The Midnight Moon [ONC 2024]

Chapter 5: An Education In Magic

When we were all settled once more in my office, with a fresh pot of tea, courtesy of Tomasina, sitting on the desk, it was time to address the issue of a lack of clues.

'To all intents and purposes, no crime has clearly been committed,' I began. 'There is nothing to suggest anything untoward has befallen Mistaria. Nothing appears out of place at the cottage. There is no evidence to suggest she's been hurt and taken somewhere against her will.'

'What are you saying? That you've taken the case as far as you can?' Bella asked incredulously. 'You don't like putting the hard work in, do you? Call yourself a puzzlesolver.'

I gave the cat a withering look. Mistaria Heath's familiars had an attitude problem, and I wasn't sure I wanted to put up with it much longer.

'If you had the patience to let me finish talking, instead of insulting me and my profession,' I said quietly through clenched teeth, before giving up all pretence of patience myself. 'Actually, it's worth pointing out no one else is helping you with your current dilemma. Just me. Remember that.'

The crow stared at Bella. 'Apologise,' Jack whispered. 'Now. I'm not staying a crow forever because you can't control your tongue.'

Bella's tail swished from side-to-side violently, but she eventually did what she was bid and said, 'I'm sorry.' She didn't sound sorry. Not a bit. Yet Tomasina exhaled loudly, indicating she had clearly been unsure how the next few minutes were about to unfold.

'What I was getting around to saying,' I said, 'was that if we lived in Duskford and sent for the Sheriff, they would look no further than we have so far. But there are other avenues open to us. In a bit, I'll go and visit an old friend and see if she's heard anything. A witch just can't disappear into thin air and no one notices a thing.' I thought about that for a moment. 'Unless they can?'

This was why I liked traditional cases. Having to wonder if the person I was looking for could vanish because of a spell she had cast was a complication I didn't usually need to get my head around.

'They can, but the question is, why would she?' Jack asked rhetorically.

'Does Mistaria have any friends or family in the town? Is it even remotely possible she is with them?'

'She has not spent a single night away from her cottage in all the years I've known her,' Bella said. 'You must remember the weight of importance that is placed on the familiar spell we are waiting for her to break.'

It seems I was getting an education in witchcraft today, whether I had wanted one or not.

'Any kith or kin outside of the town?'

'Hereward, please! She is missing, not on holiday!'

I looked at the cat. For the first time I saw in her eyes how truly afraid she was. And it wasn't just concern for the witch. I suspected that there was something quite unpleasant ahead for Bella and Jack if they found themselves stuck in their guise as familiars.

'I know these questions seem silly to you,' I said gently, 'but I have to ask them. As a puzzlesolver, I have to cover every eventuality, so we can eliminate the unlikely and finally reach the truth. Emergencies occur. Sometimes people do things out of the ordinary for very ordinary reasons, even if we can't believe they are possible at the time.'

'I've not heard her talk of any family, in town or out of it,' Bella said, all traces of waspishness now gone. I nodded at her in thanks.

'She knows people outside of Morteton, but not to visit,' Jack added. 'It's mainly to do with her work in the craft, and they tend to come to the town. And if she needs to send charms out to them, either I or Bella go.'

I wondered if that was in human form or as familiars, but seeing as we were all focused on the task at hand, and cooperating together, I didn't want to upset the synergetic atmosphere so recently forged.

'All right. Does she have any enemies? Do you know of anyone who wishes her ill?'

All three of them shook their heads vehemently. I raised my eyebrows questioningly. The witch, it seemed, was more popular than I was.

I finished my cup of tea and stood up. I was ready to leave the agency and head out to seek new avenues which might produce a lead or two. Addressing the others, I asked, 'Where will I be able to find you when I return?'

'Right here,' Bella said, stretching before padding over to lie down in front of the fire.

'Don't you have homes to go to?'

'We will wait here for your return so you can inform us immediately of what you discover.'

'You don't trust me to continue with the search?'

'Not at all. But...time is something we have precious little of at the moment. If the spell isn't broken within three days of it being cast, it can not be undone,' Jack explained.

I shrugged my shoulders. 'Well...um...make yourselves as comfortable as you can. This is my office, not my home, and it is furnished and kept as such. The rooms upstairs are virtually empty but you might find a blanket or two if you are lucky.' I wrapped myself in my coat. 'I don't know when I'll return. Depending on what I learn it might not be tonight. Now knowing the timeframe we have to work with, it would make more sense to follow the trail, if I can find one, and see where it leads.'

They seemed happy with this arrangement. For a nasty moment, I had feared they might try and accompany me. That is something I would never have agreed to. I always have, and always will, work alone.

'Good luck, sir,' Tomasina said as I passed her.

I stopped in the doorway to my office and looked back at them. A cat, a crow and a strange young woman. This was surely the craziest case I had ever worked on.

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Chapter word count: 1008

Story word count: 5966