Witch Is Why Time Stood Still (A Witch P.I. Mystery Book 13) by Adele Abbott Page A

appeared.
    It had taken quite a while for me to develop the spell which I needed. Without Magna Mondale’s book and knowledge, I would never have managed it. I’d had to mix and match half a dozen spells to achieve the desired effect. Even now, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure it would work. I’d tried it when I was home alone, and it seemed to work, but I’d only know for sure now I was using it in anger.
    Just as I’d expected, everyone in the shop appeared to be frozen to the spot. Everyone except for the ugly man helping himself to the tray of rings.And, of course, me .
    “Ahem.” I coughed. “Excuse me.”
    He jumped so hard he dropped the rings back onto the counter.
    “What? Who? How?” He took a step back.
    “Stopwatch, I presume?”
    “Who are you? How did you do that?”
    “My name is Jill Gooder. I’m—”
    “I’ve heard of you. You’re that level seven bird, aren’t you?”
    “ Bird ?” Not only was he a thief, but a sexist pig as well. “Would you care to explain what you’re doing?”
    “Me?” He shrugged. “I ain’t doing nothing.”
    “So you admit you are doing something?”
    “That’s not what I said.”
    “I think you’ll find it is. If you ain’t doing nothing , you must be doing something .”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    That much was obvious.
    “It looked to me like you were stealing jewellery.”
    “I was just looking at it.”
    “Does putting it in your pocket help you to see it better?”
    He turned, and started to run towards the door. He didn’t get far because I cast the ‘bind’ spell. The rope wrapped around his arms and legs, and sent him crashing to the floor.
    “Let me go! You’ve got no right to hold me here.”
    “I think you’ll find I have.”
    Just then, Stopwatch’s spell must have run its course because the other people in the shop snapped back to life.
    “Why are the rings on the counter?” The sales assistant looked confused.
    Arnold noticed me standing over Stopwatch. “Jill, what’s going on? Who is that?”
    “This is your thief.”
    “How did you catch him? I didn’t even see him come into the shop.”
    “I’ll explain all of that later.” Or not.
    I made a call to Daze to tell her I’d caught Stopwatch. She said she’d meet me in the alleyway at the side of the shop in two minutes.
    “Get up.” I pulled Stopwatch onto his feet, and helped him to penguin-walk outside.
    “Well done, Jill.” Daze was out of breath when she appeared in the alleyway. “However did you manage to catch him?”
    “I’m right here.” He moaned.
    “Shut up, you!” Daze pressed her foot hard onto his back. “Speak when you’re spoken to.”
    “I had to concoct a spell that would work the same as Stopwatch’s spell. When his spell kicked in, so did mine. Time stood still for both of us.”
    “Brilliant. You really should be on level seven.”
    “All in good time. You’d better get this charmer back to Candlefield before anyone sees us.”
    Daze took out a pair of what I assumed to be anti-magic shackles, and fastened them to Stopwatch’s legs. “That should stop his tricks.” Next, she took out her trusty wire mesh net, and threw it over him. “I’d better get back to process him. Thanks again, Jill.”
    Another case successfully completed. And Leo Riley need never know of my involvement.
    Oh bum!
    While I’d been in the alleyway with Daze, Arnold must have called the police.
    “Jill, are you okay?” Arnold shouted.
    “Yeah, I’m fine.” Except that I wasn’t. Standing next to the counter, staring at me, were two uniformed police officers, and Leo Riley.
    “You!” Riley said. “I might have known.”
    “Hello, Leo.”
    “What do you think you’re doing?”
    “Stopping a jewel thief, apparently. The one you weren’t interested in.”
    “Where is he?”
    “He got away, I’m afraid.”
    “Got away? That’s just brilliant! Is there no end to your talents?”
    “Maybe if you lot had shown a