Chapter 52
Fifty-Two
‘Stop the car,’ Kim cried as Bryant headed through Colley Gate.
‘Jesus Christ, what’s wrong?’ he asked, pulling over to the side of the road. ‘You sick again?’ Sarcasm dripped from his voice.
‘I wanna go in there.’
Bryant glanced across the road. ‘Guv, seriously, I’m considering arresting you myself for wasting police time.’
‘Park the car and stay in it if you want,’ she said, opening the passenger door. She was intrigued to browse a shop she’d driven past many times but never really seen.
She considered her colleague’s concern as she crossed the road, but it would be a few hours yet before they could formally question Joe Butler. After processing at the station, there would be a wait for his lawyer, who would then need to consult him.
Inspector Plant and his team were conducting a full search of his home and ensuring the retrieval of his clothing. She’d heard that Lucinda was assisting them fully.
The truth of a woman scorned came to mind.
So, despite Bryant’s protests, there was little else she could be doing right now.
The Wicklow Witch was a double-fronted shop whose signage offered crystals, candles and witchy supplies. If she was to understand more about the Stout curse and its long-lasting effect on two local families, this was the place to look.
She opened the door and stepped into a space that assaulted all her senses. Colourful crystals in all shapes and sizes sat beside candles and bottles of essence. A table in the centre held spell kits and cauldrons. Another table advertised altar tools. A bookcase displayed mystical books.
‘May I help you?’ asked a woman from the back.
‘Not sure,’ Kim said as she continued to look around. She’d had no idea how many things were available, and she had no clue what questions she was going to ask.
‘Are you looking for something in particular?’
‘Not really.’
‘A gift for someone?’
‘No,’ Kim answered as Bryant entered the shop.
Like her, his eyes were darting all over the place.
The woman looked from one to the other and deduced they were together.
‘Can we just pick your brains?’ Kim asked.
‘Of course,’ she said, frowning.
‘We’re police officers,’ Bryant said, holding up his identification.
‘Oh, okay. Well, I’m Monica, and we don’t get many of your sort in here.’
‘What sort do you get?’ Kim asked, taking a seat on a small chaise longue next to the crystal display.
‘People who like pretty things like scented candles. Customers buying presents for family and friends, others buying stuff for a joke. And then we have witches.’
‘People who think they’re witches,’ Kim corrected.
‘As this is my shop and I am a green witch, we’ll assume that I believe, and you don’t.’
‘Great start,’ Bryant observed to Kim, picking up a packet of herbs.
‘What’s this for?’
‘Virility,’ Monica said.
Bryant carefully placed the packet back on the table.
‘So, you’re a green witch as opposed to…?’
‘Purple, black, white.’
Kim waited.
‘Green witches are focussed on healing and growth. We work closely with nature. Purple witches have psychic abilities and strong intuition and focus on spiritual development. White witches are about purity and innocence, good and benevolent magic. Black witches are about protection, warding off negative energy, the night, the power of the subconscious.’
‘And all colours cast spells?’ Kim asked.
‘Spellcasting involves harnessing an inner power to create certain effects in the world.’
‘How?’ Bryant asked.
‘Chanting, burning herbs or candles, using charms to bring about a desired outcome. Divination.’
‘Wouldn’t have thought there were that many witches floating around the Black Country,’ Bryant said.
‘Most prefer to keep their gift a secret, and can you blame them? History hasn’t been kind to witches. For centuries we’ve been persecuted.’
‘How were witches actually identified back in the day?’ Kim asked.
‘Most accused witches were poorer women, some with unusual beliefs about religion or an assertive manner that worried their neighbours. Women who were perceived as being hurt or slighted by someone were targeted if something happened to the offending person. If their cow died, it wasn’t bad luck, ill health or old age – it was because the female neighbour you’d had a row with had cast a spell on you.
Even Anne Boleyn was accused of using witchcraft to win Henry’s affections. ’
‘Before our time,’ Kim said.
‘In modern times, witchcraft is usually a form of nature-based spiritual practice that involves the use of herbs, symbols, rituals and spells for healing and protection.’
‘So, how would I do it?’ Kim asked. ‘Say I wanted to cast a concentration spell on my colleague here. How would I go about it?’
‘Any practices that involve magic have some common characteristics. There are certain uses of language and actions which aren’t accessible or decipherable by common people. And the knowledge of the use of herbs and other materials.’
‘Like this?’ Bryant asked, picking up what looked like a selection of leaves tied to a stick with string.
‘That’s a smudger,’ Monica said.
‘A what now?’ Bryant asked, turning it around and upside down.
‘It’s made of sage. For the ancient practice of burning to cleanse and purify a space, person or object by removing negative energy.’
‘No shit,’ he said, looking at the stick and then at Kim.
‘Please continue,’ Kim urged, cutting her eyes at her colleague, who shrugged in response.
‘We adopt altered states of consciousness through chanting, fasting or herbal draughts, but it takes years to learn, so, if I was you, I’d start practising now.’
‘But I could do it?’ Kim asked.
‘There are several core beliefs of witchcraft. We believe that everything has an energy which can be tapped into for healing, knowledge and protection. We believe that the universe is ever-changing yet connected and that manipulating its energies can bring about desired results.
‘We believe that communication with other realms is possible through rituals like meditation and chanting, and that certain symbols and objects have a special power that should be respected.’
‘But it’s not real,’ Kim objected.
‘That’s your belief, but there is also belief in the power. Did you ever hear of the Cradley Witch?’
Kim shook her head.
‘In July 1848, a woman told a butcher that within three weeks he’d fall from a horse and die. He paid her to remove the spell. She then said a steam engine would blow at the local ironworks. It didn’t happen, but many didn’t turn up for work that day because they believed.’
‘So, the power of a curse could be in the belief of it?’ Kim asked.
‘To a nonbeliever that’s a convenient view, but there are some things that just can’t be explained.’
‘Like the Stout curse?’ Kim asked. If she knew her stuff, she was bound to know about that.
‘Of course. Every generation that passes proves its validity.’
‘You believe in it?’ Kim asked.
‘Inspector, there is no doubt in my mind.’