“How’s my favourite witch? I saw you on TV earlier. Don’t let the fame go to your head.” He smirked.
I grinned. “Ha ha. Watch what you say, or I won’t mention you in my Oscar’s acceptance speech.”
He laughed. “Will said you were there working. What’s the goss? Do you think he did it?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea. He seems nice enough, and he doesn’t give off any kind of serial-killer vibe.”
“Serial killer?” Liv’s eyes widened.
I turned to her. “I heard at Costa this afternoon. Apparently they’re charging him with three other murders.” I turned to James, who was standing behind a chair on the other side of the table. “Isn’t that right, James?”
“News travels fast,” he said, frowning.
“Don’t blame me. It’s your system that leaks, obviously.” I folded my arms, not sure why I was being defensive. Maybe I still hadn’t gotten my head around the whole thing. I mean, how often did one get to know, albeit superficially, a serial killer? It must be shock.
“Hey, Lily!” Imani came towards me, her white teeth bright against her gorgeous dark skin as she grinned.
“Hey, Imani!” We hugged. I hadn’t seen her for a couple of weeks. She was an agent I’d met during the care-home investigation and the latest addition to our snake-hunting team. I’d introduced her to Liv, and we’d made plans to have a girls’ night out, but it hadn’t yet eventuated. This was her first time at one of our meetings, but I was pretty sure she and Liv crossed paths at the PIB.
“Hey, Liv!” Imani gave her a hug too. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and I was still smiling, despite the tension hovering at the corner of my vision.
Will put his arm around me and squeezed. We sat next to each other at the table, and I waved at Angelica, who sat at the head, a couple of chairs to my left. “Hello, dear.” She didn’t smile.
Angelica wasn’t the smiliest of people, but she usually greeted me with slightly more joy than that. “Hi.”
“I’m sure I don’t need to remind you not to talk to anyone about the Frazer case, and that includes the media and his family. You haven’t said anything, have you?”
Sheesh, did she think I was stupid? I sighed. “Of course not. I’m not an idiot.”
“Someone’s snappy tonight. What’s up?” James knew I wasn’t normally cranky, and maybe he was saying something so I didn’t make it worse for myself. Crossing Angelica was never a good thing, not that I’d actually done anything terrible, but I’d only just started digging my hole. Given more time, who knew what I could achieve.
“I don’t know. There’s a lot going on. I’m probably still getting over the weekend. Marcia, the lady I was actually working for, is really nice. She’s Jeremy’s grandmother. I just hate that she’s going through all this. She just turned eighty. And to be honest, Jeremy was really nice. I’m having trouble reconciling the fact that he’s a nice person yet possibly a serial killer.”
“Don’t worry, Lily.” Will put his arm around me and rubbed my arm. “Let us figure it out. Just be honest when you’re called to the witness box, and let the evidence speak for itself. Whatever you have to say is not going to be the deciding factor on whether or not he goes to jail. Okay?”
I nodded. “Mm hmm.”
“Okay, everyone, please take a seat. We need to move this meeting along. I do need to get some sleep before work tomorrow morning.” Angelica’s poker face was on, and her businesslike voice turned her into Ma’am before my eyes. She was always so dry, but her touch of humour didn’t escape me. Blink and you’d miss it. “I’d like to start by welcoming Imani. We’ll get you to swear in now, dear. As you know, your promise is binding.”
Imani nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.”
The golden book appeared in the air in front of her, the room thrumming with power. She placed her hand on it and repeated the words Ma’am asked her to. When they were done, the book disappeared in a flash of light. “Good, now we can continue.” Ma’am went over everything we knew so far. “And that brings us to Lily and Will’s discovery.”
Hmm, Lily and Will. We could start a homewares shop with that name combination. I liked it.
“Why are you smiling, Lily? What’s so funny? Your reaction to this situation is alarming, to be honest. You’ve been acting strangely since you came in.”
My head jerked towards Ma’am. Everyone was staring at me. My cheeks heated, and I felt thirteen again in a room full of judgemental adults. “Sorry, my mind wandered.” Will snorted, so I elbowed him in the ribs. His grunt brought me much satisfaction. “Please continue. I promise not to smile again.” Wow, what a miserable promise to make but, I had to admit, appropriate.
“Thank you. Now, as I was saying, the evidence they uncovered at lunch was enlightening, to say the least. Unfortunately, it’s led to more questions, but it’s filled in a potential link previously unknown to us between the disappearance of Lily’s parents and Regula Pythonissam. That common link being Dana. The role her parents have to play in all this will be clearer by the end of this meeting.”
Liv breathed a quiet, “Oh, wow.” I, on the other hand, was a little more put out.
I looked at Will, my mouth agape. He gave me a quick nod, possibly indicating he knew what the information was. Why hadn’t he told me earlier? It’s not like he hadn’t had time. I shut my mouth and jammed my back teeth together. More secrets between us? I was one unhappy witch. Grrr.
Liv gave me a sympathetic glance, as did Beren. James’s gaze was fixed on the table. Maybe he was gathering his thoughts? I had no idea if he already knew what the information was, but talking about our parents was always difficult for both of us.
Ma’am continued. “So, what we’ve found out is that about a month before your parents went missing, Dana’s mother died. Dana’s father, who worked for us at the time, had a breakdown and left the PIB. He moved away, taking Dana with him. His address was listed as a property in Spain. He wasn’t one of our top agents and didn’t have security clearance on top-secret files, so after initially confirming he lived there, we didn’t keep tabs on him. Recent enquiries reveal he no longer lives there. He still owns the place, but it’s been rented as holiday accommodation for the past nine years.”
So, that meant they’d only lived there for about a year. “Where did they go after that?”
“We can’t find any new addresses. Dana surfaced when she was eighteen, a couple of years after her father quit, and started working for us. Her father may have been floating around, but there are no listed addresses for him for any time between the time he left and now.”
“Do we know how her mother died?” Imani asked.
James and Angelica looked at each other. James answered, “No. All the records we held pertaining to Dana’s father have disappeared, and the mother never worked for us. We had a brief dossier on her, but that’s gone too. There are no medical records confirming what happened, or police reports. All we have is one newspaper clipping found at the local library with the news story of Dana’s family home burning to the ground. The mother, according to the article, was said to have been inside. Bones were recovered by the authorities and confirmed as hers, but by normal human channels, not by the PIB. Her father had the bones cremated and took them with him.”
Oh, could you cremate already burnt remains? I supposed witches could do whatever they wanted if their magic skills were up to it. But what a horrible way to die. That poor woman. “So you don’t know whether her death was an accident or not?”
James shook his head. “No, and we have no way of finding out, except maybe….” He stared at me. Everyone stared at me, well, except Imani—she looked at everyone else, a confused expression on her face.
“Um, does Imani’s oath cover knowing about my talent?” I trusted her, but things could change, and I didn’t know her very well at all. Who was to say we wouldn’t have an argument in the future and she wasn’t the sort of person who would take what revenge she could, just for the fun
of it?
Imani stood and came around to my side of the table. She placed a hand on my shoulder. Power warmed the spot and spread through my body. “I, Imani Jawara, swear that I will not divulge any information about Lily’s talents to anyone who does not already know. If I do, may my magic and talent be given freely and in its entirety to Lily Bianchi, for her to do with as she pleases. I swear to protect Lily with my life as long as I am able.”
Fiery heat scorched my shoulder where her palm rested. We both cried, “Ow!” and then it was done. The pain disappeared, and she slid her hand off. We stared at each other. What the hell had just happened? And why, oh why, had she sworn to protect my life with her own? This was crazy.
Silence lingered, heavier than the aftermath of a politically incorrect joke. Divots marred the space between Ma’am’s brows, and James’s stern expression made him look older than his twenty-eight years. They watched Imani, assessing. I looked up at her, my shoulder itching. “Why?” My befuddled brain only transmitted one word for me, but there wasn’t much else to convey. She was sure to know what I was really asking.
Her sassy, lyrical accent was sober yet unapologetic. “I wasn’t initially going to do that, but when I touched you, it became clear. You’re the one, Lily. I’ve told you that before. Without you, the world as we know it is going to change to a dark and soulless place. I can’t let that happen. Just swearing my allegiance to you has made me feel lighter somehow. It was the right thing to do.” She smiled and nodded. “No regrets.”
“Um, well, thank you. I need time to digest all this, but you’ve earned the right to know my secret talent. I can see the past through my camera. I can also see when someone is going to die.” I swallowed the stupid lump that always preceded my tears. “That’s how I knew something terrible was going to happen at the care home. I knew Beren and Ma’am were going to die. And on Saturday, I took a picture that showed a long-dead body that wasn’t actually there. It turned out to be one of the murdered women Jeremy’s been accused of killing.”
“How do you know that?” James asked.
“Well, I don’t know, know. I figured. I knew three women had been killed in a similar way because I spoke to you about it all. Remember? It can’t be a coincidence that Jeremy’s been charged with three additional murders. And they said the newest body was found with unusual wounds, but they wouldn’t say what. So, yes, I’m making assumptions, but considering I took that photo at the back of his gran’s property, can you blame me? Not to mention, you were trying to link him to those murders ever since I sent you that photo.”
He pressed his lips together but said nothing. Ma’am slapped the table. Everyone jumped, and my heart made a break for the outside. I held my hand over it and pressed down. You’re staying there for now. Don’t get any ideas. It made me think of the dead women with the missing hearts. I shuddered.
Ma’am’s gaze rested on James, then me, the weight of her displeasure palpable. “We’ll discuss this later. We’re not here to talk about a case that you’re no longer involved in, Lily. Now, Imani—” Her attention turned to the agent, and I let out a large breath. The relief was not dissimilar to almost dropping your phone on concrete but catching it at the last moment, or actually dropping it face down and picking it up to find it was unscathed. Time to buy a lottery ticket. Or had my good luck all been used up now?
Ma’am continued. “We’ll discuss what you just did later, in private. For now, get back to your seat.”
Imani met Ma’am’s stare with an unrepentant stare of her own. Well, if I was going to have someone swear to protect me with their life, it may as well be someone who would face anything or anyone, which she clearly would. She was the only person I knew—other than stupid Dana—who wasn’t related to Angelica but who had nerves of titanium and could stand up to her. Even if I or Beren or even James stood up to her—which was super rare—we always softened a bit at the end, apologised, or at least looked sorry. There was nothing apologetic about Imani’s strut or the way she sat back at the table, confidently, back straight but face relaxed. Girl had game.
Ma’am cleared her throat. A glass of water appeared in her hand, and she took a sip, then continued. “Lily, therefore, can go to the property and take some photos. The current owners built a new house about five years ago. They’re not witches. I’m sure a simple no-notice spell will suffice.”
Trespassing wasn’t something I felt great about, but we needed to find more clues. My parents’ disappearance may have had nothing to do with Dana’s mother’s death, but maybe it had everything to do with it. We wouldn’t know till we followed all our leads. “Does the new house sit on the same spot as the old one?”
“Does it matter?” asked Beren.
“Yes. I need to be in a spot where I could have seen something if I’d been there when it was happening. If the new house is there, we’ll have to break in for me to actually see anything. Look, even if I can’t get inside, there’s a chance I’ll still find some clues. Maybe whoever burnt the house down was outside at some point before or during the fire?” Hmm, but if they were witches, they’d normally use the reception room. Damn.
“Can you go tomorrow night?” Angelica asked.
“Ah. Um.” My brain scrambled to keep up. That was unexpected. I didn’t want to sneak around someone’s property. “Are there any times no-notice spells don’t really work?”
Angelica pursed her lips. “Yes, dear. If you make enough noise to attract attention, or if you touch the person. It will be dark. The family who lives there will be inside their house unaware of anything happening outside.”
“Do they have a dog? What if there’s a dog outside. Do those spells work on animals?”
James and Angelica shared a look. What it meant was beyond me, but the fact they had to share a silent message meant that maybe animals were immune. “Well?” I folded my arms.
Ma’am composed her poker face. “Yes, dear. Animals are immune to the spell.” At least James had the decency to look guilty.
“Well, thanks. You could have at least warned me. I mean, shouldn’t we have a plan to deal with the dog?”
“Stop fussing, dear. You’re jumping to conclusions. You don’t even know if they have a dog.”
“Do you know? I mean, don’t you check out everything before sending your agents into the field?” Will touched my arm, jammed his way between my folded arms, and pried them apart to hold my hand. Okay, so maybe I needed calming down. I didn’t normally get so worked up, and I didn’t know why I was, but could anyone really blame me?
“Lily.” A warning note rang in James’s tone. “Yes, there is a dog, okay. But Beren will be with you, and he will put him to sleep.”
My eyes widened. “You’re going to kill the dog?! You can’t. That poor dog. What’s wrong with you PIB people?”
James’s brow wrinkled; then he laughed. “You idiot, Lily. He’ll put him to sleep, as in, sleep for an hour and wake up again. Do you even know me, your own brother? You know I’d never condone something like that, let alone speak so calmly about it. What’s gotten into you?”
“I don’t know. Sorry. I’ve been on edge the past few days. I’ll simmer down now.” I relaxed my jaw, and Will squeezed my hand, then caressed it with his thumb. Warm comfort seeped into me. I gave him a small smile, grateful for his support. Being this stressed was tiring. Why was I feeling like this? I needed to get a grip. I much preferred myself easygoing and happy.
Angelica took another sip of water and disappeared the glass with a wave. “Now we have that sorted, I’ll confirm that you and Beren will meet at my place tomorrow at 9:00 pm. You can travel from there to a one-use spot across the road amidst the trees that Beren will set during the day tomorrow. If there are any issues with the dog, or otherwise, I want you to just pop out of there straight away, and it won’t do to have one of our cars somewhere it can be seen.” I didn’t know much about one-use spots. Normally we witches could only travel to a properly designated spot we knew the coordin
ates for. Of course, they were private spots—like a toilet cubicle—so that we were never spied by an unsuspecting human.
“One-use spots sound so convenient. Why don’t we use them more?” Well, if I didn’t ask, I would never find out. Ma’am was supposed to be my witch mentor, but she was always short on time and hardly ever volunteered information. I had to work for everything.
“One-use spots are fickle, dear. If you set one to use later and another witch happens to go somewhere nearby, they might end up in your spot, and when you need to use it, it won’t be there. Or, you could accidentally end up being sucked into someone else’s nearby spot. And of course, there is always the risk someone will see you. We don’t encourage using them. Permanently set ones are much more reliable and safer.”
“Oh. Okay.” I should look into what made them less stable. Sounded like an accuracy problem and a discoverability thing. What if you could make it so it would reject anyone who wasn’t you? Hmm, something to think about… like I needed more crap to occupy my brain. Being me was tiring.
Ma’am nodded at James. “Please report on the two agents we’ve been watching.”
James gave a nod. “Yes, Ma’am. Agents Price and Bard.” James flicked his hand, and two sheets of A4 paper appeared in front of each person. Each sheet had a photo of one agent and basic information: height, age, weight, address, witch talent, years working for the PIB. Agent Price was twenty-eight, dusky brown skin, shaved head, huge muscles, and six foot tall. Agent Bard was thirty, pale-skinned, and thin with lanky arms and legs for his five-foot-eleven frame, which wasn’t the usual build. Agents normally worked out a lot and had some kind of muscled bod happening, but since lots of what they did was with magic, they probably didn’t need to be super fit. Maybe some of them just wanted to look more intimidating, but then again, some criminals and situations were violent and were more easily handled by strong guys.
James continued. “They only became Facebook friends two years ago. Prior to that, they don’t appear to have had contact with each other outside the PIB, and they rarely work together. In fact, they’ve only partnered up on a case once since Price joined us five years ago. Observing them at work, they stay away from each other and only give a brief nod when passing each other in the cafeteria or hallways. On Facebook, they chat all the time, comment on each other’s posts, and there’s a couple of pictures showing them out together.”
Killer Witch in Westerham Page 9
