by Helen Harper
The living room was as still and silent as the rooms behind. That left only the kitchen ahead. The door was slightly ajar and I glimpsed the edge of patterned linoleum on the floor, as well as a flickering shadow. The music was coming from in there.
I edged as far forward as I dared. I wanted to be sure of the lay of the land before I proceeded. Holding my breath, I squinted through the narrow gap. There, with his back turned to me and his hips jiggling in time to the music, was the unmistakable figure of Edward Nappey. The bizarre ring of steel round his neck glinted in the afternoon sunlight that streamed in from the window. Scarlett was slumped at one side of the small wooden table in the corner. At the other side was a gagged and bound Maggie Tomkinson. My fingers twitched.
I angled my head to look round more of the room. At first it was difficult to tell what Nappey was doing. When he turned to address Maggie, however, and I spotted the glass bottles and schoolroom chemistry set, I realised that was he putting the finishing touches to his elixir. I gritted my teeth. All this for some daft concoction that was never going to work anyway.
Nappey’s lips moved as he said something to Maggie. Her eyes were dazed. He frowned, then turned to the small radio and turned down the sound so she could hear him.
‘You never did have much taste in music, Mags,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry, though. Now that I’ve completed the elixir, you’ll have plenty of time to learn to appreciate the merits of a good drum beat.’ He grinned. He was very, very pleased with himself. I barely repressed a shudder.
‘It’s taken me so long to get to this point. It’s harder than you think to distil a liquid from werewolf bones. If you don’t catch the corpse at exactly the right time, you miss your opportunity. It was harder than I thought it would be. Now that I’ve got the vampire blood I need to enhance the liquid, all that effort will be worth it – I promise you that.’
He beamed. ‘In fact, it will be more than worth it. Just think of all the time you’ve spent in that grubby hospital hooking people up to IVs and pumping them full of drugs when one sip of this little darling and they’ll be right as rain.’
He swung round proudly, holding up a narrow-necked flask. My eyes narrowed as I gazed at the murky red liquid it contained, and at the shark’s tooth necklace hanging below his steel neck collar.
Maggie raised her head and stared dully at the elixir.
‘No more cancer, Mags,’ Nappey breathed. ‘No more strokes. No more feeling inferior to supes and their disgusting ways. This,’ he waved the flask, ‘is the future. And I’ve created it. They’ll be singing my name in the streets for decades to come.’
The man certainly had a god complex. I wrinkled my nose.
Maggie’s eyes flicked towards me and she jerked in recognition. I shook my head urgently. Not yet. Don’t give the game away yet. Fortunately, her ex-boyfriend was too enamoured of his supposed brilliance to notice.
‘I’ll drink it first,’ he said. ‘I’d give you some but I think you’d spit it out. You don’t see what I’ve done yet but the book is right. What I’ve done will change everything. This little beauty here is how we reclaim our country.’
His lip curled in Scarlett’s direction. ‘It’s a shame she’s not awake to see it. Her blood has done what all the boiled wolf bones couldn’t.’
Nausea rose up from my stomach. Enough already: I didn’t need to hear any more. I stepped back, staying on the balls of my feet so that Nappey didn’t hear me, then I raised the crossbow. I threw Maggie a meaningful look. From the slight tilt of her head, she understood perfectly.
I squinted and took aim. All he had to do was move slightly to the left. I held my breath, waiting – and then he shifted. A heartbeat later, the silver-tipped bolt left the crossbow and whistled through the air.
Maggie ducked and covered her head with her hands as the bolt smashed into the flask. The glass smashed, flying out in all directions, along with spatters of the disgusting liquid. For a second Nappey didn’t move, too stunned by the destruction of what he’d achieved to react. Then he howled, a sound of anguished agony.
‘No! No!’ He whipped round and finally caught sight of me beyond the door. His mouth dropped open and he stuttered, ‘You. But you’re dead. What? How? I don’t—’
I kicked the door open and calmly reloaded the crossbow. This time, I pointed it at his head. ‘Get down onto the floor. Face down.’ My voice hardened. ‘Or I’ll shoot.’ It would have been nice if he’d done as I ordered, but it was never going to be that easy.
Nappey jumped to the side and grabbed a knife, the same one he’d been brandishing earlier. It was now stained with blood, which no doubt belonged to Scarlett. He might be psychotic but he was no fool. Rather than attacking me, he reached for Maggie and hauled her up by her hair.
He held the knife to her throat. ‘I’ll kill her!’ he yelled. ‘Don’t think I won’t! Every great action needs a sacrifice. If that’s to be Mags, so be it.’ He pressed the blade into her skin. ‘If you want her to live, you need to back off out of here. Now.’
‘Drop the knife, Mr Nappey. You’re not getting away. Not now.’
‘No fucking chance,’ he snarled. ‘I’ve come too far. I’m too close. I’ve killed for this. And not just you, either.’
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘You rammed your car into Julian Clarke.’
‘Who?’
‘The young werewolf,’ I said calmly. ‘You’re wearing his necklace.’
‘Him?’ Nappey’s voice was sneeringly nasal. ‘He was a fucking wolf. I’m talking about human lives. Who cares about supe lives?’
‘You think you’re doing all this for the greater good. In truth, you’re nothing more than a pathetic man with violent tendencies.’
‘What I’ve created will save lives!’
‘You’re a killer, Ted. Plain and simple. Your elixir won’t help anyone. It won’t help you.’
He hawked up a ball of phlegm and spat it at me. Despite his best efforts, it didn’t come close but splattered uselessly on the floor, where it mingled with the remnants of shattered glass and spilled elixir.
‘You see?’ I said softly. ‘You can’t even spit straight.’
Nappey roared. He jerked back and grabbed a large, bulbous, glass container. There was some red liquid still clinging to its sides. ‘There’s enough here. I can still drink this. Then you’ll see! You’ll all see! You’ll realise what I’ve done.’
A fire sparked in Maggie’s eyes. As Nappey had reached for the last dregs of his potion, he’d relaxed his hold on her. She raised her leg and stamped down on his foot. He screamed and released her. Still gagged, and bound by her wrists, she fell away from him and backed into the corner of the kitchen.
‘You, you, you – bitch!’
I adjusted the aim of the crossbow as Nappey held the container to his lips. ‘Watch out for flying glass,’ I said softly. ‘This might hurt.’
Panic flared in his expression. ‘No!’
I dipped the crossbow an inch. ‘Either you get down on the floor or I smash the last of your elixir to smithereens.’ I raised my eyebrows. ‘How much do you want it to work? How much do you believe in it, Ted?’
‘I won’t surrender.’ He was getting desperate. ‘I won’t give in.’
Whatever. My expression didn’t alter. ‘Okay.’ I lifted the crossbow and aimed again. And, amazingly, that was enough.
Nappey’s shoulders dropped. ‘No,’ he whispered. He hugged the flask to his chest. ‘You can’t destroy it. This is all that’s left. It will work. I know it will.’
‘Then put it down,’ I said. ‘Get down on the floor.’ I met his eyes. ‘Do as I say and I won’t shoot it.’ I didn’t smile but I knew I’d already won. ‘On a count of three. One. Two. Thr—’
Nappey put the container on the table, next to Scarlett’s head. Then he lowered himself. ‘You’ll see. You’ll give it to someone and then you’ll see. I’m not wrong. This is what the world’s been waiting for.’
‘No, it’s not. The
world doesn’t care what you’ve done. In fact,’ I walked into the kitchen and stood over him, ‘the world will never know.’ I gazed at him. ‘I’ll finish what I started twelve hours ago. Edward Nappey, I am arresting you for murder.’
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Joe was already waiting under the old oak tree in Trinity Square when I arrived. The expression on his face was sullen and petulant. Despite his obvious reluctance though, he was clearly a vampire of his word.
‘Hey Joe,’ I said. ‘Whaddaya know?’
He scowled at me. ‘Nothing. I know nothing. Can I go now?’
I tutted. ‘I’d expected better. I thought you’d want to impress me and show me that you’re more than merely a fanged grunt.’
‘You’re only trying to goad me.’
Yeah, I was. ‘Then give me something useful and I’ll stop.’
He put his hands in his pockets, every action designed to advertise his reluctance. ‘After the boss hugged Scarlett and made sure she was alright, he bawled her out. Nobody knows why, but it had to be for something big. He never usually lets himself get angry like that. From what I heard, it was to do with a human she’s been playing with.’ He shrugged. ‘I don’t know why that would bother him.’
I blinked. ‘Anything else?’
‘He’s set an entire team onto scouring old books for any mention of phonenixes. Phoenixi.’ Joe blew air through his cheeks. ‘Weird bloody birds that won’t die.’
I swallowed. ‘Okay.’
‘And,’ he continued without registering my expression, ‘there’s some big meeting coming up with the werewolf alphas. I dunno what it’s about, but all the bigwigs are pretty excited about it.’
I absorbed this. ‘I see.’
Joe smiled smugly. ‘It’s about time those furry fuckers were put in their place.’
‘Is that it?’
‘Isn’t that enough?’
I supposed it was.
***
I parked Tallulah in the same spot as before. Devereau Webb’s tower block cast a long shadow across the road in front of me. Fred glanced over from the passenger seat. ‘Are you sure about this?’
‘Not really,’ I answered. ‘But it feels right.’
He nodded half-heartedly. Scarlett had made a full recovery from her injuries at Ted Nappey’s hands, but she’d lost a fang in the process and garnered herself several new nicknames. She was also no longer answering his calls. The bruises on the side of Fred’s neck had long since faded but I suspected the bruises on his heart would take longer to heal.
‘Liza messaged,’ he said. ‘Vivienne Clarke has been released with a warning. Her husband is being charged with attempted murder. Apparently he sent you a letter. It arrived in the post this morning.’ He gave me a long look. ‘It’s a thank-you card, if you can believe that.’
I smiled sadly. In the end, the Clarkes had got what they wanted, even if the results weren’t quite what they’d hoped for.
The details of Edward Nappey’s mission to create the Elixir of Fortitude were not being advertised. He was being charged with killing Julian Clarke, but DSI Barnes had agreed that it would be wiser to leave any suggestion of a magical potion that could strengthen a person and cure them of any affliction out of the equation.
No doubt Nappey would continue to bawl his supposed achievements to anyone who’d listen. Fortunately, given his incarcerated status, no-one would be interested. Even his mother had declined to visit him so far. And Maggie Tomkinson was happily telling everyone she met that he was insane. Perhaps he was. Or perhaps there was a glimmer of truth behind the elixir. Either way, it was too dangerous to mention to the world at large. Edward Nappey was going to rot, and so were his ideas for creating a magical potion.
‘Do you want me to come with you?’ Fred asked.
I shook my head. ‘No, it’s alright,’ I said. ‘I’ve got this.’ I patted him on the shoulder and opened the car door. ‘I won’t be long.’
Climbing out, I shielded my eyes from the sun and glanced up, offering a friendly wave to whoever might be watching from the windows above. Then I grabbed my bag and headed inside. Forget the stairs; this time I was definitely taking the lift.
The doors pinged open before I could press the button. Waiting inside was the familiar face of Gaz, one of Devereau Webb’s loyal henchmen. ‘You again,’ he grunted. ‘I’ve been told to take you right up.’
I smiled and stepped in to join him. ‘I appreciate that.’
‘Not my call.’ He sniffed. The lift juddered and started to rise. ‘But I suppose you’re not all bad.’
‘I suppose you’re not either,’ I said.
He grinned suddenly. ‘Yes, I am.’ He wagged a finger at me. ‘I’ve got a reputation to maintain. And so does the boss.’
I glanced at him. ‘We all have a capacity for evil,’ I said. ‘And for good.’
Gaz looked sceptical. ‘If you say so.’
The lift stopped and Gaz escorted me out, unwilling to leave my side. I wasn’t sure what he thought I was going to do without his watchful eye to stop me, but I didn’t bother protesting. One day, Webb and Gaz and all the others would get their come-uppance. Today wasn’t that day.
The door to Devereau Webb’s flat was already open. I walked inside, giving Alice a friendly wave. She was curled up on the sofa with a blanket around her, her skin paler than the last time I’d seen her. She glared at me and hugged her knees. She knew where her loyalties lay.
‘Detective.’ Webb strode through from another room with an easy smile on his face.
I pretended not to notice the dark circles around his eyes and returned the smile. ‘Mr Webb.’
‘Are you here to charge me with a crime?’ he enquired. ‘Because I can assure you that I am wholly innocent.’
‘Of course you are,’ I murmured. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small vial, setting it onto the table between us.
‘What’s that?’ he stared at it. ‘It looks disgusting.’
‘It is disgusting.’ I avoided looking at the bottle. ‘I won’t tell you what’s in it. You don’t want to know. But there is a slim possibility,’ I said, with a quick glance towards the sofa and Alice’s small body, ‘that it might be what you’re looking for. I can’t vouch for its efficacy. It may do nothing at all. But there’s a book hidden away in the Carlyle Library called Infernal Enchantments that suggests…’ My voice trailed away. ‘Well. It might work.’
Devereau Webb’s hooded gaze flicked from me to Alice and back again. ‘There’s not very much in there.’
‘No,’ I said. ‘And this is a one-time shot. There will be no more of what’s in that vial. Ever.’
He scratched his chin. ‘I really don’t want to know what’s in it, do I?’
‘Nope.’
‘What do you want in return? If you’re going to ask me to leave my criminal ways behind me, I’m certainly willing to do so, but I can’t speak for the people who follow me. I can control them to a certain extent, but only if they respect me. If I turn to the right side of the law, someone else will simply step into my shoes. Sometimes,’ he said quietly, ‘it’s better the devil you know.’
‘I won’t ask you to go straight. I think you should, and I think your talents are wasted here, but I know that it wouldn’t work.’ I looked again at Alice. ‘There are no guarantees this will do anything other than make her sicker, but it is given freely. There are no conditions attached.’
His clever eyes continued to watch me. ‘But?’
I picked at a hangnail. ‘But,’ I said quietly, ‘I would like to ask a favour.’
***
Fred looked relieved to see me return with all my body parts in place. ‘Will she drink it?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know.’ I bit my lip. ‘Probably.’
‘Will it work?’
I sighed. ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’ I switched on Tallulah’s engine. When my phone rang, I turned the ignition off again. I checked the screen before I answered an
d my stomach lurched. ‘Hi,’ I said.
‘D’Artagnan.’ Lukas’s voice was clipped. ‘I’ve just received a call from Devereau Webb. I had a deal with him. Unfortunately, that deal is now off. And apparently it’s because of your intervention.’
The Shepherd hadn’t wasted any time. I didn’t play ignorant. This wasn’t the time for games. I’d long since worked out what Lukas’s deal with Devereau Webb had been about. As soon as Scarlett had mentioned Devereau Webb’s name back in Baxter’s house, I’d known what Lukas was up to. I also knew that putting a stop to the deal was the right choice.
‘You approached him, didn’t you? After his attempts to bribe the clan alphas, you decided to take matters into your own hands and for your own gains. You wanted to gain the rights to Regent’s Park and you tried to get Devereau Webb to give them to you. What did you offer him for those rights? Money?’
‘A great deal of money. He was happy with the arrangement. You should not have intervened, D’Artagnan.’
‘Wielding such a thing over the clans would be dangerous. It would also give you more power than you have the right to possess.’
‘That’s not your call to make.’
I took a moment before answering. ‘It’s my job to ensure peace across the supernatural community.’
‘I wasn’t waging war. You should know me better than that.’
‘What would you have demanded, Lukas? What would you have demanded from the clans in return for Regent’s Park?’
His response was silky smooth. ‘Does it matter?’
‘You know it does.’
‘I hadn’t decided yet.’ He paused. ‘I’m not a bad man, D’Artagnan.’
‘I don’t think you are. And I didn’t say you were.’
‘But,’ Lukas continued, ‘I am the vampires’ leader. I am their Lord, and I have to put our interests above those of the werewolves. I look after my own. For what it’s worth, I would never have extended any offer to clan Sullivan. Not after what they tried to do to you.’