Witch Is When Things Fell Apart (21 page)

Chapter 27

I had no way of knowing if the man who’d been murdered in Magpie Place was the same man who’d contacted me, but it was a pretty safe bet. Someone wasn’t happy about my investigation into TDO, and was prepared to do anything, including murder, to stop it.

“How’s Kathy settling into her new job?” Mrs V asked.

“I haven’t heard anything from her in a couple of days, but something tells me Grandma isn’t going to be fun to work for.”

“Is she ever fun?”

“Not really. What time is Jackie Langford due here?”

“In a few minutes.”

Winky looked particularly pleased with himself—never a good sign.

“Here!” He pushed a glossy brochure across the desk to me.

“What’s this?”

“It’s the offices I told you about. They’re a really high spec. We might even get decent broadband over there.”

I would have told him where he could stuff his brochure, but I didn’t want him to create a scene while Jackie Langford was in the office. “I’ll take a look later. I have a client due any minute.”

He one-eyed me suspiciously. Fortunately, before he could say anything, Mrs V opened the door and showed Jackie Langford inside.

Winky wrapped himself around her legs as she stroked him. They really were BFFs.

“You said you had news,” she said as she joined me at my desk.

I laid out the story as I knew it. “It’s a tragedy from beginning to end. Jason had no idea that Alan Dennis was his father. When he found out, he was devastated.”

“And took his own life.”

I nodded. “Alan recognised the Dixons. Hardly surprising given the circumstances. Whether he’d intended to do anything about it we’ll never know, but Reginald Dixon wasn’t taking any chances.”

“What about the CCTV?”

“I’m not sure we’ll ever know the full details, but my guess is that Darcy James had tried to persuade Jason Allan to kill Alan. He’d wanted to help her, but had been too afraid. Darcy needed to persuade him he could commit the crime without fear of being caught. That’s when she hatched the plan to stage the scene for the CCTV and to swap the tapes. She’s a woman who knows how to use her considerable charms to get what she wants from men. Hooking up with Tony, the man at Gravesend Security, had been easy for her. He was putty in her hands. Once he’d agreed to swap the tapes, she’d been able to convince Jason that he’d have nothing to fear. The three of them in the lift: the Dixons and Darcy James had choreographed the thing perfectly. By dressing identically on both days, they’d made it almost impossible to spot the difference between the CCTV recordings.”

“Why didn’t the Dixons simply leave Washbridge when they recognised Alan?”

“Mrs Dixon said it was because they were in the midst of a new Ponzi scheme, but I don’t buy that. Reginald Dixon probably told his wife that, but I’m more inclined to believe he didn’t want to risk losing Darcy James. If they’d had to relocate and find new identities, that would have put an end to the affair.”

“What’s going to happen to them?”

“Difficult to say. They’ll definitely all be charged with conspiracy to murder, but because they were actually present when the murder took place, they may even be charged with murder. Mrs Dixon may get away with the lesser charge if she agrees to appear as a witness for the prosecution.”

“Will she do that?”

“I’m certain she will. She loved her husband and had stood by him all of those years only to be traded in for a younger model. She wants her revenge.”

Fortunately for me, Winky was asleep when Jackie Langford left, so I was able to sneak out before he could start on at me again about moving offices.

“Are we relocating, Jill?” Mrs V asked as I was leaving.

“No. Why?”

“Someone put this brochure on my desk.” She held up an identical brochure to the one Winky had foisted upon me.

“We’re not going anywhere. I love this old office.”

I’d put it off as long as I could, but it was time to confront Miles Best. What exactly was I supposed to say to him? I had absolutely no idea. I was en route when I bumped into Lester—literally.

“Jill?”

“Where have you been hiding?”

“I haven’t.”

“Come on. No one’s seen you for ages. When I saw you the other day, you ran off. Aunt Lucy is terribly upset.”

“That’s the last thing I wanted.”

“What did you expect? You disappeared without a word.”

“I thought if I stayed away, she might just forget about me.”

“Really? Don’t you realise how much she cares about you? She’s not going to forget about you just like that. If you’ve found someone else or grown tired of the relationship, the least you can do is tell her.”

“No. It’s nothing like that.”

“Then what is it?”

“I can’t say.”

“I’m not leaving until you do.”

He could see I meant what I said, so we found a quiet little coffee shop where he told me everything.

Miles had moved back in with his parents. He’d lived and worked for many years in the human world, but according to the twins, had grown tired of that life so had moved back to Candlefield. Just as the twins had said, he lived on a small cul-de-sac, but I didn’t know which house was his, so I asked the young witch who was tending to her garden.

“Excuse me. I’m looking for Miles Best.”

“What do you want him for?” she said, abruptly. “Are you his girlfriend?”

“No. Nothing like that. Do you know him?”

“I should do. I’ve lived here all my life. This used to be my parents’ house. They’re both dead now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Miles and I grew up together. We played together and went to school together. I always thought—” She seemed to drift off—lost in her own thoughts for a few seconds.

“I didn’t catch your name,” I said.

“It’s Mindy. Mindy Lowe.”

It didn’t take a private investigator to see that Mindy Lowe had a thing for Miles.

“I understand he came back recently. Has he changed much?”

“Not to me. He might look a little different, I guess, but don’t we all?” She laughed nervously.

“Have you seen much of him since he moved back to Candlefield?”

She shook her head. “We’ve said hello. That’s all.”

“Which is his house?”

She pointed. “Tell him I said ‘hi’ would you?”

“Sure.”

Miles answered the door. “It’s you, again. I saw you in Cuppy C with Amber and Pearl.”

“That’s right. Are your parents in?”

“No, they’ve gone shopping. Why?”

“I’d like a word with you. Can I come in?” I didn’t wait for an answer.

“I thought the twins liked me,” Miles said.

I felt like I’d just kicked a puppy.

“They do like you, Miles,” I lied. “But they’re both engaged now. How would it look if they were to be seen with you? I’m sure you understand. And besides, their fiancés are big guys. Very big.”

“Really?”

“You wouldn’t want to upset them.”

“No. I don’t want to do that. I had no idea.”

“Oh, and by the way, Mindy says ‘hi’.”

“She did?” He smiled. “Mindy and I have been friends forever.”

“You do realise she’d like to be more than just friends, don’t you?”

“Mindy? No. She doesn’t think of me like that.”

Were all men this stupid? On the evidence so far, I’d have to say yes.

“You’re wrong. Trust me on this one. Why don’t you invite her over for a cup of tea and a chat?” I grinned. “I’m sure she’ll say yes.”

“Really? You’re sure?”

“One hundred percent.”

I let the twins know that they were off the hook with Miles, but declined their offer of a free blueberry muffin. My jeans were already pinching a little. En route to Aunt Lucy’s I made a phone call to Annie Christy.

“Annie? It’s Jill. You know you said I should call if I ever needed a favour? Well—”

Aunt Lucy cried when I explained the situation.

“The stupid idiot.”

“He was afraid to tell you.”

“Why?”

“Men are stupid. He thought you’d think less of him because he’d lost his magic powers.”

“I couldn’t care less about that.”

“
I
know that, and
you
know that. But Lester—well—Lester is a man.”

“I have to go and talk to him.”

“Before you do—I took the liberty of speaking to Annie Christy, Beryl’s daughter. She works for SupAid, a charity which works with sups who have lost their powers. She said that she’d be happy to put Lester in touch with the right people. According to her, the problem often turns out to be only a temporary one, so his powers may yet return. But if they don’t, there is support available.”

“Thanks, Jill. I’ll make sure he contacts her.” She opened her arms. “Come here, and give me a hug.”

I left Aunt Lucy’s and started to walk towards the town square. It was market day, and I thought I’d spend an hour looking around. My phone rang.

“Jill? It’s Jack Maxwell.”

“Hello, Detective Maxwell.”

“Detective?” He laughed. “I guess I deserve that. Look, I have some news I thought you’d like to hear.”

“About the Tregar case?”

“No, I think you know all there is to know about that. I just wanted you to know that Susan Shay has gone back to her old post. Things didn’t work out for her down here.”

“That is a shame. Just when me and Sushi were beginning to hit it off.”

“She’s a good detective.”

“Yeah, so you said.”

“Anyway, I just thought you would want to know.”

“Thanks.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Bye, then.”

“Bye, Jack.”

Yes! So long, Sushi! Now that she was out of the picture maybe Jack and me could give it another go. Whatever ‘it’ was. It’s not like I had the added complication of Drake to worry about.

“Are you Jill Gooder?” The scruffy looking wizard stepped out of a doorway in front of me.

“Who are you? What do you want?” I was on my guard—ready with the ‘lightning bolt’ spell if I needed it.

“I’m Raven, Drake’s brother.”

“Drake? Did he send you to see me?”

“No. He doesn’t know I’m here.”

“Is he okay?”

“Yes, well sort of. He’s not happy that you dumped him. You found out about his record, didn’t you? Did Daze tell you?”

“I—err”

“Never mind. I know it was her. There’s more to it than she knows.”

“What do you mean?”

“Drake did nothing wrong. He took the blame and the fall for me. He should never have been arrested or convicted. I wanted to say something at the time, but he wouldn’t let me. Whatever you think he did, he didn’t. He’s a good man, and a fantastic brother. If it wasn’t for him, I’d probably be dead by now. I just thought you should know.”

With that, he turned and left.

Oh bum! What had I done? I’d treated Drake badly, and hadn’t even given him a chance to put his side of the story. What was I supposed to do now? There was only one thing I could do at a time like this.

“Thanks.” I took three custard creams from the newly opened packet.

“Are you sure you’ve got enough there?” Kathy said.

“Go on then. I’ll have one more.”

She snatched the packet away before I had the chance.

“I really needed this.” I took a bite of custard cream nirvana. “I’ve had one heck of a day.”

“You think you’ve had a bad day. You should have been here this morning.”

“Why what happened?”

“Lizzie was inconsolable. I didn’t think I was going to get her to school.”

“Is she under the weather?”

“No, nothing like that. Do you remember that scrawny old soft toy?”

“She has so many.”

“The singing rabbit.”

“Oh yeah. What did you call it?
Things
?”

“Yeah. Well, we had no choice but to throw him out.”

“Why?”

“Things fell apart.”

“Can’t you mend him?”

“I’ve tried, but the whole thing has perished. There’s nothing left to fix. Pete’s going to have a look around town after work to see if he can find anything similar. I’m not sure it will make any difference even if he does. It still won’t be ‘Things’.”

Poor Lizzie.