Killer Witch in Westerham

by Dionne Lister

  “Okay, bye.”

  “Bye.”

  At least that hadn’t been as bad as I’d thought it was going to be. Interesting to know Will was so angry that he’d ranted to James. Which meant his anger at me was 100 percent real—it wasn’t an act to fool Dana’s associate.

  I downed the last of my coffee. Time to get going. I pulled into traffic and noticed a small white car down the street pull out at the same time. There was something familiar about it. Hmm, was that paranoia talking after my phone call with James? I mean, of course a small white car looked familiar—there were thousands of them on the road. I shook my head. Get a grip, Lily.

  As I made my way out of the town under Siri’s guidance, I continually checked my rear-view mirror. The car was still there—three cars back. It was plausible that they’d be going the same way if they were leaving the village too, and this was the main thoroughfare. Ten minutes later, they were still there, four cars behind me. Right. Maybe I would laugh at myself later, but for now, I’d listen to my gut. A left turn I wasn’t supposed to make came up, and at the last possible minute, I slammed on the brakes and indicated, before hurtling around the corner. The car behind me beeped as it passed the street I’d turned into. Yep, sorry. It was a crappy thing for me to have done, but I was sure they’d forgive me if they knew why.

  Fifty metres down the street, I pulled over and waited to see if that car turned too. Yep, there it was. And there it went, passing me without slowing. I didn’t get a great look at the driver—the windows were tinted, and I was pretty sure they had sunglasses and a hat on. I couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman. But now they’d probably know I was onto them. Should I continue to the car park, or should I just go home? Stuff it. I was still going to go. There was plenty of daylight left, and I felt safer in it. Plus, they’d kept driving down the street until I couldn’t see them anymore.

  I turned the car around and made a left back onto the main road. The rest of the trip was incident and stalker free, if, indeed, there had even been a stalker. Eventually, I reached the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The body had been found well into the forested locale, in a car park called Reynards Hill. The narrow road begrudgingly fit two cars. Trees and bushes flanked the bitumen, birds swooping from branch to branch. I would have opened my window to listen to them twittering, but it was too cold.

  The road turned to dirt just as I reached the end of the journey—the car park—which was just a cleared circular area surrounded by forest. I parked the car and waited for a moment, just in case the white car turned up. Thankfully, nothing. Fine. I’d probably imagined the whole thing.

  I turned my camera on and got out, positioning myself at the entry to the parking area. I magicked the crime-scene photo straight to my hand this time—I was the only one here, and I didn’t think the birds would mind. The air smelled of decaying leaves and ozone. I looked up through the leafy canopy. The intermittent clouds of earlier had banded together and darkened, promising rain in the next hour. Visiting the fourth crime scene tonight would totally suck if it was raining, but then again, maybe it would be easier to access. Whoever was guarding it would likely be staying in their car and watching from there, which would mean my no-notice spell would be enough. I’d just have to park a little bit away from the place and walk—I didn’t know if I had the power to cast the spell on a moving vehicle and keep it there while I got out and wandered around cloaked in the same spell.

  Swallowing my need to gag, I compared the photo to the car park. I didn’t think it was possible to ever get used to the brutal images of ripped-off faces and missing hearts, no matter how many times I looked at these. According to the gory picture, the killer had dumped her body right at the end, amongst the trees. I jogged to where dirt met grass and undergrowth. The body had been found a few metres in. After a quick perusal, I hurried back to the road just outside the area and pointed my camera into the car park. “Show me the killer arriving with the body.”

  My breath caught in my throat, and I had a coughing fit. Oh my God, this was it. Yes, it was night-time and dark, but not as dark as when I’d been at the church. It was a white car, but larger than the one that’d followed me. I got closer to the back of it and took photos. It was a Skoda, and I couldn’t believe my luck, but the number plate was visible… only just, but, hey, I’d take anything I could get. Even a partial number plate would be valuable.

  GO08 PMS. I focussed in close and snapped. Then I went around to the front of the car and took more photos. It was too dark to see much detail about who was inside, but their silhouette was a little clearer than at the church. I placed myself a couple of metres from where her body had been dumped and said, “Show me the killer.”

  The killer stood over the body, hands on hips. The person was dressed in black and wore a balaclava again. When I went around to the front, I couldn’t tell much more. I took some photos anyway, with the car in the background, and then lowered my camera. I had no desire to get a closer look at the body, and it wasn’t as if I was going to find any evidence the police hadn’t.

  Uneasiness tightened the air. Whether it was my imagination or something was wrong, it was clearly time to leave. I took one last look at the place, letting the gravity of past events sink deep into my bones, then jumped back in the car, and headed home.

  The house was empty when I arrived. Weary from all the driving, arguments, and circling thoughts, and cold from, well, English weather, I spent time defrosting in a hot shower. When I was done, I called Liv again. Bloody message bank. I sighed and left another message. “Hey, Liv. If you can get info on a number plate, I’d really appreciate it. It’s gee oh zero eight pee em ess. Oh, ha ha, PMS. Anyway, I’ll give you a year’s supply of your favourite tea if you’ll help me with this. Bye.” What were the chances she was really busy rather than avoiding my calls? The possibility stung, but I still had so much work to do. Every extra minute I took to solve this was an extra minute poor Jeremy was in jail.

  The paperwork in my room beckoned. I sifted through some of it, hoping for clarity, but I had to admit it drew a strong case against the actor. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was motive. I shook my head. He wasn’t a psycho, so he’d need a pretty good motive to kill and mutilate someone—not that there could ever be any motive for mutilation—and it just wasn’t here. Killing these women gave him nothing—not freedom, not money, not fame, since he was already famous, and probably not pleasure. Could he be someone who got their rocks off by killing someone? And where did getting your rocks off come from anyway? There were no rocks involved in a normal person’s love life, and I couldn’t see how you’d want there to be. Me and my stupid tangents. Anyway….

  My phone rang, and I jumped. Talk about highly strung. The number was familiar. Oh, the prison section of the PIB. “Hello, Lily speaking.”

  “Hi, Lily. It’s me, Jeremy. They’re letting me have a phone call. I wanted to know if you could come see me.” He sounded hesitant, so unsure of himself—this was not the confident guy I’d met only a few days ago. If his jail experience had been anything like mine, I could understand why.

  “Of course. I can update you on the stuff I found today. Should I come now?”

  “Yes, please.” He heavy sighed. “I’ll see you soon… and thanks.”

  “See you soon, and it’s my pleasure. Hang in there, Jay.”

  Within a few seconds, I was buzzing the PIB reception-room door. Looked like Gus’s shift was over because another taller, leaner guy answered it. He was probably about ten years younger than Gus too, with a shaved head and dark goatee. He stood at the door, blocking my way. “Name and reason for your visit.”

  “Lily Bianchi. I’m here to see Jeremy Frazer, one of the people in your cells.”

  “Place your hand here, please.” He held up a thing that looked like an iPad, but it was all white. I put my palm on the device and warmth crept through it, stopping at my wrist. He pulled it away and writing popped up on the screen. “Oka
y. I’ll take you down there.”

  “Ah, what was that?”

  “Part of our new security procedure. It checks your magic signature against our database. Just confirming who you are, miss.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  He took me down corridors and lifts, another checkpoint, and then to the interview room I’d seen Jeremy at earlier. He didn’t look any worse since yesterday, but certainly not better, except for the smile that materialised as soon as I walked through the door. “Lily, boy am I glad to see you.”

  “Are they treating you okay?” That sounded like a line from a movie, and I giggled.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I just feel like we’re spouting movie lines. Stupid of me to laugh. I know how shitty it is in here. Sorry.”

  “No, not at all, and you make a fair point. If only it was a movie. So, what exciting facts have you found that are going to clear my name?” His blue-eyed puppy-dog gaze melted my heart. If only I had good news to share. He must have seen the look on my face because some of his hope died.

  I bit my lip. I could try and soften the blow, or I could just get it out there. Meh, who was I kidding? I was the Band-Aid ripper offer. “I visited a couple of the places the bodies were found. I didn’t get much at the first site because it was—” I stopped and blinked. Oops, almost gave my talent away. Proceed with caution, idiot. “Ah, there wasn’t much to see, really. The second site was locked up. The body was found on a chessboard at Groombridge Place.” He gasped, and his face paled. “Are you okay?” It wasn’t as if he didn’t know, was it?

  He dropped his head, eyes closed. “I’ll be okay.”

  “But didn’t you know? I mean, at the time they found her, you were here. Surely the police told you they found your girlfriend’s body at Groombridge.”

  He slowly raised his head. Tears glistened in his eyes. “I knew that, but not about the chessboard. It was our favourite thing to do. We’d been there twice. We joked we’d get married on it.” He wiped his tears away with the palms of handcuffed hands. “We were in love, Lily. I never would have killed her. She was going to come to America with me, be my assistant. I’d earned enough that I had money to support both of us for a year or two, and I had offers coming in for TV shows and movies. Losing her broke my heart so bad that I haven’t been in love since. I still have nightmares about it.” He shook his head and just looked at me, sadness seeping from every pore.

  Gah. I wanted to give him a hug, but that might be weird, so I didn’t, but seeing him so devastated just proved to me that he was innocent. “I can’t imagine how horrific it is to be in here and blamed for her death. But hang in there. I found some evidence at the forest car park, where they found the woman they couldn’t identify. How did they nail this on you?”

  “After charging me with Trudie’s death, they obviously saw similarities with all of them. They could tie me to the make-up artist and Amanda, but the other woman was because of the condition of the body.” He swallowed and shut his eyes momentarily.

  “Yeah, those pictures are shocking.”

  He nodded and opened his eyes. “They showed them to me. Bastards.” A tear spilled over onto one cheek. “I vomited when I saw the picture of Amanda. The way she died. It’s just wrong, and I failed her.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “But I should be able to protect the woman I love, don’t you think? What a bloody failure I was. Maybe I deserve to be in here.”

  “Don’t give up now, Jeremy. You were happy enough when I met you. And if Amanda loved you, she wouldn’t blame you or want you to forfeit a happy life because of it. I’m sorry to ask again, but was there any other reason they linked you to that stranger’s body?”

  He sniffed and wiped his eyes again. “She was a fan, apparently. I didn’t remember seeing her, but I’d had an event, and she was photographed in the crowd. They found a signed photo of me in her pocket. I’d signed it, with love, Jeremy. I don’t even remember signing it, but it’s my writing, my signature. But, you know, at these events, I can sign a couple of hundred photos, posters, whatever. Every face blurs into one after a while. I can’t say that I didn’t sign it. But even if I had, how does that mean I killed her?”

  “They just wanted a link to tie you to all three, and that note provides it. So, the number plate I found out about—are you sure it won’t be yours?”

  “I didn’t have a car at that time. I sold it because I was about to go to the US.” Well, that was promising. “But how did you find a number plate, Lily?”

  “Um, that’s classified information. I’m sorry I can’t tell you. But you can’t tell anyone yet either.” Shit, how had I not seen that coming. My IQ was dropping by the day. Idiot. “If it leads to something, the PIB will have to drop your case, so just bear with me. Please don’t tell your mother or that buffoon you have representing you.”

  “But if it gets to court, can we?”

  “Ah, I’m not sure. If it gets to court, it won’t make any difference. If I find out who owned that car, I’m pretty sure I can find out who the killer is. But in the meantime, I’m going to check out Trudie’s crime scene tonight. I’ll let you know tomorrow if I find anything. Okay?”

  He gave a sad smile. “Thank you.” He barked a quick laugh. “I know I keep saying it, but honestly, you’re the only person who believes in me. My own mother’s been hinting I need to get used to the idea of being in here. She said it doesn’t look good, and I shouldn’t get my hopes up.” He rolled his eyes.

  “Wow, way to support you. I know she’s your mum, but what a bitch. I’m sorry you didn’t get a mother you deserved.”

  A knock sounded on the door. I swivelled around. The red-haired woman who’d been guarding the door when I arrived poked her head in. “Visiting time’s up, miss. Let’s go.”

  I turned back to Jeremy. A flash of panic glinted from his eyes before he got hold of himself and calmly stood. He tilted his head to the side and gave me such an earnest grateful-yet-sorrowful look that my heart felt as if it had just freefallen down a mountain. I was about to leave him to a scary, lonely night in jail, thoughts of his beloved deceased girlfriend roaming the darkened hallways of his memories.

  I hurried over to him and gave him a bear hug. I felt way more comfortable with him than I should. Were we becoming friends? “Hang in there, Jay. I’ll keep going till I get to the bottom of this. I promise.”

  “Thanks, Lily. I wish I could hug you back, but handcuffs.”

  “Yeah, I know. I hope you don’t mind. I just thought you could use one.”

  “You thought right. This is the nicest hug I’ve ever had. I don’t think I’ve ever needed one more. You’re an amazing woman.” He pressed his cheek against the side of my head for emphasis, I supposed.

  “I said, let’s go!”

  “Yikes. I’d better leave before they arrest me too.”

  I pulled back, and he smiled. “Maybe you could keep me company.” He winked, more of the Jeremy I’d met before this whole crap went down. I returned his smile and went to the door… which contained a scowling, arms-folded cranky-pants agent.

  “What the hell are you doing? Fraternising with the inmates? Are you dating him now? I should have known you’d be seduced by fame. What, an agent isn’t good enough for you anymore?”

  “What the hell? We aren’t even dating, and for your information, he’s innocent. He’s about to be put back in a cell and be miserable all night because he’s still grieving his girlfriend after all these years, but because I show him a small kindness, I’m suddenly dating him? Look, Will, I get why we had to break-up, and I’m trying to deal with it the best I can, but I’m not ready to move on with anyone.” I hoped he’d get through his thick skull what I was trying to say without saying, we’re still together really, and as if I’d forget that. He winced. Good.

  “Right, well, watch it. You’re risking the PIB’s reputation right now. I can’t imagine James is too happy.”

  “No, he’s not, bu
t at least he’s keeping his mind open to what I’m doing and not accusing me of anything.” I folded my arms and raised one brow.

  He took his scowl up a level. If he dialled it up any further, he’d probably explode. He narrowed his eyes and pointed at me. “Just know I’m watching you, Lily. If you get into trouble, don’t expect the PIB to bail you out. You’re walking a fine line taking up with a murderer.”

  “He hasn’t been convicted, last time I checked.” I slammed my hands on my hips and bit my tongue to stop tears of frustration and insecurity from forming. Why was Will taking this so far? Whatever we were doing to fool Dana didn’t need this drama too. As I’d surmised earlier that day, it seemed as if he was genuinely angry.

  Someone bumped into my elbow. Ah, crap—Jeremy had heard Will’s insults. The guard was leading Jeremy past me. He’d knocked into me on purpose as they walked down the corridor. He looked back and gave me a wan smile. He knew I had his back, but he didn’t know how much it was costing me.

  And to be honest, neither did I.

  Chapter 14

  I hadn’t wanted to hear any more from Will—a girl could only take so much—so I’d made a doorway and skedaddled straight out of the PIB. It was dark by the time I got home, so I lit the fire in the lounge room and magicked myself some pumpkin soup for dinner. Angelica had bought a crusty loaf of bread yesterday, and I cut a generous chunk of that too. And politeness be damned—I ate it sitting in an armchair in front of the fire. It had been such a crappy day, and I was done caring about the people who were angry with me. I felt like my only friend was an actor I hardly knew who was stuck in jail for potentially being a serial killer. Was this really me living my best life? Epic fail.

  After dinner, I magicked my spoon and bowl clean and into the cupboard—God, I loved being a witch when it came to housework—and then magicked my black clothes back on. This time I included a beanie because it was about five degrees out there and raining. Brrr. Not something to look forward to, but sometimes you had to pull up your big girl pants and get on with it.