Witch Is When Stuff Got Serious (A Witch P.I. Mystery Book 11) by Adele Abbott

Lily Bell up a few notches on my list of people of interest. It was quite likely that she would have been involved in compiling the guest list for the function, and she would have had an opportunity to take the knife from Madeline’s table.
    It turned out that the Carnation Foundation had a local office, which was only a couple of streets away from Ever A Wool Moment. On the off chance, I took a walk over there. It was an inauspicious building, and only a very small office. I went inside with the intention of speaking to whoever I found there. To my surprise, it was Lily Bell. She stared at me for a moment with a puzzled expression—she was obviously trying to work out how she knew me. Then it must have clicked.
    “You’re that private detective woman, aren’t you?”
    “That’s right. Jill Gooder.”
    “What are you doing here?”
    “I was hoping to talk to someone about the Carnation Foundation.”
    “You’d better come through to the back, then.”
    She led me to an even smaller office, which contained a single desk and two chairs. Lily Bell was glammed up to the nines in designer clothes, and looked rather out of place in such a tacky little office.
    “What exactly would you like to know?”
    “I understand you had a fundraising event the other night.”
    “We did. I was the organiser and chairperson.”
    “So I read. Did Gregory appoint you to the position?”
    “What if he did? My track record speaks for itself. We’re on target to raise record funds this year.”
    “Did the evening go well?”
    “Yes, it was a runaway success. We raised a lot of money, and raised awareness too.”
    “I understand Anita Pick was at the fundraiser. Did you invite her?”
    “I most certainly did not!” She looked horrified at the idea. “I’m not sure what she was doing there. I can’t imagine how she or her little friend managed to get hold of the tickets. Those tickets were like gold dust. She probably stole them, knowing Anita.” Lily Bell seemed to realise what she’d just said. “But one shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, I suppose.”
    “Do you have a list of all the people who had access to the invitations?”
    “That would be just the committee members.” She pulled open a drawer, and handed me a sheet of headed paper. “They’re all listed on there.”
    “Roxy Blackwall?”
    “Yes. Do you know her?”
    “Not really. We’ve only met the once.”
    “She’s dedicated, but only really interested in the animal charities. She’s not really a ‘people’ person.”
    Lily Bell and I talked for almost thirty minutes about the foundation and her role in it. To my surprise, she seemed to have a genuine passion for the charities, and for the part she played. This seemed to fly in the face of the image that had been painted of her, by Anita’s solicitor, as a money-grabbing gold digger.
    Would the real Lily Bell please stand up?
     
    ***
     
    Mrs V had asked if she could bring her small, portable TV to work, so she could watch the Wool TV reality show, Wool Shop Yarns. I didn’t see any reason to object. It wasn’t as though we were overrun with clients.
    She suddenly came rushing into my office.
    “Jill! Quick! Come and look at this.”
    “What is it, Mrs V? I’m rather busy.” That made Winky laugh for some reason.
    “You’ll want to see this. Hurry up!”
    I followed her into the outer office, where she pointed to the TV.
    “Just look at this.”
    It was Wool Shop Yarns, and the camera was focused on Kathy and Grandma who were behind the counter. Kathy looked extremely flustered; Grandma just looked angry. Very angry! The wart on her nose was glowing red, which was never a good sign.
    “What’s going on, Mrs V?”
    “Just keep watching.”
     
    When the camera pulled back, I could see four or five women at the other side of the counter. They were all waving their arms around, and were obviously unhappy about something.
    “Turn it up, Mrs V. I can’t hear it.”
    “This is meant to be