The young oak tree 5/8

Dave arrived home at his usual time in the evening. The house seemed strangely quiet, nor did any welcoming smell of cooking greet him, as he came through the front door. He searched all the other rooms before thinking of looking in the kitchen where he spotted Mary’s note.

‘J.J. had accident, gone to see Abigail’

He thought for a moment and then added to the piece of paper Mary had left for him.

‘Taking lugger to meet you, if you’re not there I’ll come straight home again.’

He didn’t bother changing out of his working clothes, but just removed his tie as he ran for Wilfred’s pool.

“Emergency with Jennifer Jane at the Witches’ Home,” he shouted to Wilfred as he took the cover off the lugger’s cockpit and swung the outboard engine down into place.

“Oh all right then,” said the giant holding his nose rather pointedly, as Dave roared out of the pool in a cloud of smoke and headed for the fog as fast as the boat would go.

“Witches’ Home urgent!” he shouted, as soon as he was in the fog and a few seconds later he was heading for the landing stage at the end of the lawn. One of the witches was running down to the river to see what all the noise was about.

“I know you’re Jennifer Jane’s dad and all that, but you really should know better than bring one of those nasty smelly engines to the Home!”

“How is my daughter,” asked Dave “and where is my wife?”

The witch seemed rather puzzled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. “Jennifer Jane went out this morning and isn’t due back yet and we haven’t seen Mary for a week.”

Dave was getting the horrible feeling that something had gone wrong. “I had a note from my wife saying Jennifer Jane was hurt and she was coming here to see her!”

“Abigail might know what’s going on, come along let’s go and find her. Perhaps she can explain everything.”

Abigail was just as puzzled when she heard the story. “She went over to the shop very early this morning to try and find Fred. If we hurry we should catch Esme before she closes for the night, perhaps she knows what is happening.”

They found the witches just as Dulcibella was locking the shop front. None of them had heard of any accident.
“She went off to try and find the red goblin who turned Fred into a dragon,” said Ermintrude, “she shouldn’t have any problems in that direction, they’re not nearly as bad as the lot in Happy Valley!”