The Murdered Mermaid (A Brimstone Witch Mystery Book 6) Read online

  “He’s told me a lot about Mum, and how he used to help her.”

  Stanley came to sit at Oliver’s side, and between us, we told Oliver about our latest investigation.

  Oliver listened intently and I was glad his mind had been taken off Gran for a while.

  When we’d finished, he said, “I’m not familiar with the creatures of the sea. I’ve never been to the beach. From what I’ve seen on TV, there’s too much water at the beach.” He gave Stanley a kind look. “And I don’t think I’ll ever go. I don’t want to meet those horrible grindylows that attacked you. Are you sure you’re okay now?”

  Stanley nodded and said cheerfully, “I’m fine. It was quite an adventure. I knew Cassia would rescue me. She always looks out for me.”

  Oliver threw me one of his disgusted looks. “But it wasn’t you who rescued Stanley, was it? You need to keep a closer eye on my brother, young lady.”

  Even though I was glad to see Oliver was back to his normal self, I didn’t appreciate the telling-off. However, I remained silent and gave Oliver a nod of contrition.

  Oliver continued, “Find out what you can about the sea creatures. I believe there are some books in Esther’s apartment about them. Go back there now and see what you can turn up.”

  Stanley said, “We were going to stay here with you tonight to keep you company.”

  Oliver raised his furry chin. “I’m perfectly happy with my own company, but thank you anyway. Now that the season witches are on Esther’s trail, I feel confident that she’ll be back home very soon. I must tidy up before she returns. I haven’t done a lick of housework since she left. I can’t have her coming back to a mess.” He nodded to himself. “I’ll start on the upstairs first.”

  “Can we give you a hand?” I offered.

  Oliver looked me over. “No, you’ll be more of a hindrance than a help. Don’t sit there on the floor looking useless; get yourselves back to Brimstone.” He added a tut.

  Stanley chucked. “Oliver, I love it when you’re bossy. You’re funny.”

  Oliver moved closer to Stanley and rubbed his cheek against his. His voice was a bit gruffer as he said, “Take good care of yourself, Stanley. Don’t put yourself in any danger. And don’t let Cassia put you in any danger either.”

  I said indignantly, “I never mean to put Stanley in danger. Things just happen sometimes.”

  Oliver pursed his lips at my words. I didn’t even know cats could do that.

  I got to my feet, picked up my broomstick and said, “Right, we’ll see you later.”

  “Bye,” Oliver said. “You know where the door is.” He gave Stanley a smile before heading towards the cellar steps.

  I shook my head at his departure. He was certainly back to his normal self.

  Stanley and I headed straight back to the apartment. Once there, I checked the fridge and found a lasagne. I popped it in the oven and then gave Stanley a dish of something that immediately made him drool.

  While the lasagne was warming up, we located the books on the sea creatures of Brimstone. There were only a few books and it wasn’t going to take us long to go through them. I took them over to the sofa and sat down. Stanley sat on my knee and I read out the relevant paragraphs to him.

  Stanley said, “There isn’t a lot of information about the merpeople, is there? I thought there might be something on the different communities, and perhaps something on King Taron and his family.”

  I placed the book I’d just been reading on the table in front of me. “Perhaps Gran never dealt with the sea creatures and so didn’t need to know a lot about them. From what Jeremy said, it was Mum who kept an eye on the activities at Brimstone Beach. I wonder if she ever kept any records of her work there? I’ll ask Jeremy about that tomorrow.”

  The oven pinged to notify me the lasagne was ready. Stanley had kindly offered to wait until my meal was ready before he had his.

  We took our food over to the table and looked out at the town of Brimstone as we ate.

  I noted, “Everyone looks happy out there. I can’t see any signs of trouble, can you?”

  With his cheeks bulging with food, Stanley said, “Nope. But it could be the calm before the storm.”

  I waved my empty fork at the citizens of Brimstone and said to them, “If anyone is thinking of committing a murder, would you mind waiting until I’ve finished my present investigation, please? Thank you. I appreciate your patience.” I stuck my fork into the lasagne and scooped a portion of the delicious meal into my mouth. I don’t know what Gilda did to her food, but it always tasted amazing. I gave the lasagne my full attention and soon had an empty plate.

  I leant back in my chair and patted my happy stomach. Gilda had also left some tiramisu in the fridge. I’d wait a while before I attacked that.

  I said, “Stanley, I think we should talk to Conway’s girlfriend first thing tomorrow. What do you think?”

  Stanley’s eyes were closing. He muttered, “Good idea. I think I’ll close my eyes for a while. They feel very heavy. But you keep talking; I’m listening.”

  I smiled at my tired friend. “It’s time for your sleep. Come on, little one.” I picked him up and took him into the bedroom. I placed him on the large, comfy cushion at the side of my bed. Stanley was asleep before I’d even settled him down. I stroked his head and whispered ‘goodnight’ and then returned to the living area.

  I looked out of the window and noticed Luca walking around the town square with his hands clasped behind his back. Many residents nodded and smiled at him as they passed by, but Luca only gave them a tight smile in return. When I’d seen him making his rounds of the town before, he would stop and chat with everyone he met, and he laughed and smiled constantly as he did so. What had Astrid done to him to make him so miserable now?

  Placing my hand against the glass, I said quietly, “Luca, when this investigation is over, I’m going to do all that I can to help you. I promise.”

  I turned away from the window and took my empty plate and Stanley’s empty bowl over to the sink. I just had enough room in my stomach to fit in the tiramisu. As expected, the mixture of cream, soft sponge and the light taste of coffee was delicious.

  With a full stomach and a sleeping cat at my side, I settled into my bed and it didn’t take me long to fall into a deep sleep.

  As soon as I woke up in the morning, my senses sprang into high alert. There was something different about the apartment.

  Chapter 13

  I looked over at Stanley who was standing on his cushion and sniffing loudly. He looked at me and said, “There’s a funny smell. Can you smell it?”

  I pulled myself into a seated position. “I can. It smells like the sea. How is that possible? The beach is ten miles away.”

  Stanley’s whiskers twitched. “Someone has been in this apartment. They’ve left that smell behind. The intruder might still be here. I’m going to investigate.” He made a move forward.

  “Wait!” I hissed. “If there is an intruder out there, they could be armed and dangerous. Let me find some sort of weapon first.” I pulled the bedcover back, got out of bed and started to look left and right.

  Stanley whispered, “Cassia, you’re armed and dangerous already! You don’t need weapons. You’ve got your magic. Use it.”

  I looked down at my hands. “Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting.” I held my hands out in front of me in what I hoped was a menacing manner and walked towards the door. “Stanley, stay behind me. I’ll go first.”

  Bracing myself, I opened the door and stepped through it. I headed towards the living area, my hands held aloft ready for action.

  It took me all of ten seconds to realise no one was there. My nose wrinkled. The smell was stronger here. It was a mixture of the sea, hot sand and a hint of cooked food.

  Stanley made his way around the apartment with his nose to the floor. When he’d completed a circuit, he returned to my side and announced, “Whoever was here has gone now. I examined the door and couldn’t find any signs of for
ced entry. Also, I can’t see that anything is missing or has been disturbed.” He gave me a little grin. “I sound very professional, don’t I?”

  “You do.” I put my hands on my hips and looked around again. “Why would someone come in and not take anything?”

  Stanley didn’t answer. He was staring at something under the table near the window.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked him. “Have you seen a mouse?”

  Stanley padded over to the table, went under it and came out with something in his mouth. He dropped it at my feet.

  I picked it up. “It’s a hair comb. A sparkly hair comb. It looks just like the one that Isla was wearing.” I looked down at Stanley. “Does this mean Isla was our intruder? Why? What did she want?”

  “The obvious answer is that she’s the one who murdered Nerita and doesn’t want you to find out. She must have sneaked into our apartment last night and …” he trailed off.

  “Had a good look around, left her comb and then cleared off?” I suggested. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Or,” Stanley held up a paw, “someone else could have left this comb here as a message for us. They must have known I’d find it under the table. Someone from the beach must have seen me searching for shells and realised what an inquisitive cat I am.” He gave me a satisfied nod. “I am very nosy. Just like you.”

  “Nosiness is a virtue,” I told him. I turned the comb over in my hands. “Do you think the message is for us to keep an eye on Isla? If so, someone at the beach must suspect her of something. They didn’t need to leave us a message; she’s already on my list of suspects. Having this comb in the apartment gives me the perfect excuse to speak to her.” I looked at the comb again. “It’s beautiful. I wonder what those stones are?”

  I jumped as someone knocked on the door.

  Before I could respond, Stanley ran over to the door and popped his head through the cat flap. A second later, he pulled his head back through and announced, “It’s Jeremy!”

  “Stanley, you shouldn’t have stuck your head out like that! It could have been the murderer out there.” I tried to give him a hard look, but it was impossible to do as he was so cute.

  Stanley lowered his head a bit. “Sorry. I won’t do it again.”

  I gave him a quick pat on the head to show him I wasn’t mad before opening the door.

  “Morning!” Jeremy trilled holding out a cardboard cup to me. “I’ve brought hot tea straight from the café. Gilda assures me it will wake you up in a second.” Was it my imagination or did he look even younger this morning?

  I took the cup and opened the door wider to allow him to enter. “Thank you. Would you like a drink? I can put the kettle on.”

  “No, thank you. I’ve had a full breakfast at the café this morning.” Jeremy smiled down at Stanley. “Hello there, friend. How are you?” He abruptly stopped talking and raised his head. His nostrils flared. “Why does it smell like Brimstone Beach in here?”

  I gave Jeremy the comb and told him our thoughts about who might have left it here.

  Jeremy examined the comb. There was annoyance in his eyes. “I don’t like the idea of someone coming into your apartment while you are asleep. How dare they?” He handed the comb back to me and closed the door behind us. He held his hands out towards the door. “I’m putting a spell on this useless piece of wood to stop any supernatural creatures coming in without your permission.”

  Flashes of green light shot from Jeremy’s fingers and landed on the door like little exploding fireworks. I was worried for a moment that the door was going to burst into flames.

  Jeremy wriggled his fingers and the green light disappeared. “That will do it. The only way supernatural creatures can get through that door is if you invite them in. The nerve of some creatures!”

  “There was no harm done,” I told him. “Come and sit down on the sofa. I want to hear all about your night at the hotel. Did you find out anything useful?”

  Jeremy gave the door an annoyed look before following Stanley and me over to the sofa. I sat at one end and Stanley sat at my side. As soon as Jeremy took a seat, Stanley moved onto his lap and looked up at him with wide eyes. He looked impossibly cute.

  Jeremy immediately fell under Stanley’s spell and a smile spread across his face. He began to stroke Stanley and all the anger over the intruder left his face. Stanley had a calming effect on most beings.

  I took a sip of the tea and felt a shot of caffeine zinging through my body. It felt like I’d plugged myself into a charger.

  Jeremy began, “Let me begin by saying that you and Stanley have a lot of support in this town. The residents have nothing but praise for you and all the work you’ve done here. They know how difficult things are for you at present with Blythe and Esther gone, and many of them have offered their assistance to you, if you need it.” His smile grew. “This really is a lovely town.”

  “Apart from the murderers out there,” Stanley said.

  Jeremy nodded. “Apart from the murderers. Speaking of which, I did some digging on Isla and I spoke to a sand-elf who used to live near a beach in another town. This was early last year and he recalls that Isla lived in that area too. He said it was hard to forget her as she was so loud and bossy! Anyway, she was engaged to a prince but then he broke the engagement off.”

  I nodded. “That’s what Gia told us. This is good tea.” I took another sip and felt my brain notching up a gear. “I can tell by your expression that you’ve got more to tell us about that engagement.”

  “I have. After the prince broke off the engagement, Isla tried to make light of the situation and told everyone she was fine about it. But then the prince suffered a terrible accident a few days later. A pile of underwater rocks fell on him whilst he was asleep.” He paused for effect. “He was almost killed. Isla had been spotted at the very same pile of rocks the previous day by a family of starfish. She denied it and said she wouldn’t stay with a community of merpeople who thought she was capable of such a terrible act. She left that area and arrived at Brimstone.”

  I gave Jeremy a thoughtful look. “So the message of your story is to be careful around Isla.”

  “Definitely. The sand-elf went on to say that he saw Isla leaving that day. She looked furious and there was such an intense hate in her eyes that the sand-elf fled the beach in terror. He only returned when Isla had gone. He heard the other merpeople saying how glad they were that Isla had gone. No one liked her.”

  “I’ll speak to her about her previous engagements,” I said. “I wonder if her thirst for power caused her to kill Nerita? As the pure water that killed Nerita is dangerous to merpeople, perhaps she forced another sea creature to get it for her.” My brain cells were working harder. “And when she had that bottle of water, she must have lured Nerita into the cave and then tricked her into drinking it.” My attention went to the comb at my side. “Jeremy, would it be possible for a merperson to walk all the way to this apartment? If Isla or another merperson left this here, how did they do it? Wouldn’t they be in immense pain?”

  “They would. The further they go from the sea on legs, the more painful it becomes for them. They could have used a different form of transport. I could ask the flying unicorns if they’ve had any merpeople using their taxi services recently.”

  “Thank you. What about the sirens? Would one of them be able to get here easily?”

  “Yes, I suppose they would. Do you think one of the missing sirens came here specially to give you that comb as a warning against Isla?”

  I nodded. “It’s a possibility. I’m not ruling anything out.” I drained the last of my tea. “As soon as I’ve had my breakfast and got dressed, I’m going back to the beach to talk to Isla. I have many questions for her. Jeremy, are you coming with us?”

  “I won’t. I’ll stay here and continue asking questions around town about the merpeople. Someone may have seen the creature who came into this apartment.” His face twisted in disgust. “I hope someone did see them. I want to
know who it was.”

  I put my hand on his arm. “Don’t get upset about that. Nothing’s been stolen and nothing has been damaged.”

  “I’m not bothered about property damage and theft,” Jeremy said. His eyes welled up. “What if something terrible had happened to you? I couldn’t bear that. I feel responsible for you.”

  I squeezed his arm and gave him a bright smile. “You don’t need to. I can look after myself.”

  Stanley turned his face to Jeremy and added, “And I can look after Cassia. We’ll be fine. Just fine.”

  Chapter 14

  Stanley and I flew back to Brimstone Beach. I saw merpeople sitting and lying on the sand, quietly talking to each other. No one was playing any games, and no one was laughing.

  We landed outside the café and found Gia wiping down a table. She raised her hand in acknowledgement.

  When we went over to her, she said, “It’s been a very quiet morning. I haven’t had anyone buy any water bottles from me.” Concern came into her eyes. “I hope the merpeople don’t think I had anything to do with Nerita’s death.”

  “I’m sure they don’t think that.” I glanced towards the sea water bottles behind the counter. “How long have those bottles been there?”

  “About an hour. I put the ones that had been there yesterday in a locked cabinet in case you needed them. I’ve been thinking about the poisoned water. What if Nerita wasn’t the intended victim? What if someone just wanted any merperson to die and didn’t care who? What if someone is planning on killing the merpeople population one by one?” She twisted the cloth in her hands and her face lost its remaining colour. “How far have you got with your investigation? Do you have any suspects yet?”

  “I do. Gia, please try not to worry. Things will get sorted out. I won’t stop until I find out who killed Nerita.” I looked towards the merpeople on the sand. “Do you know where Isla is? I’d like to speak to her.”

  Gia raised her cloth towards the sea. “She’s out there, near Turtle Island. I did see her on the sand a short while ago but she got fed up with how quiet everyone is and said she was going for a swim. I don’t think she understands the concept of grief. Cassia, is there anything I can do to help you with your investigation?”