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I joined Stanley at the window and looked down at the crowd of gnomes who had gathered outside our door. They were shouting my name and some of them were raising their little fists in the direction of the door.
I pressed my lips together in a determined manner and turned away from the window. I gathered some items together - mainly food from Gran’s basket, and then informed Stanley I was leaving the apartment.
Stanley said, “But what about the gnome mob? They look angry.”
“I’m angry too. How dare they gather outside our door like that? They’re causing a disturbance to passers-by. I’ll deal with them on the way out. Are you coming with me or not?” I grabbed my broomstick and waited for his reply.
He trotted over. “I’m coming with you. If things get tough out there, I’ll sort the gnomes out.”
We were surrounded by the yelling gnomes the second we stepped out of the door. I held my broomstick up in an attempt to silence them. It didn’t work.
A gnome, in a red dress with white polka dots, shouted, “Why haven’t you dealt with our complaints? We were told over and over that you would! Aren’t we important enough for you to deal with, Cassia Winter? Aren’t we tall enough?”
“I – ”
“Don’t interrupt! We have serious complaints about our gardens. You will listen to us. You will take action. We’ve discussed the matter amongst ourselves and we know who’s guilty. It’s Ivan Snapnert! We demand that you arrest him immediately without any more delay!”
“Hear hear!” the other gnomes yelled in agreement.
“I – ”
“I told you not to interrupt! I haven’t finished yet.” The gnome’s face was as red as her dress now. She jabbed a finger at my knee. “Arrest Ivan Snapnert for willful damage and then throw him out of town! Banish him to the furthest corner you can find. And then lock him up!”
She took a breath and I managed to speak. “What exactly has Ivan done?”
“What has he done? What has he done?” she shrieked. “If you’d have read our files, Cassia Winter, you’d know exactly what that ghastly gnome has done.”
Stanley stepped forward. He raised his face so it was on level with the red-faced gnome. There was a note of menace in his voice as he said, “Back off. Don’t shout at my witch like that. Cassia has been busy with more serious matters or haven’t you heard?”
The gnome blustered, “Of course we’ve heard. We know about the murder. But even so, our gardens are important to us!”
“More important than a life?” Stanley asked coldly.
I didn’t know what had got into my mild-mannered cat, but he was scaring the gnomes and they collectively took a step back. He was starting to scare me too.
The gnome continued, her voice calmer, “No, of course not. But our gardens have been ruined by Ivan Snapnert. We put a lot of work into our gardens and to see them ruined is heartbreaking. Ivan did it because he was jealous.”
There were murmurs of agreement.
I said, “Do you have any evidence that Ivan caused the damage?”
The gnome twisted her hands together, “Well, no, not as such. It’s just a feeling. I’ve seen how he looks at my petunias.” She gave me a small smile. “Please, Cassia, can you do something? I know you’re busy, but it would mean a lot to us. We all live on Rose Garden Terrace and take great pride in our gardens. Please, could you consider our complaints?” She ended this with a hopeful smile.
The other gnomes gave me small, hopeful smiles too.
I returned their smiles and said, “I will do something about it. I can’t do anything now because I’m still dealing with this murder case. I promise I will look into your claims later on. How does that sound?”
“Like a lie!” Treto Oravatus galloped over to us causing three gnomes to leap out of his way. “Don’t listen to a word this witch tells you! She’s using magic for her own good. She cast an evil spell on me! She broke my leg.”
“Which one?” the female gnome in the red dress asked.
“This one.” Treto waved his leg in the air. “Admittedly, she used magic to fix it afterwards. But that’s not the point! She can’t go around casting spells for her own good. It’s not right!”
I waved my broomstick in his direction. “Treto, you ran away from me when I tried to question you about Selo’s murder. If you hadn’t have run away, you wouldn’t have run into that tree.”
“That’s nothing to do with anything!” Treto defended himself. “You caused my accident! It could have been fatal!”
“Well, it wasn’t,” I told him. “Now that you’re here, I’ve got some more questions for you.”
Treto reared up on his hind legs. “No! I won’t answer to you. I’m leaving before you send another of your sinister spells my way. I’m going to warn everyone in this town about you!” He turned around and sped away.
The female gnome clasped her hands together and said, “I can see you’ve got your hands full. We’ll leave you in peace.” She started to walk away.
The other gnomes silently followed her. Some of them gave me suspicious looks as they left.
When they’d gone, Stanley said, “I hope they don’t think Treto is telling the truth about you.”
Keeping my voice low, I said, “It is my fault that he got hurt. I had Kitty with me at the time.”
“It wasn’t your fault at all. Don’t say that again. I won’t have it.” He stared at me angrily.
I knelt down and put my hand under his furry chin. “Stanley, are you feeling alright? You’re not acting like yourself at all. I’m starting to get worried.”
“I’m a bit worried too,” he admitted. “I can’t control my emotions. I keep getting furious at everyone. I’m sorry.”
I released his chin and straightened up. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. It’s this town. I know what will cheer you up.” I held my broomstick out and waggled my eyebrows. “Time to fly?”
Stanley chuckled. “Time to fly.”
“Would you like to have a go at steering the broomstick?”
Stanley’s mouth dropped open. He snapped it shut and then said, “Seriously?”
I nodded. “If Kitty can have flying lessons, then so can you. Hop on.”
Stanley was grinning as he leapt onto the broomstick. He looked like his old self again. I got on behind him and left the steering to my little friend.
Stanley was excellent at controlling the broomstick and we were soon soaring smoothly away from Brimstone and towards the Cezerus Ranch. Stanley hummed happily all the way.
I kept an eye out for two flying dragons, but I didn’t spot them.
The Cezerus Ranch was swarming with visitors when we landed. I asked a centaur in uniform where I could find Lifin, and he pointed to the meditation centre.
Lifin was standing at the door to the centre and welcoming visitors. He was wearing a shirt with the company name on it. His face lit up when he saw us. “Cassia, Stanley, how lovely to see you again. I was about to send you a message, but I’ve been too busy with all our new customers. Isn’t this wonderful? Our ranch has never been so busy. Come in.”
Lifin took us to one side and out of the way of the entering visitors. I was surprised to see him looking so happy considering his brother had been recently murdered, but I didn’t say anything.
Lifin took something from his shirt pocket and handed it to me. “I’ve got that list of Selo’s enemies ready for you.” He smiled as he looked over my shoulder. “We’re going to be fully booked before we know it. This is so exciting.”
I opened the sheets of paper he’d given me. “There are four sheets here.”
“I know. He had many enemies.” Lifin’s smile dropped. “I hate to say this, but Selo took great delight in upsetting everyone he came into contact with. He had no respect for anyone, especially not me. He mocked this business and went out of his way to sabotage it.”
“In what way?” I asked.
“He would run wild around the place, scaring visitors and trampling through their property. Our complaints about him increased every day. I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. He said I was an embarrassment to the family and wasn’t acting like a true centaur. He admitted he wanted to ruin this business.”
I looked around at the bustling crowd. “Have things improved since Selo died?”
The smile returned to Lifin’s face. “Oh, yes. Things have turned out well. Business is better than ever. Father is delighted.”
“I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I spoke to Treto recently, and he claims your father thought more of Selo than he did of you. Is that true?”
Lifin’s smile stayed in place. “That’s not true at all. Treto is nothing more than a trouble causer. It’s what he does best. I don’t know if you’re aware, but he’s spreading rumours about you around town.”
“I am aware. Lifin, what’s going to happen about the centaurs’ race? Is it going to be cancelled?”
Lifin gave us a wink. “It isn’t. This is a secret, but I’ll tell you anyway. I’m going to run on behalf of my family. I know for certain that I’ll win.”
“Really?” I couldn’t keep the surprise from my voice. “I thought you were all against it yesterday.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I’ll win the race, and I’ll make sure the 1,000 Acre Forest stays in our family.”
“I thought you wanted the forest to be split amongst the centaur community.”
“That was yesterday,” Lifin said. “Things have changed since then. Excuse me, there’s someone very important I have to speak to.”
He walked away leaving me dumbstruck.
Stanley said, “Well, it looks like Lifin had every motive to kill his brother. What are you going to do now?”
