SH03 - Whoops! Someone Is On Our Case Read online

  A new coffee shop had opened up across the road from the fancy dress shop, so he decided to give ‘Coff-In’ a try.

  “Welcome to Coff-In,” the altogether too-bubbly young woman behind the counter greeted him. “What can I get for you today?”

  “Give me a filter coffee.”

  “We have a special on flat whites.”

  “Just give me a filter,” he snapped.

  “Certainly, sir.”

  Just then, his phone rang.

  “Neil, it’s Trev.”

  Trevor was the wizard who had hooked Neil up with the magician gigs at Real Magic.

  “Hey, Trev.”

  “Have you seen the ads?”

  “What ads?”

  “They’re in all the papers and they’re on the radio too. They’re running auditions for a new TV show.”

  Neil’s heart sank. Trevor was obviously talking about the TV programme that he’d planned to audition for. If Trevor was going for it, Neil might as well not bother. Trevor had so much more experience than he did.

  “Yeah, I saw it. I don’t think I’m going to try for it.”

  “You have to. It’s a great opportunity.”

  “I’ll see. Sorry, I have to go—the shop’s really busy.”

  “That’ll be three pounds, please, sir,” Bubbly said.

  “Three pounds for a filter—?” Neil stopped dead in his tracks because he’d just clocked the young woman’s name badge. “Mable?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Three pounds, you said?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Here.” He handed her a fiver. “Keep the change.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Call me Neil.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Neil.”

  “Would you like to go out for dinner with me, sometime, Mable?”

  “Sorry?”

  “I realise I’m being a little forward, but you’re so pretty.”

  She blushed. “I’m not sure. We’ve only just met.”

  “Do you have a boyfriend?”

  “No, but—”

  “Well then. Just dinner. No funny business, I promise.”

  “When?”

  “I—err—” It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea when Fable and Debs had planned the dinner. “Can I get back to you on that?”

  “Sure.”

  “Great. I look forward to it—err—Mable.”

  Result! He took a seat next to the window. This would teach Debs to doubt his word. Mable wasn’t his usual type—she was a bit plain, if he was being honest, but he could always let her down gently after the dinner.

  Neil jumped when someone tapped on the window; it was Debs. Was there no hiding place? Before he could wave her away, she’d made her way inside.

  “The owner just called,” she said.

  “What did he want?”

  “He’s coming over tomorrow. He asked where you were.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “Don’t worry. I didn’t drop you in it. I said you’d just nipped to the bank.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Would you like a top-up, Neil?” Mable appeared at the table, with coffee pot in hand.

  Debs spotted the young woman’s name badge. “You’re Mable!”

  “Err—yeah.”

  “Well, I’ll be darned. I thought this one had made you up.”

  Mable’s face was a picture of confusion. “I don’t know what you mean?”

  “He told us this morning that he was seeing someone called Mable, but we thought he was lying. No offense, but there aren’t that many Mables around. Anyway, nice to meet you. I’d better get back. Don’t be long, Neil.”

  Mable watched Debs leave, and then turned her gaze on Neil.

  “How could she know about me? I’d never met you until a few minutes ago.”

  “Debs gets things mixed up sometimes.”

  “That’s why you were staring at my name badge, isn’t it? You snapped my head off when you first came to the counter, and then suddenly, you were all sweetness and light.”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “I think you should leave. Now!”

  “Okay.” He stood up. “Are we still on for dinner?”

  “Get out!”

  “I have to be honest,” Debs said when Neil got back to the shop. “I thought Mable was another one of your lies.”

  “I’m sorry, too,” Fable said. “I thought you were lying too.”

  “You should be sorry; both of you. It doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to make the dinner, though.”

  “You don’t even know when it is.”

  “It’s not that. After you left, Mable and I got into a big fight, and we’ve decided to call it a day.”

  “That was quick. I’ve only been back five minutes.”

  “I know. It’s been boiling up for some time.”

  “Did you cheat on her?” Debs said.

  “Of course not. Why would you say that?”

  “Because I know what you’re like.”

  “If you must know, she was the one who cheated on me.” He lowered his gaze. “I thought the world of that woman.”

  “We could still all do dinner,” Fable said.

  “I’m not playing gooseberry.”

  “You wouldn’t have to. I have lots of single girlfriends. I could set you up on a blind date.”

  “Why would you inflict him on one of your friends?” Debs said.

  “Shut up, Debs!” Neil snapped. “These friends of yours, Fable? Are they pretty?”

  “The one I have in mind is a really nice person.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure she is, but is she a looker?”

  “Unbelievable.” Debs walked away in disgust.

  “This is Kim.” Fable brought up a photo on her phone.

  “Wow! Yeah, I’m up for that. Let’s all do dinner.”

  Chapter 7

  Susan left the office thirty minutes early, so that she’d have time to drop in at Dorothy’s bookshop. Of all her flatmates, Susan’s relationship with Dorothy was still the most difficult. It was true that the initial hostility had died down, but they had yet to make a real connection. It was a while since Susan had read a good novel, so maybe she could stroke Dorothy’s ego by asking her to recommend a good book.

  Susan glanced through the window; the shop appeared to be empty, apart from Dorothy and a younger woman who were both behind the counter. Susan recognised the woman; she’d once come back to the apartment with Dorothy, but Susan couldn’t remember her name.

  “Susan?” Dorothy looked more than a little surprised to see her flatmate. “What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

  “No. I’m on my way to interview someone who lives just down the street, and I had a few minutes to kill, so I thought I’d drop in and see if you could recommend a good book for me.”

  Dorothy kept glancing over at the far side of the shop.

  “Is everything okay, Dorothy? You weren’t about to close, were you?”

  “Close? No, not for another hour.”

  “Good. So, what would you recommend in the Crime/Mystery genre?”

  “Crime?” Dorothy broke out in a cold sweat because the fridge/safe containing the blood was located close to the Crime section. She’d requested they come and remove it, but she’d been told it would take a minimum of seven days. “Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer Fantasy? We have some really good new titles there.”

  “It’s not really my cup of tea. I don’t have the imagination to believe that kind of story.”

  The doorbell chimed as another customer came into the shop. The tall man, who was pale, bordering on anaemic, came over to talk to Molly.

  “Two bottles of my usual, please.”

  Unsure what to do, Molly turned to Dorothy.

  “We don’t have it,” Dorothy addressed the man.

  “How come?”

  “Completely sold out.” Dorothy shrugged. “Sorry.”

&n
bsp; “Where’s the nearest stockist?”

  “You could try the High Street.”

  The man was still moaning under his breath as he left the shop.

  “Strange title, isn’t it? Two bottles of my usual?” Dorothy said to Susan. “A surprise bestseller. We sold our last copy earlier today.”

  “I can’t say I’ve heard of it. What’s it about?”

  “About? It’s—err—a fantasy. You wouldn’t like it.”

  “Where is your Crime section? Maybe, I should just browse the titles. Ah, I see them.” Susan started towards the other side of the shop.

  Dorothy practically hurdled the counter, and rushed down the shop to arrive at the Crime section ahead of Susan.

  “Are you alright, Dorothy?” Susan was beginning to wonder if her flatmate had been at the bottle again.

  “Me? Never better.” She’d positioned herself in front of the fridge/safe. “Do you have any favourite authors?”

  “I’ve read a few by Abbott. I thought they were good.”

  “Adele?”

  “Never heard of her. I meant Arthur Abbott.”

  “Of course. We have a few on the second shelf.”

  “Thanks. You really don’t need to stay with me. You’ll probably want to be cashing up soon.”

  At that moment, Dorothy’s expression changed to one of horror, as she saw the door open.

  “Give me some of that good stuff.” The woman, dressed from head to toe in black, demanded. “If I don’t get some soon, I’m going to rip a human’s throat open.”

  Susan spun around, and looked at the woman, who in turn was staring back at her; she had a very strange expression on her face.

  Molly hurried from behind the counter, grabbed the woman by the arm, and led her out of the shop.

  “What was that all about?” Susan turned to Dorothy.

  “Her?” Dorothy forced an unconvincing laugh. “Oh, that’s—err—Mad Matilda. She’s always coming in here, and shouting crazy stuff. She’s completely cuckoo.”

  “No kidding.”

  Susan checked three of the Arthur Abbott titles, and finally settled on one called The Witching Hour. As she made her way back to the counter, she realised that Dorothy hadn’t moved from the spot.

  “I’ll take this one.” She held up the book.

  “Okay.” Dorothy still didn’t move from that spot.

  “Can I pay for it?”

  “Isn’t Molly there?”

  “I think she’s still with Mad Matilda.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s on the house.”

  “I couldn’t. You must let me pay.”

  “No, honestly. I’d like you to have it. I’ll be offended if you don’t.”

  “Oh? Okay then. Thanks. I’d better get off. I’ll see you later. I’ll probably be late in.”

  ***

  “I’m off, Charlie,” Andy shouted. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Bye, Andy.” Charlie wanted to make a phone call before he set off home.

  Once he’d changed, he called his mother.

  “Charlie? I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about us.”

  “Sorry, Mum. I’ve been really busy what with work and—” He stopped himself just in time. He hadn’t told his mother or brother about his modelling work. “And, we’ve been spring cleaning the flat. How’s Ralph?”

  “Keeping out of trouble, thank goodness.”

  “Good. Look, the reason I called is that I need a favour.”

  “How much?”

  “I’m not after money. You know I have those two fairies living in my room?”

  “Are they still with you? I thought that was supposed to be a temporary arrangement.”

  “It was.”

  “I hope they’re paying you rent.”

  “Yeah, of course they are,” he lied. “They’ve gone away for a few days, and I had a bit of an accident this morning.”

  “What kind of accident?”

  “I tripped over my trousers, and knocked the desk over. The fairies’ thimble houses were smashed to smithereens.”

  “Thank goodness they weren’t in them.”

  “I know. I have to get replacement houses before they get back.”

  “Don’t you think they’ll notice their homes have changed?”

  “Of course, but it’s all I can do. I just don’t want them to come back to nothing. Do you know where you can get them?”

  “Not offhand, but then it isn’t something I’ve ever needed to buy before.”

  “Would you see if you can track some down, Mum? I’d be ever so grateful.”

  “Grateful enough to visit your old mum occasionally?”

  “I promise. You’re a star, Mum. Love to Ralph.”

  ***

  Greg was clearly surprised to find Susan already standing outside the bookshop.

  “I thought I was early,” he said.

  “You are. I’ve been here a while because I wanted to nip into the bookshop first.”

  “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  “I bought an Arthur Abbott novel. Have you read any of his stuff?”

  “I can’t say I have.”

  “To tell you the truth, the main reason I wanted to go in there was to see Dorothy. You met her when you came to the flat. She and I haven’t exactly hit it off, so I thought I might try to stroke her ego by asking advice on which book to buy.”

  “Did it work?”

  “Not exactly. She was acting really weird—even by her standards. Mind you, it’s hardly surprising judging by some of the strange customers they get in there.”

  “Shall we go and see Deidre Lane?”

  “Lead the way.”

  The woman’s flat was over a cake shop. Greg pressed the bell, spoke into the intercom, and was buzzed inside.

  The woman who greeted them was in her fifties. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes had seen better days.

  “Sorry about the mess in here.” She led them into what Susan assumed was the living room. It was difficult to be sure because it was full of boxes. “Have a seat if you can find one.”

  Susan moved one of the boxes, so she could sit on the old armchair. Greg leaned against the arm. The woman squeezed onto an old sofa, in between two piles of clothes.

  “Thank you for seeing us, Mrs Lane,” Greg said.

  “I’ve got nothing better to do.”

  “This is Susan Hall. I mentioned her on the phone.”

  “The reporter?”

  “That’s right.” Susan spoke for the first time.

  “You going to run a story about my Dom?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. That’s why I’m here today to find out as much as I can about your husband. Dom, did you say?”

  “Yeah. Dominic, but everyone calls him Dom.”

  “Would you talk Susan through what happened with Dom?” Greg said.

  “I already told you.”

  “I know, but if you wouldn’t mind just running through it again for Susan’s benefit, that would be great.”

  “Okay. Did you want a cup of tea? I don’t have any coffee; it doesn’t agree with me.”

  “Not for me.” Greg shook his head.

  “Nor me, but thanks.”

  “Me and Dom met almost twenty years ago now. Down the bingo.” She turned to Susan. “Do you play bingo?”

  “No. I never have.”

  “You don’t know what you’re missing. It’s the only thing that keeps me going since Dom went. I knew there was something strange about him right from the off.”

  “Strange how?”

  “Not in a nasty way. He was really kind and considerate, my Dom. It’s just that he did some weird stuff. Stuff that I’d never seen anyone do before.”

  “Such as?”

  “He could lift anything. He isn’t a big man, but he could lift a washing machine like it was a cushion.”

  “Did he work out?” Susan asked. “With weights?”

  “Dom?” She laughed. “Nah.
Lazy lump he is. Anyway, when he proposes to me he says he has a secret that he has to tell me. I thought he was going to say he was already married or something. Then he goes and says he’s a wizard. I thought he’d had one drink too many, but he swore he hadn’t had a drop. Then he says he’s going to prove it to me. And he did. He made himself invisible, and even shrank himself so he was only six inches tall—that fair freaked me out, I can tell you.”

  “I can see how it would,” Greg said.

  Meanwhile, Susan was wondering why she’d agreed to accompany him. If she’d wanted to listen to this type of tosh, she could have just paid Margie a visit.

  “So, you believed him in the end?” Greg said.

  “I didn’t have any choice, did I? Don’t know anyone else who can shrink themselves. He said that we had to keep it secret because if it ever got out they’d take him away.”

  “Who would?”

  “Rogue retrievers—that’s what he called them. Some kind of police force that keeps tabs on all the sups that live in the human world.”

  “Sups?” Susan said. “Is that short for supernaturals?”

  “Yeah. Wizards, witches, vampires and the like.”

  “Did you ever meet any other sups?” Greg asked.

  “No. Dom preferred to mix with humans. Most of the time it was just me and him.”

  “Talk me through what happened when he disappeared, would you?” Susan figured it was time to get back to the ‘real’ story.

  “There’s not much to tell. We were always really careful, so no one would find out about him being a wizard.”

  “Did he use his magic often?” Greg asked.

  “Hardly at all. Occasionally, if either of us broke anything, he’d use something he called the ‘take it back’ spell. That would mend whatever it was. It was brilliant. One day, I dropped this cut-glass vase that my mother had given me. It broke into a thousand pieces, but after he cast the spell, it was as good as new.”

  “When did he actually go missing?” Susan asked.

  “It’s five years ago now. A Friday night in September. He’d gone for a drink after work with some of his mates from the foundry—that’s where he worked. He said he’d be home by ten, but I never saw him again. I called the police, but they wouldn’t do anything for a couple of days. When they did get involved, they interviewed all the men he’d been with at the pub. No one knew anything. They said that Dom left at nine-thirty. He’d said he’d be in trouble if he didn’t get back home by ten.”