Loved Up Page 12

  Gabriel rolled his eyes. ‘Yeah. The love of your life. Listen, I’d better get out and find Wanda.’

  ‘Shouldn’t be too difficult to find her. Just look for the bum that’s blotting out the light of the sun.’

  Gabriel spun on her. ‘How many times have I told you – you need to stop slagging her off. I don’t like it, Lindsey. Wanda is my future. She’s the most important thing in the world to me, and you know it.’

  Lindsey picked up a stapler from a nearby table, and hurled it in his direction. ‘Oh, just get lost then! Go on! Go and find your precious Wanda.’

  I rushed back to Gabriel’s own tent, undoing my spell quickly and catching my breath. What was wrong with me? Had I really suspected Gabriel might be up to something? I mean, there he was, defending my honour (well, defending my bum, I suppose) and I was snooping around, listening to his conversations. I was a bad girlfriend. The worst.

  ‘Oh, hey there beautiful,’ he said, grabbing me by the waist and looking me up and down. ‘You look amazing in the new uniform.’

  I blushed, out of guilt as much as embarrassment. ‘Hey. I was looking for you,’ I said. ‘I ... I thought I heard you in the producer’s tent.’

  ‘Oh.’ He looked at the ground. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I had some things to go over with Lindsey. God, that woman is a nightmare.’ He nuzzled into my neck. ‘I just want to forget about her. Are you sure we can’t spend the night together? I have an amazing bottle of wine back at my flat. We could get some of the tofu you like so much. The one in the black bean sauce.’ His fingers went to the necklace he’d bought me for Winter Solstice, and he began to turn the tiny, spherical sun in his hands. When he was so close like this, my senses were overcome by all except his smell. ‘What do you say?’

  A little moan escaped my lips. ‘I ... um ... I wish I could,’ I said, really meaning it. ‘But I’ve got so much work on.’

  He stood back. ‘That’s funny. I had a look at the roster for the week, and I could have sworn you were only working days.’

  I chewed on my lip. Gabriel spent so much time working on his show that he barely spent any time with the force. Lately, we hadn’t had many shifts together. I had hoped, because he was rarely there, that he wouldn’t pay much attention to my own scheduled days on duty. Apparently I was wrong. And whilst I didn’t want to keep lying to him right now, I’d promised Finn I wouldn’t tell anyone about this evening’s plan.

  ‘I swapped shifts,’ I said. ‘I don’t know what time I’ll be back.’

  ‘Oh.’ He looked crestfallen, but he was pasting a smile on his face for my benefit. ‘Well, I guess it can’t be helped. I mean, you’re doing a really important job. Hey, your mother must be so excited. I was hoping she’d join in during my interview with Agatha, but she rushed off like she had a wasp chasing her.’

  ‘Yeah, well ...’ I had no intention of saying what I thought my mother was doing out loud. ‘I guess she was busy. Listen, I should be honest with you Gabe ... while I was looking for you, I heard you talking to Horse Face. I have to tell you, for a minute there I was annoyed enough to march in and make a scene.’

  ‘Oh.’ His face flushed. ‘Well that must have been a weird conversation to try and figure out. We’re trying to save money on glamour spells – Glenda’s salon is very expensive. So we’ve bought these new potions that are supposed to temporarily whiten teeth. But I just don’t think they’re quite white enough. You might not like the glacial colour I’ve got going during my TV shows, but the audience does. We might need to go back to using Glenda. Anyway ... that’s what we were talking about.’

  ‘Oh.’ I guessed that made sense, but it wasn’t what I was referring to. ‘I was talking more about what she said about my rear end,’ I went on. ‘I was really happy to hear you defend me.’ I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him softly. ‘We’ve had our ups and downs, Gabe. And in the future ... in the future, who knows what will happen? But I just want you to know, I appreciate what you said to Lindsey. I sometimes think I don’t deserve you.’

  ‘Deserve me?’ His eyes filled with warmth. ‘Wanda, you more than deserve me. Me and you ... we’re each other’s destiny. Now, are you sure I can’t tempt you into wagging off work and spending the night at mine?’

  Oh, dear goddess, I really wished I could say yes. Now that I was with Gabriel, my feelings were becoming clear. Everything I’d been feeling for the last day or two had been a great big nothing. It was all because of the moon. I couldn’t possibly have a crush on Max.

  This was where I wanted to be. Here, with my gorgeous boyfriend. And when I eventually told him I was spying on his father? He’d ... well, he’d forgive me. Because like he said, we were each other’s destiny.

  14. Visiting Hour

  Somehow, I managed to extricate myself from Gabriel’s arms. I went straight home afterwards, so I could get ready to put the latest plan into action. It wasn’t nearly as pleasant a prospect as lying on a rug with Gabriel, but it was important.

  As I ran down the stairs with Dizzy at my shoulder and Bowie at my heels, Melissa arrived home from work.

  ‘You look like you’re on your way out,’ she said.

  ‘Yeah. Yeah I have some work on.’

  ‘Oh. Max said you’d be joining us for our takeaway.’

  ‘Max said?’ I stood in front of her. ‘When were you talking to Max?’

  ‘Oh, I stopped in at the Water Bowl,’ she said, looking at her fingernails. Freshly manicured, if I wasn’t mistaken. And her hair had that salon-fresh smell, too. I glanced into the shopping bag in her hands. Lacey’s Lacies.

  ‘You stopped in at the Water Bowl? Would that be in between going to the salon and buying new knickers?’

  Her pale skin turned pink. She slumped into the seat next to the hall table. ‘Oh, Wanda, I did buy new knickers,’ she said. ‘This is going to sound ridiculous to you, but I think ... I think I’m in love with Max.’

  A little whistle came out of Dizzy’s mouth (I know – you’re just as eternally surprised as I am about the breadths of that bat’s abilities!). ‘You like Max?’ Dizzy said. ‘Well now, isn’t that interesting?’

  Melissa held her chin in her hands and sighed. ‘Interesting. Exciting. And terrifyingly frightening. I’ve never felt like this before. I mean, sure, I’ve had crushes. But this is something new. Something all-consuming. I can’t think about anything except Max.’ She looked up at me. ‘It might be just as well that you’ve got some work on tonight. Because I’ve been dying to tell him how I feel.’ Her hand fluttered to her chest. ‘Goodness, my heart is racing a mile a minute at the thought. What do you think, Wanda? Do you think there’s any chance that Max feels the same?’

  Her heart? Mine felt like it was expanding and contracting like an overenthusiastic vice. I had no reason to feel jealous. I had Gabriel. Melissa was the one who was single, free to do whatever she wanted. And Max had told me a hundred times that he wasn’t in love with Emily. He was planning on breaking it off with her any day. So when I thought about it, why shouldn’t he and Melissa get together? Because really, what did my heart feeling like it was about to explode with pain have to do with anything?

  ‘Well, I don’t see why he wouldn’t,’ I said reluctantly. ‘I mean, look at you. You’re just about the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. But Melissa ... take it slow, okay? Think of Emily. Max is still with her for now.’

  She slapped a hand to her forehead. ‘Oh, Emily! Poor, poor Emily. This is really going to break her heart.’ She stood up. ‘But nothing like as much as it would break mine if he and I were kept apart. This is the way it has to be, Wanda. Because I’m telling you the truth here – if Max doesn’t love me back, I feel like I might just die of heartbreak.’

  ≈

  I looked across the visitors’ room. There she was, my least favourite nemesis. Since the last time I’d seen her, her hair had grown blonder and blonder by the day, thanks to the lack of glamours in prison. No longer could she play at the mousey-haired politician. Her gor
geous golden locks were mocking her every day. She was pushing that beautiful hair out of her face right now, looking anxiously around the room for her scheduled visitor to arrive.

  I skipped across the room, watching her expression fade from anxious to horrified. ‘What are you doing here?’ she screeched. ‘I have a visit scheduled. I don’t have time for your nonsense.’

  I sat across from her, sighing exaggeratedly. ‘Oh, Justine. You have no idea how it saddens me, hearing you spurn me time and time again. I mean, can’t we at least try to work through our differences?’

  She fixed me with a murderous glare. ‘I told you – I have a scheduled visit. If you want to annoy me, then you’ll just have to come back and do it another time.’

  ‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘I won’t. Because we’ve done a little bit of rearranging for you. Tidied up your schedule. You only have one visitor tonight, and that’s me.’

  She stood up, but a guard instantly barked, ‘Inmate, take a seat!’

  She slumped back down. ‘I have rights to have visiting time twice per week. You can’t just go and chop and change the rules.’

  I sat back in my chair. ‘I think that’s one of the things I miss most about you being our Minister for Magical Law, Justine – your absolute ignorance as to what a great deal of those laws entail. The only ones you ever seemed to pay attention to were the ones that could serve your own interests.’ I shook my head. ‘It’s a crying shame. Had you just swotted up a bit more, then you could have avoided this evening’s embarrassing scenario.’

  Her eyes narrowed. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

  ‘Well, I guess I could explain it to you, then. Hey – maybe you should go back to school and take some classes. You know – the way you made me do before you’d let me be a Wayfair? Ah, good times. Anyway, here’s the gist. Yeah, you’re entitled to two visits a week. As long as you’re deemed by the authorities to be a deserving prisoner. Now, what would make a prisoner deserving? Well, good behaviour, obviously. Sticking to the rules. Oh – and helping the authorities. Yeah, that’s it. Helping the authorities. That’s the condition you’ve been failing to meet.’

  A tall, muscular guard ambled towards the table and handed me a cup of tea. ‘Got you this, Wanda. It’s from the staff canteen. Not the swill the ex-Minister gets.’

  I took a sip. ‘Oh, that is nice. Thanks so much, Walt.’ I smiled at Justine. ‘We’ve had some great new hires in the justice system lately. Walt is highly qualified. He’s an expert in more martial arts than I could name. And don’t get me started on his magic skills.’

  Walt gave me a sheepish grin. ‘Aw, shucks. Need anything else, Wanda? A chocolate chip cookie, maybe? We’ve got a bunch of vegan ones in, seeing as we’ll soon be hiring weredogs.’

  ‘Oh, not just now, thanks Walt. But maybe later.’

  The former Minister’s eyes came out on stalks, and she stood up again. ‘Just ... stop it! Stop this inane chatter. Stop talking about tea and cookies and tell me what the hell you mean about hiring weredogs.’

  Walt gave her a shrivelling look. ‘Sit down, inmate.’ He patted me on the back. ‘See you soon, Wanda.’

  As he sauntered away, I turned back to Justine. ‘I guess you don’t have any TV privileges, either, seeing as you’ve not heard the latest news. Oh you poor, poor thing. It’s a travesty. But I’d be only too happy to fill you in on the latest developments. You were wondering about the weredogs? Yeah, well – we’re hiring them now. By we, I mean the new police force. And we’re not just hiring weredogs, either. Anyone who wants to try out can try out. Oh, and we’re called Wayfarers now. All of us. No more Wayfairs, no more Peacemakers. Just one happy policing family, all called Wayfarers. Like my namesake. Probably should have mentioned that bit first, seeing as it’s the most awesome news of all.’

  For a minute or two I thought I might have broken her. I mean, her eyes weren’t twitching too much more than they usually twitched when she was around me. But that whistling sound, like a kettle on the boil – now what was that about? ‘Do we need to vent you?’ I asked kindly. ‘I mean, is there a button I can press?’ I smirked. ‘Oh, that’s right – I’ve already pressed them all.’

  She twitched and whistled some more, and then her eyes filled with something I hadn’t been expecting – fear.

  ‘You don’t understand. I need to see Barry. I need to give him instructions. If he doesn’t deliver it on time ... oh no, not Barry. Poor Barry.’

  I cocked my head to the side, listening carefully to her babble. ‘If Barry doesn’t deliver what on time, Justine? Instructions to the Dark Team? A payment?’

  She snapped her head up. ‘I hope you’re happy, Wanda Wayfair. You’ve just put a young man’s life in grave danger.’

  ≈

  Gretel and I stood outside Barry Plimpton’s block of flats. True, it was the second last place in the world I wanted to be – the first being inside his flat, obviously. But Justine hadn’t told me anything more since her outburst about Barry, so keeping an eye on him seemed like the only option.

  Except right now, we weren’t keeping an eye on him, because he disappeared about ten minutes after I arrived.

  ‘I don’t get it,’ Gretel mumbled, replaying the footage she’d been recording. ‘Where did he go? He was there, and then he just ... wasn’t. But I didn’t see him click his fingers.’

  I took a look at the footage. There was Barry, answering the call that cancelled his visit. Finn had made that call earlier in the day. The look on Barry’s face mirrored that final look from his former boss. He looked frightened. Once he put the phone down, he sat on his couch looking miserable. Fast forward through more misery, and a bit of moodiness ...

  ‘Wait, here!’ I paused the footage. ‘Look. At ten p.m. he went to the microwave, but he didn’t put any food in. So why the heck is he pushing buttons?’

  Gretel narrowed her eyes and zoomed in. ‘I have no idea.’

  We watched it play again. Barry definitely didn’t place any food in the microwave. He just hit the timer buttons, and then he disappeared.

  Gretel forwarded and rewound a few times, and then her eyes widened. ‘Oh my goddess ... I’m going to zoom in a bit more, but I think I’m right.’ She found what she wanted, paused the footage, then passed the camera to me. ‘Look. Look at the numbers he’s keyed into the microwave timer.’

  I stared at the numbers on the screen, feeling frozen. 999 – the number we Irish used to dial the emergency services. ‘Well, I doubt Barry was looking for an ambulance,’ I said, hearing the dread that was evident in my voice.

  Gretel swallowed. ‘I think it’s time we went and got that microwave.’

  ≈

  An hour later, Gretel, Finn and I sat in the kitchen of my neighbour, Paul. Paul was an amazing wizard. He had provided a lot of our technical equipment for Operation Long Leash, but so far we hadn’t told him what we were doing with all of the new equipment.

  Twelve, Paul’s latest robot, was moving around the kitchen, boiling the kettle and making some cheese on toast for Paul. Twelve was a big step up from the last two robots I’d seen in Paul’s house. He was as tall as Paul, and he moved in a way that was almost human. He had realistic facial features and glossy black hair. The only thing that marked him out as a robot was his unblinking silver eyes.

  While Twelve worked on making the refreshments, Paul looked in confusion at the microwave. By the time Gretel and I got the go-ahead to retrieve it from Barry’s flat, it had met with a mysterious accident. Smoke was emanating from the microwave, even though it was unplugged and empty. None of our cameras had picked up activity in the flat, but the telekinetic energy scanner confirmed our suspicions: the Dark Team, as usual, had pipped us to the post.

  ‘I mean, I guess I can turn my hand to fixing anything. But ... there’s probably someone more qualified with kitchen appliances than me.’

  ‘That’s the thing,’ said Finn, drawing his words out. ‘We don’t think it is a microwave. We think
it might be something else. Some means of communication or teleportation. Maybe both.’

  ‘Oh.’ Paul’s face lit up, and he opened the door. ‘Well if it is, then I can’t wait to work on it. Hey, is this about the thing that you can’t tell me about?’

  Finn glanced at me, and then pulled me out into the hallway. ‘Wanda, I’ve been a prat,’ he said.

  I arched a brow. ‘Well, yeah. But be more specific – you’re often a prat.’

  His lips quirked into a smile. ‘Thanks. I can always rely on you to bolster my fragile ego. Y’know how you’ve been saying we need to bring more people in on Operation Long Leash? And how I’ve been saying we should keep it among ourselves for the time being?’

  ‘You want to tell Lassie, don’t you?’ I shoulder-bumped him. ‘Impress her with tales of espionage? I should warn you – stories about fried chicken aren’t really her thing. What with her being a vegan weredog and all.’

  He sat down on the staircase and did his best not to grunt at me. ‘I don’t want to tell Lassie. I was thinking more along the lines of one or two more people. Like Paul, for example. You know I’m heading up Major Crimes now. I was thinking that Paul would be the first new hire on my team.’

  ‘Huh.’ I took a peek into the kitchen. Twelve was handing Gretel a cup of tea and a sandwich. ‘Paul is always saying he doesn’t get paid enough where he is.’ Paul was currently head of IT for a Dublin business – a human one. ‘But he’s never been a fan of Irish supernatural society, Finn. Paul wouldn’t even live in this neighbourhood if his girlfriend hadn’t insisted on it.’

  ‘That’s true,’ said Finn. ‘But things are different now. We’d be paying him the same as if he was a witch. He’ll be able to afford all the Stinking Warlock he wants.’

  ‘Well, I’d love it if he came on as our tech guy,’ I said honestly. ‘And, even though I know that you’re now, technically speaking, my boss, I want to insist on something else.’