“Jemima! I was just thinking about you. I heard what happened. I’m so sorry.”

  Of course, I had the rapt attention of everyone at the table now. I could feel them all staring at me—Olivia with general curiosity, William with what looked like hope that Jemima could help us solve this thing, and Rafe with consternation.

  He was already shaking his head at me when she said, “Look, it’s ghastly here. The police are crawling all over my house. I don’t know what to do with myself. Could we go somewhere and talk?”

  I could imagine how awful it was for her. “I completely understand. I want to talk to you too and go over everything that happened last night.”

  “Exactly. All my other friends will be plucking at me and wanting to know all the details that I don’t want to talk about. You were there. I don’t have to fill you in on anything.”

  Okay, not exactly the comforting sharing of information that I had hoped for, but oddly, I did understand what she meant. Plus, from her perspective, the fact that I wasn’t a close friend of Felicity meant I wouldn’t be able to reminisce about our shared childhoods and school days and make her sad. My reminiscences were scanty, to say the least.

  Even if Rafe hadn’t been horrified at the thought of me and Jemima getting together, I wasn’t completely stupid. I wouldn’t invite her to my flat, say, where we’d be all alone. She must be one of the top suspects because of the circumstances of her friend’s death. I didn’t think she’d killed her friend, but I wouldn’t be hanging out with her in dark alleys, either.

  She said, “I’ll meet you anywhere. Just, please, nowhere the press are likely to find us.”

  I thought for a second and then said, “I know the perfect spot. Elderflower Tea Shop. It’s right beside Cardinal Woolsey’s on Harrington Street. It’s tucked away. No one would think to look for you there.”

  “What about the owner? Might they call the press just to get their establishment’s name in the newspaper?”

  Wow, that was cynical. She definitely moved in a different circle than I did. Or the Miss Watts. I reassured her that Florence and Mary Watt were in their eighties and much more interested in whether today’s scones were as light and fluffy as yesterday’s scones than they were in the local news.

  “Very well. I’ll meet you there in an hour.”

  “Perfect. See you then.”

  I hung up, and Rafe immediately exploded. “Are you insane? You can’t meet that woman.”

  “We won’t be alone. You heard me. We’re meeting at Elderflower. There will be loads of people there.”

  He was looking at me through narrowed eyes. “It’s my belief you used your magic to cause her to phone you.”

  “Nope. She really did want to talk to me.”

  “Just so long as she’s not some peculiar serial killer who likes to do away with young blondes who are her competition.”

  I shook my head. “That theory doesn’t really hold water. She and Felicity were friends. If she were so jealous, she wouldn’t have gone drinking with her so often and had her to stay at her house.”

  “Still, I don’t like it.”

  I narrowed my gaze at him and leaned over so that for once I was towering above him, since he was still sitting down and I was standing up. “Do not even think about following me to the tea shop.” I could see he planned on it. I raised my finger and wagged it at him. “I’m serious. I do not want to see you there.”

  William said, “You can’t go anyway, Rafe. Jemima Taft will recognize you. Remember, we met here when she was planning her dinner.”

  He looked quite put out. “Very well. Then Olivia must go.” Olivia jumped in her seat, obviously not having expected to hear her name.

  “Me?”

  “Jemima Taft doesn’t know you, does she?”

  “No,” William said. “That’s a good idea. Olivia and I have always dealt with different financial advisors. It seemed more prudent. And you weren’t in the house when Jemima came to arrange the dinner.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter,” I exclaimed.

  “Please, don’t make me more worried than I already am,” Rafe said.

  “Fine. But be discreet. She’s already paranoid that reporters are following her. If you seem too interested in us, she’ll bolt.”

  “I understand. I’ll sit far away from you and…” She turned to Rafe. “I’m not sure what I am supposed to do?”

  “Keep an eye on them. If Lucy appears to be in any danger, call me immediately.”

  “Or the police,” I added.

  “I’ll get there sooner,” he countered.

  That ended the argument because I knew he was right.

  Chapter 21

  I headed back to my shop. That is to say, I drove up, parked my little red car around the back of the building, and then I walked back around to the front so I could peek in the shop window. As I had imagined, Clara and Mabel had things well under control.

  There were three customers in Cardinal Woolsey’s. Mabel had one, Clara had another, and the third seemed perfectly happy browsing crochet cottons.

  The two vampires would be full of news when we met up tonight for the knitting club. The only downside was my grandmother would feel left out. I knew it was hard for her that she, who had built Cardinal Woolsey’s from nothing and loved it as much as I did, could never help out while her other undead friends could.

  One of these days, Gran would find a new place to live and perhaps open another knitting shop. Somewhere she wasn’t known. Mostly she stayed in Oxford for me, and for now that suited both of us.

  Knowing things in Cardinal Woolsey’s were well under control, I walked back around the building and entered my flat from the main door. Up one set of stairs and I was in the main living area and kitchen floor. Nyx seemed gratifyingly glad to see me. I was half tempted to open the door between my flat and the shop so she could enjoy her customary spot in the front window, but if I did that, then Mabel and Clara would know I was up here, and I needed a little time to myself to make sense of things.

  Felicity Stevens was dead, and I was one of the last people who’d seen her alive. It was shocking. A little bit frightening. At least the hex hadn’t killed her. But then what, or who, had?

  I fed Nyx, and we spent some time commiserating with each other about yet another murder. For two such peaceable creatures, Nyx and I seemed to be embroiled in a lot of unpleasantness. I suspected she blamed me. I suspected she was right.

  While I was alone, I also took some quiet time to center myself and recite a spell of protection. That helped. I knew I was meeting the woman who could turn out to be Felicity’s killer. My instinct told me it wasn’t her, but my instincts weren’t infallible.

  However, I wasn’t a complete fool. Jemima didn’t know I was a witch. I had powers. And I was on my guard. Besides, why would she want to hurt me? But then why would anyone have wanted to harm Felicity? The whole thing didn’t make any sense.

  I’d discovered in the past, though, that what was incomprehensible to begin with became clear by asking the right questions and separating truth from lie, fact from fiction, misdirection from truth. I’d start with Jemima Taft.

  Why was she really meeting me? Perhaps she had misdirection in mind. I’d need to listen carefully, not only to what she did say but what she didn’t.

  I headed back out in time to meet Jemima at the tea shop and found her standing outside the door to Elderflower. She was wearing a long, black wool coat and a black woolen hat. It wasn’t very busy on a late January afternoon, but a few shoppers were about, and students often walked down this street. I found her scrutinizing Elderflower’s menu, though it was obviously an excuse to keep her face averted from passersby.

  “Jemima,” I said softly.

  She turned. “Lucy, I’m so glad you came. Thank you.” She looked a little pale but otherwise her usual impeccable self.

  “Of course. I really wanted to talk to you as well.” I made a motion to go into the tea shop, and she grabbed my wrist.

  “Could we go for a walk or something? I look so dreadful today. I don’t feel up to being seen in any sort of public venue, even as insignificant as a tea shop.”

  The Miss Watts might not feel that their tea shop was quite as inconsequential as she seemed to think. Besides, Olivia was supposed to keep an eye on me. She couldn’t very well do that if I didn’t turn up.

  I looked at Jemima, but she looked better than me on my best day.

  “You look beautiful,” I said.

  “Please.” She glanced up and down the street as though afraid she might be overheard. “I’ve had nothing but police and comings and goings and noise all day.”

  Not to mention her best friend murdered in her house, which weirdly seemed to bother her less than that her day had been interrupted by the cops.

  “Sure. Let’s go for a walk.”

  I needed to let Olivia know that I wouldn’t be turning up or there’d be a vampire search party prowling all over Oxford for me. I told Jemima that the ladies who owned Elderflower were friends of mine, which was true, and that I’d asked them to save us a table, which wasn’t. “I don’t like to let them hold one of their best tables if we’re not going to use it. I’ll just run up and tell them we won’t be needing it.”

  Not waiting for her to give me an answer, I went into the tea shop, and fortunately Mary Watt was seating people today. She looked delighted to see me, as she always did.

  “Lucy. What a delightful surprise.”

  I felt awful. I’d have loved to stay. The smell of baking made me hungry. “I’m so sorry. I had planned to bring a friend here. But she’s not feeling well, so we’re going to go for a walk.”

  She looked a bit puzzled. “All right, dear. Of course.”

  “The thing is, a woman named Olivia will be arriving very soon. Could you let her know that my friend wasn’t feeling well and we’ve gone for a walk?”

  “Of course.”

  I turned away and all but bumped into Olivia, who’d come in behind me. Quickly I explained the situation to her. And we stood there, both uncertain what to do next. She said, “That’s awkward. Couldn’t you talk Jemima Taft into staying?”

  I shook my head. “She’s feeling really shaken up from the morning. Says she wants to stretch her legs and get some air. Look, nothing is going to happen to me in broad daylight walking with a friend. Rafe’s completely overprotective.”

  “He may be, but he’s also my employer, and he gave me very strict instructions not to let you out of my sight.”

  I let out an infuriated breath. Not my first where Rafe was concerned, and almost undoubtedly, it wouldn’t be my last. “I take full responsibility for my own safety. Perhaps you could remind your employer that I am an independent adult.”

  She looked amused. “I don’t think it’ll do any good. Not where you’re concerned.”

  I was so shocked, my mouth fell open. “What? Because he thinks I’m a child? Incompetent?”

  “No, silly. Because he’s in love with you.”

  Well, that shut me up, didn’t it?

  But not for long. “I don’t care what you tell him. Just don’t follow me.”

  “I don’t think I’d be very good at surveillance. I’m a gardener. This cloak and dagger stuff makes me nervous. Besides, the weeping willows at Crosyer Manor need their lower branches trimming. I always do it at this time of year.” That seemed to decide her on abandoning her post as my bodyguard.

  I went back outside and found Jemima had slipped a pair of sunglasses on. It wasn’t sunny. Was she trying to disguise her appearance?

  We headed off towards University Parks, a large green space with playing fields, gardens and running and walking paths that wound through the gardens and followed the path of the Cherwell River. Between watching out for bicycles, other pedestrians and traffic, we kept our conversation to the merest pleasantries until we were through the gate and on one of the paths.

  Jemima burst out, “It’s been absolutely ghastly today.”

  My heart stirred in sympathy. “It must have been awful. Was it you who found her?” I knew it wasn’t, but I didn’t want her to suspect I had a secret source of information. She was freaking out as it was.

  She shook her head. “Actually, it was my cleaning staff. They come in once a week. I often leave Felicity sleeping when she’s stayed the night. I like to be at work early, and she preferred to sleep in.”

  “Did she have a key?”

  “Oh yes.”

  “What time did you leave this morning?”

  “About half past six.”

  She’d left the house at six-thirty? She hadn’t even arrived home until after midnight last night. The woman must need very little sleep. “And you didn’t see Felicity before you left or hear her?”

  She shook her head. “No. I assumed she was sleeping.” Her face twisted in. “But now, I imagine she was already dead.”

  “And you never heard anything in the night?”

  A couple walking their dog came towards us, and she waited until after they’d passed and we were out of earshot. “I did hear something. I think she was on the phone. That was shortly after we got home. I hadn’t gone up to bed yet. I was getting some water, and she was already in her room.”

  “But that could have been her murderer. Did you hear what she said? Any idea who it was?”

  She turned to look at me. “I think it was William.”

  I wanted to yell no. William hadn’t killed Felicity. He wouldn’t kill anyone. It was rather unfortunate that she’d called him, though. “And you told the police this?”

  She hesitated. “No. I didn’t.”

  “But you have to. We both know William wouldn’t hurt a fly. But if you heard him on the phone with Felicity and don’t say anything, it seems as though you think he could have hurt her.”

  While I was speaking, her eyes went hard. “William Thresher is a client, and my clients are everything to me. They come to me for my loyalty and discretion. I would never betray one of them. Anyway, I couldn’t be absolutely positive it was William I heard her speaking to. You saw the condition she was in last night. She was slurring her words and talking rubbish.”

  There was that.

  “And in any case, the police will no doubt access her mobile phone records and find out for themselves who she called.”

  She was right. The police would soon discover who Felicity had phoned late last night. Besides, William hadn’t said anything about a call, so it couldn’t have been him on the phone.

  Instead of wasting time on a fruitless argument, I decided to ask what had happened after I’d last seen the two of them. She seemed quite happy to talk about that. “After your driver dropped you and Felicity off, you went into the house. Did you see anyone? Hear anything?”

  There was a spurt of laughter that she quickly cut off, probably because it was inappropriate. “You saw the state Felicity was in. Swaying and so drunk she couldn’t even walk properly. I certainly didn’t have any attention to spare for looking around the garden. No. I didn’t see anyone.”

  Then she looked over at me. “Did you?”

  I shook my head. “It was the same for me. I was watching to make sure you both got into the house all right. And then your driver kindly dropped me off home.”

  “Dick’s paid to do what I tell him to,” she reminded me.

  We walked on, and she let out a sound of frustration. “This couldn’t happen at a worse time. I’m working flat out. I’ve got a very delicate deal closing.”

  Was she seriously thinking that her friend’s murder was an inconvenience to her business?

  I tried to go easy on her, knowing that shock and stress didn’t necessarily bring out the best in people. No doubt thoughts she’d have normally kept in her head were popping out of her mouth unbidden.

  “You were her best friend. Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt Felicity?”

  “Obviously not. The police have asked me the same thing.”

  “What about her former employer? The art gallery owner who was inappropriate? She told me the whole story last night when you were at dinner.”

  For three or four steps, she didn’t say a word. We were getting close to the river now, and I glimpsed a swan gliding past, white and serene.

  “I’m not entirely sure we got the full story there,” she said at last. “Obviously, she was my friend, and I’m gutted that she’s dead, but Felicity wasn’t always truthful about things.”

  “Oh.” Somehow this didn’t surprise me.

  “I think it’s possible she was the one who was inappropriate. Peter Bedworth is very rich, you see.”

  “Her former employer?”

  “Yes. Felicity has—had—an obsession about marrying a wealthy man. It was very sad. She had all the benefits of a top education and mixing with a certain class of people, but really the family didn’t have the money to support the lifestyle she learned to believe should be hers. She wanted it very badly.”

  We’d reached the river now and turned to follow along its banks. “I noticed whenever I saw you two together that she was, well, frankly, I thought she was trying to be you. And not quite succeeding.”

  “They do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I suppose she’s flattered me as long as I’ve known her. We’d been friends since boarding school, you see.”

  “Could Peter Bedworth have hurt Felicity?”

  She seemed to consider my words. “I suppose it’s possible. I wouldn’t have said he’d want to get rid of her permanently though. He let her go from her job, paid her a decent severance. Why would he?”

  “What if she wasn’t finished with him?” I was thinking hard. “Could it have been Peter Bedworth you heard on the phone last night? Maybe she called him to tell him she wanted a bigger severance package?”

  “You’ve got a suspicious mind.”

  “Someone killed Felicity,” I reminded her.

  She put her hands out. “Don’t you think I’ve been trying to work out who could have murdered my friend? I’m wondering about my house cleaners. What if they were nicking things in my home and Felicity surprised them? Might they kill her?”

 

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