Page 65 of Mystic Justice
The drive to the station was short and silent, for which I was grateful. My mind was pulling me in a million different directions, and it was hard to know which thread to follow.
When we arrived, I said to Krieg, ‘Go to my office. I’ll meet you there after Thackeray’s bollocking.’
‘He shouldn’t be telling you off,’ Krieg groused. ‘You’re doing a great job.’
‘Then why is Ruben dead?’ I shot back. I held up a hand to forestall his protests. ‘Never mind, never mind. I know. Not my fault.’ I pinched the bridge of my nose. ‘I’m on it. Just wait for me with Loki. Please.’
It was the please that did it. His eyes softened and he nodded, then gave a ridiculously good bird call. Loki flew to him and I started up the stairs to get my dressing down from Thackeray. I squared my shoulders and knocked on his door.
‘Come,’ my boss called.
‘Apologies for the delay in attending, sir. I was at a crime scene.’
‘I’m aware,’ he said mildly. ‘Fire for this death – you were correct about the elemental theory. Take me through it.’
‘Yes, sir. The team carried out a stakeout last night at Botany, which has been a common thread through all three cases. Elvira and Bland stayed inside the club in uniform as a visible deterrent, with McCaffrey and Frost inside undercover. We had the rest of the team operating surveillance. Ji-ho had rigged up cameras throughout the premises, including the hidden back room from which we now believe Moss Hollings exited when she went missing.
‘At closing time, we ended our surveillance. At some point between closing the bar and returning home, we believe that Ruben Jones was abducted by the killer. Dr Potter is reviewing the body’s dental records to get a positive ID, but there’s little doubt in my mind that Jones is the deceased. He was taken to Chester Grove, set on fire using a fire elemental’s flame and killed.’
‘The dryads are coming up time and time again in this case.’
‘Yes, sir. Moss Hollings was taken from the Liverpool Grove but her remains were found in Grosvenor Park. All three bodies have been left in the same area.’ Frustration bled into my tone. ‘It’s too big a place for us to secure or even carry out surveillance. With limited resources we can’t prevent the killer from carrying out their last kill as planned. I suspect there’s some link to Jude Jingo – I think the killer is rather clumsily trying to frame him – but he has so many enemies that it’s almost impossible to winnow down a list of viable suspects.’
‘Breakthroughs?’
‘We suspect that Jane Calder, the only fire elemental employed at Botany, is behind the deaths together with an unknown accomplice. Ji-ho and Channing are digging into her background now. McCaffrey is reviewing the footage Ji-ho took last night and looking at who Ruben Jones interacted with. Elvira and Bland are outside Jane Calder’s residence – she’s our chief suspect. So far they haven’t seen any movement. With your permission, I’d like to storm the flat.’
He nodded. ‘Agreed. Lots of threads. Pull them together, Wise.’
‘Yes, sir. Frost is speaking to the staff, trying to determine who is afraid of the earth in some way, whether it be caves or being buried alive.’
‘You’re trying to identify the next potential victim?’
‘Indeed.’
‘All right. If you locate them, put them in protective custody.’
‘Thank you, sir.’ More resources, more money, at least for this case, Thackeray wasn’t worrying about our bottom line, he just wanted results.
He studied me. ‘This is Unit 13’s first case and we can’t afford mistakes. With Krieg running shotgun, is your head in the game?’
I stiffened. ‘Yes.’ I dropped the ‘sir’ because the question pissed the hell out of me.
‘I had to ask.’
No you didn’t, I thought, but I kept my face impassive. ‘The Mystic Informercontacted me, asking whether we have any comment.’
Thackeray grimaced. ‘Sometimes it’s best to control the narrative. Throw them a bone. Choose it carefully and also when you throw it.’
‘Yes, sir. If that’s all?’
‘Not quite.’ He studied me again with eyes as old as a glacier. ‘You have a green light for a kill order on this one. Stop the killers, Wise – by any means necessary.’
‘Noted.’
He nodded again. ‘Then you’re dismissed.’
I left, shutting the door none too gently behind me. Time was pressing down on me and the last thing I needed was my boss breathing down my neck, too; I just needed to focus on the damned job.
