Witch Haunted in Westerham

by Dionne Lister

  Will offered me a lacklustre half smile before disappearing through his doorway.

  It was going to be a long night.

  Chapter 18

  I yawned as I sipped my morning coffee at the kitchen table, although eleven forty-five only just qualified as morning. Last night, I’d showered, then dropped into bed at 1:00 a.m. Despite the craziness, violence, and my apprehension about the conversation Will and I were going to have, I fell asleep straight away. The exhaustion of using so much magic was the perfect antidote to insomnia. Beren had healed Angelica and brought her home, magicking her clean and putting her to bed. I didn’t blame him for not wanting to help shower her the normal way. He would have copped an earful when she woke up. Maybe he should have showered her—it would have given me something to laugh about later when he was under fire.

  I’d checked on her ten minutes ago, when I’d gotten up. She’d smiled and said she was going to get ready soon and to meet her at the PIB for a 1:30 p.m. meeting. At least she was giving everyone time to sleep in. I doubted any of us were feeling like doing much today. Olivia had gone to work at the usual time this morning, but I didn’t hear her go, and yay that Ethel was back at her home across the road. If solving this case did nothing else, it got us our home back from the noisy, annoying clutches of our neighbour and her bird. And, hey, I should have felt an affinity for the bird since it originated from my home country, but nuh-uh. Anything that woke me up with ear-splitting, prehistoric cries at five in the morning was a big, fat nope.

  When my coffee was done, I donned my boots and coat, wandered across the road, and knocked on Mrs Soames’s door—no, I didn’t miss her already, but I needed to know if her home remained clear of paranormal activity. She answered the door, Ethel on her shoulder, and even managed a smile. That was my answer. “Oh, Lily. How are you? You look a little tired, actually.”

  Ha ha, thanks. “I’m good, thank you. I just came by to see how you were doing. Is everything as it should be?” I was pretty sure I didn’t need to elaborate on what I meant.

  She stroked Ethel’s head. “Yes, thank you. You and Angelica did a wonderful job. There’s been nothing but peace and quiet since I moved back in.”

  “Peace and quiet, rawrk! Peace and quiet, rawrk!”

  I laughed. There was nothing peaceful or quiet about that bird. “Great to hear. If you need anything else, let us know.”

  “I think you’ve done more than enough. Thanks again.” Ethel bobbed up and down, as if agreeing.

  I smiled. Okay, so she’d been super irritating, but I was genuinely pleased she was enjoying her home again, and not just because it got her out of our hair. It was nice to see her happy. “It was our pleasure. See you later.” Funny expression, that. I’d often used it as a way of saying goodbye to people I knew I would never see again–like the stranger you’re introduced to on the job, or at a party. Meh. I shrugged. People were weird, so it was only natural that our language reflected it. I turned and went home.

  As soon as I was in the front door, I travelled to the PIB reception room—I didn’t feel like moping around alone until the meeting. Olivia was at the PIB this week, so I’d duck in and say hello. Gus wasn’t there, but neither was that evil woman because she got fired. Sucked in. It was a young guy, about my age, with close-shaven dark hair, dark skin, and large brown eyes. He held out the device. “Hello, Miss. Can I ask you to place your palm here, please?”

  I plonked my hand on it.

  “Please state your name and address.”

  “Lily Bianchi.” I gave him Angelica’s address.

  “Excellent. Thank you.” He lowered the device and smiled. “And who are you here to see today?”

  “Olivia. She works for Millicent Bianchi.”

  “Oh, are you and Millicent related, then?”

  I grinned. “She’s my sister-in-law.”

  His eyes widened. “Oh, cool. Your brother’s high up here.”

  “That he is.”

  “Well, I won’t keep you any longer. Lovely to meet you, Lily. Have a wonderful day.”

  “Thanks! You too.” I set off for Millicent’s office a little bit happier. It didn’t take much to be nice, and what a difference it could make to someone’s day. That guard had been super friendly. Why couldn’t everyone be like that?

  When I walked into the office, Olivia was sitting in her chair, Millicent was in hers, and Imani was perched on Liv’s desk. “Hey, having a get together without me? What gives?”

  Liv jumped up and hurried over to give me a hug. “I’m so glad you’re all right.” She stood back and looked at me.

  I smiled. “I’m fine.”

  Millicent stayed in her chair—I didn’t blame her with the baby weighing her down. “We’re relieved to see that. After almost losing your powers and being unwell, we weren’t sure how you’d pull up today.”

  “A bit tired, but generally good.” I sat in one of the chairs in front of Millicent’s desk. “How are you feeling today, Imani? That waterfall was incredible.” I hadn’t had a chance to marvel at it last night with everything that had been going on.

  She grinned. “I’m good. I didn’t use nearly as much power as you, missy. You have a lot of explaining to do at the meeting.”

  I tensed my forehead. “What do you mean? Am I in trouble?” I sighed. I was so sick of being in trouble.

  She laughed. “No, silly. Yet again, you did some incredible stuff, and we want to know how you did it.”

  “Oh, okay then.” I relaxed my shoulders and sat back. “Um, does anyone know how Will is? He looked pretty wrecked last night.”

  Millicent frowned. “He’s as well as can be expected, but he’s off duty for another week. Angelica called a little while ago and insisted.”

  Liv sat down. “Beren spent time with him last night, healed his wounds. He said he’ll be okay… eventually. He’s been through a lot, Lil. More than even he could have envisaged.”

  And that’s what I’d been afraid of. “We’ll help him get through it. No matter what.” I blinked back tears. “Even if he doesn’t want to get back to where we were, I’ll be there for him as a friend.” I shook my head. What horrible experiences lived behind his haunted gaze? Fury and a desire for revenge simmered in my gut. I clenched my fists until my fingers ached. Regula Pythonissam would pay, and Dana would pay the highest price of all. I’d make sure of it.

  “Lily? Hello?” Imani eyeballed me, concern on her face.

  I took a deep breath and calmed myself. “It’s all good. So, who wants cake?” Changing the subject—my forte. I ordered cake, coffee, and tea from the cafeteria, and we talked about the weather, squirrels, and how nice the new guard was until it was time to move to the conference room.

  Millicent and Olivia led the way, chatting about the baby’s nursery and what was left to do. I followed with Imani, but I was no longer in the mood to talk. All I could think about was Will. Whatever happened, I would suck it up and move on. He didn’t need the guilt of my heartbreak on top of everything else he’d been through. Losing him as a boyfriend was horrible, but losing him altogether would be even worse. And for the people who said there was one perfect person for everyone, I had to disagree for my own sanity. I’d felt Will was the one, and if a few weeks of bliss in the love department was the only happy relationship I’d ever have, what was the point?

  Ma’am sat at the head of the table, her hair in an impeccable bun, her tie blacker than the darkest night. Her straight posture and alert gaze belied the fact that she was tired. The bags under her eyes gave her away. My brother, also looking worn but impeccable, sat to her left. Millicent took her place next to him, awkwardly settling into her chair. That baby needed to come out soon.

  Beren sat to Ma’am’s right. Olivia sat next to him. Imani dropped into the chair next to Millicent. There was a space next to Olivia, then Will with his back to me, and at the foot of the table, Agent Bradford, his square jaw still pronounced and sporting a scar. I’d thought Beren could erase scars.
Maybe it took more than one healing? Or maybe Agent Bradford wanted a reminder of what he’d been through. Or maybe he believed the hype that chicks digged scars. My mouth quirked up on one side.

  I carefully sat between Liv and Will. I looked at him. He turned his head and gave me a small smile. His eyes were battleship-grey today, and even though they spoke of suffering, somewhere deep inside, a spark of blue shone. It would take a while, but he would be okay. He had to be. “Hey, Lily.”

  My smile was tentative. “Hey, yourself. How are you feeling today?”

  “I’ve been better, but I’m here.”

  “Whatever happens, I’m glad.” I brightened my smile to show him I meant what I said.

  He opened his mouth to respond, but Ma’am clapped her hands. I jumped and gasped. Bloody hell. When was I going to stop being so highly strung? Olivia chuckled. Yeah, very funny.

  “Let’s get this meeting underway; then we can all go home and get some rest. Firstly, I’ll get the bad news out of the way.” Bad news? Wasn’t this meant to be a recap and a how-to-move-forward meeting? “As you know, we put Agent Price in lockup yesterday before we left. The guards who went in to give him breakfast this morning found his body. They then checked the cell where we placed the man from last night. He’s also dead. We’re autopsying the bodies, but the results won’t be in for a few days. We’re going to have to do this as thoroughly as possible, think of every angle.”

  Crap. This stupid snake group was leaving us with nothing. Abso-bloody-lutely nothing. Beren gazed at Will, but I had no idea what he was thinking. His poker face was almost as good as his aunt’s when he wanted it to be.

  Ma’am continued. “Over the next few days, Will’s going to provide as many details as he can. He’s started his report, which will remain classified. I’ll let you all know the details I believe you need to know. After last night, Agent Bradford will be helping James and me with our investigations into this criminal group of witches. The fact those two men were murdered in our cells without anyone noticing until it was too late is cause for concern. We have to ferret out all the rats in this organisation.”

  Crap. That’s why Beren was looking at Will. He had more information on these people than anyone we had access to. The sooner he relayed that information, the better. If they couldn’t kill him within the next few days, they’d be wasting time and energy trying to get to him. How much danger was he in right now?

  James interrupted. “Because of this, Will, we’re putting you in hiding after this meeting.”

  Will cocked his head to the side. “With all due respect, James, Ma’am, you don’t need to do that. My home is well protected. I can take care of myself.”

  Ever the guy. Why couldn’t men accept help when they needed it? I narrowed my eyes and gave him my laser-eyed stare. “I hate to be the one to say it, but what about last night? What would’ve happened to you if we hadn’t turned up?” His eyes darkened, his pupils dilating, ready for an argument. But I wasn’t going to let him speak just yet. “Don’t. Just don’t. We’ve all been worried sick about you, and they would’ve carted you back to wherever, tortured you some more, and kept you for as long as they felt like it, then killed you. So don’t tell me that you can take care of yourself. This isn’t normal criminal stuff. They mean business, Will. They have no mercy. If you want proof of that, I’ll rip my chest open, and you can see what losing your parents at fourteen does to your heart. You’re one of the most capable agents here—we get it—but one witch can’t stand against this organisation. And we’re not going to let you try. Like it or not, you’re stuck with us looking out for you.” I folded my arms and glared at him.

  He pressed his lips together, his cheeks pink. There was obviously a lot he wanted to say, but he was holding back. James jumped in before he could unleash. “I hate to say it, but my sister’s right, Will. None of us could stand up to these bastards by ourselves. The fact you even survived to make it back is a testament to your grit. You have no idea how valuable your intelligence on this organisation is. We can’t afford to lose you for that fact alone. This isn’t all just because we think you’re a cool dude.” James smirked.

  “And,” said Ma’am, “if I let anything happen to you, I’d never hear the end of it from Lily. I have to live with her, and she’s rather moody when she’s unhappy. You wouldn’t wish that on Olivia and me, would you?” Even I smiled at that. Insult or not, if it helped Will make peace with this outcome, I was all for it. Insult me some more! “I’ve already arranged somewhere for you to stay. It’s the safest place I could find. You’ll only have to stay there for a week or two, so it won’t be a terrible inconvenience. I don’t want to hear any more about it. That’s an order, Agent Blakesley.”

  Will raised a brow at me, then turned to Ma’am and shook his head. “You know I won’t argue with an order.” His defeated tone hurt my heart. But a sad, living Will was way better than a dead one.

  Ma’am nodded. “Right, that’s settled. Once Will’s written his report, James and I will prepare our reports for this group, and we’ll reconvene. I expect that to be in a couple of weeks. To sum up what’s happened over the last few weeks, Regula Pythonissam has defrauded over one-hundred people in Westerham and surrounding villages. They convinced owners to sell their homes at a ridiculous discount by pretending to haunt their houses. The homes were sold to various companies, and all the victims are non-witches. We’ve managed to trace all these companies back to one parent company. The company is registered in Monaco, and from our initial enquiries, the owners are ghostlike themselves. All names and addresses seem to have been falsified. We believe by apprehending three men over the last few days, we’ve managed to curtail their fraud around Westerham, but we’re currently in talks with other Bureaus about whether they’re targeting other locales. Will has some information on their motivation, which, I’m sure you’ll all agree, is disturbing but gives us valuable insight into Regula Pythonissam.” She looked at Will. “Please tell everyone what you know.”

  He nodded. “I won’t go into all the details of my assignment from the beginning, but I rarely had contact with anyone important in the group, except for one man, the one I was forced to kill two nights ago at Ma’am’s neighbour’s house. His name was Joseph Matteo Franco. He was close to Dana and might have been in Regula’s inner circle. He headed up the scheme to buy properties cheap. Their goal was to build wealth, but that isn’t all. They wanted to make non-witches suffer, put them in their place. It seems to be one of their manifestos. They’re trying to move properties from non-witches to witches and impoverish non-witches in the process. They want subservience. My summation from listening to Franco talking to his buddies is that their overall goal is to out witches and have non-witches as the enslaved population. They consider witches to be superior, and they’re sick of being ‘in the shadows and forced to hide.’”

  My brother’s jaw muscle bulged, and he gripped the tabletop. The anger pulsing off him was palpable. It matched my own. How dare they! This was extreme racism. Yes, witches were human and not a different race to non-witches, but I didn’t know what else to call it. Maybe magicalism?

  “What about Oliver and Samuel? They weren’t witches. Why would they help disempower their own kind?” They’d both seemed like decent people. I didn’t want to believe they’d betray their own for money. Then again, it shouldn’t surprise me. People did it every day.

  “I can answer that,” said Will. “They didn’t know Franco was a witch. They were given addresses for leads, then offered more commissions to sell the houses to the companies. For every property they sold to—in effect, Franco—they would get another one to sell. Oliver cottoned on that the houses were all haunted after talking with the desperate owners, and he thought it was unusual. He started asking questions, and that was the end of that.”

  At least they hadn’t known exactly what was going on. “But they still broke the law by convincing the owners to sell to Franco’s people. Those properties weren’t sold in a
n open market. They took advantage of people’s distress to get their hands on more work.”

  “Money talks, unfortunately,” said Imani. “Surely this can’t be news to you, Lily.”

  “No, unfortunately it’s not.” I sank back into my chair. The world was such a crappy place sometimes. For the second time that day, I wished for the impossible: that people could just be nice to each other.

  James straightened his already-straight tie. “We’re working on getting some kind of compensation to the owners, but because we’re having trouble tracking down the real new owners of the properties, it’s going to be delayed. Once we work out the true identities of the three men we arrested, we’ll confiscate any assets we can and use that to help pay back the victims.”

  Well, that was something. My gaze was drawn back to Will. It was so good to have him back. But it saddened me to see him running his hands nervously up and down his thighs. The furrows in his forehead were deeper than ever, and there was no sign of his cheeky dimples. How long would it take him to find his smile? He caught me watching him but then quickly averted his gaze. Sorrow flooded me, but I wasn’t going to go under. I’d rise above it and take Will with me. We’d get through this together, no matter what it took.

  Ma’am’s voice rang out, steady and certain. “The last thing I want to say before we leave is that the things Will did while imprisoned by Franco and Regula Pythonissam were forced on him. It was comply or die. I’m sure we can all agree, Agent Blakesley has made incredible sacrifices to survive and provide us with information we desperately need but couldn’t have gotten any other way. The PIB has pardoned him for any crimes committed in the pursuit of justice. Thank you for your service, Agent Blakesley.”

  Will raised his head and stared at Ma’am. His eyes shone with tears, but his voice didn’t waver when he said, “Thank you. It is an honour to serve.”