The Silent Banshee (A Brimstone Witch Mystery Book 5) Read online

  “Okay.” Cody gulped. I was shocked when I saw fear in his eyes. It was fear of me.

  Waves of guilt washed over me and I immediately felt ashamed. I had no right to speak to anyone like that.

  I said to Cody, “I’m so sorry for shouting. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s important that I get all the relevant information about Dana. I hope you understand.” I gave him a small smile.

  Cody didn’t return it.

  I went on, “I’d like to know where you were at the time of the murder.” I’d already upset him; I may as well continue to do so.

  Cody replied, “I was sitting with Bert in his room. He’d had a terrible night’s sleep and was worried about something. I had to reassure him that he was safe. It took a while. You could ask him to confirm that, but I don’t think he’d remember. I gave him his medication and, thankfully, he’d fallen asleep by the time Dana let out that horrifying scream. Bert never heard her.”

  I nodded. “Right. Did Dana make any enemies here? Any members of staff? Any residents or their relatives?”

  Cody frowned. “I’ve been thinking about that. There’s only one relative who had become annoyed with her recently, and that was Skye Cedarmist. I saw you talking to her earlier.”

  “Yes, I did. Was there anyone else? Did you ever see Fabrice or Kelvin talking to her here?”

  “Not Kelvin. Fabrice kept turning up uninvited to funerals looking for business. I did see him speaking to Dana now and again. She never seemed happy to see him, but she always listened politely to what he said.”

  “I see. I will be speaking to Fabrice again soon. I’ll bring that up. When Dana spoke to a resident, did she tell you about it afterwards?”

  “She didn’t need to. The resident would let everyone know. They were delighted to get the news about their upcoming demise. I didn’t keep a record of who she spoke to, but I think Fiona did. She carried a notebook when she came here to talk about funeral arrangements, and she had a note of the day when Dana had spoken to someone.”

  “Yes, Fiona did tell me that.” I glanced back along the hallway to the day room. “Are you going to employ Kelvin?”

  Cody shook his head. “He’s doing more harm than good. I’ve just had a complaint from Tara.”

  I hesitated before saying, “Does he always get his predictions wrong?”

  “Most of the time. He does get close to the truth sometimes. I know when that’s happening because he half closes his eyes and stares into space. He did that before my mum was about to go on a holiday. He told her it wasn’t safe and that she shouldn’t go. He was so intense that she agreed to stay home. He was right with that prediction. There was a terrible storm that day which brought down trees on the cabin where Mum had planned to stay. There have been a few other times where he’s been spot on too.”

  A chill went down my spine. I did my best to ignore it. I said, “I don’t have any further questions for you now. If you think of something that might help us, no matter how small, please let us know.”

  Cody nodded. “I will. I’m so sorry for causing you any trouble. I’ve never had to deal with this situation before.”

  “I understand. It’s me who should be apologising for shouting at you. Bye for now.”

  We left the home and hopped onto my broomstick. Stanley sat further back so that he was closer to me. I think he could sense that I needed some comfort. We didn’t talk about anything as we headed towards Fiona’s building.

  The sight of the beautiful flowers in the front garden lifted my spirits as we landed. I ignored the grim-looking building next door. I would speak to Fabrice later.

  The door was ajar so we went inside. Fiona was standing behind a small desk and looking down at a book. She smiled when we entered and offered us refreshments. I gratefully accepted her offer of a coffee and Stanley said he would love a dish of milk.

  Fiona took us into the lovely back room and said she’d be back soon with the drinks. I stared out at the beautiful water feature and the floating rainbows and found my weariness lifting with each rising rainbow. By the time Fiona came back with the drinks, I felt much better.

  I told Fiona about our latest visit to the home and mentioned the notes she made about the upcoming deaths. I took a sip of the coffee and a welcome warmth travelled down my throat. The coffee had a rich, nutty taste to it. It was delicious.

  Fiona said, “Like I told you earlier, Dana would give my leaflets and business cards out to those residents she’d spoken to so I would be prepared if they contacted me. I made a note of the dates that she’d spoken to them. Dana even gave my leaflets to those who she didn’t see immediate deaths for. She sang my praises often. She was so kind and thoughtful like that.” She looked down and sighed. “I keep expecting her to turn up here.”

  I asked, “Do you know about any arguments she might have had? With anyone? Not just those at the retirement home.”

  Fiona looked my way and shook her head. “I can’t think of anyone. I’ve been wracking my brains since we last met and haven’t come up with anyone.”

  “What will you do about clients now that Dana has gone?” I asked as delicately as I could. “Will you hire another banshee?”

  Fiona smiled sadly. “I don’t need to hire anyone else. I’ve got enough potential clients to keep me busy for a long time. And it’s all thanks to Dana and the kind things she said about me. I’m even thinking about expanding my business. I’ve got many written recommendations from happy clients. Again, all thanks to Dana. She told me I needed to advertise more and she encouraged me to take photos of the farewell parties and funerals that I organised. I have photos of those parties if that would help you at all? And I can give you a copy of my records which include those residents who Dana spoke to.”

  “That would be really helpful. Thank you.” I had another reviving sip of coffee and looked towards the little floating rainbows outside. “Your business is a stark contrast to your brother’s. Does Fabrice resent the success you’re having?”

  “He resents everything about me,” Fiona replied. “He’s always been like that.”

  “Does he resent you enough to have got rid of Dana?” I asked.

  Fiona’s brow furrowed. “He’d never do that to Dana. He was in love with her.”

  I nearly dropped my coffee cup in shock. “Pardon?”

  “I thought you knew. I thought everyone knew. It was obvious to me. He used to go out of his way to talk to her. He’d see her in Mooncrest Café and wait for her outside. He’d turn up to funerals and farewell parties because he knew she’d be there. He constantly asked her to go out on a date with him. She’d listen politely to him and then decline his offer. But he never gave up asking. I confronted him about it and told him to leave Dana alone. He said he wouldn’t give up easily and he was going to wear her down until she said yes.”

  I shared a look with Stanley and said, “I think it’s time we spoke to Fabrice again.”

  Fiona said, “You won’t find him at home. I saw him go out an hour ago. He knocked on my door before he went and said he had business matters to attend to and if anyone called at his door, could I let them know when he would be back. I don’t know why he felt the need to tell me he was going out. He could have stuck a note on his door. Not that I’m expecting him to have any customers. He seldom does.”

  “Okay. Thanks for letting us know. We’ll come back to see him later. The questions I have for him are growing by the minute. Thank you for your time and the coffee.”

  Before leaving, Fiona gave us copies of her records and the photos of the events she’d organised. There were a lot of photos. It was going to take me a while to go through them all. I would need more coffee.

  Chapter 22

  We went back to Brimstone and headed straight for Mooncrest Café as I needed another strong caffeine shot. Gilda might tell me otherwise when she saw me.

  Astrid was sitting at a centre table when we entered and she waved energetically at us. She said, “I saw you flying back t
o town and thought you might come here. I hope you don’t mind, Cassia, but I’ve ordered you a coffee. My treat. Stanley, what would you like?”

  Stanley put his nose in the air and replied, “Nothing. I’ve recently had a bowl of milk.”

  “Oh, right. Let me know if you change your mind.” She pulled a chair out at her side and said, “Cassia, I’ve got something to tell you about Dana.”

  My nosiness outweighed my dislike for Astrid - slightly - so I sat down keeping a safe distance between us. Stanley sat at my feet and glowered at Astrid.

  Astrid looked away from Stanley’s hostile stare and gave me her full attention. “After we spoke earlier, I talked to the other guardians to see if they had any information about Dana or anyone she’d been in touch with recently.” She suddenly smiled at someone behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Gilda approaching us with two drinks. She looked bemused, or was that confused?

  Gilda placed the cups down and asked if we’d like anything else. Astrid gave me an enquiring look and I shook my head. If I’d have been here just with Stanley, I would have asked Gilda for a piece of cake, but being this close to Astrid was affecting my appetite.

  Astrid looked briefly at Stanley and recoiled at the hostile look he was still giving her. She politely told Gilda we wouldn’t like anything else and she thanked her for the coffee.

  Gilda’s eyebrows rose before she moved away as if she couldn’t believe she’d heard Astrid saying thank you.

  Astrid took a drink of her coffee. “Wow. This is amazing stuff. I never realised it before. I must say thank you again to Gilda before we leave. Where was I?”

  “You’ve been talking to the other guardians,” I reminded her.

  “Yes. That’s right. Some of them patrol other towns outside Brimstone and they’d noticed Fiona Fairfax is advertising her services there. She’s put posters up around the towns with reviews on from satisfied customers.”

  I nodded. “I’ve just spoken to Fiona. She said she might expand. I don’t know why she didn’t tell me she’d started to advertise herself in other towns. Perhaps she forgot.”

  “Perhaps. Did she tell about the buildings she’s bought in these other towns?”

  “No, she didn’t. How many buildings? And when did she buy them?”

  Astrid said, “She’s got four so far. She bought the first one about a month ago. She’s employed some vampires to run it for her. The guardian I spoke to said the building is very similar to the one she has here in Brimstone. It’s brightly decorated and has flowers covering the outside area. He spoke to the vampires who are working for Fiona and they said business was booming thanks to the reputation Fiona has built up in Brimstone. There were photos on the walls of all the events Fiona had organised here.”

  My heart sank as I realised I’d been duped again. I thought Fiona was different. I said, “What about the other buildings? Are they similar?”

  Astrid nodded. “They are. Fiona knows what is working well, and she’s duplicating that in every town she can. She’s got a good business head on her. I wonder if Dana knew about her expansion plans? Do you think she found out and was angry with Fiona?”

  “Why would she be angry?” I asked.

  “Maybe Dana felt betrayed because Fiona was building her success in other towns without her. The guardians mentioned Dana when they talked to the various vampires in charge, and they didn’t know anything about her. It’s obvious Fiona was running her extended businesses without Dana’s help.”

  I said, “I’ll have to speak to Fiona again.” I took a drink of my coffee and it did its best to revive me.

  Astrid went on, “She’s not the only Fairfax you’ll have to speak to. Fabrice has been seen looking at wedding venues in other towns. He’s even put a deposit on two of them. Did you know he was planning to marry Dana Murphy?”

  “I’ve only recently found out he was in love with her. I didn’t know they were engaged.”

  “They weren’t. But Fabrice was planning on making it happen. My colleagues spoke to the managers of those venues and they said the same thing. Fabrice gave Dana’s name as the intended bride and laughed about how she didn’t know it yet.”

  I shook my head. “He sounds deluded. I’ll track him down soon and get the truth out of him.”

  Astrid said, “Do you think Dana turned Fabrice down once and for all and then he lost his temper with her? He might have thought that if he couldn’t have Dana, then no one else could.”

  I shifted in my seat. Considering how Astrid had warned me off Luca in the past, I didn’t feel comfortable talking to her about matters of the heart.

  Astrid took another drink of her coffee. “I don’t remember the coffee tasting so good here! That bump on my head must have changed me somehow. Cassia, can you tell me what you’ve discovered since we last met? If you don’t mind?”

  I didn’t mind because I wanted to get the thoughts clear in my head. I looked down and had a quick check on Stanley. He’d fallen asleep with that hostile look on his little furry face. I hoped he wouldn’t stay like that forever. I scooped him onto my knee before telling Astrid what we’d discovered.

  When we got to the part about Cody looking after her grandad because he’d been upset, the colour left Astrid’s face and her hand trembled.

  She quickly put her cup down and said, “I didn’t know that about Grandad. Cody is supposed to tell me when he has a funny turn. How bad was it? How much medication did he need?” Her voice rose in panic.

  “I don’t know. Cody didn’t say. You saw your grandad earlier. Was he his usual self then?”

  Astrid pushed her chair back and stood up. “I thought he was. I could be wrong. I have to go back and see him. Is that okay with you? Do you still need my help?”

  “We’ll be fine without you. You go.”

  “Thanks.” Astrid’s hands were still shaking as she tried to do up the buttons on her jacket. Some instinct made me wave my hands towards them. The buttons quickly fastened themselves.

  Astrid shot me a thank you before rushing out of the café.

  I stayed where I was with my sleeping friend and thought about all the questions I had for Fabrice Fairfax. And now I had questions for his sister too. I was certainly getting the runaround with this investigation.

  Gilda silently appeared at my side and placed a huge slice of Victoria sponge cake in front of me. She said, “You look as if you need this.”

  Chapter 23

  Gilda was right. I did need that slice of cake with its tangy raspberry filling. It made me feel like a new witch and my step was lighter as I left the café a short while later. Stanley woke up as soon as I’d finished my cake. Thankfully, the scornful look on his face had gone. I quickly filled him in on what Astrid had said.

  Stanley shook his head in disgust. “I know Blythe said you couldn’t use a truth potion on the creatures who live here, but is there something else you could use to scare them into telling you everything from the outset?”

  I gave her a smile. “I could use you. You had a really scary voice earlier when we spoke to Kelvin.”

  Stanley let out a little chuckle. “I scared myself.”

  The door opened and a customer entered. A Brimstone butterfly came in with them and flew over to us. It had a message from Dr Morgan. She wanted to see us as soon as possible.

  We said goodbye to Gilda before leaving. I didn’t need to settle the bill because Gran had an open account at the café.

  Dr Morgan was waiting for us when we arrived at the surgery. She took us into the office and pointed to some papers on her desk. She said, “I got the results back about that unidentifiable substance in Dana’s bloodstream. She’d been injected with a potion called Memory Mist. I saw a needle mark on the back of her knee and the potion had got into her that way.”

  “Memory Mist? I’ve never heard of that.”

  The doctor’s eyes twinkled and she quipped, “Maybe you have and you’ve forgotten about it.” She held her hand up. “Sorry, this is
n’t the time for jokes. Memory Mist is a plant that grows far from here. You won’t find any in Brimstone as Blythe won’t allow it. It can be useful in small doses for those who are experiencing slight memory loss. If they are given a dose and then reminded of who they are, the potion works wonderfully well. But if someone is given a strong dose, they can be convinced they are someone else entirely. In simple terms, a nasty individual could mess with someone’s memory and convince them of anything.”

  I absorbed that information and then said, “What’s that got to do with Dana? Why would someone mess with her memory?”

  “That’s for you to find out. The potion was administered an hour or so before her death.” Doctor Morgan folded her arms. “You could start this line of enquiry by speaking to the garden gnome who supplied the potion.”

  “Mrs Tarblast?”

  Dr Morgan nodded. “Mrs Tarblast. You know what she’s like for sneaking off to other towns and bringing back things she shouldn’t. She’s like the Brimstone equivalent of a smuggler. Since you discovered what she was up to during that other investigation of yours, she has stopped bringing illegal plants into the town, but she may have brought Memory Mist in a while ago. You should find out who she supplied it to.”

  “I will do. Thanks.”

  Dr Morgan gave me a direct look. “What else is on your mind? I can see something is bothering you.”

  Kelvin’s words about me being deceived were bothering me, but I wasn’t going to tell Dr Morgan that. I settled on the other subject that was bothering me. “I’m concerned about Gran and Blythe. I overheard them talking about going somewhere earlier. Stanley did too. We think they’re planning to visit Blythe’s cousins. Do you know anything about that?”

  Dr Morgan’s arms dropped. “I certainly don’t. I hope they’re not planning on doing such a foolish thing. You know what happened to Blythe last time she went there. I haven’t seen Esther for a while; it’s time I paid her a visit. I’ll call on her in a short while and interrogate her. I’ll soon get to the bottom of this.”