Pulling The Wool: A Magic Garden Mystery (Book 1) (4 page)

F
ern worked tirelessly
for the remainder of the afternoon. She had almost completed her big order as it neared the end of the day, with just a few more left to complete tomorrow.

Locking up the shop, she opened her magic wall, and was hit with the warmth of the sun. The charm was still working well.

“Hey, Essie. Time to go now.”

She found him snoozing on his cushion, which Zinnia had brought along earlier. He opened one eye lazily.

“Ah, I see. Alas, all good things must come to an end for me.”

Fern chuckled and went about setting her temperature dials. The plants were thriving beautifully.

“You can come back tomorrow, you know. I mean, I’m sure you want to go home for dinner, right?”

The mere mention of food and Essie immediately sat up and stretched. “You really ought to have a scratching post in here, Fern. It’s most inconvenient for me.”

“Sorry. I’ll remember to bring one tomorrow.” Fern rolled her eyes.

“I saw that.” He strolled towards her and together they stepped out into the back room. A few minutes later, the wall was back in place.

“Tell Zinnia I’ll be home later, okay?”

“Are you going to the Manor?”

Fern gathered her bits together and flung on her coat. “Yes, I am. I’m off to do a little investigating.” She shook two cans containing prime cuts of tuna at him. “And bribing.”

“Well, do careful. Those cats are pure evil.”

Fern reached down to stroke his head. “I’ll be fine.” Locking the door and once outside in the street, she whispered, “wish me luck.”

“Miaaaoowww.” Essie never used his voice in public but Fern knew what he meant.

“Thanks, Essie. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Fern sat off towards the Pince-Wittington Manor, whilst Essie went home in the opposite direction.

T
he Manor was
a short walk away, but set back from the road by a private lane. Walking along the lane, the house came into view at last, imposing and in all it’s glory. Fern hoped Lady Cecily would be home.

A few minutes later, she walked up the shingled drive and came to the heavy oak front door. She noticed the lights were switched on, which was a good sign. Picking up the heavy brass knocker, she tapped against the door and stepped back.

It seemed like an eternity and just about to knock again, she quickly withdrew her hand as the door pulled open. She was in luck.

“Fern. Hello, dear.”

Fern smiled. “Hello, Lady Cecily. I wonder if I may come in for a moment?”

Lady Cecily’s smile froze on her face. “Well, it’s not the best time, really. We were just getting ready for supper.”

Fern wasn’t ready to give up that easily. “I understand and I’m sorry to interrupt but it’s important I speak with you. It concerns the poisoned sheep.”

Lady Cecily’s smile vanished. She looked over her shoulder as if expecting someone. Turning back to Fern, her lips were downturned.

“I can’t imagine what you have to do with them, but very well, come inside for a minute.”

Reluctantly opening the door a little wider, she watched Fern closely as she entered the house. Glancing around at the enormous entrance hall, she followed Lady Cecily to a room on the left. Stepping inside, Fern scanned her surroundings, realising that it must be the drawing room. A desk was placed up against the large bay window and one side of the wall was covered with a large bookshelf. Unsure, whether she should sit, Fern awkwardly stood in the middle of the room.

“What can I help you with, Fern?”

Fern took a deep breath. “Well, firstly, I just want to say how sorry I am about your poor sheep.”

“They’re not
my
sheep.” Lady Cecily sniffed and folded her arms. “But I’ll pass your condolences on to Chesterton. Is there anything else?”

Wow, she really
is
keen to get rid of me, Fern thought. She decided to cut to the chase.

“Willie Gordon was asking about customers who have purchased the azaleas in the past and is currently interviewing all of them. I was getting my books together for him in my back room, and I saw that you were going through my things. I want to know why?” Fern’s voice was bold, even though she was feeling a little nervous confronting Lady Cecily.

She looked closely at the older lady who at once became flustered, adjusting her sleeve.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Fern.”

“I have CCTV. I saw you on camera. It was last week, when you came in asking about the Perovskia.”

Lady Cecily’s mouth dropped open, before she quickly closed it.

“Are you sure it was me?”

Fern needed no more confirmation. The same bright blue band of energy that was hovering over her desk, was now highlighted over Lady Cecily’s head. She had no doubt that it was her.

“Absolutely. Were you there trying to find azalea’s to poison the sheep?

“
What?!
How dare you accuse me of something so hideous?” Her face reddened with surprise and anger. “As much as I don’t particularly care for those sheep, Lord knows, Chesterton prefers them to me, I wouldn’t harm them!”

Fern was quiet after her outburst, giving Lady Cecily a moment to gather herself.

“So, why were you snooping around my stuff in the back room, then? Were you trying to frame me?”

“Of course not!” Lady Cecily almost shouted out the words. “What a silly thing to say.” She sighed heavily and threw her hands in the air. “If you really must know, Fern, I was looking for soil samples.”

Now it was Fern’s turn to be shocked. “
What?
Why? Why would you be snooping through my stuff looking for
soil samples
of all things?”

“Your orchids, okay?
There, now you know
. I can’t get my orchids to bloom as brightly as yours and I wondered if you were using a special soil or feed - or something!”

Fern was speechless. From how embarrassed and worked up she was, it was clear that Lady Cecily was telling the truth. Before Fern could say anything, she spoke again, this time, her voice softer.

“Look, I’m sorry I was snooping around your back room, I had no right to do that.” She suddenly looked alarmed. “Wait, you haven’t told Willie, have you?”

Fern shook her head. “No, I haven’t said a thing as I thought I’d give you the opportunity to tell me yourself.

Lady Cecily visibly relaxed. “Thank you, Fern, we really don’t need the scandal. We’ve enough on our plate with the poisoned sheep.”

“I won’t say anything.” Fern turned to the exit of the room. “I’ll let you continue with your evening.”

“
F
ern
, wait!”

She turned back around. “Yes, Lady Cecily?”

“I really am sorry. I’ll never do anything like that again.”

Fern suddenly felt compassionate towards her.

“It’s okay. Next time you come to The Magic Garden, I’ll give you some soil samples for you to try. I’m sure we can get some better colour for your orchids.” She smiled kindly and felt good when she saw Lady Cecily’s smile light up her face.

“Thank you, Fern. I’ll do that.”

They walked out to the front door and wished each other a good night. As soon as the door was shut behind her, Fern let out a small laugh. Lady Cecily was always rather condescending towards her whenever she came into The Magic Garden for a chat and a look around. Who knew she was secretly envious of Fern’s orchids!
Of all the things!

Fern suppressed her laugh and headed back down the path towards the gate. Along the way, she kept her eyes peeled for the barn cats, her tins of tuna, ready at hand in her bag.

Looking over her shoulder to make sure that no one was watching her, Fern doubled backed and went around the side of the house towards the back, to where the barns were housed.

Walking as quietly as she could in the evening light, Fern treaded along the path until she rounded the back of the house, where the field, stables and barn came into view. Fern kept in the shadows of the building as she walked along. The last thing she needed was to be caught by one of the farm hands. Suddenly she saw a black silhouette from her peripheral vision.
Bingo!
It was one of the cats.

“Psssst!”

The cat stopped walking and eyed her curiously.

“Come over here, would you?”

The cat continued to look at her with a blank stare. It was time to put her powers to the test.

“Look, Barn Cat, I know this is going to be a little strange, but I’m aware that you can hear me. So let’s just skip the formalities, okay? You know I can talk to you, I know
you
can talk. So, go on, what do you say?”

Fern waited expectedly for the cat to come over to her in the shadows, a grin on her face in anticipation. However, her smile quickly vanished as the cat began to walk away.

“Hey! Barn Cat! Where are you going?” Fern knew she didn’t have much time. “Look!” She pulled open her bag, rummaged around and pulled out the tin of tuna. “I have prime cuts of tuna in exchange for information!”

The cat stopped mid-stride and turned back around, eyeing the tin of tuna.

“A little human manners wouldn’t go far. How about a “
please, can you come here?”

Fern’s eyes widened in shock. Her attitude worked with the cat!

“Er, I’m, er, I’m sorry.” Fern stumbled on her words. Besides, Essie, she had never spoken with another animal before. “You can really hear me?”

“Of course I can. I just chose to ignore you. But you mention tuna, lady?”

“Yes, yes! Here it is.” Fern held out her hand, lowering herself to the ground whilst the cat cautiously approached. He sniffed her hand.

“Not bad. Good choice. So what do you want?”

Fern backed up against a little alcove and the cat came closer, eyes still on the prized tin.

“Well, first of all, my name is Fern Amesbury. And in case you’re wondering why I can converse with you, it’s because I’m a witch.”

“Seriously? Good for you.”

“Do you have to be so standoffish? I’m trying to make an effort here.” Fern frowned and crossed her arms.

“Fine. Whatever. How can I assist you, Fern Amesbury?”

It was no use trying to be friends. He clearly wasn’t interested and Fern was on borrowed time.

“Okay, well, here’s the thing. Do you know anything about the sheep that have been poisoned?”

The cat looked around before he answered. “Yeah, I heard about that. Not that we talk to each other, but we were naturally sorry to see them go.”

“Did you see anyone suspicious on the farm?”

The cat thought for a moment. “Well, we’ve seen that Angela Barker on the farm a few times – albeit, whenever the Sir and Lady are out.”

Fern nodded, not wanting to interrupt. She waited patiently for more information, but he didn’t comment further.

“Well, do you know who else had access to the sheep over the past few days? Could someone have snuck into the paddocks?”

“Highly unlikely. As you know, Sir Chesterton is very proud of his sheep. He’s the only one who feeds them at mealtimes.” He yawned and licked his lips. “Then again, I do have my own thing to do, so I haven’t exactly been monitoring their every movement.”

“Of course.” Fern knew that she was out of quota with her questioning. “Well, thank you for your time.” She popped open the ring pull on the tin and pushed it towards him.

“Thanks, Fern Amesbury. Feel free to drop by with this anytime you want.”

Fern smirked as she watched him tuck into the tuna.

“I’ll be off now. See you around Barn Cat.”

He didn’t bother to reply, too busy enjoying himself.

Fern crept out of the Manor and back onto the road, her head awash with jumbled thoughts.

She was excited to get home and report back to Zinnia and Essie.

W
hen Fern reached home
, she found Zinnia and Essie sitting in the front room, with the log fire roaring in the background.

“Hi. I’m back.”

They both looked up, relief washing over Zinnia’s face.

“Oh thank goodness, Fern. I was beginning to get worried.” She pulled off her reading glasses and put down her book. “How did it go?”

Essie also looked at her expectantly and Fern removed her coat, muttering a few words under her breath. The cupboard under the stairs opened and her coat and scarf flew over to the pegs, hanging themselves up on the hooks.

She took a seat on the single armchair.

“Well, it was certainly productive. I found out why Lady Cecily was in my back room.”

“Why?” Zinnia asked, “and how did she defend herself about being caught red-handed?”

“She was a little…uptight at first, but she soon confessed. Turns out she’s got a thing for my orchids and was searching for soil samples.”

“What?” Essie spoke, surprised. “Soil samples? What a strange lady!”

“I know, but I actually felt a little sorry for her at the end. Seems like it really matters to her that she has the best flowers in Thackery.” Fern shrugged her shoulders. “I offered to give her some soil when she’s next at The Magic Garden.”

“That’s kind of you.” Zinnia said. “Just be careful as your soil contains a trace of magic and you don’t want to be giving it away.”

“I know. I guess a little can’t hurt.”

“So, did you get a chance to meet with those thugs?” Essie was still clearly upset from his meeting yesterday.

“I did. After I said good-bye to Lady Cecily, I snuck around the back of the Manor and I soon spotted one of them. We spoke.” Fern’s face widened into a grin. “
We spoke!”

Essie huffed. “I’m not sure that I’d be so delighted to meet with their acquaintance.”

Fern was quick to reassure him. “It’s not that, Essie. Don’t you see, I
spoke
to another cat!”

Essie’s eyes widened with realisation. “Oh! I knew you had it in you!”

Fern looked at Zinnia who sat back in her seat looking at her proudly. “Good going, Fern. Now that you’ve broken through the communication barrier, it will get easier and easier the more you try.”

“Thank you. I couldn’t believe it when he answered me. I must say, I don’t think he would have if he hadn’t spotted the tuna.” She smiled. “All hail prime tuna cuts!”

Zinnia laughed lightly. “Tell us, what did he say?”

“Well, he mentioned that he has seen Angela Barker sneaking around the property a few times, notably when Lady Cecily and Sir Chesterton are out.”

“That’s very strange indeed. Wonder what she is up to on their property.” Zinnia looked puzzled and worried. “I’m beginning to think you’re right, Fern. Her behaviour does seem very suspicious.”

“I agree. That’s exactly what I was thinking. Maybe it’s time to have another chat with her again.”

“Well, it wouldn’t surprise me,” Essie said, “I mean, she could be doing her father’s dirty work.”

“Unfortunately it makes sense, Essie.” Zinnia turned to Fern. “Do you think we should take our suspicions to Willie?”

“I think so. I’m just not sure how’d we’d explain the part about knowing that she was sneaking around the Pince-Wittington Manor.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes whilst they thought about it. Fern glanced at her watch.

“Alana and Stewart are doing a special report on the evening news about the mystery surrounding the poisoning. It’s starting in ten minutes.”

“Oh, it will be interesting to see if they have any more leads.” Zinnia stood up. “I’ll go and brew some tea.”

As she walked into the kitchen, Essie jumped up and started to circle Fern’s legs.

“What on earth are you doing, Essie.”

“It’s okay, Fern. Zinnia’s out of earshot. You can tell me. Where are you hurt?”

“
Hurt?
I’m not hurt. What are you talking about?”

He stopped his investigation. “Are you sure that cat thug didn’t scratch or attack you?”

Fern smiled. “No, I told you everything that happened.”

“Hmmmm. Well, I’m glad that’s the case then. They obviously had something against me. A bias against posh cats.”

Fern stroked his back. “Don’t worry, you’ll never have to see them, okay?”

Essie purred against her leg. He certainly had no intention of mixing with that riff-raff
ever
again.

A
few minutes later
, settled with their herbal tea, Fern and Zinnia put on the television just in time for the news. They were greeted with a sombre looking Alana and Stewart on their screen.

“Good evening, I’m Alana Mallory, here with my colleague, Stewart Silversmith. Tonight, we are coming to you with a special report on the poisoning of three of Sir Chesterton Pince-Wittington’s, prize-winning sheep.”

The camera cut to Stewart’s face.

“This crime has rendered the residents of Thackery village in shock, especially as the method used for killing the sheep was particularly painful for them. We hope to reassure the residents of Thackery that the police department, led by Constable Willie Gordon, is doing everything they can to solve this crime as soon as possible.”

Alana came back onto the screen and continued the script.

“
Shortly we will showing an interview we had conducted earlier with Sir Chesterton and Lady Cecily, but first, we’d like to introduce you to Owen Gordon, who was called in by Lady Cecily upon discovering the deceased sheep.”

Fern watched the screen closely as Owen came into view. The interview must have been done earlier as Fern recognised the shirt he was wearing in the restaurant. Stewart had interviewed him.

“Mr Gordon, first of all, a public welcome to Thackery.”

“Thank you, Stewart, I’m happy to be here, even though the circumstances are unfortunate.”

“Indeed. Can you tell us a little about azalea poisoning?”

“Certainly.”
He faced the camera straight on.
“Azaleas contain substances called grayantoxins, which are present in all parts of the plant. Grayantoxin blocks normal function of the muscles in people and animals, including the heart, and can impair nerve function.”

“So it can affect humans as well?”

“Definitely,”
Owen continued,
“in fact, People who have consumed honey made from azaleas have suffered from vomiting, irregular heart rhythms, convulsions and mild paralysis.”

“So potentially a very harmful shrub,”
Stewart concurred.
“Can you tell us how it would affect animal consumption, particularly in this case, for the sheep?”

“Well, even a small amount of ingested plant foliage is highly toxic and can result in poisoning. Which is unfortunately, how these sheep passed away.”

“Was there evidence of any other traces of azalea found on Sir Pince-Wittington’s paddocks?”

“No, upon further investigation, there is definitely no more azalea present. Just to be extra safe, the sheep have also been moved to a separate and monitored paddock now.”

“Dr. Gordon, thank you very much for your time today and for the vital information on the everyday, pretty, but harmful shrub. Alana, back to you.”

Fern, Zinnia and Essie watched as the camera cut back to Alana, this time, in the company of Sir Chesterton and Lady Cecily. They were being interviewed in the front room of their Manor. Lady Cecily looked nervous, glancing at the cameras and back to her husband.

“Sir and Lady Pince-Wittington. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. First of all, we are all shocked and sorry to hear of the poisoning on your property. The villagers are keen to hear your thoughts at this sad and worrying time.”

The camera zoomed in on the couple. Sir Chesterton ran a hand over his balding head.

“Well of course, my wife and I are very upset about this. We are working closely with the police and hope to get to the bottom of it soon.”

Fern noticed he squeezed his wife’s hand for reassurance. Lady Cecily spoke next.

“It’s awful what’s happened. I mean, everyone knows how much Chesterton loves his sheep.”
A nervous laugh escaped her.
“Sometimes I think he loves them more than he does me!”

Fern looked at Sir Chesterton’s response and noticed a flash of pain cross his features. His lips tightened at her response. Alana quickly broke the awkward silence.

“Well, all the villagers are behind you and we do hope this mystery is solved soon. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.”

The interview ended and once again, Alana and Stewart were back in the studio, continuing with the other news segments.

Z
innia was
the first to speak. “Well, that was interesting! Of course, we know about azalea and its harmful toxins, but I’m glad Owen brought it to the general public’s attention.”

Fern was deep in thought, vaguely listening to Essie and Zinnia’s conversation in the background.

An idea began to hatch and a plan slowly formed in her mind.

Fern took a deep breath.

She knew what she had to do.

Tomorrow would be a big day.