“Great. I’ll pop over first thing if that’s okay. I’d like to take a good look around the games room, and perhaps have a brief look around the rest of the house too.”
“That’s fine.”
“Also, if you could prepare a list of names and contact details for all the people who were at the birthday dinner. That would be really helpful.”
“I’ll have that waiting for you.” She stood up. “Right, if there’s nothing else, I must be making tracks.” On her way out, she walked over to Winky, and gave him a little scratch under the chin. “What a handsome boy you are. And so brave with just the one eye.”
As soon as Caroline was out of the door, Winky said, “I thought she was supposed to be rolling in it. She looked like she’d been sleeping rough.”
“That’s a little harsh.” True, though.
“I reckon you owe me a tin of salmon.”
“For what?”
“Didn’t you see the expression on her face when she first saw your office? She was clearly not impressed, but then she spotted me, and her attitude changed. If you ask me, I’m the only reason you got this case.”
Mrs V came into my office.
“How did it go with her ladyship, Jill? Was she impressed?”
“She must have been because she’s given me the case. She looked a little rough, don’t you think?”
“Not at all. I thought she looked quite sophisticated.”
“She looked like a bag of rags.”
“Jill! You really mustn’t speak about her ladyship like that. Just because you don’t understand the fashion sense of the upper classes, doesn’t mean you should criticise.” Mrs V noticed Winky on the windowsill. “I thought he was going to stay under the sofa.”
“It’s okay. It seems that Caroline is quite fond of cats.”
“Caroline?” Mrs V looked horrified. “You can’t call her ladyship by her first name.”
“She isn’t actually a lady.”
“Jill!”
“I mean the title isn’t real. She told me so herself. She prefers to be called Caroline.”
“Really? And to think I brought out the best cups.”
“She seems quite nice. Very down to earth.”
“Hmm.” Mrs V was clearly unimpressed. “While you were with Caroline, there’s been some coming and going down the corridor.”
“In Clowns’ old offices?”
“Yes. It looks like someone might be moving in.”
“I didn’t think they were ever going to let that place again. How long has it been now since Jimmy and Kimmy moved out?”
“It must be almost eighteen months.”
“Any idea who’s moving in?”
“No. I couldn’t tell from the boxes, but I’ll keep my ear to the ground.”
***
Aunt Lucy had been a little poorly over the weekend, so yesterday she’d contacted me to ask if I’d pop over this morning to take Barry for a walk.
When I magicked myself over to her house, I was surprised to find her in the kitchen, tidying the cupboards.
“Aunt Lucy, what are you doing? You’re supposed to be resting.”
“Good morning, Jill. It’s okay. When I woke up this morning, I felt back to my old self.”
“And you decided you’d have a spring clean?”
“You know me. I like to keep busy.”
“You should be resting.”
“I’m not on my last legs yet. It was just a twenty-four hour bug. You’re as bad as the twins. They were over here first thing this morning, to check up on me.”
“I’m not checking up on you. If you remember, you asked if I’d take Barry for a walk.”
“Sorry, I’d totally forgotten about that. There’s no need now. I’ll be fine.”
We were interrupted by the sound of paws on the stairs. Moments later, Barry burst into the room, and almost knocked me off my feet.
“Jill, are we going for a walk? Please, Jill!”
“Yes, Barry.”
“I love to go for a walk, Jill.”
“I know you do.”
“Can we go to the park? I love the park.”
“Yes, Barry, we can go to the park.”
“Can we go now? Please!”
“I just need a couple of minutes. Why don’t you sit in the hall and wait for me?”
“Okay. Don’t be long. I love the park.”
“I won’t be long, I promise.”
“I’d like to come with you if you don’t mind,” Aunt Lucy said, rather sheepishly.
“You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I’ve been stuck in this house for two days and I’m going stir crazy. And besides, I could do with the fresh air. Once we’re there, Barry can have a run around while we have a sit down. Please, Jill.”
“Okay, but if you start to feel poorly, you must tell me, and we’ll turn back.”
“I promise. I’ll get my coat.”
We didn’t have an opportunity to talk on the way to the park because Barry was pulling on the lead all the time. Once we were there, I let him loose and he ran off into the distance. We found a bench at the highest point of the park from where we could keep an eye on him. To be fair to Barry, he was pretty well behaved these days, nothing like as mischievous as he’d been when he was younger.
Famous last words.
“How’s Lester’s new business venture going?” I said.
“So far, so good.” Aunt Lucy crossed her fingers.
“How long has the shop been open now?”
“It’s three weeks today, and from what he’s told me, business is improving every day.”
“I’m really pleased for him. He’s had more than his fair share of bad luck with jobs.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Jill. If you hadn’t found him that job with the mobile fish man, he never would have ended up opening a shop of his own.”
“And financially? Things are okay?”
“We had to stretch ourselves to find the money to open the shop, but if sales continue at the current levels, we’ll be fine. The
