Murder Most Fowl by Elle Adams

Author:Elle Adams [Adams, Elle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-14T22:00:00+00:00

9

I’d privately hoped I might be able to get in a quick nap before the next round of the contest, but I couldn’t even get any work done with Ramsey’s team roaming around my office. Carmilla was napping on Chloe’s desk as if there wasn’t a dead body in the lobby, while Mum barked orders at anyone unlucky enough to walk past.

“Mum.” I tensed as she turned her glare towards me. “I can’t get anything done in here. Should I look for Malcolm’s missing familiar?”

“Not alone,” she said. “Also, someone needs to tell the other contenders about Malcolm’s unfortunate demise.”

“You want me to tell them?” I frowned. “They might have scattered all over town.”

“I’m sure you can track them down between the two of you.” She clearly wasn’t in the mood to take no for an answer, so I seized on the chance to get away and left the witches’ headquarters with Tansy at my heels.

“Maybe his cat went back to the inn,” said Tansy. “He might not know his wizard is dead.”

“I don’t know. I thought they went everywhere together.”

Either way, I had to break the news to the other contenders, and I had zero clue how they’d take it. Malcolm had cheated, attacked my cousin’s familiar, and generally behaved unscrupulously, so I doubted he had any friends among them. Yet his death was sudden and unnerving enough that I found myself watching my back as Chloe and I walked down the road towards the town’s centre.

“There’s your cousin,” said Chloe.

Vanessa. She strode purposefully in the direction we’d just come from. Had her mother called her in as backup?

“Vanessa.” I approached her, cutting off her path. “You should know… Malcolm was murdered. His body showed up inside the coven’s headquarters when I went back to my office.”

She looked momentarily surprised before her expression settled back into its usual scowl. “Is there a reason you’re telling me this?”

“I figured you might want to know why the police are all over our road,” I said. “Also, he was found holding a cursed pen, the same as Anne was, with no obvious signs of who gave it to him.”

“What’s your point?” she asked. “You think one of the other contenders bumped him off?”

“Actually, your mother was the only person in the building at the time,” I said. “She’s talking to the police.”

Vanessa’s eyes narrowed. “Your brother had better not be hassling her.”

More like the other way around. “If you see Malcolm’s familiar, would you send him my way?”

“Fine, whatever.” She sidestepped me and marched on with her hands clenched at her sides.

“That was instructive.” I resumed walking, Chloe hurrying alongside me. We wouldn’t find all the contenders at the inn, since Persephone Henbane wouldn’t be staying there, and Rowan would have returned to the café to help her familiar.

Chloe kept pace with me as we approached the Owl’s Nest. “Ah—there’s Piper.”

“Robin.” Piper gave me a wave. “I thought you were going back to the office.”

“Malcolm was murdered.”

“What?” Piper looked at me with blank shock on her face.

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