Page 34

Chapter

Twenty-Four

I ’d half-expected Adrienne’s nosy neighbour to appear as soon as we passed her house but no curtains twitched and her door remained closed. Maybe we’d finally got lucky and she was out. I certainly hoped so.

Thane used the door knocker as he had the previous day and, like the previous day, there was no answer. I checked through the window: Adrienne’s front room remained untouched.

‘Maybe Adrienne’s behind all of this,’ Thane offered. ‘She found out that her friends had a mystical plant worth gazillions and she killed them so she could steal it for herself.’

‘And she’s not been at work all night at all,’ I said. ‘She’s been breaking into the MET and murdering a Fetch in cold blood because he was getting too close to the truth.’

He scratched his chin. ‘He almost caught her at Knox’s house.’

‘She was in the middle of torturing Knox to find out where he’d hidden the silphium when Jackson appeared.’

‘Jackson realised that nobody would believe a sweet nymph could be capable of that and he’d get the blame for it. ’

‘He tried to shoot her but she escaped out of the window.’

He clicked his fingers. ‘That was the gunshot we heard.’

‘And to give himself time, he used a blast of kinetic magic to move the wardrobe against the door.’

‘He ran in one direction, stopping at the hammam to clean himself up while she ran the other way.’

‘You didn’t pick up her scent or another bloody trail because…’ I squinted. ‘Er…’

‘She’d already killed Knox and cleaned herself up when Fetch Jackson arrived.’

We gazed at each other. It was a theory, a convoluted theory but a theory nonetheless.

A small nervous voice trembled from behind me. ‘Somebody has killed Knox?’

I turned. Adrienne was standing in the middle of the cold street, her luminous eyes shining in horror. Oh. She swallowed and stared at us. ‘Who are you?’ she whispered. ‘And what the fuck has happened to my friend?’

I damned myself for being so careless. Thankfully, Thane took charge of the situation. ‘My name is Thane Barrow and this is Kit McCafferty. We should talk inside, Adrienne.’

She shook her head. ‘No. Tell me what happened. Tell me where Knox is.’

To be fair, I wouldn’t have let the likes of us into my house either, but this wasn’t the sort of conversation to have on a dark street – and it was one of those few occasions when Thane’s charm wouldn’t be enough.

I met Adrienne’s eyes and spoke to her gently in the same way I’d have spoken to She Who Loves Sunbeams. ‘Let’s go in so you can sit down, then we’ll tell you.’

Adrienne folded her arms, clearly determined to refuse, but despite her attempt at a tough-guy exterior tears were already brimming in her eyes. My heart lurched. Breaking bad news never got any easier.

Before I could respond, something brushed against my ankles. I glanced down and saw a sleek tabby cat. Without thinking, I crouched down to stroke him. When I straightened up, Adrienne’s jaw had dropped. ‘I’ve never seen him let a stranger touch him before.’ She shook her head in amazement. ‘Ever.’

The cat miaowed softly. ‘He Who Guards,’ I said quietly. ‘Nice to meet you.’ The cat purred.

Adrienne’s tongue wet her lips. She looked from me to the tabby and back again. ‘Okay,’ she said in a strained voice. ‘You can come in.’

Her hands were shaking as she unlocked the front door and they were still shaking when she sat down opposite Thane and me in her large living room.

He Who Guards butted his head against me, reiterating his tacit approval of my presence in his house, then jumped onto Adrienne’s lap. Good. She would need him.

‘Tell me,’ she whispered. ‘Tell me everything.’

I got straight to the point: delaying would only prolong her misery.

Not that my words would cheer her up – I suspected it would be a long time before Adrienne felt cheerful again.

‘There have been three murders in the past few days. We’ve identified the victims as Knox Thunderstick, Simon Campbell and Ian Ravensheart. ’

Adrienne didn’t immediately react; in fact, my devastating words barely seemed to register. The tears that had been threatening vanished. I swallowed, wishing I had a glass of water.

‘We’re not the authorities, Adrienne,’ Thane told her. ‘We’re not from the MET, and we don’t have any vested interest beyond bringing the killer to justice. We believe the same person has murdered all three of them. As far as we can tell, it’s because…’

He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence before Adrienne interrupted him. ‘Silphium,’ she said flatly. ‘It’s because of silphium.’

I leaned forward. ‘You know about it?’

‘I thought it was a damned weed,’ she muttered. ‘But Knox was sure it was silphium. I’d never even heard of it until a few weeks ago. But when I started researching what it was …’ Her voice trailed off miserably.

He Who Guards nudged her hand and his small pink tongue darted out to lick it in sympathy.

‘Where did it come from?’ I asked.

‘Drumelzier,’ she said, her eyes vacant.

I knew immediately where she meant because I’d been there myself a couple of times.

There was a spot sacred to druids to the west of Coldstream but still close to the River Tweed.

Myrddin – or Merlin as he was more popularly known – was supposedly buried there.

The enchantments buried into the ground were certainly strong, although whether Myrddin was actually there or not remained up for debate.

If an ancient magical plant was going to show up anywhere, I guessed it would show up on the grave of the most famous Preternatural of all time.

My mind flashed back to the trail of complaints I’d overheard from the beardy druids at the bar on Hirsel Street.

They’d been upset that they were banned from visiting the site by the druidic board of governors, which meant that the druid governors also knew about the existence of silphium and were hoping to find more of it for themselves.

It explained their raging desire to question Fetch Jackson at the MET station. Shit.

‘Is it still there?’ Thane asked. ‘Is there any more silphium at Drumelzier? ’

She shook her head. ‘There was only one tiny plant. It was small and bedraggled and looked like nothing at all. Knox dug it up and brought it back here because he said it was silphium. We all laughed at him, but he was certain. He reckoned that if he could grow more of it he’d earn a fortune.’

‘Did he manage to propagate the plant?’ I pressed.

She nodded. ‘Not from cuttings – he found a way to extract seeds from the stalk of the original plant.’ Her eyes flicked between us, then she carefully nudged He Who Guards away from her lap.

She stood up, walked to the mantelpiece and retrieved a small wooden box.

‘See for yourself. There are some dried silphium leaves inside.’

When I opened the lid, the effect was instantaneous: I was enveloped in a cloud of magic so strong that my eyes began to water. Thane choked as I snapped the lid closed. Bloody hell.

‘Knox gave us all a free sample,’ Adrienne said. ‘He wanted us to test it out.’

‘When you say “all of us”,’ I prodded, ‘who do you mean exactly?’

‘Me, Ian and Simon. He wanted us to show it to anyone we knew who might be interested in buying it.’ She gestured to the box. ‘The sample was proof that it worked, that it really was silphium.’

‘Did he give any to Harriet?’ I asked, worried that she might also be a target.

‘His foster sister?’ Adrienne’s mouth twisted. ‘Definitely not. She disapproved of Knox’s schemes so he knew better than to tell her what he was up to.’

I put the box on the table between us; even holding it felt dangerous. ‘Are there any more seeds?’

‘Yes.’ Her eyes shifted. ‘Knox thought he was being followed so he gave them to Simon to hide until an agreement had been reached with a buyer. Before you ask, I don’t know where Simon put them. He didn’t tell me.’

The witch’s dead body lying in the thick mud by the side of the River Tweed flashed into my head. It was quite possible he’d taken that secret to his grave. ‘Have you given any of this away?’ I asked, indicating the box of samples.

Adrienne shook her head. ‘No. Knox handed some to a few highly placed druids. Simon gave some to a couple of witches in similarly high positions…’

‘A Fetch?’ Thane interrupted. ‘Fetch Daniel Jackson? Was he one of them?’

She wrung her hands helplessly. ‘I don’t know who he gave them to. I don’t know who Ian gave them to either. He said he knew someone who might be interested, but I don’t know who it was.’

‘A troll?’

‘I don’t know!’ Suddenly her face crumpled. ‘They’re all dead? All three of them?’

‘I’m so sorry, Adrienne,’ I said.

‘Oh God.’ She scooped up He Who Guards and ran out of the room. A moment later we heard a loud, anguished sob.

Thane winced, reached for my hand and squeezed it tightly. ‘Adrienne might not have given away any of her silphium but she’s still a target. We found her, which means the killer can find her too. They might think she has some silphium seeds as well as dried leaves and come here.’

My mouth flattened. ‘It seems a likely scenario.’ I glanced around the well-appointed room then smiled coldly. ‘In fact, if it happens it will be the perfect scenario.’

Thane and Adrienne went out via the back door, leaving the small wooden box of dried silphium leaves in full view on the coffee table.

I stayed and took several moments to acquaint myself with the layout of the house.

I wanted to know the potential exit and entry points, together with any good hiding spots.

I probably wouldn’t use them, but it was sensible to consider all possibilities.

Once I knew my plan and had established the variables and back-ups, I returned to the living room. I felt good; it had been a long time since I’d been this prepared for different outcomes. It was almost like old times.

‘You and me now, bud,’ I said to He Who Guards.

Nonplussed, the tabby flopped onto his back and rolled on the burnished oak floor. I obliged by crouching down and offering him some scratches. ‘It won’t hurt,’ I promised.

His tail flicked from side to side.

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I know you’re strong and capable and I’ve noticed those beautifully sharp claws that you take such good care of. But we don’t know who will come through that front door or when. It’s better if I deal with them.’

He Who Guards rolled again then returned to a standing position. He blinked at me once and I blinked slowly in return. ‘Thank you,’ I whispered. ‘When this happens – if this happens – it’s better if you keep out of the way.’ His yellow eyes narrowed a fraction. ‘Please.’

He looked away.

I exhaled. ‘Good.’ I stroked his back then reached for his sleek haunch and plucked out a tiny tuft of fur. A second later I swallowed it.

The transformation was harder than it had been with Tiddles but that wasn’t surprising because He Who Guards was an older cat who’d been more resistant to the idea than Thane’s youngling.

My body spasmed in familiar agony before spinning in mid-air, and I was dimly aware of a muffled crash as my foot caught something.

Then I was panting, four paws planted on the floor.

I flexed my claws and stretched while He Who Guards watched me with slit-eyed suspicion.

He hissed and batted a paw to establish that this house remained his territory and I was only a temporary guest. I blinked at him again in wholehearted agreement and he backed off, disappearing out of the room with a warning chirrup.

That was for the best; I hoped he’d heed my warning and stay away.

I stretched my back, enjoying the flexibility of my feline body.

Belatedly I realised that the crash had been a nearby vase that had toppled off a shelf as my shifting body had snagged it.

It lay in pieces on the floor. Oops. I hoped it hadn’t been expensive, but from what I’d seen of the house and its contents it was probably a pricey antique.

I grimaced and debated trying to clear up the shards so they were out of sight, but there were too many of them for my feline teeth and paws so in the end I left them where they were.

Padding towards the nearest chair, I jumped up and curled into a corner.

The chance to have an extra snooze was a real bonus.

I wrapped my tail around my body and snuggled down, but it didn’t feel quite right so I stood up again and tried a different position, burrowing my head into a soft velvet cushion. That didn’t quite work either.

I stood up again and tried to stretch out with my front paws dangling over the edge of the seat. Mmm. Comfortable. I sighed happily, closed my eyes and relaxed all my muscles…

Three seconds later, there was a faint snick from the front door and a waft of magic as somebody broke in. Damn it: I’d thought I’d have enough time for a proper nap.

I twitched once but otherwise didn’t move. I wanted to see exactly who I was dealing with first before I acted. I wouldn’t get a second opportunity to assess my target.

Quiet footsteps sounded from the hallway.

This was the nearest room so Adrienne’s would-be killer would check in here first before heading upstairs to see if she was asleep in her bed after her long night shift.

The silphium box ought to be enough to draw them deeper into this living room where I could see them properly.

The footsteps paused momentarily at the threshold and I heard a masculine sigh. Come on, you greedy bastard, I projected . Get in here already.

The steps continued as the intruder walked in.

I stayed where I was, nothing more than a sleepy moggy paying no attention to anything other than my snooze. Through my barely open eyes, I caught a glimpse of a tanned hand.

‘Silly girl,’ the man muttered as he reached for the wooden box. ‘Why would she leave it out in the open like this?’ I’d heard that clipped voice before.

I stretched out my paws like an awakening feline then lifted my head and gazed at the man in front of me.

Quentin Hightower. I should have fucking known.