Warwick looked cross now. “Did you portal it somewhere safe?”
“No,” I said. At the same time, another spell slithered up my throat. I tried not to gag, but it tasted like compost, earthy and rotting. Some sort of truth serum? Powerful magic, not the kind I’d ever performed, but I hadn’t seen him cast anything.
Warwick picked up the cup of sugar and held it out to Kessian. “Eat a teaspoon of this, please.”
Kessian took a step back.
“That wasn’t a request, and if you indeed haven’t stolen anything, then you have nothing to fear. It’s truth serum. Taliesin has already taken it.”
Perhaps the “salt” hadn’t really been salt, then. I felt utterly outmatched as a witch. These were spells I’d never cast; I’d never had need of them. Everything I’d learned on the road had been out of necessity.
Kessian still hesitated. Warwick said, “Don’t be difficult. The truth will out, one way or another.”
With eyes like the bottomless dark of the sea, Kessian wet his finger on his tongue, dipped it in the sugar, and licked it clean.
Warwick said, “I will ask you directly. Did you take the contract?”
Both of us answered “No” in unison.
Warwick grunted, dissatisfied. “Lionel, please double-check the contract is indeed missing. Otherwise, scrape my study for any trace magic they might have used to secret it away. For now, I’m satisfied it’s not on their persons, and we have other things to discuss.”
Lionel’s footsteps echoed off the marble as he left. The sun came through the conservatory at such an angle that I had to squint to look at Warwick, but he seemed relaxed, his concern for the missing document either forgotten or placed on reserve.
“Now that we’ve dispensed with the secrets, tell me what you were searching for. If not the contract, then what? Because up until a moment ago, you shouldn’t have known this spellwork to trap the wraith existed.” He tapped my grandfather’s folder stuffed with papers.
Kessian sank onto the edge of the sofa next to me. “What spellwork?”
I filled him in on the trap for the wraith, watching his expression darken. Normally so bright-eyed, I’d never seen Kessian like this with anyone. He really hated Warwick, and I got the sense today was not the original source of that hatred. I was coming to feel the same way, but I no longer felt as threatened as when I’d first come in. We needed that research, and Warwick needed me to fix the strid. He cared more about money than anything. Even if he was connected with what happened nearly a decade ago, I doubted he’d risk prison by bringing us to harm now, in broad daylight, within sight of his staff, and without very good reason. We had no evidence he’d killed someone. If we did, I might fear that was reason enough.
So I stopped trying to lie or sneak my way around the conversation, neither of which came naturally, and stated the blunt truth. “My grandad was murdered, and you’re the only suspect I have.”
Warwick sat up straighter, and the confusion on his face could have been because he hadn’t known, or because he had and didn’t expect me to find out. “What do you mean, murdered?”
“Does the word ‘murdered’ mean anything else?”
“I mean this is the first I’m hearing it, and if there’d been a sign of foul play, I’d expect the mortician might have noticed. Who’s told you this?”
“His ghost.”
Warwick’s eyebrows hoisted higher still. “His ghost told you he’d been killed, but not by who?”
“He said to find the truth behind the wraith, and the identity of the poisoner. Then I would find his murderer.”
Warwick sat back, blowing out a lungful of air. “That is a lot to take in.”
“You had no idea?” Kessian pressed.
“Of course not. I would have reported it to the authorities if I had. Have you?”
“Not yet. I didn’t want the killer to hear of it and cover his tracks. I didn’t want my family to hear of it, either, but I might have to order an autopsy report. Who knows how long that will take, and how far the killer could have run by the time it turns up anything.”
“On that, I might be able to assist.” Warwick set the folder on the table, out of my reach, so I understood it was a bargaining chip. “The nice thing about money is you can pull strings, speed things along, and keep it all secret. I don’t like the sounds of a murderer in town any more than you, but I would like some assurances from you before I make any calls.”
Kessian’s lip curled. “You won’t do it for the sake of justice? Not even for Edwin?”
Warwick spread his hands. “Yes, I’m sure you think it’s quite cutthroat, but I have investments that need protecting. Particularly if tourism in Shearwater takes a downturn, and murderers on the loose are never good for business, nor violent wraiths.”
Confusion gripped me. I had no inclination as to what he’d want from me, even less what he’d want from Kessian. Neither of us was wealthy enough to turn the tide of Warwick’s fortunes.
