Page 42

Chapter

Thirty

I t didn’t take long to establish that, like Cindy, Fitz Williams didn’t work weekends, but it did take a long time to persuade Quentin Hightower that we needed to visit the Redcap ourselves. ‘It makes more sense to summon Mr Williams to us,’ he said several times over.

‘He won’t turn up to work on a Sunday, Quentin.’

‘If he has any modicum of pride in his work, he will come.’

Seriously? ‘Everyone is allowed time off – everyone needs time off. He’s not at our beck and call. We have to go to him.’

He pouted. ‘If you tell him that I am here waiting for him, he’ll come. I’m Quentin Hightower, Kitty. You know that.’

Alas, I did. ‘That plan might work unless he really is the perpetrator who’s killed four people in quick succession,’ I pointed out. ‘If he’s the murderer and he knows that you’re on his trail, he’ll be more likely to run than to come.’

‘Hmmm.’ He scratched his chin. ‘Perhaps you’re right.’

‘Perhaps,’ I muttered sarcastically and gave him a long look.

The man was baffling. Sometimes he was capable of making clever leaps of deduction and sometimes he could be perfectly sensible; he displayed a caring nature and protective instinct towards others.

Yet sometimes his brains appeared to be made from cotton wool – and it was impossible to tell from one moment to the next which version might appear.

Not for the first time, I wondered what sort of man he might be if I could burst his gargantuan ego.

Sneezy Matt found Fitz’s address for us: the Redcap lived less than a mile from the mortuary. As we set off, Hightower waxed lyrical about the ways in which he would get Fitz Williams to talk. ‘I can be very persuasive, you know. It’s always been one of my many skills.’

I didn’t bother responding; Quentin Hightower wasn’t interested in hearing what I had to say.

‘Of course, if my sweet silver tongue isn’t enough to encourage him to talk, there are other ways. We can pull off his fingernails.’ He waved his hands towards me. ‘You can take care of that icky stuff while I ask the questions.’

I might have possessed different morals to many other people, but I didn’t agree with torture. ‘This isn’t the Spanish Inquisition, Quentin. We won’t be doing anything of that sort.’

He rubbed his chin. ‘Bribery is always an option.’

It would take an immense amount of bribery to persuade someone to cop to four murders. ‘What are you suggesting?’

‘My good word counts for a lot,’ Hightower mused. ‘I could get him onto the waiting list for the Pendle Club.’ He named a famous private members’ club.

‘Onto the waiting list? Wow.’

He flicked me a look. ‘You are mocking me. It’s a highly prestigious organisation, Kitty. There is a waiting list for the waiting list.’

Thank goodness it wasn’t a long walk to Fitz Williams’ house. The Redcap lived in a narrow terrace that was remarkably bland considering its location. As we found the right door, I crossed my fingers and hoped that he was home.

I stepped forward, knocked loudly and we only waited a few moments before the door opened. It took me a second or two to recognise Fitz out of uniform and confirm that he was the Redcap I’d encountered at the river. Without his sombre black clothes and blood-red hat, he passed for normal.

‘Hello.’ He smiled genially. ‘I’m afraid that I’m not buying whatever you’re selling.’ Then his gaze focused and he jolted as he recognised my face. When he looked at Hightower, he was even more surprised. ‘You’re … you’re…’

‘Quentin Hightower. Yes.’ The witch’s chest puffed out. ‘It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr Williams.’

The Redcap stepped backwards, suddenly wary. ‘What can I do for you?’

‘We are here,’ Hightower began, ‘because?—’

‘Because,’ I interrupted hastily, ‘we’re investigating a series of recent deaths that have been linked to the Mathers Street mortuary.

As the team leader of the Redcaps assigned there, we thought you might have some insight into them.

You might have seen something that other people missed when you collected the bodies.

’ I wanted to play this as casually as possible.

It was the only way to encourage Fitz Williams to talk to us.

‘It’s my day off,’ he said. ‘Come and find me tomorrow and I’ll help you all I can.’ He started to close the door.

Hightower reacted with more alacrity than I expected and shoved his foot between the door and the frame, then he used his hand to keep it open. ‘We’ve already established that you know who I am. My coven is one of the most influential and important groups in the city, Mr Williams.’

I blinked. Hightower had spoken gently but there was an air of command in his voice. I could already see reluctant acceptance in Fitz Williams’ expression. Perhaps Quentin Hightower would have his uses here after all. His massive ego and vast sense of self-importance existed for a reason .

‘Fine,’ the Redcap muttered. ‘I suppose you’d better come in.’ He moved back and we were in.

The interior of the house was as unremarkable as the street.

The walls were magnolia, there was no artwork on display, and the furniture was more utilitarian than pretty.

We walked past a coat stand that held three identical versions of the red cap and two long, black coats.

Three pairs of shiny black boots were neatly lined up on the floor, and a long black cane was leaning on the wall next to them. Everything had a place.

It was the same when we walked into the living room: there was no dust or dirt, and no haphazard cushions or books lying around. On top of the mantelpiece a gold-coloured carriage clock was ticking away merrily.

Fitz caught me looking at it. ‘It was my father’s,’ he muttered. ‘Received in return for forty years’ service to the Redcaps.’

It wasn’t a lot to show for forty years but I nodded anyway. ‘What a lovely memento,’ I said warmly.

Fitz wrinkled his nose in silent disagreement but my relaxed manner seemed to do the trick. He gestured to the chairs. ‘Please, sit.’

I perched on the edge of a chair so that I could spring up and either attack or defend as the situation called for. Quentin Hightower also sat down but he sank backwards, making himself as comfortable as he could.

‘We’ve met before,’ I said, as if Williams didn’t already know that. ‘Down at the river when Simon Campbell’s body was recovered.’

He didn’t miss a beat. ‘Campbell? That was his name?’

‘Yes. I didn’t like the thought that he would always be John Doe so I decided to find out who he was. That’s how I met Mr Hightower – he was at the river at the same time as Simon Campbell.’ I kept my eyes fixed on Williams. ‘In fact, they chatted to each other.’

Hightower nodded gravely. ‘Simon gave me some dried silphium leaves.’

Fitz tilted his head. ‘Silphium? What’s that?’

I watched him carefully as Hightower replied, ‘Just an old herb.’

The Redcap’s face betrayed little emotion. ‘Okay.’ He leaned forward. ‘I suppose you’re curious about why my Redcaps attended that scene instead of the closer cohorts.’

I smiled brightly. ‘Yes.’

Williams bit his lip. ‘It’s because of the coffee.

Black’s serves the best coffee in Coldstream, so when we have time between jobs we head there to grab a cup.

It’s worth the extra distance. We were already at the river market when the body was pulled from the water so it made sense to get involved. ’

He addressed Hightower. ‘We were in full uniform which makes us pretty conspicuous. If we hadn’t helped with retrieving the body, people would have been upset. Nobody likes to see a corpse lying around unattended.’

‘Fair point,’ Hightower nodded. ‘Very fair. You did a good thing by getting involved.’

I cleared my throat. ‘You told me that you’d been ordered to take the body to Mathers Street, but you were the one in charge so you made that call, didn’t you?’

Fitz’s eyes were clear. ‘Yes. I lied to you because I thought you were a nosy member of public who was getting in our way. It happens more often than you think. And you were nosy and you were getting in our way.’

I couldn’t argue with that.

‘That sounds like our Kitty!’ Hightower said cheerfully. ‘Now tell me, did you notice anything about the body?’

Fitz frowned. ‘That’s not my job. ’

‘But I bet you still notice things,’ I said.

He acknowledged my words with a brief smile. ‘The victim hadn’t been attacked by river monsters in the way I’d expected. But that was because of your colleagues, wasn’t it, Mr Hightower?’

‘Yes.’ Hightower smiled. ‘It was. They are good fellows. Loyal. And strong.’

I pressed on. ‘Did you notice anything else about the body? Was Mr Campbell carrying anything? Did you find anything in his pockets?’

‘I didn’t check his pockets – that’s not what we do. We gather up bodies and transport them from the scene. It’s not our job to get involved any further.’

Hightower glanced at me, pursed his lips and nodded in an obvious fashion. ‘Excellent,’ he said. ‘Well, thank you for your time, Mr Williams. I think we have all we need.’

Not even close. ‘I believe your Redcaps also attended the scene at Knox Thunderstick’s house?’

Fitz gave me a polite smile. ‘Who?’

‘A druid,’ I explained. ‘He was tied to his bed, tortured and then shot.’

The Redcap’s eyes widened. ‘Oh yes, we were there. That was terrible. I can’t imagine who would do such an awful thing to another living being.

There was a lot of blood at the scene and it wasn’t easy to free the body from its position on the bed.

We were there because that street falls under our jurisdiction. ’

‘That answers that, then.’ Hightower started to struggle out of his chair.

‘And you also attended the death of a troll on the other side of the city. Ian Ravensheart?’ I asked.

Fitz’s expression darkened. ‘I’m not quite sure what you’re getting at.

We’ve collected a few dead trolls recently.

If you’re referring to the one I think you are, that was because the Redcaps who serve Baller Mortuary were busy retrieving the remains from a house fire nearby.

We are a close-knit organisation. Each team helps out others when it is called for. ’

He had an answer for everything.

‘Have you ever been to the MET building, Mr Williams?’ I persisted.

‘Yes, I have.’ He held my gaze. ‘Many times. I’ve been there to collect bodies and to give statements. I know Captain Wilberforce Montgomery very well – he’s a good man.’

‘As are you,’ Hightower said loudly. ‘You have answered our questions without hesitation or prevarication. Thank you so much for your time, dear Fitz.’

The Redcap smiled. ‘Anything for a member of the Hightower coven.’

Hightower’s eyes twinkled. ‘Indeed. Tell me, have you ever considered becoming a member of the Pendle Club?’

For fuck’s sake. This was getting us nowhere. I stood up. ‘Thanks for your time,’ I said. ‘We’ll leave you in peace.’

‘No problem.’ Fitz led us out of the living room towards the front door. ‘I’m happy to have been of help and I wish I could do more, but I really don’t know anything about the bodies I retrieve. All we do is collect and transport – we’re not investigators.’

While the Redcap reached for the door latch, I stumbled and fell against Hightower. He, in turn, staggered clumsily and his shoulder hit the coat stand before knocking into the black cane propped against the wall. It fell to the floor with a clatter.

‘I’m so sorry!’ I exclaimed. ‘That was all my fault.’ I bent down and stretched out my hand to the cane.

‘Leave it!’ Fitz said sharply. ‘I’ll get it.’

I ignored him and picked it up. It was heavier than I’d expected. When I curled my fingers around its handle and squeezed, there was an odd clicking sound. I smiled. Fitz Williams stood stock still.

‘Well, look at this, Quentin.’ I held up the long stick. ‘This is more than just a cane. You see? There’s a thin blade hidden inside it.’ The metal glinted as I pulled it free from its holder. ‘How interesting.’

Fitz Williams looked at me with flat, dead eyes. A heartbeat later, all hell broke loose.