Page 62 of Hallow Hill at Halloween: Part Two

“Then why get the Bureau involved in the first place. They could’ve easily banished her themselves and, I suspect, wouldn’t have much trouble making that stick.”

“Well, yes, but if you remember, they brought the suit when she was a…”

“Monster?”

“If you wish. The original request was for you to declare her a criminal so that the Bureau would be on the hook for capturing her and confining her going forward. When the facts changed…”

“Drastically.”

“Yes. They could’ve just dropped the matter.”

“But they didn’t.”

“No. They didn’t.”

“Wonder why.”

Lochland shook his head. “They’re an odd lot. Always have been. I think that’s why humans are so fascinated by them.”

“You think humans are drawn to weird.”

“No offense.”

“None taken. I suspect you may be right. Still, it’s not logical that they would make such an issue of banishment when it would’ve been easy to handle it in-house.”

Lochlan chuckled. “Yes. And it would’ve saved them the trouble of procuring a tidy sum of forgiveness.”

“You have a way with words.”

My clerk preened a little bit. “I’m honored, Magistrate.”

“You noticed that Themis got mad every time Athena’s name was mentioned?”

“Even those paying scant attention noticed that. Yes.”

“So, it has something to do with… You know, Athena may be one of those people who has hotheaded incidents, is embarrassed by the results of those rampages, and doesn’t want to be accountable.”

Keir looked up from his iPad where he was, no doubt, checking Vegas odds, and said, “Like people who have a policy that they don’t apologize for anything. Ever.”

I nodded and pointed at Keir. “Exactly.”

Lochlan stroked his chin. “Could be.”

“Is there something we can do to make sure the Greeks pay?”

Lochlan’s sky-blue eyes twinkled. “The Bureau can be most effective at managing practical problems.”

My lungs indulged in a contented sigh. I was feeling good about the beginning of Samhain court. “Black Annis is up next?”

Lochlan didn’t need to glance down at his docket, but he did. “In fifty-five minutes.”