Goodly and Grave in a Deadly Case of Murder
The second page-turning adventure in this sharp-witted, magical mystery series.When reports come in that valuable magical objects are being stolen, Goodly and Grave are on the case, but just when they think they know whodunit their prime suspect turns up – murdered! Will Lucy be able to track the real villain without putting herself in deadly danger…?An page-turning mystery with a magical twist.
Читать Goodly and Grave in a Deadly Case of Murder онлайн беплатно
First published in Great Britain by
HarperCollins Childrenâs Books in 2017
HarperCollins Childrenâs Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,
HarperCollins Publishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
The HarperCollins website address is:
Text copyright © Justine Windsor 2017
Illustrations copyright © Becka Moor 2017
All rights reserved.
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2017
Justine Windsor and Becka Moor assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of the work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008183561
Ebook Edition © ISBN: 9780008183578
Version: 2017-07-04
For Charlie and Nikki
Contents
Chapter Two: The Coachman and the Stinking Bishop
Chapter Four: The Not so Pitiless Predator
Chapter Five: The Snake Ouroboros
Chapter Seven: Cockroach Crunch
Chapter Eight: Uncle Ebenezerâs Quill
Chapter Ten: A Very Precise Death
Chapter Eleven: A Mouthful of Dust
Chapter Twelve: Golems and Murder
Chapter Fourteen: OâBrienâs Midnight Circus
Chapter Fifteen: A Den of Iniquity
Chapter Sixteen: The Poodle That Barked in the Night
Chapter Seventeen: Lucy Cracks the Case
Chapter Eighteen: The Real Jerome Wormwood
Chapter Twenty: Meeting Mortimer Thorne
Chapter Twenty-One: Stone and Earth
The graveyard was silent and deserted. An owl hooted from the great oak tree that grew next to the church. A fox slunk stealthily between the headstones, perhaps hunting for voles or on its way to raid the vicarâs henhouse. When the church gate creaked open, the fox froze and listened intently, sniffing the night air. A man crept into view, carrying a lantern in one hand and a spade in the other. A large bag was slung over his shoulder. The fox trotted silently away, melting into the dark of the moonless night. As for the man, he made his way over to two freshly dug graves. A cage of iron encased one of them and the man cursed softly under his breath when he saw it. But the other grave had no such protection. The man put his bag and his lantern down next to it, plunged his spade into the mound of soil and began to dig.
âSo this is where it all âappens, Luce,â Smell the cat said to Lucy Goodly, nodding towards a large wooden door.
Lucy took a deep breath, trying to control her nerves. She was about to attend her first official meeting of Magicians Against the Abuse of Magic, otherwise known as MAAM. It was a big moment for any magician, but an especially big moment for a new magician like Lucy. A month ago she hadnât even known she was magical.
Lucy turned the handle, but the door wouldnât budge.
âOnly opens when you say the password,â Smell advised, gazing at Lucy. He was not the most attractive cat in the world, with his one and a half ears, stumpy tail and single eye.
âYou could have said! What is it?â
ââavana.â
The door stayed resolutely shut.
Smell made an impatient noise. âHavana,â he said, putting a rather sarcastic emphasis on the âhâ. In response, the door swung open to reveal a very grand wood-panelled room with large stained-glass windows.
âCome along, you two! Weâre about to start!â said Lord Grave, who was sitting at the head of a vast polished table. He was the leader of MAAM, owner of Grave Hall and Lucyâs employer (Lucy was officially the boot girl at Grave Hall). His panther Bathsheba was snoozing at his feet.
The other members of MAAM were gathered round the table. There was Lord Percy, a sorrowful-looking man with a deeply lined face. Sitting next to him was Lady Sibyl, a tall and elegant woman. Then there were the silver-haired twins, Beguildy Beguildy and Prudence Beguildy. Bertie Grave, Lord Graveâs son, was also at the table. Bertie wasnât a magician and, in fact, didnât believe in magic (he thought magic could be explained by science), but he provided what he called âpractical inputâ to MAAM.
Lucy hurriedly pulled out one of the heavy ornate chairs and sat down. Smell jumped on to her lap. There was so much to look at in this fascinating room and, being a very curious girl, Lucy wished there was time for her to explore everything thoroughly. She was especially intrigued by the enormous display cabinet that held numerous strange objects, some of which ticked and vibrated. Lucy guessed they were for magical crime-fighting purposes.
