I leaned down, pressing my forehead against the glass, preparing to shout some reassuring words when a flash of color caught my eyes.
I looked up to see Adele had found me again. She did a loop-the-loop in the air above me, laughing gleefully all the time.
She was really the happiest ghost I’d ever seen. Especially so soon after her death. I wondered if the full ramifications hadn’t quite sunk in yet.
“Adele is here,” I said to Jess.
Turning to Adele and trying to follow her zigzagging flight path around the sheriff’s car, I asked, “Adele, we could really do with a favor. Grandma Grant’s in the squad car. We know she didn’t murder you. She’s trying to tell us something, but we can’t seem to hear her properly; could you go inside the car and tell us what she’s saying.”
Adele paused in a haphazard flight path. The smile slid from her face. “You want me to go in there and talk to your grandmother.”
“Well, not talk, exactly. She won’t be able to hear you, but you’ll be able to hear her and then come out and tell us what she said.”
Adele thought for a moment, then shrugged and slid through the metal and glass of the car as though it was nothing other than thin air.
Grandma Grant was babbling away and I hoped Adele would remember everything she said.
“I’m pretty sure she just said monkeys on the Eiffel Tower and television flowers,” Jess said with a frown. “It doesn’t make sense. If the windows were minimizing sound then surely we would just hear muffled words, but the words sound clear; they just don’t make any sense.”
A raindrop slid down the back of my neck and made me shiver.
I leaned on the cold metal of the car door and peered at Grandma Grant, trying to lip-read rather than rely on the sound, but Jess was right. She wasn’t making any sense.
A moment later, Adele zoomed out of the car and straight through me. I felt another shiver but nothing else. Adele, on the other hand, had a full body shudder.
“Oh, that felt really odd. Like a combination of someone running their fingers down a blackboard and sucking on a lemon.” She shuddered. “Is that feeling just from floating through you or will that happen every time I float through a person?” Adele asked.
“I think it happens every time,” I said, thinking of Loretta’s reactions in the past when I had inadvertently walked through her, and when other people at the diner had done the same.
“But tell us what Grandma Grant said?” I asked.
Jess looked expectantly at what must have been the blank space of air it looked like I was staring at.
“Well, I’m not sure if I should help her,” Adele said, folding her pale arms over her chest. “She could be the one who stabbed me, for all I know!”
“So you don’t remember who stabbed you?” I said, feeling depressed, even though I’d expected as much. Most ghosts didn’t remember the immediate events leading up to and around their deaths. Which caused a lot of problems when you were trying to solve murders.
“No, otherwise you’d better believe I’d be haunting them right now.”
“Well, I know it wasn’t my grandmother, and I want to help you, Adele. We’ll find the real killer. But first I need you to tell me what Grandma Grant was saying, please.”
Adele looked at me dubiously for a moment before finally nodding. “Okay, well, she said there were monkeys on the Eiffel Tower and flowers on the television. Something about a hot lava lamp and also teddy bears with spiky hair. Does that mean anything to you?”
I stared at her. “Monkeys? Are you sure?”
Adele nodded. “I assume she’s talking in some kind of code.”
“If she is, I have no idea what code she is using.” I turned to Jess. “It’s nothing to do with the windows; Grandma Grant is talking gibberish.”
Jess put hands over her face and groaned. “I think I know what’s happening.”
“What?” both Adele and I asked at the same time.
“It’s a spell. She’s cast a spell on herself to spout gibberish.”
“Why on earth would she do that?”
“Perhaps so she can’t incriminate herself or to simply annoy Chief Wickham when he questions her?”
I looked at Jess, and then Grandma Grant, incredulously. As if we didn’t have enough problems. I pushed my forehead against the cold glass and said in a stern voice, “Reverse that spell immediately. This is no time for fun and games. You need to tell Chief Wickham the truth as quickly as possible so we can get you home.”
For a moment, I thought Grandma Grant might be about to argue, but then she sighed and muttered some words under her breath. I really hoped she was muttering the reversal spell.
“Are you back to normal now?” I asked.
“Yes, although I don’t see why I should cooperate with their enquiries. I’ve known Chief Wickham for years; he should know that I’m innocent.”
“I think he probably does, deep down,” Jess said. “But this is his job, so he’s got to be seen to do things properly.”
“Well, I don’t want to be anyone’s scapegoat,” Grandma Grant said. “Adele Silver was a pain in the backside, but I didn’t kill her.”
“Hey, I heard that,” Adele said from behind me.
“She can’t see or hear you; remember, Adele,” I muttered, and then turned my attention back to Grandma Grant.
“Should we get you a lawyer?” I asked. I wasn’t sure how much it would cost but I was sure we could get some money together for at least short-term representation.
Grandma Grant looked thoughtful. “Actually, Harper, that’s not a bad idea,” she shouted through the glass. “I have a lawyer friend from many years ago who might be able to help. His name’s in my address book. Franklin Reynolds.”
“Franklin Reynolds,” Jess repeated. “Got it. We’ll call him as soon as we get home.”
Grandma Grant gave a satisfied nod, and then smiled. “Oh yes, Franklin should be more than a match for Chief Wickham.”
I didn’t know why but those words made me feel even more nervous.
“Why don’t you put in a good word for me with Joe?” Grandma Grant suggested.
I didn’t want to mention I’d tried that and Joe didn’t seem very willing to help. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” Jess asked. “He seems very fond of you. He might want to help.”
I pulled a face. “Unfortunately, Joe just overheard me talking to Adele so I don’t think he’s going to trust anything I say because now he thinks I’m a crazy woman who talks to herself.”
Grandma Grant waved a hand. “So Joe thinks you’re off your rocker. If he’s a real man, he won’t let that put him off.”
I was pretty sure Joe was no longer interested in me, even if he had been to start with, or it had all been in my imagination. A few minutes later, Chief Wickham and Deputy McGrady came striding out of the church hall, faces grim.
“Why are you loitering around the police vehicle?” Chief Wickham asked.
“Why do you think?” Jess replied sarcastically. “You’ve quite unfairly put our elderly grandmother in the back of your squad car.”
“I don’t think there’s anything unfair about it,” the chief said. “I needed to keep the meddlesome woman out of the way while we questioned everyone else. Now, we’re taking your grandmother to the sheriff’s office for questioning. I’ll give you a call when you can pick her up.”
“That’s okay, I’ll take her home myself,” Joe said.
I couldn’t force myself to meet his gaze. It wasn’t just because he’d overheard me talking to Adele and probably thought I was nuts, but more the fact that he was willing to entertain the idea that Grandma Grant could be guilty of murder.
Jess looped her arm through mine as we watched Chief Wickham drive Grandma Grant out of the parking lot and along the road towards town.
“Right,” Jess said. “We’d better get to Grandma Grant’s house and try to contact this lawyer.”
“Yes, about that… Don’t you think it was a little odd the way she smiled when she mentioned his name?”
“Harper, it’s certainly not the oddest thing that’s happened today.”
Chapter Nine
We let ourselves back into Grandma Grant’s house and Jess made her way straight to the telephone table. Grandma Grant’s house was huge and filled with all kinds of odd antique furniture. She moved with the times and even had her own cell phone now, but she still had an old-fashioned ring dial telephone on a mahogany table next to a black leather telephone book.
Athena greeted us at the door, looking round anxiously before stopping to sit by the front door expectantly. It was almost as though Grandma Grant’s cat knew something was wrong.
The house seemed strangely odd and cold and empty without my grandmother. Of course, that was just my overactive imagination.
I knelt down beside Athena to stroke her while Jess flicked through the telephone book.
“Franklin Reynolds… Do you think she files alphabetically by first name or last name?” Jess pondered aloud.
“Knowing Grandma Grant, it’s not filed alphabetically at all. She will probably have some kind of mad system that only she understands.”
“I think you might be right,” Jess said with a groan. “I can’t find him under F for Franklin or R for Reynolds.”
I got to my feet and went over to help her. But I didn’t understand how Grandma Grant’s brain worked. “I think we’re going to have to go through it page by page.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Jess said.
It took us a good five minutes to flick through the pages until we finally found Franklin Reynolds under W.
“W? Why on earth would you file him under that? I mean, L for lawyer I could understand, but W…”
Jess moved back towards the telephone. “Shall I give him a call or do you want to do it?”
“You can do it; you’re so much better at that sort of thing than me.”
“What sort of thing?”
“You know, talking to strangers and everything.”
Jess rolled her eyes and picked up the telephone. While she waited for the call to be answered, I peered out of the window beside the front door. I’d told Adele we were going to Grandma Grant’s and then we would be heading back to the cottage Jess and I shared, but she hadn’t wanted to come with us straightaway. She was too busy excitedly zooming backwards and forwards, eavesdropping on the conversations of the residents of Abbott Cove. Strictly, I thought that was a little out of line, but since she had just died, I thought I should cut her some slack.
Still, I couldn’t help worrying about her being out there alone and hoped she’d soon find her way back to us.
I shook my head. Who could have believed I would be looking forward to seeing Adele Silver? But she was our strongest chance of getting Grandma Grant off the hook so I wanted to keep a close eye on her. My breath steamed up the window and I wiped the condensation away with my sleeve. There was still no sign of Adele Silver and it was beginning to get dark.
“Oh, hello,” Jess said in a bright voice. “I’m hoping to speak to Franklin Reynolds with a view to using his services to represent my grandmother, Priscilla Grant. I think you might know her.”
Jess nodded, and I could hear a murmur of a voice from the other end of the telephone call. It all seemed perfectly normal, and then Jess’s jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, walking away from the window towards her.
Jess covered the end of the mouthpiece with her hand and said in an urgent whisper, “It’s a wizard lawyer. A whole firm of them! I didn’t even know they existed.”
Uh-oh. I didn’t like the sound of that at all. I didn’t even know what a wizard lawyer was?
“Maybe they mean wizard as in very magical or good?” I suggested.
“No, they mean wizard as in witches and wizards and magical beings,” Jess said. “Do you think this is a good idea, Harper? I’m bringing magic to Abbott Cove?”
“Well, we’re already in Abbott Cove, and we’re magical.”
Jess’s worried gaze met mine. “Yes, but we’re hardly the most powerful family of witches. You can’t even get through your Spell 101 course.”
I scowled. That was uncalled for. True, but uncalled for.
“Oh I didn’t mean it is a criticism,” Jess said hurriedly, obviously seeing the change in expression on my face. “I just meant we’re not really a threat to everyday people. Not like some practitioners of powerful magic. This is a firm of wizard lawyers who operate in Boston. Goodness knows what Abbott Cove would make of Franklin Reynolds.”
“Well, Grandma Grant must have thought about this and decided it’s what she wanted.”
Jess suddenly straightened and removed her hand from the mouthpiece. “Yes, I don’t mind holding for another few minutes. That’s absolutely fine.”
Then she re-covered the mouthpiece and looked at me desperately. “I don’t know what to do, Harper. This could get Grandma Grant into more trouble.”
Jess was right. Hiring a wizard lawyer had serious implications and I felt completely out of my depth. I glanced down at Athena, who was still sitting patiently, gazing at the front door, waiting for Grandma Grant’s return.
“You’re right,” I said. “It’s not without risk, but I think we have to go with what Grandma Grant wants. It’s her freedom and reputation that’s at stake. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“I can’t believe you just said that,” Jess said. “I can think of a lot of things that could go wrong. Things that will probably keep me up all night worrying.”
I was about to reply when, suddenly, there was a hazy disturbance in the air just a few feet away beside a large armchair. I blinked as the disturbance morphed and whirled before finally forming a solid mass. A person. A man to be exact… dressed quite strangely: A purple smoking jacket and a black beret. He wasn’t very tall; I guessed him to be about an inch taller than me.
He brushed himself down before looking up and smiling at me. Don’t tell me I had another ghost to deal with.
But then I heard the sound of the phone crashing to the floor and turned to see Jess staring at the same man as me. If Jess could see him, that meant he definitely wasn’t a ghost.
“Who are you?” Jess demanded.
He bowed and then introduced himself. “I’m Franklin Reynolds, wizard lawyer, at your service. I believe you called.”
Jess recovered herself quickly but I just stared at him. Jess leaned down, picked up the phone she’d dropped, and replaced it on the telephone table.
“Yes, I called, by telephone. I didn’t expect you to turn up in my living room.”
“Oh.” He smiled. “I take it you haven’t used the services of a wizard lawyer before.”
“Well, no, but I don’t see what that’s got to do with it. You could have knocked on the front door like a normal person.”
“Terribly sorry,” Franklin said. “But it’s quite a long way from Boston, and my teleportation skills are rather precise. I only had the phone to lock on to, after all.”
Teleportation? Wow. I was seriously impressed. If he could do that, surely getting Grandma Grant off the hook for Adele’s murder would be a breeze. “Why don’t you sit down?” I suggested. “Would you like a cup of tea?”
Franklin took a seat in the large armchair beside him, but then shook his head. “No thanks, I just had a lovely cup of lemon zest tea and ginger biscuits baked by my assistant, Neville. Magical biscuits of course,” he said with a wink. “They’re the best kind, aren’t they?”
“Um, yes. I suppose they are.” I walked further into the room, taking a seat on the sofa beside his large armchair. “Do you remember Grandma Grant? Uhh… Priscilla Grant?” I asked.
His smile widened and his eyes took on a glassy appearance. “Oh yes, I could never forget Priscilla.”
Jess and I exchanged a look. Just what kin
d of relationship had our grandmother had with this man?
Still, we didn’t have time for that. We needed to get down to business.
Jess sat beside me on the sofa. “Our grandmother has been taken in for questioning at the local sheriff’s department.”
“I see. Perhaps you could bring me up to speed on the crime she’s been accused of, and then I could teleport myself down to the sheriff’s department.”
I gulped, imagining the expressions on the faces of Chief Wickham and Joe McGrady if Franklin suddenly appeared in the middle of their interrogation.
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. We can drive you there. It might arouse less suspicion that way.”
“Oh you don’t need to worry about that. I’m terribly careful when it comes to normal folk. I only teleported straight here because, well, I knew you were witches and Priscilla is a very close friend of mine.”
“Oh, I see,” I said, still not really enjoying the idea of him teleporting to the sheriff’s office.
“Yes, I can be discreet when I need to be.” He winked at me.
“Well, I can quickly summarize the case for you. We were all attending—that is, most of Abbott Cove was attending—the spring fair today. The weather was bad so we took it inside the church hall. Grandma Grant was participating in our bake-off competition along with Adele Silver. Adele was unfortunately murdered; I found her in the restroom with a knife sticking out of her chest”
Franklin grimaced. “Oh dear. That doesn’t sound good. But why exactly was your grandmother a suspect?”
“Good question,” Jess said. “There’s no good reason to suspect her of murder. Of course she wasn’t involved. The trouble is, she has quite a history with Adele. They didn’t get on at all, and were very competitive, particularly when it came to this bake-off.”
“Oh, I see. That doesn’t sound like a particularly strong motive.”
“Oh no, it isn’t, and hopefully Chief Wickham and Deputy McGrady will realize that and let her go,” I said. “We just needed your help in case it becomes more serious.”
Franklin nodded gravely. “You called the right person, my dears. You don’t need to worry any more now I’m on the case.”
A Witchy Bake-off Page 6
