“Be careful with that,” Ransom snapped. “It’s a family heirloom. Put it down!”
“In a minute.” I pulled at the base and it came away. “Whoops!”
“What do you think you’re playing at?”
“Relax, it isn’t broken.” I took a quick look at the underside of the goblet. Engraved inside the stem, normally hidden from view by the base, was a long series of numbers.
“Put it down this minute!” he shouted.
“Just a second.” I took out my phone, snapped a few photos of the goblet, then reattached the base.
“I think you should leave now.”
“Not before I’ve had another word with Caroline.”
“I don’t think—”
I had no intention of waiting for his permission, so I hurried back to the dining room.
“What did you make of it, Jill?” Caroline said.
“It’s pretty hideous. Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?”
“I don’t think so. I appreciate all the work you’ve put in. Let me have your invoice as soon as you can, will you? I’ll make sure it’s paid straight away.”
***
Mrs V had arranged her poncho on the desk, and she appeared to be taking a photo of it with her phone.
That was unusual for two reasons: Firstly, I couldn’t for the life of me think why she would want a photo of that ugly thing. And, secondly, I’d not seen Mrs V with a mobile phone for years, let alone taking a photograph with one.
“Good morning, Jill.”
“Morning, Mrs V, what are you up to?”
“I’m taking a photo of the poncho, and then I’m going to post it online.”
“I didn’t think you had a mobile phone. Didn’t you give the last one to Armi years ago?”
“That’s right, dear. I’ve never really seen the need for one since then, but after Maud Mizus showed me what she’d done, I thought I might as well give it a go, so I called in at Yarn and Phones.”
“Yarn and phones?”
“They’re very good. They stock a wide selection of yarn, and they also sell mobile phones. The young lady there was most helpful. She had me up and running in no time. It’s not nearly as complicated as Maud said it would be.”
“Good for you, Mrs V.”
“It’s amazing. I’ve posted lots of photos already. Other people can like them and add comments. They can even share them with their friends. Take yesterday for example, I posted a picture of the cuckoo socks I’d knitted for Armi. That photo has already had twenty-three likes and one share. And, best of all, I already have thirty followers.”
“That’s—err—great. I assume you’re posting them to your Instagram account?”
“Insta—what, dear?”
“Instagram.”
“I can’t say I’ve heard of that one. I’m posting them on YarnAgram. Would you like to see them?” Before I could say no, she held out her phone, and started to flick through them. There were photos of all manner of yarn creations: socks, scarves, jumpers, and of course the now infamous poncho.
“They’re all very nice.”
“I’ve decided to spend this weekend uploading photos of all the scarves, jumpers, and socks that I’ve knitted over the last twelve months. Just think how many followers I’ll get then.”
“It sounds like you’re going to be busy.”
“Would you like to know my YarnAgram name, Jill?”
“Sure.”
“I’m called TheYarnLady. I thought someone might have already nabbed it, but it was still available.”
“That’s great. Anyway, I’d better crack on.”
Winky was sitting on the windowsill, looking out of the window. He was on his phone and he clearly hadn’t heard me come in. I was just about to shout good morning when I heard him say, “Yeah, she really fell for it, but then she always does. CI5, brilliant. And those badges? Where did you get them? A lucky bag? Really? Too funny. That’s okay, Lulu, anything for a friend. I’ll see you and Ricardo next time you’re in town.”
I’d heard enough, so I cleared my throat to catch his attention.
Horrified, he turned around, and gabbled into the phone, “I have to go.”
“Morning, Winky.”
“Morning.” He jumped down from the window and up onto my desk.
“Who were you talking to?”
“Nobody. Just an old friend.”
“I suppose you’ll be ready for some salmon.”
“Yes, please.”
“No chance.”
“What do you mean, no chance?”
“I mean, no chance. You can’t have any. In fact, there’s no salmon for you for a month. You’re back on the budget food.”
“Why?”
“Because I heard what you said. Ricardo and Lulu aren’t cops, are they?”
“I—err—”
“And there’s no such thing as CI5, is there?”
“Well, I—err—”
“You might as well admit it, I heard everything.”
“It was only a joke. Surely you can see the funny side.”
“Of course I can, but there’s still no salmon for you for a month. I’m sure you’ll see the funny side of that too.”
Chapter 20
My phone rang and I could see from caller ID that it was Hilary from Love Spell.
“Jill, we’re all systems go.”
“That was quick.”
“Just as I expected, Romeo was in touch the minute his ban expired, very keen to arrange his next date. The only problem is that it’s tomorrow at one o’clock. Does that work for you?”
“I’ll make it work. This guy needs taking off the streets as soon as possible.”
“He chose a witch named Griselda Longribbon from our books.”
“Griselda Long—?”
“Ribbon. I’ll send you her details and photo over now.”
“Where am I supposed to meet him?”
“Do you know Bar Loco?”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“You know that new office complex they built where the old market hall used to be?”
“Yeah.”
“The ground floor has been set aside
