The Case of the Haunted House Read online

  Relieved that Ned was doing the right thing, I made the call, eyeing Debbie all the while. Even though she answered Ned’s question with, ‘I have no idea,’ I wasn’t quite buying her words.

  ≈

  The Wayfarers arrived mere seconds after I’d made the call. As they streamed into the house, I groaned at the sight of Todge. He’d been getting more and more jobs in Samhain Street, and honestly, he was rubbish. He walked towards the staircase, chewing what I knew was a jam sandwich. The reason I knew it was a jam sandwich was because it was all he ever ate.

  ‘So,’ he said. ‘We meet again.’

  I looked over his shoulder. ‘Is Finn here with you, maybe? Or Wanda?’

  Ned shuddered. ‘Wanda is an idiot. But … is she coming? Or is anyone else coming to help you, Todge? Because – no offence – but weren’t you in charge of the last investigation at this house? Maybe Finn ought to help you this time around.’

  He puffed his chest out, then polished off his sandwich before saying, ‘Captain Plimpton will be here in a few minutes. And as for Wanda, she’s doing a summer course in Defensive Magic, so she won’t be working on this case. But I’m perfectly capable of running an investigation. If there is one.’ He directed Shane to the body. Shane was the Wayfarer equivalent of a medical examiner. While he got to work on Sophie, Todge followed us to the top of the stairs.

  He looked around, not really focusing on anything, before he finally began to poke about at the loose carpet. ‘Mrs McGinty, was this carpet always loose?’

  She gave him an angry stare. ‘You know it was. It was exactly this way when my husband died. You saw it with your own eyes.’

  Todge nodded knowingly – which was strange, seeing as I had the feeling he didn’t know anything. ‘Of course, of course. I remember now. Well, I’d say that the carpet is your culprit. Just a tragic accident rather than a murder – although I would get my finances in order, Mrs McGinty. Just in case your maid’s family decide to sue you. This could be seen as negligence on your part.’

  Bright hives broke out on her neck and face. ‘Sophie didn’t have any family. And I don’t have any finances.’ She clasped her hands tightly, muttering to herself. ‘She said she’d found something just before she fell. Maybe she discovered where my horrible husband hid his money.’

  If she did, she certainly couldn’t tell us now. And there was nothing on her that I could see. If she had discovered something, it was still in the place where she found it.

  Nevertheless, Todge ran down the stairs, while Debbie looked worriedly on. I got the impression she hadn’t meant Todge to hear her mutterings about the money.

  ‘Anything on her, Shane?’ Todge asked. ‘Money? Paperwork?’

  Shane shook his head, his blue eyes filled with sadness. ‘She had two silver sickles in her pocket. Nothing else. But take a look at this …’ He beckoned Todge closer, and I saw him point at Sophie’s hand while he whispered. Although I couldn’t make out his words, I had an idea what he might be saying.

  There was a deep cut on Sophie’s palm, almost like a paper cut. Had something been ripped from her hand before she was pushed? Because I was in no doubt that she was pushed. And there was one glaringly obvious reason why I thought so.

  ‘Her necklace is missing.’ I pointed to her neck. ‘It was gold, and it said “Sophie”.’

  Todge looked completely disinterested. ‘It’ll turn up. Either that, or it was already missing when she fell.’

  ‘Fell?’ I glared at him. ‘Todge, have you got jam on the brain? You don’t actually think she fell, do you? Less than a second after she said she had something for Debbie to look at – something which is also mysteriously missing.’

  He lifted his chin. ‘You don’t know what it was, so you can’t know if it’s missing, can you? No, there’s nothing to worry about here, Miss Kramer. Although even if there was, it wouldn’t be any of your business.’

  ‘I agree,’ said a deep voice. I turned to watch Captain Finn Plimpton striding into the hallway. His fair hair was messy, his blue eyes were ringed with dark circles, and he was slugging from a mug of coffee like his life depended on it. ‘So let me guess, Todge – it’s your opinion that this was another accidental death, most likely cause by some shoddy carpeting?’

  Todge nodded. ‘Y-yes, Captain Plimpton.’

  ‘Just as I thought. Miss Kramer, you always seem to be around whenever there’s trouble, don’t you? Maybe you and I could have a word about why in Hecate’s name that might be. In private.’

  ≈

  I stood outside, next to a sleek carriage. I knew it was one of the Wayfarer vehicles. Even though the creatures in harnesses looked like stunning black horses, they were actually Púca shifters. It was because of them that the carriages could travel at lightning speed. Having met one Púca – Ned’s criminal ex-boyfriend – I was baffled as to why these ones would act as horses for Finn and his team. I stared at the Púca now, wondering if my new life would ever feel normal.

  Finn was gesticulating wildly, and anyone looking at us would have thought he was reading me the riot act. Instead, he was saying, ‘Good to see you, Katy. How’ve you been?’

  ‘Fine, thanks. So do you think the same as Todge then? That Sophie just fell?’

  ‘Because you don’t?’ He suppressed a grin. ‘No, Katy. Even Todge doesn’t think the same as Todge. We never believed the husband’s death was an accident, which might mean Sophie’s death wasn’t an accident, either.’

  ‘Oh. So how come you’re saying it was an accident?’

  He performed some wonderfully angry arm waves as he said, ‘Because this is the Samhain Street enclave. No one’s going to help us with our inquiries here, are they? It’s best if they all think we’re as thick as two planks. That way, they won’t be quite as careful as they might otherwise be. And while they’re busy thinking we’re stupid, we’ll be waiting for them to slip up.’

  I was relieved to hear that – and also quite impressed. ‘Todge does a really good job of playing dumb. I completely believed he was nothing but a jam-munching moron.’

  Finn cleared his throat. ‘Yes, well … that’s why we chose him. So, you met Sophie. What did you think of her? Because when we questioned the staff last time, she didn’t seem like the type to have enemies.’

  ‘No, I didn’t think so either. She seemed absolutely lovely. And one hundred percent dedicated to Mrs McGinty, even though she probably hadn’t been paid for a while. She was helping Debbie find the money Jim hid, as a matter of fact. And it seemed like she might have found it – or at least she said she found something in the attic.’

  Finn chugged back the last of his coffee. ‘Did she now? That’s interesting. Last time around, Todge suspected another servant might have killed Jim. A man called Larson. He still works here, doesn’t he? So maybe he was watching Sophie and, when she found the money, he killed her to keep it quiet and nicked it himself.’

  ‘According to Sophie, Larson quit today. I didn’t hear anyone else in the house, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t there. So did he seem shady to you when you last questioned him?’

  Finn cleared his throat once more. ‘If I’m honest, Todge has always had it out for him based on nothing more than his name. Larson … larceny … okay, so maybe we chose Todge to act thick because he is a bit thick. But having said that … Larson’s coven name is Grand.’

  ‘Larson Grand.’ I whistled. ‘Wow. He’s just pointing an arrow at his head, isn’t he? But actually, there was a weird exchange about him when we arrived. It sounded like he’d quit, but Debbie and Sophie were both kind of relieved. I don’t think they liked him.’

  ‘I got that impression after Jim’s death, too. There were one or two inconsistencies between what Larson said and what Sophie said at the time.’

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘Sophie said a ring was missing from Jim’s body. A Lodge ring. It had an inlay of a beheaded werewolf and a sword dripping in blood, so it’s not like it’d be something a person makes a mistake about. But Larson said he’d not seen Jim wear the ring for days. Seeing as he’s a convicted thief, we searched him, and his flat. But we never found it.’

  My eyes widened, and I quickly told him about the missing necklace, as well as the reason we were at the house in the first place.

  ‘Well,’ he said when I’d finished. ‘That is interesting. It seems like someone is collecting souvenirs. And you won’t be surprised to hear that Debbie’s not told us a word about her husband’s hauntings. Or that his ghost is insisting his death was murder.’

  He looked longingly into his empty mug. ‘What’s the best way to play this, I wonder? Officially, we know nothing about Jim’s ghost saying he was murdered, so we can still pretend to be ignorant on that score. But we are going to have to do some legwork on Sophie. Because even a Samhain Street woman like Debbie isn’t going to believe we’re stupid enough to just dismiss it off the bat. Sophie announcing she’d found something and then falling to her death? No, we have to be seen to investigate this one. Please tell me Debbie mentioned this missing money in front of Todge so we can use that as an excuse to poke about.’

  ‘She did,’ I confirmed. ‘She kind of muttered it and seemed to regret it as soon as she said it, though. Listen, what do you know about this boyfriend of hers? Denton Montrose?’

  Finn raised a brow. ‘Boyfriend? That was fast. And as for what I know about Denton, well … you’re better off asking Cullen about that. He knows him pretty well. A lot of the Lodge members are also members of the Warlock Society – Denton included – so Cullen’s been using his time there to see if they know more than they’re saying about Jim McGinty’s supposed accident.’

  He looked at the house. Hamish was staring our way, so Finn set his empty mug aside and flapped his arms about a bit more, while I narrowed my eyes and put my hands on my hips in my most stubborn of stances.

  ‘We need to cut this little exchange of ours short, I’m afraid,’ he said. ‘And Katy, I don’t think the Wayfarers are going to have any joy here. Debbie and everyone else involved … they’ll all close ranks against us. It’s what people round here do. I think that if we’re ever going to find out who killed Jim and Debbie, then you and Cullen will have to work together on this.’

  I didn’t need to pretend to look stubborn anymore. ‘Cullen? Seriously?’

  Finn shrugged, then waved his arms and shouted, ‘Katy Kramer! I want you to get the heck off my crime scene, do you hear me? Or I will find a way to shut your business down!’ He lowered his voice. ‘And yes. You’ll be partnering with Cullen on this case, and that’s an order. See you at Müd’s tomorrow night to discuss this further?’

  ‘I guess,’ I said as I walked away. ‘But if you really want me to work with Cullen, you might have another murder investigation on your hands by then.’

  6. All the Best Relationships are Highly Dysfunctional

  With the house closed off to all but the Wayfarers and Debbie, Ned, Hamish and I headed home. As soon as we entered the shop, Cleo wrapped herself around Ned’s legs.

  ‘Where were you?’ Ned bent down and stroked her familiar. ‘I figured you’d travel there in your own way, but you didn’t show at all.’

  Cleo hopped up into Ned’s arms. ‘Just because I can see the dead doesn’t mean I want to. I wasn’t in the mood. Anyway, someone had to look after this medium-sized shop of horrors. And speaking of horrors … Guillermo popped in while you were gone.’

  Ned’s face grew flushed. ‘Well, he shouldn’t do that. It’s not safe for him to be seen here. Not when the Wayfarers are after him.’

  I picked up a book called Love After Death, pretending to be interested in the blurb. This shop sold an awful lot of books on bringing one’s lover back from the dead, and they all made me queasy. But anything was better than letting Ned see my true expression right now. I knew perfectly well that the Wayfarers were not after Ned’s ex-boyfriend. And the reason they weren’t after him was because they knew precisely where he was. They were giving him a long leash in the hopes that he’d lead them to other criminals.

  ‘Well, he was rather worried about being caught, but he thought he’d better take the risk,’ Cleo continued. ‘Seeing as his life has become, according to him “An absolute misery.”’

  ‘Oh?’ Hamish looked with interest from Cleo to Ned. ‘And why would that be? You haven’t done anything to him, have you Ned?’

  ‘Me?’ Her expression wasn’t nearly as innocent as she was aiming for. ‘What could I have done? Anyway, I have things to be getting on with, so I can’t waste time discussing Guillermo right now. Oh, and Katy – Debbie managed to have a word with me before we got kicked out of the mansion. Seeing as she’s not an idiot like Todge, she thinks that Sophie was murdered, and – quite rightly – she doesn’t trust the Wayfarers. So she wants you and Hamish to take the case. On the down low, obviously. She said she won’t be able to pay you just yet, but that she has a buyer for some of her werewolf pelts, so she’ll have the money soon.’

  I shivered. ‘Werewolf pelts? I’m guessing that’s not going to be a legal transaction.’

  ‘Does that bother you?’ Hamish asked curiously.

  I decided that, for once today, I could be honest. ‘The illegal part doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the items she’s selling,’ I admitted. ‘It’d feel like accepting blood money. But I do want to take the case, so … maybe we’ll offer her a freebie on this one. It’s not like we can’t afford it. Our business has been making a lot of money.’ Plus, I didn’t add, I was already getting paid by the Wayfarers for this investigation.

  Hamish shrugged. ‘Well, you’re the boss. And we should start with Larson Grand, I reckon. He’s the one Sophie and Debbie were talking about when we arrived. He’s got form for thieving. He might have quit like he told Sophie. Or he might have been hanging around, ready to pounce as soon as Sophie found the hidden money.’

  ‘Really?’ I feigned innocence (hopefully I did a better job than Ned). ‘That’s interesting. Well, there’s a couple of hours before any of today’s appointments arrive. We’ll have a quick bite and head over to Larson’s place. His address will be registered somewhere, right?’

  Hamish snorted. ‘As if. But I do know where he lives, as it happens.’ He looked at Ned. ‘How about it? Fancy grabbing an early lunch and then interrogating a possible murderer with us?’

  Ned looked as though she might say yes, but a shadow fell suddenly over her expression, and she shook her head. ‘I’ve neglected the shop all morning. I’ll just have a sandwich here.’

  ≈

  As Hamish and I headed into the Bank for our early lunch, Ned was on my mind just as much as the investigation.

  ‘Do you think Ned actually likes what she does?’ I asked.

  Hamish sighed. ‘You thought the same as I did at the mansion, then? That when she was attempting to heal Sophie, she came alive?’ He snorted. ‘Ironically. It was like I was seeing the old Ned again. The one whose mother wasn’t murdered by a witch hunter.’

  Ah, yes – just another reason on my long list of reasons for lying to my friends. Much as I wanted to take this opportunity to tell the truth about myself, it was possible I’d have to save their lives quite a few more times before they believed not all witch hunters were bad. For now, I’d have to carry on with my double-life. Or was it a triple-life? Whatever it was, it was giving me a headache.

  I could see that Derek Carey, the pub’s owner, was taking the orders. That meant that Cullen must be in the kitchen, then. With that in mind, I slid into a booth close to the front door, with no view of the kitchen. That way, when I slipped away, Hamish wouldn’t be able to see me.

  I was still fairly full from my enormous breakfast, and even Hamish seemed satisfied for a change, so we opted for a light lunch of soup and bread. As soon as Derek was finished taking our orders, Hamish turned to me.

  ‘That Finn Plimpton was certainly taking his frustrations out on you, wasn’t he? Typical Wayfarer bully. Did he say how long they’d be messing up the crime scene? Because we need to get Ned in there soon, so she can talk to Mr McGinty’s ghost.’

  ‘I em … I got the impression they’d be a couple of days,’ I said. ‘But I think it’s just for show, really. So they can say they made the effort. You know what? I really need to use the loo. I’ll be back in a sec.’

  Hamish nodded, using his magic to open a newspaper to the puzzle page. ‘I’ll be working my brain out while you’re gone.’

  I eased my way towards the kitchen, checking no one was watching me. When I got there, Cullen was ladling out what I assumed to be our soup. Quickly, I dragged him into the larder.

  ‘Well, nice to see you too, Katy,’ he said with a grin. ‘This is rather a small space you’ve brought me into. Any reason you want to be so close to me?’

  I felt heat begin to creep its way up my neck and onto my face. The larder was a lot smaller than I’d expected it to be, meaning I was much closer to Cullen than I’d like. Doing my best to pretend he didn’t smell so good, I stood tall and said, ‘Don’t play dumb. No doubt Finn’s told you we’re stuck together on this case.’

  He lifted a brow. ‘Almost literally stuck together, it seems. Yes, he told me about the latest not-a-murder at the McGinty mansion. Which means you probably want to know everything I do about Larson Grand and Denton Montrose.’ He grabbed an apple and crunched his teeth into it, swallowing before he said, ‘Well, I do know an awful lot of horrible men, those two included. I did some time with Larson at Witchfield, and I know Denton from the Warlock Society.’

  ‘Start with Denton, then. Is he a horrible man?’

  Cullen sighed. ‘Well, actually, he seems to keep his nose fairly clean. He also seems to be genuinely fond of Debbie. He told me he loves her. And he’s been very different since they’ve started to see each other. Drinks a whole lot less. And he doesn’t talk quite so fondly about his hunting days anymore, either.’