brimstone witch 08 - death of a rainbow nymph Read online

  What if Stanley wasn’t under a spell?

  What if Luca had attacked Cupid?

  What was I going to do then?

  Chapter 21

  I spent the rest of the evening battling with my thoughts. I tried my best to have only positive ones. I tried to convince myself Stanley was under a spell and an evil creature had impersonated Luca. I held onto those positive aspects as tightly as I could.

  But as soon as my attention wavered, horrible thoughts slipped into my mind instead. Like a malicious virus, my good thoughts were destroyed by the awful ones.

  I could feel fear in my stomach. Intense fear which made me feel like running out of this apartment and back to Gran’s house. Gran would know what to do. She’d sort everything out. And I could hide under the covers in my bed until it was all over.

  I sat at the table and placed my head in my hands. I closed my eyes and allowed my thoughts to do whatever they wanted. After a few minutes, I went over to the kettle and made myself a cup of tea. I automatically reached for a packet of chocolate biscuits. I took one out and looked at it without interest. I didn’t feel like eating chocolate. That had never happened to me before. I put the biscuit back, collected my cup and went back to the table.

  I opened the window and summoned a butterfly. I gave it a message for Luca and told him I wanted to see him urgently. I was going to tell him about Cupid’s claims and see what he had to say about that. Until I spoke to Luca, I wasn’t going to give any more attention to those devious thoughts in my head.

  I brought my case notes over to the table, sat down and began to update them.

  Obviously, I had to talk to Harmonia as soon as possible. She had a lot of explaining to do. Stanley had caught the scent of Cupid’s office on her. I made a note to ask her about that. Stanley had also picked up the same scent at the paint factory in the room where the invisible paint had been. I made another note about that.

  The paper in front of me blurred as I wrote Stanley’s name. It was hard to put thoughts of him out of my mind when I kept writing his name down.

  Why wasn’t there a spell for removing unwelcome thoughts from your mind? Or was there one? It would probably be a dangerous one with high risks involved. All I wanted to do was get those thoughts out, put them in a box and shove them out of sight. Was that too much to ask for?

  Realising my mind had wandered again, I put my attention back on the case. Harmonia had feelings for Theodwin. How strong were those feelings? Strong enough to kill for? Perhaps.

  What about Jen at the paint factory? Had she stolen any more of Metise’s plans? Was she planning on making a fortune from them? She would have needed Metise out of the way if she wanted to keep all the profits for herself.

  Now, what about Mother Nature? She had an unpredictable side which was frightening. Had Metise gone too far with one of her inventions? But if Mother Nature had wanted to kill her, would she really have shot her with an arrow? I didn’t think so. I recalled how she’d opened that hole in the ground, and how she’d caused earthquakes. No, if she was going to kill someone, I’m sure something as simple as clicking her fingers would cause the desired outcome.

  I added a note to keep on the right side of Mother Nature during the remainder of my investigation.

  There was one more thing. The invisible paint. Who stole it? Harmonia? If so, why? What plans did she have for it?

  I remembered Jen’s last conversation with Metise about the paint. Metise wanted it urgently. Why? Did she need to send a private message to someone? Who? A witch? If so, did the witch have something to do with Metise’s death?

  I needed the name of Metise’s witch contact. If Theodwin didn’t give me that information soon, I’d get it another way.

  I tapped my pen on the paper. There were a lot of questions on the paper. Good. They would keep me busy.

  A butterfly came through the open window and landed on the paper. It opened its wings to reveal a message from Luca:

  ‘Cassia, I can’t come back to Brimstone town yet. I’ve got urgent business to attend to. I’ll get there as soon as I can. Love you lots. Say hello to Stanley for me. XXX’

  I managed to keep my voice steady as I said thank you to the butterfly. It acknowledged my thanks and flew out of the window. I stood up and closed the window behind it. My heart missed a beat when I saw Stanley and Calypso sitting on the steps of the gazebo. Their heads were resting together. They looked sweet. I quickly closed the curtains.

  I went over my notes again and made a plan of action. Yes. I had everything clear in my mind now. I always felt better when I had a clear course of action.

  I realised I hadn’t had anything to eat for hours and went over to the fridge. I opened the door and looked at the covered plates. I sighed and closed the door. I didn’t have an appetite, not even for Gilda’s amazing food.

  It was late, so I decided to go to bed. Of course, as soon as I switched the light in the bedroom off, the thoughts in my head came back stronger than ever.

  What if Luca had been tricking me all along? What if he was intending to destroy me as part of his master plan? Did he have a master plan? What was it? Had he been affected by that dark magic?

  What if Stanley truly had fallen in love? Would we ever work together again? Would he even need me in his life?

  I wiped my tears away. Those thoughts were going to drive me crazy. I put my hands above my head and prepared to cast a sleeping spell on myself. I’d done this before and told Gran about it afterwards. She wasn’t happy and had warned me not to do it again as it was hard to be objective when using a sleeping spell on yourself. A touch too much magic and I could be asleep for months.

  I prepared to cast the spell anyway. I didn’t care if I fell asleep for months. Oblivion was better than living this nightmare.

  My sensible side appeared and I lowered my hands. Personal problems or not, I had a murder case to deal with. And I couldn’t do that if I was in a self-induced state of slumber.

  Knowing I couldn’t sleep, I sat up and picked up the nearest book from the bedside table. Agatha Christie. Perfect. It had been a long time since I’d read one of these mysteries. If I was going to be awake all night, I might as well enjoy myself.

  Chapter 22

  I read the whole book before falling asleep. I dreamt I was Hercule Poirot and I was in the middle of an unsolved case which had bamboozled the police for thirty years. I solved it in minutes.

  I woke up in a happy frame of mind and leant over the side of my bed to tell Stanley about my dream. He’d had many dreams about being Sherlock Holmes, so I knew he’d be interested in my latest dream.

  His cat basket was empty.

  Sadness crashed down on me like a brick wall as I remembered my last conversation with Stanley. His basket hadn’t been slept in. Did that mean he hadn’t been home?

  Just as that thought made my heart ache with pain, I remembered the Luca situation. I groaned and pulled the cover over my head. I didn’t want to deal with any of this.

  I stayed under the cover while I gave myself a good talking to. Gran always told me there was a solution to every problem. She’d pointed out that I might not like the solution, but that wasn’t the point.

  I flung the bedcover back. I wouldn’t find the solution lying in my bed. I dragged myself out of bed, yawned and scratched my head. Blimey, my hair was stuck up all over the place this morning. I must have been tossing and turning in my bed for hours.

  There was a knock at the door. My heart gave a leap of joy.

  Stanley! He’d come back.

  No, it couldn’t be Stanley; he’d use the cat flap.

  Luca!

  It must be him. He was going to explain the nonsense which had gone on yesterday concerning Cupid’s allegations. Perhaps he’d be holding a contrite Stanley in his arms.

  I ran out of the bedroom, across the living area and pulled the door open with a bright smile of welcome.

  Theodwin let out a scream of horror and backed away from me.<
br />
  My smile fell from my face. “Oh. It’s you. Hello.”

  Theodwin patted his chest and said, “You gave me such a shock. Does your hair always look like that in a morning? And what’s wrong with your face? It’s all creased down one side.”

  I flapped a dismissive hand at him. “I’ve just woken up. Did you see Luca or Stanley on your way here?” I looked hopefully towards the steps.

  “No, I didn’t.” He took another step back. “Shall I come back when you’ve sorted yourself out?”

  I sighed. “I doubt I’ll look much better. Do you want to come in? Would you like a hot drink?”

  Theodwin stayed right where he was. “No, thank you. I don’t have time for that. I’ve remembered the name of that witch who Metise was dealing with. It’s Wade Youngblood.”

  I frowned. “That sounds like a male name to me.”

  “Does it? Metise didn’t clarify whether the witch was male or female. It doesn’t matter either way. I don’t know where the witch lives. You can find that out, can’t you?”

  Something wasn’t right here. I said, “Aren’t you bothered that Metise could have been sending secret messages to a male witch?”

  “No. Why would I? A male witch wouldn’t be a concern for me. Everyone knows witches aren’t interested in romantic relationships. Witches are meant to live solitary lives. A male witch wouldn’t have been a threat to me at all.”

  I folded my arms and gave him an indignant look. “I don’t know where you got that information from, but not all witches are meant to be single.”

  His glance went to my hair. “Are you sure about that? Anyway, I wanted to give you that name in person. I didn’t want to take the chance of sending a butterfly message and it falling into the wrong hands. There’s a murderer on the loose.”

  “Yes, I know that.” I studied him for a few seconds. “You seem brighter today. Has something happened?”

  He gave me a small smile. “I had a long conversation with Harmonia yesterday. It didn’t start well. I confronted her about that rainbow she’d painted and accused her of making a mockery of Metise’s memory. She denied it and then explained how she’d been a great admirer of Metise’s work. She said the rainbow she painted yesterday was a sign of her respect and admiration.” He shook his head and his smile increased. “I’ve never spoken to Harmonia at length before. She’s a wonderful creature. We had a lot to talk about. And we’ve got so much in common! It’s amazing, quite amazing.”

  “Hmm,” was my reply.

  “I can’t stand here keeping you from your beauty routine. I’m meeting Harmonia soon. We talked for hours last night, and that still wasn’t enough time! I can see I’m going to have many more interesting conversations with her.” He made to turn away, paused and then looked back at me. “Oh, do let me know if you find out who killed Metise.”

  “You mean your soulmate?” I couldn’t help but add.

  Annoyance flickered in his eyes. “It is possible to have more than one soulmate.” He headed for the steps and went down them. I heard him break into a cheerful whistle.

  I closed the door and leant against it. This was an interesting turn of events. My list of questions for Harmonia was growing.

  Still with thoughts of Harmonia in my head, I went over to the kitchen area and filled the kettle. I called out, “Stanley, I’m going to make some breakfast. What can I get you?”

  I froze in place. I’d forgotten again that Stanley wasn’t here. My vision swam and I put the kettle back. I didn’t feel like having a cup of tea anymore.

  I opened the fridge and looked at the plates. My vision blurred further when I saw Stanley’s name on some of the plates. The food descriptions on the plates looked appealing, but my appetite was non-existent this morning. This was highly unusual for me. I always ate a hearty breakfast. Sometimes, I’d have two. On my birthday, I’d have three. I loved breakfast food.

  But not today. I couldn’t face it. I closed the fridge and two tears rolled down my cheeks. I dashed them away. I didn’t have time for self-pity.

  I took myself into the bathroom and switched the shower on. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and yelped. Wow. I did look a sight this morning. Not only was my hair a mess and my face creased from the pillow, my eyes were bloodshot and there were purple circles under my eyes.

  A brief smile alighted on my lips as I thought it was a good job Luca wasn’t here to see me like this.

  My bleary eyes filled with tears again. I quickly blinked them away. I was starting to get on my own nerves now.

  I pointed at the mirror and proclaimed, “Enough with the pity party! You have a job to do. There will be no more talk about the cat and the guardian. And no more thoughts about them! Things will get sorted out eventually. One way or the other. Get in that shower and do something with your hair.” I gave myself a firm nod.

  I did feel better after my shower and I looked more human when I stepped out. I did need a bit more make-up than normal, but that couldn’t be helped. I didn’t want to scare anyone as I went about my work today.

  Keeping my head held high, I left the apartment without one single glance at the cat flap. With my broomstick in my hand, and my case notes folded up in my pocket, I was ready to face whatever came my way.

  My resolve melted like ice cream in the sun as soon as I stepped out of the apartment and saw Stanley.

  Chapter 23

  Stanley had just walked out of the Mooncrest Café. Calypso was at his side. Neither cat saw me as I stood there transfixed on the pavement.

  Stanley said to Calypso, “What do you think about staying in Brimstone? I do like it, but I think we should have a fresh start somewhere new. I don’t want to keep running into old faces around here. I want to put the past well and truly behind me.”

  There was a note of concern in Calypso’s voice as she said, “Stan, are you sure about that? I’m all up for adventure, but I don’t want to force you to leave your friends behind.”

  Stanley shook his head. “I don’t have any friends here. My only friend is you.”

  I closed my eyes and tried my best to ignore the stabbing sensation in my chest. This couldn’t be happening. I felt a tap on my shoulder and opened my eyes. Gilda, the owner of Mooncrest Café stood there.

  She pointed at the two cats who were walking towards the gazebo and asked, “What’s going on with Stanley? He came into the café earlier on and introduced me to his soulmate. Soulmate! That’s the exact expression he used. Is he under a spell?”

  I gave her a wan smile. “I hope he is. Did he mention me at all?”

  Gilda said quietly, “I asked him where you were, and he said he didn’t know and he didn’t care. Cassia, he’s not acting like himself at all. What are you going to do about him?”

  “I don’t know. What if he isn’t under a spell? What if this is how Stanley is now?” I looked away from the two cats as they snuggled next to each other on a bench.

  Gilda shook her head. “Don’t say things like that. Have you had any breakfast yet?”

  “No, I’m not hungry.”

  Gilda gasped. “But you love breakfast. Come into the café now and I’ll fix you something. How about scrambled eggs on toast? I’ll put extra butter in them. Or what about a bacon sandwich? I’ll make the bacon extra crispy, just as you like it.”

  I shook my head. “No, thank you. I can’t face anything yet. Maybe later.”

  A butterfly appeared behind Gilda. It flew over to me and settled on my arm. It opened its wings to reveal a message from Luca:

  ‘Cassia! I’m so sorry I didn’t make it over to the apartment last night. It’s been non-stop counselling all night. I’ll catch up with you later. Love to you and Stanley. XXX’

  Gilda read the message over my shoulder and said, “Doesn’t Luca know about Stanley yet?”

  I shook my head and blinked rapidly. I was going to fall to pieces soon if I wasn’t careful. I said, “Gilda, do you know where a witch called Wade Youngblood lives?”
r />   “I do. Cassia, what’s wrong? It’s not just this business with Stanley, is it? There’s something else.”

  “Can we talk about it later? I want to get on with my investigation.” My smile was hanging on by a thread.

  “Of course.” Gilda gave my arm a reassuring squeeze before telling me where Wade Youngblood lived. She reached into her pocket and retrieved a foil wrapped package. She handed it to me and said, “This is for when you get your appetite back. Take good care of yourself. Let me know if there’s anything I can help you with.”

  “Thank you, I will.” I put the packet in my inside coat pocket next to my case notes and then said goodbye to Gilda.

  I raised my broomstick and sat in my usual place on it. I quickly realised I’d left room for Stanley so I immediately shuffled up a bit. I programmed Wade’s address into the broomstick and took to the sky. I didn’t glance down at the two cats as I flew away.

  It took me forty minutes to reach the town where Wade Youngblood lived. I was expecting something similar to Brimstone, but this town was the complete opposite. Brick-built houses and shops lined the busy streets. Creatures of all sorts jostled each other as they walked rapidly along. Vehicles powered by horses and unicorns filled the roads. It looked like total chaos. And the noise! Everyone seemed to be shouting at everyone else.

  I located Wade’s house down a side street. It was a thatched cottage. Roses trailed around the door frame and blue smoke puffed out of the chimney. It stood out from the rest of the houses on the street which were all terraced buildings.

  I walked closer to the cottage and the door opened. A young man in a crushed velvet blue suit came out to the door and waved at me. He had twinkling blue eyes and a welcoming smile.

  “Cassia Winter!” he declared. “I have been wanting to meet you for so long. Come closer.”

  I did so and to my surprise, the young man pulled me into a hug. He squeezed me and then let me go.