The photograph 5/9

Abigail got more and more worried as she read through the article in the Holmwood Advertiser. “I’m not at all sure what’s gone wrong here,” she said, “but there are two things that need immediate attention. Firstly you can come and help me make up a batch of new spells and then we’ll take them directly to Lieutenant Moonshine at the Wish Warehouse.”

An hour later Mary and Abigail emerged from the basement and set off by broom for the warehouse.

“Something’s gone wrong in the woods where the goblins live,” explained Abigail to Lieutenant Moonshine after they’d landed and handed over the bag full of spells. “Somebody in their world is following the Bells into the woods and they’ve managed to find Wilfred’s pool. These spells will have to be used for the immediate future. I’ve arranged them so that they can only be used from Jennifer Jane’s bedroom and will bring any one of the family directly here, then you can sort out their requirements when they’ve arrived.”

“Would you like me to get Polly to make us all a cup of tea?” asked Moonshine “and then you could have a look round the crèche.”

“Sorry, no time now,” said Abigail, “there’s one more urgent thing to do before we’ll have any spare time for socialising. I’m afraid we’ll have to be off right now.”

Abigail made both herself and Mary invisible before they landed in the Bells’ garden. “Then we can be quiet and see if any one is watching without being seen!”

They both stood there for a minute or two, looking up at the top floor windows of the Gardener’s house. Sure enough after a moment or two Mary spotted a slight movement of the curtains in one window.

“Right that’s it!” said Abigail. “I was pretty sure it must have been one of them from what you’ve told me before. Now we can be almost certain that they’re suspicious and have been spying on you. Let’s go inside and then you can telephone Dave for me and I’ll have a quick word with him.”

“I think the next problem you might have will come from the newspaper,” Abigail said to Dave, after Mary had got through to her husband. “They say they can check up on the person owning the boat and I suggest that we move it to a safe place. Somewhere that any busybody can be sent to so that they can have a look for themselves. Is there a place at your holiday cottage where it could be stored?”

“There’s a large glass roofed lean-to area beside the cottage,” said Dave, “it’s more than large enough to store the boat. I sometimes take the racing dinghy there when it needs a polish, or if there’s a bit of work to be done when the weather’s bad. You could move it when you like, I don’t suppose that there’s anyone down there during the week who’ll even notice it, let alone remember when it arrived.”

“Good, that’s the main items settled then! Now I’ve got to try and find out how your neighbour managed to take pictures in an area that is supposed to be covered by a spell which prevents just that!”

Abigail flew back to the Witches’ Home to look up the spell she’d used on the pool. It was the same spell that she’d used for the school conjuring performance and it had certainly worked correctly then.

Something must have changed in the meantime, but she was blowed if she could think what it might be. Then there was the problem with the goblins. Up to now they’d been very good at preventing people from following any of the Bell family too closely. Something must have gone wrong there as well. Oh dear, it was going to be a busy day!