Page 87 of The Dark Hiss of Magic
‘So you killed him too.’ I clicked my tongue. ‘Quite a little mess you’ve made for yourself.’
The Redcap’s eyes spat pure hatred. ‘Do you have them? Doyouhave the silphium seeds? They’ll change the world. You have no idea about the powerful magic those seeds can conjure up. It’s two thousand years since silphium existed and now it could be back. The person who controls the supply will be rich beyond their wildest dreams.’
I smiled. ‘The seeds have gone.’
‘Bullshit!’
When Hightower answered, his voice sounded more normal. ‘Kitty is perfectly correct. Simon Campbell had the only silphium seeds in existence. They must have gone into the river with him. There is no more silphium, not anywhere.’
‘You’re lying,’ Fitz snarled.
My voice was gentle. ‘You know he’s not. Unless any more silphium plants appear on top of Myrddin’s grave, there are only a few dried leaves in existence and that’s it. This is over for you now – it’s over for all of us.’
Quentin Hightower leaned over Williams. ‘You’re wrong, Kitty. It’s not over at all, not for this fellow. He will be locked up for a very long time.’
Damn it: if I’d been alone, Fitz Williams would have been dead. I hissed through my teeth but thankfully Hightower was too focused on his own achievement to notice.
‘For Mr Williams, this is the beginning.’ He beamed proudly. ‘You fought well, sir, but you are no match for me.’ He thumped his chest. ‘In the end, good prevails.’
I wished that were always true but I managed to smile at Hightower anyway. ‘Good work,’ I told him. ‘You were magnificent.’
‘I was, wasn’t I? I was right not to resort to another rigor spell.’ He nodded to himself. ‘You’ll learn from this, Kitty. One day, you might be almost as good at taking down the bad guys as I am.’
I wasoutside on the street, absently plucking cat hairs from my top, when Captain Montgomery approached. ‘Ms McCafferty,’ he said, greeting me with a nod.
‘Hello,’ I replied, cheerfully.
‘We’ve conducted an initial search of the property and uncovered some items of interest.’
‘Oh yes?’ I asked innocently.
‘We found a gun,’ he said. ‘It will have to be sent away to Glasgow for ballistics, but it appears to match the calibre of the weapon that was used to shoot Knox Thunderstick.’
‘My goodness.’
‘The concealed blade you discovered inside Fitz Williams’ cane seems to match the wound found on Simon Campbell’s body, although we haven’t confirmed that yet.’ He paused. ‘How did you know there was a lethal weapon concealed in it?’
Because it was where I would have hidden one if I’d been a Redcap. ‘I stumbled against it by accident,’ I said smoothly. ‘It was pure chance.’
‘Hmmm.’ The captain eyed me; he’d once been prepared to believe I was a harmless cat lady but I doubted he did now, more’s the pity. ‘We also found a photograph which we believe was taken from Ian Ravensheart’s property.’ He held up a sealed bag.
I squinted at the photo of four disparate friends: a nymph, a troll, a druid and a witch. My gaze lingered on the image of Simon Campbell, the man who’d started me off on this entire investigation. He was wearing jeans held up with a belt and a dark, slouchy jumper. His right hand rested lightly on the large brass belt buckle.
‘Do you notice the background? Do you recognise where this photo was taken?’
‘I believe that’s Myrddin’s grave,’ I said. ‘Knox Thunderstick appears to be holding a plant.’
Montgomery nodded. ‘He does. I don’t recognise it. I wonder if it’s important, Ms McCafferty.’
I shrugged.
‘Hmm.’ He watched me for another few seconds thenglanced over his shoulder at the MET officers trooping in and out of the house. Two members of the witches’ council stood to the right, their expressions tight as they watched the action. On the left, there were two equally grim druids, presumably representing the druidic board of governors.
‘We also found a small quantity of trevishate,’ Montgomery said. ‘And some magicked valerian.’
‘Goodness me! You don’t suppose those materials could have been used to blast off the doors of the MET office, do you?’
‘It’s possible. We’ll have to test them to be sure.’
