Witchnapped in Westerham (Paranormal Investigation Bureau Book 1)

by Dionne Lister

  Warm pride infused my cheeks, but the weight of responsibility and fear of not being able to use my magic properly sat like a stone in my stomach. “Thanks. And what you’ve said makes sense. There was also something from this afternoon. Hang on, and I’ll show you what I got.” I excused myself and went to the living room and grabbed my camera. I wasn’t sure if I’d done a good job explaining things, so showing her seemed like the smart thing to do. I came back and handed her the camera. “Just scroll through from here. Press that button.”

  As she went through each picture, she nodded, until she reached the one with James and Millicent at the front door. Her mouth formed a large O and she put her palm against it. Tears glistened in her eyes. “I remember that day. They surprised me with a visit for my birthday. James is a truly special man, Lily. Your mother would be so proud of both of you if she were around to see you now.”

  “Were you close?”

  Her smile said it all. “We were best friends. We spent a lot of time together when she worked at PIB, and even though she moved to Australia, we kept in touch, writing and then emailing when technology got to that point. She used to send me photos of you kids, all the milestones—birthdays, school awards, grand finals.” Her voice softened. “I still miss her. When she and your father disappeared, I vowed to catch those responsible, but I’m ashamed to say, I’ve failed, but I haven’t given up. I’ll never give up, Lily. I promise you.”

  When she met my gaze, it was impossible to ignore the desperation and fire shining from them. This was one promise she would keep or die trying. “Thank you, Ma’am. Mum would have been happy to know you were fighting for her. If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”

  She sighed. “Your brother was helping me. That’s why he agreed to take a job here. When he first went missing, I thought it might be related to that, but some clues pointed to a payback for criminals he convicted about eight months ago. But we followed all those leads, and they’ve gotten us nowhere.”

  “Is it safe to talk here?”

  “Yes. My house is warded for eavesdropping.”

  “I’m sure we’d have all the evidence we’d need if I could just take some photos at the park.”

  “There’s no way I can get you out of here. Snezana has been causing chaos down there. Her uncle is buying all her manure and then some. It’s a mess.”

  “So, the only way to get me to the park is to discredit Snezana?”

  “Pretty much.”

  As much as I hated going back to where I’d been imprisoned, it might be the only way. “Can you get me back into PIB?”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. I haven’t been banned from there, have I?”

  “House arrest infers you can’t go anywhere.”

  “Can you make a special request? The other option is getting those security tapes and watching footage of the lab. I wanted to go in and take some pictures, see if I could prove they’d planted Millicent’s bracelet.”

  “Without any proof leading to a reasonable assumption, they won’t let me see them.”

  “But you’re the boss.”

  She smiled. “I have to follow the rules, Lily. Don’t you see what happens when we don’t?”

  Yes, I saw. Snezana got to run riot. Okay, so she had a point. “I can’t believe I’m about to suggest this, but why don’t I ‘escape’ again, just enough that Beren and William have to arrest me and stick me back in the cell. Couldn’t you get me into the lab then? Surely Snezana and Drake don’t sleep at PIB. They must go home at some point. We’d make sure to tell Beren and William what we’re doing, so they don’t kill me by accident.” I couldn’t believe they’d do that on purpose, surely.

  She nodded slowly. “That could work. Even if we can’t use the evidence you find for PIB, it would give us something else to go on. If we could prove that someone had done something wrong, we would have enough to at least clear Millicent and get the person fired. Snezana would likely get away unscathed, but then we’d just need to get you freed. Then we could go get the important evidence from the park.”

  It was as if worms swarmed my stomach, masses of them, writhing and grossing me out. I was crazy to ask to go back to that tiny room. If I didn’t get the photos we needed, I’d be stuck in there forever. I couldn’t stuff this up.

  “I’ll contact William now. He can tell us if now’s a good time. Lily, are you okay?”

  I had no facial filter, and I was sure I’m crapping myself was written all over my face. “I could use some time to get used to the idea, but why waste time? We may as well get this over with. What have I got to lose, except ten years of my life?” That’s the spirit. Would James do this for me? Yes, he would. That thought alone was enough to settle my nerves, well mostly.

  Angelica got William on the phone, and within sixty seconds, he was knocking on the reception-room door. I waited in the living room while Angelica answered it. Beren and William marched into the room and straight over to me. William stood in front of me, arms folded—how unusual. “Are you crazy? You can’t do this. If you fail, you’ll go to jail for ten years or more. Have you thought about what that means, Lily? You’re even more impulsive than your brother said. Honestly, this is a fool’s errand.”

  “Of course I’ve thought this through.” For all of five seconds. “And thanks for the vote of confidence. You don’t think I can do this, do you?”

  He scrubbed his hand through his thick locks. “Do what? Get some evidence somehow from inside PIB. Angelica didn’t share the details, so I have no idea what you two have planned, and to be honest, I don’t want to know. If Beren and I get questioned about this, for Angelica’s sake, the less we know the better. Just don’t do it. Whatever you’re thinking, drop it.”

  “Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?”

  His mouth dropped open. “I’m your brother’s best friend. I’m supposed to protect you and Millicent, and I’ve fucked up royally with that. I can’t let you put yourself in more danger, Lily. I just can’t.” His face softened, and for the first time, I saw the nice guy under the bluster. He did mean well, but it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t save my brother.

  “You know he’d do the same for me. And what’s the alternative? With Snezana running things as far as this investigation goes, and don’t tell me she’s only the coordinator, Millicent is going to go to jail, my brother will never be found, and I’m going to end up being ejected from the country, at the very least. Why do you think she’s making sure I’m trapped here? She doesn’t want me going to the park and getting something that’s going to help us find my brother and maybe connect her to this whole thing.”

  “Something will come up.”

  “It won’t.”

  “You’re too impulsive, Lily. Learn patience, for goodness’ sake.”

  “Now you sound like James. I’m sorry, but we don’t have time. The longer it takes us to find James, the less likely it is he’ll be alive. I’m not going to sit by and let something happen to him if I have a chance of helping him.”

  Beren put a hand on William’s shoulder. “She makes some good points, Will. If you thought you could help, you would. And you will.” He squeezed and dropped his hand. Beren looked at me. “I’ll help, even if Will won’t.”

  William huffed. “I’m in. But for the record, this is a stupidly dangerous thing you’re doing, Lily. If this goes to hell, I’m definitely going to say I told you so.”

  I expelled a relieved breath. Not that I was desperate to throw myself back in jail, but it had to be done. I met William’s gaze and gave him a genuine smile. “Thank you. And just for the record, if I do stuff this up, you can tell me how crap I did as many times as you like. I won’t even argue.”

  He returned the smile. “Why don’t I believe that?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  Worry warred with need on Angelica’s face. “So, we’re decided?”

  We all answered, “Yes,” simultaneously.

 
; “Don’t forget my camera.”

  Angelica held it up, having just magicked it to her. “Done.”

  Beren gave me a hug. “Be careful, Lily.”

  “I will. Thanks.”

  “Let’s go, B. We’ll be outside, waiting for the alarm.” William turned and led Beren outside.

  Angelica turned to me. “Ready?”

  I took a deep breath. “As I’ll ever be.”

  I walked towards the front door, my heart hammering.

  Well, here goes nothing.

  Chapter 12

  As soon as the alarm sounded, Beren and William cuffed me and zapped us all straight to jail. Thankfully, no one got shot, and by no one, I mean me. After being processed again, I ended up in the same cell as before. I’d have to add some homely touches soon and maybe do something about that wee smell. I’d spent almost as much time here as I had at Angelica’s.

  Sitting on the bed, I refused to contemplate being here indefinitely—there was no use worrying about something until it happened.

  It took an hour, but Beren and William finally returned. They’d had to wait for Drake to go home. Snezana was already gone, thank God. William unlocked the door and entered the cell. What we were about to do was all for the security cameras. “Ma’am wants to question you. Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

  I turned around and let him cuff me. This was getting to be a bad habit. The guys led me out and up to the top floor, to Angelica’s office. She sat at her desk, glasses on, reading what looked like an internal report. She placed it on the table. “Please sit.”

  I sat and then she gave a nod. “You can stand up now. The security cameras have been ‘fixed.’ We’ve got fifteen minutes. We’ve had help from the inside, but the less you know, the better.” I stood, and William removed my cuffs. Angelica handed me a blonde bob-style wig. I donned it, and then she handed me my camera. We were ready to roll.

  We hurried back down to the first floor, down another long corridor to a grey door that said Lab. Angelica used her swipe card, and we entered. There was a series of four rooms along another corridor: Lab 1, Lab 2, Lab 3. I assumed the next door said Lab 4, but we didn’t get that far. We went into Lab 3, and Angelica clapped twice. The lights went on. “This is where we do forensic soil testing. If we don’t find anything here, we’ll try the other labs, but this is our best bet.”

  I pocketed my lens cap, turned on my camera, and got to work. I didn’t think of anything at first: maybe the universe would see fit to show me what I needed to know, but nothing happened. Of course not. I focused my thoughts on the river of power and Millicent’s necklace. “Show me the necklace at the moment it came here.” I almost jumped when a man popped up in front of me. He was about my height, wearing a white lab coat, and his mousy brown, shoulder-length hair was gathered in an elastic at the nape of his neck. He was standing next to a table that held a black garbage bag. He wore rubber gloves, and on his palm, as clean as anything, was what I assumed was Millicent’s necklace, but I’d never seen it so I couldn't be sure. I clicked off a few photos with my wide angle, noticing the large white clock on the wall in the background showed the time and the date. Bingo!

  I zoomed in on the necklace to make sure I got everything. I walked around him, still snapping. I took photos of the stainless steel bench, floor, bag. The other three quietly watched me. When I finished, I took the camera to Angelica and brought up the photos on the screen for her to scroll through. “Tell me if you need anything else.”

  As they looked at each photo, Angelica shook her head. “Brilliant work, Lily. Absolutely brilliant.”

  William pointed at one picture. “That’s the bag with soil samples, yet the necklace is clean. It’s in an evidence bag right now, still with dirt all over it. Damn!” He looked up at me. “So this is your super-secret-squirrel talent. Nice.”

  Ooh a compliment from crankypants himself—wonders would never cease—and he was kind of impressed, plus he said “squirrel.” Day made.

  I’d worried about the wrong people knowing my secret, but I was pretty sure at this point that I could trust Beren and William: Angelica did, and I trusted her now.

  “Is there anything else you’d like me to try and get photos of?”

  “Now that I know what your talent is, there’s a million things I can think of. You’re going to be sorry you let us in on your secret.” William smiled.

  Angelica kept my camera. “I’ll get these photos loaded on my laptop, but we still can’t take this evidence to Drake, and we’ll need to get Lily out of jail. I hope they buy our excuse. And then there’s the little matter of finding a way to get Lily to the scene of the crime.”

  Beren patted my shoulder. “Great work, Lily. At least we know where to start. That lab guy’s name is Michael. It’s time to do some digging, which is what I do best.”

  They ran me back down to the cells—we only had five minutes left, and the cameras would be back online. Once I was locked in, I went to bed. Nothing would happen tonight, maybe not even tomorrow. I figured Angelica had a plan to get me out of here at some point in the near future, but we hadn’t had time to discuss anything before we came here. Yep, it was true: I was impulsive. There were worse things I could be, like a wanna-be husband-stealing psychopathic kidnapper.

  Before drifting off, I ran through what I’d seen in the lab. Why would Michael agree to help Snezana? Did she have something over on him? Were they best friends or in a relationship? Which would be totally fake on her part because she was in love with my brother, but she was the manipulation queen, so it was a definite avenue, or maybe he was just a sucker with a crush. You couldn’t help bad taste.

  I yawned. Today had been exhausting. Time to turn my brain off and get a few hours’ sleep. “Goodnight, James,” I whispered. “We’re coming, buddy. Hang on.”

  Chapter 13

  Iendured breakfast without coffee. The porridge was fine, but tea wasn’t my thing. I drank it anyway, because it had some caffeine in it, and I wasn’t in the mood for a migraine. Using the toilet the second time around was just as disconcerting—like being in a dream where there’s no toilet door. Thank God for my pillow.

  Bored and sick of wondering when someone would show up, I launched into my exercise routine, starting with stretches. I managed the whole thing today. That was a bad sign.

  Lunch arrived—a cheese and salad sandwich. That wasn’t bad. It was just like a day at work, as I often made myself one for lunch. If I shut my eyes and blocked my nose, I could pretend I was sitting at my dining room table in Sydney.

  I’d barely finished my sandwich when a pair of guards I didn’t know came to my cell. One was a dark-skinned lady in her twenties, about my height, who looked fit enough to take on her companion, a thirty-something white guy with muscles almost as big as Beren’s. She unlocked the door. “Miss Bianchi, I'm agent Sophia Clarke. We’re here to take you to Mr Pembleton the Third. Please turn around so I can cuff you.” At least she was polite and didn’t seem to hate me. I complied.

  They walked on either side of me through the pristine white hallways. Looked like we were back at the meeting room from yesterday, or was that the day before? I was losing track of days, which wasn’t surprising since I’d spent a lot of my time in a windowless cell. This was certainly nothing like I expected when I first heard I was coming to England. I never envisaged that helping find my brother would involve incarceration, among other things.

  Sophia knocked and then opened the door. It was like a replay from last time. The old gang was here, even Timothy, who gave me a small, reassuring smile. Snezana sat next to her uncle this time, and there were no smiles or invitations to sit next to her. In fact, she wore a lovely scowl. With a bit of luck, she’d not only gotten up on the wrong side of the bed, but she’d also stepped in cat vomit doing it. Angelica gave nothing away: her poker face was back.

  Sophia stood me in front of Drake, next to a seat that was already pulled out. Drake ran his hand down his red tie. His expre
ssion was sombre. “Please, take a seat, Miss Bianchi.”

  I sat but had to lean forward because of the stupid cuffs. How undignified.

  “To be honest, when I gave permission for you to leave, I didn’t expect to see you back so soon. James always spoke so highly of you, but you’re not quite the well-behaved girl he spoke of. Nevertheless, Angelica has assured me the latest infringement was an accident.” He glanced at her before looking back to me. “She even assented to a lie-detector spell.” How had she pulled that off? I’d have to ask her later. “We’ve also had new information come to light proving that you haven’t been involved in any way on any cover-up.” This time, his glance was directed at his niece. She ignored him and inspected her red fingernails. He gestured to Sophia, and she undid the cuffs. “I’m very sorry for your treatment, Lily. Please accept my sincerest apology on behalf of the Bureau.”

  I rubbed my wrists. Could I accept his apology? This had to be the absolute worst experience of my life, and what about Millicent? I decided to take the high road, because we still needed to get my sister-in-law out. “I have to say, Mr Pembleton, I’m disappointed in my treatment, but I understand we all make mistakes, and I accept your apology. Thank you.” He nodded. “Am I free to go?”

  “Certainly, Miss Bianchi. William has the car outside, waiting.” He slid a piece of paper and pen across the table and handed me an envelope. “Please sign this waiver, absolving the PIB of any wrongdoing and agreeing to not mention anything you’ve seen or experienced whilst you've been here, and you can have what’s in the envelope.”