conclusions! I did see someone leaving the burning warehouse, but it was a lady. She ran out and slammed the door. I thought sheâd gone to raise the alarm.â
This wasnât the same woman that Ruth had discovered half-drowned. The one running away was blonde. So, there were
two
women in the warehouse.
âBut no man?â
âNot that I saw. But as I got closer to the building, I thought I heard a baby cry. It might have been a cat, but I couldnât see for the smoke.â
Ruth had run to nearest phone box but when she got there, it had been vandalized. It was Sunday, none of the shops were open but, finally, sheâd found a café and persuaded the owner to call the fire brigade. Unfortunately, by the time they arrived there was nothing left to save; everything had turned to ashes.
âAll they found was a silver rattle.â
The rattle might have belonged to a baby who had grown up and moved out years before there was a fire. Or maybe there was no baby. Maybe Ruth
had
heard a cat.
âMaybe, dear.â
The witchâs expression changes subtly â for a second, she averts her gaze like someone whoâs said too much. Most of us would have missed this little nuance, but not Sam.
â
Why
donât you think it was a cat, Ruth?â
The soup works both ways. The witch, who has kept this secret for so long, finally spills.
âI met someone who recognized the rattle. Sometime after the fire, I found a young man standing in the dark, just as I found you. I didnât approach him. I just busied myself with my basket. Such a handsome man, so elegant, soââ
âSo what did he say? Iâd have said something if a witch was hovering.â
Ruth purses her lips. âI wasnât
hovering
, I was being patient. Mindful of his privacy. Itâs a gift, is patience!â She snatches Samâs bowl and disappears into the kitchen to wash it up. Finally, she returns.
âHe asked about the fire. How it had happened. Heâd been in Scotland at a wedding. Heâd come to collect his baby from someone in the warehouse. Theyâd promised to look after her until he came back. He had no idea everything had gone up in smoke.â
Ruth had been right; there had been a baby in the warehouse and the manâs eyes had filled with unspeakable anguish as he forced himself to ask, âDid anyone survive?â When he heard that a blonde woman was spotted running from the scene, his eyes flashed and he said, âIf only
sheâd
been in the box instead!â
It may seem like a mad thing to say, but it wasnât, as youâll discover. When he learnt about the other woman â the dark one â heâd smiled hopefully and asked. âThe lady you rescued from the wharf â is she all right?â
The witch couldnât say; the woman had lost her memory and disappeared without trace. If she
had
tried to rescue the baby, there was no sign of it; there was no little body in the wharf. Was there any chance that the blonde woman had the baby in her arms?
No, all that remained was the silver rattle. The man had asked to see it. He insisted, in case it didnât belong to his baby. Sadly, he recognized it immediately, held it to his chest and roared like a wounded animal.
âHis heart was broken,â sighs Ruth Abafey. âMore soup, dear?â
Sam shakes her head. Sheâs trying to make sense of the facts. If the woman who jumped into the wharf from the burning warehouse was Kitty and sheâd been looking after the manâs baby, that man had to be her father. Sam leaps out of her chair.
â
I
was the baby in the fire, wasnât I?â
Ruth hides a knowing smile behind her hand. Sam doesnât need to see it; she knows sheâs right.
âBut how did I survive?â
âMore soup!â insists the witch.
Here is why John Tabuh never came back for Sam; I am the Masked Magician and it falls upon me to
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley