Page 81 of The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine

Chapter 51

The first thing I did when I woke up was call Anissa. ‘Hello?’ she answered after a beat.

‘Hi, Anissa, it’s Bunny. I have the spell to uncurse my dog.’

Her voice grew warmer. ‘That’s great news. Are there other instructions – potions or anything?’

I hadn’t looked at it, just shoved it in my pocket. ‘Hold on, I’ll look.’ I dug the folded piece of paper out of my pants and opened it. ‘No, it’s an incantation as far as I can tell.’ Mum’s handwriting was neat and precise.

‘Oh.’ Anissa sounded disappointed and my heart sank. That didn’t bode well. ‘No matter. I’m not familiar with witch magic but I’m sure it’ll be fine,’ she said, once again upbeat. ‘Can you text it to me? I’ll talk to the elders and prepare, then call you back with more details when I’m prepped.’

‘Thanks so much, Anissa. I’ll text you a pic of it now. Talk to you soon.’ We hung up. I made sure to take a good clear photo of the spell and texted it to her. ‘Fluffy, we’re one step closer. I sent her the spell and now we wait. We’ll have you de-cursed soon!’ He wagged his tail so hard the entire bed shook.

I got up, slipped on my clothes and shoes and went out of my bedroom. The house felt odd, somehow empty. I looked in the kitchen diner, then in the lounge. Nothing out of place. I frowned and knocked on Mum’s door but Arabella didn’t bark. I opened the door and blinked in surprise: Mum’s bags were gone, all seventy million of them, and she was gone too. So was Arabella who, I would now concede, wasn’t as evil as I’d originally thought.

Mum had stripped and remade the bed. On the pillow there was a note; I gave a small smile at the Bunny written on the front.

My dearest Bunny,

I know I have apologised a lot for my past actions and I think I will be apologising forever for them. I am so sorry that I let you down so much. I’ve taken enough of your time and you deserve your space. I’ll return to London post haste.

I’ll guard your secrets forever.

Mum X

It was hard to say what I felt, but my primary emotion was relief that she’d gone home. She’d been a constant strain on my emotions and I was looking forward to having some space again. I felt bad that her month-long trip had been cut drastically short, especially given how I knew she felt about flying, but I also wondered if her retreat wasn’t a little cowardly. Was she nervous about the werewolf that Fluffy would become?

I fed my animals and made myself some breakfast. When I felt ready, I took the animals and marched to work. We entered the Nomo’s office in time to hear raised voices. Sidnee was sitting at her table, leaning towards the sound – the shouting was coming from Gunnar’s office. I sat down and whispered, ‘What’s going on?’

‘Mafu, Thomas and Calliope are in there with Gunnar. They’re arguing about Liv.’

‘Where’s her lawyer?’

Sidnee shook her head. ‘She refused one, said she wants an immediate ruling by the council. We’re supposed to take her over to the council building in an hour.’

Even if Gunnar would like to see her locked up for a millennium, it almost certainly wouldn’t happen because Liv had made herself indispensable to the town. ‘What do we need to do?’ I asked.

She pointed to my chair. ‘Sit and help me get the paperwork ready, I’m only halfway done. Oh, and Payne’s lawyer will be here Monday.’

I nodded. Posie’s charges would have to be changed as well; I needed to drop the kidnapping, but we still had plenty on her. I’d need to get a few statements from the black-market vendors about the racketeering, but I was confident Laura could facilitate them if it meant that Posie would be locked up. Still, it all involved paperwork.

I blinked when I saw new animal beds lying next to my desk. ‘What this?’ I said to Sidnee.

She grinned. ‘Connor dropped them by. He’s so thoughtful.’

I sighed happily and settled Fluffy and Shadow down in their brand-new beds. April had left a few notes, but there was nothing too pressing. I turned on my new computer and loaded up the program I needed.

Calliope and the mayor strolled out of Gunnar’s office ten minutes later. The mayor left looking steamed but Calliope stopped by my desk. ‘Hi, Calliope,’ I said.

‘Bunny.’

I studied the powerful woman. ‘Any chance you’ll tell me the next time the black market is in town?’

She smiled. ‘Maybe.’ She sashayed out of the office without a backward glance.

Thomas came out, nodded at me and gave Sidnee a smile, which she instantly returned. ‘How’s the paperwork going?’ he asked casually.

‘Slowly,’ she admitted.

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