by T. H. Hunter
“I still don’t understand why she changed her mind,” Val said, a look of bewilderment on her face.
“I think Mrs. Pomeroy, unlike her husband, always had had a soft spot for her older son,” I said. “Perhaps she thought that he had been unfairly treated by his father. Or maybe she thought that he had been punished enough. We will likely never know exactly. In any case, the fact that Matthew had been the original beneficiary in her will shows that she hadn’t intended Archibald to inherit both the spa and her magical powers. After she quarrelled with Matthew, however, she decided to also give the magical powers to Archibald.”
“I’m not surprised,” said Val, “he did look a bit unhinged to me.
“Dangerous fellow to inherit magic,” Barry murmured, yawning.
“But how did that fit in with Jameson’s plans?” asked Val, taking another scone from the plate in front of her.
“I don’t think it affected his plan at all,” I said, frowning. “As the third son, unnamed on any will, he would be last in line in any event. After the murder of his own mother, he had to remove both of his half-brothers to make sure that he would be the next – and only person – in line.”
“Awful business,” said Barry drowsily.
“It’s crazy what some people would do to get magic powers,” said Val thoughtfully.
“Yes, it was horrible,” I said. “But he will be brought to justice, I’m sure.”
There was a pause.
“Have you read any of these letters, Amy?” said Val, trying to change the topic to something more cheerful. “The ones that came while we were away, I mean.”
“No, why?” I said, with a nasty sense of foreboding.
“I think there’s one from Alec,” she said, a peevish grin on her face.
Alec Lavalle was a P.I. who had helped us on our first case.
“Really?” I said eagerly. “Let me see.”
She filed through the stack of letters next to her and handed one to me.
I tore it open and scanned the contents hastily.
“Oh no,” I said.
“What’s wrong?” said Val.
“The MLE is in serious trouble,” I said. “Understaffed as usual. Alec wants our help in a new case he’s on.”
“Really?” said Val with interest. “What kind of case?”
“It’s a reconnaissance mission to a manor house up north,” I said, browsing the details again. “The MLE won’t lend him any more agents, but he’s sure he’s on to something. He’s asking us whether we’d be willing to go there undercover.”
“No, no, no,” said Barry, suddenly wide awake, “no more so-called ‘holidays’ where we get ourselves almost killed again! I won’t have it.”
“But this might be important,” I said, frowning. “It’s not like Alec to ask for help.”
“But think of my hypertension,” said Barry. “The vet said to reduce stress at all costs. My eyesight has only just returned.”
“I notice that’s the first time you’re quoting the vet in your defence,” I said, grinning. “But don’t worry, Alec has you covered.”
“What do you mean?” Barry asked suspiciously.
I handed him the letter, pointing to a paragraph at the bottom of the page.
Barry reached for his reading glasses on the table in front of him. He put them on and, squinting slightly, held the paper to the light.
“‘In regard to the mission,’” Barry read aloud, “‘I perfectly understand, of course, if the Earl of Barrington is no longer able to aid us in the investigation, owing to his advanced age and serious health problems, as publicised in the Daily Warlock a few weeks ago.’”
Barry slammed the paper on the table.
“Why this is an outrage,” he said, fuming. “I knew that article in the Daily Warlock was a massive mistake from the very start! ‘Advanced age’, how dare he…”
“But Barry,” Val began tentatively.
“No,” he said, a determined look on his face, “this is the last straw. I’m coming with you. I’ll prove to the magical community that there’s a lot of fight left in the Earl of Barrington yet. They’ll see. I don’t care how dangerous the task is.”
“Don’t worry, Barry,” I said, beaming. “We’ll get you a front page article after the whole thing is over. And this time we’ll know what we’re getting ourselves into. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?”
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Blind Cat’s Holiday. If you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it, you can be the first to know about new releases and bonus content by joining the mailing list (also known as Barry’s fan club – but don’t tell him that).
The fifth book in the Cozy Conundrums series, The Great Catsby, will be available on Amazon soon.
If you’d like to spread the word, reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are a great way of supporting the series. A quick note that you liked it really goes a long way and is deeply appreciated.
I’ll hopefully see you in the next adventure!
Yours truly,
T.H. Hunter
