The Witching Hour
Page 14
We both laughed, but then John sobered up. “You’re booked to fly back to Australia tomorrow. Obviously you can’t stay here any longer, as it mightn’t be safe. Cassandra, Douglas, and the Black Lodge might not yet know that they don’t have what they want, but we can’t take any chances.”
The enormity of it hit me. Of course I couldn’t hang around the UK. But what about the cat? “John, I’ve inherited Aunt Beth’s cat, Merlin. I’ll have to get her back to Australia somehow. I’ll need time to arrange that. I’ll have to look into quarantine, and I imagine there will need to be vet checks first, and I’ll have to pay for her flight.” I drew a deep breath, suddenly worried about Merlin.
“Don’t worry about that. We’ll organise it.”
“You’ll arrange it all? I’ll send the money over for her flight.” I wondered where on earth I’d get the rest of the money, as I was sure that Aunt Beth’s thousand pounds wouldn’t cover it all. Perhaps I’d have to get yet another credit card and max it out too. My spirits sank.
John shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. It’ll all be arranged. We’ll take care of it. We’ll have the cat delivered to your address as soon as possible at our expense. It’s the least we can do.”
I wanted to insist, but it was better that way. If the undisclosed government agency would pay for Merlin’s flight and quarantine, all well and good. I thought it would be better simply to thank him.
I looked up to see John regarding me. “And I’ll send someone over to your aunt’s house to fetch Merlin now. She can stay with me until she leaves for Australia.”
“Thank you. That would be great!” I said with huge relief. I smiled at him in what I am sure would have appeared to an observer to be quite a sickening way, only there were no observers as the security had seen to that.
Chapter 18
I awoke the next morning exhausted after alternating between tossing and turning and being scratched by Merlin, so I dressed hurriedly and quickly put on my make up. Merlin, as well as my things, had arrived the afternoon before from Aunt Beth’s house.
John was downstairs in the kitchen. His hair was sticking out in all directions and he was unshaven, dressed only in a bathrobe. He had dark circles under his eyes. I assumed that Merlin had slipped into his bedroom at some point in the night.
“Misty, we’re running late,” he said in an urgent tone. “Here’s your coffee.” He put my coffee down and frowned. “I’m afraid I can’t drive you to Heathrow. Our agents will be driving you. It mightn’t be safe for the two of us to appear together so soon in such a public place. It’ll only draw attention to you. I’m quite sure you should be safe at this stage, but we have to err on the side of caution.”
I simply nodded.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yes.” By way of goodbye, I managed to stroke Merlin’s fur before she swiped at me.
I was sad to see the last of John Smith—or was it the last of him? He had shown up on Whitehaven Island and in High Wycombe, so maybe he would show up again in Australia. I certainly hoped so.
The three men who drove me to the airport didn’t say a word, stiff upper lip and all that. I stared out the window trying not to cry. My whole time in England had been an emotional rollercoaster.
Thankfully, the journey wasn’t long. As we approached Terminal Three at Heathrow, they informed me that I was to proceed straight to security and not to acknowledge the presence of the men, who, they also informed me, would be nearby keeping an eye on my safety.
I collected my luggage and walked without incident through security, and then looked for coffee. I still didn’t feel one hundred percent, and the lack of sleep the previous night had left my head full of cotton wool.
I walked into a café, attracted by the signs boasting both fairtrade and organic. I handed over around three pounds for a large vanilla almond latte, and was surprised I didn’t have to pay extra for the almond like I always had to back in Australia. The chocolate croissant looked good, but I knew that the food on Qantas flights was abundant and I’d soon have plenty to eat on the plane.
After a second tall vanilla almond latte, it was time to go to the bathroom. The men from John’s unexplained government organisation were still there, although inconspicuous, even to me. I wondered how they would feel about me going to the bathroom.
I was drying my hands when a tall, elegant woman approached me. She was holding a large envelope and I figured at first that she must have been one of those people who approaches gullible tourists and asks them to carry a package on a flight.
She handed me the package, said, “Open it in private,” and gently pushed me back into the stall, all in one fluid motion. My time in England had been weird, and it looked as though the weirdness was going to follow me right up to my departure.
I shut the door behind me and tore open the envelope. Inside was my silver chain, minus the keys and the seal. There was also a note, made from a piece of paper folded over. I opened it and read it.
I thought you’d like your chain back. We owe you a favour. Cassandra believed that the chamber had been destroyed. We lied to her as she was causing us too much trouble and we didn’t want her to rejuvenate. Your fake page will fix that.
Oh, and no hard feelings, I hope.
Douglas. xxx
P.S. Flush the envelope and this note.
I laughed despite myself. The nerve of that man! At least I could see the funny side of it. I put the chain around my neck and under my shirt, and flushed the envelope and the note in the toilet.
I walked back out, looked at myself in the mirror, and smiled. My life had been dull and boring. Now, in a couple of weeks, I had acquired a cat of questionable temperament, had solved a murder, had become the Keeper of a society about which I knew absolutely nothing, and had been thrust into a world of alchemy and secret societies.
I wondered what the next few weeks had in store for me.
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Next Book In This Series
His Ghoul Friday Book 3
Arts and Witchcrafts
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With Aunty June in tow, journalist Misty Friday arrives in a touristy Aussie town to write about the ghost tours. But when she stumbles upon a centuries' old murder mystery, she will need to crack the cold case before those keen to bury the town's secrets end up burying her.
Follow Misty as she navigates her way through the clues, solves a murder, and does her best to discover just why John Smith is in Australia.
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PAPERBACK. All Morgana Best’s books are available in Paperback and Large Print Paperback. Check each book’s page on the website for links to shop.
About Morgana Best
USA Today bestselling author Morgana Best survived a childhood of deadly spiders and venomous snakes in the Australian outback. Morgana Best writes cozy mysteries and enjoys thinking of delightful new ways to murder her victims.