I shuddered. “Don’t. I know it’s necessary, but…I just don’t want to know about it.”
“You wouldn’t,” Lucia said. “Thank God you’re not in charge. You’re not hard enough to kill someone who deserves it.”
I’d never heard Lucia sound so derisive, so dismissive of me, and it hurt. “Not like you,” I shot back without thinking. “I’m surprised you bothered to take this call, since you’re probably eager to get back to those executions you’re so proud of.”
Lucia sighed. “I shouldn’t have said that. I apologize.”
Lucia never apologized. It stunned me into saying, “No, I’m sorry. You’re under a lot of stress.”
“You have no idea.” Now her voice sounded choked, like the words hurt her. “This war is brutal and cold, but you’d better not think I enjoy it.”
“I don’t.” I’d sort of wondered if she did—not the executions, but the harsher parts of her job—but I would never admit that to her. “How do you cover something like that up? All those deaths, I mean.”
“It’s execution by draining the person’s magic. I’m sure you remember how that looks. Natural causes, and it doesn’t cause any pain. But we can’t afford to lock up traitors who might escape.”
“Do you really think Mr. Parish is a traitor?”
“I don’t, actually. He’s got strong opinions about individual rights, and when he was asked to come down and prove he wasn’t a traitor, he got angry about the insinuation that he might be. But he didn’t kill anyone when he made his escape, and I’m sure you know he’s willing to kill to defend himself. So I have hopes.”
“What about Ewan Campbell?”
“In custody, waiting for testing. I have no guesses one way or the other about him. Harriet Keller is in custody, too.”
I caught my breath. “No. Not Harriet.”
“Don’t get your panties in a wad, Davies. The odds are in her favor.”
“Even so—”
“I know. But, honestly, with the kind of marriage she has, I find it difficult to believe she could have kept the secret from Harry all these years, and he’s unmarked. So, again, I have hopes.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“You’ve figured me out. My whole life is about cosseting people’s feelings.” Lucia snorted. That had sounded more like the woman I knew. “Get some sleep. You’re probably due.”
“So are you.”
“Ah, but unlike you, I’m still at work and will be until the wee hours. You’ll have to sleep for both of us.”
She hung up, and I plugged my phone in and set it on the nightstand. If Ewan Campbell was a traitor…that was bad news for Campbell Security, and bad news for the Campbell family. Malcolm didn’t need that stress on top of everything else.
I realized I’d forgotten to ask Lucia about Detective Acosta—what was she going to do about him? Probably he was low on her list of priorities, but I really wanted to know what his fate would be. I fell asleep and dreamed of Georgina Eisen shifting from woman to bear to woman again, straining my eyes to see through the illusion.
10
Nobody came into the store on Thursday morning except a couple of enforcers, who lurked by the broken window as if hoping someone might try breaking in. I filled mail-in augury requests and tried not to think about the ongoing arrests and the executions that came afterward.
Judy burst through the door at quarter after ten, startling the enforcers into drawing their guns on her. She ignored them. “Did you hear about Martin Maxwell?”
“No. Is he all right?”
“He’s dead. Turns out he was a traitor. He fought back when they came for him and Lucia killed him herself.”
I sucked in a horrified breath. “That’s impossible. She didn’t say anything about it to me.”
“No one’s talking about it where she can hear. I only know because Father asked me to contact the node early this morning and Pringle, the woman on the switchboard, told me. I thought they were lovers!”
“They were.” No wonder Lucia had sounded strange. And I as much as accused her of being happy about the deaths. “She must be devastated.”
“To hear Pringle talk, she just carried on like the cast-iron bitch she is.”
“That is not true. And it’s cruel. Can you imagine having to kill someone you loved in the name of the Long War? And she must have known about him for months. Just because she’s good at hiding—”
“Calm down, Helena, I was just repeating Pringle’s words. I don’t like Lucia, but I know she’s not vicious or cold, though she gives a good impression of it. Just don’t say anything to her, all right? If she’s not talking about it, she doesn’t want to be reminded about it.”
“I…you’re right.” Even so, I couldn’t imagine carrying on after that. Lucia was far stronger than I’d ever be. At least she had Dave Henry, the other member of their unorthodox romantic relationship. I hoped it was enough.
Still, no one came. Lucia didn’t call with new information, and Judy was nearly as much out of the loop as I was. Around lunchtime, she got a text, a lengthy one, and I waited in silence for her to read it. Finally, she looked up and said, “Someone just tried to kill my father. The assassin hadn’t been tested yet and no one even knew she had the marker, let alone that she was a traitor. He’ll be fine after the bone magi finish treating him.”
“It’s all the secret ones that scare me. Not to mention the ones who might be invaders in disguise.”
“There has to be something we can do. I feel so helpless.”
“Like what? We’re not magi—we’re not even trained fighters!”
Judy threw her apple core at the trash can. It hit the bottom with a loud thunk. “I don’t know, but something.”
I heard the door open. Judy and I looked at each other. “The enforcers will take care of it,” Judy said.
“It’s probably a customer,” I said, though my heart quailed at the idea of going out there and facing someone who might be a traitor, armed and ready to kill us. It was stupid, but not knowing what was going on had me on edge.
But when Judy and I returned to the front of the store, we found it full of Wardens. Most of them were engaged in replacing the plate glass window, but a few had taken the front door off its hinges and were taking measurements of the door and frame. “Ms. Davies,” said a man dressed not in work clothes, but in the kind of suit Malcolm always wore. He extended his hand for me to shake. “Sam Humphreys. We’re here to install your new security system.”
“We need a new system?”
Humphreys handed me an envelope. “This explains how it works, but the short version is, it’s to provide a second layer of protection against unwanted…invaders.” He glanced quickly to both sides, looking exactly like an informant handing over confidential files to a spy, i.e., me. I accepted the envelope and opened it, turning away from him to read it in private.
The first page was a schematic of Abernathy’s front door, or rather the frame around the door. I didn’t understand half of it, though I could tell the new security system involved embedding bits of metal or glass or something into the lintel and frame. The second page was a list of security features, which I read with interest. The new system would prevent an invader, even one encased in human form, from entering the store at all. The door frame would screen out non-humans, no matter what their appearance, and make an invader bounce off, like running into a clear glass door, though one that couldn’t break.
The new doorknob—I glanced over at where the door lay against the wall and saw a couple of women unscrewing the old knob—would deliver a directed burst of magical force that would paralyze the human form and prevent the invader from leaving it immediately. I wasn’t sure that was a great idea. If the invader couldn’t pass through the door, it would have to lie paralyzed on the street, where anyone would assume it was an injured person in need of help, and that struck me as potentially fatal for the helper. But invaders not getting into Abe
rnathy’s—that was something I approved of.
I turned back to speak to Humphreys and found he’d moved on. I handed the papers to Judy and said, “This day just got better.”
Judy scanned the papers. “This is something, anyway. Do you suppose this means Ewan Campbell was cleared?”
“It’s more likely Malcolm finally got fed up with being sidelined and set all this in motion. But I hope…” I fingered my phone in my pocket, but there was no one I could call who would know about Ewan. My impatience to see Malcolm again grew.
We watched the construction until it got noisy, when we retreated to the break room. Judy texted friends in the hope that someone would know what was happening. I played solitaire. It didn’t help. Finally, I called Derrick. “Did Malcolm send security people to Abernathy’s?”
“Hang on a sec,” Derrick said.
After a moment, Malcolm said, “I take it they arrived.”
The sound of his voice left me momentarily breathless. “They did. They’re fixing the window and putting in a new door.”
“You’re well?” He didn’t elaborate, which told me there were listeners who weren’t in on the secret of our relationship.
“I’m fine. Thanks. This new system eases my mind considerably.”
“Keeping Abernathy’s safe is one of our top priorities. The new window glass should be more damage-proof, too.”
“I hope we won’t need that, but I appreciate it. Are you leaving the hospital tomorrow as planned?”
“Yes. I wish I could have left today. It will take Tinsley another three days to finish healing me and I would like that to start as soon as possible.”
“That seems like a long time for a healing.”
“It has to be slow so as not to reinjure me. It’s frustrating, but I can endure.”
“I know, you’re a master of patience.”
Malcolm laughed. “With Canales threatening to sit on my head, how could I be otherwise?”
“You sound good. I look forward to seeing you again.” I wanted to say I love you, I miss you, I need you, but it occurred to me that my words might be audible to whoever was listening in. I also wanted to ask him how he felt about not being a magus any longer, but that wasn’t a conversation for the telephone.
“I’ll come by to assess the new system on Monday. If you have any other questions, we can discuss them at that time.”
I hoped that was code for I need to be alone with you and said, “Of course. Thanks again, Malcolm.”
“My pleasure, Helena. I’ll see you on Monday.”
I set my phone down and stared at it, wishing today were Sunday. “Was that Campbell?” Judy said, as if she hadn’t been listening.
“He sent the security people. He’ll come to check their work Monday, after he’s out of the hospital and fully healed.”
“That’s nice.” Judy sounded distracted, so I left her to her texting and went to the office, hoping to find some overlooked augury request, anything to keep me busy and stop me thinking about how long it was until Monday.
The workers left around five, all except one wizened little man who stood on a stepladder painting ABERNATHY’S on the new window. I watched him, mesmerized. He was painting it backwards and without a stencil—was it magic? Or maybe he was just that skilled after a lifetime of window painting. I held my tongue, not wanting to distract him, but when he was finished I said, “That’s remarkable.”
“Just practice, Ms. Davies,” he said, stepping down from the ladder. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“No, thanks. I appreciate your work. Can I help you clean up?”
“That’s part of the job. But thanks for the offer.”
I showed him the basement, where he cleaned up his brushes in the big, dirty sink in the corner, then watched him bundle his paint cloth and ladder out to a truck parked in Abernathy’s magically reserved spot. I waited for him to drive away before I got out a cloth and some solvent and mopped up a few drops of paint he’d let fall. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings by implying he’d done less than his best.
A shadow loomed up outside the window. I looked up and stepped back, startled at the sudden appearance of Acosta just inches from me. He had both hands jammed into the pockets of his overcoat and was regarding me dispassionately. He looked better than he had the day before, less tired and unkempt, but that manic light was still in his eyes. At a loss, I waved at him. He smiled, the corners of his mouth just barely going up, and pointed at the door as if asking permission to enter. I nodded and capped off the bottle of solvent. I’d see what he wanted, then call Lucia and insist she sic someone on him immediately. I didn’t need harassment on top of everything else.
“Ms. Davies. That was fast. You’d almost think there’d never been an attack here.” Acosta shut the door behind him.
“We couldn’t leave the window broken, not with as big as it is. How’s your partner? Where’s your partner, I should ask?”
“We’re off duty. I’m here as a private citizen.”
“Are police ever really off duty, though? I mean, I’ve heard where off-duty cops stopped robberies and things like that.”
“You’re thinking I’m still on the case. I told you I’ve been instructed to let it go.”
I didn’t want to say Like I believe you’d do that. Acosta was being polite and even-tempered, and I didn’t want to change that. “There’s really nothing here, detective.”
“She’s telling the truth,” Judy said, emerging from the back of the store. “And this could constitute harassment.”
“I told you, I’m here as a private citizen,” Acosta said, smiling at Judy. “I’m just having trouble wrapping my head around what happened here yesterday. I was hoping you’d be willing to walk me through it.”
“Why?”
“Because something doesn’t add up.” Acosta patted his chest, where his gun was probably holstered. “I know I shot that woman. My gun shows evidence of having been fired. But the bullet they removed from her arm didn’t match my weapon.”
“Aren’t you happy about that? Wouldn’t it be a huge administrative hassle if you had? Not to mention feeling bad about wounding an innocent person.”
“I’m not so sure she was innocent. She was armed, after all.” Acosta paced over to where he’d been standing the day before and mimed drawing his weapon, then pointed his “gun” toward the shelves where Carlson had been standing. “It was her gun that shattered your window, wasn’t it?”
“I wasn’t paying attention,” I said. “I was watching Mrs. Eisen.”
“Yes. We’ll get to her in a minute.” Acosta sighted down his arm and finger and walked slowly toward the shelves. “I shot twice. The second one struck her arm, but the first…” He knelt and removed a pen from his pocket, then dug with it where one of the shelves met the bookcase side. Something small popped free. Acosta picked it up and displayed it—a flattened lump of metal. “The first is right here.”
“You shouldn’t handle that if you want it to be evidence,” Judy said.
“I’m not looking for evidence that will hold up in court. Just something to prove I’m not crazy. Besides, someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to make it look like the dead woman, not me, shot my victim. Why should I ruin all that work?”
Judy and I exchanged glances. I could see Judy had her hand in her pocket, likely holding her phone, but what good would that do either of us? And it wasn’t as if Acosta was attacking anyone. “So what do you want, detective?” I said.
“Let’s play a little game,” Acosta said. “Reenact the crime. I want to be clear on what did happen. So. The woman, Carlson, right? She drew a gun on Mrs. Eisen, who was headed for the door. Why don’t you be Ms. Carlson, and you, Ms. Rasmussen, you can be Mrs. Eisen.”
“I’m not interested in playing your game, and neither is Helena,” Judy said.
“Oh, come on. It won’t hurt. And after this I promise to go away and leave you alone.”
I looked at Jud
y, who rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she said, and went to stand halfway between the counter and the door. “Is this right?”
“Perfect. Then you, Ms. Davies, stand over here.”
I took my place near the bookshelves. “Ms. Carlson drew, I drew, and then the bear appeared, just where you’re standing, Ms. Rasmussen.”
“A bear?” Judy said. The scorn in her voice could have cut steel. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I’ve spent most of the night going over this, and here’s the thing,” Acosta said. “Something hit me, and I fell backward into the counter and might have struck my head. But that definitely happened after the bear appeared. So however impossible it might be, I have to conclude I didn’t imagine it. There was a bear that took the place of Mrs. Eisen—that she turned into—that disappeared when she was struck by the same thing that hit me.”
“I didn’t see a bear,” I said. “And I think maybe you should leave, if you’re going to talk nonsense.”
“You tackled the bear, Ms. Davies.” Acosta took a few steps forward until he stood right next to Judy. “Maybe something prevented you seeing the truth, but you did encounter it.”
I was starting to feel nervous. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“What I don’t understand is where the other weapons came from. And why one of them was powerful enough to kill Mrs. Eisen, while the other just rattled me a bit.”
I was wondering that myself. I wasn’t so bloodthirsty as to wish Acosta dead, but I couldn’t help thinking if the enforcers had done their job, I wouldn’t be in this position right now. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask Ms. Carlson?”
“I will, don’t worry.” Too late, I’m worried. “I was just hoping you’d be willing to be honest with me.”
The Book of Betrayal Page 11