‘My phone was broken and out of battery.’ Beth said from between gritted teeth. She fished the device from her handbag and held it up.
‘And we don’t have a landline at the house.’ Jonan’s voice was hard now, his pretence at cool gone. ‘Doriel’s phone was at the shop being fixed. I took it in myself.’ He fished in his pocket, pulled out his wallet and handed over a slip of pink card.
‘Can I take this? I need to verify it.’
‘And then you’ll return it?’ Jonan raised his eyebrows and held the DC’s gaze. ‘Doriel won’t be happy if she doesn’t get it back.’
‘I suggest we focus on getting her back first,’ DC Ainsworth said, standing up. ‘If appropriate, once the phone has been properly examined, it will be returned to her, or to you.’ There was a faint smile at the edges of his lips now. Beth had the odd sensation that he counted that as a win.
‘I will check your alibi, of course, but it would be best if you both stayed away from Ms Faustus for now.’
‘I can’t.’ Beth sighed. ‘I’m helping her with an event tonight.’
‘Tonight?’ Jonan asked. His eyes flashed purple, and then turned back to their normal blue.
Beth nodded. ‘She’s changed the date.’
‘You’re going to the charity gala?’ DC Ainsworth frowned.
‘I organised the charity gala. I work for an events company,’ Beth said, not even trying to keep the exhaustion from her voice. ‘Have we finished here, Detective? I need to get ready for work.’
‘We’ve finished for now, but please don’t leave the area, and keep an eye on your phone. I will have more questions. It goes without saying that if you hear from Doriel or Bill I would like to hear about it right away.’
‘Right away.’ Jonan nodded. ‘Let me show you out.’
He nodded and followed Jonan out into the hall.
Beth slumped onto the sofa, dropping her head into her hands. It was pounding. Her eyelids were so heavy, but when she allowed them to close the world started spinning. Beth forced herself off of the sofa and opened the window, breathing in the cold, crisp air.
‘He’s gone.’
She turned around. Jonan was standing in the doorway, face pale, hands shoved in his pockets. His protections were down now, his ears pointed and eyes a deep purple. ‘Any idea why she’s pushed the event forwards?’
‘I don’t know, but apparently all the guests are able to come, even at this short notice. How unlikely is that? Oh, and Laura’s still here.’
‘Did I hear my name?’ Laura’s voice called from the other room. ‘Has the policeman gone yet?’
‘He has, and I’m going too,’ Beth said, grabbing her coat from the back of a dining chair and heading for the door. ‘See you later.’
‘But, Beth…’ Laura stood in her doorway, one shoe on, the other in her hand. ‘We need to talk.’
‘Not now. I have to get to work.’ Beth held the door open for Jonan, ducked through after him, and then closed it before Laura could say any more.
Jonan led the way down the stairs, and then held the door open for Beth. ‘We always planned to deal with the monks before we got to this point. We’ve missed our chance now, but I think that together we could do something to mitigate Amelia’s manipulation of the energy. Is there anything you could hire me to do so I have an excuse to be there?’
‘You could work behind the bar, but what about looking for Doriel?’
‘Whoever is behind Doriel’s disappearance, I’m convinced the key to finding them lies in Amelia’s plans.’
Beth’s phone rang again. ‘Charlie.’ She sighed. ‘Yes, okay. I’m coming in.’
THE OFFICE WAS sinking under piles of paper. There were lists, forms and contracts everywhere. Charlie was speaking on the phone, his voice thrumming out a staccato rhythm that set Beth’s nerves jangling.
She waited for him to put the phone down.
‘Thank god you’re here,’ he said, collapsing into his chair.
‘How far have you got?’ Beth sat at her desk and opened the ring binder in front of her.
‘I told you I didn’t know what I was doing.’ Charlie closed his eyes. ‘Now she’s changed the date and we’re completely unprepared. What do we do now?’
‘I’m going to need more coffee.’ Beth handed Charlie her purse. ‘Get me the biggest, strongest one you can find.’
‘I don’t have time for—’
‘Do you want my help or not? Get out of my hair for a few minutes at least. Let me figure out what kind of mess you’ve left us in, and then I’ll tell you what to do.’
Charlie flushed, but he took the purse and strode away, letting the door bang behind him.
It took Beth an hour to find all the relevant paperwork, and another to get Charlie up to speed. By the time she was ready to start contacting suppliers, her nerves were frayed to breaking point.
When her mobile phone rang, she didn’t look at the number. ‘Yes?’ she said, reading through a list of props.
‘Beth, it’s me. Please don’t react.’ Doriel’s voice was almost a whisper.
‘Are you okay?’ Beth let the file drop.
Doriel ignored her question. ‘Don’t believe anything she says about Bill.’
‘Is he with you? Where are you?’
‘I’ve borrowed a phone and it’s about to run out. You must warn Jonan. His mother is in danger.’
‘His mother? I thought she was in seclusion?’
‘She is, but it’s voluntary. People stay away out of respect, not because of any physical barriers. Amelia is far beyond respect now. It would never even occur to the people around Miranda that anyone might wish her harm.’
‘What do I do?’
‘Tell Jonan that—’ The phone went dead.
‘Doriel?’ Beth whispered frantically into the phone.
There was no answer.
‘Doriel,’ she said again, and then over and over, louder each time, but there was no response. ‘Damn!’ she shouted, slamming down the phone as hard as she could, enjoying the echo that bounced around the old building. She leaned her hands on the desk, hanging her head and took deep breaths. She was so tired, so spent, and life seemed to be unravelling more and more by the moment. She had to perform at the top of her game tonight. There was no way out of this now. She had to pretend nothing had changed.
THE INN WAS eerily quiet.
Beth had expected the place to be buzzing with activity this close to kick-off, but there was nobody there. The tables were laid with crisp white cloths and the silverware didn’t have a single smudge on it. Huge round wine goblets sat at each setting and a table by the door was laden with crystal flutes and bottles of sparkling wine.
The stage at the far side of the room was set with a huge array of brass musical instruments. Beth whistled. Where had Amelia found the money for all of this? A big band, all that extra wine, the silver and crystal, not to mention the beautifully wrapped favours on every plate. And who had organised it? A smoke machine smouldered at the side of the stage, adding to the eerie feeling in the room.