Page 61 of Mystic Justice
‘There are no other dragons in the Liverpool and Chester area that I know of at the moment,’ he said carefully. ‘I don’t believe a dragon is responsible for the centaur’s death, but I’d bet good money on it being a griffin.’
‘Thanks,’ I said flatly. ‘In other news, the vampyr that was responsible for attacking Snicklesnack has been found and dealt with. Good day.’ I hung up before he could question what I meant by ‘dealt with’.
‘Sometimes, Inspector, your tact is a little lacking,’ Krieg remarked.
‘I wasn’t aiming for tact.’
He grinned. ‘I noticed. Nice misdirection with the dragon there – “dealt with”. Has anyone ever told you you’d make a good politician?’
‘There’s no need to be rude.’ I mock-glared at him.
As my phone was still in my hand, I decided to call Bastion. Peter was pointing fingers at the griffins; maybe he knew something I didn’t.
Bastion answered right away, not with a greeting but by stating firmly, ‘It’s not a griffin.’ His baritone voice rumbled in my ear. ‘I’ve checked with every single griffin in the UK. Not one was in the vicinity at the time of either murders, except me, and I’ve already taken an oath to confirm I had nothing to do with it.’
I swore darkly. Griffins were creatures of death and their very being demanded that they kill to survive. They weren’t shy about the fact that they delivered death. If a griffin was behind the murders, all they needed was a contract and they’d be in the clear as far as the law was concerned, so they had no reason to lie. Unless there wasn’t a contract in place.
‘You’re looking at someone using a helicopter, plane or a dragon,’ Bastion continued then rang off without saying goodbye. Some people had no manners. I hadn’t managed to speak a single word.
‘The dragon says it’s a griffin, the griffin said it’s a dragon,’ I commented wryly.
‘Situation normal, then. If the creatures actually got along, the Anti-Crea wouldn’t stand a chance.’
The Anti-Crea was a foul organisation that espoused human-first ideals. They were a movement that worked insidiously, blackmailing politicians to promote and implement theiragenda. They’d recently taken a giant spanking from Emory Elite and they were still licking their wounds.
Though we had two dead creatures on our hands – a dryad and centaur – I’d seen nothing to suggest that race had been a factor in their deaths so the Anti-Crea were low on the suspect list, though they were there.
‘Voltaire said that the runes were charging the dead,’ I mused. ‘I need to look at Botany’s employees and see who’s lost someone recently.’
‘Someone close to them,’ Krieg added. ‘Someone they’d kill for so they could resurrect them. A mother, a lover, a brother.’
He was right. Excitement buzzed through me as I realised I had a new angle to pursue. I called Ji-ho.
‘Shirlylock!’ he answered happily, K-pop already blaring in the background.
‘You already in?’ I asked in surprise.
‘Sure, gotta beat the traffic. Besides, Mei had an early shift and she had to kick me out.’
I thought she could have left him snoozing, but still. ‘I need you to look at all the Botany employees and the regulars at Botany that Elvira and Bland identified. Make me a list of anyone who’s lost a friend, family member or lover recently, say within the last six months. Dig into their social media accounts as well as official records. If we don’t get anything, we can look back further.’
‘You got it. I’ll dig into it now.’
‘Thanks. Let’s look at their heritage, too. I need to know if anyone has a parent or sibling who’s a witch.’
‘What do you want me to prioritise?’
‘The dead relative angle first. I’ll get the team to start re-interviewing the Botany staff today and we’ll ask the same question. You dig into the data.’
‘My favourite thing.’ I could almost see the grin that I knew was on his face.
‘Thanks, Ji-ho. Keep me informed.’
‘You got it.’
I hung up and drummed my fingers on my small dining-room table as I thought. ‘Food and rest have done you good,’ Krieg murmured. ‘You’re on it now. You’ve got a scent.’
‘Not yet … but I’ll find one,’ I said confidently.
