Page 15 of The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag

I eyed her flatly and ignored her comment. ‘I called you because there was a dead body in that mine shaft we were just in. You might be our only witness to the death. The dwarves told me that you had an entrance there and might have seen something.’ I left off the whole ‘the dwarves thought you did it’ part. I really wanted to get out of there alive.

She frowned. ‘Dwarves hate Matilda.’

I had a million questions but I didn’t dare ask them yet because I had no feel for Matilda. I could tell that her magic was strong – it grated just out of reach like electricity in the air. She’d beenfriendly enough so far, but that didn’t mean shewas.

‘They don’thateyou,’ I said firmly. Disklike and fear, yes, but hatred was arguable.

She seemed mollified. ‘I not see dead man.’

Bummer: there went my easy solve. ‘No problem. Have you noticed anything different in the mine?’

‘Strange smell,’ she said finally. ‘Three moons ago. I leave, not like.’

That sent my mind racing. A strange smell? Some weird mine gas, perhaps? Did the inspector die from poison gas? If so, was it natural or man-made? I groaned inwardly to myself; if Stan was here, he’d be joking about farts. It was a good thing he was absent.

‘Were you near that shaft when you smelled it or somewhere else?’ I asked.

She cocked her head in thought and scratched her large, bulbous nose. ‘I not close.’

So there went that idea. This was going nowhere; if she’d done anything to the inspector, she wasn’t going to simply admit it.

The skulls were giving weight to some of Leif’s fears, though, and our brief chat hadn’t ruled her out as a suspect. I had to tread carefully; I wanted to get hometo Connor in one piece. ‘Thank you for your hospitality, Matilda. I should go back.’ I stood.

Her eyes narrowed at me. ‘Sit. Matilda ask questions now.’

I sat abruptly and forced a smile to my lips. ‘Sure. I’m so sorry – go ahead.’

She pursed her lips. ‘Matilda want more sugary snack. You bring here?’

I wasn’t sure if she was asking if I’d brought them today or if I’d bring more. ‘Yes, I brought them today.’

‘Tell dwarves Matilda want more. They give.’

‘I will tell them,’ I promised. ‘But I can’t guarantee they’ll listen.’

‘They listen. I no bother them, they do what Matilda say.’

Sounded like a protection scam to me, but whatever was going on seemed to be working. The dwarves had been running this mine for over a century, so I guessed they knew the cost of doing business. From the little I’d learned at the academy, hags were territorial and could be vicious. Since it was pretty certain that she’d been there first, a daily box of doughnuts seemed a small price if she was allowing the miners to work there.

‘I’ll let them know.’

She bared her teeth in a terrifying smile. ‘Good. Come.’

She stood up. I had no choice but to follow hastily down the corridor she seemed to create effortlessly as she moved through the ground. Where did the earthgo?Was it moved elsewhere as she walked, then pulled back into place when she was done? Or was it compressed somehow?

A huge wave of relief crashed through me as she led me back to the shaft where Gunnar and Thomas were waiting. The mine no longer felt like it was closing in; in fact, it felt positively spacious compared to her cramped tunnels. The hag waved me through and, as I stepped out, the ‘door’ disappeared behind me. Just like that, Matilda was gone. Not so much as a ta-ta.

Gunnar rushed up to me. ‘Are you okay?’ His eyes were a little wild.

I nodded. ‘Yep. She really just wanted a private chat.’ I paused. ‘I got the feeling that she wanted to show off her home to someone – she enjoyed my reaction.’

Gunnar blew out a long breath. ‘You were gone too long. I thought I’d lost you.’ He pulled me into a warm bear hug.

My heart swelled. It was nice to know I’d be missed; of course, Gunnar wasn’t the only one who cared. Connor would have torn this place apart if I hadn’t come back.

I hugged my boss until he finally released me, still scanning my face for signs of injury or distress. I smiledreassuringly. ‘Honestly, I’m fine. Matilda was quite a good host – she even offered me food and drink. To be honest, I wondered why the dwarves are so afraid of her.’

‘Apparently, she’s mellowed,’ Thomas said. ‘She and the dwarves began their relationship quite contentiously. This is her territory and the mine had a rough start until they reached a compromise.’

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