by Adele Abbott
Dorothy was still chuntering to herself when she and Neil left for work. Charlie had declined a lift because he wanted to hang around, so he would be sure to see Pretty. He was probably being a little paranoid, but he couldn’t help but worry about what Amelia might do. She’d been livid after seeing the billboard image of him with Jade. She probably wouldn’t turn full-on pussy-boiler, but he didn’t want to take that chance.
“There you are!” He scooped up the cat who had her purr set to max. “I thought you weren’t coming today.”
“I should be careful with that fleabag.” Amelia appeared on the stairs. “You don’t know where it might have been.”
“Pretty doesn’t have fleas,” Charlie protested, weakly.
“I was talking to the cat.” She shot him a look of pure hatred on her way past.
“I don’t think she likes me anymore,” Charlie whispered to Pretty.
Once inside the apartment, he didn’t put Pretty down until he’d made absolutely sure that the canary hadn’t found its way back.
***
After feeding the cat, and making sure she was safely back on the street, Charlie started to walk to work. He hadn’t gone far when his phone rang.
“Charlie, it’s Charlotte.”
“Morning, Charlotte.”
“I hope you don’t mind me calling so early.”
“That’s okay. I’m just on my way into work.”
“Have you seen any of your billboards?”
“Yeah. They’re very big, aren’t they?”
“You look good on them.”
“Thanks. My girlfriend didn’t think so.”
“Oh? Why not?”
“She didn’t appreciate seeing me with Jade, so she dumped me.”
“Oh, Charlie. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I’m not. She wasn’t really my girlfriend. We’d only been out the one time, and that was a bit of a disaster. Between you and me, the billboard did me a favour. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get rid of her.”
“That’s okay, then.” Charlotte laughed. “Look, I have another job for you. It’s a TV thing.”
“TV? I’m not sure about that.”
“It’s nothing to be scared of. They need a few extras for a night time shoot. It should only take a few hours.”
“When is it?”
“Tomorrow night. Seven pm.”
“I’m still not sure.”
“Jade will be there too. She’ll show you the ropes.”
“Jade?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure she was the one who suggested you to the TV guys.”
“Really? Oh, okay then. Why not?”
“Great. I’ll text you the details later.”
Suddenly, there was a spring in his step. Another assignment meant more cash, but more importantly, another chance to spend time with Jade.
***
The crackers hadn’t been enough to stave off Dorothy’s hunger, so she called in at Sarnies.
“Morning, Dot!” Donny was all smiles and dickie bow.
“I’ve told you. It’s Dorothy. And what’s with that stupid thing around your neck?”
“This?” He flicked the dickie bow. “They’re making a comeback.”
“I can’t say I’ve noticed.”
“Mark my words. What can I get you this morning?”
“A sausage cob.”
“Ketchup?”
“No, thanks.”
“Are you okay, Dot—Dorothy? You seem a little distracted.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It must be something.”
“If you must know, I’ve lost my canary.”
He laughed.
“It isn’t funny.” She snapped. “It was a gift from my mother. When she finds out he’s gone, she’ll be really upset.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. I might be able to help.”
“How?”
“It just so happens that I breed canaries.”
“Very funny.”
“It’s true. I’ve done it since I was a kid.” He turned to the other man behind the counter. “I was just telling Dorothy that I breed canaries. Isn’t that right, Joe?”
“Yeah.” Joe nodded. “Very big in canaries, is Donny.”
“Yeah, right.” Dorothy grabbed her roll. “You must both think I’m stupid.”
She had barely gone ten yards when her phone rang.
“Mum?”
“Dorothy. I just wanted to let you know I’m going to pop in to see you tonight.”
“You only came by a few days ago.”
“I didn’t realise that my visits were rationed.”
“I didn’t mean that. You know I’m always pleased to see you.”
“I’m visiting Lorna May. You remember her. She moved to Washbridge a couple of years ago. She wears a lot of plaid.”
“Err? Yeah? Maybe?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t stay long. Just long enough for a cuppa, and to say hello to Bob. See you later.”
Dorothy turned on her heels, and headed back to the sandwich shop.
“Donny, were you serious about the canary thing?”
“Deadly.”
“In that case, I need a favour.”
***
Susan was still kicking herself for having left the window open. She’d just begun to think that she and Dorothy were finally starting to rub along together, but now they were well and truly back to square one.
It had taken Susan some time to track down Dawn Chalmers. She was the woman who had tried without success to get The Bugle to take up her plight when Burke Holdings had hounded her out of her home.
“Yes?” The woman who answered the door had her hair in curlers.
“I’m sorry to trouble you. My name is Susan Hall. I’m—”
“I know who you are. I told you on the phone that I have nothing to say to anyone from The Bugle.”
“Please, Mrs Chalmers. I don’t blame you for being angry with my newspaper. I would be too if I’d been treated as poorly as you were.”
“What do you want?”
“I’d like to ask you some questions about Burke Holdings.”
“Now you’re interested? A bit late, isn’t it? I lost my house, and so did plenty of other people. Where were you then?”
“You’re right, I know, but it’s still happening. A friend of mine is being driven out of her house.”
“Oh, now I get it.” She sneered. “Because it’s a friend, suddenly you’re interested.”
“It isn’t just my friend. They’re doing the same thing to a lot of people—right now. Wouldn’t you like to put a stop to it?”
“Do you really think you can do that?”
“I don’t know, but I’m willing to try. With your help.”
The woman looked Susan up and down, and then stood back from the door. “You’d better come in.”
Chapter 21
Neil still had to get through the audition if he wanted to get on the books at Real Magic, but having practised his routine a few times now, he was feeling much more confident about his chances. So much so, in fact, that he’d decided to pick out a magician’s outfit that he would wear at the audition. One perk of working in a fancy dress shop was that there was no shortage of costumes to choose from. He’d already discounted the ‘funny’ magician costumes as being too gimmicky. The one he was now trying on was incredibly expensive, even with his discount, but it was more befitting of the professional image he wanted to portray.
“You look ridiculous!” Debs laughed.
Fable was in the stockroom, tidying up while the shop was quiet.
“I look fantastic.” He checked his reflection in the full-length mirror.
“Why do you need a magician’s costume? Another one of Craig’s parties?”
“No. I’m auditioning to join an agency that specialises in providing magic acts.”
“You?” She laughed even louder. “You’re the world’s worst wizard.”
&nbs
p; “No, I’m not. Just because I choose not to study formally, doesn’t mean I’m not good with magic. And besides, I’ll be doing shows for humans. They’re easily impressed.”
“They’d better be.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my magical skills.”
“Show me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Show me these brilliant magical skills of yours. I’m dying to see them. Why don’t you turn me into a mouse?”
“Don’t be stupid. Someone might see.”
“Who?” She glanced around the empty shop. “You can’t do it, can you?”
“Of course I can. I just don’t want to.”
“Chicken!” Debs began with her chicken impression.
“Right then!” Neil snapped. “I’ll show you!”
At that precise moment, Fable re-emerged from the stockroom, but it was too late for Neil to stop. The spell, which had been meant for Debs, was cast on Fable as she stepped out in front of him.
“Whoops!” Debs screamed with laughter, as she watched Fable the mouse scurry under the shelving.
“That was your fault!” Neil yelled at Debs.
“How was it my fault? You were the one who cast the spell.” She looked around. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know. Lock the door so no one can get in. And be careful where you tread!”
***
Dawn Chalmers had calmed down enough to make Susan a cup of tea. “I’m sorry I was a bit off-handed.”
“No apology necessary. I’d probably feel the same way about The Bugle if I’d been ignored when I needed their help.”
“Do you really have a friend who is being intimidated by Burke, or did you just say that to get me to talk to you?”
“No, it’s true. Her name is Stella Yates; she works at The Bugle too. She’s in danger of being driven out of her family home. I’d like to try to stop that happening, if I can.”
“What exactly do you need from me?”
“Whatever you think might help.”
“I can tell you lots of stories about the tactics Burke used, but this might be the most useful thing.” She took out her phone, and brought up a video clip. “This is one of Burke’s henchmen. He didn’t know he was being filmed.”
The quality of the video wasn’t particularly good, and it was very unsteady, as though whoever had recorded it had done so surreptitiously. But the content was clear: a mountain of a man, with tattoos on his arms, was shouting at a much smaller man.
“The man being abused is John, my husband,” Mrs Chalmers said.
The tirade on screen made for difficult viewing, as the tattooed man made all manner of physical threats against the smaller man.
“That’s scary,” Susan said, once the video had finished.
“There was worse than that. They even threatened to hurt the kids if we didn’t agree to sell up. We might have stuck it out, but we couldn’t put the kids’ safety at risk.”
“Could you email me a copy of that video?”
“Sure, if you think it will help.”
“It will, and what would also be useful is if you could give me the names and phone numbers of any of your neighbours who were also driven out of their homes. I’d like to hear all of their stories.”
***
“Sorry. We’re closed,” Neil shouted to the angry woman who was knocking on the shop door. “We have a water leak.”
“Water leak?” Debs rolled her eyes.
“It was the best I could come up with. I could hardly tell her that I’ve turned one of my assistants into a mouse, and I’m scared she might tread on her, could I?”
“There!” Debs pointed to something small and brown, which scuttled across the aisle.
Neil charged towards it, and threw himself across the floor.
“Got her!” He held up his hand, triumphantly.
Once back on his feet, he held out the mouse to Debs.
“Yuk!” She backed away. “I’m not touching that.”
“It’s only Fable.”
“Yeah, but she’s a rat.”
“She’s a mouse. And a tiny one, at that. You have to hold her so I can reverse the spell.”
“What happens when she turns back into a human? She’ll break my wrist.”
“I’ll count down to three, and then you let go. Here, take her.”
Debs hesitated, but then took the mouse from him. “Hurry up. If she does anything in my hand, I’ll drop her.”
“Three, two, one, go!”
Debs released the mouse just as Neil reversed the spell to change her back to a human. Then he quickly cast the ‘forget’ spell.
“What happened?” Fable looked a little disorientated, but none the worse for her experience.
“Nothing. You said you were feeling a little light-headed. Are you okay?”
“Err—yeah, I think so.”
“Why don’t you take your break?”
“I think I will. I’m starving. Do you know what I really fancy? A nice piece of cheese.”
“You can open the shop now,” Neil said to Debs, once Fable was in the staff room.
“I was thinking. If they take you on at that agency, I could be your assistant. We could share the fee.”
“No chance. I see more than enough of you during the day.”
“Charming.”
Just then, Neil’s phone rang.
“Is that Neil?”
“Yeah?” He didn’t recognise the man’s voice.
“It’s Freddy Farrell. Trevor said you needed some help.”
Neil walked to the back of the shop where Debs wouldn’t overhear him. Once out of earshot, he told Freddy about the disappearing money.
“That’s definitely the ‘hide’ spell.” Freddy confirmed.
“That’s what I thought. Is it something you can do, remotely?”
“Sure. Easy-peasy.”
“Would you be willing to do it?”
“Only on condition that no one knows I’m involved. I like it over here in the human world, and I’ve no desire to get carted back to Candlefield by the rogue retrievers.”
“No problem. I’ll tell them that you insist on anonymity.”
“Fair enough.”
“How will it work, exactly?”
“I’ll need you to be there—in the vault.”
“Me?” Neil sounded horrified. “Why do I need to be there?”
“This kind of spell is difficult. I could easily end up making the wrong object disappear. If you’re in the vault, I’ll be able to get a lock on you, and adjust my bearings accordingly. You’ll need to be standing directly in front of the cash—say six feet away.”
“I’m not sure they’re going to let me in the vault.”
“You’ll just have to get your friend to persuade them to allow you to be there, otherwise this is a non-starter.”
“Okay.”
“When do you need this doing?”
“I still have to sort out the details. I’ll give you a call when I’ve done that.”
“Okay. No problem.”
***
Dorothy had asked Molly to lock up so she could leave early. Donny had promised he’d come over to the apartment just before five o’ clock with the canary. If he kept his word, there was no reason why her mother would ever have to know about the slight mishap with Bob.
“Has he been?” she yelled to Charlie, as soon as she walked into the apartment.
“Has who been?”
“Donny. The guy from the sandwich shop.”
“You’ve ordered in sandwiches?”
“No. He’s supposed to be bringing a canary over.”
“Bob?”
“No, not Bob. How would he have Bob?”
“I don’t understand, then.”
“There’s no time to explain. He should have been here by now. And, why is it so cold in here?”
“The window is still open in case Bob comes back.”
“Right. I’d better get th
e painting out. My mum is coming over again.”
Dorothy disappeared into her bedroom, and then reappeared moments later with the infamous painting.
“Wouldn’t it be easier just to leave it up?” Charlie passed her a chair to stand on.
“It would, but do you really want to have to look at this monstrosity every day?”
“Fair point.”
There was a knock at the door.
“That’ll be Donny.” Dorothy hooked the painting onto the wall, jumped off the chair, and hurried over to the door.
“Nice place you have here, Dot.” Donny walked in, carrying a cage.
“What’s that thing?” Dorothy yelled at him.
“A canary. Just like I promised.” He held up the cage.
“That’s not a canary. It’s a parrot.”
“It’s yellow.”
“I can see it’s yellow, but that doesn’t make it a canary. Look at the size of it.”
“It’s a big canary. It comes from a long line of big—”
“Don’t give me that. That’s no more a canary than I am. You don’t breed canaries at all, do you?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I got this from the pet shop. I thought they’d have canaries, but they were all out. The man said you’d never notice the difference.”
“How could I not notice? This parrot looks like it just ate the canaries. All of them.”
There was another knock at the door. “I’m so dead.” Dorothy glared at Donny. “And so are you.”
“Dorothy!” Her mum threw her arms around her. “Give us a hug!”
“Hi, Mum.” Dorothy managed to pull away. “Look, there’s something I should tell you.”
“In a minute, dear. I want to say hello to Bob first.”
“It’s Bob I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Hello there, you handsome boy.”
Dorothy stared in disbelief as her mother walked over to the cage, and began to chat to the canary who must have flown back in through the open window.
“You really should keep this closed.” Her mother pushed the cage door shut. “And keep the windows closed too. He could fly away.”
