Page 70 of Dead Serious Case 5 Madame Vivienne
I still don’t respond, just watch him silently.
“I’ve been over Vivienne’s post-mortem report. I’ve also read the investigative report, and the consensus seems to be that the killer may have stolen some of her blood. Which would make sense if you think about it. We’ve speculated that the middle Crawshanks sibling, Constance, was the one who trapped thedemon, which would mean that only blood from her direct descendant could free it.”
“Then why haven’t they?” I mutter. “If that were true, they could have opened the trap the night they killed Viv.”
Harrison nods. “That was the exact question I asked myself, but all the research says the same thing: to open a demon trap, it’s about timing. I need you to find Evangeline and talk to her. She’s the only one left who can confirm the trap was her mother’s doing and if so, when Constance set it. If we can discover that, then we might be able to figure out when they intend to open the trap.”
“Sorry, not my job anymore,” I tell him, my voice low. “I quit. I’m no longer the resident ghost whisperer. Go tell Mr Hadley, maybe he can contact that Lucien guy. I’m done.”
“I don’t need Mr Hadley or Lucien,” Harrison says with a frown. “I need you.”
“Sorry,” I mumble, “but I just don’t care anymore.”
Turning over and putting my back to him, I pull the covers over my head. A few moments later, I hear the bedroom door open and close, and I know I’m alone again.
I see the look on Harrison’s face as he closes the bedroom door behind him and I sigh. I was hoping he might be able to get through to Tris.
Tristan’s conscience has always had this very loud, strong inner voice, one which won’t let him turn his back on someone in need or not do the right thing, no matter the cost. It worriesme how much that’s changed in such a short space of time. Hopefully, this is just temporary. I mean, I get it; I understand why he’s pissed off, but I hate seeing him like this.
“No luck.”
Harrison shakes his head. “It’s… unsettling, seeing him like this.”
“I know,” I murmur.
The doorbell buzzes and I head towards the front door with Harrison behind me. When I open it, it’s to find Sam on the other side.
“How’s he doing?” Sam steps through the door and, seeing Harrison, smiles and nods. “Prickles.”
Harrison stares at him dryly. “Sam.”
“He’s…not great,” I answer truthfully as Sam turns his attention back to me.
“It will take time.” Sam sighs. “Losing his dad was always going to be hard, but as someone who can see most ghosts myself, I’ve gotta say, them not letting Tris say goodbye properly was just a fucking dick move, especially after everything he’s done. I’m totally on his team here.”
“We all are,” Harrison says. “Unfortunately, the timing is not great for any of this. We can’t afford to ignore what we’ve learned about the bookshop or the demon that’s currently trapped in it. I don’t want to push Tristan, he needs time to grieve, but I’m afraid that’s time we just don’t have.”
“Well, I have something that might help.”
“You do?” I look to Sam. “What?”
“A potential lead on Viv’s son.”
Harrison sighs in annoyance. “Are you still pursuing that? He’s not bothering anyone and he clearly doesn’t want anything to do with his birthmother. Anyway, isn’t it Hadley and Mason’s job to chase down inheritance beneficiaries?”
Sam shakes his head. “Yes, but I don’t think it’s their job to track down potential murderers.”
“I told you it’s not him,” Harrison snaps as he reaches for the front door handle.
“Prickles, hold on.” Sam reaches for him, grasping his arm gently, even though his expression is frustrated. “Why are you so adamant it’s not him? We don’t know that.”
“It can’t be him,” Harrison insists. “He’s a direct descendant of Constance Crawshanks, after all. If he was trying to open the demon trap, he could just use his own blood to open the trap. He wouldn’t have needed to kill Vivienne.”
“While I agree that is a possibility to consider, as you yourself just implied, we don’t know for certain that opening the trap was the reason for Viv’s death. For all we know, he could have killed her just because he was pissed at her for giving him up for adoption.”
“What, and the demon markings all over her body and the demon trap are just coincidental?” Harrison scoffs. “You don’t believe that any more than I do.”
“I agree it’s unlikely, but we still need to chase down every lead, and that means finding Sage Wilson.”