Witch Is When I Said Goodbye (A Witch P.I. Mystery Book 10) (3 page)

“Pete says we should. He thinks it’s a good thing that Mikey has developed an interest in music.”

“Won’t it drive you mad?”

“We’re going to strike a deal with Mikey. We’ll buy him a drum kit for his birthday, but only on the condition that he plays it in the shop where we bought it.”

“How does that work?”

“They have a room upstairs that they use specifically for drums. According to the shop owner, a lot of people keep their drum kits there because, unsurprisingly, drums tend not to go down well with the neighbours. They can play them as often as they like for a nominal fee each month.”

“So, Mikey would never actually bring the drum kit home?”

“That’s right.”

“I’m not sure he’ll go for that.”

“He will if it’s that or no drum kit. Pete and I talked it over, and we’d rather take him there a couple of times a week, than have to listen to it all day, every day, in the house.”

“What about drum day at Coffee Triangle?”

“That would be part of the deal too. No more drum day.”

“Sounds like you’ve given it a lot of thought.”

“We had to. We can’t carry on with the constant drumming in the house any longer. It’s bad enough with the one he’s got. If he brought a full drum kit home, I’d be moving out. Or Pete would.”

“Can you afford all of this?”

“The drum kit is quite expensive, but Pete still has some money left over from what the colonel left him. Without that, there’s no way we could have afforded it.”

“The colonel will be pleased to know that the money has been put to good use.”

“What do you mean?
Will
be pleased to know? He’s dead. Have you forgotten.”

Whoops!

“I meant he
would
have been pleased to know. Obviously.”

Chapter 3

I was on my way to speak to Rowena Crowsfoot’s husband, Arnold. Mrs V had been in touch with him, and he’d agreed to see me.

His house was on the same estate as Cecelia Longbourn’s. A modest two-bedroom semi-detached; its garden put the others in the street to shame. Someone clearly had green fingers.

The policeman on the gate wasn’t picking his nose; he was too busy scratching his backside. Boredom did strange things to people.

“You can’t go in there.” You’d have thought he’d have the common courtesy to stop scratching while he spoke to me. But no.

“I’m expected.”

“This is a crime scene. Move along.”

“I’m expecting her,” an elderly man shouted from the doorway. “She’s a friend.”

Scratching boy scowled, but allowed me through. I gave him a wide berth just in case whatever he had was contagious.

“Thanks for seeing me, Mr Crowsfoot.”

Although he was getting on in years, he was still in remarkably good shape.

“Arnold, please.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, Arnold.”

“I still can’t believe it. That she’s gone, I mean. I keep expecting her to walk in with a cup of tea in her hand. Who would do such a thing?”

There were no words I could say that would comfort him, so I waited until he continued.

“Annabel said you’re a private investigator.” He looked me up and down. “Isn’t that rather dangerous for a woman?”

“It can be, but I’ve been doing it for a long time. My father taught me everything I know.”

“Ah, I see. Annabel said you might be able to find out who did this terrible thing, but what can you do that the police can’t?”

“Maybe nothing, but it can’t do any harm for me to try, as long as you don’t object?”

“I suppose not.”

“Can you talk me through what happened last night?”

“I’ll try, but it’s all a bit hazy.”

“Take your time. There’s no hurry.”

“I work security now at the local history museum—on the late shift. I’m just the night watchman really. No one is ever going to break in—there’s nothing of any real value worth stealing. I never get home until the early hours of the morning. That’s when I found Rowena.”

“I believe there was a note?”

“That’s right. It didn’t make any sense to me. The policeman said part of it was in French.”

“Did it say something like:
‘knit une, kill une’
?”

“Yes. That was it.”

“Was there any sign of a break-in or a struggle?”

“Not that I could see.”

“Is there anyone you can think of who might have wanted to hurt your wife? Anyone at all?”

“No one. If you’d known Rowena, you’d understand. She’s such a friendly soul. She doesn’t have an enemy in the world. The police told me that Cecelia Longbourn has also been murdered. Do you think someone could be targeting the members of the knitting circle?”

“That’s certainly how it looks at the moment. The police are going to provide protection for the other members.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through this.”

***

After a depressing start to the day, I needed something to raise my spirits. What better way than to take my darling dog for a walk in Candlefield park?

“Barry! I won’t tell you again. Come here!”

He ignored me as per usual. I’d made the fatal mistake of forgetting his treats, so the chances of him listening to me were practically zero. He was running around and around the lake, but thankfully, so far, had not decided to go for a dip. As I got closer to the lake, I spotted a couple sitting on a bench. It was Amber, but the man with her definitely wasn’t William. It was Sebastian—Aunt Lucy’s new gardener. The two of them were laughing and joking. Even from this distance, I could tell they were flirting with one another. What on earth was Amber thinking?

I didn’t want her to see me, so I hurried back to the top of the park and stayed there until Barry ran out of steam, and came to find me. When he eventually did, I looked back down the park; Amber and Sebastian were still together on the bench.

Back at Cuppy C, I treated myself to a cup of tea and a muffin. I was still trying to figure out what I should do about Amber, when she walked in.

“Hi, Jill!” she called—all
butter wouldn’t melt
. She wasn’t fooling me with her
little miss innocent
act.

“Hi.” I couldn’t bring myself to smile at her.

“What’s up with you, misery guts?” She pulled up a seat and joined me at my table.

“Nothing.”

“Come on. You look like you’ve lost a fiver and found a penny.”

“I took Barry for a walk in the park earlier.”

“Oh?” Her smile faded a little.

“I saw you there, Amber.”

“I just went for a walk.”

“You were with Sebastian.”

“I bumped into him.”

“You were flirting.”

“I was
not
flirting.”

“I’m not stupid. I know flirting when I see it.”

“It was nothing, honestly. We were just having a laugh.”

“Why were you with him in the first place? And don’t give me that
bumped into him
rubbish.”

“If you must know, he asked me out.”

“What about William?”

“Why the inquisition? I haven’t done anything wrong. Sebastian and I are just friends.”

“Why were you flirting, then?”

“If you must know, Sebastian said he has feelings for me.”

“Amber, grow up! He’s only known you for five minutes. How can he possibly have feelings for you?”

“You’re a fine one to talk. You’ve got half a dozen men on the go.”

Wow! Below the belt.

“No, I haven’t. And anyway,
I
don’t have a fiancé!”

“I know.” Her bravado evaporated. “I feel terrible.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know. You won’t tell anyone will you?”

“I’m not going to lie to William for you. You have to make your mind up who you want to be with, and if you decide it’s Sebastian, you have to tell William. You owe him that much.”

“You’re right. I know you’re right, but please don’t say anything to William. Not until I decide what I’m going to do.”

“Okay. But make it quick. It’s not fair to string him along.”

“I know. I’ll get it sorted I promise.”

I didn’t know what to do for the best. I wished I’d never seen Amber and Sebastian together. William was a great guy, and he didn’t deserve to be treated that way. But then, Amber
was
my cousin, and I didn’t want to drop her in it. I just hoped she’d make her mind up one way or the other quickly. I hated keeping secrets.

***

While I was in Candlefield, I decided to take a look around the market. As I was wandering aimlessly around the edge of the square, I spotted a couple sitting inside a bar which faced onto the market.

It was Pearl! And the man she was with was none other than Sebastian! What on earth was going on? The two of them were quite obviously flirting. That man was unbelievable!

I hurried past—I didn’t want either of them to spot me.

Back at the flat above Cuppy C, I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew someone was knocking on the door.

“Jill, are you all right?” Pearl let herself into the room.

“Yeah, I must have fallen asleep.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? We wondered where you were.”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay.” She turned to walk away.

“Pearl, hold on a minute. I was in the marketplace earlier.”

“Did you buy anything?”

“No, but I did see you with Sebastian.”

She had the same guilty expression as Amber had had earlier.

“It’s nothing. We were just talking. We’re just friends.”

“You were flirting, Pearl. I saw you.”

“He says he has feelings for me.”

“Really? How very surprising.”

“Don’t be like that, Jill. He can’t help how he feels.”

Apparently not.

“What about Alan?”

“I don’t know what to do. You won’t tell him, will you?”

“No, but you have to decide what you’re going to do—stay with Alan or give him up for that playboy.”

“Why would you call Sebastian that? You don’t know him.”

“Oh, I think I know him well enough. So who’s it to be? Alan or Sebastian?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’d better decide, and quick. It’s not fair to treat Alan like this.”

“I know. You’re right. I’ll get it sorted.”

“You better had.”

***

As soon as I got back to Washbridge, my phone rang. It was Tom Hawk.

“Yes, Tom.”

“Jill, I thought you should know that we’ve spoken to all the other members of the knitting circle, and all but one of them have agreed to accept police protection. We’re going to assign a police officer to each of them—for a few days at least.”

“That’s good to hear. Can’t you persuade the other member?”

“We’re going to need your help for that. The hold-out is your P.A, Mrs Versailles. She refuses point-blank to allow it. That’s why I called. I wondered if you’d have a word, and see if you can get her to change her mind?”

I might have known.

“Of course. I’ll talk to her. While I’ve got you on the phone—I wanted to ask whether you thought there was any sort of French connection? Considering what was written on the notes.”

“There definitely isn’t.”

“How can you be so certain already? Surely the notes—”

“I’m positive. Look, I shouldn’t really be telling you any of this, but it’s not French at all.”

“I don’t understand. I thought it said:
knit une, kill une
.”

“That’s what it looks like, but that’s not what it actually says. It’s
knit one, kill one
. According to our experts, the typewriter used to type the notes has a faulty key, so what looks like a ‘U’ is actually an ‘O’.”

“I see. So, presumably, if you can find the typewriter with that faulty key, you’ve found your murderer?”

“Precisely. Sorry, Jill, but I have to go. Don’t forget to have a word with your P.A.”

I caught up with Mrs V back at the office.

“The police have been in touch, Mrs V.”

“Have they found the murderer?”

“No. It’s early days yet. They told me you’ve refused to accept police protection.”

“I don’t need protecting, dear.”

“Whoever is doing this appears to be targeting members of your knitting circle.”

“I don’t care. If anyone messes with me, they’ll find themselves on the wrong end of a size seven.”

“Is there anything I can do to persuade you to change your mind?”

She gave me a look which said
‘not a chance’
.

“At least think about it, and let me know if you have a change of heart.”

“I won’t change my mind.”

That woman was almost as obstinate as I was.

“Have
you
made any progress on the hunt for the murderer, Jill?”

“I’ve spoken to Jessie White and Arnold Crowsfoot.”

“Did you learn anything of interest?”

“Not really. Is there anyone you can think of who might have a grudge against the knitting circle? Anyone at all?”

“We did have to expel a couple of members last year. Let me see. There was Doris Drystone. She unravelled another member’s knitting—a jumper. And then there was Wanda Moore. She borrowed needles from several members, and never gave them back. We simply can’t tolerate that sort of behaviour.”

“Do you happen to have their addresses?”

“We’ve got a file with all the members’ names, addresses, and phone numbers in it. I’ll dig them out for you.”