by Adele Abbott
“That’s great, Tubby.”
“No problem.”
“There’s just one more thing I need you to do.”
I explained what I had in mind, and he got straight onto it.
Now, I was going to have some fun.
***
The offices of accountant, Seymour Sums, were in a building only two doors down from Luther’s office. I offered to run Tubby home first, but he said he’d rather make his own way than have to get back in the cat basket.
“Can I help you?” The po-faced receptionist glared at the cat basket. “You can’t bring an animal in here.”
“It’s okay. This is empty.” I opened the flap to prove the point.
“What do you want?”
“I’d like to see Mr Sums.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No.”
“In that case, I’m—”
She stopped dead, mid-sentence, as the ‘sleep’ spell kicked in. I really couldn’t be bothered to waste time, arguing with her.
“Who are you? How did you get in here?” Seymour Sums looked at me over the half-moon glasses that were propped on the very end of his nose.
“It doesn’t matter who I am.”
“This is outrageous!” He flushed red with anger. “Daphne! Call security!”
“Daphne is taking a snooze. Now, why don’t you and I have a talk about cybercrime?”
“What are you talking about? I’d like you to leave right now!”
“What was the plan, Seymour? To get Luther Stone to withdraw from the awards?”
Shocked, he sat down. “I don’t know what you’re—”
“Don’t bother to deny it. I know you sent that message, threatening to publish his clients’ data. I also know that you aren’t capable of doing any such thing because you, dear sir, are a rank amateur. What do you have to say now?”
“No comment.”
“Maybe I can help to jog your memory.” I walked around his desk. “May I?” I didn’t wait for him to respond. Instead, I typed in the command that Tubby had given to me.
“What’s that?” He pointed to the on-screen message.
“I would have thought it was self-explanatory. All of your files will be permanently deleted in two minutes from now. One minute, fifty-nine, fifty-eight.”
He reached out towards the power switch.
“I wouldn’t do that. If you switch the computer off, the files will be erased immediately.”
“This is a bluff.”
“Actually, it isn’t. I have an associate who knows how to access and take control of any computer. If you think it’s a bluff, why not let the clock run down? That should prove it one way or another.”
He glanced at the timer which was now down to one minute and thirty-two seconds.
“What do you want?”
“The truth, for starters.”
“Okay. I sent the message to Stone. I’ve lost out on the award for the last two years. I couldn’t bear to lose out again. Stone is the only one standing in my way.”
“You’re a real piece of work, do you know that?”
“I’m sorry. Please stop the timer. If my files are erased, I’ll have no business left.”
“Surely you keep back-ups?”
“I—err—I haven’t done any for a while.”
“When was the last time you did them?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Oh dear.”
“Please! Stop the timer!”
I typed in a second command. The timer stopped, and then disappeared from the screen.
“Thank you. What happens now?”
“That will be up to Luther.”
Chapter 15
Once I was in the car, I called Luther and told him that Seymour Sums had been responsible for the threat.
“What about my client data, Jill? How can I be sure it won’t be published?”
“It’s perfectly safe. In fact, there was never any danger that it would be published. The message you saw was no more than a hoax.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Absolutely. My associate checked it out thoroughly. You can stop worrying.”
“That’s such a relief. Seymour and I have never been what you’d call close, but I still can’t believe that he’d stoop so low as to do something like this.”
“He was obviously desperate to get you out of the picture so that he’d be in with a chance of winning the award. What would you like to do about him? The police take a dim view of this kind of cybercrime. Would you like me to pass on the information I have to them?”
“No, don’t do that. I have no desire to destroy the man.”
“How about I tell Sums that he has to drop out of the awards competition? That sounds fair.”
“No. If I win the award, I want to win it on merit, and not by default. From what you’ve told me, it sounds like you put the fear of god into Seymour. That will be punishment enough.”
“You’re a very generous man, Luther. I’m not sure I’d be so compassionate if I were in your shoes.”
“Thanks again for your help, Jill. I don’t know what I would have done without it. And, please thank your associate, too. Are you sure he doesn’t want any payment?”
“Not unless you have any red salmon going spare.”
“Sorry?”
“Nothing. Just my little joke. Good luck with the awards, Luther.”
***
I’d told Peter that I didn’t think he had anything to worry about with regard to the haunted maze, but if he and the previous contractors had all seen ghosts, there had to be something going on. If the ghosts were still there when he went back, Peter would no doubt quit the job too. That wouldn’t go down well with Kathy who had her heart set on a new car. I wanted to check the maze for myself, to find out what was going on. First, though, I magicked myself over to GT, to get some advice from Constance Bowler.
“Hi, Jill. This is a pleasant surprise.”
“Sorry for dropping in unannounced.”
“No problem. What can I do for you?”
“I’d like to pick your brains.”
“Sure.”
“My brother-in-law, Peter, has a landscaping business in the human world. He’s recently taken on a contract at a country house; part of the work involves the maintenance of a maze. Before he started on the job, he told me that the previous contractors had quit because they claimed the maze was haunted. And now, Peter also reckons that he’s seen ghosts in the maze.”
“Have you checked it out yourself?”
“Not yet, but I intend to. What I don’t understand is how the ghosts are making themselves visible to whoever happens to venture into the maze. Don’t they have to attach themselves before they can be seen?”
“It’s quite complicated. Generally speaking, you’re right, but there is a potion based on the spookberry plant, which will allow a ghost to be visible to all and sundry. That’s what’s used by the companies who employ ghosts to work in the human world. The people running the ghost train scam must have used a variation of it.”
“I assume Hauntings Unlimited must use it too?”
“Yes, but the potion’s use is strictly controlled. It’s only available under a licence issued by the GT authorities.”
“Do you think the ghosts in the maze might be using the potion?”
“It sounds like it, but I’d be surprised if they have a licence for its use. Chances are, they’ll have purchased it on the black market.”
“Thanks, Constance. That’s very helpful.”
“Do you need me to provide any support?”
“I don’t think that will be necessary. I’ve got this one.”
***
There was a large noticeboard at the entrance to Washbridge Country Hall. On it was a plan of the grounds, which showed the maze was to the rear of the property. The hall was only open to visitors at the weekends. If I’d tried to walk through the grounds, I would no doubt
have been stopped by the staff, so rather than have to face a lot of awkward questions, I made myself invisible. Once inside the maze, I reversed the ‘invisible’ spell, and tried to find my way to the centre.
Emphasis on ‘tried’.
Mazes have to be the stupidest thing in the world. I mean, what’s the point?
What? No, I’m not just saying that because I got lost a dozen times.
I was getting more and more frustrated when suddenly two ghostly figures appeared in front of me. They were both dressed in Victorian clothing; one of them was carrying his head under his arm.
“Whoooo!” The one with his head still on his shoulders wailed.
“Do me a favour!” I was in no mood for this nonsense.
“Whoooo!” He tried again.
“You two are pathetic. And you.” I pointed to the headless one. “Put your head back on your shoulders. You aren’t impressing anyone.”
He did as he was told, and then said, “Who are you? Why aren’t you scared?”
“Scared of you two comedians? I don’t think so.”
“She’s a sup,” the other ghost said.
“And you two are in big trouble.”
“We haven’t done anything wrong.”
“You’ve been scaring humans.”
“We were only having a bit of fun. You should see their faces when I take my head off.”
“It’s no laughing matter. What are your names?”
“I’m Bobby Blue,” the ghost with the detachable head said.
“And I’m Billy Blue.”
“You’re the Blues brothers?”
“Yeah. We’ve lived in the maze for over a hundred years.”
“And you’ve been scaring people all that time?”
“No. We’d never shown ourselves to anyone until a few months ago. We weren’t able to until then.”
“That’s when you started to use the spookberry potion?”
“Yeah. It’s great. Life’s a lot more interesting now.”
“You do realise that it’s illegal to use that potion without a licence, don’t you?”
They exchanged a glance, and then both shook their heads.
“Well it is. If I report you, you’ll be in big trouble with the GT authorities.”
“Don’t do that, please. We like it here in the maze.”
“I’ll need you to give me what’s left of the spookberry potion.”
“Okay,” Bobby said. “I’ll go and get it for you.”
“Where did you get the potion from?” I asked Billy while his brother went to fetch it.
“A travelling salesman.”
“Name?”
“Will he get in trouble?”
“Probably, but if you don’t tell me, you definitely will.”
“Okay. His name was Homer Range. You won’t tell him that I gave you his name, will you?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t mention you.”
Bobby returned and passed me the bottle, which was still half full. After pouring the contents away, I gave the two ghosts another stern warning, then made myself invisible and left.
***
I was on my way home; I’d decided to call it a day. Cole was taking cash in the toll booth.
“Hi, Jill.”
“How’s it going, Cole? Still enjoying the work?”
“It’s brilliant. I used to get really bored, waiting for people to cross my old bridge, but here, there are people crossing all the time.”
“He’s doing really well.” Mr Ivers appeared behind Cole. “He’s a natural.”
“That’s very nice of you to say, Monty. You’re an excellent teacher,” Cole said, and then turned to me. “Are you interested in bottle tops, Jill?”
“Not really, no.”
“I wasn’t either. Not until Monty shared his knowledge with me. They really are fascinating.”
“That’s great, but I’d better get going. I have dinner to make.”
When I parked on the drive, Megan was on the front, mowing her lawn.
“Hi, Jill. I thought I’d better give the lawn a cut. It doesn’t look very good if a professional gardener can’t look after her own garden.”
“Ours could do with cutting too. I’ll get Jack on it.”
“Have you seen the new neighbours?” She gestured across the road.
“We had a cup of tea with Blossom. She seems really nice, but I doubt she’ll be here long. She’s moved up here to be near her daughter, and she’s only renting that place until she can find something more suitable.”
“What about those other two?” Megan pulled a face. “Couple of weirdos, if you ask me.”
“They did seem rather odd when we went around to introduce ourselves.”
“They never open the curtains, but I’ve seen them, peering out every now and then. They’ve always got balaclavas on. That’s pretty weird if you ask me.”
“At least they don’t play the bagpipes. How are things with Ryan?”
“Don’t ask.”
I wished I hadn’t. When would I ever learn? “What’s wrong now?”
“It’s probably just me being silly, but last weekend, he said he was going to visit his mum and dad. When I said I’d like to go with him, he started acting strange.”
“How do you mean: strange?”
“If he’d said that he thought it was a bit early in our relationship for me to meet his parents, I would have understood, but he was just really weird. When I asked where they lived, he got all flustered, and then made some stupid excuse and said he had to leave.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything.”
“I think he’s ashamed to let his parents know that I used to be a model. A lot of people can be funny about that kind of thing. They hear stories and get all kinds of weird ideas in their heads.”
“I’m sure you’re over-reacting.”
“Do you really think so?”
“I’m positive. Maybe he just had a lot on his mind. The betting shop must be quite stressful.”
“I suppose you’re right. Maybe I’m just being oversensitive.”
What was it with Ryan? When was he ever going to get a clue? It looked like yet another visit to WashBets was called for.
I was just about to go into the house when Megan called me back.
“Sorry, Jill, I was so wrapped up in my silly problems that I totally forgot to mention your sandpit.”
“What about it?”
“It’s probably nothing, but when I was looking out of my upstairs window, I noticed that there seemed to be lots of footprints in the sand.”
“Do you think someone has been around the back of the house?”
“I don’t think it was a person. They look like animal footprints.”
“It’s probably a cat.”
“Yeah, I guess so, but I thought I should mention it.”
“Thanks, Megan. I’ll take a look.”
The footprints most definitely did not belong to a cat. In fact, they weren’t like any animal footprints I’d ever seen; they were perfectly square in shape.
I smelled a rat. A grandma-shaped rat. She’d tricked me into believing that sand demons were a thing, when in fact they didn’t even exist. Maybe she wasn’t aware that Aunt Lucy had put me right on that score. This was probably the second phase of her silly ruse. If it was, then it was a pretty poor effort—it would have been obvious to anyone that these weren’t real animal foot—
“Hello.” A tiny creature popped its head up through the sand. “I’m Joey.” He climbed out of the sandpit, and shook some of the sand from his long fur.
“What are you?”
“I’m a sand sloth.”
The small creature had long, unkempt fur, which was still matted with sand. On the end of his short stubby legs were square-shaped paws.
“What are you doing here?”
“I have nowhere else to go. I used to live with my brother, Wally, but he’s got himself a girlfriend now, and he’s kicked me out. I
spent all day looking for another sandpit until I found yours. Can I stay here, please?”
“I—err—can’t you go to the seaside? There’s a lot of sand there.”
“The salt from the sea is poisonous to us. That’s why we live in sandpits. I won’t be any trouble, I promise. You won’t even know I’m here.”
“My neighbour has already seen your footprints.”
“Sorry. I promise I’ll cover them up in future.”
“What about when my niece and her friends come over?”
“If you let me know when they’re coming, I’ll make myself scarce until they’ve gone.”
“What about—err—I mean—will there be any mess?”
“Oh goodness, no. Sand sloths don’t need to—we don’t have to—you know.”
“How can that possibly be? No, wait, don’t tell me. I don’t need to know.”
“So? Can I stay? I don’t know where I’ll go if you turn me away.”
“Okay. We’ll see how it goes, but if you cause any problems, you’ll have to leave.”
“Thank you so much.” He jumped back into the sandpit, and disappeared under the sand.
When I walked into the house, I heard noises coming from the kitchen.
“Hello?”
“Hi.” Jack poked his head around the door.
“I didn’t hear your car. I thought we had burglars.”
“No. Only me. I’ve just come in.”
“I was around the back. I was—err—”
“Talking to the sandpit? Yes, I saw you. What is it with you and that sandpit? You’ve been acting weird ever since we had it installed.”
“Don’t be silly. I was just—err—talking to the plants. It helps with their growth.”
Chapter 16
The next morning, before I set off for work, I did a quick check of the sandpit. There were no footprints—square or otherwise—to be seen. Joey seemed to be as good as his word.
Jules and Lules were in the office. Lules looked particularly pleased with herself.
“I won, Jill. I won Miss Bottle Top!”
“That’s great. Well done, you.”
“I couldn’t have done it without Norman’s help. I answered every question correctly. The other contestants knew next to nothing about bottle tops.”
