Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr by Holly Bell (i like reading .TXT) 📗

They suited the action to the word, as Hogarth insisted,

‘Believe me, Peter, the appreciation is all on my side. If you — any of you — can help me in any way, I would be deeply grateful.’

‘We’ll do our best. I’m not sure to what extent Zoe will. I wouldn’t try and question her directly,’ advised Peter.

‘Zoe is three?’

‘And a half. I wouldn’t forget the half if I were you,’ Peter said in mock trepidation.

Hogarth smiled at this sally.

‘Understood.’

‘It would be like someone calling you Detective Constable Hogarth,’ added Peter.

‘Ah. I get it.’

‘Elodie’s made you tea, I see. Splendid, splendid. Now, I understand that this is about the missing children, the missing families from your area?’

‘That’s right,’ Hogarth confirmed.

‘And you want to know what happened to them?’

‘Very much so.’

‘You understand that you cannot reveal us as your source of information. However, you can use it as a means of closure, or possibly a jumping-off point to conduct further investigations that you would be able to include in a report.’

Hogarth nodded. ‘I understand. And … you can all help me?’

‘As I say, I don’t know how much direct help Zoe will give you. She can be very shy. But if she does ever get comfortable with you, well … you’ll know!’ Peter ended with a grin.

Hogarth smiled then enquired,

‘How about the other members of the family?’

‘Yes. Would you like to meet them? Or have you had enough for one day?’

‘I would very much like to meet them.’

***

‘And that’s enough telling for one day,’ concluded Hogarth.

Amanda pursed her lips to stop the questions from spilling out. She successfully exercised self-control long enough to make it until the car journey home.

‘I wonder where Lucy was?’ she pondered to Trelawney. ‘Seems odd she wasn’t there to greet Hogarth after agreeing to meet him.’

‘Oh well, Peter was there.’

‘And Elodie. She seems awfully articulate for a five-year-old. And making hot drinks and carrying heavy trays.’

‘Five and a half,’ corrected Trelawney lightly. ‘I agree. Perhaps she’s a child prodigy. Some children are surprisingly advanced for their years. I remember the Dythan robbery case. A highly observant and logical seven-year-old was the one who made the most sense. Thanks to him, the case was solved.’

‘And? Whodunit?’

‘The parents. For the insurance payout,’ responded Trelawney.

‘Oh dear. What happened to the child while they were in prison?’ Amanda asked with concern.

‘They weren’t. Just a hefty fine. Wouldn’t surprise me if it was their son who negotiated the reduced sentence for them.’

Amanda raised her eyebrows.

‘Well, at least the rest of the family so far make sense. Peter seems normal, and it’s understandable if a three-and-a-half-year-old like Zoe doesn’t want to talk about something unpleasant. But what I don’t get is how any of them could know about something that happened before they were born.’

‘Maybe their parents were students or teachers at Growan House,’ Trelawney hazarded.

‘So, where are they?’

‘Maybe Elodie and Peter and so on are Lucy’s children. But this is all hypothesis, Miss Cadabra. All we can do is wait for more information.’

Nevertheless, Amanda could not contain her curiosity or her impatience. ‘But if we’re supposed to work out what’s going on with this peculiar family, if we’re supposed to solve the murder of Lord Dowrkampyer —’

‘We’re going to need a lot more data. I agree with you. But all we can do is wait for Mike to supply it,’ he replied patiently.

Amanda sighed. ‘True.’ However, her mind wandered into even more realms of speculation. ‘You know how you were saying that there’s more to Uncle Mike than you imagined?’

‘Yes.’

‘Maybe there’s much more.’

‘How do you mean?’ asked Thomas.

‘Well ... you don’t think ... he could be the Wicc’Lord, do you?’

Trelawney recalled that it was his father who had told him of such an individual:

‘The Wicc’Lord is a person with great magical power who subtly works for good. They never enter conflict openly, but move in the shadows, tipping the balance at great need toward the light. They are our ace.’

Thomas had struggled with so far-fetched a notion. It still sounded fanciful to his ears.

‘Isn’t it more likely to be a woman, though,’ he countered, for so Kyt had told him.

Suddenly Amanda’s eyes lit up.

‘Yes, but, maybe that lady Uncle Mike first lodged with, erm … Mamm James? Maybe she was the Wicc’lord. You know how the staff of office is passed to the apprentice? What if she passed it to Uncle Mike?’

‘I suppose it’s a possibility,’ he replied doubtfully. ‘Anyway, what are you doing tomorrow?’ asked Trelawney, in an attempt to divert her thoughts.

‘Your father is kindly taking me to the Monkey Sanctuary.’ She laughed and added ruefully, ‘At least the trees there will be less of a puzzle!’

Chapter 14

Return to the House of Lucy

So, you met two members of the family and were about to meet more,’ Amanda encouraged, as they settled down for pudding.

‘That’s right. Peter suggested one I might like to encounter next ….’

***

‘How about Marielle?’ asked Peter, standing and leaning on the wall between two windows.

‘Anyone,’ Hogarth replied.

‘She can be a bit ... it’s all just persiflage though ... she’s very ... playful.’

‘Harry and Vee did say a little about each of you,’ Hogarth responded carefully.

‘Ready then?’

Marielle’s entrance was easy to spot. Mike rose instinctively. She slid onto the sofa, drawing up long legs beside her, letting her hair fall beside her face, with an amused smile. The voice was teasing.

‘So, we have a chief inspector in our midst. How do you do?’

‘How do you do, Miss er ....’

‘Marielle will do just fine. Between friends.’

The way she said ‘friends’ made it sound to Hogarth’s ears like a great