Witch Is When the Bubble Burst (5 page)

Chapter 7

Steve Lister was waiting for me when I arrived at the office. Stony-faced he seemed to have aged even from the day before.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Not long. Thank you for agreeing to take on the case. I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

“No problem. I hope I’ll be able to help. Let’s go through to my office.”

“Jill!” Mrs V called after me. “You haven’t forgotten that Donald is taking me out for lunch today, have you?”

“Of course not. I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

She frowned. “You won’t say anything stupid to him, will you?”

“Me? Why would I?”

“I know you think you’re funny, but people don’t like to have their names made fun of.”

“I promise to be on my best behaviour.”

Such promising material too. Seriously, what kind of parents with the surname ‘Hook’ would come up with the name Donald? Surely they must have foreseen the consequences. Had they never watched cartoons?

“Thanks again, Miss Gooder,” Steve Lister said.

“Call me Jill, please. Obviously I’ve seen the news reports, but it would probably be best if you brought me up to date with events as you know them.”

That didn’t take long. It turned out that he didn’t know much more about the actual kidnapping than had been reported in the press.

“What about Amanda’s parents?”

“They won’t even speak to me.”

“Why not? Did you fall out with them or something?”

“They’ve never liked me—right from the get-go. They didn’t think I was good enough for Amanda. They were right in some respects, but they could see she was in love, so they were forced to tolerate me. Since she was abducted, they’ve refused point blank to speak to me. They won’t let me in their house. They basically refuse to acknowledge my existence.”

I could see that he was barely holding it together. Didn’t Amanda’s parents understand that he was hurting just as much as they were?

“Where was she snatched?”

“No one saw her being taken. The first anyone knew about it was when someone found the note.”

“The ransom note?”

“No. There hasn’t actually been a ransom request as such.”

“How can you be sure if her parents won’t talk to you?”

“They’re divorced. Her mother remarried—a man called Bob Dale. He’s a fantastic guy—more of a parent to Amanda than her birth parents have ever been. He and I get on great too. He’s been keeping me posted.”

“You mentioned a note?”

“Yeah. Like I said, it wasn’t really a ransom note. It said something like:
‘We have Amanda. Don’t call the police or she will die. We will be in touch’
.”

“But they haven’t? As far as you know?”

“No. Bob would have told me. Is that unusual?”

“I’m not sure.” I was no expert when it came to kidnapping. I had no doubt that Jack Maxwell would know, but I could hardly ask him. “What are the police doing?”

“Not much. They say they are, but nothing seems to be happening. They talked to me a couple of times, but I couldn’t tell them anything. I think everyone is waiting for the ransom note to arrive.” He wiped away a tear. “Do you think she’s still alive?”

I had no idea. “I’m sure she is. Whoever has got her is in it for the money. They have to keep her safe if they want to get paid.”

“It doesn’t always work out like that though, does it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at the Camberley kidnapping. The ransom got paid and they still killed her.”

“That isn’t going to happen here,” I said with as much conviction as I could muster.

Maybe I’d been too rash in deciding to take on this case. Maxwell had been an asshat on the phone, but it was understandable given what had happened in his previous kidnapping case. I should have kept my cool and stayed out of it, but how could I back out now that I’d built up Steve Lister’s hopes?

“I need to speak to Bob Dale,” I said. “Can you arrange that? Do you think he’ll talk to me?”

“He definitely will. I’ll sort something out and either he or I will give you a call.”

***

I was just starting to feel peckish when I heard a man’s voice in the outer office.

“You must be Jill. Annabel has told me so much about you. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Donald—”

Please don’t say it. I’ll never be able to keep a straight face if you do. Mrs V was looking daggers at me.

“Donald Hook.”

I grabbed a tissue from my pocket and pretended to sneeze. It was the only way I could stifle the laugh.

“Sorry about that,” I said.

Mrs V’s face reddened with anger. Oh dear, I was in for it later.

“Pleased to meet you,” I said. “I hear you and Mrs V—I mean Annabel, go way back.”

“We do indeed. We were something of a ‘thing’ back in the day. Weren’t we Annabel?”

Mrs V giggled like a young school girl. This was definitely a side of her I hadn’t seen before.

“Did she knit back then?” I figured small talk might take my mind off his name.

“Knit? Annabel?” He laughed. “No, she was quite the wild child.”

“Really? Tell me more.”

Mrs V grabbed Donald’s arm. “No time for that now. We’ll be late for our reservation.”

“Oh, okay,” Donald said, as he was dragged to the door. “Nice to meet you, Jill.”

“You too. See you later, Wild Child.”

***

I didn’t feel like driving, so I used magic to transport myself to Candlefield. I misjudged the spell a little, and landed on the next street to Cuppy C. As I turned the corner, I immediately knew this was not going to be a good day. The queue outside Best Cakes stretched half way down the street.

“Have you seen that?” Amber yelled at me as soon as I walked through the door. I was the only person in the cake shop.

“How’s the tea room doing?” I said.

“The tea room’s okay—for now. But how long will it be before that snake across the road decides to open one of those too?”

“Where’s Pearl?”

“She’s gone upstairs for a lie down. She’s got herself all worked up. What are we going to do, Jill?”

“It’s too early to start panicking. It’s his opening day—he’ll have lots of silly offers that he won’t be able to maintain. Give it a week and see how things are then.”

“But what if no one wants our cakes any more?” Pearl had appeared, red-eyed at my side.

“Are you okay?” I put an arm around her shoulder.

“Cuppy C is our baby. It means everything to us. What will we do if Miles Best drives us out of business?”

“I think you two are over-reacting a little.” Something I was never guilty of—obviously. “You have first mover advantage.”

Listen at me with my ‘
first mover advantage
’. I’ll be ‘
blue-sky thinking
’ next.

“Once Miles’ opening sale is over, you’ll see business pick up again.”

“I hope you’re right.” Pearl sniffed. “I couldn’t bear it if I had to go and work for someone else.”

“I do have one suggestion,” I said. “But I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”

“Any ideas would be welcome,” Amber said.

“You should ask Grandma for help.”

“Any ideas
except
that one.”

“Hear me out.”

“Grandma?”

“Look, you know that I’m no fan of Grandma, and there’s no love lost between us, but you should see what she’s achieved with Ever A Wool Moment. That place has only been open for five minutes, and it’s going from strength to strength. It pains me to admit it, but the woman is a marketing genius. That shop of hers is always full. She must be making more money in a month than I make all year. There isn’t a week goes by that there isn’t some new marketing initiative. You should ask her to help you.”

“But—but—it’s Grandma.”

“Isn’t there something else we could do instead?” Pearl sounded desperate.

“You could offer up a prayer, but I’m not sure that would be as effective. You have to bite the bullet, and ask her.”

“Will you do it?” Amber said. “Ask Grandma, I mean.”

“Me?” I laughed. “She hates me. She came to my office a couple of days ago, and accused me of setting Trading Standards on her.”

“Did you?” Pearl asked in all seriousness.

“No! Of course I didn’t. I’m not her biggest fan, but I wouldn’t do anything like that.”

Not strictly true—I had considered reporting her for using magic for financial gain in the human world, but there was no reason to tell the twins that.

“Please, Jill!” Amber said. “You’re much better at this kind of thing than we are. You’re not scared of her.”

“Okay. I’ll have a word, but don’t blame me if she says no.”

***

Cuppy C was so quiet that the twins left the staff in charge while we all went to Aunt Lucy’s.

“Jill’s right,” Aunt Lucy said. “It’s too early to panic yet. Wait until the dust settles and then see how things are.”

I was pleased to see that Lester was at Aunt Lucy’s house. They’d recently become an item, but there was a brief hiccup when Lester had discovered that he’d lost his magic powers. He was so embarrassed that he’d been avoiding her. I’d been able to help by putting him in touch with Annie Christy, who was involved with SupAid, a charity which helped sups who lost their powers.

I waited until I got Aunt Lucy alone, and then asked her about Lester.

“Things are much better, dear. Thanks to you and Annie Christy. The specialist she put Lester in touch with has worked wonders.”

“Does he have his powers back?”

“Not yet. It’s going to be a long job according to the specialist, but there are no physical reasons why he shouldn’t make a full recovery in time. We just have to be patient.”

“Nonsense.” Grandma did her usual trick of appearing out of nowhere. “I assume we’re discussing Fester?”

Aunt Lucy’s face flushed red, and I thought for a moment she was going to launch the rolling pin at Grandma.

“His
name
is
Lester
, as you well know. And yes, we are discussing his rehabilitation.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He has temporarily lost his powers—you know that.”

“Do you know what you call a wizard with no magical powers?” Grandma said, and then paused a moment for dramatic effect. “A human.”

“Mother!” Aunt Lucy lunged for Grandma who disappeared before our eyes. “I’ll swing for that woman one day.”

“I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”

“Oh, she meant it. And I’ll mean it too when I strangle her.”

Needless to say, we were all incredibly disappointed when Grandma sent word that she wouldn’t be joining us for dinner.

“After all I do for that woman,” Aunt Lucy said. “No one else would see to her bunions.”

“Mum!” Pearl screwed up her face.

“Gross, mum. We’re eating,” Amber said.

“Sorry girls. Sorry everyone. It’s just that she drives me to distraction. She never has a good word for anyone. If I ever get like that, I want you to shoot me.”

“Don’t worry, I will.” Amber laughed.

“You’ll have to get there before me,” Pearl said.

Chapter 8

I didn’t need to ask Mrs V how her lunch date with The Captain went. She’d done nothing but smile and talk about him since then. I should have been pleased for her—I
was
pleased for her—but I still had a nagging doubt. There was something about The Captain that didn’t ring true to me.

“When will you be seeing The Captain again?” I enquired.

“I do wish you wouldn’t call him that. It’s rather puerile.”

Rather harsh—a bit childish maybe, but not puerile.

“Sorry. Just my silly joke.” “When will you be seeing Don again?”

“His name is Donald. He doesn’t like to be called Don. I saw him last night actually. He made me a proposition.”

“Mrs V! It was only your second date.”

“Not that kind of proposition. Really, Jill, your mind could do with a good scrub.”

“Sorry, I just—I thought—I’ll shut up.”

“That’s the best idea you’ve had for a while.”

Ouch.

“Donald thinks we should buy a property together.”

“What? Like live together? Wouldn’t it be easier for him to move in with you?”

“There you go again—jumping to conclusions. It would be an investment opportunity.”

What was that I could smell? A rat maybe?

“Donald says property in Europe is the best investment there is at the moment.”

“Where in Europe, exactly?”

“I don’t recall. I think it began with an ‘N’.”

“Never-never land?”

She gave me a look. I really should have known better because she had a knitting needle in her hand.

“Isn’t it a little early to be jumping into any kind of business venture with him? After all, he only reappeared a few days ago.”

“Donald says we have to move quickly or we’ll miss the boat.”

I just bet he did. “I see.”

The smell of rat was getting stronger and stronger. Maybe it was time for me to take a closer look at The Captain.

“There’s a parcel.” Mrs V fished a small box-shaped package out of her drawer. “It’s addressed to the cat.”

“To Winky?”

“Do you have more than one cat in there?”

This wasn’t the first time Winky had received mail. A short while ago he’d been selling Mrs V’s scarves (unbeknown to her), and using the proceeds to buy himself treats. What kind of scam was he running this time?

“Is that for me?” Winky jumped down off my chair and slid across the room. It was ages since I’d seen him wearing the little socks, which Mrs V had knitted for him.

“What are you up to?” I said.

“I’m not up to anything, and I’m disappointed you would think I am.”

He did ‘hurt’ so well, but it didn’t have me fooled.

“What is it then?” I shook the parcel.

“Careful! You might break it. Open it if you like. I have nothing to hide.”

I called his bluff, and ripped open the package.

“It’s a smartphone.” I read the card. “From Bella.”

“Yes!” He punched the air. “She said she was going to buy one for me.”

“Why would she buy you a smartphone?”

“Because
you’re
too tight to buy one for me.”

“That’s not what I meant. And what do you mean ‘tight’? I’m not tight. I’m just careful.”

“That’s what all tight people say. Now, are you going to give it to me or what?”

“They’re a bit complicated.” I passed it to him. “You might need me to help—”

He whizzed through menus and set-up screens, logging into the Wi-Fi (how did he know the password?), and was soon downloading apps like a pro.

“Where did you learn how to do all that?” It had taken hours of tuition from Peter for me to get up to speed on mine.

“What’s to learn? It’s simple.”

“How do you even manage to hold it? You don’t have opposable thumbs.”

“Opposable thumbs?” He sneered. “You humans.”

“Hey, who are you calling human?”

“Humans, sups—all the same to me. You’re all so taken up with your fancy opposable thumbs.” He put on a stupid high-pitched voice. “Look at me with my opposable thumbs. I’m so superior. Blah, blah, blah.”

“Who was that meant to be an impression of?”

“You of course.”

“I don’t sound anything like that.”

“Anyway, as I was saying,” he continued. “Opposable thumbs—highly overrated. All you need is a little hand eye coordination and the skillz.”

“Skillz?”

“Yeah. Skillz like what I got.”

“Who’s paying the tariff on the phone?”

“Don’t worry. Bella is going to keep it topped up for me. She’s making a fortune from her modelling.”

My cat, Winky—the kept man.

***

At his request I met Bob Dale, Amanda Banks’ stepfather, at a small diner just outside Washbridge. I arrived five minutes early, but he was already waiting for me in his car—a Bentley with a personalised number plate. I didn’t know much about Bob Dale other than that he was wealthy. The little research I’d had time to do revealed he’d built up and then sold a software company before the age of thirty. It hadn’t surprised me to learn he was rich. From what I’d heard, his wife Patty, formerly Patty Banks, liked her men wealthy. Although the terms of her divorce settlement had remained secret it was rumoured that she’d walked away with a shade under ten million when her marriage to Amanda’s father had ended.

“Jill?” Bob Dale looked more like a cowboy than a software geek. He was wearing jeans, and a white shirt, open at the collar.

“Thanks for meeting with me.”

“No problem. Anything that might help to get Amanda back is fine by me. Shall we go inside?”

Bob bought the drinks, and we found a quiet corner at the back of the diner.

“How do you want to play this?” he said.

“Let’s start with Amanda. How close are you to her?”

“We’re very close. I don’t have children of my own. My first marriage ended after only a couple of years—too young—both of us. When Patty and I got together, I wasn’t sure how Amanda would react to me. I was afraid she might think I was trying to take the place of her father. I needn’t have worried—we seemed to hit it off straight away. She’s actually told me that she feels able to talk to me more than she ever has to her father or her mother. Patty isn’t what you’d call the nurturing type. And Dexter—” he hesitated. “Honestly, Dexter Banks is not a nice man.”

“How do you and he get along?”

“We don’t. I’ve tried to reach out to him, but he doesn’t want to know. I suppose I can’t blame the man. I have his wife and I’m much closer to his daughter than he ever was. Let’s just say I’m not his favourite person.”

“What about Steve?”

“Steve’s a great guy. I liked him from the get-go. And even if I hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered. Amanda is mad about him, and he’s mad about her.”

“What do her parents think of Steve?”

“Neither of them likes him. Patty does at least try to hide her disdain, but Dexter is outright hostile to him which of course has driven an even bigger wedge between him and Amanda.”

“What can you tell me about the kidnapping?”

“Not much that you won’t have already seen in the press, I guess. Dexter won’t allow me in his house, so all of my information comes from Patty or the newspapers. The first I knew was when Steve rang me. He’d found a note in their flat.”

“He mentioned that. Not a ransom note though?”

“No. It said something like:
‘We have her, we’ll be in touch’
.”

“And since then? Nothing?”

“Nothing. At least as far as I know. It’s possible Dexter has received a ransom note, but I think Patty would have told me.”

“Is there anyone you can think of, anyone at all, who might be behind this?”

“Dexter has a high public profile. There must be any number of nut jobs out there who might do this to get at his money.”

“What about friends? Do you know any of Amanda’s friends?”

“A few by sight. She’d drop by the house with them occasionally. Her best friend is Rachel Nixon. They’re very close—they have been since they were at school.”

“You don’t have a number for her, do you?”

“No. Sorry, but I believe she shares a flat in Washbridge city centre somewhere.”

“No problem. I’ll find her. Maybe Steve will have her number.”

I couldn’t help but wonder why Steve hadn’t mentioned Rachel to me.

“Did you know Amanda had a part-time job?” Bob said.

“No. I thought she was at uni. I wouldn’t have thought she needed the money.”

“She wouldn’t accept money from her parents or from me for that matter. She told Dexter what he could do with her allowance. She works in a small bar—bit of a dive actually. Bar Bravo, I think it’s called.”

Bob told me he’d be the one paying my fees, but he didn’t want either Dexter or Patty to know I was working on the case. That suited me because I didn’t want word getting back to Maxwell if I could avoid it. Bob promised to keep me posted if anything new came up, and I said I’d let him know if I made any progress.

I liked Bob Dale.

***

When I got back to the office, Mrs V was browsing through a number of glossy brochures. They appeared to be for timeshare properties. I was getting bad vibes about this, but I didn’t want to risk upsetting her until I had more to go on. It was time to get my hooks into The Captain.

Winky was sitting on the sofa, tapping away on his smartphone.

“How come Bella decided to buy that for you?”

“Because she LOVES me.”

“Hmm. I thought she found the semaphore more romantic?”

“She does, but all the flag waving was giving her muscles. That’s a no-no for a cat model.”

“Of course. Now you mention it that makes perfect sense.”

“Do you mind?” He pulled away when I tried to look at the screen.

“What’s that you’re doing?”

“If you must know, I’ve just added my profile to FelineSocial.com.”

“Is that like Facebook?”

“Yeah. They copied it.”

“FelineSocial copied Facebook? Is that allowed?”

“No. Facebook got the idea from FelineSocial, obviously.”

“Is Bella on there?”

“Of course. She’s got almost two thousand licks.”

“Don’t you mean ‘Likes’?”

“No, I don’t. Likes are creepy. How would you feel if someone you didn’t know came up to you in the street, and said
‘I like you’
? You’d run a mile. And yet people do it on Facebook all the time.”

“How is it better to ‘lick’ someone?”

“You’re not a cat. You wouldn’t understand.”

“How many licks do you have?”

“None yet, but I’ve only just completed my profile. Bella will lick me soon.”

She had better do or yours truly would never hear the end of it.

“What’s that?” I pointed to Bella’s profile.

“That’s her status.”

“Aloof? What’s yours—Desperate?” I laughed.

He didn’t. I was in the bad books again. Would I ever learn?

My phone rang.

“Jill?” Amber said.

“Hi.”

“It’s Amber.”

“And Pearl.”

“I’m talking if you don’t mind,” Amber said.

“I do mind.” Pearl butted in. “I want to talk to her too.”

“What is it girls?”

“We just wanted to tell you we’ve done the makeover for your neighbour.”

“Mr Ivers? Great. How did it go?”

“I really like him,” Amber said.

“He’s boring!” Pearl shouted.

“He was not boring. He knows tons about movies.”

“Like I said, boring.”

“How did the makeover go?” I said. “Was he pleased with what you did?”

“I think so. We got him a new haircut, and a complete new wardrobe. He was a bit surprised at the cost though.”

“That’s great. Thanks for doing that guys. Look I have to go because the cat is giving me the evil eye.”

“Huh?”

“Long story. I’ll tell you later. See you soon. Thanks again.”