“How would I find out more information about her involvement with them?” I said.
“You should talk to Isla. She had a knack for knowing exactly what Nerita was up to. I think she often followed Nerita as she went about her duties. Cassia, be careful. Ambitious merpeople can be ruthless.”
Chapter 11
We stayed with King Taron a while longer as he wanted to talk about Mum and the adventures they’d been on together. I was more than happy to listen to him and my knowledge of Mum grew even more. It made me feel warm and happy inside. I knew that I hadn’t been ready to talk about her before, but now I wanted to know everything I could about her.
Before we left, I did my best to reassure King Taron that I’d find the creature responsible for Nerita’s death.
He gave me a sad smile and said, “I know you will, Cassia, I know you will.”
When we returned to the beach, I used magic to dry myself. I didn’t want to blow my own trumpet, but I was pleased with how well it worked and I was completely dry within a minute. I reckoned that if I used my powers after a shower at home, I could do away with towels altogether.
Jeremy attempted to use his magic to dry himself but somehow ended up giving himself an electric shock. With his permission, I directed my hot air hands at him.
We headed over to the café and found Stanley fast asleep on a cushion behind the counter. Gia told us he’d fallen asleep soon after she’d fed him. I quickly told Gia about our talk with King Taron.
Gia looked around the café before taking us to one side. She said, “I wasn’t sure whether to tell you this earlier, but I think it could be relevant to your investigation. Isla has been engaged to other mermen from different communities. From what I’ve heard, she goes for those mermen in a position of power in the hope of sharing that power.”
“What happened to the other engagements?” I asked.
“The merman broke it off with her. Apparently, they got fed up of her controlling ways and her lust for power. She’s been engaged to Conway for three months now, and he seems happy enough about the situation.” She considered her words. “Perhaps compliant would be a better way of describing him. I think Conway likes Isla to make the decisions in their relationship. Now that he’s going to take over from Nerita, I dread to think what Isla’s going to be like around here. She’s already asked me for a so-called royal discount on my goods.”
Jeremy asked, “How many times has she been engaged?”
“Three times, that I’ve heard of.”
Jeremy continued, “And which communities are these? Do they back onto the border of the Brimstone waters?”
Gia’s eyes widened. “They do. You don’t think Isla and her former boyfriends have something to do with Nerita’s death, do you?”
Jeremy gave her a slow nod. “I’ve met some of the merpeople in the other communities. Some of them have an intense hate for Brimstone and its inhabitants. Isla could have convinced one of her exes to do away with Nerita so that she could come into power here. Perhaps she’s going to give her partner in crime a piece of Brimstone in return.”
Following Jeremy’s logic, I said, “What if Nerita found out about Isla’s plans? She could have gathered the sirens together to fight them. The sirens could be at war with another community right now.”
Gia looked nervously towards the sea. “What if the sirens have been taken prisoner or worse? What if another community of merpeople are on their way here to attack us right now?”
Jeremy said, “That can’t happen. There’s a protective spell around the borders of Brimstone. Cassia’s mum put it there years ago. I check it every week to make sure it’s still working. I actually checked it earlier this morning. Everything is in order.”
Gia gave him a small smile. “That’s a relief. But where have the sirens gone? And are they okay?” She turned her expectant face to me. “Cassia, what are you going to do about this?”
I was saved from answering that difficult question by the arrival of a green Brimstone butterfly. It headed towards me and I knew it had a message for me. I opened my palm and it landed softly there.
Some butterfly messages are written on the wings of the creature, and some messages are vocal. This message was a vocal one - a very loud one.
Rex’s voice boomed out, ‘Cassia! This is Rex. We met earlier. I found one of the sirens on the other side of the Brimstone border. I ordered her to tell me where the rest of the sirens were. She refused and then began to sing one of her evil songs which made me and my colleagues fall asleep. When we came round, the siren had gone. We will not be put off that easily, we will continue to search for the sirens! End of message!’
Stanley woke up, yowled and jumped off his cushion. He looked left and right. “What’s happening? Who’s shouting? What’s going on?”
I explained, “It was a butterfly message from Rex.” I turned to the butterfly and gave it a reply for Rex. I told him I would await further details from him.
As the butterfly flew away, a yellow butterfly came in and alighted on my shoulder. The message was from Dr Morgan this time:
‘Cassia, I’ve examined that water bottle and it is pure water. I won’t go into details, but I’ve checked the corpse and found the pure water to be her cause of death as it turned her into her tailed self and stopped her from being able to breathe. I’d put the time of death between 11:30 and midday. I’ll give you a full report later.” Her tone turned indignant. “I haven’t heard a word from Blythe or your gran since they went missing. I’m furious with the pair of them! And as for that useless guardian, Luca, I asked him where you were an hour ago and he yelled that he didn’t know and he didn’t care. Then he stormed away from me without a word of explanation. How rude! I don’t know what’s got into the residents around here lately. No one has any good manners left. Anyway, I’ll catch you later. Bye for now.’
I sent a message to Dr Morgan and thanked her for her findings. I’d speak to the doctor later about Luca and his change towards me.
As the yellow butterfly left the café, a haunting tune came to us on a breeze. It sent shivers up and down my spine.
I said to Gia, “What’s that?”
She pointed to the sea and the line of merpeople who were standing there looking out to the horizon. She said, “It’s a mourning song. They’re singing it for Nerita. It’ll last for hours.”
Stanley whimpered and padded over to me. He said, “Cassia, I don’t like it. It’s making my heart hurt.”
I picked him up. “It’s making mine hurt too. I don’t think there’s anything else we can do here at the moment. I’m not going to disturb the merpeople in their time of grief. Let’s go back to the apartment.”
We said goodbye to Gia, got onto our broomsticks and flew away from the sad scene. The desolate tune followed us for the next few miles and I couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks.
Chapter 12
As we flew back to Brimstone, I said to Jeremy, “You are welcome to stay at Gran’s apartment tonight. I think the sofa pulls out into a bed.”
Jeremy replied, “That’s kind of you, but I’ve already booked myself into The Brimstone Hotel. I did that this morning before I turned up at Blythe’s house. I had a feeling I’d be staying in Brimstone for a while. Staying at the hotel will give me a good opportunity to speak to the other guests about the merpeople and related matters.”
I nodded. “That’s a good idea. You can come over for dinner if you like? I’m sure Gilda has put something delicious in the fridge for us. She has a knack for knowing when we’ll be staying at the apartment and always fills the fridge for us.”
“As tempted as I am by that offer, I shall decline. I’d like to get on with my discreet interrogation of the hotel guests.” He smiled. “And there’s an all-you-can-eat buffet on tonight in the hotel’s dining room. I don’t think the manager knows what he’s let himself in for with me on that score!”
Brimstone town came into view. Jeremy said goodbye to us and aimed his broomsti
ck towards The Brimstone Hotel. He said he’d give us a full report of his findings in the morning.
The sky was turning a darker blue and a tiredness was settling on me. I mentally brushed it away. I didn’t have time to be tired.
Instead of landing outside the apartment, I landed in front of Gran’s cellar door.
I said to Stanley, “Let’s have a quick check on Oliver. I want to make sure he’s okay. He hides it well, but I know he’s worried about Gran.”
Stanley nodded. “Good idea. If he’s very worried, shall we stay at Gran’s house tonight instead of the apartment?”
“Absolutely.”
I opened the cellar door and found Oliver curled up a few feet away from the door. His little body was rising and falling and I heard a quiet snore coming from him. I didn’t want to wake him up so I quietly began to close the door.
Oliver immediately jumped to his paws and cried out, “Esther? Is that you?” He blinked as he focused his attention on us.
I stepped into the cellar with Stanley at my side. “Sorry, Oliver, it’s only us. We wanted to see how you were doing.”
Oliver’s head dropped slightly. “I thought you were Esther coming back. Have you heard anything about her? Has anyone found her yet? Is anyone looking for her?”
I put my broomstick down and sat at Oliver’s side. I said softly, “Some of the season witches are looking for Gran and Blythe. I met Jeremy Spring, and he told me the other season witches are out right now searching for them. He’s confident that Gran and Blythe will be found soon.” I was tempted to stroke Oliver’s head, but he didn’t normally allow me to do that. The few times I’d tried, he’d given me a disgusted look and then said he needed to wash himself. Instead, I said, “Oliver, have you had anything to eat?”
“I’m not hungry. What have you been up to in Brimstone? Why have you been talking to Jeremy Spring? Does he still look young?”
“He’s told me a lot about Mum, and how he used to help her.”
Stanley came to sit at Oliver’s side, and between us, we told Oliver about our latest investigation.
Oliver listened intently and I was glad his mind had been taken off Gran for a while.
When we’d finished, he said, “I’m not familiar with the creatures of the sea. I’ve never been to the beach. From what I’ve seen on TV, there’s too much water at the beach.” He gave Stanley a kind look. “And I don’t think I’ll ever go. I don’t want to meet those horrible grindylows that attacked you. Are you sure you’re okay now?”
Stanley nodded and said cheerfully, “I’m fine. It was quite an adventure. I knew Cassia would rescue me. She always looks out for me.”
Oliver threw me one of his disgusted looks. “But it wasn’t you who rescued Stanley, was it? You need to keep a closer eye on my brother, young lady.”
Even though I was glad to see Oliver was back to his normal self, I didn’t appreciate the telling-off. However, I remained silent and gave Oliver a nod of contrition.
Oliver continued, “Find out what you can about the sea creatures. I believe there are some books in Esther’s apartment about them. Go back there now and see what you can turn up.”
Stanley said, “We were going to stay here with you tonight to keep you company.”
Oliver raised his furry chin. “I’m perfectly happy with my own company, but thank you anyway. Now that the season witches are on Esther’s trail, I feel confident that she’ll be back home very soon. I must tidy up before she returns. I haven’t done a lick of housework since she left. I can’t have her coming back to a mess.” He nodded to himself. “I’ll start on the upstairs first.”
“Can we give you a hand?” I offered.
Oliver looked me over. “No, you’ll be more of a hindrance than a help. Don’t sit there on the floor looking useless; get yourselves back to Brimstone.” He added a tut.
Stanley chucked. “Oliver, I love it when you’re bossy. You’re funny.”
Oliver moved closer to Stanley and rubbed his cheek against his. His voice was a bit gruffer as he said, “Take good care of yourself, Stanley. Don’t put yourself in any danger. And don’t let Cassia put you in any danger either.”
I said indignantly, “I never mean to put Stanley in danger. Things just happen sometimes.”
Oliver pursed his lips at my words. I didn’t even know cats could do that.
I got to my feet, picked up my broomstick and said, “Right, we’ll see you later.”
“Bye,” Oliver said. “You know where the door is.” He gave Stanley a smile before heading towards the cellar steps.
I shook my head at his departure. He was certainly back to his normal self.
Stanley and I headed straight back to the apartment. Once there, I checked the fridge and found a lasagne. I popped it in the oven and then gave Stanley a dish of something that immediately made him drool.
While the lasagne was warming up, we located the books on the sea creatures of Brimstone. There were only a few books and it wasn’t going to take us long to go through them. I took them over to the sofa and sat down. Stanley sat on my knee and I read out the relevant paragraphs to him.
Stanley said, “There isn’t a lot of information about the merpeople, is there? I thought there might be something on the different communities, and perhaps something on King Taron and his family.”
I placed the book I’d just been reading on the table in front of me. “Perhaps Gran never dealt with the sea creatures and so didn’t need to know a lot about them. From what Jeremy said, it was Mum who kept an eye on the activities at Brimstone Beach. I wonder if she ever kept any records of her work there? I’ll ask Jeremy about that tomorrow.”
The oven pinged to notify me the lasagne was ready. Stanley had kindly offered to wait until my meal was ready before he had his.
We took our food over to the table and looked out at the town of Brimstone as we ate.
I noted, “Everyone looks happy out there. I can’t see any signs of trouble, can you?”
With his cheeks bulging with food, Stanley said, “Nope. But it could be the calm before the storm.”
I waved my empty fork at the citizens of Brimstone and said to them, “If anyone is thinking of committing a murder, would you mind waiting until I’ve finished my present investigation, please? Thank you. I appreciate your patience.” I stuck my fork into the lasagne and scooped a portion of the delicious meal into my mouth. I don’t know what Gilda did to her food, but it always tasted amazing. I gave the lasagne my full attention and soon had an empty plate.
I leant back in my chair and patted my happy stomach. Gilda had also left some tiramisu in the fridge. I’d wait a while before I attacked that.
I said, “Stanley, I think we should talk to Conway’s girlfriend first thing tomorrow. What do you think?”
Stanley’s eyes were closing. He muttered, “Good idea. I think I’ll close my eyes for a while. They feel very heavy. But you keep talking; I’m listening.”
I smiled at my tired friend. “It’s time for your sleep. Come on, little one.” I picked him up and took him into the bedroom. I placed him on the large, comfy cushion at the side of my bed. Stanley was asleep before I’d even settled him down. I stroked his head and whispered ‘goodnight’ and then returned to the living area.
I looked out of the window and noticed Luca walking around the town square with his hands clasped behind his back. Many residents nodded and smiled at him as they passed by, but Luca only gave them a tight smile in return. When I’d seen him making his rounds of the town before, he would stop and chat with everyone he met, and he laughed and smiled constantly as he did so. What had Astrid done to him to make him so miserable now?
Placing my hand against the glass, I said quietly, “Luca, when this investigation is over, I’m going to do all that I can to help you. I promise.”
I turned away from the window and took my empty plate and Stanley’s empty bowl over to the sink. I just had enough room in my stomach to fit in the tiramisu. As
expected, the mixture of cream, soft sponge and the light taste of coffee was delicious.
With a full stomach and a sleeping cat at my side, I settled into my bed and it didn’t take me long to fall into a deep sleep.
As soon as I woke up in the morning, my senses sprang into high alert. There was something different about the apartment.
Chapter 13
I looked over at Stanley who was standing on his cushion and sniffing loudly. He looked at me and said, “There’s a funny smell. Can you smell it?”
I pulled myself into a seated position. “I can. It smells like the sea. How is that possible? The beach is ten miles away.”
Stanley’s whiskers twitched. “Someone has been in this apartment. They’ve left that smell behind. The intruder might still be here. I’m going to investigate.” He made a move forward.
“Wait!” I hissed. “If there is an intruder out there, they could be armed and dangerous. Let me find some sort of weapon first.” I pulled the bedcover back, got out of bed and started to look left and right.
Stanley whispered, “Cassia, you’re armed and dangerous already! You don’t need weapons. You’ve got your magic. Use it.”
I looked down at my hands. “Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting.” I held my hands out in front of me in what I hoped was a menacing manner and walked towards the door. “Stanley, stay behind me. I’ll go first.”
Bracing myself, I opened the door and stepped through it. I headed towards the living area, my hands held aloft ready for action.
It took me all of ten seconds to realise no one was there. My nose wrinkled. The smell was stronger here. It was a mixture of the sea, hot sand and a hint of cooked food.
Stanley made his way around the apartment with his nose to the floor. When he’d completed a circuit, he returned to my side and announced, “Whoever was here has gone now. I examined the door and couldn’t find any signs of forced entry. Also, I can’t see that anything is missing or has been disturbed.” He gave me a little grin. “I sound very professional, don’t I?”
Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 2 Page 22
