Right then, Gabrielle and Shade came back to the front. Gabrielle looked grave.
“What?” I asked as Shade got back on the counter.
“My guess was bang-on, Boss Lady,” Shade said, sadder than usual. “Our lavender comes from Archer Isle, right?”
“Right,” I said, still not sure where he was going with this.
“Well, I smelled some lavender on our holy man when he was going out the door,” he explained. “The thing is…it reminded me of the scent that I’d smelled back out at Nebula’s. That’s why I needed to check with our store supply, just to be sure it wasn't the same variety.”
“Got any idea where it comes from?” I asked in as level a tone as I could muster. I was beginning to lose the thread on this case once more.
Shade gave me a grim look that matched Gabrielle’s. “It’s local…grows everywhere up and down the coast. But, there's a pretty large field of it near the Sugar Dunes.”
“Brigid, why’s it gotta be me?” Jet whined after I told him what I needed from him.
By then, Gabrielle and Millie had gone back to Millie’s apartment. My dear assistant promised to phone me with a translation as soon as possible. I told her where I’d be if I wasn’t picking up on the home phone. Now I was just trying to convince the most homebody of my Infiniti kitties to do a task I knew he was up to.
“Nobody else I know could find it faster,” I said, buttering him up. “Especially with a jolt of catnip in him. C’mon, Jet. I can’t ask Fraidy again. He’s used up enough courage for a lifetime.” I coaxed.
“But I HATE the so-called great outdoors!” Jet protested, coming out as a pitiful meow. “It was bad enough when I was being used for target practice by our temp worker this week. But, now you—“
“What would you say to a full week of being able to run on the counters without getting squirted?” I interrupted.
Jet pulled out his most sour face. “Oh, you’re fighting dirty, Hattie Jenkins. But I’m not budging on this.”
“Not even for unrestricted access to the catnip during that week?”
Jet started to look more and more conflicted. I was hitting him in his weak spot and we both knew it.
“Plus, you can think of it as an apology for getting sprayed so much by Gabrielle,” I added. “You know I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t—“
“Alright, alright,” Jet said in protest. “But, you better make good on those claims or I’m going to be one unhappy kitty.”
I gave his head a rub. “Knew I could count on you.”
“Yeah, yeah…just open up the Bast-damned door so we can get this over with.”
I opened up the back door and Jet raced straight out. I was right behind him with a pair of garden shears, a bag and my riding broom. The coast wasn’t too far away and it was a full moon out tonight (a witch’s moon, as Grandma Chimera would have called it). I knew Jet could keep up with me from the ground, but we weren’t traveling to the same place. He was going a little further afield. I had no idea how long it would take me to find a sample of the lavender Shade had told me about, but find it I would.
I leaned against the steel slab of the cold room’s examining table while Maude worked with her chemistry set on the lavender samples.
“I have to admit, I’m surprised to see you flying solo on this one, Hattie,” she said while she boiled the coastal sample. “I figured any excuse to see our beloved…or perhaps I should say YOUR beloved…Chief Para Inspector would be—“
“Maude,” I said with admonishment.
She gave me another chuckle. “You really do need to learn how to lighten up on this subject. If my work has taught me nothing else, it’s that few things in this life are worth the seriousness that most people put into it.”
“Okay, I’ll admit it,” I said, pushing myself off the table. “I just wanted to be sure my theory was sound before I went to David with this. I didn’t want to waste his time or, worse, jump to the wrong conclusion.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Maude said, pouring the sample into another vial situated in the Mass-Spec machine next to it. “I think that you’re definitely finding your true calling with this case.”
Within a few minutes, the Mass-Spec was done and Maude looked over the results. With a nod, she said, “Your theory looks like it’s holding water. This is an exact match for the lavender I found on Nebula Dreddock.”
“And my shop sample was—“
“Not even close,” Maude assured me. “Whoever our killer is, they definitely got it from what was previously an untraceable source.”
Maude turned around to see the look in my eye. “You think you know who it is.”
“I’ve got suspicions but not definitive proof. I also, incredibly have to thank Shade for where these investigations have been steered. That little chump wouldn’t shut up about the Lavender. I honestly brushed it of as if it were nothing at the start, but now…” I trailed off. “I’m just waiting for one more thing, and then hopefully I’ll be as sure as I can be that … “
The wall phone next to the Mass-Spec suddenly rang. Without missing a beat, Maude picked it up and said with a grin, “Glessie Isle Morgue, Mistress of the Night Maude Dulgrey speaking.”
Her grin broadened as she said, “Oh, hi, Millie…yes, she’s here. Just a second…”
I was already walking towards the phone when I heard the mention of Millie’s name. As I took the receiver from Maude, I said, “What does it say, Millie?”
“You’re not going to believe it,” Millie assured me.
When she told me, my eyes widened and I got scared.
“Millie, call the police station and tell the desk sergeant what you just told me,” I quickly told her. “I’m going to call David myself but this is something we can’t waste any time on.”
“With you there, Hattie,” Millie said. “I’ll call just as soon as we hang up.”
“So, let’s do that now.”
As soon as I heard the phone click, I quickly dialed up David’s direct line. No sooner had he picked up, I blurted: “David, Millie’s putting a call into your desk sergeant, or about to, which relates directly to our case. But first, there’s some records I need you to look over…”
I prayed to Hecate, Bast, Frigga and frankly just about any Witch Goddess I thought might be listening that Jet had managed to get back to the shop before me. I needed to get to the Dunes Cabin, and quick. I sighed with relief when I saw a kitty shape by the door as I flew to the back of the Angel. Then I realized that it was Fraidy.
“Sweetie,” I said. “What are you doing somewhere other than under the bed?”
Fraidy shivered as I asked that. “Well…you remember that oath we both swore to Lady Bast?”
“Not like I could forget, Fraidy boy,” I said with a smile.
“One of the dumbest things I’ve ever done,” Fraidy said in a muttering tone.
Then in a more solemn voice, he added, “But, since I swore it and I think you’re getting close to the killer and it looks like you’re off again to somewhere scary … or, rather, terrifying…well, I…you know, I just thought…”
“I’d be glad to have you along,” I said, sparing Fraidy the struggle of admitting that he wanted to do something brave. “But, we still need to wait on your catnip-dosed brother to get back so we can actually find the way to the destination. I’ve never been there before, you see?”
“Well, I c-can f-find it again, I suppose. It might take me a while longer than the zippy cat, but I CAN find it.” Fraidy puffed out his fuzzy chest. No doubt he was reliving his good deed of guarding Gabrielle’s gift from the light-fingered faeries. Gosh, he was so cute sometimes.
Right on time, my too-fast-for-his-own good kitty, Jet, zipped into the alley like a feline version of the Flash.
“Woo-hoo!” Jet all but yelled. “What a rush!”
Looking at his eyes, I said, “Jet, did you somehow manage to dip into some catnip?”
“Of course I did, Hattie!” he shouted out. “
How else do you think I was going to be able to handle being outside for this long?!”
“But, where did you get it?” I asked.
“Oh, Midnight told me. Like, he was told by some bogans who got the word from some dryads who, like heard it from—“
“JET!”
“Alright, bottom line: my gossip of a brother found a source where I could get all I needed to get comfortably numb and unbelievably fast! Who knew he actually had some dope information on this stuff?”
That’s when Jet finally noticed the increasingly freaked-out Fraidy, who made a quick retreat behind me.
“Oh, hey, Fraidy!” Jet said with a kitty grin. “What are you doing out here this time of night? Or, you know, any time?”
“Never mind that,” I said, chopping the air with my hand. “Did you find it?”
“SURE did,” Jet said with enthusiasm. “Just follow me from the air and I’ll take you straight to it! Then I’m rushing back and getting stoned on all that free catnip you promised!”
I don’t know how he managed to maintain his self-control for that long but Jet somehow managed to twitchily wait for Fraidy and I to get airborne before rushing down the streets again. I was grimacing, wondering how I’d be able to manage him after his next catnip trip. He was already bombed as it was.
Following Jet wasn’t that hard. But, it was taking a lot longer than I would have liked. I felt the urgency of the matter pressing down on my chest. I could only hope we’d be in time. We’d gotten way past the town limits and were heading to the northern end of Glessie. I felt the sands of time slipping away all too quickly.
“H-hey, Hattie,” Fraidy said from his perch on my broom.
“What is it, Fraidy?” I asked, keeping my eyes on Jet below.
“There was, uhm…something Onyx wanted me to, you know…pass on to you. Promise not to be upset?”
“Onyx would be the one I’d be upset with,” I assured him. “What did he want to tell me?”
“That you should…really try to remember that…air wall spell. You know, the one Chimera used to stop Jet cold that one time?”
“The Wall of Winds?” I asked. Funnily enough, I found it a pretty simple spell to cast back when I was working with magic. The moment Fraidy had mentioned it, I realized that I still remembered enough to do it again.
“Yeah, yeah!” Fraidy said quickly. “That’s the one! Umm, I’m…sorry about putting this on you but…”
“Oh, I can’t get mad at my brave little kitty who’s helping me to solve a crime,” I said, feeling a hint of amusement despite the grave circumstances we were flying into. I thought of the magic then. I had never felt so torn on the inside. All these years I’d been doing my level best to stay far away from witchcraft. Sure, I’d use the odd helpful domestic charm, but using magic where real live people were concerned? Everything since the fire made me never want to work with the ancient arts again. But, here I was again, on the cusp of performing a spell handed down by one of my irritatingly always-right cats. I thought of Gabrielle, and our conversation. Maybe engaging with my inner sorceress once more wouldn’t hurt. This was for the greater good, right? Wall of Wind. Yes, I’m pretty sure I could pull this charm off. I leaned forward and gave my lovely little friend an affectionate rub behind his ear. His motor switched on immediately, and although he was nervous, his purr was genuine.
“Tha-thanks, Hattie,” Fraidy said with relief. “That means a lot.”
I gave him a brief squeeze, but my attention soon shifted from our conversation to the ground below. Jet had just raced to a spot where I could make out the cottage that Rabbi Goldsmith had been renting. In the moonlight, it looked positively picturesque; a Grimm’s fairy tale cottage with a thatched roof, stone walls, an old-fashioned wishing well to the side of the tiny kitchen door. A pond of clear water lay to the other side of the cottage, reflecting back the moonlight from its glassy surface.
Jet was already running back to the Angel, but he wasn’t my focus now. (Although, I dare say he’d be my focus for the next week, when he outright destroys the shop with his rampages.) There was a shadowy figure by the well, and he was raising something in his hand towards his own head.
“Oh, my God and Goddess,” I breathed. “Fraidy, when I say jump, land on his hand.”
“What?!” Fraidy yelped.
The figure from below saw us coming and gave us a startled look. He began running towards town, but I was ready for him. I really didn’t want to do this part but I had no choice, I knew. “VENTO SOLIDUM!” I roared. The gentle night breeze started buffeting in seemingly every direction. I had to hold on to Fraidy as the wind tossed us from one side to another. Suddenly, the air immediately before the fleeing man turned into a solid barrier. The poor man may as well have ran into a brick wall. He fell to the ground with a thud, but quickly tried to pick up the thing in his hand again.
“Jump!” I yelled to my quaking cat.
Fraidy, to his credit, didn’t hesitate, but maybe that was just the sound of my voice barking at him. With a loud meow, he landed right on the hand like he was a marksman’s bullet and clamped down hard. Just as I’d figured, the figure was too busy trying to get Fraidy off his hand to bother with the item he had.
All this gave me enough time to land and get the object; an ornate dagger with a Celtic design on the hilt, away from our mystery man.
“Let Avery go, Fraidy,” I told my cat calmly.
“Gladly!” Fraidy said, running behind me.
Avery Flute was crying without shame as he clutched his hand. I knew it wasn’t the pain that Fraidy had inflicted on him that was causing the tears.
“Suicide wouldn’t have solved anything,” I told him gently as I put a hand on his shoulder. “Especially not you murdering Nebula Dreddock.”
The next morning, Avery stared at the one-way glass from his side of the interrogation room like a zombie. The hand Fraidy had mauled was bandaged up but if it was still hurting, he didn’t give any sign. I felt a wave of pity just to look at him.
Rabbi Goldsmith moved up next to me with David close behind. He sighed heavily as he looked at Avery.
“To think that had I merely gone straight back to the cottage instead of this station that I could—“ he started to say.
“The important part is that Hattie stopped him, Rabbi,” David said. “And, that she pointed me towards Midnight Hill’s visitor logs to show you were with Cressida at the time of Nebula’s death. That’s why we’ve got the killer of Nebula Dreddock on the other side of the glass.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the letter in your pocket? And, why didn’t you come to the station to report it immediately, instead of finishing off the documentation for Gabrielle’s new venture?” I asked Goldsmith as I turned around.
The rabbi sighed like the whole weight of the world had just landed on his shoulders. “Chalk it up to the foolish sentimentality of age, Ms. Jenkins. I knew him just as I knew Nebula and Cressida, a happy child who only wanted to be loved. He was misha pasha. Avery Flute didn’t need the extra humiliation from everyone knowing of his transgressions. As enough harm had been done and your own Chief Para Inspector was the proper authority…” His shoulders slumped further down. “And, the Fae told me the note had been left at least three hours previous. I thought that the …ah, event, had already happened. I was fully expecting a clean-up operation, not a rescue mission.”
I bowed my head and nodded. He reported it to the right authorities first. I had to check my own self-importance in the case. He had been doing the right thing under the circumstances he knew.
“Even so,” David interjected. “I doubt that we would have been in time to stop him if you hadn’t shown up first.”
“Quite true, CPI Trew,” Goldsmith said.
He winced. “Forgive me, as no time for a bad pun this is.”
“Forgiven,” David said. “Actually, this is time for a confession. Want to join me in getting that out of him, Hattie? He might do better if he has a friendly
face in that room.”
I nodded without hesitation. The rabbi was coming up to the glass when we stepped in.
Avery’s eyes lit up as he saw me. He even tried for a smile that he really didn’t feel.
“Looks like you got your man in the end, Officer,” he said to me in a broken voice.
“I didn’t want it to be you, Avery,” I told him as I settled in the opposite chair while David went to his usual corner. “But, it is you who killed Nebula, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” he said. “I thought I was doing it in a way that…would spare her, you know?”
I frowned a little. “No, Avery, I don’t know. Why don’t you explain it to me?”
“You see,” Avery said.
His throat went dry to the point of needing to clear it. Once he felt ready, he started again. “You see, I love Nebula…still. Even with all the things she did, even though she became the kind of horrible person we both know she was, even…even when she laughed at me that last time…”
By that point, he was fighting back tears and gripping the table.
“Love can be a really terrible thing, Hattie,” he finally said, the tears shining but staying in his eyes. “Especially when it’s to a woman like that.”
“So, while you had an hour-long block of music going, you slipped into her estate with your Mirror Gate charm, knocked out her in-house golem, slipped some of the local lavender into her Wraithsgourd, and used the Mirror Gate to get back out when the job was done,” I outlined.
“Got in before she even woke up,” Avery admitted. “She may look like a young girl but she slept in like anyone in my age bracket is prone to do. Somehow, though…I just had to stay to see it through. I knew it would have been easier on me to just leave but…”
“You were there when she died,” I interjected, filling in the details. “At that last minute, you stepped into her sight long enough for me to spot with my scrying spell.”
Avery’s eyes widened. “You mean you saw me enough to—“
“She saw someone,” David corrected him. “Our own scryers saw the same thing she did, enough to know somebody was there but not enough to make an ID.”
The Infiniti Investigates: Hattie Jenkins & the Infiniti Chronicles Books 1 to 5 Page 17