Witch Is When I Said Goodbye (A Witch P.I. Mystery Book 10) (11 page)

Chapter 13

I felt awful about what I’d said to Gordon Armitage’s sister. I had to get out of the office—away from all the other knitters who no doubt now thought I was a horrible person.

As I walked down the street, I noticed there was a police car parked outside Ever.

Inside the shop was Tom Hawk; he was with two uniformed police officers. The three of them were standing at the counter; Tom was arguing with Grandma.

“I’m not going anywhere!” Grandma said.

“If we could just have a few words in the back, there would be no need for you to go to the station.” Tom Hawk spoke in a cool, calm, collected way.

“I’ve got nothing to say to you.” Grandma was giving him the evil eye.

This was not going well, so I thought I’d better step in to try to calm things down.

“Tom, is there a problem?”

“Hi, Jill. I’m sorry about this. We’d like a few words with this
lady
, but she isn’t being very cooperative.”

“This is my grandmother, Tom. What is it you want to talk to her about?”

“Don’t talk about me as though I’m not here.” Grandma wasn’t about to stay silent for anyone.

“Oh, trust me, I know you’re here, madam,” Tom said. “I’m in absolutely no doubt about that. Look, this is just a routine enquiry. We’re talking to all the coffee shop and tea room owners in the area about the recent incident at Coffee Triangle.”

“But why? What could that possibly have to do with my grandmother?”

“Again, I’m still here!” Grandma’s wart was beginning to glow red—never a good sign.

“Grandma, why don’t you just go into the back with Mr Hawk, and answer his questions. That will be an end to it.”

I could sense that what she really wanted to do was to turn him and the other two officers into something hideous. But, even
she
wouldn’t be able to get away with something as blatant as that in Washbridge.

“Very well.” She sighed. “Come on, young man. Let’s get this over with.”

“Shall I come with you?” I offered.

“No, you stay there.” Grandma fixed me with her gaze. “I don’t need you to hold my hand.”

It seemed like forever, but it can’t have been more than fifteen minutes later that Tom re-emerged; he looked decidedly the worse for wear.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Your grandmother is a real piece of work.”

“No arguments from me there. Did you get what you needed?”

“Not exactly. She told me I was wasting my time, and that she had nothing to say to me.”

“Why are you talking to her anyway? What possible good can it do?”

“Like I said before. It’s just routine. We have to consider motive, and the fact is that there are too many coffee shops and tea rooms in this area. One or two of them have been struggling recently. They’re bound to benefit from Coffee Triangle’s closure, if only temporarily.”

“You can’t seriously be suggesting that the motive for that man’s murder was to close down Coffee Triangle?”

“I’m not suggesting anything, but there’s no denying that this shop, along with others, has obviously benefited from the closure. See for yourself.” He pointed to the tea room which was packed with customers.

“Look, Tom, Grandma may be a little difficult.”

“That’s the understatement of the year.”

“But she wouldn’t resort to murder just to get a few more customers through the door.”

“I’m sure you’re right, Jill. Anyway, we have several more shops to visit. Hopefully, your grandmother will calm down soon because I may need to speak to her again.”

After the police had left, I thought I should check if Grandma was okay.

She wasn’t. She was fuming.

“How dare he come in here and question me? How dare he throw around such accusations?”

“I’m sure he didn’t actually accuse you of anything.”

“Of course he did! He more or less accused me of murder.”

“Do you think you might be overreacting? Just a little?”

“Overreacting?” Her face turned a shade of red I’d never seen before.

“Sorry, but I’m sure it’ll all be cleared up soon.”

“I doubt that. I could tell by the way he was talking that he’s already decided I’m guilty. He won’t rest until he’s thrown me in jail.”

“I’m sure that isn’t going to happen.”

“You’re dead right it’s not. Because you’re going to sort this out for me.”

“Me? What can I do?”

“You’re a private investigator, aren’t you?”

“Err, yeah.”

“Right. Well, the sooner you find out who
did
murder that poor man, the sooner you get the police off my back. It is now your top priority to discover the identity of the murderer.”

“Hold on! I’m not a police officer; I’m a private investigator. I only investigate things if someone’s paying.”

“Then I will pay you!”

“Huh?” I was well and truly gobsmacked. Had I heard right? Had Grandma just offered to pay me? “You mean you want to hire me?”

“Yes! Unless of course you’ve got too much work on already. I need someone who can give it their full attention.”

“Err—well, I am rather busy,” I lied. “But, you
are
family, so of course you will get top priority.”

“I assume I’ll also get a family discount.”

“I suppose I could give you five percent.”

“Thirty percent? That’s very kind of you. I expect this to be resolved within the next few days. Understood?”

“Understood.”

Much to my relief, the knitting class had disbanded by the time I got back to the office.

“I’m sorry about the upset just now, Mrs V.”

“It was as much my fault as yours, dear. I was positive it was Armitage.”

“Not much we can do about it now. Anyway, on a brighter note, I have a new case.”

“That’s nice, dear. What is it this time?”

“I’ve been hired by my grandmother.”

“Oh dear. That sounds like bad news. She’ll probably expect you to work for nothing.”

“Amazingly, she’s actually promised to pay me; less a family discount, obviously.”

“And what exactly is it she’s hired you to do?”

“She wants me to find out who murdered the man in Coffee Triangle.”

“Why would she care?”

“When I was in Ever just now, the police were there. They’re talking to all the local coffee shop and tea room owners who have benefited from Coffee Triangle’s closure. Grandma did not take kindly to what she considered to be an interrogation. She feels that the police are looking to pin the murder on her, so she wants someone to find the real murderer, and clear her name.”

“And she thought of
you
?”

“You don’t have to sound quite so surprised. I am a private investigator, and I am her granddaughter. Surely I’m the logical choice.”

“Of course you are. It’s just that I didn’t think you’d want to work for your grandmother. I can’t imagine she’s going to be the easiest client you’ve ever had.”

“I’m sure you’re right. But any case is better than no case at all, and at least she’s going to pay me. So, I guess I’d better make a start.”

I’d done P.I. work for Aunt Lucy in the past, and I hadn’t charged her. But Grandma was different. With all the money she was making, why shouldn’t I bill her? In fact, I might just stretch out the case, and add in a few expenses here and there. Yeah, I could make quite a killing with this case.

Okay, okay. It was a poor pun under the circumstances. Sheesh!

***

“There’s a young woman to see you,” Mrs V had her knitting with her when she walked into my office. “Sorry about this dear, I’m at a critical point. I didn’t want to put it down.”

“Name?”

“I haven’t given it a name yet. Perhaps green glow scarf?”

“I meant the name of the young woman who wants to see me.”

“Oh yes. Silly me. Dorothy Babs, I think she said.”

“I think you’ll find it’s Dorothy. Babs is her dog. Send her through, would you?”

I’d first met Dorothy in the park when Barry and her dog, Babs, had become friends. She’d mentioned she wanted to move to the human world, and I’d managed to get her an interview for a job in Washbridge. I’d also given her a contact for a flat share.

I could tell by the look on her face that things were going well.

“Sorry to turn up out of the blue like this, Jill. I just wanted to come by and thank you for your help. I’m not sure I could have made the move without you. I landed that job in the fancy dress shop that you put me on to.”

“You did? That’s great.”

“Yeah, I’ve only been there a while, but I’m slowly learning the ropes. It’s a strange set-up because the humans who come into the shop have no idea that the people running it are actually sups. It’s weird to hear them say things like:
‘That’s not something a vampire would wear’,
when it quite obviously is. They all want glitzy, cutesy costumes which no self-respecting vampire would be seen dead in. Still, it’s lots of fun, and the people I work with are fantastic.”

“Did you move into the apartment as well?”

“Yeah, I did. It all worked out great. They’re a nice bunch. We get on really well, and the apartment’s lovely. It’s much better than I thought I’d be able to afford, but sharing with two others just about makes it doable.”

“How are you finding life in the human world?”

“I’m enjoying it. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but most of the humans I’ve come across are really friendly. It’s not that much different to living in Candlefield.”

“That’s what I thought you’d find.”

“Except for one thing.” She picked nervously at a fingernail.

“What’s that?”

“That’s the other reason I came to see you today. I hope you don’t mind, but I don’t really have anyone else to talk to.”

“No problem.”

“I’m not sure what I expect you to do. It’s silly really.”

“Go on, spit it out.”

“You’re probably already aware that in Candlefield vampires drink synthetic blood. There are factories which produce it, so there’s a ready supply.”

“Yes, my cousin’s fiancé, Alan, mentioned it. Is that the problem? Can’t you get it here in Washbridge?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s easy enough to get synthetic blood here. There are several outlets which cater for vampires living in the human world.”

“So what
is
the problem, then?”

“As you know, there aren’t any humans in Candlefield, so there’s no temptation to drink human blood. In fact, between you and me, I’ve never drunk it. But, here in Washbridge, there are lots of humans, obviously. So the temptation is much greater.”

“But if you’ve never drunk it—”

“I know. It never occurred to me for one moment that there would be a problem. I thought I might not get on with humans, or that I might miss Candlefield. It never entered my head that I’d feel the urge to drink human blood.”

“But you do?”

“Yes, something rotten. Every time a human comes into the shop, or even when I’m just walking down the street, I can almost taste their blood. I just want to bury my fangs into their neck, and drink. It’s terrible.”

“I hope you haven’t acted on that impulse.”

“No, of course not. I would never do that. At least, I hope I wouldn’t, but the urge is so strong. The vampire who used to work in the shop before me was found drinking human blood, and taken back to Candlefield by a Rogue Retriever.”

“I know. I was the one who reported her.”

“You’re not going to report me, are you?” She looked terrified.

“Of course not. You haven’t done anything wrong, have you?”

“No. I’m just scared that I might. I don’t know what to do. If only there was somebody I could talk to—somebody who could help.”

“Look, why don’t I ask around. I know a few vampires. I’ll see what I can find out, and hopefully I’ll come up with something.”

“Would you, Jill? I’d be so grateful.”

“Are you sure that you’re going to be able to resist in the meantime?”

“I won’t do anything stupid, I promise. I carry a small bottle of synthetic blood in my bag at all times. If I do feel the urge, I just have a quick drink from that, and it seems to get me through—for now at least.”

“Leave it with me, Dorothy. I’ll see what I can do, and I’ll get back to you. How’s Babs, by the way?”

“She’s fine. I’m sure she’s missing me, but she’s staying with my mother, Dolly. She’ll be spoiling her to bits. She gives her way too many treats. What about Barry? Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s as daft as ever.”

“Okay. Well, I’d better get back to the shop. I’m on my lunch break.”