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Chapter

Twenty-Eight

F our of us sat in my small kitchen. Sun was streaming in from the window, suggesting that both the outside temperature and the outlook for the future were warmer than they really were.

We were doing a great job of eliminating suspects and we were doing an even better job of finding more amateur detectives to join our ranks. What would the collective term for our little group be? A symposium of sleuths? A network of Sherlocks? An assembly of misguided fools?

The one thing of which I was certain was that combining four minds was not helping our situation. None of us had any idea who the killer was or where the silphium seeds might be hidden. None of us could agree what to do next – although we all agreed about how serious the situation was.

There wasn’t just a killer to worry about. I’d gotten enough of a whiff from Adrienne’s dried leaves to know that Quentin Hightower’s concerns about who owned the seeds was justified. Silphium’s magical power was extraordinary. Of course, that just gave us something else to fret over.

At least the cats were happy. He Who Guards had curled up on Adrienne’s lap, delighted to be reunited with her.

He Who Must Sleep was nestled against Quentin Hightower’s arm, and She Who Loves Sunbeams was enjoying a spot by his feet where a golden shaft of sunlight had fallen.

She Without An Ear was providing some much-needed warmth and comfort to me, while He Who Crunches Bird Bones was with Thane.

‘I should go and get Tiddles,’ he murmured. ‘She’s missing all the fun.’

From what I’d already learned about Tiddles, she was probably off somewhere making some fun of her own.

‘There’s another cat?’ Hightower asked, genuinely astonished.

‘Technically another two,’ I said. ‘Thane’s cat is called Tiddles and my other cat is He Who Roams Wide.

I don’t know where he is right now. Then there are the feral cats who arrive every day for food – three or four of them usually gather in the garden.

I’ve offered them the chance to stay permanently but they are free spirits. ’

‘I like cats,’ he murmured, ‘but that’s a lot.’ He Who Must Sleep opened an eye and gazed at him. She Without An Ear growled faintly.

‘There’s no such thing as too many cats,’ I replied serenely. Thankfully that was enough to calm both bristling moggies down again.

Thane grinned, his green eyes crinkling, then he focused on Adrienne and returned to the mystery we were unable to solve no matter how many cats we had to help us. ‘What about the other two Blue Tattoos musicians? Could they have the silphium seeds?’

She shook her head. ‘No. They’re fun guys, but he’d never have trusted them that much. Besides, it was Simon who kept hold of the seeds and hid them somewhere. I just don’t know where. ’

‘His flat has already been searched so I don’t think they can be there,’ I said.

‘I’ve been to the place where he worked,’ Hightower told us. ‘There was nothing there, either. I searched the entire place. Nothing escapes my hawk-eyed notice.’

Perhaps we ought to take a second look. Just in case.

‘If you had something that was so valuable that people would kill for it, where would you put it?’ Thane asked.

Hightower answered immediately. ‘My family has a warded vault in the middle of our ancestral home. It has been strengthened by a range of magic users over the generations. If you’re not a Hightower, it’s impregnable.’

I believed him, but his answer didn’t help us. ‘Most of us aren’t wealthy heirs to ancient fortunes. Simon Campbell certainly wasn’t so we’re not looking for a hidden family vault.’

‘If I had something precious, I’d keep it in a safety deposit box at the bank,’ Adrienne offered. ‘But Simon didn’t trust institutions so he wouldn’t have done that.’

‘And there’s no record of him opening any accounts for such boxes in the last five years,’ Hightower said. At my sidelong glance, he nodded smugly. ‘Yes, I checked. I’m a very thorough person.’

Uh-huh.

‘I know where I’d keep it,’ Thane said.

I nodded. ‘I know where I’d keep it too.’

We exchanged glances. ‘Who else can you trust other than yourself?’ he murmured.

Adrienne and Hightower squinted at us.

‘If I owned something that valuable, I’d keep it on my person at all times,’ I said.

‘Me too,’ Thane agreed.

I tapped the corner of my mouth. ‘That’s what Fetch Jackson thought, too.

That’s why he went to the mortuary – he wanted to get hold of Simon’s effects because he thought the silphium seeds would be among them.

I bet Knox thought the same because he went to the mortuary, too.

He was sneaking around in there like me. ’

Adrienne straightened. ‘Then that has to be the place. We locate Simon’s effects and we find the seeds.’

‘Except that Simon Campbell wasn’t carrying anything with him at the river market before he died other than the silphium sample box, which he gave to me,’ Hightower said.

‘He was holding it and he didn’t have a bag.

I’m not even sure he had a wallet.’ He linked his hands behind his head.

‘If he did, my eagle eyes would have noticed.’

The less said about Quentin Hightower’s eagle eyes the better.

‘When his body was brought into the mortuary, it was logged with just the clothes on his back.’ I chewed on my bottom lip. ‘And those clothes have disappeared.’

‘The seeds could have been in his pocket,’ Adrienne offered. ‘Maybe his killer stole his clothes from the mortuary and already has them.’

Thane shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. If anyone had found the silphium seeds, we’d know about it. What are the chances the seeds went into the River Tweed with Simon Campbell? His body was pulled out but they could have been washed away and lost forever.’

For a long moment we were all silent. ‘It does seem the most likely scenario,’ Hightower said. ‘In fact, I’d been about to say the very same thing myself.’

‘Of course you were,’ Thane murmured.

Quentin Hightower smiled.

‘Nobody wins,’ I whispered. ‘Nobody gets the silphium seeds, not the killer and not us.’ I smiled; that would be the best outcome by far .

‘Four people are already dead.’ Thane frowned at my expression. ‘Ian Ravensheart. Knox Thunderstick. Simon Campbell. Daniel Jackson.’

A tear rolled down Adrienne’s cheek, reminding me that she’d only just discovered what had happened to her friends. She hadn’t had any time to come to terms with her loss. ‘Their friends and family,’ she said, choking. ‘Their friends and family.’ She swallowed. ‘Their friends and family…’

Thane reached for her hand and clasped it. ‘They have to deal with the loss of their loved ones. You have to deal with that loss.’

Her bottom lip trembled. Hightower put his arm around her. ‘I’m so very sorry.’

I gazed at her. ‘You are the only person left to kill,’ I mused aloud. ‘You are the only one left who the killer believes could have the seeds.’

Hightower bristled. ‘Even with me here to protect her, that’s a little insensitive, don’t you think?’

I considered apologising but I was only stating a fact.

‘And I don’t have the seeds,’ Adrienne said. ‘I’m not lying. I don’t know where they are.’

I didn’t doubt her for a second; I didn’t need Harriet and her Truth Seeking skills to know that Adrienne was telling the truth.

Those damned seeds were probably floating down the Tweed right at this moment.

‘We know that, but the killer doesn’t.’ I was warming to my topic.

‘Our original plan was a good one. If the killer is after anyone else, it’ll be Adrienne.

We can still use her as bait to draw him in. ’

Adrienne’s tears were falling more freely now.

‘That might have worked this morning but this guy is smart,’ Thane countered. ‘If he wasn’t expecting a trap before, he’ll certainly be expecting it now.’

‘He’s not as smart as me, but the wolf is correct,’ Hightower said. ‘It is too late for such a trap to work. I suspect that the best we can do is keep Adrienne safe. She can come home with me.’

‘And what?’ I asked. ‘You’ll keep her hidden in your warded vault behind your castle walls and moat for the rest of time?’

‘I don’t have a moat. Though my castle is impressive.’ He turned to Adrienne. ‘You’ll like it.’

‘It’s only a temporary solution,’ I argued.

‘Can you think of a permanent one?’

‘We find the killer,’ I said pragmatically. Then we’d kill him, though it was safer not to say that part aloud in present company.

He Who Guards appeared to be on my side.

He drew himself up to a sitting position on Adrienne’s lap and yawned before sweeping his feline gaze across us all.

‘You’re not alone,’ I said to him. ‘We’ll help you.

We’ll provide protection. Adrienne won’t be hurt, not while I’m around to help keep her safe.

’ From the glint in He Who Guards’ eyes, he didn’t think he needed any help.

‘What do you want to do, Adrienne?’ Thane asked. ‘Do you want to go with Quentin? Or do you want to go home and wait to see if the real killer shows up searching for the silphium seeds?’

Her teary gaze swept across us, and suddenly I wasn’t convinced she was in the right frame of mind to make any sort of decision. She’d been working all night and now her life had been turned on its head because of a straggly plant. What the nymph needed was a damned break.

She surprised me by straightening her thin shoulders and drawing in a hiccupping breath. ‘All I want is to see my friends,’ she said. ‘Where are their bodies?’

Hightower winced. ‘Adrienne, my dear…’

‘I want to see them. Then I have to get some sleep.’ She lifted her chin defiantly. ‘Only then can I decide what I want to do next.’

‘When the chips are down and you’re mired in hell, you find out what you’re made of,’ I said quietly. ‘And you, Adrienne, are made of steel. Are you sure about this?’

She wiped her eyes and nodded. ‘Where are my friends?’

‘Mathers Street mortuary,’ Thane told her.

She moved He Who Guards off her lap and stood up. ‘I’m going there.’ She sniffed loudly. ‘Now.’

‘It is not a good idea,’ Hightower warned.

I looked at Adrienne’s face. I got it: she needed this.

She needed to see her friends for herself.

‘Of course it is.’ I beamed. ‘In fact it’s a great idea, Quentin, because you’ll be right beside us and ready to protect Adrienne if the killer shows up or we get into trouble along the way. You’re our magnificent hero.’

He looked slightly green around the gills. ‘I am your magnificent hero,’ he whispered.

I clapped my hands together. ‘Great.’

Thane nodded. ‘Fabulous.’

Adrienne set her chin into a firm line. ‘Let’s go.’