The Noose Of A New Moon (Wolfbrand Book 1)

by Helen Harper

  If there was one thing Devereau knew, it was that this would never end up in court.

  DS Grace returned with a polystyrene cup. Steam rose up from its surface and it actually smelled like half-decent stuff. Given the polystyrene, Devereau considered making a comment about the Met’s lack of environmental concern but decided he’d probably already done enough. He inclined his head. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘No problem, Mr Webb.’ Grace glanced at Phileas Carmichael. ‘Let’s get started, shall we?’ At the solicitor’s nod, he leaned across and pressed a button on the tape recorder. ‘Wednesday, June thirtieth. Four thirty-two pm. Present are myself, Detective Sergeant Owen Grace, Devereau Webb, and his solicitor, Phileas Carmichael. Please state your names for the tape.’

  Devereau resisted the urge to put on a funny voice. ‘Devereau Webb.’

  ‘Phileas Carmichael.’ The gremlin gave Grace a hard look. ‘Esquire.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Grace said without flinching. He turned to Devereau. ‘Mr Webb, let’s begin with the events from two days ago. You moved into a new property on Dalkeith Road, did you not?’

  ‘I did,’ Devereau replied pleasantly. ‘I was forced to move by your good self. You told me that if I did not do so then I would be imprisoned.’

  DS Grace glared at him. ‘Indeed. Because the law states that all supernatural beings must reside within a specific area, namely within a fixed radius of Soho and Lisson Grove. You are a supernatural being, are you not?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Detective Sergeant,’ Carmichael said, ‘we are all more than aware that my client is a werewolf. There really is no need to belabour the point.’

  Grace didn’t react. ‘Mr Webb,’ he said, ‘a few hours after you moved in, you decided to go to Goodman’s Alley in Whitechapel.’

  ‘Is that a question?’ Devereau enquired.

  ‘Yes,’ Grace snapped. ‘Were you there?’

  Devereau nodded. ‘I was.’

  ‘There was a serious incident at 12 Goodman’s Alley at the time. Two human beings were murdered there. Subsequent pathology has indicated that they were murdered by a werewolf. Did you kill those two human beings, Mr Webb?’

  ‘I did not.’

  ‘Then why were you near Goodman’s Alley?’

  ‘I heard that there was a crime involving a werewolf and I wanted to see what was going on.’ Devereau smiled. ‘Curiosity is not a crime.’

  Grace gazed at him levelly. ‘Do you know who killed those two humans?’

  Devereau’s left eyebrow twitched. He drew in a breath and answered, ‘Yes.’

  Both Owen Grace and Phileas Carmichael jerked in shock. Neither of them had been expecting that answer. Surprisingly, it was Grace who recovered first. ‘Who?’ he asked. ‘Who did it?’

  Carmichael shook himself. ‘I require some time alone with my client!’

  ‘You just had time alone with your client, Mr Carmichael. You don’t need any more.’ Grace stared at Devereau. ‘Who killed them?’

  ‘DS Grace! I demand to speak to my client alone!’ Carmichael jabbed his thumb at Devereau. ‘Don’t you say another word!’

  Devereau shrugged at Grace. ‘On advice of counsel—’ he started.

  ‘Fine,’ Grace snapped. ‘You’ve got three minutes.’ He thumped off the tape recorder and marched out of the room.

  As soon as the door closed, Devereau glanced at the gremlin. Carmichael didn’t say anything. He didn’t even look at his client.

  ‘Do you have something to say?’ Devereau asked.

  Carmichael held up his hand, indicating silence. Another few seconds passed then he raised his head and began to speak in a calm, level tone. ‘You know what that was, Mr Webb? That was me counting to ten in my head. If I hadn’t done that, I would be more than likely to end up in prison myself for committing aggravated assault. The reason being that,’ his voice suddenly rose to a high-pitched screech, ‘I am your fucking lawyer! I am the one to whom you tell relevant information! If you have knowledge of a fucking murder, then you fucking tell me and then I can make a fucking deal with the fucking police to get you the fuck out of here!’ His nostrils flared and his body quivered.

  ‘Are you alright there, Phileas?’ Devereau enquired. He nudged the cup of coffee towards him. ‘Would you like a drink?’

  The gremlin ignored it. ‘Tell me about Goodman’s Alley.’

  ‘You’re my lawyer, right?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘That means client confidentiality?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter who hired you or who is paying your bill? You won’t repeat what I tell you?’

  ‘I won’t breathe a word unless you say otherwise, Mr Webb.’ Carmichael was starting to calm down. ‘What do you know about those two murders?’

  ‘I’ll tell you and Grace at the same time. I want you to hear it together.’

  Carmichael shook his head. ‘No. If you have information on another crime, we can use that to help with Jonathan Lee’s murder.’

  Devereau’s expression was implacable. ‘I didn’t murder Jonathan Lee.’

  Carmichael waved his hands. ‘That’s not actually relevant.’

  ‘I don’t need to make a deal,’ Devereau said. ‘But I do need to speak to you and Grace together.’

  Carmichael sighed heavily. ‘Mr Webb, I can’t possibly act effectively as your solicitor unless you take my advice.’

  ‘That’s alright, Philly.’ Devereau clapped him on the shoulder. ‘I won’t hold what happens against you. Let’s get Grace back in here.’

  ***

  The tape was started again. DS Grace was licking his lips in anticipation, his eagerness at potentially solving two crimes in one day getting the better of him. ‘Well, Mr Webb?’

  Devereau linked his hands together. ‘As I was saying, I heard that something was going down at Goodman’s Alley and that it involved a werewolf. I decided to investigate. I sneaked into the house in question before armed police entered it. When I was there, I discovered the two corpses. I also discovered a twelve-year-old female werewolf who was very much alive.’

  Grace’s jaw dropped and Carmichael blanched in horror. Devereau didn’t miss a beat. ‘I should add that this girl is not a naturally born werewolf. She was born human.’ He met Grace’s eyes, making sure that the detective understood the full importance of that detail. From the detective’s suddenly pallor, it was clear that he did.

  Devereau nodded and continued. ‘With the help of Miss Scarlett Cook, I investigated further. The female werewolf, the child, had been transformed against her will as an act of retribution against her father. This transformation was conducted by a shadowy human organisation that’s been forcing people from other countries to become vampires and werewolves. They are then auctioned off to the highest bidder for whatever sick purposes the buyers have in mind. I don’t know how many victims there are, but I’m assuming several.’

  ‘Oh my God,’ Carmichael whispered.

  Devereau nodded grimly and continued. ‘David Bernard, one of the humans found dead at Goodman’s Alley, did financial work for this organisation.’ He wasn’t prepared to yield the names of either Matelot or Dominic Phillips; if Grace had all the pieces of the puzzle, he might decide to do something stupid and take care of matters himself. That would inevitably result in the detective’s death and, more to the point, disaster for the rest of them.

  ‘Bernard was at the flat to witness the werewolf child’s father being tortured in front of her. As I’m sure you’re already aware, the flat belongs to his secretary, Marsha Kennard. The child was ordered to kill Ms Kennard to save her own father but instead she lost control and her wolf took over. She attacked Bernard and killed him and one of his companions instead. It wasn’t a planned move on her part – I’m told such loss of control is typical in an unnaturally created adolescent werewolf. She couldn’t help herself and she’s not responsible for her actions.’

  Devereau paused and raised his eyebrows meaningfully t
o ensure that Grace understood. ‘In the ensuing chaos, various people escaped including the leader of the organisation, the girl’s father and Marsha Kennard.’

  ‘Fucking hell,’ Grace blurted out before he could stop himself.

  ‘Indeed,’ Devereau agreed. He stared at the pale-faced detective. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve located Ms Kennard?’

  Grace shook his head. ‘Our working assumption is that you’re involved in her disappearance.’

  Devereau’s eyebrow twitched in irritation. ‘I am not. I’ve never met the woman.’ He did his best to tamp down his annoyance. He was fairly sure that Dominic Phillips had already disposed of Kennard. Her body could be floating down the Thames right now for all any of them knew.

  ‘How is Jonathan Lee linked to all this?’ Grace asked, clearly trying to regain control of the interview. ‘We know he worked in the building where Bernard and Marsha Kennard were based. He must be part of it too.’ His tone was still heavy with accusation.

  ‘My best guess,’ Devereau said evenly, ‘is that the unfortunate Mr Lee was shot dead in the hope that the news of his death would reach Marsha Kennard and she would panic. This organisation is desperate to contain the chaos that they’ve created and no doubt want to get rid of both Kennard and the werewolf child without further delay. They attacked my house because the girl was there. They want to kill her to keep her existence – and their activities – secret. Hence the rather dramatic shoot-out that resulted in the death of yet another human.’

  DS Grace opened his mouth then closed it. A moment later he opened it again. ‘I should go and get someone else to hear this,’ he said shakily. ‘If you’re telling the truth, Mr Webb, it’s clearly above my pay grade.’

  ‘Oh,’ Devereau murmured, ‘I can assure you that it’s the truth. But you can’t get anyone else, not unless you want things to become far, far worse than they already are.’

  Grace shook his head. ‘I don’t understand. How can they become worse?’

  Devereau glanced at Carmichael. ‘Phileas?’

  The solicitor swallowed. ‘Supes have been living on a knife edge for years,’ he said, his words barely audible. ‘If word of this gets out to the supe community, it will be the tinder to a powder keg that’s been waiting to go off for a very long time. Every supe in this city is forced to live under the strictest of conditions. We deal with prejudice on a daily basis, but we get on with it because we are afforded certain legal protections that make life in this country bearable. Mr Webb’s existence aside, the creation of new werewolves and vampires is carefully monitored to follow the letter of the law and maintain population numbers. When the clans discover that humans are illegally turning people into wolves and selling them off as slaves…’ He exhaled. ‘Well, let’s just say that you can’t expect peace to reign as a result. And that’s before the vampires get involved.’

  ‘The vampires are already involved,’ Devereau said casually. His tone did nothing to reassure DS Grace. ‘I imagine there are fanged folks scurrying all over London looking for the bastards behind this. When they find them, you can expect fireworks. And, let’s be clear, detective, I’m not talking about the celebratory kind of fireworks.’

  Grace ran a shaky hand through his hair. ‘They can use this as a reason to ignore the population limitation laws and turn as many people as they want. They’ll claim precedent. And they’ll blame humans for setting that precedent.’

  ‘Yup.’ Devereau smiled humourlessly. ‘And how do you think the humans will react when they find out that children are being forcibly transformed into killers? They’ll blame the supes. The supes will blame the humans. Frankly, if you tell other people what’s been going on under the noses of the Metropolitan Police, word will get out within hours and the entire city will be rioting by the end of the week.’

  ‘If the vampires already know what’s going on—’

  ‘I can handle the vampires,’ Devereau interrupted. He hoped that Scarlett could, anyway. ‘You need to handle the humans. And that means ensuring that nobody finds out what is going on.’

  ‘I can’t keep something like this to myself,’ Grace whispered. He was fumbling. Under any other circumstances, Devereau would have enjoyed this.

  ‘Then,’ he said, ‘if the prospect of London burning isn’t enough to sway you, let me give you another reason to stay quiet. The girl. The werewolf child. I know where she is.’

  ‘She killed two people,’ Grace muttered. ‘Child or not, we have to bring her in and charge her.’

  ‘What she did wasn’t her fault. She couldn’t control herself – there’s no way she could have. To be honest, it’s a miracle she didn’t escape onto the street and kill more people. She was pumped full of lycanthropic magic that, mixed with her hormones, sent her crazy. And then her father was tortured in front of her.’

  ‘But—’

  Phileas Carmichael straightened up. His initial shock at Devereau’s revelations had worn off and he’d reverted to pragmatic law professional. ‘It’s highly illegal for children to be turned,’ he said.

  Grace snapped. ‘I know that.’

  ‘In the unfortunate and rare event that it does occur,’ the solicitor continued, ‘there’s really only one course of action to be taken.’

  The blood drained from Grace’s face. ‘The clans will kill her.’

  ‘It’s the law,’ Carmichael said.

  ‘And the law is—’ Devereau added.

  ‘Shut up, Mr Webb.’ Grace shuddered. ‘This girl didn’t choose to be turned into a werewolf. She might be dangerous and she might deserve to be charged with what she’s done, but she doesn’t deserve death.’

  ‘No, she doesn’t.’ Devereau leaned forward. ‘But your job states that you have to find her and turn her over to the clans. They won’t want to kill her but legally they’ll have no choice. So if you pursue this matter, DS Grace, her blood will be on your hands.’ He paused. ‘Twelve years old. She’s a slip of a thing.’

  Grace put his head in his hands. ‘How do I know you’re telling the truth? Where’s your actual proof?’

  ‘The warehouse that blew up is where the slave auction was taking place. I’m sure you can sift through the debris and find evidence to back me up. And if you really want me to, I’ll take you to meet the girl in person. She’ll confirm what I’ve told you. She might also flip and go crazy again and kill you by accident but,’ Devereau shrugged, ‘then you’ll be sure of the truth.’

  Grace raised his head. He looked defeated. He reached for the tape recorder and turned it off once more. ‘I don’t know what to do with all this information.’

  ‘I understand,’ Devereau said. ‘Fortunately, I do.’

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Scarlett gave him a long look. ‘I can’t believe that you persuaded Owen Grace to let us go and to keep his mouth shut.’

  ‘He’s out of his depth but he believes in his job. He told me the first time we met that he wants to protect people. Detective Sergeant Grace believes wholeheartedly that his job is to look after innocents. Right now, he agrees that includes Martina and allowing me to continue alone is the best way to keep her safe.’

  Devereau met her eyes and added more quietly, ‘I suspect, however, that once he’s had a chance to sleep on things he’ll change his mind. We need to ensure that we put a stop to Matelot and Dominic Phillips once and for all before that happens.’

  She raised an eyebrow. ‘We?’

  ‘You might not have told the other vampires about Martina, but you’ve told them about the auction and what we discovered at the warehouse. I know your loyalties lie with your own kind, but if you can give me forty-eight hours I can sort this out on my own. You said yourself that Horvath isn’t in the city at the moment, so you’re not going against his wishes by helping me. The man isn’t even here.’

  Scarlett’s lips pressed together. ‘There’s a fabulous new invention that you might have heard of recently. It’s called a telephone. It allows you to speak to people over great di
stances.’

  ‘Scarlett…’

  She sighed. ‘Fortunately for you, I’ve not spoken to him. He’s not answering his phone and he’s out of contact. Technically that means I’m in charge. But Lord Horvath aside, there are more than a thousand vampires in London. They can help in ways you can’t even imagine. We can help. Not with Martina, of course, but with Matelot.’

  Devereau shook his head. ‘I’m not trying to be the big hero here, or to pretend that I’m invincible and better than the rest of you. The explosives at the warehouse proved that Dominic Phillips is a canny bastard who thinks ahead and plans for every eventuality. We know he’s desperate to keep his activities hidden. If he realises that every vampire in town knows what he’s been up to, we won’t see him for dust. He’ll leave London at high speed – and probably under a false identity – and we’ll never see him again. But you can bet that he’ll start again wherever he ends up. He thinks he’s onto too much of a good thing to stop turning people into supes and enslaving them. The best way to stop him permanently isn’t to use an army that will scare him off, it’s to use one person who can sneak under the radar and bring him down before he realises what’s happening.’

  Scarlett folded her arms. She wasn’t happy but she knew he was right. ‘Two people,’ Scarlett she said finally. ‘Two heads are better than one. We can track down Phillips together.’

  ‘I don’t want you to get into trouble with your Lord.’

  Scarlett frowned. ‘I am a loyal London vampire but I’m also my own person. I can hold the vamps back for a short time at least, and I’ll deal with the fall-out from Lord Horvath when he returns. But even if we track down Dom Phillips, it’s not going to solve the problem of what to do with Martina. She’s still an illegal werewolf. It’s going to be years before she can control herself, and the full moon is within touching distance. You can’t pretend she doesn’t exist and that she’s not a danger. Sooner or later, everyone will find out about her and then nobody will be able to help her.’