brimstone witch 08 - death of a rainbow nymph Read online

  “I don’t know, but keep hold of it,” I told her. “It might be something I could use in the future. Do you know if Metise had any enemies?”

  “I don’t. I don’t get involved in my clients’ lives. I know Harmonia didn’t like Metise. She made that clear every time she came here.” She gave me a studied look. “You should talk to that boyfriend of hers. When I went to the Forest to see Metise, she was talking to her boyfriend about something. He had his arms around her but she was trying to shrug him off. When I turned up, he said he’d speak to her later about their wedding plans and he left. I casually said I didn’t know she was getting married. Metise said quite firmly she didn’t want to talk about it. So, we didn’t.”

  “Have you told me everything?” I asked.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  Stanley interjected, “Have you told us everything about your relationship with Metise? The full truth is often kept from us and it wastes our time.”

  Jen gave him a nod. “My relationship with Metise was a business one. My talk with her in the Forest was about the invisible rainbow paint. I didn’t have any reason to kill her.” She sighed. “I wish she wasn’t dead. She hasn’t paid me for that paint. Cassia, if you want me to keep that paint, you should pay me a deposit.”

  “I don’t know if I want it or not. Keep it as evidence. Just in case.”

  “I’m not happy about that,” Jen said. “I’m running a business.”

  “Yes, you’ve already said. I’m running a murder investigation and that’s more important. Don’t you think?”

  Jen had the decency to look ashamed. “Okay. I’ll keep the paint for you. Is there anything else?”

  “Not for now,” I told her. “But we might come back later.”

  Stanley said, “Thank you for my rainbow ribbon. I love it.”

  “You are welcome,” Jen said with a smile. Stanley really did bring out the best in everyone. Jen gave me a curt nod before walking away.

  We left the factory and got onto my broomstick.

  I said to Stanley, “It’s time we spoke to Theodwin.”

  Stanley nodded. “Cassia, you can cut my ribbon in half and then we can share it. We could be rainbow twins.” He gave me one of his cute cat smiles.

  My heart swelled with love. With Stanley at my side, I could do anything. And that included finding an evil killer.

  Chapter 11

  We headed back to the Enchanted Forest and found Luca standing near the bushes where Metise’s body had been. As I landed, I noticed he looked more tired than ever.

  Stanley must have noticed his condition too because he leapt off the broomstick and into Luca’s arms. Stanley nuzzled his face into Luca’s neck and said, “You look worn out. Haven’t you had a rest at all?”

  Luca stroked Stanley’s back. “I haven’t had a minute to myself, my little friend. There’s too much to do.” He gave me a warm smile. “How are you?”

  I moved closer to him and returned his smile. “I’m fine.” I told him about my talks with Mother Nature, Harmonia and Jen Bumbleberry.

  Luca said, “You have been busy. I have too. I went with Dr Morgan to her office while she did an initial investigation on Metise’s body. The cause of death was a mixture of the arrow striking her and then her subsequent fall to the ground. She must have been up high when the arrow struck her. Dr Morgan said her death occurred shortly after midnight. I’ve made enquiries with some night-time creatures who’ve told me Metise often flew at that time. It was common knowledge so anyone could have taken a shot at her. Did you speak to Cupid? Was that his arrow in Metise’s back?”

  “Oh, yes. I should have told you that first.” I told him about Cupid, his injury and the damage in his office.

  Luca shook his head. “Cupid always leaves his door open. Like most creatures around here. Perhaps it’s time I told them to lock their doors.” He swayed from side to side as he held Stanley in his arms like a baby. Stanley’s eyes began to close.

  I pointed to Stanley to alert Luca to his drowsy state and said quietly, “Did you find Theodwin?”

  “I did,” Luca said just as quietly. “He’s at home with his mum. I didn’t see him because his mum wouldn’t let me through the door. She said Theodwin was distraught over the death of Metise and she’d slipped him a sleeping potion to calm him down. It’ll be a while before he wakes up again. I asked her why Theodwin was near the area where Metise’s body was. She didn’t know that he had been there and accused me of making it up.” Luca gave me a wry smile. “That’s when she slammed the door in my face. I tried knocking again, but she leant out of the top window and threw a jug of very cold water over me.”

  “Did she now?” I seethed. “I’ll be having a word or two with her. That’s no way to treat a guardian.”

  Luca continued with his swaying motion. Stanley was fast asleep now. “Don’t worry about it. The cold water actually woke me up a bit.” He raised his eyebrows. “See how wide awake I am? What would you like me to do next?”

  I smoothed back a section of his hair and noticed it was slightly damp. “I’d like you to have a nap. Can’t you find a tree somewhere and settle down next to it for a while?”

  His mouth twisted as he stifled a yawn. “That sounds a good idea.” He suddenly jumped and looked down at the ground. “Hi, Kevin. How are you?”

  I looked down at the brown mouse who was standing next to Luca.

  Kevin squeaked, “I’m not well at all! You’ve got to help me. Trish is driving me mad. She won’t stop nagging me about going on holiday. I’ve told her over and over again I’m not a town mouse. I refuse to leave the Forest, but she won’t listen. Luca, you have to talk to her. You have to get her to see sense.”

  Luca said, “I don’t want to get involved in your marriage, Kevin. Can’t you sort things out yourselves? Can’t you sit down and discuss matters?”

  Kevin shook his little head. He held his paw out. “Look at this. I’ve got a bruise on my paw. Trish threw a lamp at me! I don’t know what she’s going to do next. Please, Luca, come and talk to her. Calm her down before she does something she regrets.”

  I caught the fear in Kevin’s voice and said to Luca, “You’d better go with him. I don’t want to take the chance of anyone else getting hurt today. There are all sorts of negative emotions flying around here.”

  Luca’s shoulders dropped. “I know. I haven’t even sorted out Gerald and Enid’s problems yet. I was going to call on them later.”

  A squirrel landed on Luca’s shoulder. She said, “Mr Luca, you have to do something immediately! That husband of mine is driving me crazy with his lazy ways. He knows I like to keep our home spic and span. If he leaves his hazelnuts lying on the lounge floor once more, I swear I’ll throw him out of the tree!”

  “Don’t do that, Mabel. I’ll talk to him as soon as I can,” Luca reassured her. He looked my way and gave me a small smile. “I don’t think I can help you with your investigation at the moment.”

  “That’s okay, you carry on with your guardian duties.” I looked at Stanley who was gently snoring. “You’d better give Stanley back to me. Don’t wake him up. You know how he feels about …” I nodded my head at the little mouse who was waiting for Luca. Stanley hated mice with a vengeance. Stanley was good-natured to all creatures, but he was a different cat when it came to mice. They’d played many nasty tricks on him over the years. He’d told me repeatedly that he’d never forget what they did to him.

  I placed my broomstick on the ground and then took Stanley into my arms.

  Luca said to the squirrel on his shoulder, “Mabel, I’ll call on you later. I need to have a talk with Kevin and his wife first.”

  Kevin piped up, “It’s urgent! It’s a matter of life and death?”

  Mabel replied, “My problems are urgent too!”

  Luca gave them a tight-lipped smile. “I’ll help you both. Please, be patient. Come on, Kevin, lead me to your home.” He gave me a small wink before turning away.

  P
oor Luca. He looked as if he was going to fall over from exhaustion soon. I wished there was something I could do to help him, but I had my own problems to deal with.

  Stanley’s eyes fluttered open. “Where am I?” His whiskers twitched and his eyes opened fully. “Yuk! There’s a stink of mouse around here!” He looked down at the ground. “Where is the little monster?”

  “There was a mouse, but he’s gone now. Stanley, I think we should return to Brimstone town for a while. I want to talk to Theodwin which means I’ll have to wait until he wakes up. I’ve got lots of thoughts running through my head about Metise and possible suspects. I want to get them written down so I can try to make sense of them.”

  “That sounds good to me. Where did Luca go?”

  I told him about the mouse and the squirrel. I said, “Everyone seems to be arguing with each other. I hope we don’t have more murders on our hands soon.”

  Chapter 12

  Gran had an apartment in Brimstone town which Stanley and I used often. It was above the Mooncrest Café. The owner of the café, Gilda, seemed to magically know when Stanley and I would be using the apartment and so filled the fridge with delicious items for us.

  She’d done it again as we returned to Gran’s apartment now. The first thing I did was to check the fridge. I smiled at the covered plates and dishes Gilda had placed inside it. Each plate and dish had a note attached to it to tell us what the meal was.

  Holding the fridge door open, I said to Stanley, “Are you hungry?”

  “Always.” Stanley stuck his face into the fridge and sniffed. “Gilda has made my very favourite fish pie. Can I have that, please?”

  “You certainly can.” I looked closer into the fridge. “I don’t know whether I should have that pizza with olives and onions on it or the ravioli. Both look delicious. Decisions, decisions.”

  Stanley pointed out, “These are good decisions to have.”

  “They are. I’ll have the pizza, then I can eat it at the same time as writing up my notes. I’ll have the ravioli later.” I reached for the pizza and soon had it in the oven. Stanley said he would wait for my pizza to be ready before he had his fish pie.

  Once those important decisions had been made, I made a cup of tea for myself and got a dish of water ready for Stanley. We moved over to a table in the living area which was next to the windows. The windows looked out over Brimstone town square. They were tinted which allowed Stanley and me to happily gawp at the residents outside without them seeing us. Which is what we did now for a few minutes.

  Stanley said, “Everyone seems happy out there. No one looks as if they’re about to murder anyone. Do you think the effect of the black magic has completely gone here?”

  I took a sip of my tea before answering. “I don’t know. I hope so.” I put my cup down and pulled a pad of paper towards me along with a pen. “Right, Stanley, who’s your number one suspect so far in this case?”

  “Harmonia. She didn’t like Metise. She knew about her night-time flights. And from the aroma on her clothes, we know she’s been to Cupid’s office recently, possibly to steal his bow and arrow.”

  I wrote those details down. “Good thinking. Those are my thoughts too. Who else is in the running?”

  “Theodwin. He was at the crime scene and he ran away.” Stanley gave me a wise look. “That’s always suspicious. Guilty people tend to run away.”

  I nodded. “Yes, we need to know why he did that. He professes to be in love with Metise, but you heard what she said to him about the wedding. She didn’t give me the impression she wanted to be married anytime soon. She was more interested in her work. Perhaps Theodwin had an argument with her over their wedding plans, and their argument went too far.”

  “Beings in love never think straight,” Stanley noted. “Except you. You seem to be coping well in your new relationship with Luca. I’m glad your brain hasn’t turned to mush.”

  My cheeks warmed up. “Let’s not discuss my love life. Back to the case. Do you have any other suspects?”

  Stanley gave me a direct look. “There is someone else. I think you might suspect her too.”

  “Mother Nature?”

  He nodded. “Yes, Mother Nature. When we first met her, she was calm and peaceful-looking. But when she lost her temper,” he shivered, “she scared me. Her face was full of fury. She could have lost her temper with Metise and killed her in a fit of rage.”

  “Whoever killed Metise didn’t do it in a fit of rage. They stole Cupid’s bow and arrow before committing the deed. They planned to kill Metise.”

  Stanley said, “Even so, I think we should put Mother Nature on your list.”

  I wrote her name down. The oven pinged letting me know my pizza was ready.

  As expected, the pizza was delicious. The base was thin and crispy, the tomato sauce tangy and full of taste, and the olives and onions danced with flavour over my tongue. There was the perfect amount of cheese on the pizza along with a few basil leaves which had appeared on the top of the cheese as soon as I took the pizza out of the oven. That was Gilda working her magic again.

  Stanley and I sat in silence at the table while we stuffed our faces. I could have carried on writing, but the pizza was too delicious and I had to savour each mouthful. When he’d finished his pie, Stanley let out a little burp of appreciation. I did the same and then grinned at Stanley.

  Stanley chuckled and said, “Do you do that in front of Luca?”

  I gave him a mock look of indignation. “Certainly not. I am a lady in front of Luca.” I reached out and stroked Stanley’s head. “But I am myself in front of you.” I looked at the fur which had come off in my hand.

  Stanley noticed it. “Am I still moulting? How long will this last? It’s so embarrassing.”

  “It won’t last forever. You’re only losing small amounts now. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I’m trying not to.”

  I took a tissue from my pocket, wiped Stanley’s fur on it and put it back in my pocket intending to put it in the bin later. I reached for our empty plates and stood up. “I’ll have a quick wash up and then we’ll get back to our work.”

  There was a knock at the door. We both looked that way.

  I said, “Are you expecting anyone?”

  “No, are you?”

  “It could be Luca.” I frowned. “But his knock is louder than that.”

  The knock sounded again.

  Stanley jumped down from his chair. “Someone’s knocking on the cat flap. Luca wouldn’t do that. I’ll see who it is. It might be one of my cat friends.”

  I put the plates back on the table and raised my hands ready to do magic. If an evil creature was waiting on the other side of the cat flap, I wanted to be ready. I walked behind Stanley and crouched at his side in front of the cat flap.

  Stanley carefully pushed the flap open and said, “Hello? Who is it?”

  A ginger cat with big eyes was standing there. Her voice was quiet as she said, “Hello, my name is Petal. I’m here to see Stanley.” She blinked and looked closer at Stanley. “Is that you? Cupid said you were handsome. He was right.”

  “Cupid?” Stanley asked. “What are you talking about?”

  Petal blinked again. “I’m here because I wanted to meet you. Cupid told me about you and I was intrigued. I thought I’d come over and introduce myself. A handsome cat like you won’t be on the market for long.”

  “On the market?” Stanley said. “I’m not on the market at all! I’m not a piece of meat. Cupid shouldn’t have told you anything about me. I’m not looking for a partner. Goodbye.”

  Petal’s paw shot out. “Please don’t shut the cat flap on me. I’ve come such a long way. Is it possible to have a drink of water before I begin my long journey home?”

  Stanley told her, “There’s a café downstairs. You can get a drink there. Bye.”

  I nudged Stanley and whispered, “Where are your manners? Let her in. The least we can do is give her a drink.”

  Stanley’s lit
tle lips pressed together and he opened the cat flap wider. Petal hopped through it. She was a lovely looking cat.

  I got to my feet and then prepared a dish of water for Petal. When I brought it over to her, she was sitting on the carpet next to Stanley and staring at him in admiration. Stanley was smiling politely.

  “Here you are,” I said to Petal as I placed the dish down. “What did Cupid tell you about Stanley?”

  “He was reluctant to tell me anything at first,” Petal admitted. “I’ve been visiting Cupid for months now in an attempt to find my soulmate. Cupid has never found the perfect match for me but I never gave up hope. I knew love would find me one day! While I was talking to Cupid about my last date, which was a complete disaster, he told me about Stanley and said how wonderful he was. He said Stanley wasn’t looking for a date. Well! I wanted to meet this amazing Stanley and badgered Cupid until he told me which town you lived in. He didn’t know your address, so I’ve been knocking on many doors and asking about you, Stanley.” She gazed into Stanley’s eyes. “And now I’ve found you.”

  Stanley cleared his throat. “You’ve had a wasted journey. I told Cupid I wasn’t interested in finding a partner. He should have made that clear to you.”

  Petal’s gaze went to the carpet. “I know that. But I thought if we met, something might happen between us.” She raised her eyes. “Could you give me a bit of your time, please? We could go for a stroll around the town square. You never know; you might discover that I’m the love of your life!” She gave him an optimistic smile.

  Stanley shook his head. “I don’t think that will happen.”

  Petal didn’t give up. “Why don’t we go for a walk, and then if you decide you don’t want to see me again, I’ll leave you alone.”

  I could see Stanley wrestling with his emotions. His good manners won out and he said, “Okay. We can do that. I could do with a walk.” He moved towards the cat flap and opened it. “After you.”