Witch Burglar in Westerham—Paranormal Investigation Bureau Book 12

There’s a witch burglar on the loose, and they’re stealing more than the usual.

There’s a prolific cat burglar on the loose who’s stealing more than people’s treasured possessions. This particular burglar is stealing their pets! Will and Lily are on the case, but clues are hard to find, and even Lily’s magical talent isn’t much help.

The pressure is mounting, and with the threat of being fired hanging over Will’s head, they need to find answers—and soon. Only Lily is having her own troubles. Her magic tattoo is under attack, and she needs it removed, pronto. The trouble is, having it removed could provide deadly consequences. With time running out and more burglaries occurring every night, can Lily and Will find the vital missing clue that will uncover the burglar, or will it all go horribly wrong?

A wolf whistle trilled offensively through the room. I spun around and opened my mouth to give the culprit a dressing down. But then I stopped.

“Hello, gorgeous. Give us a kiss.” The green parrot perched on a bird stand made kissy noises.

I laughed. “How did I not notice you before? You are gorgeous.” I made kissy noises back.

The parrot bounced up and down. “Frank is gorgeous. Frank is gorgeous. Give us a kiss.” Brief flashes of Mrs Soames’s cockatoo, Ethel, threatened to ruin this interaction, so I pushed it out of my mind. Having that bird living with us was something I’d rather forget.

“As cute as you are, I’m not looking for a pet right now. Sorry, Frank.” Frank cocked his head to the side and regarded me. Way to make me feel guilty.

Millicent turned from her conversation with the woman at Feathered and Furry Friends Animal Shelter and smiled. “Why don’t you adopt him?”

“Yes, because I’d love for Angelica to kick me out of home. Plus, I cherish my sleep-ins. If Ethel’s anything to go by, I’d be up at the crack of dawn every morning. Yeah, nah. Why don’t you adopt him?”

“He’s not in love with me.”

“Love at first sight doesn’t exist, and he hardly knows me, so I doubt he loves me either.” I pulled a silly face. “Besides, if I turned up at home with a new boyfriend, Will would be less than impressed.”

Jane, the thirty-something-year-old running the shelter, laughed. “I’m sure you couldn’t blame your partner. Frank is a handsome boy.” She turned to the bird. “Aren’t you, Frank?”

He bobbed up and down. “Give us a kiss.” He wolf-whistled. Seemed I wasn’t his only love. Was it wrong of me to be a bit disappointed that I wasn’t as special as I’d thought? 

Jane scratched his tummy, then turned back to us. “Okay, ladies. As I was telling Millicent, we had a whole lot of animals adopted out a couple of weeks ago. A lovely retired woman came in and scooped up ferrets, cats, dogs, a couple of birds, and rats. She has a farm and loves to look after rescues. While I’m overjoyed that they found their forever homes, it means we only have two rats for you to choose from, and we only have those because their thirteen-year-old owner’s mother was sick of the smell. You really do need to change their wood shavings regularly. Follow me.”

We wandered through the hallway and out a back door to a long room that looked like a converted shed. Cages on either side of the middle aisle sat on a concrete floor. Most of them were empty. I counted a couple of cats and three dogs. I stopped at the first occupied cage and bent to chat to an orange cat that was pushing its face to the bars, but Millicent dragged me onwards. Her face strained, she whispered, “Keep walking. I can’t stop. If I do, I’ll end up taking home a whole bunch of animals James won’t want.”

“Oh, okay.” Understanding dawned, and her sadness seeped into me. She could hear the animals begging for love, for a safe, comfortable home with their own humans. I reluctantly let her sweep me onwards, like a piece of driftwood in a raging river. Maybe I should consider adopting an animal—it’s not like our home was overrun with pets, and I’d wanted one for a while. Goodness knew I was home alone quite often, and companionship from a warm, soft cat or dog would be welcome.