Finding a dead wizard was never easy, so Honora sympathized, but she was glad the potion had been so convincing. “You’re absolutely right. Hiring an experienced guide is crucial.” She nodded to Ren, who just smiled and shook his head at her.
The sheriff motioned to the door, and they returned to the snowcrafts while the deputies secured the body for transport. “I have to write this up and send a report to Stargazer City. I didn’t see any signs of a struggle or that dark magic was involved, so I’m confident in turning over the body to the city police. My deputies will take it back to the station, wrap the deceased, and transport his body back on the Silver Train with a police escort. From the condition of that door, his wife is lucky the wolves didn’t get to him. You probably got here just in time. Another night and there wouldn’t have been much left of him.”
“At least her mind will be at rest.” Honora nodded politely. A wave of relief washed over her. The plan was moving forward smoothly. “You can address your report to Detective Andreas Corder of the Stargazer City Police. He’s familiar with Wizard Rainer’s disappearance and my search.”
Once back at the sheriff’s station, Honora took a moment to compose a letter to the impostor Jane, arranging a meeting with her at the Stargazer City Police Station. Honora added a grim statement that she had bad news, preparing her for the inevitable. Not out of sympathy, because the impostor was a murderous fiend, but because the next stage of the plan depended on believability. Higgins’ report to Detective Corder was sent via a huge golden hawk with enormous talons. No one messed with police correspondence, Honora thought as Barnaby flew off with the message.
Jonathan Rainer’s body was prepared and loaded into a pine coffin. Before the sunset, Honora was aboard the Silver Train en route to Stargazer City. She and a young deputy stayed glued to the coffin, traveling inside of the cargo hold, which made for a restless night. Reaching the train station the next morning, the deputy unloaded the body.
Detective Corder stood steely-eyed on the station platform while the coffin floated out of the hold. The Rawlands deputy spoke briefly with him, nodded courteously to Honora, and boarded the train for his return trip.
“I see you found Rainer.” Andreas motioned to the pine box that had been levitated out of a cargo car and onto the platform.
“Yep. And he wasn’t at Ghost Beach,” Honora said. “From his initial findings, Sheriff Higgins determined that he died of natural causes. He couldn’t handle the harsh northern winter. The elements took their toll.” She was hoping that Higgins’ report was enough to keep Jonathan Rainer off an autopsy table. The last thing she needed was to rescue him from the knife.
“Is that so?” The detective rocked back on his heels and turned his attention to the parchment he was holding, which Honora assumed was the report the sheriff sent ahead. “We’ll be doing our own report, but the sheriff did a nice job.”
“Terrible tragedy,” she added. Her gazed solemnly drifted downward. “I was too late to do him any good. I ended up bringing his wife back a dead man.” She looked up as a perfectly timed tear fell from her eye. Honora was laying it on thick.
Andreas patted her on the back. “Don’t blame yourself. You tried harder than I did to track this guy down. I’m still not sure why you bothered, but at least you got your man.” He sighed. “I actually feel sorry for his wife. She was a pain to work with, but she didn’t deserve this. That guy’s put her through enough.”
If he only knew how wrong he is, Honora thought. She bit her bottom lip to keep herself from saying what she really thought about the impostor Jane. “What will happen now?” she asked.
“We take possession of the body, which will go to the morgue for evaluation. I’ll do the family notification and continue my review of the report submitted by the sheriff of Rawlands and make my determination. It’s mostly routine. Jonathan Rainer’s body should be ready to pick up in a day or two by his wife.”
Honora ran her hands through her hair. “That gives me by tomorrow afternoon at the most,” she mumbled, mentally working out her timeline.
“For what?” Andreas asked. His brow furrowed. “What’s going on with you?”
“Oh, nothing. Sorry.” She cleared her throat, waving him off. “The cold must have gotten to my head. It’s really rough up there.”
“Come on. Let’s get back to the police station. I’ll need to ask you some questions, and I’ve got a pile of paperwork to fill out. Normally, I would pass this on to someone else, but since Rainer worked for the council, it’s got to be done by the book. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee, and you can tell me all about your time in the North.”
“Right,” she said, following behind Jonathan Rainer’s levitating coffin, her nerves racing. “Just what I need, more questions.”
Intent on staying close by in case Jonathan inadvertently woke up from his deep sleep, Honora wrangled her way into the morgue. She’d watched as Jonathan’s body was removed from the pine box, wrapped in gauze, and slid into a metal drawer in the morgue. The attendants had barely noticed him. Didn’t check his vitals, just reviewed the parchment forms and gave him a quick glance. She should’ve been happy they didn’t look too closely at him, but it saddened her just the same.
For the next few hours, Honora endured an onslaught of questions from Andreas. She detailed her trip at least ten times, over and over, until he was satisfied. The impostor Jane had arrived while she was being questioned, so Honora was unable to speak with her prior to the notification. Currently, Honora sat impatiently outside of an interrogation room. The sound of the impostor’s sobs could be heard seeping from under the doorframe. Very convincing, Honora thought. The creature posing as Jane was taking the news of her husband’s death hard. Honora wasn’t amused, but she had to play along and make this work for the good of Everland. The door finally swung open, and Andreas asked her inside.
Crumpled tissues littered the desk. Black makeup ringed impostor Jane’s tear-stained eyes. With her form hunched over the table, her shoulders shook. The witch was a mess. She raised her head as Honora entered the room and dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. She blew her nose. Honora endured the charade and suppressed her desire to smack the tears right off fake Jane’s face.
“I’m so sorry.” Honora lowered her eyes and slid into the seat next to the grieving widow. “I had no idea the search would end this way, or I would have done a better job of preparing you. It was all so sudden. I was tracking down a lead, and suddenly I found him hiding up north in terrible conditions. I should have done more.”
“You did your job, and that’s all I could have asked for,” the impostor Jane said. “I hired you to find my husband, and you did an admirable job. You succeeded where others failed. No one could have suspected that events would turn deadly.” She shook her head. “He had no business being in the wilderness. He wasn’t the survivalist type. Why? Why?” she pleaded with Honora for an answer.
“Why was he there? Oh…um…” Honora fumbled for an answer. She wasn’t going to tell her the real reason he went north. “Solitude, I suppose.”
“I guess we’ll never know.” The impostor Jane opened her purse and handed Honora a small bag of gold coins. “This is to cover your fee. I misplaced my gold card.”
“Thank you.” Honora didn’t know what else to say. She scooped up the pouch and slipped it into her shoulder bag. She couldn’t turn down her fee, especially in front of Andreas, who was currently hovering in the doorway. “What will you do now that Jonathan has passed? Will there be a burial service? I’d like to pay my respects.” Honora hoped the preparations for a memorial service would give her an extra day before Jonathan woke up. After the overnight trip back to Stargazer City, she still had three days until he revived naturally.
Impostor Jane dabbed at her face one last time and returned her handkerchief to her purse. “No, that’s not what Jon wanted. He was a modest wizard and wanted a quiet passing. There will be a quiet memorial, but no formal burial service.”
&nb
sp; “No service?” Honora jerked up in her chair. “Don’t you want some closure or peace of mind provided from a ceremony? Your husband must have many associates who would like to pay their respects.”
Andreas shot Honora an annoyed glare. “Thank you for coming, Mrs. Rainer.”
Andreas ushered her out. “I’ll let you know when you can claim your husband’s remains. It won’t be long. I promise you.”
“What are you planning on doing with the body?” Honora blurted out tactlessly, catching her before she left.
“Cremation, of course.” The thing called Jane looked her right in the eye and said, “I’m going to burn it.” And Honora could have sworn she saw a flicker of glee.
15
Honora raced out of the police station and flew back to her office. Time was not on her side. She had until Andreas released the body to get a handle on what to do about the evil creature pretending to be Jonathan Rainer’s wife. Turning his body over to her wasn’t an option. First, Honora needed to find out what kind of creature she was dealing with. Heaving the window open and hauling herself off the ledge and into her office, Honora was relieved to find Sawyer waiting for her.
“I hope you have good news for me, because events have taken a turn for the complicated.” She peeled out of her jacket and headed for the bathroom, where she kept a change of clothes. After cleaning up from the long trip, Honora grabbed some tea and a bagel from the kitchenette and plopped down behind her desk.
“I’ve got news, but you aren’t going to like it,” Sawyer said. The casebook he’d compiled from his meticulous research was spread open before her. But before she could dive in, a loud whining sound filtered in through the window, followed by some loud pops and the rumbling of a motor.
Annoyed, Sawyer glanced out the window. “Sounds like someone is strangling a cat.”
Honora immediately recognized the telltale rattle of Jenny’s less-than-stealthy hover bike. “She really needs to get that contraption tuned up.” Honora couldn’t help but smile as Jenny parked her bike out on the ledge of her office building.
“It’s illegal to park your bike there,” Honora called from her chair. She’d forgotten to close the window all the way.
“Are you going to turn me in?” Jenny dismounted and climbed inside. She took off her helmet and tossed it onto a chair. “I didn’t want anyone seeing me coming in the front. I’ve been doing surveillance, and I’m in subterfuge mode,” she said, shaking out her hair.
“Doesn’t anyone use the door around here but me?” Sawyer asked. His gaze drifted over Jenny, who was hard to ignore. She adjusted her aqua-colored jumpsuit, which made her look like a mermaid crossed with a hummingbird.
“Not too conspicuous in that outfit.” Honora tried to smile, but her brow was heavy.
“You don’t look good. What happened up north?” Jenny asked.
Honora told Jenny and Sawyer that Jonathan believed the impostor had killed his wife and infiltrated Everland through the witching wall.
Jenny’s eyes narrowed. “Damn it! She’s going to pay for what she’s done. No one messes with the witches and wizards of Everland. Coven of one!” She pumped her fist in the air.
Sawyer shook his head in disgust. “I’m in, too. Whatever I can do to help you bring the creature down, I’ll do.”
“How’s the surveillance of Jane been going? Did you find out anything new?” Honora asked Jenny.
“She hasn’t left her house for the past two days except to walk that dog, which in case you hadn’t noticed, despises her.” Jenny shook her head, a sneer of disgust on her face. “Dogs always know when something isn’t right. The little pup must have seen right through whatever glamor she’s using to hide her identity. But unfortunately, there’s nothing suspicious from what I can tell—no meetings or visitors.”
“Did we get the results on the blood I found in the drain back from the lab?” Honora turned to Sawyer.
“Yes, and I also had them run the talon that Jenny found. First, the blood analysis came back belonging to Jane Rainer, which at first I didn’t think was odd, seeing as it was her bathroom, and she could have easily cut herself, but after what you just told us, the blood evidence could be used in a case against the creature for killing her, since there doesn’t seem to be a body.” His brow was heavy. “Are you two ready to find out what the impostor really is?”
“What?” Honora asked. Her stomach tightened. She braced herself.
“The talon belonged to a ghoul,” Sawyer said. He turned the large parchment casebook around on the desk so that Honora and Jenny could get a good look. Next, he tapped his wand and uttered a spell, bringing up the data on the talon. An inky illustration of the mottled claw and detailed notes appeared on the page.
“Ghoul, yuk!” Jenny’s nose wrinkled.
“That claw gets more disgusting every time I look at it.” Honora cringed.
“Then I hate to tell you a typical ghoul has ten of them protruding from its fingers. The claws are six inches long and are used to shred flesh off the bone. In fact, ghouls are known to store parts of the body to eat later, causing a terrible stench.” Sawyer swallowed and continued, “Actually, ghouls primarily eat the flesh of the dead. They usually dine on corpses and are known to frequent graveyards. But you should know that if there isn’t a corpse available, they’ll kill to survive.” He tapped his wand and a grotesque ghoul image appeared on the page. Honora stared with sickened fascination.
Ghouls resembled walking corpses. You are what you eat, she thought. Their skin hung like melted wax covered in rot. Hooked claws splayed from their hands, but even worse than their claws were their mouths. Their mouths hung open on what looked like dislocated jaws and were filled with rows of sharp teeth embedded in black rot. Talk about poor oral hygiene.
“That’s disgusting.” Jenny reeled back and paced the office. “Spare me the gory details.”
“That’s one of the most terrible things I’ve ever heard. A ghoul killed Jane and stole her identity to get to Jonathan Rainer.” Honora had smelled a corpse in the Rainers’ home, and she had a terrible feeling that it had been the real Jane. She took a deep breath and gritted her teeth. Honora clenched her teeth. She wanted revenge, not only for Jonathan and Jane, but also for Everland—not to mention the pulsing desire she had to rid their world of that parasite.
Honora tried to remember what she’d learned about the creatures at Haven Academy, and it wasn’t much more than Sawyer had told her. Ghouls were the gravediggers of the Otherworld. Foul creatures. What was more disturbing was that Jonathan had been right—an Otherworld creature had infiltrated Everland. But why? Its motives were unclear.
“I should have known the Jane who hired me wasn’t a real witch.” Jenny sighed. “How’s she disguising herself? Where did she get the knowledge to use magic? This ghoul is using some pretty sophisticated spells to hide her true identity, and that makes it even more dangerous.”
“Flesh eaters that know how to use magic. This just keeps getting worse,” Honora said. “We still don’t know why it’s here. What could these foul beasts possibly want with Everland? We aren’t famous for our graveyards.”
Everland had a few graveyards, but many witches preferred to have their bodies burned and their ashes sealed in a box and placed in a tomb. Old lore of witches being buried upside down at a crossroad was drilled into young witches and wizards to teach them about the treacheries of the Otherworld and the old human ways. Also, witches’ bones could be used in black magic, and no one liked the idea of being dug up for nefarious means, so being taken down to ash became a preferred method of burial. Like Jonathan Rainer will be if I don’t hurry up and figure out what the ghoul’s endgame is, Honora mentally reminded herself.
Sawyer turned the casebook around. “But here’s what doesn’t make sense. Ghouls aren’t highly organized or ambitious. They lay in wait, living near cemeteries. They have no real reason to come here on their own.” Sawyer scanned through more information. “They are easily ma
nipulated, have no loyalties, not even to each other, and crave flesh. Give them what they want, and they’ll do anything for more. They are devious by nature, selfish, with insatiable appetites.”
“Basically, what you’re suggesting is that it didn’t come here on its own? This ghoul Jane is working for someone else,” Jenny said. “It makes sense. Someone is pulling its strings.”
“All I know is that a ghoul would have no reason to come here if not part of a larger plan,” Sawyer said.
“But whose plan?” Jenny asked. “We’re back to the beginning.”
“Looking for a motive,” Sawyer said.
“It all comes back to the wall. We can only assume whoever is behind this scheme wants to have access to the arch. And we don’t know who’s calling the shots, so we need to start at the point of entry and retrace the ghoul’s steps,” Honora said. “Question one: How did it get through?” She drummed her fingers on her desk.
A knock sounded on the door. Sawyer shot up. A young wizard dressed in a blue uniform with a messenger bag thrown over his shoulder stood in the glass doorway. Honora waved him in. In Stargazer City, couriers were a constant because correspondence was delivered numerous times during the day. Not everyone could send messages via their trusty bird familiars.
The young wizard handed her a parchment packet with a council seal imbedded in a blob of gold wax. He tipped his cap and hurried out.
“That can’t be good, can it?” Jenny asked, eyeing the emblem.
Honora broke the seal and scanned the contents of the letter. “I’ve been summoned to a meeting with the council immediately, and you’re never going to believe who this is from—Beatrice McManus.” She tossed the letter to the desk and shook her head.
Fly By Midnight (A Sister Witches Mystery) Page 15