“You do.” I put my hands on my hips and looked around again. “Why would someone come in and not take anything?”
Stanley didn’t answer. He was staring at something under the table near the window.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him. “Have you seen a mouse?”
Stanley padded over to the table, went under it and came out with something in his mouth. He dropped it at my feet.
I picked it up. “It’s a hair comb. A sparkly hair comb. It looks just like the one that Isla was wearing.” I looked down at Stanley. “Does this mean Isla was our intruder? Why? What did she want?”
“The obvious answer is that she’s the one who murdered Nerita and doesn’t want you to find out. She must have sneaked into our apartment last night and …” he trailed off.
“Had a good look around, left her comb and then cleared off?” I suggested. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“Or,” Stanley held up a paw, “someone else could have left this comb here as a message for us. They must have known I’d find it under the table. Someone from the beach must have seen me searching for shells and realised what an inquisitive cat I am.” He gave me a satisfied nod. “I am very nosy. Just like you.”
“Nosiness is a virtue,” I told him. I turned the comb over in my hands. “Do you think the message is for us to keep an eye on Isla? If so, someone at the beach must suspect her of something. They didn’t need to leave us a message; she’s already on my list of suspects. Having this comb in the apartment gives me the perfect excuse to speak to her.” I looked at the comb again. “It’s beautiful. I wonder what those stones are?”
I jumped as someone knocked on the door.
Before I could respond, Stanley ran over to the door and popped his head through the cat flap. A second later, he pulled his head back through and announced, “It’s Jeremy!”
“Stanley, you shouldn’t have stuck your head out like that! It could have been the murderer out there.” I tried to give him a hard look, but it was impossible to do as he was so cute.
Stanley lowered his head a bit. “Sorry. I won’t do it again.”
I gave him a quick pat on the head to show him I wasn’t mad before opening the door.
“Morning!” Jeremy trilled holding out a cardboard cup to me. “I’ve brought hot tea straight from the café. Gilda assures me it will wake you up in a second.” Was it my imagination or did he look even younger this morning?
I took the cup and opened the door wider to allow him to enter. “Thank you. Would you like a drink? I can put the kettle on.”
“No, thank you. I’ve had a full breakfast at the café this morning.” Jeremy smiled down at Stanley. “Hello there, friend. How are you?” He abruptly stopped talking and raised his head. His nostrils flared. “Why does it smell like Brimstone Beach in here?”
I gave Jeremy the comb and told him our thoughts about who might have left it here.
Jeremy examined the comb. There was annoyance in his eyes. “I don’t like the idea of someone coming into your apartment while you are asleep. How dare they?” He handed the comb back to me and closed the door behind us. He held his hands out towards the door. “I’m putting a spell on this useless piece of wood to stop any supernatural creatures coming in without your permission.”
Flashes of green light shot from Jeremy’s fingers and landed on the door like little exploding fireworks. I was worried for a moment that the door was going to burst into flames.
Jeremy wriggled his fingers and the green light disappeared. “That will do it. The only way supernatural creatures can get through that door is if you invite them in. The nerve of some creatures!”
“There was no harm done,” I told him. “Come and sit down on the sofa. I want to hear all about your night at the hotel. Did you find out anything useful?”
Jeremy gave the door an annoyed look before following Stanley and me over to the sofa. I sat at one end and Stanley sat at my side. As soon as Jeremy took a seat, Stanley moved onto his lap and looked up at him with wide eyes. He looked impossibly cute.
Jeremy immediately fell under Stanley’s spell and a smile spread across his face. He began to stroke Stanley and all the anger over the intruder left his face. Stanley had a calming effect on most beings.
I took a sip of the tea and felt a shot of caffeine zinging through my body. It felt like I’d plugged myself into a charger.
Jeremy began, “Let me begin by saying that you and Stanley have a lot of support in this town. The residents have nothing but praise for you and all the work you’ve done here. They know how difficult things are for you at present with Blythe and Esther gone, and many of them have offered their assistance to you, if you need it.” His smile grew. “This really is a lovely town.”
“Apart from the murderers out there,” Stanley said.
Jeremy nodded. “Apart from the murderers. Speaking of which, I did some digging on Isla and I spoke to a sand-elf who used to live near a beach in another town. This was early last year and he recalls that Isla lived in that area too. He said it was hard to forget her as she was so loud and bossy! Anyway, she was engaged to a prince but then he broke the engagement off.”
I nodded. “That’s what Gia told us. This is good tea.” I took another sip and felt my brain notching up a gear. “I can tell by your expression that you’ve got more to tell us about that engagement.”
“I have. After the prince broke off the engagement, Isla tried to make light of the situation and told everyone she was fine about it. But then the prince suffered a terrible accident a few days later. A pile of underwater rocks fell on him whilst he was asleep.” He paused for effect. “He was almost killed. Isla had been spotted at the very same pile of rocks the previous day by a family of starfish. She denied it and said she wouldn’t stay with a community of merpeople who thought she was capable of such a terrible act. She left that area and arrived at Brimstone.”
I gave Jeremy a thoughtful look. “So the message of your story is to be careful around Isla.”
“Definitely. The sand-elf went on to say that he saw Isla leaving that day. She looked furious and there was such an intense hate in her eyes that the sand-elf fled the beach in terror. He only returned when Isla had gone. He heard the other merpeople saying how glad they were that Isla had gone. No one liked her.”
“I’ll speak to her about her previous engagements,” I said. “I wonder if her thirst for power caused her to kill Nerita? As the pure water that killed Nerita is dangerous to merpeople, perhaps she forced another sea creature to get it for her.” My brain cells were working harder. “And when she had that bottle of water, she must have lured Nerita into the cave and then tricked her into drinking it.” My attention went to the comb at my side. “Jeremy, would it be possible for a merperson to walk all the way to this apartment? If Isla or another merperson left this here, how did they do it? Wouldn’t they be in immense pain?”
“They would. The further they go from the sea on legs, the more painful it becomes for them. They could have used a different form of transport. I could ask the flying unicorns if they’ve had any merpeople using their taxi services recently.”
“Thank you. What about the sirens? Would one of them be able to get here easily?”
“Yes, I suppose they would. Do you think one of the missing sirens came here specially to give you that comb as a warning against Isla?”
I nodded. “It’s a possibility. I’m not ruling anything out.” I drained the last of my tea. “As soon as I’ve had my breakfast and got dressed, I’m going back to the beach to talk to Isla. I have many questions for her. Jeremy, are you coming with us?”
“I won’t. I’ll stay here and continue asking questions around town about the merpeople. Someone may have seen the creature who came into this apartment.” His face twisted in disgust. “I hope someone did see them. I want to know who it was.”
I put my hand on his arm. “Don’t get upset about that. Nothing’s been stolen and nothing has been damaged
.”
“I’m not bothered about property damage and theft,” Jeremy said. His eyes welled up. “What if something terrible had happened to you? I couldn’t bear that. I feel responsible for you.”
I squeezed his arm and gave him a bright smile. “You don’t need to. I can look after myself.”
Stanley turned his face to Jeremy and added, “And I can look after Cassia. We’ll be fine. Just fine.”
Chapter 14
Stanley and I flew back to Brimstone Beach. I saw merpeople sitting and lying on the sand, quietly talking to each other. No one was playing any games, and no one was laughing.
We landed outside the café and found Gia wiping down a table. She raised her hand in acknowledgement.
When we went over to her, she said, “It’s been a very quiet morning. I haven’t had anyone buy any water bottles from me.” Concern came into her eyes. “I hope the merpeople don’t think I had anything to do with Nerita’s death.”
“I’m sure they don’t think that.” I glanced towards the sea water bottles behind the counter. “How long have those bottles been there?”
“About an hour. I put the ones that had been there yesterday in a locked cabinet in case you needed them. I’ve been thinking about the poisoned water. What if Nerita wasn’t the intended victim? What if someone just wanted any merperson to die and didn’t care who? What if someone is planning on killing the merpeople population one by one?” She twisted the cloth in her hands and her face lost its remaining colour. “How far have you got with your investigation? Do you have any suspects yet?”
“I do. Gia, please try not to worry. Things will get sorted out. I won’t stop until I find out who killed Nerita.” I looked towards the merpeople on the sand. “Do you know where Isla is? I’d like to speak to her.”
Gia raised her cloth towards the sea. “She’s out there, near Turtle Island. I did see her on the sand a short while ago but she got fed up with how quiet everyone is and said she was going for a swim. I don’t think she understands the concept of grief. Cassia, is there anything I can do to help you with your investigation?”
There was no way I was putting Gia’s life in danger so I said, “No, thank you. But if you do hear anything that might help me, you can let me know.”
Gia continued to twist the cloth. “Of course.”
I looked at the small island in the distance. “How do I get to Turtle Island? Can I swim there? I’m not the best swimmer, but I think I can make it.”
“You could fly there,” Gia suggested. “It’s safe to land on Turtle Island. You won’t find any wild animals there.”
Stanley nudged into my leg. “Let’s fly there. I’ve never been on an island before.”
“Are you sure? You can stay here with Gia and I’ll go.”
“I want to go. As long as we keep away from the water’s edge, I’ll be fine.” Stanley bared his little teeth in a brave smile.
“Okay. Come on.”
We said goodbye to Gia and then flew over to the small island. It was a rough, round shape and was no bigger than thirty feet in diameter. As we got nearer, I could see Isla swimming around Turtle Island with an annoyed look on her beautiful face. Her lips were moving and it looked like she was muttering to herself. She wasn’t wearing her hair comb. Did that mean the one I’d found in the apartment was hers?
I managed to land in the middle of the island. It had a smooth surface with small ridges here and there. There wasn’t any vegetation on it but I did see a few crabs scuttling around.
Stanley sat down where we landed and looked nervously at the sea. “I think I’ll stay right here if that’s okay with you?”
“Of course it is.” I looked right as Isla swam past the edge of the island, her tail flapping furiously behind her. “You’ll probably be able to hear everything I say to Isla from here. If she slows down long enough for me to get her attention, that is.”
I moved to the edge of the island and noticed there wasn’t any sand there, just more of the smooth, slightly ridged material that I was standing on. I called out Isla’s name as she swam nearer. She either didn’t hear me or chose to ignore me. Either way, she didn’t stop and continued her furious swim while mumbling to herself.
I moved a little closer to the water, put a hand to the side of my mouth and yelled, “Isla! I want to talk to you right now!”
Isla’s head shot my way as she came closer. Annoyance crossed her features and she shouted, “What do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy?”
She dipped under the water and zoomed by me without stopping. Her tail flipped upwards and then hit the sea with a huge splash which sent a wave washing over me. I heard a yelp behind me and saw a puddle of water rushing towards Stanley. I raced over to his side and picked him up. I waited until the water trickled away from us and then put Stanley down.
He said, “Why won’t she stop and talk to you? She keeps swimming round and round. She’s going to make herself very dizzy soon.”
“I don’t have time for her nonsense.” I quickly used my magic hot air fingers to dry myself and then marched back to the edge of the island. As Isla approached, I raised my hands and performed an immobilising spell on the mermaid. I’d never used it in water before and I didn’t know whether it would work.
It did work.
Isla face was frozen in shock as she floated helplessly on the current towards me. I knelt down, reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder. I pulled her close and used my free hand to wipe the magic from her ears. I wanted her to hear me.
“Isla, I’m here to talk to you about my investigation. I’ve got many questions for you and you are going to answer them. Now, I can keep you in this suspended state while I do so, or I can set you free on the proviso that you don’t swim away until I finish asking my questions. Which is it to be?” I cleared the magic from her mouth so she could talk.
She spat out, “How dare you do this to me? Set me free immediately. I’ll make sure King Taron knows about this. He’ll be furious.”
“He won’t. I spoke to him yesterday, and he wants me to find out what happened to Nerita.” I still had one hand on her shoulder as I didn’t want her bobbing away. “You know that I’m a justice witch and that I have certain powers in this area. I am more than happy to keep you in this frozen state for a while.”
Isla’s lips tightened in annoyance. If her eyes had been able to narrow in hate, I’m sure they would have.
“Alright,” she said with a sigh. “I promise not to swim away until I’ve answered your questions. I’m not happy about it, though.”
“Your happiness is not my concern. If you make any attempts to swim away, I will use my magic on you again.” I didn’t like being so harsh, but sometimes it was needed. I waved my hands over Isla and removed the immobilising spell. She wiggled her shoulders and her tail flapped angrily in the water behind her.
I began with, “Nerita died between 11.30 and midday yesterday. Where were you at that time, and do you have any witnesses to confirm that?”
She raised her hand and moved it around her. “I was here, swimming. As for witnesses, I prefer to be alone. But I’m sure if you ask some of the other mermaids, one of them would have seen me. The younger ones are always looking at me. They admire me. I can see it in their faces.”
“That’s not ideal, but I’ll speak to the other mermaids about you. What was your relationship like with Nerita?”
Isla rolled her eyes. “I’ve already made it clear how I felt about her. I didn’t like her, and she didn’t like me. Conway should have been the one with the royal responsibilities, not her. He’s much better with our people than Nerita was. He’s much more compassionate and understanding. Just like me. As soon as this silly mourning business is over, we can get married and start ruling this area in the way it should be ruled. How many more questions have you got?”
I ignored her last comment and said, “I’ve been told about your previous engagements, and about a prince who was hurt in suspicious circumstanc
es.”
Isla came closer to me and rested her arms on the edge of the island. Her direct gaze was unnerving. She said, “Idle gossip. I didn’t think justice witches were supposed to pay attention to idle gossip. I thought you were supposed to concentrate on the facts.”
I lifted my head. I was not going to be intimidated by her. “Have you been previously engaged?”
She gave me a slow nod. “I have. A few times. But not to the right merman. Conway is the right one for me.”
“Did one of your former fiancés suffer injuries during an accident?”
Keeping her look steady, she replied, “I believe so. I wasn’t there at the time of the accident. I was with some friends of mine when it happened. My friends told the prince’s father that I was with them, but he didn’t believe them. He never liked me and wanted to get rid of me from the day I became engaged to his son.” One of her perfect eyebrows rose. “Aren’t you going to ask me if I killed Nerita? I can see that you’re thinking it.”
“Did you?”
“No. As much as I disliked her, I wouldn’t do that to Conway. I love him. Really love him.”
I reached into my back pocket and took out the hair comb. I held it up and said, “Is this yours?”
Her other eyebrow rose now. One of her hands shot out in an attempt to grab the comb. I was ready for her and swiftly moved it out of the way.
“Hey!” she called in protest. “Where did you get that? It’s mine.”
“I found it in my apartment this morning. Did you put it there?”
“No! Someone must have stolen it from my cave last night. I’ve been looking for it all morning.” Her eyes glistened with tears and she lowered her hand. “I thought I’d lost it, Please, can I have it back?”
I lowered the comb a fraction. “Who would steal it from you and then place it in my apartment?”
Isla sniffed and dashed away a tear. “Lots of merpeople. They’re jealous of me. They want to get me into trouble. I swear that I had nothing to do with Nerita’s death.” She held her hand out. “Can I have it back? Please?”
Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 2 Page 23
