All Hallowed Out Read online

  ‘Huh. Well, who woulda thunk it?’ I tickled his belly. ‘So listen, while the others head off to do their thing, how about I take you to see someone, too? I don’t want to rain on your parade, Tigger, but I’m worried about you drinking all this Kapow Meow. I’d like to take you for a check-up.’

  The cat shuddered. ‘I’m not really a fan of healers at the moment. I’ll go, but … could we take a stop by my house, first? There’s a Kapow Meow multipack there. Oh, and Ariadne’s notes might be important, too.’

  ‘I’ll go with you guys.’ Melissa linked her arm in mine. ‘I’ve always been a sucker for a kitty in crisis. Even if he doesn’t get the message about slowing down on the energy drinks.’

  ‘Don’t the two of you have to go to the community hall?’ Christine pointed out. ‘I’ve heard both your phones buzzing for the last while – Candace must be getting impatient.’

  Melissa grimaced. ‘You know what? She’s always happiest when she’s in charge, so I say let’s leave her to it for a little while more.’

  ≈

  Tigger nodded towards Ariadne’s writing desk. It was piled high with notes, books, coffee cups and takeaway cartons. I could barely see an inch of the surface.

  The whole house was a bit of a mess. It was in a human area in County Cavan, overlooking a lovely lake. The grass was a bit overgrown, but that was typical for witches living in human areas. No doubt Ariadne didn’t want the locals becoming too friendly, in case they wandered in while her dicta-quill was skimming across the page – or while she was in the middle of a conversation with Tigger. It was the inside of the house which surprised me. I knew plenty of members of the Albright coven, and although some of them could be a little scattered, they were never quite so messy.

  ‘It’s not normally like this,’ the cat explained, hopping up onto Ariadne’s desk chair. ‘Well, the garden is, but inside is always spick and span. She wasn’t much for cleaning spells, but she loved using human stuff to clean and tidy the house. Vacuuming and mopping were two of her favourite things – but when she got her hands on one of those little robotic vacuum cleaners, it was like all her Winter Solstices had come at once.’

  He nodded to a photo on the windowsill. It was of Tigger, riding atop one of those very gadgets. There was a caption on the photo: The Lord of Tiggerton Manor Rides Again.

  ‘She calls me her little lord,’ he said, nodding around to many more photos of the two of them together. There was one of Ariadne on a ride-on lawnmower, with Tigger on her lap, the two of them looking ecstatic at the thought of cutting the grass. There was one of the day they painted the house – with actual paints and paintbrushes instead of a simple spell – and another of the day they bought a new car. It seemed that everything Ariadne did, she did it with Tigger in tow.

  ‘Wowser,’ said Melissa. ‘The two of you bought a car! She really did love human stuff just as much as the characters in her books.’

  Tigger chuckled. ‘She used to pretend it was research, but yeah, she really loved it. And I did too. We’re going to love it again, once she wakes up. Maybe you should start with her diary – she was making a lot of notes in it before she collapsed.’

  ‘So … why did the place get messy all of a sudden?’ I asked as I sifted through the rubbish on the desk in search of the diary. ‘Did she have a deadline to meet?’ I knew that when I was writing Wayfarer reports or college essays, I sometimes struggled to find the time to tidy.

  The cat sighed. ‘No. She’d just finished a tour for her latest book, and she was determined to slow things down. Just write what she wanted, at her own pace. But she got more and more agitated with each day that passed. Something was bothering her, something big. She started to chug down coffee by the gallon, staying up all night, just eating takeaways and not bothering to cook, clean, or even sleep.’

  As Melissa began to open her mouth to speak, he shook his head emphatically. ‘I know what you’re going to say. You think that it’s beginning to sound like Fintan Night could be right about the exhaustion thing. But it was more than that, I know it. I was getting tired, too, and I definitely wasn’t suffering from exhaustion. Our bond is strong – one time, she drank too much champagne and I wound up with a hangover too. So if someone slipped her a sleeping potion, it stands to reason that it would have an effect on me as well.’

  ‘And did she look into why you were both feeling this way?’ I asked, almost retching at the sight of a mould-filled coffee cup.

  ‘I think she was looking into it, yeah. She definitely knew something wasn’t right. She was the one who bought me my first bottle of Kapow Meow a couple of days ago, when both of us were struggling to keep our eyes open. She said someone was trying to silence her, and she was determined to solve the mystery.’

  ‘Wait, why did she think it was a mystery she could solve?’ Melissa questioned. ‘If she thought something was odd about the sudden tiredness, why not come see us? You said she admires our coven. She should have taken the pair of you to a healer, at least.’

  Tigger sighed. ‘That’s what I said – during one of the few periods I was awake enough to gather what was going on. But you have to understand, neither of us were in our right mind. We were fighting to keep our eyes open, because Ariadne said that whatever we did, we mustn’t fall asleep. And she … she said it was her fault. Something terrible was going to happen, and she only had herself to blame.’

  He yawned, his head beginning to droop a little. I reluctantly gave him some more Kapow Meow.

  ‘She was muttering about Cecily Fox an awful lot, too.’ He finished the bottle far quicker than I would have liked, before pushing it away. ‘Cecily is her agent. She was with us when Ariadne collapsed. She insisted Ariadne should go to the Night Rooms instead of to Florence at Night and Gale. And she refused to let me come tell you guys. But I wasn’t going to listen to her.’ He scratched his head with a paw. ‘Now I think about it, she was arguing with Cecily before she collapsed. They were shouting about The Book That Shall Not Be Named.’

  ‘The Book That Shall Not Be Named?’ Melissa frowned. ‘I don’t know it. Is it one of Ariadne’s?’

  Tigger let out a hacking laugh. ‘Yes. It had an actual name, but we were never supposed to mention it, and I can’t think of it right now. I …’ He shook his head. ‘Sorry. I just feel so fuzzy. But Ariadne never published this book, so you won’t find it on her shelves or her computer. It was going to be published, but she changed her mind about it the second she signed the contract, and insisted every single copy be destroyed. Oh, why can’t I remember the name?!’ He yowled in agitation.

  ‘It’ll come to you,’ I said calmly. ‘Oh! I think I’ve found the diary.’ I peeled a banana skin and a yoghurt carton lid off the book, revealing the title: Diary of Ariadne Albright, the Year of the Misfit. Quickly, I opened it up to October’s pages. Most of the entries were unintelligible – she had definitely been feeling frazzled for quite some time. She had written things like:

  Why don’t dogs walk people instead of the other way around?

  Would a pink unicorn and a blue dragon ever be friends?

  Why does my hand look so much bigger than usual?

  Giggling is underrated.

  It must have been in the coffee.

  On and on the madness went – but then again, what did I know? I wasn’t exactly the creative type. For all I knew, notes like this were part of being a novelist. There were some reminders to contact Wendy Waver – maybe in her weary state, she was mixing her fictional character up with me. There were also some mentions of The Book That Shall Not Be Named. If only she had named it, I might be able to figure this mess out. Mostly, her notes stated her agitation that the book hadn’t been destroyed as it should have been. She wrote things like:

  It’s the book. It’s all because of the book. I knew she wouldn’t destroy it like I told her to.

  Finally, in yesterday’s entry of all places, I found a note I could use:

  Tuesday night at the community centre. Is this
where I’ll find the culprit?

  ‘What culprit, I wonder?’ I rubbed Tigger gently. ‘Do you remember anything about this?’

  With a sigh, he said, ‘No. Must’ve been asleep. I’m no use, am I?’

  ‘You’re doing great, Tigger.’ Melissa gave him a gentle smile. ‘And today is Tuesday, so we can check out what groups have a room booked for tonight.’

  ‘There are some more scribbles below the bit about the community hall.’ I squinted. ‘It’s hard to make it out. Hang on a sec …’ I performed a quick magnifying spell to enlarge the words, and then read them aloud:

  ‘The leaves will cease to fall

  The world will stop its turning

  For you, my love, I do all this

  As grief is surely burning.’

  ‘Does this make any sense to you?’ I slid the diary closer to Tigger.

  ‘Yes! I mean … I think so. I think it might be an incantation from the book I was telling you about.’ He groaned and hid his head in his paws. ‘Why can’t I remember the name? Ooh!’ He looked up suddenly. ‘Cecily wasn’t the only one who was a little too eager to ignore my worries and stick Ariadne in the Night Rooms. I tried to talk to Thomas Flowers about it, too.’

  ‘Thomas Flowers?’ Melissa asked. ‘Any relation to Old Ma, or just a member of the coven?’

  Tigger snorted. ‘No relation to Old Ma. That woman is a real healer. Thomas is a charlatan.’

  ‘Was Ariadne seeing him for anything in particular?’

  The cat shook his head. ‘He was a healer, but he wasn’t her healer. He was her husband. He took the Albright coven name while he was married to Ariadne, but he’s since gone back to the Flowers coven. He’s a counsellor by trade. Unfortunately, he saves the sensitive, healing side of his nature for everyone else. All he did was wear poor Ariadne down.’

  ‘I didn’t know Ariadne was married,’ said Melissa. ‘Then again, she seems to keep her personal life fairly private.’

  ‘She never liked the limelight,’ Tigger told us. ‘She and Thomas were not a good match, seeing as all he cared about was her fame – well, that and her money. It was because of him that Ariadne upped her output. Bringing out more and more books just to keep up with his demands for money. That’s why she wound up in the Night Rooms the last time. Thomas Flowers exhausted her. She couldn’t keep up. Of course, as soon as she was too ill to keep the royalties rolling in the way he wanted, he started divorce proceedings. It’s all going slowly, because he wants fifty percent of everything – even her future earnings.’

  I turned to Melissa. ‘Do you know much about marriage contracts? I mean, would Thomas actually be entitled to half her money?’

  Melissa’s face fell. ‘Probably not. Not unless they were together for a very long time, and he contributed a lot to Ariadne’s career – like, if he gave up his own to support her.’

  ‘So why do you look so worried, then?’

  She bit her lip. ‘Because I’ve just had a worrying thought. If the divorce hasn’t been finalised, and they are still married, then he could well get full control of all of her money while she’s out of action.’

  Tigger hopped down off the chair, pacing the room. ‘That’s it! He’s behind this. Thomas knew he wouldn’t get what he wanted in the divorce, so he’s put her to sleep instead. You’re a genius, Melissa Wayfair.’

  Melissa reddened. ‘I wouldn’t go that far.’ She glanced dubiously at the desk. ‘I don’t suppose you found an address book in there while you were searching for the diary, Wanda? So we can go pay this Thomas Flowers a visit?’

  I hadn’t, and the thought of searching any further through the mess made me feel itchy. I was just about to suggest we searched for his address through official channels, when Tigger piped up once more. ‘Cecily’ll have his address. Let’s go visit her and ask.’

  I shrugged. ‘We ought to go see her anyway, I guess. She might know the name of the book you’re talking about.’

  Melissa held up her phone. ‘Okay, but we’ll have to be quick, because I’ve just gotten a text message from Candace – she says if we don’t get to the community hall in the next ten minutes, she’ll put boils on our noses and warts on our bums.’

  5. He Moves On Easily

  Ariadne’s agent lived in one of the mansions on the east side of Riddler’s Cove. It was a modern building, all cubes and glass, called Fox House.

  ‘Quite close to the Night Rooms,’ Melissa pointed out. ‘I just checked with Mack, because I thought the agent’s name sounded familiar. Turns out Cecily’s tried to get the Call of the Wild on her books for a long time. The guys just don’t like her. I think she represents Bryce’s wife, though.’

  Yup, that was how Melissa lived now – hanging out with rock stars and barely batting an eyelid about it. Bryce Blue was the lead guitarist for the Call of the Wild, and his wife was none other than Veronica Berry, one of the most famous actresses in the supernatural world. Melissa had brunch with them on a regular basis, over at her boyfriend Mack’s house. The last time they’d invited me, I’d spilled buck’s fizz all over myself and eaten an entire plate of pancakes before I realised they were supposed to be shared. I’m ever so sophisticated.

  We rang the doorbell, and a moment later a woman appeared. She wore an impeccable white suit, and her blonde hair was cut into a chic bob. If the Call of the Wild didn’t like her, then it wasn’t because she was ugly.

  ‘Well, I recognise both of you,’ she said. ‘Melissa Wayfair – girlfriend of the sexiest rock singer on the planet. And Wanda Wayfair, who put poor Will Berry in prison when all he ever did was love her. You know, I’m as amazing a publicist as I am an agent. I could work wonders with the two of you. Make people love to love you instead of … well, feel a tad irritated by the holier than thouness of you both.’

  Melissa looked just shy of snarling, but I put a hand to her arm. ‘Miss Fox, we’re here about Ariadne Albright. I believe you’re her agent.’

  Cecily narrowed her eyes. ‘I heard some of your coven were sniffing around the Night Rooms. You know, not everything is a mystery waiting to be solved. People of Ariadne’s type often succumb to exhaustion. I’m not really sure what you think there is to investigate.’

  ‘Darling!’ A male voice boomed through the hall. ‘Is that our lunch delivery? I’m absolutely famished.’

  A dark-haired man appeared beside her, wrapping an arm about her shoulder as he looked us up and down. ‘Who are you? Where’s my sweet and sour pork?’

  Tigger poked his head out of my bag and hissed. ‘Thomas Flowers! Trust a slimeball like you to move on easily.’

  I looked from Thomas to Cecily. They were both staring in shock at the cat. They seemed a little too shocked, if you asked me. Were they expecting him to be asleep by now, just like Ariadne?

  ‘So … you two are a couple.’ Melissa fixed them both with her loveliest smile. ‘Wow, Mr Flowers – you really do seem to have a thing for rich women.’

  He moved to shut the door, but Melissa wiggled a finger, freezing it in place.

  ‘We don’t have to stand here and take this!’ said Cecily. ‘Our relationship is nobody’s business but ours.’

  ‘Exactly!’ bellowed Thomas. ‘Why is your coven always poking their noses in where they don’t belong? You have nothing on us. Nothing! I mean, so what if Cecily happened to be in the room, right when Ariadne collapsed? And so what if Ariadne left a million crazy messages for me just before that? The silly woman wouldn’t get the message that things were over. That’s all.’

  I arched my brows. Seeing as this wasn’t an official investigation yet, I had no access to Ariadne’s phone records. It was nice of Thomas to give me the information for himself. Just as I was about to press him, Tigger hissed again.

  ‘Lies!’ said the cat. ‘Lies, lies, lies! Ariadne didn’t want you back. She was relieved when you started divorce proceedings. The only reason she ever called you was to tell you to quit trying to steal everything she’s worked for.’

  I
stroked him gently, hoping to calm him down. After meeting these people, though, I wasn’t feeling so calm myself. I’d been flummoxed as to why anyone would want to send Ariadne to sleep, but there were two very big reasons, standing right in front of me. If Ariadne stayed asleep, Cecily and Thomas could gain control of an awful lot of money and intellectual property.

  But I couldn’t accuse them of that – not when Ariadne had only been unconscious for a day. It would be interesting, though, to see if Tigger was also right about The Book That Shall Not Be Named. Between what he had told us, and the notes Ariadne had scribbled in her diary, the book seemed to be a factor in all of this.

  ‘Cecily.’ I turned to the agent. ‘We know there was a novel that Ariadne changed her mind about just before publication. I was wondering, did you happen to keep any copies of it? And can you think of the name?’

  Cecily’s blue eyes blazed. ‘Get off my property,’ she hissed. ‘Now.’

  6. I Told Her Not to Use the Ladder!

  The hall was thronged with members of the Nemo Foundation, either busy with decorating, or practising for A Trick for a Treat. There were other kids rehearsing their performances, too, all overseen by Arthur Albright, and his girlfriend Ronnie.

  As for Candace, she was in charge of the decorating for both A Trick for a Treat and the Halloween Ball. Even though the kid ran multiple businesses, aced every class she took at school, and organised countless events like this one, she never looked worn out in the slightest. Her dark hair was just as glossy as ever, pulled into a prim and perfect ponytail. Her sweater was adorable, gold and russet with a pumpkin in the centre of the bodice. Seeing me look at it, she smiled proudly. ‘I know, right? I bought it in the shop in Riddler’s Edge. Norma’s knitting up a storm over there. That woman would make an amazing witch. Hey, are they my Autumn Zings?’