Marie stared at me open mouthed. ‘Didyousteal it? Did you steal the Clouded Map from the witches’ council?’
‘No. I’m not a thief.’ A killer, yes, but never a thief. ‘I found it.’ I paused before adding for effect, ‘I give you my word on that.’
‘Where?’ she demanded, her cheeks growing red. ‘Where was it?’
‘I’m not at liberty to say.’ I waved a hand airily. ‘But feel free to make up any story you wish about its recovery.’ Clearly doubting my words, she looked at me suspiciously. ‘It’s not a trap, Marie,’ I told her. ‘What matters is that it is returned safely, right?’
She glowered but I saw the flash of delight in her eyes. ‘I suppose.’ She cradled the jug in her arms. ‘I found it,’ she breathed. ‘I found the Clouded Map.’
I clapped her on the shoulder. ‘Well done! Now you cangraduate from the class and become a real investigator like the rest of us.’
Marie barely heard me but I grinned proudly all the same.
‘And that,’Matty declared as she updated us on her investigation into a spate of druid muggings that Kevin had swapped with her, ‘is when I kicked the fucker in the goolies and brought him to justice once and for all.’
There was a smattering of applause from my classmates. Randolph was particularly enthusiastic; it appeared that his burgeoning relationship with Matty would continue beyond the MET training course. I doubted Captain Montgomery would care about his inadvertent role in matchmaking but nevertheless he ought to be pleased.
I glanced at Thane, who was standing at the rear of the room with Thomas, Penelope and my classmates’ family members who had come to witness our graduation. Yep, love beat crime every day of the week.
She Without An Ear caught me looking and started to preen; she had clearly decided that she was the star of the show. Fair enough: I couldn’t have done it without her. I bowed my head in her direction and took a sip from my champagne glass.
‘Congratulations, Matilda,’ Montgomery said to Matty. ‘You did well. In fact, all of you did well. Almost everyone completed the course successfully and achieved a positive outcome in your final investigation.’
Almosteveryone. None of my classmates had questioned Alan Vennington’s absence, which was probably just as well. It wouldn’t have been easy to explain.
Montgomery raised his glass. ‘Cheers.’
We all beamed. ‘Cheers.’
He smiled then nodded at me. ‘Ms McCafferty? May I have a word?’
I nodded. ‘Of course, sir.’
He frowned faintly. ‘Sir?’
‘I can call you Monty, if you wish.’
He shuddered. ‘Sir will do.’
I smirked as we moved away to stand next to a large window that overlooked the narrow street outside.
Montgomery cleared his throat. ‘I have received a full report about your investigation from the vampires.’ He lowered his voice to ensure he wasn’t overheard. ‘They told me about the monster – and the maze. They should never have let matters get as bad as they did. If they had requested help, the MET could have ensured that many deaths were avoided. They were fortunate that you could help them out.’
‘It was a simple matter,’ I said.
Montgomery scoffed. ‘Not as far as they are concerned. But I find it curious that you succeeded in defeating that creature when the combined might of the Understream failed.’
‘Oh, that’s no great mystery,’ I said lightly. ‘I had help.’ I indicated Thane, Thomas, Penelope and She Without An Ear, who started moving towards us to join the conversation. ‘Plus,’ I added, ‘I had the advantage of seeing what the vampires could not.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘And what is that?’
‘The creature in question was a vampire – an ancient, deformed vampire but a vampire nonetheless. If they had recognised Cian as such, they would have deployed the correct tactics to defeat him.’
‘With a wooden stake through the heart, you mean.’
‘Just so.’
He watched me doubtfully. ‘Hmm.’
