’t changed a bit.”

  Kiki caught hold of her and drew her back to their seats.

  Joliette jumped in front of Jonny and put her fists up to protect him. If we hadn’t all been so tired it would have been funny. But it wasn’t.

  Jonny had no money, His band hadn’t been paid. That left me. So I settled the bill and at last we could begin our journey home. As we lumbered along the road, I carried out a personal cost benefit analysis. All in all, knowing Jonny had proved to be expensive.

  He must have heard my thoughts because he caught my eye in the mirror and gave me one of his wicked enticing smiles. When he was nice he was so nice, like the girl with the curl.

  Chapter 7

  Martine arrived while Felix and I sat having a late breakfast on the Monday morning. Sam and Emmanuelle had yet to appear. Martine marched in and handed me an envelope.

  “Only one today. Looks like an electricity bill,” she said.

  Sam took it from me and put it in a filing tray at the end of the kitchen counter.

  Martine pulled out a chair and flopped down. “It’s stifling today and it’s only half past ten. Can you spare a glass of water—?”

  “—and a coffee?” asked Audrey with a laugh.

  “That, too. Now what’s wrong with you all? I thought Penzi had recovered from her cockroach fit.”

  “Oh, I have,” I said. “We’re tired. We’ve been at the Cognac Festival. We’ve been telling Audrey and Gwinny all about it. We met Jonny Sauvage last week at the Palais des Blues.”

  “And he invited Penzi to sing with his band,” said Gwinny with a proud smile on her face.

  Martine gasped. “You mean to say you’ve been consorting with that rogue?”

  Felix and I exchanged glances. Rogue? Neither of us would have gone that far based on our previous week’s experience. A flirt? Yes. Bad with money? Yes.

  Martine harrumphed. “I should have warned you to have nothing to do with that Jonny Sauvage.”

  “You know him?” asked Felix.

  “Everyone in Beaucoup-sur-mer knows of him. He was here ten years ago.”

  “He told us that,” I said. “What’s so terrible about him?”

  Martine drank down her glass of water, put the glass down on the table and gave us a knowing look.

  “Well?” we all said at once.

  “That man’s a coureur.”

  Coureur? A runner?

  “What do you mean, Martine. A coureur?” I asked her.

  “You know, a coureur des jupons. Don’t you have an expression like that in English?”

  Now, it made sense. A runner after petticoats.

  “Oh, you mean a skirt chaser?”

  Martine nodded. “Broke so many hearts. He left one girl pregnant, and she’s never received a centime from him in maintenance.”

  Felix nudged me. “I told you so. He’s a player.”

  “And…,” Martine stopped to sip her coffee. “He took advantage of the townspeople. We were happy to welcome all the musicians from Louisiana after hurricane Katrina. They’re our cousins after all. But that Jonny. He didn’t play fair. Ran up bills everywhere. Never paid the rent on the villa his band lived in. A year’s rent. Now he’s back, and I’ll bet he’s up to his old mischief.”

  Felix nudged me again.

  “Don’t you dare say I told you so,” I threatened.

  “Not if you say so, boss, but you did like him.”

  Martine held her cup out for a refill. “Oh he’s charming all right. Sweet talk his way into any girl’s bed. You’re lucky you didn’t fall for him, Penzi.”

  “I had Felix to keep me in line. But joking aside, Jonny is super sexy … and that voice of his, that Southern drawl … it gets to a girl. I like being in his company.”

  Felix gave a fake cough. “And he flattered you about your singing.”

  “Are you saying I can’t sing, Felix?”

  “Of course not. But you have to consider that his fulsome compliments and asking you to sing with his band at the Festival had an ulterior motive.”

  “You mean he was out to seduce me?”

  “Be honest, Penzi. Don’t you think it odd that the leader of an American blues band with a number of hits under his belt should bother with a small town girl like you?”

  “Felix, are you saying I’m just a small town girl?” I snapped back.

  “Of course not, but be honest with yourself.” Felix laid his hand on my arm, but I shook it off. If truth be told, I knew in my heart of hearts that Jonny’s attention to me had been out of proportion.

  “See, he’s causing trouble already,” said Martine as she stood to leave. “I have to finish my round. You have been warned. Keep your legs crossed and don’t lend him any money.”

  Felix and I looked at each other. Too late for that. I comforted myself with the thought that the experience I’d had singing at the Festival far outweighed the cost of a full tank of diesel, and I had recovered from my fit of the blues.

  Sam and Emmanuelle came into the kitchen as Martine was leaving.

  “And tell these two what I said,” Martine called out as she left through the front door.

  “What was that all about?” asked Sam.

  “It’ll keep,” I said. “Emmanuelle’s late. I promised her father she’d be home by ten this morning and it’s way past that. Give your mother a ring to say you’ll be home in twenty minutes while I get you a cup of coffee, Emmanuelle.”

  After she’d made her call, she thanked us for the interesting weekend. Jimbo handed her a croissant to eat in the car. She and Sam hurried off to get her home before her father thought about gating her.

  I wanted to ask Monsieur Bonhomie if he’d made any progress with my inquiries concerning my idea to set Audrey up in business in The Union Jack so I withdrew to the study with Felix.

  I began by telling Monsieur Bonhomie that Emmanuelle was on her way home with Sam. I apologized for the delay but said the youngsters had been tired out after the trip back from Cognac in the early hours of the morning and like all teenagers they had needed to sleep late.

  “That’s all right,” he said. “My wife phoned me to say Emmanuelle called. I never worry when my daughter is with you, Penzi. I know
you will look after her.”

  “Monsieur, have you got anywhere with your enquiries about The Union Jack?”

  “I have. The landlady is prepared to transfer the lease to your friend Audrey on condition that you sign as guarantor.”

  “I thought she’d say that. Can you give me her details so I can contact her and get things moving if we decide to go ahead?”

  I passed the phone to Felix to make a note of the name, address and telephone number.

  When he handed it back to me the mayor said, “I’m looking into a grant for Audrey. The Principal of the further education college is providing me with a list of suitable business courses.”

  I thanked him and was about to ring off when he said, “Dubois wants to see you. Could you let him know when you can call at the gendarmerie?”

  “Of course,” I said wondering if Dubois had more warnings from Madame Fer-de-Lance for me. If so he needn’t worry. There was no way I was ever going to allow myself to be inveigled into solving another case. I agreed with Madame Fer-de-Lance. That was Dubois’s territory, not mine.

  I put a call through to the landlady of The Union Jack. Her name was Janine Desert. She said the mayor had warned her I’d be calling and that he’d given both me and Audrey a good reference.

  “That goes a long way, Madame Munro. I own a large portfolio of properties both commercial and residential. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how many people default on their leases in these hard times. But if the mayor says you’re all right, I’m happy to meet you.”

  “Would sometime this afternoon be convenient? At the shop? I’m anxious to move along with this project as soon as possible.”

  “Yes, that’ll be fine. Will you be bringing your friend with you? I’d like to meet her in person.”

  “Of course. Shall we say 4 p.m. at The Union Jack?”

  Madame Desert agreed. Now, I had to convince Audrey she could run the shop.

  Next I rang Dubois and arranged to meet him at the gendarmerie at three before I called back home to collect Audrey for the visit to the shop.

  I told Felix what I’d arranged. He said he would keep the hours free to accompany me, but for now he had to retire to his room to earn his living. “I’m in the midst of a tricky investigation. If I leave it too long, I might forget where I’m up to, and my client is pushing for my report. I’ll see you for lunch.”

  I popped into the kitchen to find Audrey.

  “Audrey, can you spare me a few moments? In the study?” I asked her.

  She looked taken aback and cast her eyes around the room. “What for? Have I done something wrong?”

  “No, you silly girl. I want to talk to you; that’s all. In private. Can Gwinny carry on with the preparations for lunch?”

  Gwinny winked at me from her position at the kitchen sink and nodded towards the verandah where Jimbo and Audrey’s two children were playing. “I’ll keep an eye on the children for you, too.”

  Audrey followed me into the study and I closed the door behind her, inviting her to sit down. She thanked me but her lips trembled and the words came out all wrong.

  Goodness. I’d frightened her. How insensitive of me. I should have realized the study symbolized my position as head of the household. She must have thought I wanted her to stop living with us. I hurried up to her and gave her a hug. Not an easy thing to do to someone as taut as she was.

  “Please don’t be scared, Audrey. It’s nothing horrible. I want to share a wonderful idea with you. Well, I hope you’ll like it.”

  She let out a deep sigh, and the stiffness left her body. “Oh, Penzi, I thought you’d had enough of me and my children.”

  “Never. We all love the three of you, but you need your own life. Your own place. A way of earning a living.”

  I told her my idea — that she should run The Union Jack and what that could mean for her.

  “Yes, it’s a marvelous idea, Penzi, and I’m grateful but …”

  And they came. All those buts.

  “I don’t know anything about business. How would I know what to sell? I’m not even English. I don’t know anything about the things British people like to buy.”

  “We would help you. Monsieur Bonhomie is looking for a course for you and he’ll do his best to get you a grant. Felix will help you with the business side of things and I’ll help you choose your stock. Even after only three weeks here in France I have a good idea of what Brits miss because I’m already missing my favorites.”

  “Such as?”

  “Digestive biscuits. We’ve eaten all ours. Good smoked back bacon. Cumberland sausages. I know Jimbo misses lemon curd, and the Marmite in the shops here is ridiculously expensive. Tiny pots cost a fortune. So you see, we would help you with that part of the business.”

  “And I could ask customers what they wanted me to stock.”

  “There you go. You’ve got your own ideas already.”

  She gave a faint smile. “You really think I could do it? I feel useless, stupid and ugly.”

  I put my arm around her slight shoulders and hugged her to me. “That’s understandable after all you’ve been through, but we’re here for you now. Do you think you could come to visit the shop with me this afternoon and meet the landlady?”

  She shrank away from me. “So soon?”

  “The quicker the better. You’ll fall in love with the flat above the shop. You’ll see.”

  She gave me another smile, a wider one this time. “I suppose there’s no harm in looking, is there?”

  “That’s settled then. I’ll meet you outside The Union Jack at five to four this afternoon. I’ll leave it up to you to arrange with Gwinny about the children. Now, would you please run upstairs and ask Felix to come down and see me before lunch?”

  Chapter 8

  When Felix arrived, I told him how things had gone with Audrey.

  “She was so negative I’m inclined to let the idea go.”

  “I warned you, boss. And you’ll miss her help with the house if she leaves.”

  “At least she’s agreed to visit the shop with us this afternoon, but we have to work on her confidence and self-esteem. Abusive husbands damage more than their wives’ bodies, they knock a hole in their view of themselves.”

  “It’ll take love and care. We’ll have to shadow her for a while. But, Penzi?” Felix asked running his fingers through his hair while he thought.

  “Yes?”

  “What about magic? Couldn’t we help her? It would be for the good of another. Why don’t you check out your Book of Spells?”

  “I hadn’t thought of that. It’ll take me time to get used to the idea of thinking of magic. I don’t suppose you’d mind fetching my book for me.”

  That made Felix laugh. “I’ve just run downstairs at your call, Penzi, and in case you’ve forgotten I can’t touch it. I’m only supernatural not magic.”

  “It’s in the Chinese box. You wouldn’t have to touch the book itself.”

  Felix gave me a look. “Now, who’s being lazy?”

  “You’re right. Wait for me,” I said and ran upstairs.

  Back in a trice I laid the Book of Spells on my desk. I would never cease to marvel at the beautiful gems that adorned the old leather cover. I opened it and the rainbow of jewels combined to form a blinding prism of brilliant white light.

  “Ouch,” said Felix. “I never remember to close my eyes in time. Give me a few moments for my vision to settle down.”

  I had to depend on Felix to look through the index, because I was dyslexic. Even plain typescript challenged me. The ancient penmanship of squirly letters written with a quill defeated me before I tried. The High Council of the Guild of White Witches had given me permission to use Felix’s help with learning the spells because I couldn’t read them on my own.

  It would take Felix some time to peruse the pages of index so I sat down in my chair beside him to wait while he searched for a spell that would help Audrey recover her self-esteem and start a new life.
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br />   We worked together like a pianist and his page-turner. Felix couldn’t touch the pages because he wasn’t a witch. He read down the list with his finger poised above the parchment. When he reached the foot of the page, he grunted, and I turned the page over for him. We made a good team. Every time we worked together I thanked my absent father for his forethought in sending Felix to me.

  “Ah,” said Felix on the third page. “This one could do. To restore lost self-confidence. Page 209.”

  I leafed through the pages taking care not to damage the crinkly old paper until Felix told me to stop.

  “Do we need any strange ingredients?” I asked him.

  Some of the spells I’d learnt before had required precious metals.

  “Give me a moment.”

  “Well?” I asked after a minute.

  “It involves fresh herbs to work on the mind. Mentha … and Melissa Officinalis. I know what mint is, but I’ve never heard of Melissa.”

  “That’s lemon balm … and I noticed some growing wild in the corner of the seawall.”

  “There’s a patch of straggly mint by the drainpipe at the edge of the verandah. I know it’s mint because I trod on it and it smelled like chewing gum.”

  I asked Felix what we had to do with the herbs.

  “Put them inside something belonging to the target and then cast the spell.”

  “I’ll fetch the herbs while you ask Audrey for a handkerchief or a hair slide or something,” I said.

  “Wouldn’t that be better coming from you? You’re a girl.”

  “We’ll swap then. You’re all right with the mint. The lemon balm looks like mint but it smells of strong lemon when you crush it. The patch is right in the corner of the two seawalls.”

  Five minutes later we were back in the study, Felix with his bunch of herbs and me with one of Audrey’s T-shirts which I had purloined from the laundry basket in the kitchen.

  We crushed the herbs and wrapped them in Audrey’s shirt. Felix taught me the words and symbols for the sit confidentia spell. We had learned to cross our fingers while I practiced spells to prevent them from working at the wrong time or in the wrong fashion. As soon as I was sure I had the spell right, I uncrossed my fingers and cast the words and symbols, waving my hand over Audrey’s shirt. The spell must have worked because the shirt disappeared in a puff of scented smoke.