by Holly Ice
I closed my eyes, judging the height of those bumpers. ‘A car and a van maybe? But the track in through the woods was rough. More gravel and dirt than a proper road.’ Like the stuff underneath the road when the weather ate through it.
‘Okay, so that eliminates ships, trucks, and other transport as holding facilities. Warehouses, too. They’d want a better road route.’
I hadn’t thought she might be held in a cell on wheels, but that was Julian.
‘Do you ken how many sites that leaves?’ I asked.
Julian shrugged. ‘A lot. But we’re getting somewhere.’
‘We’ll find them,’ Shane said, straightening, all trace of his worries gone.
I wished I could be that certain. We’d made progress, but it felt like something was going to go wrong. Not in a gut-squirming, psychic way, but in the very human way of this had been going too well and trouble had to be around the corner.
Julian’s phone rang thirty-five minutes later during our lunch recess.
That had to be trouble. I bit my lip. Was it the press, trying for another sound bite, or the Delvauxs, turning the screw for more information on Avery?
‘Yes?’ Julian nodded and covered the phone. ‘It’s Ingrid.’
I frowned. Our new witness. She’d only been on my case one, maybe two days. Why was she calling? Was she dropping out?
Julian listened to her for a minute, then put the phone in the middle of the table and sat back.
‘You’re on speaker!’ He smiled. ‘Give them the good news.’
It was too soon. I crossed my arms and stared at the phone. She couldn’t have unearthed anything good yet.
Shane walked behind me and put his arms around my waist. I breathed in his scent and leaned back into his hard chest.
Ingrid cleared her throat. ‘Hi. I’ll spare you the techy details, but I scanned human social media for images around the time of the murder and hit gold.’
This was a sick joke. But Julian was still smiling. He thought this was real. But how could human social media help me with a supernatural death?
‘Two sources have images of a man approaching the murder scene and standing over the bodies. The embedded metadata proves they’re from the right day, place, and crucially, they were taken before the WMCF arrived on the scene.’
I stared at the phone. ‘You mean they show another suspect?’
‘Exactly. We can’t make out his face, but it’s more than enough for doubt.’
I glanced back at Shane. His face was strangely empty. Julian was still grinning. But this didn’t feel real. I clenched my hands, but my nails hurt when they bit into my palms. I stared at the phone. She’d changed everything.
A smile tugged at my lips, and this time I let it, the shell on my emotions melting away.
With this, Julian’s entire argument that I was innocent, that the WMCF concluded their investigation too quickly, that someone else killed Justin, would get a huge boost.
My gut jumped, and I nodded to my stomach, like I was having a bloody conversation with it. We had to be careful.
‘Make copies, and copies of copies,’ I said. ‘Document everything.’
I couldn’t let these images be another casualty of the WMCF’s cover-up.
Shane’s chin rested in the crook of my neck, drawing me tight to his body, and I sighed out the last of my concerns. We finally had something concrete, something Russell missed. Maybe, I could imagine being with him again, outside prison, getting back to our life together.
* * *
I laced my hands and closed my eyes, sinking into that meditative calm.
Like I had every night since Avery went into labour and five times already today, I stretched my spirit net into the darkness.
I Saw Avery’s flame and tried to connect to her but was thrown back into my body. Someone had to be keeping a very close watch on her.
No luck?
No.
Like he didnae ken from my scrunched-up face. My head was screaming at me like a continual brain freeze. But I had to try one last time.
Shauna and Ivy would arrive for an update any minute.
And I didn’t have enough.
Julian had narrowed Avery’s location to thirty properties. Far too many for the Delvauxs to search quietly. They only had one, maybe two shots at finding her. As soon as Russell knew someone was onto them, Avery would be a liability, and they’d kill her, like they’d killed Justin.
I bit my tongue. I couldn’t let that happen.
I need to get to her, Lyall. What we have is practically useless. Can I force the connection?
No, you’re doing all you can.
I tore my hands through my tangled hair.
The Delvauxs had performed miracles finding that witness. She’d already more than proved her worth finding another bloody suspect. I owed them. And I owed Avery.
Searing pain lanced my skull and spasmed down my spine.
I gritted my teeth. I’d push through it, find something that could be proved, that the Delvauxs could bring to the WMCF. Or someone who knew where Avery was. Someone less high-profile than Perseus or Russell McKee. Someone they could corner and demand answers from without him being missed.
But the click of heeled boots told me I’d run out of time.
Ivy sashayed towards me, chin up.
Shauna trailed behind, hands deep in the pockets of her cloak, her gaze distant. But when they stopped beside me, she snapped back into a cool strategist.
‘What do you have?’ Shauna asked.
I had to be honest. ‘Not as much as I wanted.’
Ivy huffed, but Shauna raised her hand. ‘Hear her out.’
They hadn’t stormed out of here yet, but Shauna asked for a location, and I didn’t have it.
‘Avery isn’t letting me connect to her, so I can’t ask anything new. It might be that someone is in the room with her, or maybe she had complications from the birth… I don’t know. But I can’t get more information.’
Ivy rolled her eyes. ‘She’s stalling. Can’t you see that? She doesn’t know anything. Her lawyer could have shown her a picture of Avery. Or she searched for missing people. It’s a con.’
Shauna stared at me. ‘You’ve found nothing? After the help we gave you?’
It wasn’t like I hadn’t tried. I couldn’t snap my fingers to magic answers and visions into my head.
‘I have the best motivation to help you.’ I couldn’t let Justin or Avery down. And with Russell pulling the strings, these women were probably my only way out of here. ‘But I’ve done everything I can from in here.’
‘A fat lot of nothing,’ Ivy said.
‘No. The last vision I had, I Saw something.’
Shauna swept her hand. ‘By all means.’
Are you sure you want to tell them? Lyall asked. This is your only leverage.
I ken, but Ingrid gives her testimony tomorrow. Then the trial’s over. I can’t afford her backing out.
‘We should leave,’ Ivy said.
‘I can narrow her location to a few properties,’ I said.
Shauna raised an eyebrow. ‘How many?’
‘More than I’d like. But Avery is being held by the McKees and–’
‘Blaming the McKees again! They have no reason to steal Avery from us. They’re one of the most powerful and connected families out there. And mentioning Perseus…’ Ivy shook her head. ‘Everyone knew he was obsessed with Avery. He practically stalked her. She’s stringing you along, Shauna. Stop listening to her and let the coven sort her out.’
Perseus’ obsession was news to me. Not that they’d believe me.
Acid jumped into my mouth. I swallowed.
Avery was definitely with the McKees, but they’d called Perseus when she’d gone into labour. Could he have abducted her? It might even be his bairn. But then why would the McKees hold her for him if it was personal?
I’d thought they were breeding stronger ‘throwback’ witches to increase the number of powerful Cog
nata witches in the gene pool, especially in influential families. So why risk their operation on a banshee someone was sure to miss?
My stomach swirled. I was thinking too small.
The pervert would’ve dreamed of bairns with the woman he watched.
A business that made sick dreams like that a reality could make a lot of money, or a lot of friends with a faulty conscience. More than enough to avoid a WMCF investigation by killing the lead officer and covering it up. And a coven member in their pocket? Ideal.
I closed my eyes and shook my head. We hadn’t looked deep enough. The McKees would have allies everywhere. Taking them down would be like killing a vampire without a stake. They’d keep coming back, mislaying evidence, changing testimony, and restricting my options.
‘We’ve searched everywhere that makes sense already,’ Shauna said, crossing her arms. ‘If she knows something, I want to hear it.’
Hell, what was I going to tell them? The window. Right. ‘In the vision from Ivy, the person I Saw through looked out a window.’
Ivy stiffened.
Shauna leaned in. ‘What did you see?’
‘Concrete for a few metres and then dense trees. The road through it was mud and gravel. Nothing likely to be labelled on a map.’
Ivy pointed at me. ‘If that isn’t a clear sign this is a con, nothing is. This is Latvia. Woods and forests are everywhere. And countless roads like that, especially in the countryside.’
Shauna’s lips thinned. She nodded, then turned on her heel.
‘No! Wait!’
My head throbbed in time with my heart. I lurched my arm through the bars, trying to catch a sleeve, but missed.
‘Is our deal still on?’
Neither woman looked back. They talked in a hushed mumble, not loud enough for me to hear, even with the echoes in the corridor. Then there was quiet.
I kicked the cell bars, tears blazing down my cheeks. How could I be so stupid? Losing myself in the McKee’s crap, when the Delvauxs were right in front of me.
Pain thundered through my toes, but I didn’t care. I took a shuddering breath. That was my one shot to avoid category one punishment. And I’d blown it.
Chapter 8
Today we found out if the Delvauxs would back their threat to withdraw our new witness. But we were already in the meeting room, with no news.
I pulled my sleeves over my wrists. Too warm. I pushed them up, but they slipped, so I rolled them instead.
Julian checked his phone for messages approximately once a minute, locking and unlocking his screen.
Another five minutes passed. I crossed my legs, then uncrossed them.
Shane’s attention was riveted on me, like he thought I might lose it. Mira watched me from a different angle.
And their stares were like hot flames on my skin, warming the closer we got to court time, reminding me how much this meant to both of us. I looked at the clock and bit my lip. Four minutes until the trial started.
The second hand ticked through ten seconds. I willed the hand to move the other way. Where was she?
‘Anything?’ I asked.
Julian glanced at his phone, then me. ‘Maybe it’s time we think about our options?’
A chill uncoiled and stretched from my core to my fingers. I rubbed the tingling fingertips together. Today was the last planned day of the trial. Without our new witness… My airway clogged. I shook my head. Can’t go there.
‘We can ask for another day?’ Shane asked, his voice desperate.
I glanced at Julian’s briefcase propped open on the table, only a few dozen sheets of paper clipped inside, most of it dead ends. Finding another witness in a day was a pipe dream.
But… another day was another chance to contact Avery. I rubbed my head, my brain still tender from all those elastic snap rebounds back into my body last night.
My heartbeat was slow, steady, in my ears, counting the seconds we had left.
‘Do it.’
What else could we do?
Julian pushed his chair back with a screech.
He was halfway to the door when a loud knock stilled him, and pounded my skull some more.
With a shake of the head, he opened it.
I craned my neck to peer around him.
A towering pile of paper half obscured the frowning face of a young woman. She wasn’t an official. Her black hair was roughly thrown into a bun and was dyed bright blue on the ends.
She slid inside, knocking her elbow on the doorframe. A few sheets wafted to the floor.
‘Damn it.’ She bounced her papers. ‘Help is appreciated. Jump in anytime.’
Julian took the stack and put it on the table, where it dwarfed his briefcase.
And Shane was suddenly by my side, hovering. The air between us stood my hair on end with tension. Unasked questions. Unsaid worries.
I put space between us and collected the woman’s flyaway sheets. They may as well be in another language…
My heart raced. I clutched the paper so tight it crinkled. Code. Programming language. Could this be our witness?
Julian held his hand out. ‘Ingrid, I presume?’
She shook.
It’s her. The Delvauxs came through.
They were good people. My gut twisted. That made failing them worse.
Cutting it fine, isn’t she?
If she brought this much ammunition, I don’t care.
What had she been doing to generate so much data?
‘Are we jumping right into it?’ she asked.
‘Unless there’s anything you need to go over?’
‘Actually, yes.’ She snatched a few papers from the pile and waved them under Julian’s nose. ‘You need to ask me about these.’
‘That’s the image metadata you mentioned?’
‘No.’
‘Then what is it?’
‘Reasonable doubt.’
I choked. ‘You found reasonable doubt overnight?’
I’d thought she wasn’t coming, not working till the last minute trying to save me. We’d only given her my data two days ago.
‘It was a long night.’ She swung a backpack around and rooted through until she came out with a slim, bright-red can. Energy drink.
‘Tired?’ Julian asked.
She gulped the drink then gasped in a breath. ‘You have no idea. So…’ She put her drink on the table. ‘Long story short, the default settings on your phone and your apps aren’t exactly… privacy friendly.’
She gave me a tight smile. ‘Sorry. That’s the bad news. The good news is that some of the searches you made that day saved your exact GPS coordinates. We know where you were to the square metre. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t where Justin died. You were in your flat with Shane like you said – I checked his data, too.’
Shane took a few steps towards her, then stilled. His chest rose and fell quickly, his bottom lip tucked under his teeth.
I blew out my breath. All that was tracked in the background? What was the catch?
‘How long does that make the window of opportunity?’ Julian asked, way ahead of me.
‘Ten minutes. Right at the end of the estimated hour of death.’
Julian smirked.
Why was he so happy?
Oh.
The end of the hour. Around the same time that man was photographed at the scene.
‘Will this get me off?’ I asked, my voice breathy.
Julian tilted his hands. ‘Maybe. They’ll argue it. Opportunity is still there, but it’s doubt.’
Lyall fluffed his wings. A big scoop of doubt.
I snorted, and a smile burst out. Shane’s tilted head as he tried and failed to ken my thoughts was hilarious.
Are you comparing this breakthrough to ice cream?
Ingrid crushed her empty drink can and dumped it in the bin. ‘Do you need anything else, or can we get this done?’
I glanced over Shane’s shoulder to the clock. Five minutes late. And so worth it.
* * *
>
Ingrid left the stand, and that was it. That was every single witness for the defence and the prosecution questioned and dismissed.
With all her data, Ingrid was a powerhouse on the stand. I’d hate to hide from her. The way she’d tracked my movements and searches was stalker accurate. Doing that from the comfort of her computer chair… I shivered.
Still, it was convincing.
The public and the coven couldn’t keep a lid on their disbelief when she contradicted Cameron’s testimony about the existence of an undercover operation, but she proceeded to prove it with meticulous email records and work logs. The weight of all that data dampened the protests and the prosecutor’s cutting questions until the court was quiet.
And that had nothing on their boggled eyes when confronted with another suspect.
A suspect who was clearly male and who was at the murder scene in the same ten-minute window I wasn’t accounted for.
I couldn’t ask for anything more. I should be buoyed to the ceiling like a helium balloon.
But the end of this trial, the hooded coven peering down at me, still left my knees shaky.
However much proof we raked out of my phone, most of the coven hated me. And my fate was in their hands. They could decide to dismiss the evidence in front of them, and most witches would go along with it.
Never thought I’d learn to appreciate the human justice system. At least those juries were complete strangers and as unbiased as possible.
Tibor pushed to his feet. ‘Prosecution, please make your closing statement.’
I tried to keep my expression blank. Every wee gesture I made would be scrutinised by the public and the coven. They’d use anything they could to point to guilt.
The prosecutor stood and clicked across the courtroom in kitten heels. Each step grated against the silence, until she stopped in the centre of the open space. She smiled to the public and nodded to the coven.
‘You’ve now heard from anyone who had any meaningful contact with Ms Nash throughout her time at the academy, and those who were around her once she was suspended, pending the inquest. You’ve even heard from her guards and processing officers.’
‘Can she say that?’ I whispered to Julian. ‘Not everyone took the stand.’
