Witch Is When the Bubble Burst by Adele Abbott Read Free Book Online

she said.
    “It’s Armitage. They’re moving in.”
    “The solicitors? I thought you told him to sling his hook?”
    “I did, but the other occupants of this building took his money and moved out. I’m the only one holding out.”
    “I bet he loves you.”
    “Grandma was around here earlier.” I smiled. “She wasn’t happy.”
    “About Trading Standards?”
    “She thinks I reported her.”
    “Why would she think that?”
    I shrugged. “Me and her just don’t seem to have hit it off.” I could hardly tell Kathy about my suspicions that Everlasting Wool owed much to magic.
    “I have news!” Kathy grinned ear to ear.
    “Are you pregnant again?”
    “No! Why would you say that?”
    “No reason. I just thought maybe it was time for you to knock another one out.”
    “Knock another one—? No wonder you can’t get yourself a man. Are you this romantic when you’re out on a date?”
    “I can do romantic.”
    Kathy shook her head. “Anyway, my news. I’ve got a promotion.”
    “Already? You’ve only been there five minutes.”
    “I know. Your grandmother obviously rates me highly.”
    “I’d settle for her not hating me. What’s the promotion?”
    “She’s introducing another new line, and she wants me to head up the sales for it.”
    “What kind of line?”
    “One-Size Knitting Needles.”
    “How’s that work exactly? I thought they came in different diameters?”
    “That’s the great thing about these. They can be whatever size you want them to be. You just touch the needles to the pattern you’re going to be using, and they adjust to the right size.”
    “Hang on. That doesn’t sound possible.”
    “I know. It’s like magic. According to your grandmother, it’s a revolutionary new design which she came up with, and has patented. No one else can make them.”
    Unbelievable. How much more blatant could she be?
    “So what does your new job entail?”
    “I’m not sure exactly, but I get a ten per cent pay rise, so that’s good. I really think you’ve misjudged your grandmother. She has a warm, generous side.”
    I laughed. “You keep thinking that.” Right up to the point where she turns you into a cockroach.
    My phone rang.
    “It’s Maxwell,” I mouthed to Kathy.
    She gave me a knowing smile.
    “Hi, Jack,” I said in my sweetest voice.
    My good humour didn’t last for long.
    “Hold on, Jack, that’s hardly fair.”
    I could tell Kathy was wondering what was wrong.
    “I didn’t mention it because I hadn’t seen him then. I told him—”
    The line was dead.
    “What happened?” Kathy said.
    “Jack Maxwell happened. The man is a complete asshat.”
    “Hang on. I thought you and he had made up.”
    “So did I, but it looks like we were wrong, apparently.”
    “What did he say?”
    “I had a visit this morning from a young guy named Steve Lister. He’s the boyfriend of the woman who’s been kidnapped.”
    “Amanda Banks? I saw that on the news.”
    “He came in without an appointment to ask if I would take on the case. I told him I was too busy. I’m not, but I knew how sensitive Jack was about kidnappings after what happened with the Camberley case. I didn’t want to risk ruining the working relationship we’d established, so I turned down the case.”
    “So why is Maxwell angry?”
    “Because he heard that Steve Lister had been to see me, and he assumed that I’d agreed to take on the case. You heard—he didn’t give me a chance to tell him I’d turned it down. Asshat!”
    I stood up, walked through to the outer office, and had a word with Mrs V.
    Back at my desk I punched the number she’d given me into my phone.
    “Who are you ringing now?” Kathy said.
    “Steve Lister. Who do you think?”
     
    ***
     
    I was still spitting feathers long after Kathy had left. I’d managed to get hold of Steve Lister, and arranged for him to come in and see me the next morning. He’d been somewhat surprised to get my call, but I explained that I’d resolved a