Page 82 of The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee

‘Banshees?’

‘Yes. Banshees have this whole double life-cycle thing. If they become a clan’s banshee after death, their spirits are incredibly strong, more than the wildest and craziest poltergeist. It took centuries to find the strongest ones in existence to place in the gems and take their power up a notch.’

I couldn’t get away from the banshees; they were tangled up in this every way I looked. Poor Aoife. She’d stumbled on a great secret that involved her own kind. She’d wanted to help her boyfriend and protect the barrier, but she’d inadvertently helped something that might contain one of her ancestor’s spirits. What a horrific thought.

‘Are the banshees aware of that?’ I asked curiously.

‘How would I know? They are a strange group – you’d have to ask one of them. I’m busy Bunny. We can talk stories another time, like over a campfire and with s’mores,’ she said sarcastically. Somehow I didn’t think I was actually being invited for s’mores, whatever the heck they were.

Fluffy was looking at me with bright eyes. ‘You heard that too?’ I asked. He cocked his head. ‘Do you think we should have a chat with Nora before we confront Elsa?’ He yipped. ‘Me too, let’s go.’

I knocked on Gunnar’s door and popped my head into his office. ‘I’d like to go and talk to Nora Sullivan one more time before we try to arrest Elsa Wintersteen. Apparently the barrier gems are possessed by banshee spirits. Everything feels … connected somehow.’

Gunnar was looking harassed. He was hip deep in paperwork that Sidnee usually did, trying to make sure there wasn’t a backlog when she returned to work. ‘Want help?’ he asked hopefully.

I looked at the stacks of paper around him; he hated desk work but this showed how much he loved Sidnee, and Sidnee would recognise that. She needed that kind of love in her life. ‘Nah, it’s okay. I’m taking Fluffy.’

‘Okay, see you later. Make sure you get me for Wintersteen’s arrest. No telling what the witch will do when she’s confronted.’

‘Absolutely.’ I looked at my watch. It usually took an hour for a warrant after I’d sent over my paperwork, so I had a little time to spare. Time to visit Nora and see what she had to say about her attacker. Fingers crossed she’d name Elsa and the whole case would be a slam-dunk.

But I was learning that in Portlock things never ran smoothly.

Chapter 52

Nora had been stabbed and suffered a blow to the head, yet the nurse told me she was due to be discharged later that day. It seemed it really was hard to kill a banshee.

When I walked into the hospital room, she scowled at me. ‘Oh, it’s you again,’ she groused. Well, hello to you, too, Nora. Fluffy, in his new hospital approved therapy animal vest, whined and she softened slightly when she looked at him. Good: a dog lover. I’d use everything I could to get more from her.

‘I know we got off on the wrong foot and we’ve stayed there ever since. I’m sorry about that, but my focus has always been finding the gemstones and, after that, Aoife’s killer. I’m willing to start over. Neither of us will mention Ezra and that red spray paint ever again.’

Nora pressed her lips together, looked at me cautiously and gave a begrudging nod.

‘The nursing staff said you didn’t get to see your attacker. Is that right?’ I asked.

She shrugged. ‘If I saw them, the blow to the head has removed any memory of it. I don’t remember being attacked and I don’t remember why I was wandering around outside the house.’

Aoife had been in the vicinity and she was a powerful banshee: maybe she could tell us what had happened. ‘Can you summon Aoife’s spirit?’ I asked. ‘She was the one that made us find you. She might have seen something.’ I was half-afraid that Aoife was stuck in the kushtaka somehow because I hadn’t seen her since she’d dived into him to save us.

‘I can do that,’ Nora said.

‘Now?’ I suggested.

‘Why not?’

She closed her eyes and a wail burst from her chest. ‘Aoife Sullivan!’ The curtains swirled as if a gust of wind had caught them even though the window was closed.

My scalp prickled – and then Aoife was there, suspended in the air, white hair floating around her. She looked no worse for wear from the encounter with the kushtaka. I smiled at her. ‘Me again. Thanks for your help on the island. I need to ask, did you see who harmed your mum?’

Aoife’s lips moved but I couldn’t hear anything. Nora frowned. ‘She says it was Elsa Wintersteen. Why on earth would Wintersteen attack me?’

I tried not to grin in triumph even though I doubted the word of a banshee through her mother would be admissible in a court of law. But then Portlock had its own rules; maybe it would be fine.

Aoife’s lips continued to move and Nora’s eyebrows shot up. ‘She says she often spends time near home. Wintersteen came to find her spirit and tried to capture her in a holding bottle. Aoife screamed. I heard her wail and I tried to stop Elsa, but Elsa stopped me instead. What a bitch!’

I nodded grimly. ‘That brings me to the second reason I needed to see you. I’ve heard of banshee spirits possessing special objects. Do you know anything about that?’

‘You think she was trying to get Aoife’s spirit trapped in something?’ Nora was aghast.

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