Page 37 of Secrets of the Eternal Flame

Gwen was right: Mumhadonly used the Flame to protect essential properties and she wouldn’t have wanted to tax it further by protecting places like shops. Owners could install their own wards and charge it as a business expense. And, as Mum had pointed out multiple times at town meetings, there were a lot of businesses in Witchlight Cove; if she warded one she’d have to ward them all, and that would have demanded too much of the Flame considering it also powered the barrier. But she would have warded the shop containingthe cup and the grimoire if she’d known of their existence.

‘You have to ring Yanni,’ I said flatly. ‘Tell her the truth. She needs to prioritise the thefts.’

Gwen glowered at me. ‘I’ve hired you.Youprioritise them.’

‘I am!’ I protested. ‘But Yanni has more resources and manpower. Not telling her the truth will hamstring her investigation.’ The investigation that she had already closed.

‘You’re my employee,’ Gwen ground out. ‘I call the shots. You can’t tell Yanni because we can’t have the knowledge getting out. It’s bad enough I’ve had to report the thefts to the goblin’s Clutch. They’ll be sending someone soon.’ Her tone was faintly ominous, as if she didn’t want them sending anyone at all.

‘That doesn’t sound good.’

Gwen swallowed. ‘Their solutions tend to be … permanent.’

I chewed my lip. ‘For the thief?’

The goblin tugged at the neck of her shirt. ‘And for the Guardian that failed.’

I gulped. The stakes had risen. ‘Right. Okay, I’m on it,’ I promised.

‘You’dbetter be,’ Gwen said darkly. ‘Because if you don’t find it soon…’ She trailed off.

Neither of us needed to finish her sentence: if we didn’t find the missing items soon, it would be curtains for Gwen.

Chapter Twenty-Three

My phone lit up:Maddie Calling.I answered. ‘Hey, you okay?’

‘I’m more than okay,’ she whispered. ‘I’m at work. I sneaked in after I got your message.’

‘Why are you whispering? And what happened to your hangover day?’ I asked.

‘I’m undercover! This is more important.’ She paused. ‘Isn’t it?’

‘More than you know,’ I admitted.

‘This is so cool. I’m a spy!’

I grinned. ‘Well, James Bond, what did you find out about Scarlett Briar?’

‘She’s got a record,’ she whispered triumphantly.

‘What?’ I was shocked – but maybe I shouldn’t have been. Scarletthadsaid she was lucky to have the job in Gwen’s.

‘Assault,’ Maddieconfirmed. ‘I took a quick look at the records. It looks like an ex-boyfriend raised a fist to her so she raised a frying pan.’

I blinked. ‘Well, she was defending herself.’

‘Maybe it started out that way, but she had a black eye and he was mincemeat. She broke his jaw, fractured his skull, broke numerous other bones. She kept whaling on him long after he was down, and the judge said self-defence didn’t include almost pulverising your victim. She got ten years but was released in five for good behaviour. She’s only been out of jail for a year.’

‘Wow.’

‘Yeah – and besides that she’s single, she’s a witch with the illustrious Night Moon Coven – though somewhat shunned due to the GBH –and,’she paused dramatically, ‘she used to date a particular village sleazeball we both know and dislike.’

‘Who?’

‘Archer.’

Ugh. Archer Arden was a werewolf and a total deadbeat. He’d worked briefly for Lorenz, before being fired for general incompetence; he couldn’t even hold down a job for more than a few weeks.

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