Liam downed the last of his pint and said, "Not inside the pub, mates. Come on. Outside."

  But it was too late. Jeremy shoved Charlie in the chest and then said, "Come on," to Alice. She looked at Charlie who seemed unable to believe this was happening. “I’m sorry,” she said, then started to follow Jeremy. Charlie ran forward, grabbed Jeremy by the shoulder, swinging him around and then, I think to everyone's shock, hauled off and punched him in the face.

  There was some kind of unwritten male code, I supposed, for even as Jeremy crashed into a table, and righted himself, looking ready to do murder, Miles, Will and Liam got between the two fighters and dragged them outside.

  Alice cried out, "Lucy. What should we do?"

  I shook my head. "I think we should let them beat each other silly. They’ve been spoiling for a fight all evening."

  She looked as though she might cry. "But over me? I don't want anyone to fight over me."

  Scarlett simply looked bored. "It happens to me all the time. Men are such fools."

  Chapter 13

  By the time Alice and Scarlett and I went out onto the street, there was no sign of the men. I thought perhaps it was just as well as Alice was clearly upset. She glanced around and wanted to know where they could be and what we should do. Scarlett and I exchanged a glance and then Scarlett said, “Don’t worry. Miles and the others won’t let them kill each other. The best thing we can do is go home and leave them to it.”

  Alice looked worried. “But—”

  “Scarlett’s right,” I said. Neither of them looked to be the fighting types and, besides, I suspected Jeremy would be anxious to get home and ice his nose. He wouldn’t want to spoil his pretty face and I was fairly certain that Ellen would be furious if she found one of her leading actors disfigured by a pub brawl.

  Alice said, “I wasn’t going to go home with Jeremy. I could tell that’s what Charlie was thinking. What a cheek. He was only going to walk me to my car.”

  “I know that.” We began walking towards Harrington Street and I knew that if Alice drove home to her house where she lived alone she’d only worry and brood so I said, “Why don’t you come and sleep at my flat tonight?” I grinned at her. “Then I’ll know you’ll be in time for work tomorrow morning.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. What about my clothes?”

  “I’m sure I can find something that will fit you. And I’ve got an extra toothbrush and some things you can borrow.” I wasn’t making the offer only for Alice’s sake. I really didn’t want Scarlett getting more attached to me than she already was.

  “Thank you,” she said sounding grateful. “I’m really rather upset.”

  We walked Scarlett as far as the Porter’s Lodge at Cardinal College and then Alice I walked back down Harrington Street to my shop and the flat above. We both glanced up at Charlie’s windows, in his flat above Frogg’s Books, but there were no lights on. Whatever he was doing, he wasn’t home yet. Neither of us said anything and we continued on to my shop. I was happy to note there were no lights on in my flat, either, which meant my grandmother hadn’t decided to pay a late-night visit.

  I took Alice upstairs and made us both some cocoa. I found her a brand new toothbrush and some night things and then wished her good night.

  But when I got to my room I felt restless. I was never sure where my human senses ended and my witch senses began, but one or both of them felt jangled. I didn’t like conflict, and I didn’t like boys fighting. Surely that’s all it was that was bothering me.

  I also didn’t like the fact that my potion had caused all this trouble.

  I was settling myself into bed when I received a text from Scarlett reminding me I’d promised to help her with her lines. She asked if I could meet in the morning as she was trying to be off book by the rehearsal that evening. Scarlett seemed rather competitive and, I suspected, wanted to be the first of the actors to recite their lines without prompting. Since I liked Scarlett and felt guilty about her crush on me I agreed to meet her at eleven the next morning at Cardinal College.

  I would open my shop with Alice’s help and then Violet and she could manage without me for a couple of hours. The curious feeling I had of unrest stuck with me and it was a long time before I fell asleep.

  Next morning Alice and I were both heavy-eyed over our coffee. It was clear that she hadn’t slept very well either. We both nibbled unenthusiastically on toast and then she suddenly said, “I wonder if I should go and check on Charlie. I’m quite worried about him. He’s no fighter. What if Jeremy really beat him up?”

  I thought Charlie had seemed well up to the fight, and she’d be far better to stay away from him and give him a chance to actually miss her. However, she was a woman in love so I said, “You must do whatever you think is right.”

  She obviously took that to mean I heartily approved of her terrible plan and looked much happier. “Yes. That’s what I’ll do. It’s only across the road after all. I can pop over and be back well in time to help you open.”

  As soon as we had finished our breakfast and I had declined her offer to help me wash up the few dishes we’d made she went off to get ready and in a few minutes called out that she was on her way.

  I showered and then tried to decide what to wear. It was chilly and damp outside and so I chose a cherry-red pullover that Clara had knitted me that I wore with black trousers.

  I was downstairs early, tidying a little bit before we opened. At ten minutes before nine Alice came hurrying to the door and I let her in. She didn’t look relieved about her visit with Charlie; if anything she looked more distressed than when she’d left.

  “What’s wrong? Was he badly hurt?” Perhaps we should have tracked the combatants down and forced them to stop, though I had trusted that Liam, Miles and Will would do that job for us.

  She shook her head and looked near tears. “No. It’s not that. He’s not there.”

  I was confused. “Who? Charlie?”

  “Charlie! He’s not at home. He’s not in the shop. Where could he be?”

  I thought she was making a fuss about nothing. “He probably slept in. He might be in the shower. Maybe he’s embarrassed and doesn’t want to see you.”

  She shook her head again, impatiently. “He has a hidden key. When he didn’t answer I used the key and went into his flat. Lucy, he’s not there. His bed’s made as though he hasn’t slept in it.”

  I wasn’t as panicked by this news as Alice was, but it was strange. “Could he have gone out for breakfast? Perhaps he got up early and went out for breakfast, or shopping, or maybe a run? Does he exercise in the morning?”

  “I suppose. He could have. But it’s very unlike him. Very unlike him.” She sounded truly worried. “I never should’ve gone to the pub last night. If something’s happened to him, it’s all my fault.”

  I took her shoulders in my hands. She was trembling. “Alice. Charlie is a grown man. He got into a very foolish fistfight with an equally foolish actor. If you make a big deal about this you’ll only embarrass him.”

  “But I think I should call the police and report him missing.”

  “No. He would never forgive you. If he doesn’t appear by tomorrow, which I’m sure he will, then that’s time enough to be talking the police.”

  “But there’s that missing girl, too. Maybe there’s some kind of maniac murderer about and they’ve got my Charlie.”

  I rolled my eyes. “He could’ve been kidnapped by aliens, too. Come on. Pull yourself together. We’ll keep an eye on his shop. I bet you anything he opens on time.”

  As it turned out, Charlie was ten minutes late opening the bookshop. I knew that because Alice spent those ten minutes running in and out of my shop like a crazed cuckoo clock bird. In and out, in and out, in and out. It was giving me a headache. Finally, she came inside and heaved a huge sigh of relief. “It’s all right. He’s opened the shop now.”

  I put the back of my hand on my forehead in high dramatic fashion. “Thank goodness. Now I can relax.”

  She didn’t think it was funny. “It’s not very kind of you to tease me. I had a shock.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. Now,” I said, seeing one of my regulars about to come in the front door, “Do you think you’re ready to serve your first customer?”

  Violet arrived at ten. Forty-five minutes later I left Alice in her more than capable hands while I headed up to meet Scarlett. She met me at the Porter’s Lodge and then we walked together to the theater wing. I asked her if she’d seen Jeremy or heard any more about the fight but she hadn’t.

  We had to switch on the lights when we went into the theater wing. This was why she’d chosen this time, of course, as there were no classes or rehearsals scheduled. She wanted to use the main stage so she could get a feel of her space. Privately, I thought she wanted to show off for me.

  We had agreed that I would sit in the audience and she would act out her part on stage skipping over any lines that weren’t hers. It was easy enough for me to follow along as her script had her own lines highlighted in yellow marker.

  In the past, whenever I’d been inside a theater it was full of people and buzzing with the excitement of whatever performance was about to happen. Even here, during rehearsals, there’d always been the buzz of excitement, actors dashing back-and-forth, each with their own private dramas. The stagehands and set builders and painters and costumers popping in to consult with Ellen who seemed to effortlessly impose order on chaos.

  As we walked in, the space seemed eerily silent and cavernous. In the gloom, the rows of empty chairs looked like gravestones. Scarlett switched on the lights and that helped but still a shiver crept over my skin.

  She didn’t seem as fanciful as I. She chattered about the costumes that she and Polly would be wearing. “I wasn’t sure at first about the white, but Ellen and the costume designer wanted to give the idea of virginal maidens and, of course, Hermia and Lysander are supposed to be eloping so they wanted to give the idea of a wedding dress.

  “I’ve never thought of white as my color, but I have to say the dresses are gorgeous and we get to wear these really pretty silver and gold sandals.”

  As she was speaking we walked down to the front of the theater. The stage was already set up for the rehearsal that evening. They’d brought in some already existing props. There was a fake stone wall and Theodore and his crew had already been busy. There were a few trees and painted backdrops. I was impressed at how much they’d done in such a short time. Scarlett settled me in a seat where I could see her perfectly clearly and she could hear me if I needed to give her cues.

  She said, “This is a pivotal scene. This is where I, Hermia, come across Lysander who, when I went to sleep in the woods, was planning to marry me. I woke up and he was gone and now I discover he’s transferred his affection to Helena. At first I can’t believe it, I think he’s making a joke. Helena can’t believe it either, she thinks we’re all making sport of her. The two men threaten to have a duel, not over me, over Helena.

  It was fascinating to watch her. Even as she began to describe the scene to me I felt her take on the character of Hermia. Her voice became a little lighter and her movements more fluid. She flipped open the script to the page she wanted and I told her I would follow along and let her know any time she stumbled.

  She walked up onto the stage, paused, closed her eyes, and then, as though waking from a nightmare, she rubbed her eyes and looked about her. “Help me, Lysander, help me! Do thy best to pluck this crawling serpent from my breast!”

  I watched as she flitted around the stage almost word perfect. She was going to make a terrific actress. Even without proper costume, no other actors on the stage, and little in the way of setting, she was amazing. The Shakespearean language sounded like normal conversation when she spoke it.

  When in the play Lysander spurned her, she ran forward to the rock wall and began to cry. I waited and waited for her next line, but it didn’t come. I prompted her, “Why are you grown so rude?” But still she didn’t speak. Finally I stood and called out, “Scarlett? Are you all right?”

  She backed away from the fake wall. “Lucy. I think you’d better come up here,” she said in a faint voice.

  And then she fainted.

  As she crumpled to the floor, I raced forward, running up the stairs and onto the stage. I dropped to my knees beside her. “Scarlett?”

  “Scarlett.” I could see she was breathing. I didn’t know if she suffered from anything that could make her faint. I didn’t see a medical bracelet on either wrist.

  I looked around for a cushion for her head, water, something useful.

  And then I saw him.

  He’d been hidden by the wall.

  Jeremy, that beautiful young man who only last night had been full of life, wooing Alice, lay there, pale as death.

  He was dressed in part of his costume. At least he had a cape fastened around his throat over his clothes. He was on his back looking up through sightless eyes. I could see the red, swollen nose where Charlie had punched him and it looked as though one of his eyes had begun to blacken. A wooden sword lay by his side as though he had been slain in a duel.

  It hadn’t been a sword that killed him, though. Someone had brought in a few real rocks either as props or perhaps as models to paint from. One of them lay beside the body and it was streaked with blood. I was no expert in forensics but it looked as though he had been struck on the back of head with the stone.

  I left Scarlett and crept forward to Jeremy. I checked the pulse in his neck with shaking fingers but his skin was cool to my touch and no pulse beat against my trembling fingers.

  I stood there not knowing what to do. Rouse Scarlett or call the police? I decided to call the police and ran back down for my cell phone. I hesitated on whether to call Ian directly or the emergency number. Then I heard the scream.

  Scarlett had come to. The first time she had seen poor Jeremy her body had shut down in a dead faint; now she jumped to her feet, her hands clutching her chest, bent over and screaming.

  I hit 999 for the emergency number and, over the sound of her screams, told them to come immediately. Then I ran back to Scarlett and held her in my arms while she sobbed. Over her shoulder I managed to call Ian.

  “Lucy, I’m so glad you called. I’ve been trying to reach—“

  “There’s been a murder,” I said, cutting him off. Then, I told him where we were and what had happened.

  I helped Scarlett down the stairs and then we sat in the front row of the theater as though waiting for the play to begin.

  "He's dead, he's dead, isn't he?" she moaned in my arms.

  "I'm afraid so."

  She jerked away from me. "I can't stay here. I can't. Not while he's lying there, like that. We’ve got to get out of here."

  I soothed her as best I could, but shook my head. "Scarlett, we have to stay. I've called the police. They'll be here very soon but we have to tell them what we saw."

  "I don't want to. I don't want to think about it. It was so horrible. Poor Jeremy."

  I wished I could get her water but I didn't dare leave her. I wished the police would hurry up. I nearly jumped out of my skin when a voice said, "Scarlett? Whatever's going on?"

  I turned and thankfully saw that it was Ellen. She was wearing a stylish camel colored coat and carried a large black leather handbag over her shoulder. She was stripping off her gloves as she came towards us, a look of concern on her face. Her eyes narrowed on my face.

  "It’s Lucy, isn't it? What's wrong with Scarlett?"

  I wished the police had arrived first. I didn't want to tell this woman that one of her actors was dead. As it was I didn't have to. Scarlett raised her head and through her tears cried, "It's Jeremy. He's dead." And then she pointed up to the stage.

  Ellen glanced at me as though checking to see that Scarlett was telling the truth. I nodded. She put a hand to her cheek. "Oh no." And then she went up on the stage to have a look. I wanted to stop her, certain that the police would want to keep people off that stage as it was a crime scene, but I had no authority here. This was Ellen's world.

  She didn't touch the body for which I was grateful. Instead, she put her hands to her heart and quoted, "Good night, sweet Prince. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."

  She stood there for a moment with her head bowed, looking down at Jeremy and then she turned and slowly walked back across the stage and down towards us. I saw that tears were streaming down her cheeks. She sat on the other side of Scarlett and took her hand.

  "Have the police been called?"

  "Yes." I said.

  We sat like that, the three of us, with Scarlett sobbing helplessly in the middle. Finally I said, "Would you stay with Scarlett while I get her some water?"

  "Yes. Of course. You’re very kind."

  Cardinal College had a water station down the corridor, close to the entrance to the theater wing, with filtered water and paper cups, though most students brought their own water bottles. I grabbed two paper cups and filled them each with water. I was making my way back to the theater when the door opened behind me and I turned to see Ian running in.

  "Lucy. Tell me what happened?"

  "Scarlett and I found him. It's Jeremy, one of the actors in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He’s in the main theater on the stage. He had his head bashed in with a rock."

  He looked at me with concern. "Are you all right?"

  I was as right as anyone could be who'd just discovered a man in his twenties, murdered. I merely nodded. He rushed past me, clearly eager to get to Scarlett and I let him go. Then he turned. "Am I the first?"

  "Yes."

  "Can you wait out by the door and lead the police in when they get here?"

  "Yes, if you can take this water to Scarlett and Ellen."

  He came back and took the water from me. "I'll get your statement later."