Free Witch Is Why The Laughter Stopped (A Witch P.I. Mystery Book 14) by Adele Abbott Page A

because she had a meeting—a council meeting. Coincidence? I didn’t believe in them.
    I called Boris Froggatt.
    “You really must stop contacting me,” he said. “I’ve told you—I have Hector back.”
    “I’m sorry, Mr Froggatt, I just need you to answer one quick question, please. Are you by any chance on Washbridge Council?”
    “Yes. I have been for three years now.”
    “Thank you, Mr Froggatt. Thank you very much.”
     
    ***
     
    Jack was working late. He’d called during the day to say it would probably be close to midnight before he got in, so I’d arranged to go over to Kathy’s after work. When I arrived, Peter was there.
    “I didn’t expect you to be home yet, Peter.”
    “It makes such a difference having another employee. Now I’ve got Sebastian and Jethro, we’re getting through the work in a fraction of the time. Hopefully, this will become the norm.”
    “Speaking of Jethro, I mentioned to Jules that he might be interested in seeing her.”
    “What did she say?”
    “She was very excited, but I told her it was probably best to let him make the first approach—to play hard to get.”
    “Yeah.” Kathy nodded. “That’s what I always did.”
    Peter and I both stared at her, open-mouthed.
    “What? It’s true.”
    “I seem to remember you chased after me relentlessly until you wore me down, and I asked you out.” Peter grinned.
    “You never did have a particularly good memory.”
    “I don’t have Jules’s mobile phone number,” I said. “But you can give Jethro my office number; he can call her on that.”
     
    Kathy had prepared pizza and chips.
    “This is just what I needed, Kathy,” I said through a mouth full of pizza.
    “It was all I could be bothered with, to be honest. I’m shattered. You haven’t forgotten it’s my big day tomorrow, have you?”
    “Big day?”
    “I might have known you’d forget. It’s my first day presenting at Wool TV.”
    “Oh, yeah. So it is.”
    “You have to watch!”
    “I’ll be glued to the screen.” The truth was, gluing me to the screen would be the only way to get me to watch it. “What time does it go out?”
    “The live broadcast is at two o’clock in the afternoon.”
    “Oh dear! I’ll be working then.”
    “Don’t worry, it’s repeated three or four times during the day. It’ll be on in the evening, so check the listings and make sure you tune in. Get Jack to watch it too, and Mrs V and Jules.”
    “If I do that, it will double the audience figures.”
    “Cheek! I’ll have you know Wool TV has tens of thousands of viewers.”
    “Are you nervous?”
    “I’m absolutely terrified, but I’m excited as well. Who knows where it might lead? I could end up on national TV.”
    “Probably best to walk before you run.”
    “Is it time yet, Mummy?” Lizzie came running in. “Is it time?”
    Both kids were standing next to the table. They obviously had something on their minds.
    “I think so. Auntie Jill has more or less finished her dinner, haven’t you, Auntie Jill?”
    “Err—yeah.” What was going on?
    “Lizzie and Mikey have a little surprise for you.”
    “Oh?” I hated surprises.
    “You have to go with them, Auntie Jill.”
    “Right.”
    Lizzie grabbed one of my hands; Mikey grabbed the other. Between them, they led me to Mikey’s bedroom. As soon as I walked through the door, I saw the drum on the chest of drawers, and my heart sank.
    “I thought you kept your drums at TomTom, Mikey?”
    “I have to keep my main drum kit there. Mum and Dad won’t let me have it at home. But I still have my old drum here.”
    “So what’s this surprise you want to show me?”
    “Go and sit in the chair over there please, Auntie Jill,” Lizzie said, half pushing me towards the corner of the room. Then she stood next to Mikey who had put the drum around his neck.
    Oh, no! Please no! What had I done to deserve this?
    “One, two, three.” Lizzie counted them in.
    Mikey began to thump the drum, and Lizzie began