Witch Is Why Time Stood Still (A Witch P.I. Mystery Book 13) by Adele Abbott Read Free Book Online Page B

Would you like to come through to the back? We can talk better in there.” He led the way behind the counter and into a small office.
    “Tell me, Bill, how many robberies have you had?”
    “Just the one. I know that Are Forever has had three. That’s awful.”
    “Would you describe exactly what happened?”
    “I will, but this is probably going to sound crazy.”
    “Don’t worry about that. Just tell me everything you remember.”
    “Okay. I was actually in the shop at the time, but I wasn’t serving anyone. My assistant, Ms Jameson, was attending to a young lady who was looking at some rather expensive bracelets. Ms Jameson had the tray of bracelets on the counter, so the young lady could get a closer look at them. Then, all of a sudden, the tray was empty. Just like that. One minute they were there, the next they’d gone.”
    “And you saw this happen?”
    “Yes. Ms Jameson is a new employee. I was watching to make sure she was handling the sale according to our procedures.”
    “It’s very difficult to understand how the bracelets could have just disappeared like that.”
    “I know, and if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it either. But that’s exactly what happened. We have CCTV coverage if you’d like to take a look.”
    “Yes, please. That would be very helpful.”
    A few minutes later, we were seated in front of the computer. Bill Poster soon located the correct recording.
    “That’s Ms Jameson. And that’s the young lady she was serving. You can clearly see the bracelets in the tray on the desk.”
    He was right. The recording quality was very good. The tray was obviously full of bracelets.
    “Keep watching,” he said. “Any moment now.”
    I stared at the screen in the hope that I’d spot something everyone else had missed. But then, suddenly, the tray was empty. I’d seen nothing. No one had come into the shop; no one had approached the counter. And yet, the tray had been emptied of its contents.
    What was going on?
     
    ***
     
    Alan’s other friend, who had also been taken ill, was Bobby. From what Alan had told me, the hospital had once again put the illness down to a virus. Bobby lived at home with his parents, even though he was about the same age as Alan. It was his mother who greeted me at the door.
    “You must be Jill Gooder; I’ve heard so much about you. It’s awfully good of you to do this for us.”
    “I’m glad to help. Is it okay to speak to your son?”
    “Of course. Bobby’s been expecting you. He’s still quite poorly, but much better than he was. For a while there, we were worried we might lose him.”
    “So I understand.”
    “He’s in here, I’ll leave you two alone.”
    Bobby was sitting up in bed. He looked very pale, but his eyes were bright.
    “Hi there, I’m Jill.”
    “Have a seat. Thanks for coming.”
    “Look, I’ll get straight to the point. The medical profession and the police are saying this is some kind of forty-eight-hour virus. Alan and David think otherwise. What about you?”
    “I’m convinced I was poisoned, and no one will persuade me otherwise.”
    “Tell me what happened.”
    “I’d just taken delivery of a new supply of synthetic blood. I had my first drink in the morning, and in the afternoon, I started to feel really ill. The next thing I knew, I woke up in hospital.”
    “Do you still have the bottle you drank from?”
    “No. According to my mother, the police took away the complete supply.”
    “Did they get back to you to tell you what their tests showed?”
    “No. My mother had to call them. They said the tests didn’t show anything unusual.”
    “But you don’t believe them?”
    “Not for a minute. I think they just wanted to dispose of the evidence. My mother says I should let it drop, but I can’t. This could happen to someone else, and they might not be as lucky as I was.”
    By the time I left, Bobby was starting to flag. The more I learned about this, the more I was