Witch Is The Nest Now Empty (A Witch P.I. Mystery Book 49), page 1
Witch Is The
Nest Now Empty
Published by Implode Publishing Ltd
© Implode Publishing Ltd 2024
The right of Adele Abbott to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved, worldwide. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, dead or alive, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
The next book in the Witch P.I. Mysteries series
Also from Adele Abbott
Chapter 1
(Author’s note: This is the first book of season five.
It picks up the story SIX YEARS after the previous book)
Winky was seated by the window, staring into space.
“I’m in love,” he sighed.
“You’re always in love,” I said. “Who is it this time?”
“Daisy. I’ve never met anyone like her before.”
“Shall I remind you that you said exactly the same thing about what’s her name—Lily, wasn’t it? And not more than three weeks ago.”
“This is different. Daisy is different. She’s an angel.”
“I’ll give it two weeks max. You, Winky, are a hopeless romantic.”
“Oh dear, Jill.” Jules was standing in the doorway. “Are you at it again?”
We’d been in our new offices at Washbridge Central Point for almost eighteen months, and I still hadn’t got used to how quietly the doors opened and closed.
“No, I was just—err—”
“How long is it now?” she asked. “Since Winky passed away?”
“Almost two years.”
“And yet, you still talk to him.”
“No, I was just—”
“It’s obvious you still miss him. Why don’t you get yourself another cat to keep you company in here?”
“Definitely not. And besides, animals aren’t allowed in this building.”
“I just came in to ask if you wanted a cup of tea.”
“Yes, please, I’d love one.”
“Coming right up.”
As soon as she’d left the room, Winky jumped onto my desk.
“She’s got a cheek,” he said. “Suggesting you bring another cat in here.”
“Jules was just trying to be kind. She doesn’t realise you’re still around. How could she?”
When Winky had lost his fight against cancer a couple of years earlier, I’d been devastated, but then he’d reappeared as a ghost the following day. It had been amazing to see him looking so full of life, which was quite ironic considering he was actually dead. Even more surprising, ghost Winky had not one but two fully functional eyes. I’d suggested that we give him a new name in recognition of his ocular upgrade, but he’d insisted that he preferred to remain plain old Winky.
Winky hadn’t finished ranting. “She’s getting a bit too big for her boots, that one.”
“You were the one who begged me for months to bring Jules back.”
“She’s changed. Become all uppity. I sometimes wish the old bag lady was still here.”
“You’re such a hypocrite. You couldn’t wait to see the back of Mrs V.”
A few minutes later, Jules returned with my cup of tea.
“Did you forget my custard creams?” I said.
“You gave me strict instructions yesterday that I shouldn’t let you have any custard creams during working hours.”
“Yes, but I didn’t get a chance to have any breakfast this morning.”
“You also said that I should ignore any excuses you might come up with, to try to persuade me to give you some.”
“O—kay.”
Sometimes, I hated myself.
“You haven’t forgotten that you have an appointment with Mr Wright in forty minutes, have you?”
“Remind me again what he said it was about.”
“He didn’t. He wouldn’t give me any details.”
“Okay. Let me know when he arrives.”
Winky laughed. “All of this time you’ve been waiting for Mr Right to come along, and here he is at last.”
“I found my Mr Right years ago, and Jack and I are as happy today as when we first met.”
“You hated him when you first met him.”
“That’s true, but you know what I mean.”
Jules popped her head in the door and said, “I have your sister here. I told her you have a client coming in soon.”
“That’s okay. Send her through.”
Ever since Kathy had sold her bridal shop empire, she had way too much time on her hands, with the result that she regularly dropped by for no particular reason whatsoever. She had made a small fortune from the sale, and now she spent most of her time buying designer clothes.
“I was just passing, so I thought I’d drop in and see my favourite sister.” As usual, she didn’t wait to be asked to take a seat.
“You were only here three days ago.”
“Don’t I get a cup of tea?”
“No. Jules told you I have a client coming in any minute.”
“I wish you’d get rid of that horrible old desk.”
“Do we have to have this same conversation every time you come by? I told you that it has sentimental value.”
“It has woodworm.”
“This was the desk Dad sat at when he started this business.”
“You’ve got this beautiful new office, and you have to spoil it with that monstrosity. You should have one like mine.”
“Why do you even have a desk? It’s not like you’re in business anymore.”
“I’ve told you before. I’m planning my next business venture.”
“I’m not getting rid of this desk and that’s final. If it had been up to me, I would still be working out of my old office. I only relocated because they decided to tear down the building.”
“You can’t stand in the way of progress, Jill.”
“How is it progress to tear down a perfectly good building and replace it with another multi-storey car park?”
“Have you heard from Florence?”
“Not for a few days.”
“I still can’t believe you and Jack decided to send her to boarding school.”
“I’m not having this conversation with you again, Kathy. Florence wanted to go there.”
“But she’s only eleven. A kid that age needs—”
“Enough!” I stood up. “You need to leave now.”
“I was only saying.”
“I know what you were only saying. You’ve only said it at least a dozen times. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a client to see.”
“I’m sorry.” She stood up. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Are you and Jack still coming over for Pete’s birthday this Saturday?”
“As long as you promise not to bring up the subject of boarding school again.”
“I promise.”
“Okay, we’ll see you on Saturday.”
“Someone touched a nerve,” Winky said, after Kathy had left.
“There’s nothing wrong with this desk.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. It still hurts, doesn’t it? Florence going to CASS.”
“Of course it does. I never wanted her to board there. And Jack certainly didn’t. She’s still my little girl.” I dabbed my eyes. “It’s what she wanted, though, and I know she’s really happy there.”
“When is she coming home next?”
“I’m not sure. Half-term, obviously, but she might manage a weekend before then.”
Jules popped her head around the door again. “Are you okay, Jill?”
“I’m fine.”
“It looks like you’ve been crying.”
“No, it’s just a bit of hay fever.”
“Mr Wright is here.”
“Send him in, please.”
Incredibly, Mr Wright was very normal. I mention that only because I was beginning to think that every client who walked through my door was destined to be weird in one way or another: ridiculous name, crazy attire, you get the picture. But not Mr Wright. He was average height and weight, dressed quite conservatively, and had a sensible name.
“Hi, I’m Kevin Wright.” He placed his briefcase on my desk.
“Would you mind if I took Cecil out of the case?”
“Sorry?”
“He’s a little agoraphobic.”
Something told me I had spoken too soon.
Before I could ask who Cecil was, Mr Wright had opened the briefcase and taken him out.
“Why do you have a weasel in your briefcase?”
“Cecil isn’t a weasel, although that’s a common mistake to make. He’s a ferret. Say hello to Jill, Cecil.”
Cecil didn’t say hello, but unbeknown to his handler, he did have something he wanted to get off his tiny chest, “Will you tell this one that my name is Guy?”
“Guy?” I repeated.
“Sorry?” Mr Wright gave me a puzzled look.
“I was just saying that Cecil is a nice guy. Very handsome.”
“Thank you.”
“My name is Guy,” Guy insisted.
“What brings you here, Mr Wright?”
“Please call me Kevin. Or Kev.”
“Which would you prefer?”
“Err, Kevin. No. Kev. No. Kevin, please.”
“Okay, Kevin it is. How can I help you today?”
“I need some help with F-O-F. It stands for Friends Of Ferrets. I’m the treasurer. Or at least I used to be until—” He hesitated. “I can hardly bring myself to talk about it.”
“I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to help you unless you do.”
“Okay. I have to be strong. I owe it to Cecil and all the other ferrets.”
“It’s Guy!” The ferret rolled his little ferret eyes.
“Take your time, Kevin. Maybe a cup of tea would help?”
“No, thank you. I’m allergic to hot drinks.”
“See what I have to put up with?” Guy said.
Ignoring the ferret, I offered Kevin a glass of water.
“That would be very acceptable, but I’d prefer it in a cup. I can’t bear the feeling of glass against my lips.”
“Okay.” I buzzed Jules. “Could you bring Mr Wright a cup of water, please?”
“You’d like water in a cup?”
“That’s right.”
Once Mr Wright had his drink, I tried again to get him to open up.
“You were saying that you are—err—used to be the treasurer of F-O-F.”
“And had been for eleven years.”
“I take it you didn’t resign the position?”
“Certainly not. I loved that job.”
“Was it your fulltime job?”
“No, it wasn’t a paid position. F-O-F is run by volunteers. None of us are paid, other than expenses, obviously.”
“Right. If you didn’t resign your position as treasurer, what happened? Why were you removed?”
“I was accused of misappropriating the organisation’s funds. A totally outrageous accusation with no basis in truth.”
“Did some money go missing?”
“Yes. Just over a thousand pounds.”
“From where, exactly?”
“The safe.”
“And where is that safe?”
“In the F-O-F office.”
“Which is where?”
“In my back garden. In a shed to be precise.”
“Let me make sure I have understood this correctly: the F-O-F office is in the shed in your back garden?”
“Correct.”
“And the safe is in that shed?”
“Also correct.”
“Right, and you were accused of pocketing the money?”
“Yes, they said I’d faked the theft and I was summarily dismissed.”
“That seems rather harsh after you’d spent so long in the job.”
“It’s an absolute travesty, particularly as I’m one of the founders of F-O-F.”
“Were the police involved?”
“Yes. They took a note of the theft and gave us a crime number, but I don’t expect to hear any more from them.”
“How exactly can I help you?”
“I want you to find out who really took the money, in order to clear my name. Can you do that?”
“Possibly, but here’s the thing: I charge by the hour, and it won’t take long for my bill to rise above the amount of money stolen. Even if I was to find the money, which isn’t guaranteed, you would still be out of pocket.”
“Money isn’t the issue here. My integrity is what’s at stake.”
“I understand that, but you could end up with a very large bill.”
“Fortunately, I’m independently wealthy thanks to a generous inheritance.”
“And you understand that you may end up paying considerably more than the amount stolen?”
“Absolutely. Are you in?”
“I’m in.”
“Excellent. How do we begin?”
“First, I’ll need you to sign my standard contract.”
“No problem, then maybe we can arrange a date for you to visit the F-O-F office, so I can tell you everything you need to know.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Every time,” Winky said after Mr Wright had left. “Without fail.”
“What?”
“Another case. Another nutter. How do you do it?”
“I wouldn’t call Mr Wright a nutter.”
“Not to his face, maybe, but you know it’s true. The man is a ferret short of a business.”
“This case is not about ferrets. A man’s integrity has been called into question.”
“It’s not his integrity that’s in question. It’s his sanity. Who walks around with a ferret in his briefcase?”
“A case is a case. I’m not going to turn away a man just because he has some unusual habits.”
“Especially if he’s stinking rich.”
“That certainly helps.”
Chapter 2
Being the consummate professional, I had searched online to find as much information as I could on Friends Of Ferrets.
“Have you ever seen a sorrier looking bunch?” Winky said.
“Do you mind? You shouldn’t be looking at my computer screen. This is confidential client business.”
“Yeah, but just look at the state of that crowd. I bet they haven’t got a girlfriend between the lot of them.”
He was referring to the group photograph of the members of F-O-F, taken at the previous year’s annual dinner.
“Maybe their girlfriends had their photographs taken separately.”
“Yeah, right. Bunch of losers.”
My phone rang.
“Jill, it’s Amber. Are you busy?”
“I’m doing some research for a case I’ve just taken on.”
“We’re holding a family meeting. Can you come over?”
“What’s it about?”
“I’d rather not say on the phone. You never know who might be listening in.”
“Okay. Where are you? Aunt Lucy’s or Pamber?”
“How many times do we have to tell you not to call it that?”
“Sorry.”
“We’re in the function room.”
“Okay. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll be there.”
When the twins had expanded Cuppy C, they’d added a restaurant and function room, above the original tea room. Before reopening, they’d decided that the place needed a new name. At the time, I’d thought changing the name was a terrible idea—I still did—but they wouldn’t listen to reason. Decision made, there had followed the great debate about the new name. Amber had wanted to call it Amber & Pearl’s; unsurprisingly, Pearl had wanted to call it Pearl & Amber’s. Neither of them had been prepared to back down, but they’d eventually agreed to abide by the result of a coin toss. Pearl had won, and so the new name was declared to be Pearl and Amber’s. What neither of them had foreseen was that a lot of customers would find the new name to be too much of a mouthful, so had taken to shortening it to Pamber. That had infuriated the twins, which is why I took great pleasure in calling it that.
Petty? Maybe, but also very funny.
Juliet, their manager was behind the counter downstairs in the tea room.
“The twins are upstairs in the function room, Jill.”
“I was hoping I might be able to grab a latte before I go up there.”
“No problem. How’s your daughter taken to boarding at CASS?”
“She seems to be enjoying it so far. Fingers crossed.”
“My Pauline started there last month, but she isn’t boarding.” Juliet handed me my drink.
“Thanks. I’d better get upstairs before Grandma sends out the search party.”
“Your grandmother isn’t up there. It’s just the twins and your Aunt Lucy.”
“Oh? Okay.” Why would the twins and Aunt Lucy hold a family meeting without Grandma?
