Infernal Enchantment (Firebrand Book 2)

by Helen Harper

  The officer grinned, then he turned on his heel and returned to the waiting police car.

  Fred nudged me. ‘He ma’amed you.’

  I grunted. ‘I know.’

  ‘And he wants to come and work for you.’

  ‘He wants to work with us,’ I corrected.

  ‘Nobody’s ever wanted to do that before,’ Fred said. ‘We’re the pariahs of the Metropolitan Police Force.’

  ‘We used to be.’ I glanced again at Ted’s house. ‘Now I think we’re the place where all the interesting stuff happens.’

  Fred’s smile dropped. ‘Maybe that’s not a good thing.’

  ‘No,’ I agreed. ‘Maybe not.’ I tossed him a pair of gloves. ‘Come on. Let’s see what we can find out about Ted Nappey. You take upstairs, I’ll take downstairs.’

  I pushed open the door and stepped inside. Untouched since last night, Ted’s television was still on, tuned into BBC One. It was an ancient model, boxy and large, shoved into the corner of the living room. There was no sign of a satellite dish outside the house, and I suspected that Ted wasn’t someone who was interested in streaming services. I’d lay money on him watching the news for mention of his own crimes and then abandoning the television entirely in favour of other pursuits.

  The complex, half-finished jigsaw on the coffee table added weight to that theory. I squinted at it; it was an image of the elaborate wooden archway leading into Lisson Grove, where all the werewolves resided. Perhaps Ted was obsessed with all things supernatural.

  I opened a small cupboard and gave the stack of books inside a cursory glance. They were all non-fiction and related to supe matters, although a layer of dust suggested that Ted hadn’t looked at them any time recently. I snapped a quick photo anyway so I could send it to Liza; she could research the books’ contents when she had time.

  I went into the kitchen. Ted was a frugal sort of guy. All I could find in the cupboards were tins of spaghetti. There was one large dinner plate and one smaller side plate; in the cutlery drawer there was a single sharp kitchen knife, and a lonely fork, knife and spoon. I had a sudden image of the man sitting in front of his jigsaw eating cold spaghetti out of a tin. His was definitely not a party lifestyle.

  The fridge was as bare as the cupboards. There was a pint of milk and a forlorn-looking pot of yoghurt. The fridge was clean, I’d give him that. I wandered around a little longer. Eventually, coming to the conclusion that there was nothing else to find, I headed upstairs to see what Fred had discovered.

  I found him in the bathroom, frowning at the contents of the cabinet above the sink. ‘What have you got?’

  ‘Medication,’ he said. ‘Lots of it.’ He pointed to a stack of similar-looking boxes. ‘Nothing on prescription, but lots of herbal remedies and over-the-counter pills.’ Fred gave me a meaningful look. ‘By the looks of the pharmacy he’s got here, Edward Nappey has long-term health issues.’

  ‘Except he’s clearly not been taking any of the remedies,’ I mused. ‘Maybe health problems are what he wants people to think he has.’

  ‘Do you think he has that much control over himself?’

  I thought about everything I’d learned of him so far. ‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘I do.’ I gazed again at the cabinet. The whole house, medicine cabinet included, felt staged though to what end I didn’t yet know.

  ‘Have you found anything else?’

  Fred shook his head, his frustration apparent. ‘Not a damned thing. His wardrobe consists of three identical hooded tracksuits. His bed is made with hospital corners and every single wall is whitewashed and bare.’

  ‘Any religious paraphernalia?’

  ‘Not a jot. No condoms or sex toys or magazines. No colour.’ Fred frowned, as if personally affronted by Ted Nappey’s lifestyle. ‘No joy.’

  Hmm. I chewed on my bottom lip. ‘Is there an attic space?’ I asked. I was clutching at straws but I had to try something.

  Fred opened his mouth to answer me, just as a nervous voice called up from downstairs. ‘Hello? Ted? Are you there?’

  I gestured frantically to Fred, indicating that he should follow my lead. He nodded, his expression wary. I walked out of the bathroom and looked down the stairs. ‘Good morning! Please don’t be alarmed. I’m Detective Constable Bellamy and this is my colleague, Police Constable Hackert.’

  The lined face of a woman in her seventies peered up at me. ‘What’s wrong? Has something happened to Ted?’

  ‘That’s what we’re trying to find out.’ I offered her a reassuring smile and clumped down the stairs. Her eyes drifted to my gloved hands and she swallowed. ‘We received a phone call from one of the neighbours who was concerned. When we arrived, we found his door open and no sign of him inside. In fact, there’s very little in the house. We think he might have been burgled.’

  Her hand went to her mouth. ‘Oh my goodness.’

  ‘How do you know Ted?’ I asked, wanting to get my questions in while she was still off balance.

  ‘He’s my son.’ She looked at me with wide, horrified eyes. ‘Do you think something bad has happened to him?’

  ‘We’re looking into it,’ I said non-committally. ‘What’s your name?’

  ‘Agnes,’ she said. ‘Agnes Nappey.’

  ‘Are you married?’

  She shook her head. ‘Divorced. A long time ago now. I still use my married name though, and I still use Mrs instead of Ms. Ted prefers it that way.’

  He was controlling, then. And he was trying to keep his poor old mum from meeting anyone else romantically. He wanted her all to himself.

  ‘Do you visit him here often?’ I asked.

  ‘Every week. Ted is vulnerable. He needs my help.’

  Hmm. ‘What help exactly do you provide?’

  ‘I pick up his medicine for him. He depends on it, you see. I make sure he’s looking after himself.’ She wrung her hands. ‘He struggles a lot.’

  ‘Does he work?’

  ‘No – but he wants to. He used to be in construction, and he was excellent at his job. Everybody loved him.’ She spoke with the sort of conviction only a mother could have. ‘But he had to give that up when he got ill. He started getting headaches, not sleeping at night, shooting pains in his legs, that sort of thing. Some days he can barely get out of bed. The doctors don’t do anything. He’s been to see them lots of times but they’re useless.’

  Or they realised he was faking his symptoms. Not that I would suggest that to Mrs Nappey. ‘When did he first get ill?’ I asked.

  ‘About four years ago.’

  That was round about the time bodies started disappearing from the graveyard at St Erbin’s Church. It wasn’t evidence of anything – not yet – but it was worth noting. Long term unemployment would provide Ted Nappey with a lot of time to spare, time to plan attacks against vampires amongst other things. Maybe I’d been wrong about the stacked medicine cabinet upstairs; maybe it was simply a way to keep his mother off his back and give him space to focus on other things.

  ‘I don’t mean to be intrusive, Mrs Nappey, but if your son is unemployed how can he afford to keep this house on?’

  ‘His grandfather passed away. He left everything to Ted.’ She sighed. ‘That was right before Ted got sick. I often think that his grandfather’s passing had a lot to do with his illnesses. They were very close, you see.’

  I nodded. ‘And the garage? Why did Ted acquire that?’

  She stared at me. ‘What garage? Ted doesn’t have a car.’ She certainly didn’t know as much about her son as she thought she did.

  ‘My mistake,’ I said breezily. ‘Ted doesn’t own any other properties, does he?’

  ‘No.’ Mrs Nappey looked baffled. ‘Why are you asking me all these questions? Why aren’t you out there looking for my Ted?’

  ‘We need to build up a picture of him. It will help us to locate him.’ I paused. I wanted to catch her off guard with my next question so that I could gauge her reaction. ‘Mrs Nappey, has Ted ever been violent towards you?’

/>   She recoiled in horror. ‘What? No! Ted would never…’ She gazed at me aghast. ‘Why would you even ask that? Has that Maggie woman suggested it?’

  ‘Who is Maggie?’

  Her lip curled in disgust. ‘His ex-girlfriend. He was always too good for her.’

  Ted had had a girlfriend? That didn’t fit the profile I’d been building of him.

  ‘Do you know her last name?’ Fred asked.

  ‘Tomkinson. Maggie Tomkinson. She’s a nurse at Fitzwilliam Manor Hospital.’ Mrs Nappey gave him a pointed look. ‘She’s not a very good one.’

  Uh-huh. ‘We’ll speak to her,’ I promised. ‘Before we go, it would be helpful to have a description of Ted, particularly any identifying features and the clothes he might be wearing. It might make it easier for us to find him.’

  ‘He enjoys sports when he’s not ill. He always wears a dark tracksuit. It makes him feel comfortable.’ She hesitated. ‘And he has a necklace. He says it brings him luck. I don’t like it myself, but he wears it all the time.’

  ‘What sort of necklace?’ I asked casually.

  ‘A tooth on a silver chain. The tooth isn’t real. My Ted says it’s plastic. An old friend gave it to him. He’s been wearing it for months.’

  ‘Okay.’ I smiled at her. ‘I can assure you we’re doing everything we can to find your son. We’re very concerned about him. If he gets in touch, can you please let us know immediately?’

  ‘Of course.’

  Fred handed her a card. ‘Here’s our number.’

  She took it from him. ‘What – what should I do now?’

  ‘Go home,’ he said kindly. ‘Let us do our job. When we find him, you’ll be the first to know.’

  She sank into herself, reminding me for one stark moment of Vivienne Clarke. Two mothers with very different reasons for missing their sons.

  ‘Take care, Mrs Nappey,’ I said softly.

  She nodded to herself. ‘Oh, Ted,’ she sighed. ‘My poor boy.’

  Chapter Seventeen

  ‘Do you feel guilty?’ Fred asked, while we rummaged through Ted Nappey’s garage. ‘For not making it clear to Mrs Nappey that her son is a dangerous criminal?’

  ‘No.’ I frowned at the neat row of grenades laid out on the workbench. Ted had been preparing for some sort of showdown for a long time. At least bomb disposal were on their way to sort everything out safely. Grenades were far beyond my remit.

  ‘Our priority is finding him as quickly as possible,’ I said. ‘She’s the sort of person who’d warn him off if she knew what we did. It would be different if she were in any sort of danger from him, but it was obvious from her reaction that he’s never harmed her physically. All the same, we should keep an eye and check in with her regularly. I don’t think Ted will contact her, but you never know.’

  Fred nodded. ‘I’ll check out Grandpa. There’s always the chance that he offed him so he could get his grubby mitts on his inheritance.’

  ‘Good idea. I’m going to jump into Tallulah and head to the hospital. I imagine Maggie Tomkinson has plenty she can tell us.’

  A car appeared from the far end of the street, its engine roaring. It sped towards us, stopping scant metres away. I noted its sleek black exterior and the expensive make; no prizes for guessing who this belonged to. I muttered a curse under my breath as the driver’s door opened and Lukas jumped out.

  He strode up, his arms swinging.

  ‘I thought I told you to stay in Soho,’ I said mildly.

  He glowered, his jet-black eyes searing into me. ‘I don’t do well with orders.’

  ‘You might be a vampire Lord,’ I started, ‘but—’

  Lukas held out his phone. ‘Take it.’

  ‘What?’

  A tinny voice echoed from the speaker. ‘DC Bellamy? Are you there?’

  I gritted my teeth. It was unmistakably Detective Superintendent Lucinda Barnes. Lukas had gone behind my back and brought out the big guns. I glared at him and took the phone. ‘This is DC Bellamy.’

  ‘Ah, Emma,’ DSI Barnes said. ‘Good to speak to you. I trust you’re not feeling any the worse for wear after your encounter yesterday with a stun grenade.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ I bit out.

  ‘Excellent. How is the investigation coming along?’

  ‘We have several leads to follow.’

  ‘Even better. I’ve been speaking to Lord Horvath and I think it’s best if he joins you for now. Given that the vampires are involved, it would be wise to keep him in the loop.’

  I inhaled deeply. ‘With all due respect, DSI Barnes, with the vampires involved as they are, it would make more sense for Lord Horvath to stay well away.’

  ‘He’s a powerful vampire. He’s perfectly capable of looking after himself.’

  ‘If he were perfectly capable of looking after himself, he wouldn’t have been incapacitated last night.’

  ‘And,’ Barnes said, ‘if you were perfectly capable of looking after yourself, you wouldn’t have been attacked by Clan Sullivan.’

  I hissed through my teeth, my eyes flashing at Lukas. He folded his arms and watched me, his expression bland. ‘I dealt with that,’ I said into the phone.

  ‘Regardless of which department you work for, you are still a Metropolitan Police detective. I will not permit that sort of ridiculous attack to occur. The very idea is reprehensible!’

  I tried to remain calm. ‘Dragging Lord Horvath into the mix won’t help matters with the clans.’

  ‘On the contrary,’ she said, ‘it will show the wolves that they’ll be left out in the cold if they continue with this sort of behaviour. The last thing they want is for the vampires and the police to have a strong relationship that excludes them.’

  I tugged at my hair in exasperation. For DSI Barnes, everything had to be about politics.

  ‘This isn’t up for negotiation, Emma,’ she continued. ‘Supe Squad is small, and I’m not yet in a position to argue for more detectives to be assigned to it. However, this might provide the necessary nudge to the powers-that-be.’

  Yeah, yeah. I looked at Lukas. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d offered more to DSI Barnes that I didn’t know about, but arguing further was pointless. I didn’t like it – but I’d have to lump it.

  I hung up and passed the phone back to him. ‘You heard what happened with Clan Sullivan, then.’

  He regarded me implacably. ‘You’re not the only one who’s been developing sources and informers. I’ve been at this gig for a long time, D’Artagnan.’

  ‘You hate the thought of Supe Squad growing and getting more powerful. This is playing right into DSI Barnes’ hands.’

  He shrugged. ‘That’s what she thinks. What I’m doing is proving that Supe Squad doesn’t need more officers or detectives – not when the supe population is so helpful to your kind selves.’ He nodded at Fred and me. Then he pointed towards the car and Scarlett stepped out. ‘She will help PC Hackert. I will help you. Dividing our resources like this makes sense.’

  Maybe it did, but not if it meant they ended up in harm’s way. ‘You’re both targets. This isn’t a good idea.’

  Lukas moved closer and dipped his head. His tongue darted out and he licked his lips. I wanted to step away but somehow I couldn’t. ‘If I didn’t know better,’ he said softly, ‘I’d say you don’t want to spend time alone with me.’ His black eyes glittered. ‘But I know that’s not true, D’Artagnan. It’s nice of you to be concerned for my safety but I’m perfectly well. And,’ his voice hardened, ‘I will not be caught out like I was last night. I guarantee it.’

  I glanced at Fred. From his flushed cheeks, I got the impression he was very keen to spend the next few hours in Scarlett’s company. I sighed. ‘It’s not like we have any choice.’

  Lukas grinned suddenly. ‘Indeed.’ He tilted his head. ‘You should have told me about Lady Sullivan.’

  I sighed irritably. ‘I can look after myself. You can look after yourself. We’re all good at looking after ourselves.’ It soun
ded like I was conjugating Latin verbs. ‘Come on, then.’ I jabbed a finger at his expensive car. ‘That will have to stay here. We’re taking Tallulah. She’s been out here all night on her own.’

  The corners of Lukas’s mouth turned up. ‘You genuinely care for that car, D’Artagnan.’ He paused. ‘And now I know you genuinely care for me too.’ His lips brushed against my cheek unexpectedly, then he turned and walked to Tallulah.

  For a good few seconds, all I did was stare after him.

  ***

  I owed Dr Laura Hawes a great deal. Not only was she on hand every time I woke from the dead, but she’d also managed to get hold of Maggie Tomkinson for me.

  When Lukas and I reached the hospital, the nurse was already waiting in the lobby. She glanced at the vampire Lord, her eyes flickering as she registered what he was even if she didn’t know who, but she didn’t pass comment. Maggie had a no-nonsense approach to life; how she’d ended up with a boyfriend like Ted Nappey was bizarre.

  ‘I can’t say I’m surprised that the police are knocking on my door to ask about Ted,’ she said. ‘I always thought it would come to this.’ She led us towards a small room. ‘Come on. We can talk in here.’

  Lukas and I exchanged glances then followed her. The room was set up with a table and chairs. We sat down and started.

  ‘You dated Ted?’ I questioned.

  Maggie nodded. ‘For my sins, yes. We were together for a couple of years. Before he started to turn weird.’

  ‘How did you meet?’ Lukas probed.

  ‘Here. Ted had an accident at work. He fell off some scaffolding and broke his wrist. It wasn’t serious, but it took a long time to heal. He was in and out as a patient a few times. Once he was fully discharged, he got in touch and—’ Her mouth flattened with the sort of distaste only hindsight can bring. ‘We went out.’

  ‘You say he turned weird,’ I said. ‘What do you mean exactly?’

  Maggie sighed. ‘It was small things at first. He became obsessed with my work – he was convinced that I was constantly picking up all sorts of germs.’ She nodded at Lukas. ‘And he developed a strong hatred for supes. He was sure that you’re keeping the secrets of your health and strength to yourselves, but if you’d let us test you and take samples from you for laboratories all over the world, it would be better for the human population at large. He wrote to his MP about it. Many times.’ She smiled faintly. ‘He never got a reply.’