I Put a Spell on You (11 page)

After the service, everyone filed out and milled around again. Thankfully the rain had stopped now, but the day was cold and grey. Steeling myself, I joined the informal line waiting to speak to Star’s parents.

As I approached them, her mum grasped my hands.

“Harry,” she said. “Thank you so much for coming.”

I felt dizzy with guilt. If Star had died protecting me, then I was the reason for the funeral, and poor Mrs Douglas’s unbearable grief. I muttered something inane and polite.

“Will you come back to the house?”

I was horror-stricken. Make conversation with Star’s family and friends while I knew I was the reason she was dead?

“How nice,” I found myself saying. “But I’m afraid I must get back to work.”

“So dedicated,” Mrs Douglas said. “Star always said she wished she was more like you.”

I gave her a tight smile. Star wanting to be more like me was what had landed her in the sights of some maniac. Suddenly I had to sit down. Making my excuses, I slipped round the corner of the chapel where all the flowers were laid out. Pretending to be reading the cards, I crouched down, shut my eyes and waited for my heart to stop pounding. This was a nightmare. I should never have come.

The rain started again and I could hear car doors slamming as the mourners began to leave for Mr and Mrs Douglas’s house. I tipped my head back and let the rain fall onto my face for a minute, then I stood up. I fished a tissue from my bag and carefully dried my skin, making sure not to smudge my make-up, smoothed my hair, and put up my umbrella. I was feeling more myself again. As I walked towards the crematorium exit, my eye was caught by an older man, standing very still, by the wall. I squinted at him, wondering if he was real. It wouldn’t have been the first time I’d seen a ghost, though it mostly happened when I was much younger and my powers were just settling down. When I got older and more in control of things, my ability to see ghosts all but disappeared. I hadn’t missed it. As I approached the gate, the old man raised a hand in greeting then disappeared. I rolled my eyes. Being ‘other-worldly’ wasn’t always a barrel of laughs.

The rain was getting heavier and I picked up the pace, hoping to get to the main road and hail a taxi before I got too wet. But when I reached the corner, the rain was lashing down, and the road was deserted. I ducked into a doorway to shelter, and rummaged in my bag for my phone so I could call a cab. I hadn’t switched it back on since I’d been in the funeral service, and I was expecting a few messages, but I was taken aback when it beeped, four, five, six or more times. I looked at the screen. I had eight missed calls, all from different numbers, and four messages. Two were hang-ups, but the third was a posh man’s voice with an English accent.

“Call me back to arrange a meeting,” he said, reeling off a mobile number. I jotted it down on the back of my diary, assuming it was about work and wondering who the mystery man was.

I beeped through to the fourth message. It was another man.

“I saw your card,” he said in a low whisper. “I’d like to get together. I think you’re my kind of girl.” He chuckled as he left his number and I shrieked as I pressed delete. Who on earth was that? I was most definitely not his kind of girl. It must have been a wrong number.

As I rang for a taxi, I heard the beep that meant I had another call, but when I rang off, whoever had phoned had gone without leaving a message. Then my phone rang again – it was an unknown number.

“Is that Harmony?” a man said.

“Speaking,” I answered.

“I’ve got your card here.” He spoke quickly as though he wanted to get off the phone as soon as possible. “I’d like to book an, ahem, appointment.”

I was puzzled. Why had he phoned my mobile? How did he have the number?

“You need to phone the spa,” I said. “Is it acupuncture you’re after?”

I saw my taxi pull up and waved at the driver as I dashed across the pavement and into the blessed warm and dry cab.

“Raeburn Place, please,” I said.

The man on my phone coughed. He sounded embarrassed.

“It’s not acupuncture I’m after.” He dropped his voice. “It’s you. I picked your card up in a bookstore.” I almost heard him make quote marks with his fingers as he said ‘bookstore’ and I grimaced. Was he saying what I thought he was saying?

“Which bookstore?” My voice was like steel.

“Naughtystone’s,” he said. He sounded scared. I was pleased.

“I am not a hooker,” I snapped. My taxi driver snorted from the front seat. “If you ever call this number again, I will report you to the police.” I hung up and my phone rang immediately. I cancelled the call. It rang again. I switched it off.

“You must be good,” the taxi driver said.

I silenced him with a stare as he pulled up outside In Harmony. What the bloody hell was going on? Shoving a £10 note through the window (suddenly that bus fare seemed like a bargain) I ran inside.

Chapter 15

It was like an oasis in the spa. The rain battered the windows, but it was bright and warm inside. I could smell essential oils and hear soft music – no Iron Maiden this time, thank goodness. Behind the reception desk, Xander and Nancy were deep in conversation and they jumped when I approached. Xander pushed something under a pile of papers and looked up at me.

“Hi, Harry!” he sang.

“What?” I snarled. “What’s going on? What’s that?”

“What’s what?” Xander’s sculpted face was a picture of innocence.

A clap of thunder outside made Xander and Nancy look round for a moment, and I seized my chance. Diving over the reception desk – much to the alarm of a client who’d just walked in – I lunged for the papers and pulled out a photo of me. At least, it was my head, Photoshopped – not very well – onto a naked buxom woman’s body. She was in a very unladylike pose.

I’m new in town
, the card read.
Show me around!
Underneath was my name and my mobile number.

“Oh my good god,” I gasped.

“Is that you?” My client was peering over my shoulder.

“Yes,” I said. “No!”

“Have you had your boobs done?” she said. She sounded genuinely interested but it was all too much for me.

“Get out!” I shrieked. “You have to leave!”

Xander sprang into action. He shoved me towards my office and pushed Nancy after me.

“Take her away,” he hissed at Nancy. “Make her coffee.” Then he turned to the client, dazzling her with his smile and loping his arm around her shoulders.

“I am so sorry,” I heard him say as Nancy hustled me down the hall. “Harmony’s had a terrible shock.”

My hands were shaking so much I couldn’t unlock my office door. Nancy took the keys from me and did it instead, looking at me the whole time. I wondered what she was thinking. It was hardly the ideal temp job. A job, by the way, that she’d only got because the person who did it before her was murdered. Mind you, she’d only been meant to stay for two weeks and she was still here, so she obviously didn’t mind.

Overwhelmed with tiredness, I slumped behind my desk and put my head in my hands. Nancy touched my shoulder lightly and I looked up at her.

“I’m going to get you a coffee,” she said. “And a biscuit.”

I quite wanted to rest my head on her be-cardiganned chest and cry, but instead I smiled at her.

“That would be lovely,” I said.

As she left, I buried my head in my hands again. I was lost and I didn’t know what to do. It was quite obvious now that I someone was out to get me – someone who didn’t care if anyone got in the way. A picture of Star’s mum’s white face flashed into my head and I began to cry. I never cried, but I found once I’d started, I couldn’t stop. I felt very alone. Esme was busy planning her wedding, and Georgia and Lucy were great for a night out, but not for this stuff. I’d been single for what felt like forever, I didn’t know how Louise felt about me, or if how we’d met meant we could never have any sort of relationship. I wailed even louder.

There was a chink as a mug was put down in front of me, and a tissue was pushed into my hand. I looked through my fingers – it was Xander. Standing up, I threw my arms around him and sobbed on his broad shoulder, until I was weak from crying and his jumper was soaked.

“Is this cashmere,” I hiccupped as I wiped my eyes on his sleeve. Xander nodded.

“Don’t worry,” he said through gritted teeth. “You needed to get it all out.”

“Do I look terrible?” I asked.

He made a face at me.

“Well, you’ve never exactly been my type…” he began. I threw my soggy tissue at him and we shared a smile.

“Are you going to phone that policewoman?” he said.

“Louise,” I told him, not mentioning that I spoke to her almost every day. “I’m scared to switch my phone on.” I thought of all the creepy men who might have left messages and shuddered.

“Give me your mobile, I’ll delete everything,” Xander said. “Then you need to call your provider – call them from the landline – and change your number.”

I was so grateful he was taking charge, I nodded dumbly and handed over my phone. Xander dropped a kiss on the top of my head.

“It’ll be okay,” he said.

He left my office and I picked up Louise’s card. But I didn’t phone her. Instead I called my mum and told her everything that had been going on.

“Oh Harry,” she said. “Why haven’t you told us this before? Why didn’t Esme say anything?”

I snorted. Esme had her head full of court cases and wedding cakes. She wasn’t concerned about what was going on – not really.

“Do you want me to come?” Mum was saying. “We could both come, if you think it’ll help.”

“No, Mum,” I said. “It’s fine. Xander’s here. And Esme.” Suddenly, though, I felt an overwhelming longing to be at home. “I might come up though. If that’s okay?”

“Of course, darling,” she said. “Of course. Come now.”

“I can’t come now,” I said. “But I’ll come as soon as I can.”

“Have you done anything?” Mum said, changing the subject suddenly, as she often did.

“I’ve told the police. Well, I’ve told a detective friend.”

Mum was impatient.

“Have you done any magic?”

“Oh, a bit.” I told her I’d done a protection charm – she harrumphed – and that I’d switched the music off with a spell. She harrumphed again.

“We need to do more,” she said. “I wonder if we can do some divination?”

“Seriously?” I wasn’t impressed. “It’s not the dark ages.”

“Och, it can’t hurt.” Mum sounded thoughtful.

“It hurt the last time we messed with stuff we didn’t properly understand.” When Mum and I had dabbled with voodoo last year things had got pretty hairy for a while. It takes a lot to scare me and I’d been properly spooked. I swung backwards and forwards in my chair as Mum talked.

“We can have a go – it might help us work out who’s behind all this.”

“It might.” I was still doubtful. “I’d rather you, Tess and Eva did some protection enchantments.”

I could tell Mum wasn’t really listening..

“Leave it with me,” she said. I could hear her leafing through a book and knew she was already working out what to do.

As I rang off, I felt much better. Yes things were a bit weird right now, but I was a witch dammit. And so were all my family. If someone was taking me on, then they were taking on my Mum, and my Aunt Tess, and, yes, I supposed Esme too.

Chapter 16

Worn out with the emotion of the day, I decided to go home and phone Lou from there. And I had to sort my mobile number out, too, I remembered with a grimace. I wandered out to reception, found Xander and got my phone back. He’d deleted all the sleazy messages. Then I pulled on my coat, put up my umbrella and braved the rain again. The street was deserted, but for a few cars swishing by, their tyres loud on the wet cobbles.

As soon as I got home, I stripped off my uncomfortable funeral clothes and wrapped my fluffy dressing gown round myself. Then I perched on the side of our enormous bath as the water ran, and called Lou to tell her what had happened. She was a master of efficiency.

“Don’t change your number,” she said. “I’ll set it up to divert unknown callers to me. Do you still have the advert?”

I told her Xander was busy visiting the city’s most unsavoury establishments, collecting them.

“I’ll swing by the spa and pick one up. There’s a woman on our IT team who owes me a favour.”

I felt a flash of jealousy as I wondered why the woman owed her a favour, then squashed it again. I had no time for a relationship right now. Not with everything that was going on.

Louise’s voice softened.

“How are you doing,” she asked. “It was Star’s funeral today, right?” Her kindness made me want to cry again.

“I’m fine,” I said, swallowing a sob.

“Have you eaten?”

‘No,’ I whispered. ‘I’m not really hungry, I’m…’

‘Get comfy,’ Lou said. ‘I’m on my way. I’ll bring food.’

I was absurdly pleased she was coming. My bath was super quick, then I slipped on a warm jumper and a pair of leggings and pulled my hair off my face. I was still pale, so I smoothed on some bronzer and then surprised myself by adding mascara and a slick of gloss. What was I up to?

Louise arrived about an hour later, loaded down with a carry-out Chinese, two bottles of wine and some Ben and Jerry’s. She was wearing jeans and a baggy jumper and looked more relaxed than I’d ever seen her.

“You’re like an angel,” I said, kissing her on the cheek. She smelled of Jo Malone Grapefruit. I liked it.

“I know,” she said. “A booze-bringing angel.”

I’d lit some candles in the kitchen, then blown them out again, worrying it was too much. We had fairy lights round the window, though, so I’d put them on instead.

“Pretty,” Lou said, as we walked in. “Have you got any candles?”

That was promising. I lit the candles I’d blown out not five minutes before, and we sat down to eat.

“I’ve spoken to your provider,” Louise said as we dished out the food. “They’re diverting all your unknown numbers to me at the station.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Not just for this, but for being so supportive.”

Our eyes met for a second, and she smiled at me. I felt flutters in my stomach. I really, really liked her.