I stopped. “Wait, are you saying you still want me to work with you?”
He sighed. “Cella, you’re one of the most gifted Magical researchers I’ve ever met. And I don’t just say that because of the Magic. You see things other people don’t. You’re dedicated, kind, conscientious. There will always be a spot for you in my department, whether that’s a year from now or five.”
I smiled. Dr. Perez was one of the few people who’d always seen me, had read my research and understood what I was trying to do, independent of the fact that I was a dimidium. I suspect he’d realized not long after talking to Max that he couldn’t have been the brains behind our work.
And yet I’d let him down, too.
“I appreciate that, sir. I really do. Though I don’t want you to get your hopes up. I don’t expect I’ll be around long once the investigation is over.”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “We’ll talk about that when the time comes. For now, I think Thea has rather strong ‘dibs’ on your time. Far be it from me to insist my work is more important than your help with our current predicament.”
In the corner, Luce snorted. Dr. Perez returned to his seat as Dr. Robetresse walked in, steel-toed boots gleaming. She brushed wood shavings off her jacket and took a long swig of coffee. “Before we get started, I want to let everyone know that the Hagoods have agreed to halt their impending lawsuit against the school. They seem, for the time being, appeased by my confidence in the investigation and the capabilities of Cella and Max, who I believe have an update for us. What have you found?”
All the eyes in the room swiveled toward me. Max still hadn’t arrived. I swallowed and tried not to shrink down in my seat. “We’re trying to get the toxicology report from Joselyn Hart’s stay at a local hospital. There was a report about hexed pills at a fraternity party, so that’ll be another line of inquiry. Otherwise, we have a few …” I looked down. If there was an easy way to imply that teachers of the university could be involved without offending said teachers, I wished I knew.
“There are other suspects involved with S&B who were close to either Dani or Maya whom we’d like to continue looking into, though I’d prefer not to say more until we have a definitive direction.” I cringed at how soft my voice sounded.
Dr. Ellendale de Vries was in his usual lovely mood. “And did they provide some sort of reason that would make you suspicious? Anything you’d like to share with the class?”
“Give the girl a chance to conduct her investigation without you harping on her about every little thing,” said Dr. Nguyen. She was wearing a bright yellow sweater with daisies on it, and a ball of yellow yarn was trailing off of it and darting behind her like a bee looking for a flower.
“I just don’t want the two of them going around making accusations without adequate cause.”
I swallowed. “There’s nothing so far to tie them to hexes, but there are motives present for hurting either of the girls.”
Ellendale was part of the reason I didn’t want to go further into the details of the investigation. He’d already blocked his PhD students from talking to us, and it seemed like he was doing everything in his power to make the investigation more difficult for us. He’d had no classes with either Dani or Maya and, as far as I knew, no contact with them outside of school, but his disdain for the investigation was still an aggravating and perplexing obstacle we had to deal with.
“Dr. Oswold, you mean?” Dr. Robetresse asked. I knew she was unhappy about me looking into her, which was another reason I wasn’t too thrilled about updating the council so publicly.
“A professor is a suspect?” Dr. Nguyen squeaked, the yarn unspooling behind her.
“But of course,” Ellendale scowled. “The rumors this is going to cause, I swear, Thea. Who are the others? And where is Max?”
I wished Max was here almost as much as Ellendale did. If only because then I wouldn’t have to go through the rest of this rapidly spiraling meeting alone. I tried to summon all my confidence, twist myself into someone they would want to listen to, into the version of myself that most suited everyone else. Someone braver, someone wittier, someone more believable somehow.
Just as I found myself cursing him for abandoning me to the wolves, the door opened, and there he was.
“Dr. Strauss would be the other suspect,” he said, tipping his hat. “Excuse my tardiness, I do apologize.”
He winked and touched the brim of his hat. “And there’s no need to throw accusations at Cella. We’re only doing the job that was asked of us by this council.”
“Dr. Strauss? That’s ridiculous,” Ellendale sputtered, the hairs on his head shaking like tiny furious coils.
Dr. Nguyen shared a look with Robetresse, so quick and fleeting that I might’ve imagined it.
“What evidence do you have?” asked Ellendale.
My pulse beat in my throat. The light flickering from the ornate iron chandelier cast a hungry gleam on all their faces.
Dr. Nguyen’s yarn flitted back and forth, frantically trying to catch the information flying by too quickly to process. Ellendale’s TA had both forearms propped up on the table, watching the scene with keen interest. Dr. Perez frowned in the corner. And Luce looked like the only thing she was missing was a bowl of popcorn.
Max sent a tendril of Magic to calm me down. Gentle waves coursed through me, the smell of saddle leather, the warm breath of horses. I took a deep breath.
“I could walk you all through my process. Maybe that would help,” I said.
“Please,” said Dr. Robetresse.
I nodded. “So, with object analysis, we’re looking for things that might raise suspicion or point toward who might be responsible. That generally falls into three categories: First, if the person’s object has something in common with the hex. This might not be as obvious as it sounds. It’s not straightforward how people shape their will around their objects. Magic is a tricky thing. In this case, we’re looking for an object that might inspire violence. A weapon, perhaps, or something that might be used as one. Perhaps something that flies or levitates, as levitation is one of Dani’s most visible symptoms. The object could also be scarred in a way that mirrors the scarring on Dani’s skin.”
