Page 26 of Secrets of the Eternal Flame

‘Uh-huh. I wondered if you might be able to get those images for me.’ I was keen to move the conversation away from Scarlett when it was clear Gwen had nothing positive to say about her. ‘Photos of the items?’

Gwen’s face brightened. ‘Yes, yes, hold on one second!’ She moved to the back of the shop and went behind the tillwhere the wall was chock-full of framed photographs. They were all taken outside the shop; I assumed they were family images or pictures of employees.

She took one of the lower ones off the wall and came back. ‘Here,’ she said, handing me a mother-of-pearl picture frame, which thankfully gave me an excuse to set down the plate with the unwanted biscuit. ‘There, that’s it.’ She pointed to the middle of the image.

It took me a moment to see where. There was an old goblin, similar in age to Gwen and with similar features – her mother, perhaps? – standing and holding a mug. From what I could see, it was fairly nondescript but I could make out some sort of pattern on it. Hopefully a magnifying glass would make it clearer. ‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘Can I take this?’

Gwen’s expression returned to a scowl, which I was now starting to think was her default response to any question.

‘I’ll bring it back to you,’ I added as her fingers held firmly onto the frame.

Her grip slackened and she released it. ‘I suppose. If it will help your investigation.’

‘Thank you. I want to get the image of the mug enlarged then I’ll bring the original straight back to you.’

‘Fine, but don’t you go damaging it.’ She wagged a finger at me.

Poor Scarlett. No wonder she had cultivated so much diplomacy. In her shoes, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold my tongue: ‘the customer is always right’ only takes you so far. But maybe Gwen wasn’t quite so mean when she didn’t have an audience. It’s impossible to know how people behave in different circumstances; people only show the side of themselves that they want you to see. I was as guilty of that as anyone.

‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘What about the grimoire? Do you have any photos of that?’

Gwen bit her lip; it was Scarlett who answered. ‘Yes, on the website.’

‘The website?’ Gwen said, frowning. ‘What website? We don’t have a website.’

Scarlett’s eyes rolled slightly, but once again she managed to keep the gesture discreet. ‘Remember we talked about doing a website? I was taking photos and uploading them.’

She looked at me. ‘It’s been a long job. I’ve got things going on at home, so it's taking longer than I expected, and with all this inventory you can imagine it’s a nightmare to catalogue. But I’ve already put the picture of the front of the shop online. The grimoire was definitely there when it was taken.’

She frowned. ‘I must be doingsomething with the hosting because the page is on the fritz. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s not, like it’s being constantly unpublished.’ She shook her head to herself. ‘I’m not very techy,’ she confessed.

‘Thank you. I’ll check it out – if it’s there!’ I joked. ‘What’s the website address?’

Scarlett was about to respond when her phone started ringing. She pulled it from her pocket, looked at the screen and frowned. A flurry of anxiety came from her, taking me by surprise. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said tightly. ‘I have to take this.’ She didn’t wait for permission before she turned and headed to the far corner of the shop.

It was Gwen’s turn to roll her eyes, albeit far less subtly than her employee had done. ‘It’s all the time. Honestly, she’s an absolute nightmare,’ she muttered under her breath, almost as if she’d forgotten I was there.

‘Well,’ I said, wondering if she would acknowledge me again. ‘I’ve got plenty to start looking at. I’ll be in touch as soon as I’ve found out anything.’

‘You know where to find us. Give me your number in case I need to contact you.’

When I handed her my business card, she snatched it and placed it on one of the desks. Rather uncharitably I thought the chances of her finding it later were slim –which was just as well. She struck me as the type of client that would pester me continually for updates.

We discussed my rates and she agreed to pay me a retainer upfront. She took some cash from the till – and I officially had myself a new case.

Chapter Seventeen

After my trip to Gwen’s shop, I took Eva to the beach as I’d promised. Her delight as she frolicked in the cool water made me beam. She ran at the waves then ran away from them as they got closer. After she’d played ‘chase the sea’ for a while she laid down in the shallow water looking delighted with life.

Eva had been splashing about for more than thirty minutes when I felt his presence behind me. I didn’t know if it was the bond between us, my ever-growing psychic powers, or simply the way his presence seemed to electrify the air, but before he even cleared his throat or gave me a chance to turn around I knew Fraser was there.

‘Hey,’ he greeted me as he came closer. He sat down next to me, evidently not caring that he was dressed in a suit which was as far from beach attire as it was possible to be.

I watched as he removed his shoes and socks and buried his feet in the sand. ‘What happened to your shoes inHallowburn?’ I asked abruptly. ‘When you jumped off the cliff?’

His eyes twinkled. ‘I imagine they’re making a nice home for a family of mice right about now. I always have spare clothes in my cars – including shoes.’

I looked at his bare feet. I’d never found feet attractive before but I was starting to revise my opinion. ‘You want to paddle?’ I asked, gesturing to the sea.

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