“That’s fine.” I nodded. “And could I get a caramel latte and a blueberry muffin, please?”
The two Lilys chose their drinks and cakes, then the three kids went to sit at a table in the corner.
“Florence gets more beautiful every time I see her,” Pearl said. “She must get it from Jack.”
“Cheeky mare.” I glanced over at the three girls. “They seem to have hit it off.”
“I knew they would.”
“I’m going to take Florence to see Aunt Lucy when we’re finished here. Do you want me to take the girls with us?”
“There’s no need,” Pearl said. “We’ve asked a couple of the staff to come in so we can all spend some time together. They should be here in about twenty minutes.”
“Great.”
“I assume you’ve heard Mum’s big news?” Amber said.
“What news? I haven’t spoken to her today.”
“She’s only gone and won first prize in Candlefield in Bloom.”
“What? How did she manage that? The last time I was over there, someone had dug up her flower bed.”
“No idea. We only heard about it ourselves this morning. She didn’t go into any detail, but she’s on top of the world, and she said she was looking forward to seeing you and Florence later.”
Daze and Blaze walked into the shop.
“Do you have a minute, Jill?” Daze said.
“Sure.”
She turned to Blaze. “Get me my usual, would you?”
“What did your last slave die of?”
“He didn’t. You’re still alive and well.” Daze chuckled to herself as she and I made our way to a table near the window.
“That’s my little girl, Florence, over there.” I pointed. “With the twins’ girls.”
“Does she come over to Candlefield often?”
“This is her first visit, but she’ll probably be over here regularly from now on.”
“She’s beautiful. She must take after her dad.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“I’m only joking.”
“What did you want to talk to me about, Daze?”
“I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the help you’ve given us recently. Romeo is due in court next week and you can bet he’s going to get the book thrown at him this time. How did you manage to track him down?”
“I played a hunch. I talked to the guy who robbed Washbridge Bank with him. He wasn’t too forthcoming at first, but after I’d told him that Romeo had done this several times before, he opened up to me. He told me that Romeo had used a dating agency in Washbridge, so I got in touch with Hilary at Love Spell. One of her assistants recognised his photograph and they arranged for me to go on a date with him. The rest you already know.”
“Brilliant.”
“What’s happening on the elf case?”
“We’ve shut down the shop in Washbridge, and the two wizards responsible will be in court next week. They’re going to be looking at some serious jail time. We’ve also caught the wizards who were running the operation at this end. The ones who were snatching the elves off the street in and around the sports centre.”
“That’s good news, but I can’t help but feel sorry for all those elves who have been turned into charms.”
“I have some good news there too.”
“Oh?”
“Our people did some tests on the charms and they discovered the silver gunk didn’t actually kill them. It just put them in a state of suspended animation.”
“Does that mean they’re still alive?”
“Yes, and we’ve already managed to remove the gunk from all those who were in the cabinets in the shop.”
“How are they?”
“They’re going to need bed rest, but the doctors say they should be okay. Once they’ve fully recovered, they’ll reverse the effects of the Shrinkometer.”
“What about those elves that had already been sold and are on charm bracelets?”
“We’ve got that covered too. We managed to recover the sales ledger from the shop, so we have the names and addresses of all the people who bought charms. There’s a big undercover operation in progress as we speak.”
“Doing what?”
“We’ve recruited a large number of witches and wizards who are going to visit all the addresses in the sales ledger, to try and recover the charms.”
“That’s fantastic news.”
Blaze appeared at the table. “You owe me five pounds, Daze.”
“Put it on my account. I was just thanking Jill for all the help she’s given us.”
“Yeah, thanks, Jill.” Blaze took a seat next to me. “If you can just sort out the A-juice case, we’ll be able to put our feet up for a few days.”
“You mentioned that before. What exactly is A-juice?”
“Acorn juice.”
“I didn’t realise there was such a thing.”
“The demand for it here in Candlefield far outstrips the supply, so gangs of shapeshifters collect the acorns from Washbridge and bring them back here to extract the juice. They’re making a small fortune.”
“Are you making any progress?”
“None so far. These gangs are notoriously difficult to track down. They look just like real squirrels. The only thing that gives them away is their behaviour.”
“How so?”
“They’re very protective of the territory they’re farming, and they’re quite prepared to use violence to keep intruders away.”
“Such as throwing acorns at them?”
“Exactly.”
“In that case, I might just be able to help you find them.”
Chapter 25
Florence had clearly hit it off with the two Lilys. The three of them were chatting, giggling and generally having a whale of a time. The only issue was that Florence was clearly struggling a little with the name situation. Every time she said Lily, the other two both responded.
Once the two assistants had arrived and taken over behind the counter, we rounded up the girls and made our way to Aunt Lucy’s house. Florence and the two Lilys ran a few yards
