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He Who Guards huffed from his position by the door. I wasn’t sure why the tabby cat was so disdainful because most cats were experts in displaying superiority over others. He should have been applauding, not rolling his eyes.

‘I can learn a lot from you,’ I said admiringly. He Who Guards huffed again. Yeah, yeah.

Hightower patted my arm. ‘It didn’t take my quick brain long to realise that Campbell was being truthful. He needed my protection, not my censure or to be arrested. He came to me because I am Quentin Hightower and I had it in my power to help him. I could save him. He needed somebody like me.’

I strongly suspected that it was Hightower’s wallet and bank account that Campbell had needed but I didn’t interrupt. Quentin was on a roll.

His voice dropped. ‘I am afraid that I failed. I met Campbell at the market where he gave me a sample of silphium, five dried leaves sealed into a container. Five perfect silphium specimens.’

He shook his head in amazement. ‘I still find it extraordinary that he had them in his possession. He told me that he had seeds that would produce more plants but there were other bidders. I had twenty-four hours to make a sealed bid for all of the seeds. If I was successful, I would be the only person capable of growing more plants. As I was examining the sample, Simon Campbell walked away.’

He gazed into the distance as he remembered. ‘When I looked up again, I couldn’t see him. I started to search to tell him I’d give him whatever he wanted for all of the seeds and then…’ He gestured helplessly. ‘I spotted him in the water. He was in the River Tweed. ’

His hands tightened in his lap. He Who Guards watched him, tail flicking. The cat would have known Simon Campbell and was probably grieving as much as Adrienne.

‘You didn’t fall into the river, did you?’ I said. ‘You jumped in. You were trying to save Simon Campbell.’

‘Of course I jumped in. I’m a strong swimmer – and I almost got hold of him. I was so very, very close.’ He frowned. ‘I don’t know what happened.’

He was swept away by the currents and was in shock from the cold; that was what happened. I touched his hand. ‘You did your best. Even if you’d grabbed his body, it wouldn’t have made any difference. He was already dead.’

He blinked in surprise. ‘What?’

‘The post-mortem showed that he was stabbed to death before he entered the Tweed. While you were checking the sample, somebody slipped alongside Simon Campbell and thrust a blade into his chest. Even if you’d seen it happen, I doubt you could have done anything. He died instantly.’

Hightower sucked in a breath. ‘So I didn’t fail. I was already too late.’

‘There was nothing that you could have done,’ I agreed.

‘I almost drowned, too,’ Hightower sniffed. ‘After I recovered, I investigated Campbell. The silphium was real. When I learned there had been more deaths of people close to him…’ He shook his head. ‘I confess I assumed you and the wolf were responsible.’

It didn’t help that we’d been arrested because of those suspicions.

‘Dearest Kitty,’ he said. ‘I can only apologise. Nobody like you could be a stone-cold killer.’ He pointed to He Who Guards and smiled. ‘You’re a cat lady, a caring person.’

The cat’s ears twitched and I did my best not to let my thoughts betray me. ‘Absolutely,’ I murmured, glad Hightower was looking at the cat and not me. ‘A caring cat lady could never be a killer.’

‘I am deeply sorry.’

I patted his hand. ‘Don’t worry about it.’ And then, before my poor ability to lie became obvious even to Quentin Hightower, I changed the subject. ‘So after you recovered from your dip in the Tweed, you did some investigating?’

He nodded. ‘I was too late to get to Ravensheart and Thunderstick. By the time I learned of their existence, they were already dead.’

‘Fetch Jackson,’ I began. ‘I suspected him but?—’

Hightower interrupted. ‘Daniel Jackson? He knew about the silphium seeds and was desperate to get his hands on them on behalf of the witches’ council, but it’s ridiculous that anyone ever thought he was the killer.’

Mmm. ‘His clothes were covered in Knox Thunderstick’s blood.’

‘He found Thunderstick’s corpse after you and the wolf left the property.

He raised the alarm anonymously because he didn’t want to answer any questions.

The witches’ council couldn’t risk any whisper of silphium’s existence getting out.

Jackson’s clothes were covered in Thunderstick’s blood after he tried to revive the man, but even a fool would have known the Fetch wasn’t responsible,’ Hightower said dismissively.

Shit. Thanks to Harriet I knew that Jackson wasn’t the culprit, but Hightower’s easy dismissal of his involvement was painful. ‘He died for a reason,’ I said weakly.

‘He was competition. He knew a lot, and he was getting close to the silphium. Maybe he’d even worked out where the seeds were, though probably not. He was not nearly as clever as me. If I didn’t know their location, I doubt that Fetch Jackson did.’

Daniel Jones’s dying words to Harriet echoed in my head. I didn’t kill Knox. I’m sorry. It was… Maybe it wasn’t the silphium seeds he’d discovered; maybe it was the killer’s identity and that was why the Fetch also had to die.

‘My present concern is the nymph,’ Hightower said.

‘Adrienne McDonald is the only survivor of that group of friends who knew about the silphium. I have puzzled over the problem and my sleuthing brilliance has come up with the only possible answer: she will be the next target.’ He eyed me.

‘I know you came to the same conclusion. We were both at her house for a reason.’

‘Adrienne is fine,’ I told him. ‘She’s with my friend Thane.’

‘The wolf? That’s good. Does she know who is behind this?’

‘No.’

‘Vampires,’ he muttered. ‘It has to be vampires.’

‘There’s nothing to connect vampires to any of this,’ I said gently.

He grunted, and I wasn’t sure whether he believed me or not, then he went on, ‘Does the nymph know where the seeds are? Those are what the killer is after and I have to stop them from getting hold of them. Once I locate the bastard who is responsible for all this, I will make them regret the day they were born. I will bring them to justice! I will avenge those who have been killed and I will save the day! The killer underestimates my brilliance.’ He grinned widely. ‘People usually do.’

I couldn’t begin to imagine why. ‘Perhaps we should join forces,’ I suggested. ‘We both want the same thing.’ Thane would understand that Hightower had his uses. I hoped.

‘Good thinking.’ He gave me a paternal look. ‘You’re not completely useless, Kitty. You’ll make an excellent sidekick.’ He paused. ‘With the right training from me, of course.’

I glanced at He Who Guards, who was watching me with narrowed eyes, and shrugged. If I didn’t kill Quentin Hightower by the end of all this, it would be a miracle.