Page 8 of Dead Serious Case 5 Madame Vivienne

“King James was obsessed with witchcraft. It terrified him.” I force myself to pay attention as Mr Hadley continues. “He saw witchcraft and evil everywhere. Having been greatly inspired by the European witch trials, he reformed The Witchcraft Act of 1563, which had originally introduced the death penalty for any acts of sorcery, adapting it to include any person that was found to have made a pact with Satan.”

I scoff in disgust. “So ridiculous.”

“He had already written a volume known asDaemonologie, but when he came to the English throne, it was reprinted and basically endorsed the practice of witch hunts. From there, everything spiralled. He was so paranoid that witches were trying to kill him that it resulted in many innocent women being tortured and executed. William Hadley and Henry Mason were high-ranking members of his court. They did not succumb to the witch fever tearing through the country. In fact, being the fair and good men that they were, they wanted to help the innocent. Knowing they could not do so openly for fear of the crown, they founded an underground society to help smuggle the accused to safety.”

I frown. “This is all very fascinating, but I don’t understand what it has to do with Viv or me.”

“Let him finish, Tris.” Danny squeezes my knee comfortingly. “I’m guessing it’s all connected since the markings on Viv’s body would seem to indicate witchcraft of some kind and we know witchcraft is real.”

I could hear the words unspoken on his tongue.We’ve seen Harrison do it with our own eyes.But Harrison’s secret is not ours to share, especially not with a stranger.

“Sorry,” I mutter to Mr Hadley. “Please continue.”

“Anyway, by the mid-ninteenth century, William’s and Henry’s descendants had followed in their footsteps, but they’d also discovered that while magic and witchcraft were indeed real, they weren’t inherently evil, nor were their practitioners in league with the devil. Victor Hadley and Thaddeus Mason, the heads of the society at that time, devoted themselves to learning everything they could about magic, and what they discovered changed their lives forever.”

“What?” I’m on the edge of my seat and can tell that Danny is too.

“That is a story for another time.” Mr Hadley smiles. “Needless to say, Victor and Thaddeus changed course. They founded Hadley and Mason, taking the underground society of their grandfathers and making it into a legitimate business that could operate undetected in society.”

“And its purpose?” Danny asks eagerly.

“Property brokerage, legal representation, a dozen other things.” Mr Hadley waves his hand. “In short, we’ve made sure that people of magical or supernatural descent were protected.”

“Magical or supernatural descent,” I repeat.

“After some time, it became clear that several gifted bloodlines existed within London’s boundaries. The Crawshanks, whom I believe you are familiar with, are one such family.” I suck in a breath and Mr Hadley nods. “We have been representing their family for a very long time. One of the other families that came to our attention was that of Lord Everett Stanley. He and his… friend”—Mr Hadley’s mouth curved—“were well-known to Hadley and Mason during their time. Lord Stanley, or should I say Reverend Stanley, had a niece from whom you are descended, Mr Everett.”

I nod. “I was aware of that. My dad…” I draw in a quiet breath. “My dad loved family history. Genealogy was a passion of his.”

“Yes,” he agrees, “but what you may not be aware of is that her son had the Sight and was really quite powerful. Then it skipped a few generations. Until you.”

“Me,” I whisper, a dreadful suspicion growing. “Have you been watching me?”

“Not exactly.” Mr Hadley shakes his head. “But we are aware of certain recent events.”

“Such as?” Danny says warily. I know how protective he is of me and it warms every inch of my soul.

“We know about what happened during the eclipse,” Mr Hadley says matter-of-factly.

My mouth falls open and a slow breath escapes . “If you know about the eclipse… then you know what’s in that bookshop and why it must be protected.” When Mr Hadley continues to stare at me, I continue. “You know about the magic door, don’t you?”

He lifts one eyebrow. “Magic door?”

“The portal to the spirit world,” I clarify.

“Mr Everett.” He leans forward, his voice dropping low. “The portal to the spirit world is just the tip of the iceberg. Vivienne came to see me a few days before she was killed,” Mr Hadley admits.

“She came to see you?” Danny says, his eyes sharp. “Did you tell Detective Byrnes that?”

“I told him as much as he needed to know.”

“Which was?” Danny asks.

“That she came to see me and updated her will,” Mr Hadley replies. “But what I didn’t tell him was that she knew something bad was going to happen.”

“What?” I swallow.

Mr Hadley sighs again. “Look, let me speak plainly right now. I was not aware that her life was in danger. Had I known, I would have taken steps to ensure her safety. I don’t know who killed her or why. What I can tell you is that it is almost certainly tied to the Whitechapel property.”