Page 9 of Skulk of Foxes
‘This man!’ I screeched. ‘This man is not my doctor! In fact, he’s no doctor at all. Get him away from me!’
Carduus simply folded his hands together and looked concerned. ‘She’s obviously brain damaged. We need to get her back to the hospital and under proper care. She’s been off her medication for too long.’ His calm voice and placid features gave the impression of a kindly medical practitioner dealing with a crazed psychopath. Despite knowing that, I didn’t let up with my shrieks.
‘Viburna! Do something!’
Fortunately she finally stepped up and did her job like she was supposed to. ‘My client has nothing to do with this man. He is not a doctor and, as such, his reasons for taking away Ms Hatter can be nothing but nefarious.’
Nefarious. That was a great word. I bobbed my head with considerable energy and enthusiasm and stopped yelling just long enough to speak properly. ‘Yes! He’s definitely nefarious! And I’m not going anywhere near him!’
Mulroney frowned. He knew there was something going on but he couldn’t quite work out what. ‘I’ll double-check the paperwork.’
‘I can assure you,’ Carduus said mildly, ‘it’s all in order. Unfortunately, Madrona is a danger to herself. She believes herself to be a faery. If she thinks that she can fly too, and leaps off a building to prove it, well…’ He shook his head in dismay.
Jones reappeared, a sheet of paper in her hand. She handed it over to Mulroney. He scanned it then held it up. Both Viburna and I stared. It was completely blank.
‘I’m sorry,’ DI Mulroney said, not looking in the slightest bit sorry at all. ‘As you can see, the paperwork is all in order. The courts have ordered Madrona Hatter to be committed.’
My voice reached crazy decibel heights again. ‘There’s nothing written there! It’s just a blank piece of paper!’
Carduus tutted. ‘She’s hallucinating now. The faster we get her transported back to hospital the better.’
I looked at Viburna. There was no doubt from the expression in her eyes that she knew the paper was as unblemished as the perfect skin on my arse. Carduus or Rubus – or whoever happened to have enough magic skill – had done something to make Mulroney and the rest of the police see something completely different. It was a bloody clever glamour. But Viburna couldn’t let this happen. She was the lawyer around here; it was time she did some proper lawyering stuff.
I swung round to her and put my hands on my hips. My screaming had got attention; now I needed to get her respect. I forced myself to speak calmly and levelly. ‘You must be able to challenge this … court order.’
She shook herself. ‘Yes. Yes, I will.’ She drew herself up. ‘In fact—’
‘I should add,’ Carduus interrupted, ‘that my employer is outside waiting. He’s an important man but I can always ask him to join us to help iron out this little issue.’
Viburna went white. We both knew exactly who he was referring to. Rubus was out there. And, as the only Fey no longer affected by the truce that kept the rest of us in check and prevented us from attacking each other, he’d be able to use both magic and violence to do whatever he wanted.
I could tell Mulroney that Rubus was out there but what was the bet that the blasted faery would conjure up another glamour for himself to maintain his anonymity?
‘Viburna,’ I said through gritted teeth.
‘I…’ Her face fell and she looked away. ‘The paperwork seems to be in order legally,’ she muttered.
What. An. Arsebadger. So this was the new world order. Now that Rubus could hurt – or even kill – any of us, he was going to be granted permission to do whatever the hell he wanted. Even the likes of Viburna, who had a rod of steel up her arse, was too scared to go up against him.
For a moment I debated requesting that my belongings, and in particular the sphere, be released into Viburna’s care but it was clear that I could no longer count on her. Not that I ever had.
‘The last time I met something like you,’ I told her icily, ‘I flushed it.’ It wasn’t my best effort but I was under pressure and she got the point. Carduus just smirked. I glanced at Mulroney and Jones. ‘Get her out of here. Viburna Smith QC no longer represents me.’
Mulroney shrugged. He patently couldn’t give a toss what I decided to do. ‘As you wish.’
DC Jones, who until this point could hardly have been described as amiable or helpful, gave all three of us an assessing look. ‘The good doctor will meet you out front,’ she said.
Carduus frowned. ‘I’m not sure that’s…’
She glared at him and he subsided. I almost smiled. At least someone around here besides me had a bit of backbone. And until Rubus had his hands on the magical sphere, I wasn’t going to give up hope.
***
I was uncuffed and given enough crappy bits of paper to sign to fill up even the roomiest recycling bin. A fresh-faced uniformed cop handed me my belongings in a sealed plastic bag and I relaxed slightly when I spotted the sphere nestled in the bottom. The fat lady hadn’t sung yet, regardless of who was out there on the street waiting for me.
‘I need to use the loo,’ I declared loudly.
He pointed me down the corridor. I sniffed, grabbed the bag and headed in that direction. I could feel Carduus’s eyes boring a hole in my back from the waiting room. He could bore away; I’d always thought he was a tedious sort of faery anyway.
