Chapter 9
Mrs. Miniver and Mr. Chips ran in circles around us when we left the café. “Let’s take them for a walk,” Ange suggested. “There’s a bit of green space around the corner. It’ll do us good to clear our heads too.”
I agreed. The sense of unease about Candice’s honesty, or lack thereof, could be just as well be my gut reaction to the whole set-up. I was the ex-wife of her future husband, for goodness’ sake, of course there would be things she didn’t especially want to disclose to me.
The green space turned out to be a fenced area, labeled as a dog park.
Mrs. Miniver and Mr. Chips tugged at their leashes to get to it.
I was so busy watching them cross the road, that I almost overlooked a familiar person leaving a commercial building that divided its first floor between a therapist and a henna studio.
Ange recognized her before I did. “Linda incoming.”
I groaned. Linda Chiltern had been a thorn in my side ever since high school.
Although she was two years above me, she’d done her best to fling barbs and insults at me.
Only the fact that she was neither clever enough nor well-liked enough to get others to join her in a merry round of Bex-bashing had saved me. That, and my coven.
Linda had quieted down to a certain extent, but she was still rich, spoilt, and craving attention. That’s what made it noteworthy that she pulled her cream wide-brimmed hat deeper, to cover more of her face, and ducked into the next available store which sold vinyl records.
“Weird,” Ange said.
“But in a good way, because it spares us her conversation.”
While the labradoodles played tug-of-war with a knotted rope, Ange and I rested on a bench and discussed our conversation with Candice.
We’d both come to the same conclusions. If there was anything to be done on our side, we had to look closely at the victim.
That meant starting at the beginning, back in Willowmere.
And there was no better place to do that than the Blue Moon Inn where gossip flowed as freely as tap beer, if you knew how to turn it on.
When we returned, Ange and I parted ways until after dinner. She’d see if her husband as the first doctor at the scene could add anything of importance, and I needed to have a heart-to-heart with my familiar. If Cosmo had recovered from the shock of Aunt Violet’s duplicity.
Ms. Vine was still busy in the library as I let myself in. Her spectacles had slipped down her nose a little, and a stack of novels took up the space next to the coffee machine. She flicked through another book.
“Hello?” I called out.
She dropped the book. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
I picked up the book for her. Its dust jacket needed cleaning. “I hope you weren’t too busy.”
“I enjoyed it.” She hesitated. “I took the liberty to hunt for more reading material for the care home.”
“Every steamy romance novel in our catalogue is already at Serenity Springs, or can be reserved,” I said, slightly taken aback. I’d become used to the fact that bare-chested cowboys, bodice rippers, and secret baby tropes were in high demand among the seniors. Good on them, though.
“A few of my quiz ladies have mentioned that they’ve run out of new books.”
“What did they expect? Most of the stock is from my aunt’s private collection or has been donated over the years. And I’ll stick to reinvesting most of the subscription fees in books for the children. Surely that’s common knowledge in town.”
“It is. That’s why I was taking the liberty to check in one of the secret rooms.”
I’d thought of “skipping a heartbeat” as a cliché. Now I felt it as a painful contraction in my chest.
“You see, your aunt showed me the spare key for the stock room with the unopened boxes for just such an occasion.”
My heart returned to its regular service. The secret lair continued to be secret. Also, I’d added strong protective spells a while ago, and it took witchy powers to be able to see the door, let alone open it.
She tapped the stack. “These are all books that haven’t been catalogued yet. None of them counts as immoral literature, but they should send the pulse aflutter among the care home residents.”
“Not so much to give them a heart attack, I hope.” I opened one at random. “The muscles on his bare arms rippled as he swung her off the horse. His bronzed chest glistened in the setting sun.” I agreed with her judgement as I closed the book.
“I hope your afternoon was equally successful,” she said. “Young Noah came in, with Brad. He seemed disappointed to miss Cosmo, but he gave me this for you.” She opened the notebook I kept on the counter, next to the computer, and took out a hand drawn card.
It showed a small dog and a black cat, with a joint speech bubble over their heads. “We’re best friends now.”
Underneath the animals, Noah had written the names Ollie and Cosmo. He’d signed it at the bottom, For Bex and Cosmo.
I smiled down at it.
“How is Cosmo?” she asked with palpable concern.
I made a snap decision.
“Why don’t you come upstairs and see for yourself? We had no time for a real conversation earlier.” I crossed my fingers. With any luck, she’d be able to clarify why Aunt Violet had kept her friend’s abilities from Cosmo – and if Ms. Vine was aware of who Cosmo really was.
He lounged listlessly on the sofa.
“I’m back, Cosmo,” I said, softly.
His ears twitched. That was the only reaction.
“I’ve never seen him like this,” Ms. Vine worried.
I picked up a soft ball Cosmo loved chasing around when he was in a playful mood. It had been one that my aunt had bought for him. Now it lay in a dusty corner, which I’d neglected to clean.
He stayed limp when I put the ball next to him and stroked his back.
“Would you like a cup of tea?” I asked my guest.
“Lovely. An ordinary one, please.”
Right, I’d established that she knew about the enhanced versions.
She followed me into the kitchen. I left the door to the living room with Cosmo in it open, so he could eavesdrop if he wished.
“You said you’re a conduit. What does that mean?” I reminded her while I prepared a pot of lemon verbena and ginger tea and added a handful of chocolate chip and pecan cookies to the tray.
I carried it through to the living room. Cosmo hadn’t changed position at all.
“It was my task to amplify your aunt’s protective spells. I’ve been doing my part almost as long as she did.”
“Is that another inherited thing?”
“No. My predecessor selected me as the one most suitable for the task. She said I had the necessary strength of mind, but what really set me apart was the existing connection to Willowmere’s new guardian.
Violet and I had been friends since we were teenagers.
She was a few years older than me, but we bonded over our love for books, and The Carpenters. ”
“My aunt used to sing along whenever their music was on the radio.”
“We were heartbroken when Karen Carpenter passed away.”
I stirred a spoonful of sugar into my tea and sipped it. “I assume you knew straight away that I’d been the one who took over the mantle.”
“We’d both hoped it would be you, one day. Only, that day came much too soon.” Her shoulders sagged. Suddenly, the unflappable, smart woman in the sparkling outfit who intimidated the strongest men with a withering glance, appeared old and tired.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have done with your help, to boost my powers and to teach me.”
Cosmo’s whiskers twitched and he shifted his position a little, a sign he was listening as intently as I was.
“That’s exactly why your aunt didn’t want her successor to know.”
“So, I would muddle through, confused, without another human to support me?” If she knew about Cosmo, surely this gave her the opening to mention him.
I crammed a cookie into my mouth and chewed, to hide my rising tension. Now I felt almost as hurt as my familiar.
“It sounds harsh, but she thought it best for you to learn to master witchcraft from the ground up. If you’d been aware that I could amplify whatever you were doing, would you have tried as hard?
” She flashed me a sympathetic smile. “And you always had your crazy coven. We used to say, there’s nothing these girls can’t accomplish together. ”
I had to admit the truth in this. “Then why tell me at all?” I asked her.
“Because you’ve shown yourself well equipped to handle your tasks.
” She drank her tea in slow sips. “There’s also another reason.
Your aunt’s death has been a stark reminder that I, too, need to pass on the baton.
If anything happens to me before I train my replacement –” She let the sentence trail away.
“You want to retire?”
“I’ve done my share, my dear. It’s a heavy load to carry, although not as heavy as yours.”
“You seem to have made up your mind.”
“I have.”
“And once you’ve handed over your powers, you’ll be back to being a normal person again, just like that?” I snapped my fingers to illustrate my point.
“My dear, I’ll continue to be who I’ve been all my life. This thing has shaped my priorities but not changed my personality. If you need me, I’ll be there in the background, only now you’ll be aware of it.”
“And this person you’ve selected, who’s that?”
“You’ll discover soon enough, once I’ve established their willingness.” She allowed herself an enigmatic expression. “And now I’d like to hear all about your current investigation.”
Ms. Vine left half an hour later, up to speed on my side and with the firm promise to return tomorrow to pick up the books for Serenity Springs.
“Feeling better now, that she’s explained the situation?” I asked Cosmo.
“Hmm.” He pushed the soft ball around on the sofa. “She could’ve told me. I can keep my mouth shut.”
“Absolutely. I think she simply wanted to spare my feelings and also save you from having to lie to me.”
“That’s possible,” he admitted. “Of course it opens a new can of worms for us.”
“Like what?”
“Who is her chosen one? Someone with a connection to you is likely, but she didn’t specify what kind of connection, apart from the fact that it’s someone mundane.”
A horrible vision reared its ugly head. “Please don’t let it be her. Because I can’t think of anyone more mundane than Linda.”