by Katie Penryn
“It’s one of my specialties,” she said. “The sorrel is from the garden. I’ll show you after lunch.”
Felix asked if he could have a second helping he liked it so much. “It’s very like African wild spinach,” he said. “But you’re not eating any, Kiki?”
Kiki sighed. “Unfortunately, I’m allergic. It brings me out in bumps. So I have to pass. That’s why Marie always cooks carrots for me when we have sorrel.”
After a rustic cheese and a good Bordeaux, Marie brought out one of her scrumptious rhubarb tarts and a pot of cream.
“Also, from the garden,” she said, waving her spoon over her shoulder.
Felix had two helpings of that, too.
I declined coffee. Marie rose to clear away and I helped her. When we’d completed the task we set off around the garden leaving the two men to talk about cars and whatever else it is that men talk about for hours.
Marie gave me a tour of the flower garden first. I told her we were planning to keep bees.
“We have four hives,” she said. “You’ll see them when we reach the other side of the house. Would you like some advice on the plants to grow in your garden?”
“Yes, I would. Father Pedro says he’ll give me some lessons and be there for me if I need help.”
“You could start with these.”
She led me along between the flower beds pointing out the best flowers for bees. The second half of her flower garden was devoted to flowers for cutting.
“I sell my flowers and my preserves at the local market on Thursday mornings.”
“So you were at the market the morning Jonny was k—”
“Don’t say that,” she said all the color draining out of her face.
“Well, that’s what happened. Someone murdered him. He didn’t just die although he might have done eventually given the coma he was in.”
“Is that what they’re saying?”
“It seems to be a gray area. The autopsy report mentions damage to his kidneys. Small hemorrhages are common with asphyxiation apparently, but the report mentions severe damage. It’s possible that whatever sent him into the coma would have killed him, eventually.”
“And the doctors have no idea?”
“No. They’ve tested for all the obvious diseases and for signs of the most common poisons, but so far they’ve reached no conclusion.”
“So it’s a mystery?”
“That’s why I have some questions for you, if you don’t mind answering them.”
She shook her head and upped the pace. “Come and see my vegetable garden.”
I followed her to the neat rows in various shades of green on the other side of the drive.
“Marie, did you stay at the market all morning last Thursday?”
“Of course, I can’t trust anyone to look after my stall for long.”
“But you do leave it from time to time — to go to the Dames for example?”
“Yes, but my friend who has the stall next door watches mine for me.”
“Would you give her name to Felix when we rejoin the men? We’ll need to speak to her.”
She stopped walking. “Is that really necessary?”
“I’m afraid it is. Even if Felix and I don’t check up, Inspector Dubois will get around to it, eventually.”
“So you’re checking to see if I have an alibi, like in a detective story?”
I nodded. “Only this time the detective story is real life.”
She led me along the rows of vegetables telling me what they were, not that I needed her to. There were rows of broccoli, cabbage, French beans and tall canes holding scarlet flowered runner beans, and all the herbs. More rows of tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes, pumpkins, aubergines and chilli peppers grew ripening in the sun. A large bed of sorrel and several kinds of spinach brought up the rear. Such an abundance of good healthy nourishment.
“You must work so hard to maintain a garden this size. Does Kiki help you?”
“He does what he can, but he has a job with the local council. He was so lucky to get it. We went through a bad patch about ten years ago. Kiki fell into a deep depression and took to the drink. I despaired, but the French system is good to people like Kiki. They sent him away on a cure, and it worked.”
“So that’s his van?” I asked her as we passed two white vans parked round the side of the house.
One had lettering on the side proclaiming Marie’s Garden Produce in French and the other said Commune de Beaucoup-sur-mer. Kiki and Marie each had their own transport, so either of them could have made it to the hospital outside the city walls. Felix and I had to tie down their alibis.
“This is my soft fruit garden,” Marie said.
It made my mouth water. Row upon row of gooseberries, red, black and white currants and some strange hybrids I’d never come across before. Marie explained raspberries wouldn’t grow in her garden, but she made up for it with her show of rhubarb.
“I need a lot for all the tarts I make. They’re very popular. And, of course, I make cherry and plum tarts when the fruit’s in season. Come inside and see my store of preserves.”
We left the heated scent of the burgeoning garden and sought the cool of the interior of the house. She showed me into a long room lined with shelves filled with all the colors of the rainbow: cherries, greengages, peaches both yellow and white, apricots, figs and hanging nets filled with walnuts.
“Marie, it’s like an Aladdin’s cave of deliciousness.”
She laughed. “My garden is my child. I nourish it and it repays me with its love.”
She took a basket down from the wall and filled it with several jars of fruit and jam. “Here, you take this home with you. It will inspire you.”
I thanked her and suggested it was time to go back to the men.
“Look what Marie’s given me,” I said showing Felix the basket filled with goodies.
Kiki smiled fondly at Marie. “She is a marvel, that one. I don’t know what I would do without her.”
As I sat down, I asked Kiki if he would mind answering a couple of questions.
“Anything I can do to help find out who killed Jonny is all right with me,” he said.
“You say you work for the local council. Were you working on Thursday morning?”
“Yes,” he said. “Marie knows I was at work, don’t you, chérie?”
Marie nodded. “He left at half eight and didn’t return home until six in the evening.”
“We’ll need to confirm that, Kiki.”
“You can check my time card at the council offices. I have to log in and out every day.”
“So, they’ll confirm you were working all day?”
“Of course. I don’t mess around. I was lucky to get this job.”
“Tell me about your relationship with Jonny? How did you get on with him?”
“We first met when he came over here after hurricane Katrina. Actually, Marie met him first. He bought some flowers from her at the market. You know what Jonny was like. He flirted with her and asked her out, but she told him she was with me.”
Marie smiled at the memory. “He told me his band was playing at the Palais des Blues and to bring Kiki along. He didn’t know Kiki could play guitar at that point.”
Kiki picked up the story. “So we went one night and I took my guitar along on the off chance. Jonny came down to our table to say hi to Marie saw my guitar and invited me up to play with them. After that I joined them most nights. I didn’t get paid of course, but it was fun.”
“I probably shouldn’t tell you this,” said Marie, “but Kiki’s got a huge scrapbook filled with newspaper cuttings and programs for all the performances he played at. And he’s kept his rehearsal notes — all the lyrics, scores and notes on arrangements.”
Kiki patted his wife’s arm. “You see, I thought I was headed for the big time. Jonny made promises about taking me into the band when they returned to the States, but they were hollow.”
He face fell as he remembered his
disappointment. “I should have realized that a guy like Jonny was all pizzazz and no substance. But, hell, could he play.”
“And a great singer,” I added. “I shall miss him but I’m glad I had the chance to perform with the band and with you, Kiki.”
Felix picked up my purse and sunhat. “Time we were going, Penzi. We told Jimbo we’d be home in time for his treat.”
“So we did,” I said pushing back my chair in a rush.
All of a sudden I wanted to get out of there. The talk of Jonny was upsetting and I wanted to change the subject. We said our goodbyes. As we turned out of the drive onto the road, I glanced in the mirror. Kiki stood with his arms around Marie giving her a hug.
Felix sighed. “Those two really love each other. Kiki was telling me how Marie stood by him when he went to pieces, how she’s everything to him.”
“What exactly happened to make him so depressed?”
“He mentioned in passing how disillusioned and disappointed he’d been when Jonny flew back to the States without taking Kiki with him. Kiki waited and waited to hear from Jonny about sponsorship for a green card, but he never heard a word. When Jonny turned up this month, it was the first Kiki had seen or heard from him in ten years.”
“That wouldn’t be enough to make him want to kill Jonny, would it?” I asked Felix.
Felix shook his head. “Who knows? It must have been galling for Kiki when Jonny’s band had that big hit with that song of theirs.”
“Mon P’tit Oiseau?”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“Did Kiki mention it?”
“No, his resentment wasn’t that specific.”
“We have to check their alibis all the same. One thing we’ve learned is that nothing is as simple as it seems.”
“At least we can forget about all that for the rest of the day,” Felix said.
Chapter 25
Jimbo rushed out of the house when he heard our car.
“Are we going now, Penzi,” he asked me opening my door for me.
“Right now,” I said. “But Felix and I need a few moments alone first to go over what we plan to do to catch the swarm. You wait with Gwinny and Sam and we’ll collect you when we’re ready.”
Felix took the basket of produce out of the car and carried it into the house. As he passed me he asked, “What do we have to talk about. I thought we did all that last night when we watched those videos and I read those articles to you.”
“Shush,” I whispered in his ear. “I need to go over the transmogrificus spell. I’m not sure I can remember it, and I don’t want to send flocks of dragons soaring over Beaucoup-sur-mer.”
Felix handed the basket to Audrey whose eyes widened with delight at the delicacies. I hurried up the stairs to my room to fetch my mother’s Book of Spells.
Felix was waiting for me in the study ready to lock the door behind me. A gently buzzing sounded from the two boxes on my desk. The queens were growing restless.
I put the book down and was about to open it when Felix said, “You’d better move those bees, boss. The bright light could harm them.”
As usual, Felix was a couple of steps ahead of me. He lifted the boxes up gently and put them inside one of the drawers in the desk. “That’s better. We don’t want to find we’ve blinded them.”
Felix and I braced ourselves for the dazzling prism of light that would be generated by the rainbow of precious gems set in the antique leather cover of my mother’s book. We both shut our eyes tightly as I eased the cover open and laid it back against the desk.
This time Felix knew just what to look for in the index and I turned the pages to the spell we wanted.
“Are you ready?” asked Felix as he hovered his finger over the page.
“Yes, go for it. This is only revision so it shouldn’t take too long. Let me see if I can get it right first before we waste time going over it.”
“Don’t forget to cross your fingers to stop the spell working when you recite it,” he said.
I pulled my fingers out from behind my back and showed him both hands with fingers tightly crossed.
“Here we go,” I said and cast the spell, saying the magic words and envisioning the magic symbols.
“Well done,” said Felix. “You got it all right except the last few words. You have to change the last bit if we want the rats to turn into bees instead of butterflies like last time.”
He read the revised version out to me and I repeated it.
“That’s perfect. Let’s go before you forget anything.”
“Felix,” I said. “I’m dyslexic, not stupid. Moreover, I’m a barrister. Have you any idea how much Latin and how many boring case names I had to learn without being able to read well?”
Felix had the grace to smile at my annoyance. “Sorry, boss. Shall we?” he said unlocking the door and waiting for me to pass through.
“Hey,” I said turning back as I stepped into the corridor. “We’ve forgotten the stars of the show.”
“The bees. Sorry your Majesties,” Felix said as he took the boxes out of the drawer and followed me out of the front door.
“Jimbo, Sam,” I called into the kitchen on the way. “Come along, we’re going now.”
Jimbo tumbled down the steps onto the pavement followed by Sam.
The two boys went on ahead leaving Felix and me to walk more sedately with the boxes holding the precious queen bees.
“Boss, I have something to tell you.”
“Go on then.”
“I have to stand down from catching the swarm with you. You’ve got Sam. He can take my place.”
“Whatever for?” I asked him rather annoyed he’d left it so late to tell me. “Are you frightened of bees, Felix?”
“Not frightened, wary. It stems from my childhood in Africa. The bees there are not docile and friendly, and I had a horrible experience with them.”
“I’m astonished to find my courageous and tough bodyguard is scared of a little buzzing insect.”
Felix hung his head and didn’t answer.
“Felix,” I said giving him a knock with my elbow.
“Please, boss. I’ll explain later. Just ask Sam to help you.”
“All right,” I said as we reached the end of the street and caught up with Jimbo and Sam who were waiting for us to let them into the shop.
“Sam, you’re drafted in to be second beekeeper, is that okay with you?” I said to a surprised Sam.
“Sure, but you’ll have to tell me what to do, Penzi. I don’t know anything about bees.”
“Don’t worry. Felix and I looked up every possible source of information on the internet last night.”
First things first. Sam and I donned our beekeeper’s outfits while I explained to him what we would be doing. Felix spread a tarpaulin out under the apple trees at the bottom of the garden and placed the two hives on top of it. I put one queen, still in her box, in each hive. We left a small gap at the bottom of the hive for the bees to enter.
“You’d better stand by the back door,” I said to Sam and Jimbo. “Bees aren’t supposed to be aggressive when they swam, but you never know. Wait for us here. Felix and I have to do the magic upstairs.”
“Can’t we watch you?” asked Jimbo.
“Sorry, no. The High Council wouldn’t like it.”
Felix and I hurried up to the flat above the shop so we could watch out of the window when I cast the spell. On the way I scooped up Naomi, and Felix picked up Brutus. We put the two cats on the window sill so they could watch the magic.
I took a couple of deep breaths to flood my brain with oxygen and cast the spell.
All at once there was a loud buzzing like a million chainsaws. Tiny golden rockets shot out of every cranny in the garden walls. They streamed out of the drains and the garden shed. Honeybees everywhere, milling about but miraculously never colliding, they made for a branch of the apple tree beneath which the hives stood ready to receive them.
Brutus jumped off the sill and
wound himself round my ankles.
“Penzi, that’s fantastic, but it makes us redundant. I don’t see any job security here.”
“Trust me. This is only a clean-up exercise. Audrey will need you and Naomi to keep the house and garden this way from now on. You’ll earn your keep.”
Naomi joined Brutus and gave him a gentle cuff with her paw. “Penzi wouldn’t want us on Audrey’s payroll if we weren’t going to be useful.”
Felix put them both back on the sill. “Stop complaining and enjoy the rest of the action.”
Leaving the two cats with their noses pressed to the window, Felix and I rushed downstairs, me to complete the job and Felix to watch from a safe distance. Within minutes most of the bees had collected in a buzzing, squirming mass. A few stayed away flying around the garden.
“Why aren’t they going into the hives?” asked Jimbo.
“Wait. Those are the scouts. They’ll find the hives and tell all the other bees. Just watch.”
Suddenly, the bees fell as a moving heap onto the tarpaulin and began to march into the hives.
“See, the scouts have told them there’s a good home and a queen waiting to look after them.”
“Wow,” said Jimbo. “I know the rats into butterflies was magic, but this is like magic, too.”
We watched the progress of the bees until all but a few scattered clumps had entered the hives. Sam and I scooped these up with pieces of cardboard and dropped them in front of the entrance to their new homes. When the last bee had disappeared, we closed off the entrance.
I sent Jimbo to fetch Gwinny and her car. When she arrived, we loaded the hives and she drove slowly up the cobbled street to our house. We positioned the hives against the garden wall at the foot of the back yard, close to the apple trees. Our last job of the day was to open up the entrance and to give them some sugar syrup as they would be too stressed to forage for food. The queens we would let out of their enclosures the next morning when the hive had become familiar with their scent.
“Well done, everyone,” I said when we sat down to one of Audrey’s excellent suppers. “I love seeing the Munro family working as a team.”
“And me, boss?” asked Felix.
