Magic and the Shinigami Detective

by Honor Raconteur

  “First of all, Sanderson, I am not in the habit of ‘controlling’ women. Especially not ones with the training and competence to put egotistical pigs in their place.”

  A crowd started gathering outside in the hallway. I couldn’t see them, but I sensed them, with their breathing and whispers to each other. We normally gathered an audience, as people enjoyed the show, and I normally ignored the idiots. This time, I took advantage of them. Sanderson tried to splutter something out, and I raised my voice, drowning out his attempts to speak. “Secondly, I have seen that woman raise a drowned man with her resuscitation technique. I myself used it on her when she collapsed this week and know for a surety that it works. By teaching all of you, she gives the sailors and dockmen in Kingston a better chance of survival should they ever fall in the water. We should be thanking her for sharing that knowledge, not berating her for it!”

  Sanderson had the gall to look surprised. “It actually works?”

  “Try listening before condemning an idea, Sanderson,” I snapped with considerable asperity. “Now, I have never seen Edwards take someone on in hand-to-hand combat, but I have no doubt that if she wants to take a man down, then he will go down. That is not a woman to be trifled with.”

  “While you’re not wrong,” Edwards herself stepped into the room, brushing past Sanderson as if he didn’t exist, “it’s not something that I can manage just because I’m me. I’m trained in martial arts, and they were invented so the little guy could beat the big one. Since I’m sensing resistance on this idea, shall we have a demonstration?”

  Spinning to face her, Sanderson sneered, “And how do you intend to prove your point?”

  Edwards went nose to nose with him and I noted in amusement that she had two inches on Sanderson in her boots. “Penny McSparrin can put you on your knees and you won’t be able to either stop her or get back up again.”

  Sanderson scoffed. “Penny McSparrin couldn’t hurt a fly without help.”

  She didn’t smile, but I knew that shark-like expression on Edwards’ face. Nothing nice followed afterwards. I had to bite the inside of my lip to keep from grinning like a jackanapes.

  “You will buy lunch for all of the female officers for the duration of the training week if she can do it,” Edwards challenged, thrusting out her hand.

  Being a complete fool, Sanderson accepted the hand, sealing the deal and returning her look with a superior tilt of his chin. “And you will issue a public apology for this nonsense and buy me lunch for a week.”

  “Done.” Edwards released his hand and called out to the crowd in the hallway, “Someone call Penny in here!”

  Having a feeling how this would go, I moved some of my more delicate equipment to the side, then put up warding and cushioning spells until we had a clear 8x8 square feet to serve as a sparring ring. Sanderson sneered at my efforts, but Edwards winked at me, clearly approving.

  I possessed no idea how she’d managed to teach Penny McSparrin, of all people, on fisticuffs. Sanderson might be a moron, but he was correct in that McSparrin wasn’t the type to be physically rough with people. On her cases, if she encountered a situation where she needed to confront an abuser, a patrolman always went with her.

  McSparrin entered with open confusion and perhaps an edge of trepidation. Edwards waved her inside the room and explained simply, “Sanderson needs schooling. Without letting him catch you, put him in a hold.”

  The blonde visibly perked up and gave Sanderson a feral smile that brought images of thumb screws and boiling lye to mind. “With pleasure.”

  “Don’t break anything,” Edwards belatedly added.

  Sanderson didn’t even take off his lab coat, just strode into the middle of the cleared space with an affected air of boredom, as if this was all beneath him. He couldn’t quite conceal the anticipation of embarrassing both women.

  Because I contain a sadistic streak in me somewhere, I put a black box on the table and activated it, ready to record the event. I would make sure Sanderson had no way to wiggle his way free of this later.

  Besides, blackmail was always handy.

  McSparrin entered the area with a straight back but she didn’t stand directly facing him. Instead she went a little to the side, settling into a stance I’d never seen before. Her legs were apart, knees slightly bent, one arm up, the other down level with her stomach. A guard stance, unless I missed my guess.

  I felt familiar enough with fighting techniques to be able to evaluate the way she stood and found little to no openings. Just what style did Edwards teach her?

  “Go,” Edwards said calmly.

  Sanderson barged forward like a bull in a china shop, recklessly reaching for McSparrin’s arms to subdue her. McSparrin sank a foot, lunging forward, her arm deflecting his attempt with a smooth motion, the other punching him directly in the sternum. Sanderson’s attack faltered as he stumbled sideways, gasping for breath. In a split second, McSparrin was on him, pivoting about on her front foot, taking his arm with both of hers and pushing all of her weight forward. Sanderson went down hard on both knees, his arm held at an awkward angle, his face pressed intimately with the tiles.

  The watchers froze, a few of them gasping out incredulous curses.

  Sanderson spat out his own curse, sounding a little out of breath still, and struggled to rise. When that didn’t work, he tried to press forward and wriggle free. It only pushed him harder into the ground.

  “How is she doing that?” someone asked, the words softly spoken enough that it might have been rhetorical.

  “She’s using pressure points against him.” Edwards strode forward, using hands to illustrate as she explained. “You see her hold here, on the wrist? That tilts his arm forward so that it’s at the full extent in the socket. Then her hand here, at the elbow, locks the arm in place so he can’t move. Now, in this position, she can dislocate his shoulder, break his elbow, and break his neck.”

  Even I felt a little alarmed at this. “She can kill him in that position?”

  “By either stepping on his neck or ramming him head first into a solid object,” Edwards responded calmly, as if we weren’t discussing a man’s possible murder. “There are different levels to this hold. That said, if she so chooses, she can just continue to stand there and hold him until help comes if she doesn’t wish to do any lasting damage. Longest I’ve held someone in that position was thirty minutes, but it can go longer.”

  “Let me up, you tart!” Sanderson snarled. It was less than impressive because he couldn’t look up from his position on the floor. A turtle had more dignity. I tilted the black box a little, properly capturing the sight.

  “You know, Dr. Sanderson, I’m not inclined to do that,” McSparrin informed him primly. “You’ve been insulting and demeaning to me ever since I joined the police. I do good work here, I’m just as valuable as any other policeman, and I just proved that I can hold my own in a fight. I think you owe me an apology, and I certainly expect you to act like a gentleman from now on.”

  Sanderson choked, appalled she had the guts to call him out on his behavior.

  I couldn’t let this pass and cleared my throat to get her attention. “I’m afraid I must disagree with you, Officer McSparrin. Your abilities are in fact superior to some of the officers serving. You are worth more, not less.”

  She shot me a smile that would have put any sunrise to shame. “Thank you, Dr. Davenforth.”

  “And don’t worry about his conduct,” I assured her, tapping the black box meaningfully. “I have the whole incident recorded.”

  That delighted smile turned positively evil. “In that case, I’ll let go.” She deliberately opened both hands and stepped back, but didn’t bother to offer him a hand up.

  Sanderson scrambled to his feet in an undignified lurch, frantic and belligerent. “Davenforth! You can’t show that to anyone. That’s blackmail!”

  I gave him a genteel smile that would have made my mother proud. “It’s only blackmail if I have to use it. Sanderson.
”

  More than one poorly disguised laugh came from our audience. Sanderson flushed, belatedly realizing he should have done this ‘demonstration’ in private, as it didn’t matter if I had a recording or not. We had plenty of witnesses to carry the tale. Seeing no way to salvage the situation, he stormed out, pushing his way roughly through people as he went.

  “I’ll bring you daily bills!” Edwards called cheerfully after him. Turning to Penny, she raised a closed fist. “Good job, Penny.”

  “I was a bit nervous,” she admitted frankly, flushed with success and beaming. She bumped her closed fist against Edwards’ in some bizarre exchange. “I’ve only spared against you and RM Seaton after all.”

  Of course Edwards had dragged Seaton into this.

  “You did great,” Edwards assured her.

  Three loud claps brought everyone’s heads around and it was only then that I realized Captain Gregson had been lurking in the hallway. How long had he been watching? “I trust, gentlemen, that I don’t need to speak to anyone else about how important this training is for our female officers?”

  Gerring dared to clear his throat. “About that, Captain, I do have one question.”

  Cocking an eyebrow, Gregson met the young officer with a ‘do tell’ expression. “Yes?”

  “Can I be one of the girls?” Realizing how that may have sounded, he cleared his throat and back-pedaled. “I mean to say, sir, can I join in on the training?”

  Gregson looked slightly surprised at the question, but after a beat, he nodded approvingly. “That’s entirely up to the training officer. I have no objection. Detective Edwards, would you be willing to teach Officer Gerring as well?”

  “We’d be delighted to have him,” Edwards answered with a welcoming smile to Gerring. “The more the merrier, in my book. Gerring, we start training next Gather Day. In fact, Captain, anyone and everyone is welcome except Sanderson. I can’t train a closed mind.”

  I blinked at this description, finding it incredibly apt. Sanderson did indeed have a closed mind.

  “We’ll have to take that in shifts, if you find there’s more than Gerring who wants to go,” Gregson informed her. “I can’t have the station shorthanded. If anyone else is willing, either speak with me or Detective Edwards. For now, dismissed, you all have cases to solve.”

  The crowd broke up and people went back to their jobs.

  “Henri,” Edwards said decisively, “I think I owe you lunch for being so wonderful.”

  “My treat,” McSparrin joined in, appearing equally determined. “Sanderson has been a thorn in my side ever since I joined up. I owe you one for having my back on this.”

  Go to lunch with two beautiful women whom I happen to like? “I’d be delighted.”

  The first training was delayed for various reasons, but when I finally did get to hold it, it went swimmingly well. We held it at the Academy’s training grounds, and because of that, I actually had more than the dozen female officers serving in the city attend. The female cadets also joined. And Gerring, of course. I do like that boy. He reminds me of something out of a Marvel comic book with his looks, but he’s a sweetie, that one. I could only train them in the mornings for a week, but by the end of it, they all knew how to subdue people, dislocate, disarm, or in a pinch, break a few bones. No man’s going to get one up on my girls, not after that.

  I frankly feel sorry for anyone who messes with Gerring. His reflexes are no joke.

  Thank you, Henri, for the recommendations on the restaurants. We made sure to go to the most expensive restaurants, don’t worry. Sanderson paid through the nose.

  A knock came on my lab door, a little tentative in sound. I expected both Edwards and Seaton at any moment, so this knock did not bring about any sense of anticipation. I did not need more work handed to me just as I readied myself to go out. I looked up, then had to quickly reorganize my thoughts as Officer McSparrin gave me a little wave. “Officer McSparrin. May I help you?”

  “Actually, Doctor, I think I can help you.” She came in and offered me a sheet, which I took, although she gave me no time to read it. “Had a woman report in just this morning. I couldn’t find either you or Jamie, so I took her statement down and her directions. She thinks she might have seen that girl you’re looking for. Eda Robbins, that her name?”

  “It is indeed.” I took the statement and read through it with avid interest. As witness reports went, it was brutally short and to the point with little information. A girl that resembled the sketch had been seen early this morning as the fish market near the docks opened. The woman who saw her owned a stall near the corner of Seaside and 5th. “Did this Mrs. Banner say if she had seen the young woman before?”

  “Said she seemed familiar, as if they’d passed by each other dozens of times, but it wasn’t until she saw the wanted poster out that she made the connection. Wasn’t sure if she’d seen the girl before, but she might live in the area.” McSparrin shrugged as if I was meant to take this statement with a grain of salt.

  I intended to, but still this was heartening. “We’ll certainly stop by and speak to this woman directly. Thank you, Officer McSparrin. I was beginning to think that our search for this young woman would prove to be fruitless.”

  “Me too, Doctor. You look ready to go out?”

  “We’re hunting down the people on that list you and Edwards compiled,” I answered, glancing toward the door. Really, what kept those two? “You’ve narrowed it down to fifty for us, which I truly appreciate, as that’s a much better suspect pool to work from.”

  “You’re welcome, sir.” She lifted her shoulders in a brief shrug. “I didn’t mind the work and I learned a lot from Jamie while we did it. She’s a fount of information, that one.”

  “She is indeed.” Belatedly I realized I should have said something else. “You are welcome to join us. RM Seaton will be assisting us on the hunt as well.”

  Her face briefly lit up before it fell again. “It’s kind of you, Doctor, but I’ve got three cases of my own to handle this morning. Next time, though, count me in.”

  “I will, and I’ll keep you posted on the results for this one,” I promised.

  Another rap at my door, this one quick and sure as Edwards’ head came about the portal. “Henri, let’s go. Hi, Penny. Bye, Penny.”

  “Coming.” Gathering up hat and my bag, I exchanged a quick good bye with Officer McSparrin (who was laughing at my partner’s antics) before hurrying to catch up with my impatient partner.

  To my absolute dismay, I found her sitting in one of those accursed motor cars outside. She was, thank all deities, not behind the wheel. Seaton sat in the driver’s seat, and he gave me a cheerful greeting as I went down the front steps. “Davenforth, come on, hop in. Don’t worry, I won’t let Jamie drive us. She’s a maniac, she’ll kill us all.”

  Edwards smacked him on the arm with the back of her hand. “Like going thirty ever killed anyone.”

  If I have to get in one of these, at least Seaton seemed sensible about speed. With grave reservations, I climbed into the backseat. This one, unlike the others, actually had a top to it. It was nothing more than canvas and poles, but it kept the wind from buffering my hat about, which I appreciated. The sky looked slightly overcast, promising rain at some point, and we’d all appreciate the cover if the heavens did choose to douse us.

  I could not protest the use of the car as we would be driving the width and breadth of the city. Fifty names were not something we could casually cover with public transportation. Thanks to police resources, we had addresses for some of those names, but certainly not all. Our only goal today would be to eliminate all that we could and hopefully narrow it down even further to the true rogues.

  Sitting on the edge of the seat, I leaned forward so that my head came in between the two in front. “I received a report from Officer McSparrin right before we left. A witness has come forward for Eda Robbins. She states that she’s seen the girl in the Fish Market this morning.”

  Edw
ards turned sharply, making the leather seats squeak, her voice rising. “This morning? Already? It’s barely eight!”

  “Robbins was spotted just as the Fish Market opened, which I believe happens at six,” I explained patiently. “We should head there first.”

  “Yes, let’s do that,” Edwards agreed quickly. “Did the report say where?”

  “Of course. Seaton, corner of Seaside and 5th.”

  Seaton took the next right turn, heading toward the docks. “I hope this really is your girl. Witnesses are unreliable most of the time, right?”

  “Notoriously so,” Edwards sighed, amused and vexed in equal measure. She rolled her eyes to the heavens before recounting, “I took five statements to a bombing once. Not one account matched another. That’s not untypical, but in a world like this, when you usually only have witness statements to go off of, it makes it incredibly challenging to figure out what actually happened.”

  “If not for magical reconstructions and science, we might not ever get to the bottom of the matter,” I agreed sourly. Any policeman after a year on the force found how fickle the human memory could be.

  “Ah, that must be her.”

  Jarred out of my thoughts, I twisted a little to see where Edwards indicated. A woman with a plump build, greying blonde hair, and rubber boots stood behind a fish stand, calling out her wares and prices.

  As Seaton parked the car, and we climbed out of it, I prayed fervently that we might be given more information to go off of. Otherwise we’d be forced to search out all of these names in the hopes of catching Eda Robbins, and I heartily did not want to use that method if we didn’t have to.

  “There has to be a better way to do this,” I said to the world in general.

  “My dear chap,” Seaton said authoritatively, seated at my elbow, “it is a Royal Mage’s duty to hunt down rogue magicians, and you’ll notice that none of them have done such in recent memory until the rogue in question becomes too famous to ignore. We operate that way for a very good reason. Trying to track down every magician who has possibly gone bad is like searching for that proverbial needle in a haystack.”