Witch Is Why Time Stood Still (A Witch P.I. Mystery Book 13) (7 page)

“I understand. I won’t say anything.”

“And leave the investigation to us.”

I wasn’t about to promise that.

Chapter 9

It was JV Day, and I wasn’t looking forward to the morning ahead of me. For most businesses, ‘JV’ would have stood for Joint Venture, but not for me. JV stood for Jules and Mrs V. I’d asked Jules to come in on her day off because it was time for me to get things resolved once and for all, before the two of them came to blows, or drove me insane.

As soon as I walked into the outer office, I realised that it wasn’t going to be easy. Mrs V was behind her desk, knitting, and deliberately not looking at Jules, who was sitting on a chair on the other side of the office, near to the linen basket. Jules was busy doing something on her phone, but again, deliberately not looking at Mrs V. It seemed that all of my powers of diplomacy were going to be required.

What do you mean, I don’t have any?

“Morning, ladies!”

“Morning, Jill.” Mrs V still refused to look at Jules.

“Morning, Jill,” Jules said, without looking up from her phone.

“Okay you two, we need to sort this out if you’re going to continue to job share.”

“
I
don’t have a problem,” Mrs V said. She glanced at Jules. “If a certain someone would respect my desk, there wouldn’t be an issue.”

Before I could say anything, Jules jumped in. “Just a minute, I’m meant to be sharing this job, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect to share the desk.”

“I’ve had this desk for more years than you’ve been alive, young lady. I was working for Jill’s father when Jill was still in nappies.”

“What am I supposed to do with my stuff? I’ve got to put it somewhere.”

I stepped in before Mrs V told Jules exactly where she could put her stuff.

“We’ve already been down this road, and it hasn’t got us anywhere. We need to talk this through like adults. Jules, will you shuffle your chair over here?”

She wheeled it over so that she was next to Mrs V’s desk. The two of them were looking daggers at one another.

“Mrs V, you approached me to say that working five days a week was getting a little too much for you, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but I’m beginning to think that was a mistake. Maybe I should go back to five days.”

“No, sorry. There’s no going back now that I’ve taken Jules on. I can hardly throw her out, can I?”

Mrs V glared at Jules, and I could sense that she wanted to ask why not, but she bit her tongue—thank goodness.

After a few moments, I continued. “We have to find a way to make this job share work. Mrs V, wouldn’t you say that if you’re sharing a job, it’s only fair you share the desk? After all, when you’re not here, Jules does have to sit there.”

“Yes, and I don’t have a problem with that. What I
do
have a problem with is people moving my things around without asking first.”

“I can understand that. Jules, don’t you think it would have been polite to ask Mrs V if she minded you sharing half the desk, before moving her things?”

“Yeah, I guess so, but she wasn’t here for me to ask, was she?”

“Okay, let’s see what we’ve established so far. Mrs V, you’re happy to share the desk. And Jules, you realise you should have asked before moving Mrs V’s stuff. Is that right?”

They both nodded.

“Okay, in that case, why don’t we turn back the clock and pretend none of this happened. Jules, you’re in the office with Mrs V now. What would you like to ask her?”

Jules hesitated for a moment. I could tell she was a little intimidated by Mrs V, but she managed to summon up the courage.

“Mrs V?” her voice wavered a little.

“Yes, young lady?” Mrs V wasn’t going to make this easy for her.

“Seeing as how we’re now job sharing, and I have to use your desk when you’re not here—”

“Yes?”

“Do you think that we could possibly share the drawers, so that you have half and I have half?”

Mrs V glanced at me, and took a deep breath. “Yes, that’s perfectly acceptable to me, but I’d like a day to rearrange my things, so I know where everything is. I’ll leave one set of drawers empty; that can be your side.”

“That sounds fair, doesn’t it, Jules?” I said, with my fingers crossed.

“Yeah, I’m happy with that.”

“But—” Mrs V hadn’t finished. “Once I’ve done that, I don’t expect to find your things in my half of the desk. Understood?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“And, young lady, I do not expect to find my desktop a mess, I don’t want to see smudges of makeup on it.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Or tea stains.”

Oh dear. Jules was renowned for spilling drinks.

“If I do spill anything, I’ll make sure I wipe it up, so it’s as good as new.”

That was my cue to step in again. “Right, we seem to have reached an agreement. Mrs V will move her things out of one side of the desk today, ready for when you come in tomorrow. Are we all agreed?”

They both nodded.

“Right, Jules, off you go then. I’ll pay you for your time today.”

I could still feel the tension between them as I walked through to my office, but at least we’d cleared the air, and made some sort of agreement. I’d just have to see how long the uneasy truce lasted.

An hour later, I thought I’d better check how things were going. Mrs V had piles of her stuff on top of the desk.

“Is everything all right, Mrs V?”

“I’ll never get all of this in one side.”

“You could always use the cupboard behind you.”

“I suppose I’ll have to.”

“Good, oh and by the way, I’m expecting the accountant any time now.”

“I don’t know how you expect me to do this,
and
see to your visitors.”

***

Luther Stone was every bit as hot as I remembered him.

“Luther, nice to see you.”

“You too, Jill. We’ve missed you. That apartment block is not the same without you; I don’t know why you had to go and leave us.”

“You know why. I moved in with Jack.”

“Why couldn’t he have moved in with you?”

“With hindsight, I wish he had. I hate that poky flat of his, but anyway, we’ve moved out now. We’ve got a house in Smallwash.”

“Really? How long have you been living there?”

“Only a few days. You’ll never guess who I saw.”

“Mr Ivers?”

“How did you know?”

“When you mentioned Smallwash, I realised you must have to go over the toll bridge. Mr Ivers likes to keep me updated on his life—such as it is. He told me a few weeks back that he had a new job. He made it sound like it was something really exciting. When I eventually found out what it was—taking fees on the toll bridge at Smallwash—I almost died laughing. Never was anyone more suited to a job.”

“
I couldn’t believe it.” I laughed. “I honestly thought I’d got rid of him and his newsletters. He’s saved all the back issues for me. All twenty-four of them!”

“Oh dear.” Luther grinned. “Poor you. But then, if I have to put up with him, I don’t see why you shouldn’t. Anyway, I suppose I should take a look at your books.”

“I doubt they’ll look much better than the last time you were here. Business has been very slow. Before you start, how are you and Betty getting along?”

“Didn’t you know? We’ve split up.”

“Really? I had no idea. Is she still living there?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit awkward, really. I see her every day, so as you can imagine, there’s a bit of an atmosphere.”

“What happened if you don’t mind me asking?”

“It was stupid really. We had an argument over starfish.”

“The reality TV celebrity who was murdered?”

“What?”

“Sorry. Just a case I worked on. So you fell out over a starfish? How did you manage that?”

“Like I said, it was stupid. We were at a seashell fair, and were both looking around the stalls to see if we could find anything to add to our collections. I spotted a fabulous specimen, and was just about to pay for it when Betty snatched it, and bought it for herself.”

“What did you say?”

“I told her I was just about to buy it. She said, ‘You snooze you lose’.”

“Charming.”

“I know. I couldn’t believe it.”

“Betty does have a dark side. I’ve seen it myself.”

“We had a big argument on the way home, which spiralled out of control. In the end, we both decided it was probably best to call it a day.”

“I’m really sorry. But I always thought you two made—err—an unusual couple.”

“I suppose we did.”

“Are you still into sea creatures?”

“To be honest, Jill, that incident kind of spoiled it for me. It’s a pity because I was really getting into it in a big way. It can be quite exciting, you know.”

“I’ll have to take your word for that.”

“Anyway, after that day, I kind of lost the heart for it.”

“Maybe that’s for the best, I never really did see you as a seashell kind of a guy.”

***

I’d arranged to drop into another jeweller, All That Glitters, to see if their story was the same as the others. Ethan Moore, the manager, was only too happy to talk me through what happened. It was almost word for word what I’d heard on the previous two occasions. He too had a CCTV recording of the ‘incident’ and invited me to view it.

“What’s that on the floor, close to the door?” I pointed to the screen.

“We were having some work done to extend the shop. Even though it was boarded up, the plaster dust was everywhere. That area to the side of the door was the worst affected because it was closest to where they were working.”

After Ethan had zoomed in, I could see a number of footprints in the plaster dust. He zoomed back out, and we continued to watch the recording. The assistant behind the counter was showing a tray full of rings to an elderly couple. One moment the tray was full of jewellery, the next it was empty. The pattern was exactly the same as I’d seen with the two other thefts.

At my request, he allowed the recording to play for a few more moments, and then stopped it. I asked him to zoom in on the area next to the door again. There, in the dust, was one extra set of footprints, and yet no one had come into or out of the shop. Where had those footprints come from?

***

I’d asked Alan to arrange for me to meet with the Eagles’ team captain; a young man named Eddie Wonder. Eddie had movie star looks, and one of those smiles that could melt a girl’s—err—heart. Not that I’d noticed, obviously.

We met at the team’s clubhouse; Alan came along with me.

“Nice to meet you, Jill.” Eddie’s smile almost blinded me.

“Thanks for seeing me.”

“No problem,” he said. “The sooner we get this sorted out, the better. The players are dropping like flies at the moment. I’m not sure how we’re going to field a team.”

“I know it’s an obvious question, but do you have any idea who might be behind this? Who would want to weaken the team in this way?”

“Oh yes, I don’t have any doubt who’s behind it. It’s obviously the Blue Flags.”

“Blue Flags?”

“They’re our main opposition. We’re in second place in the league at the moment; the Blue Flags are in first. Effectively, whoever wins the match between our two teams is more or less guaranteed to win the league, so there’s a lot at stake.”

“Do you think they may be trying to sabotage your team?”

“I don’t think it, I know it. I wouldn’t put anything past them. Their team captain is absolutely ruthless.”

“What’s his name?”

“Teddy Barr.”

“What about you, Alan?” I asked. “Do you think that’s a possibility?”

“I don’t know.” Alan shrugged. “To be honest, I’ve always got on well with Teddy. He’s a bit loud, and he’s certainly a bighead, but I couldn’t see him doing anything like this.”

“You’ve always been naïve, Alan,” Eddie said. “Of course he would. If it meant they’d win the league, he’d do it in a heartbeat.”

“Do you know where I can find Teddy Barr?”

“I’ve got his contact details,” Alan said. “I’ll give them to you afterwards.”

We talked for a while longer. Eddie was mainly interested in telling me all about his achievements as team captain. He might have been a good-looking guy, but boy, was he boring.

After Eddie had left, I walked to Cuppy C with Alan.

“What did you make of Eddie?” he asked.

“He was a bit full of himself. Is he always like that?”

“Yeah. He can be a bit full-on. You’d never think his fiancée had just dumped him, would you?”

“Why did she do that?”

“No idea. They’d been together for ages. They’d even set a date for the wedding, but then she just called it off.”