by Adele Abbott
“Look!” Carol screamed. “The door’s open. Jill, wake up! Quick!”
Chapter 18
I slowly opened my eyes, as though I’d been in a deep sleep, and then looked over at the open door. “How did that happen?”
“Who cares?” Carol said. “Let’s get out of here before that mad woman comes back.”
The three of us made our way cautiously up the stairs.
“This way!” I led them out of the back door.
“Who do you think let us out?” Kimberly looked around.
“Never mind that now,” I said. “You two, go and knock on the neighbour’s door. Get someone to call the police.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Have a few words with Elsie.”
“Shouldn’t you wait until the police arrive?”
“No! Go now!”
As soon as they had left, I cast the ‘faster’ spell. Topwash was about ten miles from where Elsie lived. It took me next to no time to get there.
I rang the doorbell.
“Jill?” Elsie’s face was a picture.
I grabbed her arm and led her into the lounge. “Sit down!”
“I don’t understand.”
“Listen to me carefully, Elsie. The police are on their way. The game is up.”
She began to cry. “I’m sorry. I would never have hurt you or the others.”
“You locked us up! You’ve had Carol locked up for over six months!”
“I always made sure they had plenty of food.”
“That’s hardly the point, is it?”
“I know. I’m so sorry.”
“Why did you do it?”
“For Charles, of course.”
“Grover? I don’t understand.”
“Charles and I are meant to be together.”
“He’s married.”
“Yes, but that was a mistake. He’ll soon realise. We were a couple before her.”
“Her being his wife?”
“Yes. He made a terrible mistake, but he’ll soon realise that and divorce her. Then we’ll be together.”
“Has he said as much to you?”
“No, he doesn’t have to. I can tell.”
Oh boy!
“I still don’t understand why you locked Carol and Kimberly away. And me.”
“Because you threw yourselves at him. He’s a weak man. I couldn’t allow you to wreck our plans.”
“Plans?”
“To marry, of course.”
I’d heard quite enough of this crazy. “What did you do with my bag and phone?”
“What?”
“My bag and phone, where are they?”
“In the sideboard—over there.”
I retrieved them while keeping one eye on Elsie.
“Jack, it’s me.”
“Jill? Thank goodness. Where have you been? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I can’t go into the details now, but I should be home later this morning.”
“I’ve been worried sick all night. At least tell me where you are.”
“I’ll be home soon. Don’t worry, I’m perfectly okay.”
“Jill—”
I ended the call, and then turned off my phone.
A few minutes later, I heard a siren, and shortly after that, Leo Riley and two uniformed officers came charging through the door.
“Morning, Leo.” I greeted him with my bestest smile.
“It’s Detective Riley, to you, Gooder.”
“Are the other two women alright?”
“They’ve been taken to the hospital for a check-up, but they seemed okay.” He turned to Elsie who had barely registered his arrival. “Elsie Cooper, I’m arresting you for the kidnap and unlawful imprisonment of Carol Pine, Kimberly West and Jill Gooder. Do you wish to say anything?”
She shook her head.
“Take her away,” he said to the two officers.
“You’ll need to come down to the station, too, Gooder.”
“For a coffee?”
“Just get in the car.”
As usual, Riley kept me waiting in the interview room for the best part of an hour.
“How did you get out?” Was his opening gambit when he finally appeared.
“The door was open. Didn’t the others tell you?”
“How did it open?”
I shrugged. “No idea. I was asleep.”
“So, let me get this straight. A metal door, which had remained locked for over six months, suddenly opened of its own accord a few hours after you arrived?”
“That’s about the strength of it.”
“I’m not buying that. There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“Such as what? Do you think I cast a magic spell, and made the door open?”
He scowled. “I’m going to need a full statement.”
“Of course. Anything to help the police.”
An hour later, I was back on the street. After I’d taken a cab to pick up my car, I drove back home. I was bushed, and all I wanted to do was fall into bed.
Jack had other ideas.
“Where have you been, Jill? I’ve been going out of my mind.”
“You’ll hear about it sooner or later, so I may as well tell you. A crazy woman locked me in a basement.”
“What? Which crazy woman?”
“Does it matter? It was connected to a case I’ve been working on. I found two missing women.”
“But nearly got yourself killed in the process.”
“You’re being overly dramatic.”
“I’m being what?” I thought for a moment his head was going to explode. “A crazy woman locks you in a basement, and I’m being overly dramatic?”
“I was only in there a few hours.”
“How did you get out?”
“Do we have to get into this now? I’m shattered. I just want to go to bed.”
“You need to pack that job in, and you need to do it right now!”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Yes, I heard you, and you’d better hear me. There is no way I’m giving up my job. Not for you. Not for anyone. You knew what you were getting into when we got together.”
“But—”
“But nothing. I’m going to bed. Take Barry around to Mrs Rollo’s on your way out, will you? She said we could leave him there in the mornings.”
“We’re not done with this. We’re going to talk when I get home tonight.”
“Bye, Jack.”
Now, I may have misread the situation, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Jack was not best pleased.
***
Early afternoon, I was woken by my phone, which I’d been stupid enough to leave by the bedside. If this was Jack calling to give me more grief, he’d be sorry.
It wasn’t. I didn’t recognise the caller ID.
“Jill?”
“Speaking?”
“It’s Murray.”
“Murray?”
“Murray Murray.”
“Oh, yeah, Murray.” I sat up. “Thanks for calling.”
“Blathers said you’d been to the house, looking for me?”
“That’s right. I just wanted to apologise.”
“For what?”
“I should have mentioned the ‘ghost thing’ when I told you about the house. I understand you’re thinking of having an exorcism?”
“That’s okay. You did me a really big favour putting me onto the place. How did you hear about the exorcism, anyway?”
Whoops! I hadn’t thought this through. What was I supposed to say? That the resident ghosts had told me?
“I—err—I’m still in touch with the previous owner. He mentioned it to me.”
“I see. Anyway, it’s no big deal. Once I find someone to perform the exorcism, we’ll be golden.”
“Haven’t you found anyone to do it yet?”
“No.” He laughed. “To be honest, I’m not really sure where to look. I doubt there’s a listing for exo
rcists in Yellow Pages. I’m going to get one of my people on it.”
“No need.”
“Oh?”
“It just so happens I know someone in that line of business.”
“You do? How?”
“I meet all sorts in my job.”
“I guess you must. Sure, I’ll be happy to take your recommendation. What’s their name?”
“Name? It’s—err—on the tip of my tongue. Oh, yes, I remember. Portia—err—Parkspirit.”
“Portia Parkspirit? Wow, that’s a weird name.”
This coming from the man called Murray Murray.
“Shall I contact her for you?”
“Please, yes. I’ll let Blathers know that—err—Portia will be visiting the house. Seems like I owe you another one, Jill.”
“Think nothing of it. Bye, then.”
What? I know it’s a stupid name, but he had put me on the spot, and it was the best I could come up with. Sheesh, you lot are so judgemental.
***
It was no good. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get back to sleep after I’d finished speaking to Murray Murray. What I needed was a warm shower followed by lots of blueberries—encased in muffinness. And, I knew just where I could get them.
Amber and Pearl were behind the tea room counter, and obviously very pleased with life.
“Hi, Jill,” Amber said. “What can I get you?”
“A caramel latte and a blueberry muffin, please.”
“Sorry, no can do. We just sold the last blueberry muffin to that young wizard over by the window.”
“What?” I glanced over at him. “He hasn’t taken a bite out of it, yet.”
“So?”
“You could go over there, and tell him that you sold it to him by mistake.”
“By mistake?”
“Yeah. Tell him that you’d forgotten it was reserved.”
“Oh?” Amber laughed. “A joke? That’s funny.”
“Very funny.” Pearl chuckled.
Who was joking? I would have gone over there, and taken it back myself if I hadn’t thought he might cause a scene. No consideration, the youngsters of today.
“So, what will you have?” Pearl asked.
“You mean as a poor substitute for the lack of blueberry muffins?”
“We didn’t know you were coming over,” Amber said. “If we’d known, we’d have ordered another two dozen.”
The twins both laughed.
I didn’t.
In the end, I had to settle for a scone. Sigh. The hardships I was forced to endure.
The twins asked one of their assistants to watch the counter, and then they came to join me at a table near to the back of the shop. I daren’t sit anywhere near the blueberry muffin thief, in case I was tempted to snatch it from his plate.
“Why are you such a Miss Grumpy Chops, today, Jill?” Amber said.
“I’m not grumpy,” I grumped.
“Not much.” Pearl laughed. “You haven’t fallen out with Jack, have you?”
“Not fallen out exactly. More a difference of opinion about my job.”
“What about it?”
“He thinks I should pack it in because it’s too dangerous.”
“But he’s always known what you do. Why now?”
“It was nothing. I was just kidnapped by a crazy woman, and held in a basement.”
“What?” The twins said in unison.
“No wonder he wants you to give up the job,” Pearl said.
“It was nothing. A little magic, and I was out of there in no time.”
“Yeah, but Jack doesn’t know you have magic to help you,” Amber said. “No wonder he’s worried.”
She was right. I sometimes forgot that Jack had no idea I had magic to fall back on if I got into a tight spot.
“Anyway, enough about that.” I took a bite of scone. “I came here to relax. What have you two been up to? No more madcap schemes, I hope.”
“Definitely not,” Amber said.
“We’ve learned our lesson,” Pearl said. “But we do have good news about the rooms upstairs.”
“Oh? Have you let them, already?”
“It looks like it,” Amber said. “We just have to get the paperwork finalised. The business is called Beautimatic—the woman who runs it offers the full range of beauty treatments. And, the best bit is that we get free treatments as part of the deal.”
“We’re going to be sooo beautiful!” Pearl beamed.
“That does sound like good news.” I had to hand it to the twins; they didn’t let the grass grow under their feet.
“And to celebrate,” Pearl said. “We’ve decided to take a long weekend in the human world.”
“What?” I almost choked on my scone at the thought of Barry and the twins in my house.
“Don’t worry.” Pearl must have read my mind. “We won’t be staying in Washbridge. We’re going to London.”
“Yeah,” Amber jumped in. “We’re going to see the sights, and maybe take in a show.”
“That sounds great.” Phew! “Are the guys going, too?”
“They can’t,” Pearl said. “They have to work.”
“Pity really.” Amber’s grin gave her away.
Thirty minutes later, the twins were back behind the counter, and I was just about to leave, when Daze and Blaze came into the tea room. Blaze went to get the drinks, and Daze came over to join me.
“Been at the blueberry muffins, again, Jill?” Daze pulled up a chair.
“Chance would be a fine thing. I had to settle for a scone.”
“The twins look pleased with life.”
“They’re going to London for a long weekend.”
“Are you going with them?”
“No chance. Can you imagine those two in London? Their bank balance is going to sustain some serious damage.”
“Hi, Jill.” Blaze joined us. He’d bought cappuccinos for the two of them. “Has Daze told you my good news?”
“I thought I’d let you tell Jill.” Daze took a sip of her coffee.
“I’ve had a pay rise,” Blaze blurted out.
“I thought he deserved it because of how well he handled being in charge while I was away,” Daze said.
Blaze and I exchanged a glance. The Slippery Sam incident had obviously not reached Daze’s ears.
“Well done, you,” I said.
“Thanks, Jill.”
Chapter 19
I’d no sooner magicked myself over to Washbridge than my phone rang.
“Jill, it’s Luther. I said I’d give you a call to arrange a night out.”
“When did you have in mind?”
“I know it’s short notice, but how about tomorrow night?”
Would Jack and I be talking to one another by then? Stuff it. If Jack was still sulking, I could always go by myself.
“That works for me. Where did you have in mind?”
“If you’re happy to leave it with me, I’ll book a table, and send you the details by text?”
“Okay. We’ll see you tomorrow night, then.”
“Maria is looking forward to meeting you and Jack.”
Hopefully, she was looking forward to the pleasure of our company rather than to the opportunity to drain us of our blood.
“Jill? I didn’t think you were going to make it in today.” Jules was behind her desk, knitting what looked like a pair of socks.
“I thought I ought to show my face. Any messages?”
“Mr Pine rang earlier. He asked if he could call in this afternoon to see you. I told him I wasn’t sure if you’d be in, but he said he’d call in on the off chance. He wants to drop something off for you.”
“What?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Okay. Oh, I see you’ve progressed to knitting socks?”
“It’s a hat.”
“A hat? Of course, I can see that now. By the way, I saw Gilbert at the mall.”
“The new mall is great, isn’t it?”
>
“It’s okay. I’m not sure about the giant shark, though.”
“What shark?”
“There’s a whopping great shark on the wall above the front entrance.”
“Is there? I didn’t notice.”
I considered telling Jules my ‘Central Shark’ joke, but decided it would only fall on stony ground. The world simply wasn’t ready for my brand of humour.
“Is Gilbert okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“I thought he seemed a little—err—distant.”
“He has been a little quiet, but I put that down to the stress of working at the pop-up stand.”
“Yeah, I guess that must be it.”
“Zebra, Lima, X-ray. Over and out.” Winky put down his radio.
“What exactly does Zebra, Lima, X-ray mean?” I said.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
“Never mind that. What time do you call this? I thought you’d been kidnapped.”
He ducked just in time to avoid the stapler. “Touchy today, aren’t we?”
“As it happens, I was kidnapped.”
He laughed.
“What, pray tell, is so funny about that?”
“The idea that anyone would pay a ransom to get you back.”
“Jack would.” Would he, though? Right now, probably not. “And what about you? What would you do without me?”
Winky thought about it for a moment. “I’d be okay. The old bag lady or Jules could bring in my salmon and cream.”
“That’s nice. It’s good to know you’d be there for me if the chips were down.”
“I’m only kidding. I’ve got your back—you know that. Blood brothers, that’s me and you.”
“Aww. That’s sweet.”
“Now, about that salmon.”
***
Arthur Pine turned up with a huge bouquet of flowers in one hand, and an even huger box of chocolates in the other.
“I’m glad I caught you, Jill.” He was like a different man—so much happier than he’d been the last time I’d seen him. “These are for you.”
“Thank you, but there really was no need.”
“It’s the least I can do for getting my little girl back. And you must let me have your bill as soon as possible.”
“Don’t worry, it will be in the post by the end of the week. How is Carol?”
“A little shell shocked, as you’d expect, but physically, she seems fine. Kimberly too, from what I understand. Carol should be home either later today or tomorrow.”
