Phoenix Born

by Sean Stone

  Decker and Mitchell exchanged a look before turning back to me. ‘He’s saying you killed his fiancée,’ Decker told me flatly.

  ‘What?’ I said, too stunned to say anything else. My brain had frozen like an overheated computer. If I was a cartoon my jaw would’ve been on the floor. ‘Ruby’s…’

  ‘Ruby Hassell is dead, Mr. Graves. She was murdered.’

  Chapter Four

  ‘Murdered?’ I said as the shock of what he’d just said hit me. Ruby may have just been a bed-friend but I still liked her. She was a nice enough girl, even if she had cheated on her fiancé. She didn’t deserve to be murdered. ‘How? When?’ I spoke so quickly the words practically merged into one. If Drew were here right now he’d be telling me to calm myself down. There was no place for emotion when it came to dealing with the police. Stay cool and calm.

  ‘She was killed last night. Took a nasty blow to the head. Pathologist found concrete fragments in her hair.But that’s not what killed her. She died by drowning,,’ Mitchell said in a flat voice that was void of any kind of emotion. I could see why he let Decker do most of the talking.

  ‘Drowning…’ I repeated the word. What a horrible way to die. If I had to pick top five worst ways to die that would be on it. Who would want to drown her? She didn’t seem like the sort of person who would have many enemies. She was harmless. Only one name came to mind — Ethan.

  Decker and Mitchell exchanged a glance before turning back to me.

  ‘Mr. Graves, can I ask, where were you last night at about ten pm?’ Decker asked.

  I let out a small laugh, smiling in disbelief at them. ‘Officers, I can assure that I had nothing to do with this. Last night I was…’ I stopped talking as I realised where I had been last night. I’d been scoping out Kagen Payne’s house, but I could hardly tell them that. “Yes officers, last night I was out planning a murder, but it’s okay because it was an entirely different person to Ruby Hassell.’ Yeah that just wasn’t going to cut it.

  ‘Mr. Graves?’ Decker prompted me, pulling me out of my thoughts.

  ‘Uhm… I was alone. Stayed in all night,’ I lied. I knew as soon as I saw Decker nod to himself that he did not believe me. I was now suspect number one. Top of the persons of interest list.

  ‘Can anybody corroborate that?’ Mitchell asked in the same flat tone as before.

  ‘Corroborate that I was alone?’ I shook my head slowly. Sealing my fate.

  ‘I am sorry, Mr. Graves,’ said Decker, his mouth stretched into a grim line. ‘But we’re going to have to continue this interview at the station.’

  ‘Oh, come on.’ I held my palms up placatingly. ‘I’m not your guy on this. You should really talk to her fiancé.’

  Both officers stood up and looked down expectantly waiting for me to follow suit. ‘We’ll continue this down the station,’ Mitchell said firmly. ‘If you won’t come willingly we’ll have to arrest you and take you forcibly.’

  ‘Oh, as if you could,’ I snapped. If there’s one guaranteed way of pissing me off it’s threatening me. I stood up slowly, enjoying the feeling of rising to my full height and towering over the two squat police officers.

  Decker shrunk away from me just enough for me to notice, but Mitchell held his ground, staring up into my face frostily. ‘The last wizard who dared to use magic against the police in this city was given a life sentence.’

  So many witty retorts came flooding into my head then, many of them at least five-times more threatening than his own comment. But rational thinking prevailed and I kept my tongue behind my teeth.

  ‘After me is it then?’ I said snarkily as I strode for the door. They followed right behind me, Mitchell’s chest now puffed out as if he’d won a cage match against Connor McGregor.

  Leah was waiting out in the corridor. He eyes swept over the scene emerging from her office and she looked up at me questioningly. That’s why I liked her, she could deduce things quickly and silently. I rarely had to tell her what was going on. She always knew what the situation was and was ready to receive instructions.

  ‘Call Drew,’ I told her. She nodded once and then let the three of us pass without a word. This was not at all what I had planned for my evening. I was supposed to be getting some casual booty action which I certainly was not going to find in a police cell. At least I hoped I wasn’t anyway. That wasn’t the kind of thing I was in to.

  I was glad to find they’d parked around the back of the club. That saved any embarrassing stories on social media in the morning about the owner of the city’s biggest nightclub being arrested. The rumours that would spread would be untamable. It would end up costing me a lot of business.

  I was ushered into the back of a cheap looking silver Volvo. Decker and Mitchell climbed into the front and then the journey began. I decided now was a good time to incorporate Drew’s training and I kept my mouth shut. I wouldn’t say anything else until I had a lawyer present. Drew knew the right person to call. I’d never been arrested before so I’d never needed to hire a criminal lawyer. All this was new to me and no amount of training can prepare you for this. I’d broken into people’s houses and murdered them without so much as a raised heartbeat, but this made me nervous. This was new. Unprecedented. I couldn’t predict the outcome.

  What I did know was if I couldn’t remove my name from their suspect list then I wouldn’t be taking any more contracts for some time. I couldn’t go and kill someone with the police watching me. This was going to cost me more than a bad social media blast would.

  We arrived at the station about ten minutes later and Decker opened the rear door so I could exit the car. ‘It’s like having my own chauffeur service,’ I told him as I stepped out into the breezy night. Decker said nothing. He grabbed my arm and made to lead me into the station but a cold glare from myself made him think better of it. He retracted his hand and nodded towards the building. The three of us walked towards the building, myself in the middle. It was like I was being flanked by bodyguards. If only that were the case.

  ‘Fuck off,’ growled Mitchell under his breath.

  ‘Excuse me?’ I asked, offended. I hadn’t said anything and I was cooperating. Then I saw what he was looking at. A shape was huddled on the back steps of the police station. It looked like a shadow perched ready to pounce. Seeing us approach, it straightened up and strode toward us.

  It was a man, not a tall man, but the way the shadows folded around him gave him an air of menace. As we got closer I made out a heavy winter coat, the collar pulled up masking the bottom portion of his face. Dark, messy hair hung over his forehead providing cover for the top half of his face. I noticed a metal brooch on his breast — the Gray Orchid, everybody who worked for Dorian Gray wore the Gray Orchid somewhere on their person.

  Dorian Gray —yes, the legendary immortal— was the behind-the-scenes ruler of the city. We had a mayor, a full council, and a very large police force, but all the decisions were really made by Dorian. The Gray Orchids were Dorian’s own private police force and anybody with more than half a brain cell knew better than to cross them. This particular man was Monroe, the head of the Orchids and Dorian’s right-hand man. He was the only vampire on the payroll. Dorian, for some unknown reason, was not fond of vampires. In fact, he’d banned the race from the North End and driven them all South. There weren’t too many bloodsuckers left in Sangford these days.

  ‘Officers,’ Monroe said in greeting. His voice was dark, flat and even though he’d only issued a single word his voice was commanding.

  He took a step forward and dim light revealed his pasty white face and dark eyes that knew far too much.

  ‘Monroe, I wasn’t expecting to see you,’ I said in surprise. I didn’t have much to do with Monroe so seeing him now was unexpected. He spared me a brief glance before his eyes passed over Mitchell and then settled on Decker, understanding that he was the lead detective. ‘The wizard is innocent. Let him go.’ It wasn’t a suggestion. It was an order. Both cops bristled at the vampire’s audac
ity.

  ‘This case isn’t something that Dorian needs to concern himself with,’ Decker said. There was an edge to his voice, restrained anger.

  Monroe’s cold eyes lingered silently on Decker for several beats. ‘Dorian decides what to concern himself with. Not you.

  ‘We’re the police. You don’t have authority over this and neither does Dorian,’ snapped Mitchell, planting one massive foot forward aggressively. There were still some people in the city who either didn’t understand the system as it was or simply refused to accept it. Mitchell was clearly one of them. It baffled me that people still tried to fight Dorian’s rule, he’d been running things for at least a century.

  Monroe turned his head lazily to look at the more brutish of the police officers. He raised a single eyebrow and waited. As I expected, Mitchell backed up. There wasn’t a cop in the city who’d dare to stand up to Monroe. The vampire had made a name for himself by ripping people apart for Dorian. Truth be told, people were probably more scared of Monroe than they were of Dorian. Dorian gave the orders but Monroe saw they were carried out.

  Dorian’s control of the city was in no way legitimate. The UK government learned decades ago that they couldn’t possibly control the supernatural populations from Westminster. So, the largest cities in the country like Sangford, Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol, and so on were given devolved powers. It basically meant the mayor of each city had complete control of the place. City Hall could make its own laws and as long as nothing went wrong the government would never get involved. Of course some laws were still forced upon the larger cities but for the most part we were left alone. So Sangford, like the other big cities, were sort of their own little kingdoms.

  Enter Dorian Gray. The immortal bribed, blackmailed, and threatened his way into power. He learned the secrets of every influential person in the city and he used it to keep them all under his thumb. Nobody likes the situation but nobody is able to do anything about it. Not unless they want their darkest secrets brought to life.

  The police saw Dorian as little more than a magical gangster, but all the while he had sway over City Hall and the people who ran the city on paper, the police had no choice but to do as they were told. Thankfully for me, they were being told to let me go.

  ‘The wizard will be released immediately and eliminated from any further investigations. Dorian assures you that Jacob had no part in the murder of Ruby Hassell,’ Monroe informed them. I found it more than a little interesting that Dorian felt able to assure anybody of my innocence, that implied that he knew where I was last night. Or that Dorian knew who actually killed Ruby. Decker seemed to be on my wavelength.

  ‘If Dorian Gray knows who did this then he needs to tell us so the killer can be charged,’ said Decker.

  ‘He’ll tell you what he wants to tell you when he wants to tell you. If you want to find the killer why don’t you put those detective skills to work and figure it out. It is what the taxpayer’s money goes towards isn’t it?’

  ‘Apparently it goes towards keeping Dorian Gray in that fancy mansion of his,’ Decker retorted.

  ‘Actually he doesn’t receive any money from the taxes. The mayor does which is ironic considering he doesn’t actually govern this city,’ Monroe said with an antagonistic wink. ‘Good luck with your investigation, officers.’

  Monroe strode forwards and Decker stepped aside to allow him to pass. The vampire nodded his head for me to follow him. I glanced back at Decker who said nothing and looked away in defeat, the shame written all over his face. Mitchell was glaring at me, his hands balled into furious fists at his sides. I gave him a shrug as if to say it wasn’t my fault. Which it wasn’t. I hadn’t asked Monroe to come and collect me. I felt sorry for them a bit. They were just trying to do their jobs and Monroe was getting right in the way. But then they had arrested the wrong man so I didn’t feel too bad for them.

  I followed Monroe around the corner to where his vintage Bentley Mark VI was parked. It was a beautiful car. It wasn’t as nice looking as my car but its age made up for that. Monroe was very protective over his car. Rumour had it he’d ripped off a man’s arm just for touching it once.

  ‘Why did Dorian get me out?’ I asked.

  He turned back to face me, his expression giving nothing away. ‘Because he knows you didn’t do it and he doesn’t want to see an innocent man charged with a crime he didn’t commit.’

  ‘How does he know that? Who did kill Ruby?’ I pressed.

  Monroe narrowed his eyes as he considered me. ‘Why do you care? Your relationship with her was purely physical, was it not?’

  ‘That’s…. I mean…’ I spluttered guiltily. He was right but Ruby had wanted more as I’d learned just before I’d met her fiancé. And in subsequent text messages. In the weeks after we’d been caught she’d sent me numerous messages asking for something more serious. I’d ignored them all.

  ‘You feel guilty,’ Monroe deduced. ‘She wanted something you couldn’t give her. Your guilt won’t do her any good now. Nothing can bring her back and nothing can undo the past. You’d be best letting this matter rest.’ He turned away, pulling open his car door. Obviously he thought the conversation as over.

  ‘I need to know what happened to her,’ I said, stepping forwards. Monroe looked back at me impatiently.

  ‘Drop it, Graves. Dorian’s orders,’ he said forcefully. My anger bristled. Who did he think he was telling me what I could and couldn’t worry about?

  ‘If Dorian wants me to drop it then he can tell me himself,’ I snapped.

  Monroe straightened up and I thought he was about to hit me but instead he pulled open his car door and stepped backwards clearing a space. ‘Get in,’ he growled.

  ‘What? Why? Where are we going?’ I didn’t think it was likely that Monroe was planning on driving me out to some kill spot, but I had to check just in case. You never really knew what the vampire was planning.

  ‘To Dorian. So he can tell you himself.’

  Chapter Five

  Dorian’s mansion was in the far North of Sangford. Pretty much as far north as you could get. It had been built atop the highest hill so he had the best view of the whole city. Well, the parts of the city he wanted to see anyway. He had final say on all design plans for the city. When the first tower blocks had been built, people had thought it would anger him because the towers would cut off his view of parts of the city. I’d been to his house once before and seen how cleverly he’d planned everything. The tower blocks had been strategically placed so the only thing they hid from him was the Dregs, the one part of the city he never wanted to see. A sentiment he and I shared.

  When you get North of the River Sanguis, the city starts to get more countrified, fewer towers and more woodlands and fields. Gray Manor — yes he really did choose that unoriginal name for his home — was located on the other side of a pretty dense woodland. The woods actually surrounded his estate. It was said that the woods were full of creatures that guarded the land viciously. Nobody in my lifetime had ever confirmed this because nobody was stupid enough to go into the woods. The only safe way through was the single road that connected Gray Manor to the rest of the city, and even that was guarded by Gray Orchids. Long story short, you only got to Dorian’s house with an invitation.

  As we drove through the woods I looked out into the dark trees on either side of us. I wondered if there was anything monstrous in there. This was Sangford so I had a solid feeling there was something hulking around in the trees. Like all monstrous things, Dorian kept them hidden from view by the dense trees. The real question was how did he keep them from leaving the woods? How did Dorian do most things? How had he managed to take over this city behind-the-scenes and keep it under his control for over a century? Drew said he’d employed spies to learn the secrets of those in power and then he’d blackmailed their cooperation. If blackmail failed he’d resorted to more treacherous means. Drew said he’d put nothing past Dorian Gray. Of all the people he’d ever met Dorian was the most dan
gerous and there was no line he wouldn’t cross. I’d only met the immortal once and I’d got no sense of danger from him. He seemed barely more than a young adult, but that was the nature of immortality.

  The trees cleared and I saw the shape of Gray Manor looming in the darkness. Orange lights glowed through the windows and lit up the spacious driveway outside the house. A grand fountain stood in the centre of the driveway and served as a roundabout. A tall stone woman stood in the centre of the pool, a sheet cloth hung over one shoulder, leaving the rest of her flawless body exposed. Water ran from holes in her hair and several thin streams poured down over her body. It was one of the strangest fountains I’d seen. It showed no signs of age, like all of Dorian’s things. There was no erosion to the naked female, although there was a small chunk of concrete missing around the rim of the pool. I was surprised Dorian hadn’t had it mended or the whole thing replaced. Everything had to be perfect for Dorian Gray.

  Monroe led me up to the house. A massive country mansion made of grey bricks with red bricks thrown in decoratively here and there. On the wooden front door, the Gray Orchid had been fixed. Monroe lifted his coat to expose his Orchid to the one on the door and the front door swung open. After a brief exchange of words with a butler in the entrance hall, Monroe motioned for me to follow him through a door at the back of the room.

  He took me through a spacious sitting room in which Dorian Gray was waiting. He was reclining on a light brown, leather sofa and he wasn’t alone. A woman who looked no older than twenty was lying with him, her head in his lap. He was slowly running his slender fingers through her dark brown hair. She was dressed in just her bra and knickers whilst he had a thin robe draped over him.