Magic, Murder & Mistletoe by Ellen Jane

Author:Ellen Jane [Jane, Ellen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-11-26T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

As they entered the station, an irritated voice came from the other side of the foyer. It was an older voice, with the faintest hint of a quaver, but the tone was strong and insistent, and it was clear they had been arguing for some time.

“Do you honestly mean to tell me that, for three days, you have failed to make any decent headway or notable arrests?”

They hovered in the doorway, taking in the sight of the elderly woman leaning against the counter. She wore a scarf decorated with what Heather could only assume was every colour available to the human eye and tapped her bright red fingernails against the desk.

“He was stabbed in a crowded party, for Heaven’s sake,” the woman continued, glaring at Chief Cooper.

“Madam, if we could just take this into a private room, we can arrange some tea and discuss the matters quietly before—”

The woman scoffed. “I don’t want tea. There’s no time for tea. A man is dead, Inspector. My nephew is dead.”

“Chief Inspector,” Chief Cooper mumbled. He was ignored.

“Surely someone witnessed something that can be used to identify our killer,” she continued without pause, even as she eyed Heather and Sinéad up and down before turning back to Chief Cooper. “There was a knife. There was blood. There was screaming. Do I need to call the superintendent? Clearly this matter is above your abilities.”

“Madam, it is a delicate case. It has already been determined that at least one spell was involved, and magic always complicates matters. Not to mention a crowded room often means fewer accurate witnesses, on account of there being a number of distractions.”

A bead of sweat formed on Chief Cooper’s forehead. Heather’s chest twinged with sympathy, until she remembered why they were there, and the feeling morphed into irritation. She was mostly offended that she hadn’t been asked to help. She had managed to discover the spell’s purpose within seconds, and while she didn’t want to get caught up helping the police as well as running her own investigation with Sinéad, it hurt that he thought her so insignificant that it hadn’t even occurred to him to ask.

The woman glared at the chief, her beady eyes thoughtful as she continued to tap on the desk. “Magic,” she said finally. “I thought there were laws against that sort of thing.”

Sinéad snorted, and before Heather could stop her, she spoke up. “There are laws against murder, too.”

She strode forward into the room and addressed the chief, dropping her purse onto the desk, forcing the woman to retract her hand with a jolt.

“Can we make this quick? I have things to do, and I don’t appreciate being dragged back in here because of some shopkeeper’s incompetence.”

The woman gave a little smirk and a nod, and then she paused. “I know you,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “You were in the paper. You were arrested, and you, too.” She turned to Heather.

“I was cleared,” Sinéad said. “As was my friend.”

“Yes,” the chief said, looking startled.

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