Bryony hurried over and opened the store door. “Is everything okay with Gabriel?”
“Everything’s fine,” said Chad. “I wanted to see the two of you on a Charm Police matter.”
“What’s this about?” Ivy stalked around the counter and walked to the door.
“Lizzie Green has been found dead,” said Chad, his blue eyes intent on the girls.
“What’s that got to do with us?” asked Ivy.
“The two of you have been reported going to visit Lizzie shortly before she died,” said Chad. “I need to take you to the station and get your statements. You may have been the last people to see her alive.”
“Or possibly the witches who poisoned her.” Ivy tilted her chin as she glared at Chad.
Chad nodded. “That’s also a possibility.”
“We can’t shut the store, it’s a busy time for us,” said Ivy.
“It was shut when I arrived,” said Chad. “Listen, I can make this easy. Come to the station, answer a few questions, and then leave.”
“What if we don’t want to take the easy option?” asked Ivy.
“Then I’ll arrest you both under suspicion of murdering Lizzie,” said Chad. “And I don’t want to do that.”
“No, you don’t.” Ivy stepped closer to Chad, her fists clenching and purple magic sparking from her skin.
“We’ll come with you,” said Bryony swiftly. “We only went to visit Lizzie because we wanted to make sure she was safe.”
“Save it for the station,” said Chad, keeping his attention fixed on Ivy. “The car’s outside. Come with me.”
Ivy and Bryony reluctantly followed Chad out to the car and climbed into the back.
“You don’t have to answer any questions if you don’t want to,” muttered Ivy to Bryony. “We aren’t under arrest.”
“I know that,” said Bryony. “And we’ve got nothing to hide.”
“Seems like the Charm Police think we have something to hide.”
“I hope you ladies aren’t cooking up a cover story,” said Chad as he drove the car back to the station.
“We’ve nothing to cover up,” said Ivy.
“I know. But we need to be thorough,” said Chad with a sigh. “I don’t seriously think either of you are involved. We’ll take your statements separately just to make sure everything tallies up. With so many people being poisoned, we have to be careful.”
Once they arrived at the station, they were shown into separate interview rooms. Bryony gave Ivy a brief wave before disappearing into one of the rooms. It was painted pale green, but the color shimmered in front of Bryony’s eyes, and when she squinted hard, she could see magic covering the walls.
The door to the interview room opened and Angelica Blaze, Gabriel’s boss, walked through the doorway. “Take a seat, Miss Thornheart.” She stood almost seven feet tall; a lithe, slender looking angel in her mid-forties, with a shock of white blonde hair and eyes so pale blue they appeared translucent.
Bryony sat down. Her hands twisted in front of her and she hid them in her lap. “I’m not in any trouble am I?”
“No trouble. I simply have a few questions for you.” Angelica took the seat opposite her and placed two files on the table.
“I thought Gabriel might do the interviews,” said Bryony.
“I’m standing in for Gabriel while he’s out of action.”
“He didn’t seem too ill when I saw him earlier,” said Bryony. “Has he gotten worse?”
“Gabriel is just fine,” said Angelica. “But we like to take care of our employees here. Rest is the best thing for him at the moment. The stress of an investigation like this will not help with his recovery.”
“Oh, that makes sense.” Bryony wished Gabriel was interviewing her. Angelica gave off an intimidating air of power that made her feel like confessing even though she was innocent. “What can I help you with?”
“Tell me about your relationship with Lizzie Green?”
“I don’t know Lizzie well,” said Bryony. “After she was married, she disappeared out of sight. In fact, I didn’t even know she had married.”
“So you weren’t close?”
“We were passing acquaintances,” said Bryony.
“What was the reason for your visit to Lizzie’s house earlier today?” asked Angelica.
“I was following up on a problem one of my customers had,” said Bryony.
Angelica opened one of the files and ran a finger along some text. “You run the Love Cauldron jointly with your sister, Ivy?”
“Yes, that’s right,” said Bryony. “We had a customer come in with a blackened finger. After some investigation, we realized she had been poisoned.”
“And by investigation, you mean when she arrived in your store and died?”
Bryony felt herself growing warm. Angelica had not smiled since she’d entered the room and the glint in her ice blue eyes was not friendly. “That’s correct. I didn’t realize it was poison to begin with. And when the customer, Josie Spicer, returned to the store, it was too late to save her.”
“Tell me about the other victims,” said Angelica.
“Well, there’s also Belinda and Tania,” said Bryony. “And I just heard the horrible news about Lizzie.”
“Do you often do your own investigations into criminal matters in Old Sarum?”
“No, well, only when it relates to a customer I’m helping,” said Bryony.
Angelica’s eyebrows rose an inch. “And what happened when you spoke with Tania?”
“She revealed she had the same problem as Josie and was trying to find a cure,” said Bryony.
“So you ruled her out of your investigation?”
“It seemed unlikely that she would poison Josie and also herself,” said Bryony. “Do you have any information about her that makes you think otherwise?”
Angelica leaned back in her seat. “Belinda is not considered a suspect in this matter.”
“I agree. To begin with, I thought there was a link between the three of them because they used to take part in beauty and magic pageants. There was a lot of rivalry between the girls when they entered these competitions.”
“You think they are poisoning each other because of some old rivalry?”
“It’s possible.” Bryony shifted in her seat. When she said it aloud it sounded ridiculous. “Some people have a hard time letting go of things in their past.”
Angelica shook her head, dismissing Bryony’s comment. “So you visited Lizzie because she was in these pageants as well?”
“That’s right.”
“And what did she tell you?”
“That she stopped entering them after she met her husband, Horatio,” said Bryony. “She is very different from the Lizzie I remember.”
“And you didn’t like the new Lizzie?” asked Angelica.
“I liked her very much,” said Bryony. “She gave me tea and fed me tarts.”
“You didn’t argue when you were at her house?” asked Angelica.
Bryony dabbed at her top lip. “No, there was no argument. I warned her about the poisoned flowers to make sure she didn’t become poisoned herself.”
“And yet she’s dead,” said Angelica.
“By poison as well?” asked Bryony.
“You tell me,” said Angelica. “Do you have any reason to get rid of Lizzie?”
“No! No reason whatsoever.” Bryony sat up straight in her seat. “Am I a suspect in this investigation?”
“You and your sister were the last two people to see Lizzie Green alive.”
“But that doesn’t mean either of us killed her,” said Bryony.
Angelica flipped open the second file she had brought into the room. She read through the contents of the first page. “Tell me about your sister, Ivy? From the records we have on her, she tends towards the darker side of magic. What are her abilities like when it comes to poisons?”
“My sister didn’t poison Lizzie,” said Bryony.
“But the two of them weren’t friends?”
“They weren’t friends or enemies,” said Bryony. “Ivy barely knew her.”
Angelica flipped a page on the file. “Your sister has an interesting history in Old Sarum. She's been implicated in a number of illegal activities, but never charged with anything.”
“My sister is not a criminal,” said Bryony. “And there’s nothing wrong with favoring the darker arts, so long as you don’t let them consume you. She has her abilities under control.”
“Does that include her poisoning skills?”
“Ivy isn’t a poisoner,” said Bryony.
“What kind of magic does she prefer?”
“She excels in most things,” said Bryony. “But back her into a corner and she’ll blast you in the face with a fireball.”
“Fire magic,” said Angelica. “That is a difficult skill for a witch to master.”
“My sister is extremely talented.”
“Not so much in the friend department, it would seem. There are several accounts in her file of Ivy having disagreements with other residents of Old Sarum,” said Angelica. “And there have been a number of complaints filed against her.”
“Ivy has plenty of friends,” said Bryony, knowing that wasn’t true. “I don’t know anything about the complaints.”
“There are details here of harassment, threats made to people’s lives, threats to burn down buildings, and the beginnings of an official statement over assault, that was later withdrawn for an unknown reason.” Angelica looked up from the file. “Do you want me to continue?”
Bryony realized she was digging her fingernails into the palms of her hands and relaxed her fingers. “Ivy is lovely when you get to know her. The people who filed those complaints simply don’t understand my sister.”
“But you know her well since you work together and live together,” said Angelica. “Is she capable of poisoning somebody?”
Bryony looked down at her hands and saw a pale blue glow covering her palms. She pushed down on her magic, realizing she was at risk of losing control as her temper rose. “Ivy would never poison anyone. We were trying to help when we visited Lizzie.”
“And what about you, Miss Thornheart,” said Angelica. “Behind that innocent little smile and those big blue eyes, is there a poisoner sneaking around in the shadows?”
“Absolutely not!”
“I hear you have quite an impact on the men in Old Sarum,” said Angelica. “Is that why your sister can get away with so much and not be arrested? You smooth over the problems with a flutter of those lashes and the use of those pretty lips?”
“You’ve most likely got a file on me as well.” Bryony's cheeks flamed. “That will give you all the information you need.”
Angelica flipped shut the file in front of her. “We don’t. But we may have to create one.”
“Neither Ivy or I have anything to do with these poisonings,” said Bryony.
“And if I were to come to the Love Cauldron and search the premises, I wouldn’t find the ingredients I need to create the poison that is running through my best officer’s veins?”
“Of course you would,” said Bryony. “We are a magic store, we sell all kinds of different things.”
“Why do you sell poison?”
“In tiny doses, poison has a medicinal effect,” said Bryony. “And it’s an important activator in a number of spells.”
“Do you keep records of everyone who has purchased these poisons?”
“Naturally,” said Bryony. “The store would be shut down if we didn’t keep proper records.”
“I shall want to see those records.” Angelica stood and picked up the files. “You are free to go. But don’t leave the village. I will have more questions for you.”
“I’m not the poisoner and neither is Ivy.” Bryony followed Angelica to the door.
“That will be all for now, Miss Thornheart.” Angelica opened the door and gestured for her to leave.
“You’re looking in the wrong place,” continued Bryony. “Don’t focus on us, or you’ll miss the real killer.”
“Thank you for the advice.” Angelica pointed down the hallway.
Bryony opened her mouth to continue arguing but then heard Ivy’s raised voice coming from another room.
“It would appear your sister is also ready to leave,” said Angelica.
The door to another interview room opened and a harassed looking half angel hurried out, closely followed by a furious Ivy, her hands clenched into fists.
“If you accuse me or my sister of poisoning anyone again, I’ll drag you into the Magical Forest and let the were hounds have you.” Ivy stalked after the half angel who shot her a fearful look as he retreated along the corridor.
“Ivy, wait,” said Bryony.
Ivy pulled up short and turned on her heel, glaring at Angelica when she spotted her. “That idiot thinks I poisoned somebody.” She gestured wildly at the vanishing Charm Police officer.
“No harm will be done to any of my officers,” said Angelica. “We are following relevant lines of inquiry into the poisonings in this village. Since the two of you were the last to see Lizzie and Josie alive, it makes sense we want to question you.”
Ivy jabbed a finger at the rapidly retreating form of the half angel. “He practically accused me of poisoning somebody. And then he started on Bryony. As if she’d do anything like that.”
“If she wouldn’t, would you?” asked Angelica.
“I prefer a more direct line of attack,” said Ivy. “I like to look my victims in the eyes so they know they’ve done me wrong. It gives them a chance to apologize.”
“Any victims, in particular, you care to name?” Angelica’s blue eyes narrowed.
“Ivy, let’s get out of here,” said Bryony. She looked at Angelica. “Unless we’re under arrest?”
“You are both free to go, for now,” said Angelica. “But like I said, don’t leave Old Sarum.”
“Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere,” said Bryony. “We want this solved as much as you do.”
Angelica’s expression turned icy. “And stop interfering in a police investigation.”
“As if we’d waste our time helping you,” said Ivy. “Although you need all the help you can get.”
Angelica took a menacing step towards Ivy and Ivy matched her as her fingers dripped black magical spirals onto the ground.
Bryony sucked in a gulp of air. Things were about to get nasty.