Miseria feigned hurt feelings, winding her hair around one finger.
“We have an analysis of the drugs we found at Zack Knoll’s.”
“Awfully fast,” Rogue said. “No Forensics department here. Who did the honors?”
“One of the witches, naturally.”
“……So you’ve stolen evidence?”
“Rude! I merely borrowed some. Who cares if there’s a little less of it now?”
“Anyone would!”
“If we leave it to the police, it’ll delay the resolution,” Miseria said, then turned to the vents. “Hey, Angene! Your turn!”
Rogue looked up, bracing himself.
“……She’s not coming out of that, is she?”
“You called?” a whisper asked right in his ear.
Rogue screamed. “Aughh?!”
He spun around to find a girl plastered right up against him.
Rogue leaped back, examining her. She was quite tall. He had to look up at her. She had on a robe, and her right eye was hidden behind her hair. She stood like a willow tree, only enhancing her ghostly vibe.
“This is Angene, the Professional,” Miseria explained. “She enjoys making bombs and poisons, doing autopsies, hacking, the works. Here, she’s mostly on forensics duty. The Noble Council declared her the First Witch.”
“Did you have to sneak up on me?!”
“Tee-hee-hee-hee. Miseria, this one yells a lot.”
“Doesn’t he?”
“I will smack you,” Rogue said, glaring at Miseria.
“Oh? Let’s see you try. Go on. My cheek’s right here.”
Fighting off the urge to take that offer, he turned to the new witch.
“……What are the results of the analysis?”
“Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee. A very special cocktail. A steroid, a mana booster, a painkiller, et cetera—all blended together. Drink it, and you’ll go a whole week without sleep or rest. Very potent, like someone trying to make their own superhero. Hee-hee-hee-hee.”
Her body swayed, appearing even more willowy.
“A drug that’ll make a superhero… Sounds like prep for their next crime,” Rogue muttered.
“Indeed.” Miseria nodded. “Perhaps what they’ve been doing was merely practice. Discarding the victims of their spell in back alleys like that—not even setting the scene—suggests that our killer thought nothing of them.”
Her phrasing was unpleasant, but her profiling was on the mark.
This scumbag was covering their own tracks but not bothering with the victims. Perhaps they wanted the bodies found.
“Anyone besides Zack Knoll making this?” Rogue asked Angene.
“No. Some of these ingredients are imported, so I hacked the server and checked the purchase history, but he’s the first to do so. Hee-hee, it’s like he’s brewing it just for his buddy. Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee. What a lovely friendship.”
With that, she turned away. She was wearing heels but made no sound as she walked. Her hand reached for the knob.
“Where are you going?”
“Home. My work here is done. Hee-hee. The rest is up to you. Tee-hee-hee-hee.”
The door closed on her sinister giggle.
She was fairly chill for a witch, and that left Rogue rather taken aback.
“She spends all her time in her room,” Miseria said. “Researching magic, I’m told.”
“Researching… Should we be allowing that?”
“Dunno, but we are.”
“I was a fool to ask you.”
As long as she had that collar, it could be contained…hopefully.
Nursing that fear, he tore his eyes off Miseria, reviewing the files. Zack Knoll would be released in three days’ time. Whether he’d be charged with anything was undecided. They knew he had more info on the Lifetaker, so letting him go might be useful for getting a new lead. The question was whether they could get him where they needed him.
As he gazed at the grumpy mug shot, Miseria leaned in for a closer look.
“You know torture would be the fastest approach. It’s already worked once.”
“……Not happening.”
“So you propose…?”
“This dude’s risking his life for a friend. He’ll have anti-Reading measures in place. Best we hit the pavement.”
Miseria had been grinning the whole time. Perhaps she was eager to see him get stuck.
“We’ll play it your way, Rogue.” Even her phrasing was malicious. He swore under his breath. “But you shouldn’t be so dismissive of friendship. Having friends is always better. They’ll work for free in a pinch. Very handy.”
“That ain’t friendship.”
“Friendship doesn’t necessarily go both ways.”
“That’s even worse.” Rogue sighed. Talking to her wore him out. “C’mon, let’s go look for Zack Knoll’s so-called friend.”
“You got it, pal.”
They were not pals.
Club West, in the Fifth Ward, was run by a scumbag named Mikhail. Rogue had known him for a while. He was just enough of a scumbag to have a sense for who was genuinely dangerous and keep his head down and out of trouble.
Rogue and Miseria were led by a bouncer through booming bass to a VIP room on the second story.
It was encased in glass and offered a great view of the party.
“Never did get the appeal of dancing.”
“Heh-heh, Rogue, my man,” Mikhail said, flashing golden teeth. “They’re drunk on the vibes. Once you’re drunk, anything is fun.”
He’d had that gold implanted on his canines and was lounging on the couch like a big shot.
“Why don’t you and your lady friend take a seat, have a drink?” he said, giving Miseria an appraising look.
A man in black brought glasses to the table.
“No, thanks,” Rogue said. “You’re not made of time, so right to business. Any idea what ex-soldier might be connected to Zack Knoll?”
“Oh…to that loser?”
“Likely got a rep. May have a kid. Ring any bells?”
“Rogue, business has been tough—”
“My ass it has. Spill the beans, I’m not here to wheel and deal.”
“I see Bloody Rogue ain’t gone soft.”
“You catch my drift? Then start talking. No need for mind games.”
It was best to stop men like Mikhail from saying anything. He was a scumbag in the truest sense—an expert on how to play any situation to his own advantage. Waiving authority and threatening violence made things easier.
“Well, one of my men did say something.”
“Spit it out.”
“He’s ex-military, too. Served during the same time period as your Zack Knoll. When he started dealing, my guy had lots to say about that—shocked such a diligent man would go that way.”
“Surprised myself. What’s your guy’s name?”
Mikhail shrugged.
“Quit last month. Moved back to the farm.”
“Where? He have kids?”
“Ain’t heard of any. If he ain’t moved again, then he’s on an island out to sea, name of Halbin. Heard of it?”
“Nope. Can you get in touch?”
“Afraid not,” Mikhail said. “Once a man quits, he’s not my problem.”
“Mikhail, if this leads to trouble, we’ll be making it your problem.”
“Heh-heh, I’m an open book. Nightclubs only survive because the law turns a blind eye.”
“Don’t you forget it. So what’s your man’s name? Got a photo?”
Mikhail called over the bouncer, who left and came back with a sheet of paper.
“Staff roster,” Mikhail said, grinning. “Rogue, we’ve got nothing to hide.”
“We’ll find out,” Rogue said, glancing it over.
“Should I make a copy for ya?”
“No need.”
Mikhail glanced at Miseria. “So who’s this?”
“You don’t need to know,” Rogue answered.
“Oh? All right, then.”
But his beady little eyes were locked on her. Miseria just smiled.
“It’s been swell,” Rogue said.
“Leaving so soon?”
“Yup. I mean, you’ve ‘got nothing to hide.’”
By the time they left, it was dark, and a grimy moon hung in the sky. They got in the car, and just before they pulled out of the lot, Miseria said, “Rogue, you seemed like a real detective in there. Very intimidating.”
“You be quiet.”
“Still,” she said. “We’re right back where we started.”
“……Yeah.”
If the guy was overseas, there wasn’t much they could do. And that wasn’t the only reason they’d come up empty.
“The idea that the Lifetaker is an army brat isn’t looking very likely.”
“Oh! That’s what I was about to say.” Miseria looked vaguely surprised. “May I ask your reasoning?”
“It’s not only based on what Mikhail had to say. I just remembered something like this happening before. I caught a dude named the Second Allan who used disguise spells. He’d turn himself into a dude named Allan to throw off our investigation. Had the sigil engraved on his teeth, so we couldn’t even tell he was using magic.”
“Placing the sigil inside yourself—classic. But on a tooth… How’d he do it?”
“With a laser. He had an accomplice who ran a machine shop.”
“Modern technology is a marvel,” Miseria said, impressed. “And you think the Lifetaker’s up to something similar?”
“Yeah. They are turning their victims into the elderly or babies. We know they’ve got a spell that controls aging. Which means…”
“They can alter their own age to look like a child.”
“Exactly. Not sure if Zack Knoll’s hiding that fact or just never knew.”