by M A Comley
“All right if I interrupt there?” AJ asked.
Katy nodded.
“We know in what direction the cars went after leaving town, so I don’t understand what you’re getting at, Karen.”
“Just a sec, AJ. My line of thinking is this—we should be on the lookout for a dwelling along this route, not too far out of town. Maybe we can do a search for places, like farms for instance, with outbuildings on the land.”
Katy’s eyes narrowed as she thought. “Lorne, didn’t you say that Carol mentioned a cave or stone walls? Or did I imagine that?”
“You’re right.”
“A cellar of sorts, perhaps?” Karen offered. “I could ask a friend of mine in the planning department if he knows of anything like that situated in this or the surrounding area.”
“Yep, do that, Karen, and get back to us. I think we should all search the Internet to see what else we can discover about modern-day witchcraft. Lorne, do you want to ring Carol, see if she can offer anything?”
“Good idea. I’ll get on it right away.”
“Anything else, folks?” Katy asked, launching herself off the desk. When there was no response, she dismissed the crowd and returned to her office.
“Carol, it’s Lorne. How are you?”
“Excited. I told Ted, and he said he’d be willing to lend a hand with any maintenance needed around the centre once Tony’s business takes off.”
“Wow, really? That’ll be a load off everyone’s mind. I’m sure Tony wasn’t looking forward to working around the centre at the weekends. Not that being a PI is a Monday-to-Friday kind of job. Not sure he’s grasped that concept, either.” Lorne chuckled.
“He’ll be fine. I doubt his MI6 days consisted of a nine-to-five schedule, five days a week, either. What can I do for you? I’m guessing this call is about your case?”
“Yep, something you picked up on yesterday—Pendle.”
“I remember. What about it?”
“You didn’t make the link yourself to Pendle Hill?”
Carol gasped. “Goodness me! The thought never even crossed my mind. How absurd. You think there are witches involved in these crimes?”
“I’m going along those lines, yes. I might end up with egg on my face, but I think we should be following what you picked up on. You’ve never let us down in the past, and we’ve got very little else to chase at this time. Anyway, Katy told me to ring you to see if you had any idea of any of these sorts of shenanigans going on in our area.”
“I’ve not heard of anything on the circuit. I’m sure I would’ve done if there had been. Psychics like to gossip, just like anyone else. I could make a few calls for you, if you like? Maybe there’s a group of women just pretending to be witches or just setting out. Gosh, I’m beginning to sound like you, throwing up all sorts of possible solutions.”
Lorne snorted. “I just wish our roles were reversed sometimes and that I had your abilities. It would make my life a whole lot better. Please do ring around your friends. It’ll be interesting to see what you can find out. I’ll speak later. Thanks, Carol, and thank Ted for me, too.”
“I will. I’ll get back to you as soon as I find anything out.”
Lorne hung up and called home. The phone rang and rang, but neither Tony nor Charlie picked up. She thumped the side of her head when she remembered that Charlie had a home visit booked that morning, and Tony had hinted he wanted to take a trip into town to pick up supplies for the centre. She made a mental note to ring back later. She had more research to carry out regarding witchcraft. How does someone even become a witch? Is there a society they join? Magicians have the Magic Circle. Do witches need to belong to something similar? Or can a coven start up out of the blue?
She soon discovered that lots of different types of witches practised the craft in its varying forms in the UK. She hadn’t realised it was so prevalent. Most of the covens practised Pagan rituals, inoffensive and erring on the side of nature. However, Lorne did uncover something very disturbing. Way back in the sixties, several covens had formed and caused havoc in a few rural communities. They had all pretended to be good witches, the pagan sort, when they first started practising the craft. However, something went drastically wrong, turning them into bad witches who carried out unspeakable things to victims, even murdering some of the men who were commissioned to hunt them down. In the New Forest, several men’s bodies had been found hanging from the trees. Suspicion had lain at the witches’ doors, yet authorities had failed to find any proof of wrongdoing on their part. In the end, the coroner had registered the men’s deaths as suspected suicides. Maybe someone in this group of women is keen to emulate either the Pendle Witches or the witches who went bad in the New Forest?
Lorne didn’t know how they were going to locate this coven in a timely manner. If the missing men had fallen into the hands of women of this ilk, intent on copying the witches from years ago, then these men’s lives wouldn’t be worth living within a few days, if they were still alive.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Felicity and the four women who’d drawn the short straws to accompany her on the mission, drove to the car rental place to pick up the van for the day’s outing.
Elaine, Sally, Mary, and Lenora all looked nervous as they loaded into the van. Felicity had spent hours running through the plan in her head, and the time had come to put that plan into action. Each woman had eventually volunteered her ex-partner to be abducted next. The first man on the list was Elaine’s ex, Lee Carney. He worked for a local mechanic.
“Are you ready, Elaine? You know what to do, right?”
“Yes, although I’m very nervous. He tends to fly off the handle at a moment’s notice, especially when he’s disturbed at work. I just hope he falls for the line I’m going to feed him.”
“Just remember to smile, flutter your eyelashes a lot, and sweet charm him into following you out to the van. We’ll take things from there. All right, hon?”
“Yes. Okay. I’m going now, before my nerve abandons me.” Elaine hopped out of the van and approached the main entrance of the garage workshop.
“How are things back there? Are you all tooled up? Be ready—we’ll hit him quick, before he has a chance to figure out what we’re up to. Let’s hope Elaine can pull this off.”
The women said they were geared up and ready for action, and Felicity ducked down in her seat then peered over the edge of the steering wheel. “Here we go, girls,” she said when she saw Elaine and Lee coming their way. “Once the sliding door at the side opens, I want you to hit him and drag him into the van.”
“It’s just in here.” Elaine was outside her window, so Felicity sank lower in her seat.
“What the…? Why have you got this huge van? Have you hired it? You can’t drive a beast like this.”
“I can. I have done a lot of things since our divorce, Lee. I just need you to take a look at this.”
The van door slid back, and from her cramped position, Felicity saw Lee poke his head in the rear. He started to object, then a metal pole connected with his skull. The man’s heavy body slumped. Three sets of arms grabbed wherever they could reach while Elaine pushed his rump with all her might. With suppressed cheers and fists clenched in triumph, they rejoiced in their success.
“Elaine, shut the door and get in. We need to get out of here quickly.”
The woman seemed glued to the spot.
Felicity stretched across the passenger’s seat and shoved open the door. It stopped inches from the stunned woman’s face. “Elaine? Now!”
Elaine shook her head, slammed the side door shut, and hoisted herself into the front seat, next to Felicity. “Sorry, I just can’t believe we pulled it off. Let’s go before his boss comes back.”
“You’ve got it.” Felicity patted Elaine’s thigh. “Well done, you. Right, if he’s all trussed up, we’ll be on our way. Who’s next? Sally, your ex works near here, didn’t you say back at the house?”
The inoffensive woman nodded and gulped.
“Yes, he works in a factory, as a shop floor manager.”
“Okay, do you think it will be possible for you to entice him out into the car park the same way Elaine just did?”
“I think so. I can use my son as an excuse to see him. He ignores any contact from me unless it is about one of the children,” she said, seeming to gain confidence once she’d thought up the excuse.
“Excellent, and shame on him ignoring you. Still, you can get your revenge later for all the heartbreak he’s put you through over the past year.”
Sally smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry. I’d already thought of that. I’m really looking forward to exacting my revenge. Take the first road on the right. That’s a shortcut to the factory.”
“Great. Let’s go and pick up another target. I’m beginning to enjoy this. Aren’t you, girls?”
A large cheer rang out from the back of the van. Elaine, however, said nothing. Felicity winked at her friend. “Are you having fun, Elaine?”
“Sorry, I was miles away. Just thinking how much fun I’m going to have later getting my own back on the bastard I wasted so many years on.”
“That’s the spirit, love. Onwards!”
Sally hopped out of the van in the road adjacent to the factory car park. Felicity thought that would be best, given the way Lee had reacted upon seeing the van his ex-wife had pulled up in.
Within minutes, Sally reappeared with a tall, handsome man in tow. She led her ex to the side door. The second the metal door slid back and Terry popped his head in, one of the girls struck him. A surprised “humph” filled the van as he hit the deck. Sally struggled to push him in, and with only two girls in the back to pull the dead weight, the whole process took longer than anyone had anticipated. Felicity jumped out and heaved Sally’s ex into the van. Sally crawled in beside him and proceeded to tie his wrists together.
Hopping into the driver’s seat once more, Felicity asked who was next on the list. Lenora said it was her ex’s turn to take the hit. Paul Dollins was a chef in a pub on the edge of town. If any of the targets were going to be tricky, it was this one.
“If you go round the back, I’m sure we’ll be able to get away with this without anyone seeing us.” Lenora motioned to where Felicity should park.
“One thought just hit me, Lenora. Will he be at work at this time of day, mid-afternoon? Isn’t that between shifts for a chef working in a pub?”
“Nope, Paul is very dedicated to his work. That’s the main reason why our marriage failed. He was tired most of the time, and that irritability led to him abusing me. Let me see if I can be as successful as Elaine and Sally.”
Lenora walked briskly through the rear entrance of the pub and re-emerged soon after with her angry-looking ex stomping behind her like a petulant child.
“This one looks as though he might be trouble, girls. Be prepared to whack him hard a few times if necessary,” Felicity said.
Lenora grimaced, no doubt knowing that Felicity was watching, awaiting their arrival. The side door slid back.
“What the fuck is going on here? Where’s Jake?” Paul asked.
Whack! Whack! Silence was followed by the grunts of four women heaving the unconscious man into the van.
“Lenora, tie him up. Well done. I know it wasn’t easy. He seems a right idiot. I might even give you a hand dishing out the punishment later, if you’ll permit me? Okay, one more pick up, and then we’ll get back to the cottage. Mary, you’ve seen what’s expected. Are you up to the task?”
Mary snorted. “I’m looking forward to it. Bring it on, I say.” The woman in her early fifties eagerly rubbed her hands together.
The van’s occupants erupted with laughter as Felicity drove away from the pub. One of the men stirred, and Felicity gave permission to knock him out with a second blow.
Mary’s ex worked in a furniture store on the large trading estate. Like the others, she went inside to retrieve her ex. This man, who was short, looked like a puppy dog, eager to please, as he followed Mary to the van. His chin nearly slammed into the ground when he saw the other women and the three unconscious men in the rear of the van. Before he could open his mouth to complain, Mary shoved him in the back, and Lenora smacked him around the head with the metal pole.
“Impossible mission now completed in record time, ladies. Job well done. Now let’s get going and start having some fun.”
• • •
Lorne was on her way home from work when her mobile rang. She placed the phone in the hands-free slot. “Hello. This is Lorne.”
“Lorne, it’s John back at the station. We’ve received an urgent call from a man claiming to be your neighbour.”
Her heart flipped several times before she finally found her voice. “Go on, John.”
“Apparently, he’s seen some of your dogs out on the road. He’s tried to round a few up, but gave up and decided to ring you instead.”
“Oh, shit! Where’s my husband and daughter? Did he say?”
“He said he’d knocked on the door to the house and received no answer. I’m sorry, Lorne.”
“Thanks, John. I’m nearly there now.”
Lorne hung up and pressed her foot to the floor. She arrived at the house within five minutes, to find scared dogs milling about the main road and her driveway. Beckoning a black lab, she hooked her hand through his collar and led him back into the kennel block, only to find that the kennels looked as though they had been opened deliberately.
Where the heck are Charlie and Tony? She called out for them and quickly checked the house, which was empty. Oh my God, what if something has happened to them? The screech of brakes on the main road tore her from her indecision over what to do next. If she didn’t round up the rest of the dogs, they would cause a car accident while intent on enjoying their freedom.
After locking up another escapee, she heard a car draw up. She ran outside, hoping to see her husband or daughter. Instead, Carol stood in the driveway, looking as distraught as Lorne felt.
“Thank God you’re here, Carol. Help me get them back in the kennels, please?”
“Damn, I’m sorry, Lorne. It was him, Onyx’s owner. By the time the vision formed fully, it was too late to warn you.”
“We can’t worry about that now, Carol. Where the hell are Charlie and Tony? They should be here.” Her thoughts cleared, she slammed her clenched fists against her thighs, angry at herself. “What am I thinking? What if he’s harmed them in some way? My God, what if he’s raped Charlie?”
Carol grabbed Lorne’s upper arms and shook her. “Stop it! Don’t even consider that, Lorne. I’m sure he hasn’t harmed them. Let’s sort the dogs out for now.”
“If you’re sure they’re all right, let’s try and coax the dogs around here inside while I head out to the road. I’m more concerned about those out there being struck by passing vehicles. Grab some food from the barrel, shake it in the metal bowl. They should respond to that.”
“Righty-o. Don’t fret, love. We’ll get them all.”
Tony’s car arrived, and Lorne stomped across the gravel to meet him. She yanked open the door and shouted, “Where the hell have you been?”
Tony looked up at her, confusion swimming in his eyes. “What’s going on? Why are the dogs out on the road?”
“I haven’t got time to explain. Help me and Carol to get them back inside.”
Tony leapt from the car and ran out onto the main road. He reappeared with two of the smaller dogs and handed them to Carol.
Almost an hour later, most of the kennels were full again. Charlie’s car pulled into the drive about the same time Lorne realised that Onyx and her pups were missing.
“Mum? Everything all right? You look stressed.”
“Stressed! That’s a severe understatement. Where have you been, Charlie?”
Charlie frowned, and her back straightened. Lorne prepared herself for an argument.
“Out! You know I had a home visit to attend to. What’s with the questions?”
<
br /> “Someone opened all the kennels. Carol and I have spent the last hour rounding the dogs up,” Lorne snapped back.
“Shit. I can totally understand you being narked at me, Mum, but I thought Tony would be here. The home visit was so close to Melinda’s house, I dropped in to see her. I’m so sorry.”
“Well, he wasn’t here. I’ve yet to get to the bottom of that, but I think you’ve both been selfish and irresponsible. Now, Onyx and her pups are missing. Carol seems to think her owner has taken her and released all the dogs out of spite.”
“We have to call the police then.”
“I am the police, in case you have forgotten, Charlie.”
“Yeah, all right. There’s no need to be sarcastic, Mum.”
Tony joined them, his expression sheepish, when he overheard their conversation. “I hold my hands up, ready to take the blame on this one. I went out for supplies and bumped into one of my old agent friends. We got chatting, and I lost track of time. The good news is that Joe is interested in setting up a business with me.”
Lorne issued him a dirty look. “Mind if we discuss this when we have more time? I have a kennel full of scared dogs to placate and feed and an incident of dog-knapping to report.”
“I understand. Stupid of me not to realise the gravity of the situation. What can I do to help?”
Lorne expelled a long breath. “You can stay out of my way for now. That would help no end.”
Tony took a step back. Everyone in their right mind knew to shut up and just do as they were told when Lorne was so angry. She ran into the house and made two calls. She contacted the station to report the theft and ask them to prioritise the call for Onyx’s sake. The other call was to the RSPCA inspector dealing with the dog’s case.
“Hi, Sue. It’s Lorne Warner. We have a serious problem.”
“I’m all ears. Is this concerning the little mummy dog?”
