by Adele Abbott
“There was actually more to that than you realise.”
“Oh?”
“You must promise never to tell the twins.”
“I promise. What happened?”
“On the day the judges were due to call, I was put in charge of keeping a lookout for them.”
“So the twins told me. They said you were a liability behind the counter.”
“We’ll skip over that. Anyway, I was sure that I’d spotted the judges. They were wearing suits, and certainly looked the part—very professional. When they arrived, there were no free tables, so I had to act quickly. There was a young couple who’d been nursing milk shakes for about half an hour, so I cleared them out to make way for the judges.”
“That makes sense. So what went wrong?”
“The people I thought were the judges actually weren’t the judges.”
“Oh dear.”
“It gets worse.”
“How?”
“It turns out the people I kicked off the table, and practically threw out of the shop, were actually the judges.”
“Oh dear.” Aunt Lucy burst out laughing. “That is rather tragic.”
“You must never tell the twins. They’ll kill me.”
“I won’t. But whenever I’m feeling a bit down, I shall remember this. It’s bound to cheer me up a treat.”
When it was time to go, Barry came rushing downstairs.
“Where’s Beth? I can’t see Beth. I’ve been looking for her for ages, but I can’t see her. Where’s Beth?”
Aunt Lucy frowned, and I could tell something was wrong.
“I’m sorry, Barry,” she said. “I should’ve mentioned it earlier. It turns out that Beth was only visiting our neighbours. I thought she was their new dog, but in fact they were just looking after her for someone.”
“Where’s Beth? I want to see Beth.” Barry obviously hadn’t got the message.
“I’m afraid Beth’s gone back home now,” Aunt Lucy said.
“Where?”
“She lives on the other side of Candlefield. It’s a very long way away.”
“When will she be coming back?”
“I don’t think she will.”
Barry’s tail stopped wagging, and he slumped down onto the floor.
“It’s okay, Barry,” I said. “You’ll meet plenty of other lady dogs. You’ll soon find a girlfriend.”
“No I won’t.” Barry sighed. “I love Beth, but now she’s gone. I’ll never have a girlfriend; I’ll always be alone.”
I knew the feeling.
“I’ve got some Barkies for you.”
“I love Barkies!”
“Come on then. Let’s walk back to Cuppy C. You can have some Barkies on the way.”
If only Barkies could solve all my problems so easily.
***
The policemen’s ball was being held in the Military Rooms, which was close to Washbridge Hospital. Given my cunning plan, their proximity to one another had worked out quite nicely. When I arrived at the ballroom, it was already very busy. I’d arranged to meet Jack inside, and I soon spotted him on the far side of the room.
“What’s wrong, Jill?” he said when he saw me hobbling towards him. “What’s happened?”
“I’m so sorry, Jack.” I pointed to the plaster cast on my foot. “I was so looking forward to this evening, but then this afternoon, when I was crossing the road, a bus ran over my toe.”
“That’s terrible! Are you okay?”
“Yes. Just a broken big toe. But I feel like I’ve let you down.”
“Don’t give it a second thought. It’s far more important that you’re okay.” He glanced down at my foot. “I’m surprised you managed to get here at all. The plaster looks like it’s still wet.”
“I think the doctor said something about it being slow drying.”
I’d used magic to convince a doctor to put a plaster cast on my foot. It had taken longer than I’d expected, so it still hadn’t properly set when I arrived at the ballroom.
Jack told the judges that he wouldn’t be able to compete because his partner was injured. He and I drank and chatted as we watched the competition.
“I saw in the Bugle that Ben has been charged with the colonel’s murder.”
“Yes, but it was touch and go for a while.”
“How do you mean? He confessed.”
“He may have done, but that recording of yours was inadmissible. It looked for a while as though we would have to try and build a case purely on circumstantial evidence, but then we got a breakthrough.”
“What was that?”
“We knew from what you had discovered that Ben had managed to sneak the firing mechanism out of the toy room. We just had to find it. After my people had watched hundreds of hours of CCTV coverage, we finally caught a break. A camera picked him up going to the municipal dump on the same day as the colonel was murdered. It took an army of men, but we eventually found the firing mechanism which had Ben’s fingerprints and DNA all over it. We also found the key, which the colonel had supposedly lost, in Ben’s flat. He wasn’t half as clever as he thought he was. He might be a brilliant engineer, but his understanding of modern forensics is sorely lacking. He assumed that by planting the crossbow, he would automatically implicate Peter.”
“He did. Enough for you to arrest Peter, anyway.”
“That was just a formality. It didn’t take us long to clear him once forensics had ruled out the crossbow as the murder weapon. We would have tied it all in with Ben eventually; you just hurried up the process.”
“Wow? Are you actually admitting I helped?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. I’d still prefer it if you left us to do our job. But I can’t deny that by working out that the jack-in-the-box had been used, you did speed things along.”
“Do I get a medal?”
He grinned. “Certainly not for ballroom dancing. Not today, anyway. Maybe next time.”
“There’ll be a next time?”
“Of course. They hold these competitions on a regular basis, so you won’t miss out.”
“Good to know.”
It was turning out to be quite a pleasant evening. Until—
“Jill, Jack. We’ve been looking for you.”
“Kathy? Peter? What are you doing here?”
“Pete has a friend in the force. He managed to get us a couple of tickets. I didn’t want to miss my sister, the expert ballroom dancer.”
She obviously hadn’t noticed the cast on my foot yet.
“We’ve had to pull out, I’m afraid,” Jack said.
“Really? Why?”
“Because of Jill’s broken toe.”
Kathy glanced down at my foot, and then gave me a look. She knew it was a con. A smirk slowly crossed her lips.
“How horrible. How on earth did you do that, Jill?”
“I was crossing the road and a bus ran over my toe.”
“A bus? How unlucky. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m all right now.”
“And you were so looking forward to this competition, weren’t you?”
“I was—yes.”
“She really is quite the expert ballroom dancer, Jack,” Kathy said.
“So she told me.”
“She’s won a ton of medals. In fact, she’s still got them, haven’t you, Jill?”
“Really?” Jack looked intrigued.
“You must get her to show them to you. She can talk you through how she won each of them.”
“I’d like that,” Jack said.
“Thanks, Kathy.” I glared at her.
“No problem. That’s what sisters are for. I hope your toe gets better soon. I’ve a feeling it will.”
Chapter 20
I was intrigued by the industrial espionage case. When I’d first been approached, I hadn’t been sure whether I should take it or not. I didn’t generally do commercial cases, and I was more accustomed to dealing with individuals than large corporations. It was als
o unusual to be contacted via a middleman. The whole thing seemed very cloak-and-dagger, but I guessed industrial espionage was a bit cloak-and-dagger.
The other thing that had surprised me was that they’d been willing to wait for me after I’d dropped out the first time. I’d assumed that they would hire someone else to take the case. I should have been flattered, I guess.
Blake Devon had explained that the CEO didn’t want to meet at their head office because the matter was very delicate, and the person responsible for the industrial espionage was probably based there. Instead, the meeting had been arranged at what was described as one of the company’s satellite offices, which was just outside Washbridge city centre. I’d arrived a few minutes early to allow myself time to take a look around, but as it turned out, there wasn’t much to see. The building itself was quite anonymous.
I’d been told to report to an office on the top floor where I found a small reception area with a single desk, a sofa, and pretty much nothing else. The young woman behind the desk greeted me with a smile.
“Morning. How can I help you?”
“Morning. I’m Jill Gooder. I’m here to see Mr Truelove.”
“Oh yes, he’s expecting you. Would you take a seat please? I’ll let him know you’re here.” She pointed to the sofa.
Normally, I would have done some research on James Truelove before the appointment, but with the upset of the colonel’s murder, I’d never actually got around to it. I knew absolutely nothing about the man or his company. Not the best way to prepare for a meeting.
The receptionist made a call. “Miss Gooder is in reception. Yes, Sir.”
“Mr Truelove is on his way. He’d like you to wait for him in his office. Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?”
“No, I’m okay. Thanks.”
I followed her through to the office, which was also fairly spartan. Certainly not the typical office of a CEO of a major corporation.
The receptionist said I should take the seat next to the desk, and reassured me that Mr Truelove wouldn’t be very long. Then she left me alone in the room.
While I was waiting, I checked the messages on my phone. There was nothing very exciting; just a reminder from Mrs V to get some milk for Winky. The minutes passed, and I began to grow a little restless. It was already ten minutes past our appointment time.
Not being blessed with patience, I decided to go and check with the receptionist to see if she knew how much longer her boss would be. She was nowhere to be seen. What was going on? Something just didn’t feel right. There was no one else on that floor, apart from me. Maybe it was just gut instinct, but something told me I needed to get out of there. And quick.
I hurried back to the lift, and pressed the ‘call’ button. The numbers illuminated as the lift ascended: third floor, fourth floor, fifth floor, sixth floor, seventh floor. Just as the doors opened, there was an almighty explosion behind me. The blast propelled me forward into the lift. I hit the back wall with a thud, and then everything went black.
***
“No! No! Let me out of here.”
I was on a large conveyor belt in some kind of factory. In front of me I could see a mechanical arm picking up custard cream biscuits, and putting them into packets. I was getting closer and closer to it.
“No! I’m not a custard cream. No!”
I was trying to get off the conveyor belt, but my arms and legs just wouldn’t respond. Any second now, the mechanical arm would pick me up and put me in a packet of custard creams. “No! No!”
“Her eyes are open,” someone said. “Jill, can you hear me?”
The room was white, and so bright it hurt my eyes. There were two figures standing beside me. At least I wasn’t inside a packet of custard creams.
“Jill, are you okay?”
“Kathy?” My lips felt as though they were stuck together.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re awake.”
I was slowly getting my vision back, and I realised I was in a hospital room. Peter was standing next to Kathy.
“What happened?” I croaked.
“There was an explosion.” Kathy took my hand.
“You’re lucky to be alive,” Peter said. “According to the police, if you hadn’t been thrown into the lift, and the lift doors hadn’t closed when they did, you would have been a goner. The whole of the top floor of the building was destroyed. Some kind of gas explosion, they think.”
It was slowly coming back to me: The meeting with the CEO, the receptionist, waiting in the office, no one turning up. And then I’d gone to look for her, but there’d been no one there. I remembered thinking that something wasn’t right, so I’d headed to the lift. Lucky for me that I did. If I’d waited in the office another few seconds, I would probably have been killed. That was no gas explosion. Someone had tried to kill me, and I had a pretty good idea who. It must have been TDO. But how was I meant to explain that to Kathy and Peter?
“What were you doing there, Jill?” Kathy said.
“I was on a case. I was supposed to be meeting someone on the top floor.”
“Who? The police said that there hasn’t been anybody in that building for ages.”
“Maybe I got the wrong address. You say the police are treating it as a gas explosion?”
“For now, yes.”
TDO was clever, he would have left no trace. I had to talk to Daze about this.
“I have to get out of here.” I tried to sit up.
“Oh no you don’t.” Kathy held me down. “The doctor says you haven’t sustained any serious injuries, but you need to stay in hospital overnight because you lost consciousness.”
There was no point in arguing with her, and anyway, I did still feel rather groggy. One night in hospital, and a good night’s sleep couldn’t do any harm. Then I’d be on the trail of TDO. If he thought he could do this, and get away with it, he was mistaken.
I don’t remember Kathy and Peter leaving, but the next thing I knew I was alone in the room. The whole experience had knocked me for six. Perhaps it was better just to sleep.
When I woke again, I was aware of people in the room. Had Kathy come back? Had she brought the kids? Or was it the doctor? I opened my eyes, and it took me a moment to focus. There were three figures. It wasn’t Kathy, it wasn’t Peter, and it certainly wasn’t the hospital staff.
“Hello, Jill,” Ma Chivers said. “I’m pleased to see that you’re all right. We were very worried about you, weren’t we?” Alicia was standing beside her, stony-faced. Next to her was Cyril who was on crutches.
“What do you want?” I managed.
“We just popped in to check how you are.”
“Get out of here!”
“We brought you some flowers.” She pointed to a small bouquet on the table next to the bed.
“Go away! Leave me alone!”
The three of them left the room without another word. I glanced at the flowers and noticed a small card. It read: Next time you won’t be so lucky.
***
“Miss Gooder, what do you think you’re doing?” the nurse said, looking rather concerned.
“I’m discharging myself.”
“The doctor said you had to stay in overnight. Please get back into bed.”
I was almost dressed. There was no way I was staying there after the visit from Ma Chivers and her entourage. I was a sitting duck. TDO must have been behind the explosion, and I wasn’t going to wait around for him to finish the job.
“Miss Gooder, please.”
“Give me the forms and I’ll sign them. I’ll take full responsibility. I’m leaving now.”
Once she realised I wasn’t going to change my mind, the nurse provided me with the necessary forms, which I quickly signed. Once outside, I hailed a cab.
“Daze?”
“Jump in, Jill.”
Daze never ceased to amaze me. The woman had a different job every time I saw her. Now, she was a taxi driver, apparently.
“Are you okay?” she said,
as we drove away from the hospital.
“Yeah, I think so. A bit shaken, that’s all.”
“You were lucky from what I hear.”
“Very lucky. If I hadn’t left the office when I did, I’d have been a goner. Do you think it was TDO?”
“More than likely.”
“I had some interesting visitors just now.”
“Who?”
“Ma Chivers, Alicia and Cyril.”
“That’s no coincidence.”
“I know.”
“Look, I know you’re not going to like me suggesting this, Jill—” Daze overtook a bus, barely missing a car coming from the other direction.
“Daze, be careful. I don’t want to get wiped out in this cab after I’ve just escaped an explosion.”
“Relax, I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you have a license?”
“I have a Rogue Retriever license.”
“What about a driver’s license?”
“I have one back in Candlefield. Just not in the human world.”
“Keep your eyes on the road.”
“Like I said, you’re not going to like this suggestion.”
“Go on.”
“I think you should move to Candlefield for a while. You’ll be safer there. People can keep an eye on you.”
“Not happening.”
“But, Jill, you can’t—”
“Daze, I’m not going to be chased out of my home by this faceless coward.”
“I might have guessed I’d be wasting my breath. Anyway, I hear on the grapevine that there’s another group of sups who are targeting TDO.”
“Who’s that?”
“I don’t know anything about them. Only their name. Apparently they call themselves The Coven. Maybe we should see if we can join forces?”
“I wouldn’t bother.”
“You can’t go it alone, Jill.”
“Trust me, The Coven aren’t going to help unless you figure on choreographing TDO to death.”
“What are you on about?”
“The Coven came to see me. In fact, they wanted to recruit me to be the ‘The’.”
By now, Daze looked completely confused, and who could blame her. It took the rest of the journey for me to explain who The Coven were, and why I didn’t think TDO had much to fear from them.
