Trick or Treat Part 27

'Better a volunteer than a sacrifice,' Meroe told him. He took a pace backwards and fell over his mop.

'Yes, all right, agreed,' I said, helping my apprentice up. 'Are you saying that Barnabas was such a volunteer?'

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'No, I think the G.o.ddess took him,' said Meroe.

'I can't congratulate her on her choice of consorts.'

'He won't be a consort,' said Meroe wolfishly. 'He'll be lucky if he gets to-'

'Mop floors?' asked my irrepressible Jason, ducking out of cuffing range.

We did not comment further. Meroe had censed the entire place, and we now had a talisman in the bakery and an angel in the shop. I had risen at three to begin the baking, and the bread was rising like a revolution. The girls had put on their prettiest frocks, Jason had clean overalls, and the Mouse Police had been given treats, that apply-between-the-shoulderblades flea treatment, and new collars. They were presently engaged in attempting to remove their bows, which Kylie had tied very securely on said collars. Blue for Heckle and green for Jekyll. Went very nicely with their black and white colour scheme. Horatio had a new royal blue collar from which the intrusive bell had been removed.

Outside in the alley the cobbles had been soused and swept free of any biological debris. The gas-fired barbecue was all fired up. The paper plates, the ketchup, the onions and the French mustard were all available. Therese Webb, in a hand-embroidered calico ap.r.o.n, stood behind the grill with an array of sausages. The shutters were up, the lights on, the door open, the till supplied with its float. Bread steamed on the racks. Jason's m.u.f.fins sat lightly on the gla.s.s shelves. Earthly Delights was reopening with a sausage sizzle. If only someone would come.

Daniel munched on the first beef and tomato sausage and said, 'It's very early yet. Have a sausage, they're good.'

'Not hungry,' I replied. 'h.e.l.lo, Meroe!'

'Blessed be,' she said. 'Are those leek and cheese? Cook one for me, Therese?'

'Right you are,' said Therese.

Around us the city was waking up. It was past All Saints Day, clean washed of ghosts. Spirits had gone back to their haunts, veils had closed. And I was back where I belonged. I hoped.

Mrs Dawson, returned from her daily walk, accepted a pork sausage with onions and bought a loaf and two m.u.f.fins. The Professor liked weisswurst with mustard. Mistress Dread demanded chili. Kylie and Goss nibbled away at a lo-fat sausage which Daniel had found somewhere, and the sun came up, at last, at last, on a lot of people who wanted to buy my bread.

I was swamped. When Kepler was observed trying a sausage and not immediately spitting it out, for he was very polite, I barely had time to giggle. Therese was relieved by Daniel, who took over the barbecue and the ap.r.o.n, in which he looked quite chic. I barely had time for a word with Vin Wyatt.

'Going back to Shep,' he said. 'That's where I came from. Got a new job with a mate at Kentucky Fried for Eddie. Janelle's gone to Sydney. The franchise is closing Best Fresh, so your compet.i.tion is gone, Corinna. Bloke I know grows pigs. Needs a partner who can cook for all his workers. Always liked pigs,' he said, biting into his sausage and walking away.

m.u.f.fins, cakes, slices grew legs and walked out. And the demand for sausages continued. Trudi liked the lamb and rosemary ones. So did Lucifer, once he was persuaded not to try immolation on a pyre. Cherie Holliday bought her father a ferocious chili sausage as a hangover cure. All my favourite people were supporting me and so were my customers. Mr Benson sent his PA for his usual m.u.f.fins. Everyone was pleased that Earthly Delights was open again and after a while we ran out of bread and it just became a street party. Jason was 287.

sent to the Pandamuses' for more food and came back with a message.

'Yai Yai says, did you find them? And are they punished?'

'Yes and yes,' I said. He ran back with the news and returned with a heavy load of Greek kebabs to grill.

In the middle of it, someone delivered me a large box of Heavenly Pleasures chocolates. With it came a note in the same hand as my other mysterious gifts: I thought you needed a treat, and perhaps your young man needed a rival. I would be him, if I was twenty years younger. With love, Dion. I sought out my Professor and kissed him.

When Uncle Solly strolled down the lane we were just running out of everything at last. It was past one o'clock. The shop was empty. Jason was sweeping away crumbs and wrappers and I was sitting on a chair in the bakery door, overwhelmed with joy and relief. He grinned at me.

'All right, dollink?'

'All right,' I said. 'Have a sausage, Saba?'

'Don't mind if I do,' he said, indicating a chicken one. 'You don't need to worry,' he told me. 'You did the right thing, you and that Daniel of yours. A good boy, no matter what his mother says.'

'What will happen to Georgiana?' I asked.

'I don't know,' he said. 'But she is gone now. And everything's back to normal, nu?'

I looked around. The bread was sold, tomorrow's mix was already started, the shop was clean, the business was booming, and all around were smiling faces. I had come very near to losing all the things I valued and I valued them more now that I knew how very much I would miss them. I grinned up at the man who did not come from Mossad.

'Yes,' I said. 'It's all right now.'

AFTERWORD.

Strange as it may seem, almost the whole story of Max Mertens and the Salonika treasure is true. You can Google it. It will be one of those stranger-than-fiction moments for you, as it was for me. I'm sorry that I cannot name the people who told me about Greece and the Shoah, but they were adamant about this.

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SOURCES.

For Greece and the Holocaust Isser Harel, The House on Garibaldi Street, Corgi, London, 1985 Anne Michaels, Fugitive Pieces, Bloomsbury Press, London, 1997 Nicholas Stavroulakis, The Jews of Greece, Talos Press, Athens, 1990 Various doc.u.ments and displays from the Jewish Museum, Athens, Greece. Personal reminiscences told to the author by persons who wish not to be named but are greatly thanked.

For boats and boating Many thanks to Greg Blunt of Blunt's Boatyard, a Williamstown inst.i.tution.

For magic of any kind Dion Fortune, Psychic Self-Defence, Samuel Weiser Inc, Maine, 1997 (first printed 1930) Michale Streeter, Witchcraft: A Secret History, Quarto, London, 2002 289.

For ergot poisoning and the most recent outbreak in Europe John G Fuller, The Day of St Anthony's Fire, Hutchison, London, 1969 RECIPES.

MARY PHILLIPOU'S WONDER CAKE This is a fantastic recipe. As long as you keep the proportions balanced you can make any kind of cake, using fruit, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, lemon or orange peel, grated carrot, mashed banana, spices-whatever you like. As long as the additions include one cup of chocolate bits, it will rise very reliably. I like that in a cake.

2 eggs 1 cup caster sugar 300 ml cream 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 13"4 cups self raising flour, sifted 1 cup frozen berries 1 cup white chocolate bits Grease a 20 cm baking tin and line it with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

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Beat the eggs and sugar together until thick. Add the cream and vanilla essence and mix well. Add the sifted flour and fold in until the mixture is smooth. Fold in the berries and chocolate bits.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook for approximately 50 minutes. It's cooked when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the tin, then turn it out and dust with icing sugar or top with your favourite icing.

Yum.

BOILED CHOCOLATE CAKE.

From the same admirable source, for when you unexpectedly have a children's party arriving on your doorstep or a lot of relatives who didn't mention that they were on their way...

4 tablespoons b.u.t.ter 3"4 cup caster sugar 1"4 cup drinking chocolate powder (milk) 1"4 teaspoon bicarb of soda 1"4 cup of water 1"2 cup of milk 1 egg 11"2 cups self raising flour Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease a 20 cm cake tin and line it with baking paper. Combine the b.u.t.ter, sugar, chocolate, bicarb of soda, water and milk in a saucepan. Stir and bring to the boil. Take off the stove. Allow to cool to room temperature. Add the egg 293.

and flour and mix well. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for about 30 minutes. It's cooked when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool before icing.

ICING.

2 cups pure icing sugar 3 tablespoons milk chocolate powder melted b.u.t.ter milk Mix together the chocolate powder and enough melted b.u.t.ter and milk to make it smooth-about a teaspoon of each to start, then add more little by little until the paste is st.u.r.dy but not stiff.

Ice cake when cold. A studding of smarties is always popular. Or hundreds and thousands. Or grated chocolate.

You can make a grown-up version of this for a very fast and impressive dessert cake by using baking cocoa or grated dark cooking chocolate instead of milk chocolate powder. When the cake is cool pour over it a tablespoon or two of Kahlua, rum or brandy and then either ready-made chocolate syrup or chocolate ganache, made by melting equal quant.i.ties of good dark chocolate and cream in a microwave. Add a handful of glace cherries or candied peel or sugared violets or walnuts and serve with heavy cream and strawberries.

It's a flexible recipe. Play with variations on one of those cold dark Sunday afternoons when you feel like cooking and your undeserving household is watching the cricket/football. If the experiment fails, they still have to eat it. And like it.

CHEESY m.u.f.fINS-a very reliable recipe.

3 cups plain (all-purpose) flour pinch of salt 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 eggs 2 tablespoons of finely chopped basil 1 teaspoon thyme 1"2 cup virgin olive oil 2 cups (approx.) of warm water Preheat oven to 190 degrees.

Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, cheese and herbs in a big bowl. Mix the egg, water and oil together in a small bowl. Stir the wet into the dry mixture quickly and thud them into a 12-cup m.u.f.fin tray. Cook for about 25 minutes. Wonderful served with soup.

CHICORY AND ONIONS (Mark Deasey's recipes).

Chicory is that stuff that looks like dandelion leaves. You need a bunch of it, one onion and half a cup of good olive oil.

Chop the chicory stem ends off, rinse the leaves and wash out any grit. Cut the whole bunch in half and drop into a big pot of boiling salted water and cook until tender-about five minutes-allowing the stems to retain a bit of bite. Drain the chicory and refresh it under cold water.

Peel and slice the onion, fry in olive oil until dark brown and caramelised. Add the drained chicory and stir until the leaves are coated in oil and the onions are mixed through. Serve warm or at room temperature. Sweet and comforting.

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