I’d been completely wrong.
The ‘loco’ in Bar Loco turned out to be short for locomotive, as in locomotive trains. The whole bar was train themed. Great. Not.
Before visiting the bar, I’d used the ‘doppelganger’ spell to make myself look like Griselda who was a few years younger than me. And almost as pretty.
What? Of course I’m being completely objective.
I was horrified to see Mr Hosey standing behind the bar. He was dressed in a train driver’s uniform, as were all the other staff. I hadn’t seen him since we’d left Smallwash, and I certainly hadn’t missed him. Thankfully, he had no way of knowing it was me.
“What can I get for you, madam?”
“I’ll have a fruit juice, please.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like one of our cocktails? I can recommend the sidings.”
“No thanks, just an orange juice.”
I’d no sooner got my drink than I saw my quarry walk through the door. Romeo, who was taller than I’d imagined, was clearly dressed to kill. As soon as he spotted me, he flashed me a killer smile, waltzed over to where I was standing, and leaned against the bar in what was clearly a carefully rehearsed pose.
“Hello, beautiful. You’re even lovelier than your photograph. And what a lovely name. Griselda. Is that what people call you, or do you go by Griz?”
“Griselda will be fine.”
“I bought this for you.” He produced a single red rose from behind his back.
“Thank you. You’re a bit of a Romeo, aren’t you?”
“It’s funny you should say that.” He grinned. “Romeo is my nickname. What’s that you’re drinking?”
“Just an orange juice.”
“That won’t do at all. Why don’t I get us some cocktails?”
“Okay. If you insist.”
Once we had our drinks, we headed for a quiet booth deep inside the bar. Romeo, whose real name he assured me was Brodie Best, certainly had the gift of the gab. Unsurprisingly, his favourite subject was himself. I smiled sweetly and nodded occasionally as he droned on about his boring life. Curiously, he failed to mention the most significant part. That he was a crook who thought nothing of doing the dirty on his partners-in-crime.
After our third round of cocktails, ninety percent of which I’d managed to pour into the nearby plant pot, he was obviously under the impression that we’d made some kind of connection.
“So, Griselda, what do you say we move on to somewhere else?”
“Sounds good to me. Where did you have in mind?”
“We could go back to my place.” He gave me a knowing wink.
“I have a better idea. My apartment is only five minutes away. We could go there.”
“Absolutely.” His face lit up, and he clearly thought this was his lucky day. “Let’s go.” He took my hand and led the way out of the bar.
As we walked, he continued to talk nonstop. He told me how much he spent on clothes, how fantastic his apartment was, and about the car he was thinking of buying.
“This is a shortcut,” I said. “If we go down here, we’ll be at my place in a couple of minutes.” I pointed to the alleyway between two office buildings.
“Sure. Let’s go.”
When we were halfway down the alleyway, I checked that there was no one else around. The coast was clear, so I stuck my foot in front of his and gave him a gentle nudge, which sent him flying onto the floor. He hit the ground with a thump, tearing one knee of his trousers.
“What did you do that for?” He looked at me with a startled expression. “These trousers cost a small fortune.”
“Those are the least of your problems, pal.” I reversed the ‘doppelganger’ spell.
“Who are you?”
“I’m the person who’s going to put you behind bars.”
“You think you can capture Romeo?” He scoffed. “You’ll be sorry you messed with me.”
He tried to stand up, but I was too quick for him. I used magic to tie his arms and legs, sending him crashing back to the ground.
“Your magic isn’t strong enough to hold me.” He spent the next few minutes trying to reverse my spell, but he’d underestimated my powers, which were far stronger than his. “You can’t do this. Let me go!”
“I don’t think so.” With the help of the ‘power’ spell, I was easily able to pick him up.
“Put me down!”
“Your wish is my command.” I walked over to one of the large industrial waste bins, lifted the lid, and dropped him inside. “That’s where you belong. With the rest of the rubbish.”
“Let me out!” he screamed, as I slammed the lid shut.
I called Daze, who was so excited to hear my news that she dropped what she was doing and came straight over, with Blaze in tow.
“Where is he?” She glanced around. “He didn’t get away, did he?”
“No, he’s where he belongs.” I tapped the waste bin.
“Let me out!” Romeo shouted.
“Well done, Jill.” Daze lifted the lid. “That’s our guy. We’ll take him off your hands.”
“Before you do, there’s something else I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Sure.” She turned to Blaze. “Can you take this scumbag back to Candlefield while I talk to Jill?”
“It’ll be my pleasure.” Blaze climbed onto the bin, took out his net and threw it over Romeo, and the two of them disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“Take a look at these, Daze, and tell me what you think.” I held out my phone and showed her the photos I’d taken of the girls’ charm bracelets.
“Where did you get these?”
“The bracelets belong to my niece and her friends. Are those charms what I think they are?”
“I have a horrible feeling they might be.”
“I was afraid you’d say that. What are we going to do about it?”
Chapter 22
Mr Bacus,
