Page 52 of The Dark Hiss of Magic
‘It wasn’t us,’ I responded quickly. ‘We didn’t kill Knox.’
Harriet gave me a tired look. ‘I knowthat,’ she said with a trace of irritation. ‘Has anyone else been arrested?’
There was no way of knowing whether Fetch Jackson was in custody yet or not, so I decided not to say anything to Harriet yet. Her grief was too raw. ‘I still think that Knox’s murder and Rory Taggert’s death are linked,’ I said, avoiding both her question – and her Truth-Seeking skills. ‘Last night, the Blue Tattoos’ singer said that there was a Fetch who wanted to know about an old schoolfriend of Knox’s.’
‘You think that friend might be this Rory Taggert? I knowmost of Knox’s friends and it isn’t a name I recognise. I already told you that.’
‘Maybe Knox never mentioned him.’
Harriet stared at me with dull eyes for a long moment then turned her head and called over her shoulder. ‘Cyril!’
The Blue Tattoos’ singer shuffled to the doorway. ‘Oh,’ he said, looking at me. ‘It’s you again.’
‘I need to know more about the schoolfriend that the Fetch was questioning Knox about,’ I said.
He shrugged. ‘I don’t know the guy.’
‘There must be something, some detail that Knox mentioned,’ Thane said. ‘Where this old friend lives? Who he works for? Anything will help.’
Cyril pursed his lips as he thought, but it was Harriet who answered. ‘Honestly, there are only a couple of people from school who Knox stayed in touch with. A troll called Ian…’
I shook my head.
‘The nymph,’ Cyril said to her. ‘I’ve forgotten her name.’
‘Adrienne,’ Harriet replied. ‘Adrienne McDonald.’
No.
‘And then there’s Simon,’ Cyril added.
Damn it. I persisted. ‘Definitely nobody called Rory?’
‘Not that I’ve heard of.’
Disappointment flooded me even though it had been a worth a try.
‘That’s quite an eclectic group of friends,’ Thane said, trying to soften the blow.
Harriet smiled faintly. ‘Yeah. Knox liked most people and he didn’t care who or what they were. He met up quite regularly with his friends from school. They got a few odd looks whenever all four of them came here together.’
‘I’m not surprised,’ Cyril said. ‘A druid, a troll, a nymph and a witch? That’s pretty unusual.’
Both Thane and I stiffened. ‘A witch?’ I asked.
‘Yeah. Simon is a witch,’ Harriet said. ‘Is that relevant?’
Thane leaned forward. ‘What does he look like?’
She shrugged. ‘Blondish hair. About the same height as Cyril – oh, and he has a scar on his chin. He could conjure up a spell to heal it properly but he likes it. He thinks it makes him look more interesting.’ She paused. ‘It doesn’t.’ She sighed. ‘I’ll have to get in touch with him and let him know what’s happened.’
I doubted she could do that since the body in the Mathers Street mortuary that Fetch Jackson had identified as Rory Taggert had a conspicuous scar on its chin. ‘What’s Simon’s last name?’ I asked. ‘Where does he live?’
Harriet finally registered something was wrong and her eyes narrowed. ‘Campbell. Simon Campbell. He lives towards the edge of the city. I’ve got his address somewhere if you need it.’
I kept my gaze steady. ‘We need it.’
‘What was Knox mixed up in?’ Harriet whispered.
