“Or maybe not.” I prodded Azureus’s body. It was warm. “He’s not been dead for long. If we can rouse Roland, he may have seen something. He may even know who the killer is, and you can catch them before they leave Crimson Cove.”

  “Or Roland is the killer,” Bertoli said. “He was caught red-handed, and he’s faking his faint while he gets his story together.”

  Nimbus hissed. “Untruths, you speak. Lies come from the mouth. Seal it shut, I shall.”

  Bertoli shrugged. “I’m going to see if there are any of those miniature sweet mushroom pies left. I had three earlier, and they were delicious.”

  “Get me one,” Cythera said. “And some of those truffles from the stall with the pink flag.”

  I stared at them in disbelief, although I shouldn’t be surprised by their nonchalant attitude toward a murder. Angel Force had barely been open these past few weeks. The angels were either on vacation or simply not turning up for work. I’d questioned Cythera about it several times, but she’d shooed me out of the office with plenty of rude gestures and insults.

  “Actually, I’ll come with you,” Cythera said. “Juno, you love to poke around in business that doesn’t concern you, so you can handle this, can’t you?”

  “It seems I have no choice.” My attention was already on the body, since it was clear I’d get little help from Angel Force to solve this crime. “Send me some backup, though. We’ll need to search for the murder weapon.”

  Cythera stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled. A few seconds later, two angels descended from the sky. She gave them their instructions and then walked off with Bertoli.

  I shook my head, not hiding my disappointment at such indifferent behavior. Just like so many other things in this town, Angel Force was broken. I instructed the newly arrived angels to look around for an obvious murder weapon. Whatever had been used to strangle Azureus would be long and thin. Perhaps a belt or a piece of rope.

  They wandered off, making a half-hearted effort to look around the area behind the marquee.

  Roland groaned, and his eyes flickered open. “What happened?”

  I stayed where I was, aware Nimbus would strike if I made any move she considered inappropriate. “If I’m interpreting the scene correctly, you found Azureus’s body, and then you fainted.”

  Roland jerked upright, one hand going around Nimbus so she didn’t fall off him. “Azureus! How is he?”

  “Very much dead,” I said.

  Roland blinked rapidly, his breathing growing so shallow, I feared he might faint again.

  “Take some deep breaths. You’ve had a shock. But I need to know what happened.”

  Roland settled Nimbus on his shoulders. His gaze darted to Azureus’s body, and he looked away. “This is terrible. I thought I’d had a nightmare. This can’t be happening.”

  “It is. What can you tell me?” I asked.

  Roland did more deep breathing. “I was winding up the festival. I had a few jobs to tick off my list, which included going around the stalls and marquees, making sure everything was tidy, and seeing if the stallholders needed anything for tomorrow. I was checking back here to make sure nothing had been left unattended that could get damaged. That’s when I almost tripped over the... the body.”

  “You were together when this happened?” I addressed the question to Roland and Nimbus.

  Roland nodded. “We’re never apart. We’ve been working hard all day. I was exhausted and looking forward to a good night’s rest. Now, I don’t think I’ll get a wink of sleep. I’ll keep seeing this horrible scene.”

  “Better Azureus was found now than his body left here overnight,” I said. “And from what I’ve observed, this has only just happened. What did you see when you found him?”

  Roland shuddered. “Nothing! I’d just gotten here when you arrived with Sage. The next thing, I’m waking up on the ground. I’m so embarrassed to have fainted. Some use I am.”

  “It’s not uncommon,” I said. “Most people never get to see a dead body. They should be grateful for that.”

  “It’s not something I ever want to see again.” Roland found courage and finally looked at Azureus. Tears filled his eyes.

  “Did you see anyone running away as you got here?” I asked.

  “Running away? Why would they do that?”

  “Because Azureus was murdered,” I said. “It looks likely he was strangled. There are marks around his neck.”

  “Oh, dear. I need to lie down.” Roland sank into the dirt, making Nimbus scuttle off his shoulders and settle on his chest. “Who would want Azureus dead? He was so popular.”

  “That’s for me to find out,” I said. “And Cythera has put me in charge of the investigation since she’s more interested in buying truffles than solving crimes.”

  “There are excellent truffle sellers here,” Roland murmured. “What a mess. Have I already said that? But it is. My first fully fledged mushroom festival and someone dies. Worse, they’re murdered! And I find the body.”

  “Azureus was something special in your community, wasn’t he?” I asked. “I heard his talk this evening, and I was impressed. He seemed to know everything about fungi.”

  “Oh, yes. He was the best in the business. So clever and knowledgeable. But more than that, he had a wonderful way of telling a story. He could make the driest facts sound fascinating. That’s why I asked him to come to the festival. I wanted everyone to become as enthralled with fungi as I am.”

  “His talk opened my eyes,” I said. “I won’t look at the humble mushroom quite the same way ever again.”

  “Then at least I achieved my goal with one person,” Roland said. “Well, cat. Are you really sure his death wasn’t an accident? Perhaps he got tangled in a marquee rope and injured himself.”

  “If that happened, the rope would still be around Azureus’s neck.” I looked over at the angels to see if they’d made progress with finding the murder weapon. They’d stopped searching and were joking with each other. “As you can see, there’s no sign of any rope or belt that could have done this to Azureus. Can you think of anyone who had a grudge against him?”

  Roland sat up again, and Nimbus returned to sitting on his shoulders. “When you’re at the top of your game, you can put noses out of joint. Professional jealousy is real in our community.”

  “I never thought about fungi making people passionate,” I said. “There were other experts who didn’t like Azureus?”

  “Yes, there was bad blood,” Roland said after a few seconds of hesitation. “People get obsessed about fungi.”

  “Is there anyone at this festival who didn’t like Azureus?”

  Roland considered the question as he gently petted Nimbus. “Well, there’s Gilly Piper. Have you met him?”

  “Briefly. When we first got to the festival, he overheard our conversation and pointed out a few of the key figures.”

  “They’ve argued on and off for years,” Roland said. “The last argument was over a specific fungus classification. Azureus believed the new fungus found should be under one classification, and Gilly believed it should be another. They even wrote papers attempting to disprove the other’s theory. It was an intense debate. Voices were raised on several occasions.”

  I turned to share an amused look with Zandra, but then remembered she wasn’t there. “Would that be something Gilly would kill Azureus over?”

  Roland brushed dried mud off his elbow. “I couldn’t say. Perhaps. And Gilly covets Azureus’s position. Maybe something inside him snapped. Or Azureus goaded Gilly, and he reacted in this terrible way.”

  “Have you seen them arguing at this festival?”

  “No, but I’ve been busy. I haven’t stood still for more than a few seconds. They could have come to blows, and I missed the whole thing.”

  “Nimbus, did you see anything?” I asked.

  “I see what Roland sees. Nothing more. Always together, we are.”

  That was an unhelpful reply. “You should get home,” I said to Roland. “You’ve had a shock, so take it easy for the rest of the night.”

  “I do feel lightheaded,” Roland said. “But I must be well for tomorrow. We have another sold-out day ahead of us.”

  “I’m not sure the angels will allow the festival to continue, given someone was murdered,” I said. “We’ll have to do a full investigation. Currently, we’re sitting in the middle of a crime scene.”

  “Oh! I hadn’t thought about that.” Roland lifted a shaky hand to his mouth. “I hope they let it go ahead. Everyone’s had such a wonderful time.”

  “Apart from Azureus,” I said.

  Nimbus hissed at me. “Festival, we will have. Keep nose out, you will. If not, be bitten off.”

  “It’s okay, Nimbus. I’ll find Cythera and see what she thinks,” Roland said. “You don’t mind, do you, Juno? Azureus would want this event to continue. He loved fungi as much as I do, and he wouldn’t want everyone’s fun to stop because of this tragedy.”

  “If Cythera says it’s fine, I won’t stop you,” I said.

  Roland got to his feet. He wobbled for a few seconds but stayed upright. He dabbed away a tear that trickled down his cheek. “I’m sorry about Azureus. I deeply admired his work. I hope you catch whoever did this.”

  “I’ll be in touch if I have more questions,” I said.

  “I’ll do everything I can to help you. Come along, Nimbus. We’ll find Cythera, then it’s straight to bed for us.”

  “Good luck with that.” The angels Cythera had sent were already gone, and I had little hope of Cythera or Bertoli returning to see how things were going. I was solving this murder without their help.

  Chapter 5

  Clues and suspects

  My head jerked off the pillow, and I saw the empty spot where Zandra should have been resting. Although this bed was comfortable, and I had all the space I could desire and my pillow of choice, I’d give it all up to have Zandra back, snoring beside me, her hair a tangled bird’s nest around her head. This basement wasn’t the same without her, and neither was I.

  I stretched and jumped off the bed. I needed to focus on finding my witch, not solving a murder. But every avenue I’d tried had failed. At least this murder felt like I could get my claws into it and grill some suspects.

  I headed up the basement steps and into the kitchen. Sage was sprawled on the prickly mat by the back door, her fur unwashed and her eyes crusty with sleep.

  She barely lifted her head to acknowledge me. “I survived the night.”

  “I’m happy you did,” I said.

  “I wish I hadn’t. All hope is lost.”

  I gently dabbed her with a paw. “Pull yourself together. We have a mission to focus on.”

  “I refuse to get involved in one of your stupid kitten impossible missions,” Sage said. “It’ll end in disaster for me. Remember, I have experience.”

  “Disasters never happen on my missions. Especially not to you.”

  “Only because I refuse to take part in them.”

  “And by doing so, you miss out on the fun.”

  “I’ve heard what goes on from the others. You insist on playing the heroine, and then chaos ensues, usually whacking into everyone else.”

  “There’s only ever a dash of chaos.” I nudged Sage again when she shut her eyes. “We must do this. Angel Force is useless, so we’re in charge of finding out what happened to Azureus.”

  “Why bother?” Sage asked. “It’s not as if we knew him.”

  “That’s hardly the attitude,” I said. “We need Crimson Cove safe and back to normal for when Zandra and Vorana come home.”

  “Remind me again, when is that happening?” Sage flopped onto her side and heaved out a sigh. “We’ve tried everything to get them back. Nothing works. And I don’t work without Vorana with me. I feel stodgy and slow.”

  “You may be misshapen without her, but you’re doing fine.” I settled on the edge of the prickly mat. It did have a certain delightful quality under paw.

  “I’m not fine! I’m giving up. As of today, I’m going on a hunger strike. I’m not eating until Vorana comes home. And if she doesn’t...” The rest was left unsaid, but I understood the lingering warning.

  “None of that. When Vorana returns, she won’t want you an emaciated mess that needs caring for. You have to show her how robust you are.”

  “I’m not robust. And I miss being carried in my papoose.” Sage slid me some side-eye. “Do you really think Zandra and Vorana will come home?”

  “They’re coming back. I’m sure of it. Whatever is going on, it’s out of their control and therefore ours. As frustrating as the situation is, we need to focus on what we can control.”

  “Which is nothing!”

  “We focus on keeping our heads up and solving this murder. Finding a killer gives us a useful purpose.”

  “I still don’t get why you can’t leave it to Angel Force,” Sage said. “Given the mood Cythera is in, she won’t want us poking around and making her look like an idiot when we find the killer.”

  “She handed me the case. And you saw what the angels were like yesterday. They’re uninterested in figuring out this crime. They disturbed evidence, abandoned the crime scene, and forgot the body. I had to go back and move Azureus to the morgue. It was as if they’d forgotten they’re in charge of law and order.”

  Sage grunted out her displeasure then gave a small nod. “They have been acting strangely. Just like everybody else.”

  “Almost everybody else,” I said. “We’re fine.”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why do we seem normal when everyone else is so altered and odd?” Sage lifted herself up and shook out her clumpy fur. “Something is spreading through Crimson Cove and making people act strangely, but it’s ignoring us.”

  “If that’s the case, I’m happy it is,” I said. “If our heads were as befuddled as everybody else’s, we’d have no interest in finding our lost witches or solving this crime. Zandra and Vorana will be so proud of us if we figure out this mystery. Not just the murder, but why Crimson Cove has been tainted by strangeness.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” Sage said. “After all, Zandra stole your magic stones.”

  “There’s no evidence of that.”

  “Show me the stones.”

  I quietly hissed at her. “If Zandra took them, it was a mistake. She must have grabbed them when she was hurrying to pack.” At least, I hoped that was the truth. If Zandra knew how much power was in those stones and used it, it wouldn’t end well for her. Or me. “Let’s team up and do this together. Two fluffy heads are better than one.”

  “You’ve not seen the inside of my head,” Sage groused. “But you won’t leave me alone until I agree to help, will you?”

  “Sadly for you, no. We’re partners. We’ll solve Azureus’s murder and figure out what’s gone wrong with Crimson Cove. One mystery at a time.”

  Sage closed her eyes. “What do I have to do?”

  “Forage for breakfast in the pantry. Then you need to groom, since you smell like a decaying toad. After that, we’ll go to Angel Force and see if they’ve made progress overnight.”

  “Some hope of that,” Sage said.

  “I always have hope. Even if it’s only a tiny amount. Hope keeps me going.”

  Half an hour later, we were on the road. Literally trotting along the center of the street. It was quiet, but it was early, so I didn’t expect to see many people around. We arrived at Angel Force to find the main doors locked.

  “They should be open,” Sage said. “Don’t they always have at least one angel on duty in case of an emergency?”

  I rested my front paws on a window ledge and peered through. “There are no signs of life inside. And you’re right. An angel always stays behind when the others are out on calls.”

  “They’re probably still in bed after partying at the toadstool event,” Sage said.

  “Mushroom festival.” Angel Force may not always be effective at solving crimes, but they stick to the rules. At least, they used to. “Let’s try around the back. A window may have been left open, so we can get in that way.”

  We tested all the doors and windows, but there was no way in. And every time we looked inside, there was no movement. The angels had deserted their posts.

  “We have to get in,” I said. “I want to examine Azureus’s body, and we need to check on Adrienne and Joel. I only glimpsed them last night after everything that happened, and I want to make sure the angels are looking after them properly. If no angel has been in all night, they’ll be starving.”

  “Which will make them even meaner. I’ll get us inside. Stand back.” Sage pressed a paw to the back door we stood beside. It quivered under her magic and imploded, leaving behind a scatter of wood chips and ash.

  “Impressive. Where did you learn that trick?”

  “I’m channeling my inner despair,” Sage said. “I have an endless supply. You can have some if you like.”

  “You keep your despair to yourself.” Even though I was putting on a brave face, there was a part of me that wanted to curl up into a ball and never move again. I still had my connection to Zandra, but without her by my side, everything felt wrong. But I was determined not to let it beat me. And I refused to consider the possibility I may never see her again.

  “We’ll go to the cells first,” I said. “Then we’ll look at Azureus’s body.”

  As soon as we got into the cell corridor, snarls and growls filled the air. Adrienne and Joel were awake.

  “At least they’re still alive,” Sage muttered. “Well, as alive as ghouls can be.”

  “And still angry.” I stopped outside the cell they were in. Adrienne and Joel rampaged about, snarling and snapping at nothing in particular, grabbing at imaginary things in front of them and chewing as if they were eating something.

  “Greetings,” I said.

  Their heads whipped around, and they lunged. The cell bars and magic wards prevented them from touching us, and they bounced harmlessly off the magic.

  “I hope you had a restful night,” I said. “Although if you’ve been pacing like that for hours, you must be exhausted.”

 

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