Witch Is When I Said Goodbye (A Witch P.I. Mystery Book 10) (9 page)

“I contacted an office supplies company—one that still deals in the old manual typewriters.”

“I’m surprised any of them still do.”

“It took a while, but I eventually located a small family business which provides spares and maintenance to the few hold-outs who refuse to upgrade their beloved manual typewriters. I got them to file down the letter ‘O’ on one of the machines which they keep for spares. Then I typed a letter to our friend Arnold.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. “This is a copy of it.”

Tom Hawk studied it for a few seconds.

“It’s gobbledegook.”

“Not if you change some of the ‘U’s to an ‘O’.

Meet me at Washbridge Park, by the streetlight near the bridge, at nine-thirty. Bring five thuusand puunds ur I gu tu the pulice.”

“Ah, I see. So he knew someone was onto him?”

“Yes, and he had no intention of paying them off because he feared that whoever it was might keep coming back for more money. He brought his knitting needle instead.”

Chapter 10

“Good morning, Mrs V.”

She didn’t look up, but instead continued to stare at her knitting.

“Mrs V? Good morning.”

She obviously hadn’t heard me, so I waved my hand in front of her face. When I finally got her attention, she removed her ear plugs. No wonder she hadn’t been able to hear me.

“Why are you wearing those?”

“Because of all the noise coming from your office.”

I listened for a few moments. “I can’t hear anything.”

“It keeps stopping and starting.”

“What kind of noise?”

“Music of some kind.”

If Winky had got his DJ console out again, I would swing for him.

“I’ll see to it.”

Winky was lying on the sofa with his paws clamped over his ears; there was no sign of the DJ console. But now I could see where the music was coming from. Next to the far wall, was a piano, which appeared to be playing itself.

What the?

A man’s ghostly figure appeared on the seat in front of the piano.

“Alberto?”

“Hi, Jill.” He stopped playing and turned to face me.

I loved that man’s Welsh accent. But, I digress.

“You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here.”

“Kind of. Yeah.”

“Your mother’s to blame. She nagged me to get a hobby, but then when I did, she complained that she couldn’t hear the TV when I was playing.”

“I’m still not sure why you’re in my office.”

“Darlene banned me from playing in the house, so I needed somewhere else to practise. It was your mum who came up with the idea of coming here.”

“Did she now? That was good of her.”

“I told her that it might not be convenient, but she said you rarely had any work on.”

Thanks Mum!

“You can stay for a while, but then you and your ghost piano will have to go somewhere else, I’m afraid.”

“Ghost piano?”

“Isn’t that what it is?”

“No.” He laughed. “There’s no such thing as a ghost piano. It’s a real one.”

“Of course. Silly me.”

“If it’s okay with you, I’ll just play for another hour or so, and then I’ll get out of your way. Darlene will just have to put up with it.”

“Sure, that’s fine.”

He began to play again—it wasn’t really my kind of music, but there was no denying he had a certain talent. I stood behind him to watch more closely.

“Jill?” I hadn’t heard Kathy walk in behind me.

Oh bum!

How was I meant to explain this? I had to think on my feet, and quick.

I whispered to Alberto, “Keep playing.”

I started to move my hands across the keys—hopefully from where Kathy was standing it would look as though it was me playing.

“How long have you been able to play the piano?”

“Some time now. I took lessons last year.”

I still had my back to her, and was trying to follow Alberto’s hand movements with my own.

“You never mentioned it. Aren’t you meant to sit down when you play?”

“I find I play better when I stand.”

“Well, I have to say, you’re very good. You should teach Lizzie and Mikey.”

I whispered to Alberto. “On three, stop playing. One, two, three.”

He stopped, and I turned around to face Kathy.

“I’m not really qualified.”

“But you’re so good. And, they could use your piano.”

“I have to get rid of it. The landlord said it’s against my tenancy agreement.”

“Pity. But hey, I’ve just had a great idea. You could enter the next talent competition with Lizzie.”

“Yeah. I don’t think so.”

Fortunately, it was only a flying visit, and Kathy couldn’t stay for long.

“Sorry about that, Jill,” Alberto said, after she’d left. “I rather dropped you in it.”

“That’s okay, but the piano has to go.”

“I understand, and I’m sorry. It will be gone within the hour. I just need to organise transport.”

“No problem, but do me a favour. Please tell Mum I’d like a word with her, would you?”

***

Shortly after Alberto had taken his piano away, Mad popped into the office.

“I’ve done some checking, Jill. You’re right about that thug, Battery. He’s definitely plotting to get revenge on you. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about it unless I catch him in the act. You should be safe for now because he only recently entered the ghost world, and it takes a while for new ghosts to get their full range of powers. He’s quite capable of visiting the human world for just a few seconds, as he did to deliver that parcel, but there’s no way he would have enough strength to kill you at the moment. The problem is, once he does, he could strike at any time.”

“What do you suggest I do? I can’t just wait around until he decides to bump me off.”

“If I were you, I would try to draw him out now while he’s still relatively weak.”

“I thought you said he wouldn’t be able to come into the human world for more than a few seconds. That doesn’t give me time to do much of anything.”

“He’ll be strongest at the place where he lived just before his death.”

“That was prison.”

“Before that. Where did he live before he got sent down? Do you know?”

“Yes. With his girlfriend, Hilary Vicars.”

“Then you need to somehow get into her house and draw him out. If you can do that, and if I can catch him in the act of attacking you, then I can have him sent back to Ghost Town, and you’ll be safe.”

“That sounds dangerous, but I suppose it’s better than simply hanging around, waiting for him to get the jump on me. I’ll see what I can arrange, and keep you posted. Thanks for your help, Mad.”

***

I was sorting my rubber bands by size and colour when my phone rang. It was Kathy.

“Hey, Jill. Are you busy?”

“Quite busy, yeah.”

“That’s a pity.”

“Why? What’s up?”

“I’m bored to tears. I wondered if you fancied coming down to Ever for a chat.”

“You’re usually run off your feet. How come you’re bored?”

“Come down here and you’ll see for yourself.”

“Like I said, I’m pretty snowed under, but I suppose I could spare half an hour. I’ll be there in a minute or two.”

The rubber bands would just have to wait.

“I’m just popping down to Ever, Mrs V. Do you need anything while I’m there?”

“No thank you, dear. I’m stocked up on yarn at the moment.”

“I shouldn’t be long.”

When I got there, the place was almost empty. There was one person in the shop itself, and only another two in the tea room. I’d never seen it so empty; it was usually a struggle to get through the door.

“What’s going on, Kathy?”

“Look over there.” She pointed across the road to the new shop, Best Wool, which was now open. It was crammed full of customers.

“What does Grandma have to say about that?”

“She hasn’t been in yet today, thank goodness. She’ll blow a fuse when she sees the shop is empty. And I dread to think what she’ll have to say about that crowd across the road.”

“Why don’t I go over there for a few minutes to see what I can find out about the competition?”

“Go for it.” Kathy nodded.

The sales assistant on the door of Best Wool was handing out goody bags, which contained Wonder Needles.

“What are these exactly?” I acted dumb. What do you mean, that shouldn’t have been difficult?

The sales assistant gave me the spiel.

As I’d suspected, they worked just like Grandma’s One-Size Knitting Needles. Oh dear, this wasn’t looking good.

Best Wool was packed. There were free drinks and cakes on offer, so to stay under the radar, I helped myself to a couple of cupcakes. As I munched away on the first one, an assistant approached me, and asked if I’d be interested in Never-ending Wool.

“What is that exactly?”

“The way it works is that you pay a subscription, and then the wool lasts forever. The price of the subscription depends on how many different colours you want to use. It’s the cheapest wool subscription available in Washbridge.”

“I see. Okay, well I’ll have to think about it, thanks.”

So, not only were they selling their equivalent to One-Size Knitting Needles, but they were also running their own wool subscription service in direct competition with Everlasting Wool. And, they were offering both at a cheaper price. Grandma really was in big trouble. She’d invested a lot of money in Ever A Wool Moment; this new competitor could put her out of business.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice. It came from a man standing in the middle of a predominantly female crowd. It was Miles Best, and standing at his side was his girlfriend and business partner, Mindy Lowe. Now it all made sense. The owners, M and M, were none other than Miles and Mindy.

When Grandma found out, all hell would break loose.

Back at Ever, I told Kathy what I’d seen. Obviously I couldn’t tell her I knew the owners—that would have led to some awkward questions.

“I’d better get back to the office.”

“Why don’t you come over tonight. I’ll let you know how your grandmother takes it when she finds the shop half empty.”

“I can already guess her reaction. She’s going to be on the warpath.”

“Come over anyway. Unless you’re seeing Jacky boy.”

“I haven’t heard from him, and I don’t like to phone. I’m not sure he’ll be in the mood for a night out until this suspension thing gets sorted out.”

“So you’ll come over?”

“Why not?”

Back in the office, I stared at the pile of rubber bands. Is this what it had come to? I had zero paying clients at the moment, and the rent would be due soon. I had to do something, so I made a call.

“Jill?” Daze sounded surprised to hear my voice.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

“About becoming a Rogue Retriever? That’s great. I’ll put your name forward.”

“Hold on. Don’t let’s get ahead of ourselves. You said I could spend a day with you first to see what I thought of it.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll sort something out and get back to you.”

Oh boy! What had I just let myself in for?

***

I’d rung the bell twice, and knocked as loud as I could, but no one had answered the door. I knew Kathy and Peter were in because I could hear the TV.

“Kathy? Peter?” I used my key to let myself in.

“We’re in the lounge,” Kathy shouted.

“Didn’t you hear me at the door?”

“Shush! Have you seen this?” She pointed to the TV. “Someone’s been murdered in Coffee Triangle.”

‘Earlier this evening, a man, who has yet to be identified, was shot and killed in Coffee Triangle. No one appears to have seen or heard the shooting even though the shop was crowded with customers at the time.’

The reporter then turned to a young man at his side.

‘I believe that you were in Coffee Triangle at the time of the murder?’

‘That’s right. I was playing a drum, when someone screamed, but no one seemed to know why. Then someone else screamed, and then slowly everyone stopped drumming, and someone shouted, “He’s dead!” The next thing I knew we were being ushered out of the shop. Then the police arrived.’

‘Did you actually see the victim?’

‘No, I was sitting at the other side of the shop, but I heard someone say that a young woman had asked him to move up, and when she touched him on the shoulder, he fell face first onto the table.’

‘But you didn’t hear a shot?’

‘No, but there was so much noise in there with all the drumming that it’s unlikely anyone would have heard it.’

‘Right, thank you very much. And now, back to the studio.’

“You should investigate that.” Kathy muted the TV.

“I’m not the police. I don’t just go around investigating random crimes. I take on cases for paying customers.”

“I thought it would keep your hand in.”

“I don’t think so. But it doesn’t look good for Coffee Triangle. I don’t imagine many people will be queuing up to get in there after this.”