Read Online 1 Witchy Business by Eve Paludan, Stuart Sharp - Free Book Online

before Dougie decided to get over his fear. I walked away quickly, trying not to run. I could feel the aftermath of even a short fight like that coming down on me as I walked back, the natural climb down of adrenaline soon replaced by all the emotions that came in the wake of its passing. All the what-ifs. What if things had gone differently? What if Siobhan’s boyfriend had brought a weapon?
    I needed to get a grip. I’d already slipped enough, shoving fear emotions into Dougie. I controlled my emotions. They didn’t control me. And just to prove it, I wouldn’t be slinking back home to feel sorry for myself and eat ice cream out of the carton. I had a job to do, and since I was practically at Niall’s house, I might as well do it.
    Kelly the housekeeper let me in. Apparently, she’d had orders to do just that, and to help me in any way she could. This turned out to be through the medium of coffee, mostly, while I stared at the blank space where the Escher woodcut block had been, paced the length of the room and checked the security arrangements, making mental notes as I went.
    “Have you worked for Mr. Sampson very long?” I asked her.
    “About a year now. He’s a very good employer.”
    Well, she wasn’t about to say anything else, was she? In any case, what did I want her to say? The answer to that was obvious. I wanted some kind of clue as to what Rebecca and Evert were doing out there. It wasn’t the only reason I was there, I did want to find out how someone could have broken in, but it was a part of it.
    I tried asking the housekeeper about Niall and his work, pushing her gently to try to get her to open up. Even with a little brush of power though, there was only so much she seemed to know. Her job was to keep house—cook, clean and organize household things—and that was it. I asked if there had been anyone who had shown an interest in that particular piece of work, or if he had any business rivals who might want to do something like this. Both times, the answer was no. Then she said that she had to get on with preparing dinner if that was okay, although she did ask if I wanted anything.
    “I should get started then. He will be here soon. Although I imagine it will go to waste.”
    I didn’t know what she meant by that, but it didn’t matter. I had more measurements to take, more angles to check, more scenarios to imagine. If I could just work out how the crime had been committed, the “who” might get a lot easier.
    I could feel the change in the house when Niall walked in. I hadn’t heard him return, but there was something about the atmosphere that was just different. Better, safer somehow. The house felt right once he was in it. Plus, of course, there was the emotional backwash of his presence.
    “Hello, there,” he said with pleased surprise in his eyes that I was there. “I trust that Kelly has been looking after you?”
    “Yes. She’s wonderful. She and I had a chat about the case and then she had to go and start dinner.”
    It was hard to take my eyes off him now that he was in the room. That classic face, those blue eyes and golden hair. I was unable to stop staring and he knew it, I was sure. He didn’t seem to mind though.
    Focus, I told myself.
    “I was trying to establish how the thief or thieves might have broken in and had asked Kelly for some ideas. She came up blank, though. She knows almost nothing about your security.”
    “That’s because it is not her job to know. Only to keep things locked up and unlock them the way she has been instructed. She makes a wonderful Beef Wellington, however.”
    I smiled.
    Niall looked thoughtful. “Will that help to catch them? To know how they might have gotten in past our security protocols?”
    “It might,” I said. In particular, it might help with one possibility. The possibility of an inside job, but I couldn’t tell him I thought that. Not until I was certain. “Tell me, Niall, how much do you trust your