Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 1

by April Fernsby

  “Perhaps.” Stanley looked offended. “But if someone is going to impersonate you, they should have the decency to get their facts right.”

  “Rod,” I went on, “if the witch told you not to tell anyone, why did you? You told Mr Collins and you’ve told your friends.”

  “The witch changed her mind. A funny, sneaky look came over her and she said it would be better if everyone knew she’d taken the body away and that she was going to get rid of it. She said everyone in Brimstone needed to know what kind of a witch she was. She ordered me to tell everyone what she’d done. If I didn’t, she said she’d rain many curses down on me and my friends. I told my friends first, and then I told Mr Collins.”

  “Where did she take the body?”

  “I’m not sure. She made the body float out of the door but she didn’t take it to the reception area. She turned right and headed another way. There must be an exit door somewhere else. Once she’d threatened me, she guided the goblin’s body past me and walked after it. Her cat went with her.”

  I pointed to his raised hand and asked, “What’s wrong with your hand?”

  He looked away and muttered, “Nothing.”

  “Rod!” My raised voice made him jump and look straight back at me.

  “I touched the body!” he confessed. “I couldn’t help it. It floated so close to me and I couldn’t control myself.” He lowered his hand and gave it a loving look. “I touched his cold, dead body. It was awesome.”

  I shook my head at his creepy words. “Rod, you could have poison on your hand. I suspect Augustus was poisoned, and you could have traces of it on your hand now.”

  “Poison?” Rod gulped. “I don’t want to die of poisoning. I want to be mauled to death by a vicious werewolf and torn limb from limb. I’ve got it all planned! I’ve got a werewolf on standby for when I’m ready to meet my end!” He flapped his hand at me. “Do something!”

  “It could be too late to do anything. But I will create a protective bubble around your hand to stop any contamination with others. Then I want you to go to Dr Morgan’s office and see if she can find traces of the poison on your hand. Okay?”

  Rod nodded, his eyes wide as he stared in horror at his hand.

  Not to blow my own trumpet, but I performed the spell easily and quickly. It took less than two seconds for a bubble to appear around Rod’s hand. When it had done, he gingerly got to his feet and headed for the door. His friends followed him at a careful distance.

  Stanley said, “That was good magic. You’re getting better all the time.”

  “Thank you. Now that we’re alone, we can talk about Astrid and her evil plans to destroy me.”

  “Astrid?” Luca appeared at our side holding my broomstick. “Her evil plans to destroy you? Cassia, what do you mean by that?”

  Chapter 17

  “Aha!” My laugh was too loud. “Aha! Just joking. Stanley and I were having one of our little jokes, weren’t we, Stanley?”

  “Aha!” Stanley’s forced laugh was louder than mine.

  Luca moved to the sofa in front of us and sat down. He placed my broomstick on the floor. His face was deadly serious. “I know when you’re lying.” He glanced at Stanley. “Both of you. What’s going on? Why are you talking about Astrid like that?”

  I shared a look with Stanley. He gave me a slight nod. Okay. We would tell Luca some of our suspicions, but not everything.

  “Luca,” I began, “is it possible for shapeshifters to change into people? People who already exist?”

  He frowned. “Yes. We can change into any living thing. But we’re not supposed to change into people. We’re supposed to keep to animal forms. Why are you asking me that?”

  I explained about the impersonators who’d been seen in the hotel.

  There was a note of indignation in Stanley’s voice as he said, “They didn’t even impersonate us correctly; they made me female.”

  Luca stared at the carpet for a moment and then looked back at us. “You think Astrid has something to do with this?”

  I hesitated a fraction. “Yes. You must know that she doesn’t like me. You’ve heard how she talks to me.”

  Stanley added, “I’ve seen how Astrid looks at Cassia. She hates her.”

  “Hates her?” Luca asked. He turned his blue eyes on me. “Why would she hate you?”

  I shrugged. “Perhaps she’s jealous of the friendship we have. Maybe she doesn’t want you spending time with me especially when it comes to work.”

  “I’ve explained to Astrid about our friendship; both personal and professional. I thought she understood.” He gazed at the carpet again. “I don’t think Astrid would do something like this to you. What’s she got to gain by pretending to be you?”

  I was about to shrug again and pretend that I didn’t have any suspicions when Stanley shot out, “She wants to sabotage our murder investigation! Then Cassia will get the blame and everyone in this town will think badly of her! That’s her evil plan.”

  Luca’s eyes widened in shock. “Stanley, I’ve never heard that tone in your voice before. What’s got into you? Have you been affected by the black magic?”

  “No, I’ve been affected by the hate that Astrid has for my Cassia.” Stanley’s face was scrunched up in a scowl. “I’m sorry if you don’t like hearing the truth about your girlfriend, but there it is.”

  Luca looked stunned and sat back on the sofa. His voice was quiet as he said, “I can’t believe she would do something like that. If she did do it, there must be a perfectly good reason as to why she did it.”

  Stanley tutted quietly and shook his head.

  I said to Luca, “You can ask her about it when you see her. We could be totally wrong about her. It could have been someone else who was in Augustus’ room. Astrid might even know who it was.” I gave him an encouraging smile. “We could have the wrong end of the stick. Speaking of which, thanks for bringing my broomstick back.”

  Luca rubbed his hand over his chin. “I’ll have to speak to Astrid as soon as possible. She should be back from her mum’s soon.”

  “She’s already back,” I informed him. “She was in Mooncrest Café earlier. Gilda spoke to her.”

  “She’s back? She hasn’t been in touch with me.” Luca sat forward on the sofa, placed his hands on his knees and gave me an intense look. “Cassia, I’m going to find out who’s behind this impersonating business. I’ll be speaking to Astrid about it. I’m not convinced that she hates you, but I have seen how cold she is with you. Turning to other matters, how are you getting on with the investigation?”

  I got him up to speed with what had happened. I ended with, “Did you have a sleep? To be honest, you look as if you need more.”

  “No, I didn’t have a sleep. I don’t have time for that. I went over to Augustus’ family. It’s not far away. Someone had to tell them about the death of Augustus. Normally, Blythe is the one to do that, but seeing as she’s out of action, I took it upon myself to inform them.”

  “How did they take it?” I asked.

  “Not well. His mum was furious. That didn’t surprise me as she’s known for her bad temper. She said she knew no good would come of him working at the hotel. She said his ridiculous job was to blame for his death and he should have been down the mine like a proper goblin. She wants his body back as soon as possible so that they can have a funeral for him.” He paused, moved his head closer and lowered his voice, “I didn’t tell them his body was missing. Where do you think he’s been taken?”

  Stanley mumbled, “Ask Astrid.”

  If Luca heard him, he ignored him. He continued, “I saw Augustus’ brother in the family home when I was there. I asked if I could speak to him, but Mrs Stez told me he had nothing useful to say. She almost threw me out of the house and told me to come back when I had Augustus’ body. I had a feeling that the brother had something to tell me.”

  I nodded. “I’ll go and have a word with him.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Luca said.

&
nbsp; I reached for my broomstick. “No. Stanley and I can do this on our own. I think you should find Astrid and see what she knows about the other matter.”

  “But I – ”

  I interrupted him. “We can manage on our own. Once you’ve spoken to Astrid, you should get some sleep.” I stood up. “Can you tell me where to find Augustus’ family, please?”

  Luca reluctantly did so.

  I told him again to get some sleep before Stanley and I left the hotel. We hopped onto my broomstick and headed upwards. It was good to fly again.

  Stanley said, “Why didn’t you tell Luca about Esther’s door being stuck? He could have asked Astrid about that too.”

  “One thing at a time. I don’t think she’s going to admit being the one who impersonated me anyway. If it was her.”

  “It was her. I can feel it,” Stanley said wisely. “We forgot to speak to Jeff again. You were going to ask him what he was arguing with Augustus about. And you were going to wheedle his secret out of him.”

  “I’ll do that later. I’d like to speak to Augustus’ brother first.” I lifted my head as we soared above the clouds, my hair flying out behind me. “Doesn’t it feel great to fly again?”

  Stanley chuckled. “It feels marvellous.”

  It didn’t take us long to find the home of the late Augustus Stez. His family house was a thatched cottage set in a large circle of similar houses. The buildings were arranged around a tall statue of a bronze goblin proudly holding a pickaxe in the air. Stone benches were placed around the statue and I spotted a solitary figure sitting on one of them.

  Stanley and I landed in front of the figure and we jumped off the broomstick. I held it at my side as we slowly approached the figure. It was a male goblin, and he was staring at the ground morosely. I wasn’t sure he’d registered our arrival.

  I said gently, “Hello, sorry for troubling you. I’m Cassia Winter, and this is Stanley.”

  The goblin looked up and quickly wiped a tear away. “I know who you are and why you’re here. Mum’s not at home. She’s down the mine. I can get her for you if you want?”

  “Are you Augustus’ brother?” I asked.

  He nodded. “His only brother. I’m Brek.” He stood up and held his hand out.

  I shook it. “We wanted to talk to you actually. Is now a good time?”

  “Why would you want to talk to me? I don’t know much about anything. That’s what Mum says.”

  Stanley raised his paw towards the bronze statue. “Who’s that?”

  A smile flitted across Brek’s face. “That’s one of our ancestors. He’s a Stez, and it was him who first discovered our mine. The Stez family have been in this spot for hundreds of years. We’re all miners. Or we were.” He shook his head. “Mum will never come to terms with Augustus leaving us. She’s so ashamed of him.”

  I said, “From what I’ve heard about your brother, the mining life wasn’t for him as he kept falling asleep.”

  Brek nodded. “He did. He couldn’t help it. I could see that. Mum couldn’t. She called him all sorts of names. She used to prod him with the sharp end of a pickaxe to wake him up. I suffer from the same thing, but not as much as Augustus did.” He gave us a small smile. “I’ve got a few scars from where Mum has prodded me when I’ve fallen asleep too. She won’t accept that I can’t help doing it.”

  I said, “In my world, it’s a proven medical condition. I can tell her that and I’ll get some evidence to prove it. Brek, why aren’t you down the mine now?”

  “I was too upset after hearing about Augustus. We didn’t always get on, but he was my brother. Do you know what happened to him? How did he die?”

  “We’re still looking into that. When did you last see your brother?”

  Brek ran a hand across the back of his neck. “I met him last week. He sent me a message and told me to meet him in the gardens of The Brimstone Hotel. He said he had something important to tell me.”

  He sat down and indicated for us to do so. I sat at his side and Stanley settled on the ground in front of the goblin. I suspected he was picking up on Brek’s body language.

  Brek said, “I didn’t tell Mum about the meeting. She’d have locked me in my room if she knew I was going to meet him.” His eyes widened. “I couldn’t believe how much Augustus had changed. He was so fat! It took me by surprise. But he looked so happy and content. He never looked like that when he was at home. He told me about his job. It made me jealous to think of him sleeping for a living. He didn’t have to worry about a pickaxe coming at him in the dark.”

  He paused and his face twisted in bitterness. Stanley cast a quick glance my way to see if I’d seen the change on Brek’s face. I gave him a swift nod in confirmation.

  Brek carried on, “Augustus said he would be leaving the hotel soon. He had a lot of money saved up and he would be getting even more soon. He went on for a while about how much money he had and what he was going to do with it.”

  “Did he say where he got the money from?” I asked.

  “He said it came from a satisfied customer. He didn’t say who. Augustus said that as he would be leaving, there would be a vacancy at the hotel for a bed warmer. He asked if I was interested. I told him I was too scared of Mum to leave home. He told me to grow up. He’d left his family behind and it had turned out well for him.” Brek sighed heavily. “I was so tempted, but I couldn’t do that to Mum. She’d already lost Augustus to another kind of life, I couldn’t leave her too. She frightens the living daylights out of me, but she’s still my mum. I tried to explain this to Augustus. He said if I changed my mind, he would put in a good word with the manager. That was the last time I saw him.”

  Stanley said, “Excuse me for saying this, but you’re lying about something.”

  Brek stiffened. “What? I’m not.”

  “You are. I can tell by the way you’re fidgeting.” Stanley fixed him with a hard stare. “You might as well tell us the truth.”

  Brek swallowed nervously. “I am telling the truth.”

  Stanley’s hard stare intensified.

  Brek sighed again and said, “Okay. I’ll tell you. Augustus said I could have his job but I would have to pay him. We have some precious stones in our family which our ancestor found. They’re extremely valuable but Mum would never sell them as they’re part of our history. Augustus wanted them in case he ran out of money. There was a greed in his eyes which I’d never seen before. I told him I’d never sell our family history. Never.”

  “How did he take that?” I enquired.

  “He laughed and said I’d soon change my mind when I’d been down the mine a few more weeks. He said I wasn’t cut out for it.” He gave me a direct look. “That’s the truth. All of it. Honestly.”

  “Where were you this morning between four and six?” I asked.

  “Down the mine with Mum.” He lifted his shirt and showed us fresh scars. “She was overeager with her pickaxe this morning.” He dropped his shirt and looked into the distance. “Augustus was right about mine work. It’s not for me. I don’t think I can bear another minute down there. Perhaps I should speak to the manager at The Brimstone Hotel?”

  I couldn’t think of anything else to ask Brek so I stood up and said, “Thank you for your time. We’ll be in touch when we have the full details surrounding your brother’s death.”

  Brek looked our way. “When can we have him back? Mum wants to bury him as soon as possible.”

  “You’ll have him back in due course,” I replied and added a reassuring smile.

  As soon as we were flying away, I said to Stanley, “Well? What do you think about Brek?”

  “I think he’s desperate to leave the mine. Cassia, Augustus could have been affected by a slow moving poison. Maybe one that took a week to work. Maybe Brek administered a poison when he met Augustus in the hotel gardens. I’d keep Brek as a suspect for now.”

  “Good thinking.”

  A butterfly suddenly appeared at our side and Brin’s voice came from it. She
told us Dilly was at Blythe’s house, and she had something to tell us. I gave the butterfly a message to say we were on our way.

  Chapter 18

  My first question for Brin when she opened the door was to ask how Blythe was.

  Brin motioned for us to enter before saying, “She’s getting better by the second. She’s still asleep, and I’ll make sure she stays that way.” She closed the door behind us.

  My second question was about the cellar door.

  Brin answered, “There was magic on it keeping it closed. And that magic had been coated in rebound magic.”

  I frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that when you use magic to dispel the existing magic, it rebounds on you. I had a feeling that might happen and I was prepared for it.” She winced. “The rebound magic was stronger than I thought it would be and it sent me flying backwards. Luckily, the amazing Brimstone butterflies zoomed forward and caught me. They acted like a huge butterfly net and delivered me safely to the ground.”

  I shook my head. “I didn’t know about rebound magic. If I’d have used my powers on the door, I could have been seriously hurt. Worse than that, Stanley could have been hurt.”

  Brin nodded. “I think whoever placed the spell on the door was counting on you using magic. Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing who cast that spell on the door.”

  I didn’t need to look at Stanley to know what he was thinking. I said to Brin, “Did you talk to Gran?”

  “I did. I opened the door to make sure all the original magic had gone and she was standing inches away from it inside her cellar. She was surprised to see me. I had to tell her about the door being enchanted. She asked if Blythe had done it to stop her and Oliver going through. I had to quickly make up an excuse about particles of rogue black magic flying around, and it looked like that was responsible.” She lifted her chin. “As I told you before, I’m an excellent liar and she believed my tale. I told her briefly that Blythe had dealt with the black magic problem and would be in touch with Esther soon. She seemed satisfied with that answer.”