by Mark Hayden
He looked at me darkly. ‘You’re not doing the cooking, are you?’
‘You must be joking. Think it over and text me from the hospital. I’d like to know how Elaine is, anyway.’
He finished his tea. ‘I’ll be in touch. What I did was stupid, Conrad. I may never forgive myself for getting Elaine shot and both of us nearly killed. You did tell me – several times – that your world was a deadly one. I should have believed you. If I’d left you alone, Elaine wouldn’t have an arrow in her leg, the Queen of Darkwood Pack would still be alive and you’d still have a partner.’
We shook hands. ‘You did me a favour, Tom. Your actions pushed Karina to the edge. Rather now than when even more lives are at stake. Until later.’
He waved and took his empty mug back to the pack elder. I think he was apologising to her, as well. She took the mug and nodded to him, then he got out his key fob and waved Karina over. I waited until he’d gone, and then got out the burner phone. Lloyd Flint answered on the third ring.
‘Alright, Conrad. What’s up?’
‘Do you fancy a pint tonight? Got a proposition for you, Lloyd.’
‘Tonight?’
‘The White Horse at Great Barrow in Cheshire. Half past seven. Pack an overnight bag, and don’t forget what you said you’d bring.’
‘I’ve been working on it all day, mate. Private business, is it?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then I’ll see you later.’
It was time for me to go. I didn’t need to whistle for Scout because he’d barely strayed six feet from me. He looked very relieved when I told him to get into the car and he saw me getting in, too. ‘Funny isn’t it, lad,’ I said. ‘Mannwolves have no smell at all to me. Probably because they’re all human or all wolf, so you’re not redundant yet.’
I didn’t ring Mina until I was in the car and well away from Darkwood. Next stop Blackrod.
22 — On the Scent
Lachlan Mace told me to meet him at Haigh Hall, the country park that sits on the hill above the First Mine of Clan Blackrod. They have a back exit from their property that goes through the park and makes it an ideal meeting place – busy and anonymous.
I had no idea what to expect when I pulled into the car park and took my ticket. He’d said to meet at the courtyard café, and I got ready to follow the signs when I noticed something about the clientele. Yes, there were a couple of runners getting ready to pound the footpaths, but most of the new arrivals were young women and a few grandparents getting buggies and prams out of cars, eager children bouncing up and down next to them, or running ahead in the case of the older ones. What on earth was the attraction?
I was so intent on following the children, like a reverse Pied Piper, that I passed the café without noticing. The object of their pilgrimage was a half-acre adventure playground, and all the steam they’d built up at school/nursery was being let off noisily and with total abandon. I was about to turn round and get back on track when one of the early arrivals, a girl of about six now taking a rest, gave me a funny look.
‘Mum, that man’s got two guns!’
What? How could she see them? I looked at the mother, an attractive but otherwise ordinary woman in her late thirties. She was looking back at me, at the Hammer, at my uniform. Of course. Where else would the women of Clan Blackrod bring their girls to play?
I bowed slightly. ‘Ma’am.’
‘Wrong way,’ she said. ‘Lachlan’s over there.’ She pointed to the conservatory building I’d passed.
‘Thank you.’
I hastened away and scanned the café. Lachlan was there, stirring his coffee and giving me a puzzled look. ‘You should have told me you wanted to meet my wife,’ he said when I’d sat down.
‘Sorry about that. I just wondered what the fuss was all about.’
‘You don’t have children,’ I take it.
‘Not yet. I’m sure Mina has a plan for that.’
He gave me a knowing grin. ‘I’m sure she does. You’ve got until Lettie gets bored and hungry. What is it?’
‘Did you do what I asked this morning?’
‘Yes. Why? Don’t even think about asking to take him away.’
‘I wouldn’t. I found Princess Birkdale’s pack of Mannwolves today.’
‘What! How did you do that? Half of the clan has been on the job since yesterday and we can’t even get anyone to confirm it exists. Where is it?’
‘They didn’t do it, Lachlan. I’d stake my life on it’
His Gnomish eyes bored into me, and I felt a prickle of magick. He wasn’t trying to perform a Work on me, he was just getting angry. It’s one of those moments when you’re reminded that Gnomes are not human.
‘Your life is not worth much to us, I’m afraid. If it wasn’t Tara Doyle’s pack, then who else has one? And who’s to say that she doesn’t have two packs of hounds?’
I spread my hands. ‘You’re judging her by your standards, Lachlan. The Fae are tricky, but they’re also lazy, remember? Have you come across a Fae who would keep two packs when they have one? She would be far more likely to use the first pack and butcher them afterwards. Only one of Mother’s children would think to have a second pack.’
He grunted, partially appeased. Gnomes like it when you run down the Fae, though the reverse is not true: the Fae have such contempt for Gnomes that you sometimes have to build them up, to make them think they face a worthy opponent. Or so I’ve been told.
I opened my combat jacket and took out a bag with the lupine DNA samples. I placed them on the table and said, ‘Swab Drake’s wounds and send the samples to an animal DNA lab. There are some good ones near Newmarket. All the horse breeding.’
‘That could take days. I’m not sure that Stefan will go for that, never mind Drake’s house.’
‘You agreed to meet me, Lachlan. That says a lot. That pack are innocent, and now that I know they exist, they get the same right to enjoy the King’s Peace as everyone else. You know your clan. Do what you need to do. If this erupts, no one will be safe.’ To hammer home the point, I turned to look at Lettie and her mother. ‘No one. I’ll be in touch.’
Tom and Lucy arrived at the White Horse well ahead of Lloyd Flint. The handshakes were rather formal, as you might expect, and Lucy looked like she’d dressed for a very formal business dinner. ‘How’s Elaine?’ was my first question.
‘Rob messaged while we were on our way here. The operation went well, the arrow hadn’t hit any sub-arteries and she should make a full recovery. Eventually.’
‘Who’s driving?’ I asked.
‘Tom,’ said Lucy. ‘He said he couldn’t cope with all this and a hangover. I told him I couldn’t cope without several large gins. And I brought this.’
She fetched a plain bottle full of clear liquid out of a hessian bag. Naturally, she had one of her mother’s creations as well. Not her di Sanuto Exclusive, but close. Mina would have handbag envy for days.
‘It’s Grandpa Berardi’s home-made grappa,’ she said. She put the bottle away. ‘Have you left Mina cooking?’
‘Sort-of. You’re going to have to get used to some odd things, Lucy. One of them is that you can’t get into the property without me to help you, which is why we’re meeting here. I’d take you straight there, but one of the Calabrese is joining us, too, and we can drop the pretence now. Our victim on Saturday was one Drake Blackrod, of Clan Blackrod, Gnomes of Lancashire.’
‘Gnomes,’ said Lucy. ‘Make that gin a double.’
‘Coming up.’
We’d covered a lot of ground before Lloyd turned up (and Lucy had sent me back to the bar three times), and when I introduced Lloyd to Tom, I got the shock of my life.
‘Good win on Sunday,’ said Tom. ‘You’re from Earlsbury, so did you know Patrick Lynch, by any chance?’
‘Everyone knew Pat.’ He looked carefully at Tom. ‘Remind me not to get on your wrong side, DCI Morton.’
Lloyd drove me to Middlebarrow, and pulled in by the Haven to allow Evie to g
et in Tom’s car. Saskia had been rather annoyed when I told her one of the guests would be a Gnome. ‘Text me when you’re coming,’ she’d said in a voice that didn’t expect to be contradicted.
The rear lights of Tom’s BMW disappeared down the drive, and Saskia emerged from the shadows, wearing a white cloak that I’d not seen before. It was totally out of kilter with her normal wardrobe. We got out of the car, and she gathered the cloak around her. I caught a glimpse of a blue symbol of some sort on the back, and she held out her right hand.
‘This ground is pledged to Nimue,’ she said. ‘Children of the Iron Mother are welcome if they defer.’
‘I’m glad I didn’t get dressed up,’ muttered Lloyd. He knelt down on the wet grass and took Saskia’s hand, kissing a small ring on her middle finger.
‘Follow me on foot,’ said Saskia. ‘Conrad will drive your car down.’ With a swirl of the cloak, she turned to walk down the drive, and I got a better look at the symbol on her back: a blue triangle with wavy blue lines in it. I’ve never seen that before, and she’d disappeared into the kitchen by the time I’d parked Lloyd’s car.
He was waiting for me and said, ‘Got something for you, mate. Better do it now before we all have too much to drink.’ He took a blanket from the back of the car and unwrapped a sheathed sword. ‘I didn’t make this. It takes months to craft something like this from scratch, but I have fettled it for you. It was made by Niði for a Watch Captain in the 1750s, I believe. It’s got an Ancile and I’ve put a couple of extra edges on it.’
‘Extra edges?’
‘That’s what we call little bits of magick in a sword. You won’t notice them, but if you come up against one of us, it’ll help protect you.’
‘Thank you, Lloyd. You would not be popular if word of this got out. I do appreciate it.’
‘Yeah, well, that’s what this is all about, ain’t it? You need help dealing with that Octet.’
‘I certainly need help finding them. I wouldn’t ask you to go against others of your people.’
‘I know. Draw the blade and touch it to Mother.’
‘Will that work in here?’
‘Mother Earth is Mother Earth.’
I took the sword and drew it. It wasn’t as big as the one I’d surrendered, which also meant it was lighter. The edge glinted in the outside lights, and the point was sharp. I felt the grip. It was big.
Lloyd saw what I was doing. ‘That was one of the tweaks. You’ve got huge hands, Conrad, so I padded the grip a bit and widened the guard.’
I examined the intricate fretwork surrounding the basket guard. ‘Exquisite.’ I shifted my Sight into the sword and closed my eyes. He was right: compared to the sword of Clan Flint, this was simple and streamlined. And comprehensible: it had been made for humans. There was the Ancile, a pulsing eye of watchfulness, and there was the channel, from the grip to the point. I lowered the blade and touched it to the cobbles. A flare of heat shot up the channel, joining my arm to the Works embedded in the metal. It was now my sword.
‘Thank you, Lloyd.’
‘Can we go in, now? I’m starving and I can smell your Mina’s cooking.’
Saskia stayed for the meal and one shot of Grandpa’s grappa, which was potent and aromatic. Not my thing. The conversation was intense, as you’d imagine, and skirted the actual reason for the get-together.
When Saskia had gone, Mina picked up the bottle of grappa and said to Lucy and Evie, ‘Come on, you two, I want to show you something.’
The rest of us adjourned to the study and sat down with Scout curled up in front of the fireplace. Tom had a question: ‘You say that three quarters of Mages are female. So why are we three men?’
‘Because Lloyd isn’t a Mage, he’s a Gnome, and you’re not a Mage either, Tom. If Karina hadn’t fallen at the last fence, it would be fifty-fifty, and as everyone will tell you, I’m not a real Mage anyway.’ I pulled my lip and thought for a moment. ‘If necessary, I’ll call Elvenham and whistle up the Coven. I’d have to resign if I did, but I’m seeing this through.’
Tom lifted his glass of wine (he’d allowed himself one), and said, ‘Tell Saffron her disguise skills are excellent. Nearly had me fooled.’
So, they’d spied on me. That’s how Tom had known who Lloyd was. Fair’s fair, I suppose.
‘What do we know?’ said Lloyd.
I brought him up to date.
‘What was all that business with scaffolding poles really about?’ said Tom.
‘Cold-forged Iron,’ said Lloyd. ‘It’s the only thing that really knackers Quicksilver magick. With that square in place, the Count was at their mercy. They used the spears to finish him off without getting close.’
We carried on until we’d exhausted the facts, which didn’t take long, and moved on to what you could call interpretation. Or speculation. The first sensible suggestion came from Lloyd.
‘I reckon that two of them are in Blackrod.’
‘What makes you say that?’ said Tom.
‘How else would they have known how to target Drake Blackrod? Only one of his clan would know he was off seeing a woman and not playing golf. Even his sons didn’t know what he was really doing, according to Conrad.’
I nodded agreement, and Tom said, ‘Why?’
‘He must have knowed something. Or they thought he did.’
‘Does that help?’
‘Only if we go to the clan with it, and that’s not an option,’ I said. ‘What about the Count? Was he a random target, just to cause a stink?’
Lloyd shook his head. ‘What they did was very risky. There has to be a very, very good reason for them to try a stunt like that. If he’d survived, they’d be dead.’
‘So what did he have that they wanted?’ said Tom.
‘Entertainment. Sex. Property,’ I said.
‘Property,’ said Lloyd. ‘That’s about the only thing that would make one of us deal with one of them.
Tom wasn’t convinced. ‘Have you heard about the Well of Desire, Lloyd? Couldn’t there be a blackmail angle from that?’
Lloyd shook his head. ‘I can see – just – that one member of Blackrod would get into something involving a place like that. What I can’t see is a whole Octet assassinating this Count fella because of it. Just wouldn’t happen.’
‘So, what’s their endgame?’ said Tom. ‘What is this Octet after?’
‘They’re digging a new First Mine. Once they’ve consecrated it, they’ll be pretty much untouchable. Even Conrad here won’t be able to do anything. They’ll have to pay wergild, of course, but I doubt that Princess Birkdale or Clan Blackrod would attack a First Mine.’
‘How can that be?’ said Tom. ‘They just pay a fine and walk away?’
It was up to me to answer. ‘I call it the brutal reality of magick, Tom. One day I’ll tell you how Ivan Rybakov paid his debt. Not tonight.’
‘Hang on,’ said Tom when his phone pinged. He stared at the screen and then turned it round to show a picture of Lucy, upstairs, wearing one of Mina’s sarees and striking a pose she wouldn’t have contemplated sober.
‘It suits her,’ I said. ‘And I think you’d better spend the night here. I don’t think Lucy is going to be fit to travel.’
‘You’re not joking. What can we do to track down the property side?’
‘I could call Princess Birkdale,’ I said. ‘She knows about the Octet now, and it would be good to follow up Karina’s version of events with mine.’
‘What sort of property are we looking for?’ said Tom. ‘What makes a good choice for a First Mine?’
Lloyd rubbed his chin. ‘It has to be private. Doesn’t have to be in the middle of nowhere, but it has to be private. And it has to be somewhere you can actually dig. Obviously. That’s why there’s no Gnomes in East Anglia. All too soggy. And it has to be near a Ley line.’
‘How near?’
‘All Gnomes can create Ley lines, but we’re not as good as the best human Mages. A few hundred yards at most. Say, a quarter o
f a mile.’
I nodded. There were maps of the local Ley lines in the Deputy’s library behind my chair, but I wasn’t in the mood to start looking just now. ‘We could use more than your advice, Lloyd. How do you feel about this, now we’re coming to the sharp end?’
His nostrils flared slightly. ‘If I didn’t think they was near consecrating a First Mine, I’d say it was definitely down to Clan Blackrod to deal with it. They’ve lost their Clan Counsel, so they’ve got a lot of skin in this game. Unfortunately, I’d also have to say that a whole clan will be very reluctant to start looking into their own when there’s a perfectly good suspect over in Birkdale.’ He stood up. ‘I’m going back to Earlsbury first thing. Pick up some stuff. We might need it. I’ll see you tomorrow. G’night.’
Tom and I stood, too, and I said that I needed to take Scout for a last walk; Tom asked if he could join me. ‘I don’t fancy breaking up the girls’ night in just yet.’
‘Wise man.’
I followed the path towards Nimue’s spring and told Tom why I’d been in hospital at the beginning of the case. While Scout went for a good sniff around, I broke out the hip flask. Tom’s capacity to absorb new ideas had been saturated, so we mostly talked about family, especially Mina’s and Lucy’s, and a little about our plans for the future.
‘I need to get a proper job,’ said Tom. ‘Working for CIPPS means that I can be sent anywhere. I’m not saying I want to settle down, but neither Lucy nor I want to be nomads. Not really.’
I made light of it. ‘Can you face putting down roots on this side of the Pennines? Wouldn’t that be a betrayal of your Yorkshire heritage?’
He laughed. ‘I’ve got a plan. Lucy’s going to expand east, and when she gets to Burnley, I’m going to insist she hops over to Skipton. Then we can move back to York.’
I called Scout and headed back. ‘Well I for one wouldn’t bet against her taking over the whole of the North.’
Mina was waiting at the back door. ‘Evie’s putting Lucy to bed, Tom. I’ll show you the way.’