Page 117 of Sigils & Spells

“What about Franz?”

Aidan grabbed a rolling stool chair, pushed it over to my cart, and sat down. “Harding and I went to Rafi for help in that quarter. Rafi’s better equipped to capture and contain him than we are. Harding explained we needed to question Franz about the part he played, if any, in the deaths of two witches, and the kidnapping and torture of a shapeshifter. I mentioned we also had questions about a spell book he took with him when he fled the crime scene.”

Had I told Aidan about the journal? Or the spell on it? Would Rafi think Franz had the tan leather grimoire? Caught up in a whirlwind of other questions, I missed what he said next.

My father’s burst of laughter snapped my attention back. “I bet Rafi didn’t take that well.”

“If looks could kill.” Aidan tilted his head and made a hanging noose gesture, complete with his tongue lolling out. “But he allowed us to search the room Franz stayed in when he was in residence.”

“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that last bit?” I asked.

“Harding threatened Rafi we’d come back with a search warrant if he didn’t let us look at any books Franz left on the premises. He said they, and the spell book he stole, were key pieces of evidence.”

“Harding said Franz stole the book?” I asked at the same time my father asked, “Did you find anything?”

“He didn’t leave much behind. No personal items. We collected the few books in the room, but haven’t gone through them yet. Maybe you could take a look at them for us, Professor Girard?”

“I’d be happy to. Maybe in a day or two? After Marin’s home and feeling steady.”

“Of course.”

The red-haired nurse walked in holding an IV bag. This one filled with a bright aquamarine fluid. “Doctor Murray said he’ll check you after this healing infusion and if everything looks good he’ll send you home with salve for those burns. You’ll need to make a follow-up appointment with your doctor.”

Dad patted my arm while the nurse switched out bags. Aidan spun around on his stool.

Detective Harding walked in, looking like he could cheerfully murder someone.

“Court.” Aidan hopped up from his seat. “Did Rafi come through?”

“Oh Rafi helped us all right,” he growled out, sounding for all the world like a pissed-off grizzly. “One of his minions delivered Franz’s head to the Captain. According to the minion Franz resisted” —he made air quotes— “arrest.”

Stunned by the news, the room fell silent.

“I—uh—thought vampires turned to ash when they died,” Dad said.

Stone-faced, Harding said, “This one didn’t.”

“He didn’t want us to question him,” Aidan spoke low as if talking to himself.

“Gabriel, could I trouble you to come with me?” Harding asked. “Because of the black magic burns Marin sustained we’d like a sensate to examine the books at the crime scene before we move them.”

Dad looked at me. “I don’t want to leave you.”

I heard concern, and perhaps a little fear, in his voice. I knew my father. From the time he’d received Harding’s call until I’d woken up, he’d been imagining the worst-case scenarios. He hadn’t asked me yet how I’d broken Leesa’s spell. I wouldn’t lie to him, but I wouldn’t add to his stress level right now either. He needed a distraction and I needed time to polish my story.

“I’m fine. Go.”

“But they might let you go home soon.”

“I can give her a ride home,” Aidan volunteered.

The memory of his hands on the steering wheel popped into my head, sparking my imagination. Why did my brain like to torture me?

It took a little more haggling, but Dad finally relented and left with Detective Harding.

I had a score of questions for Aidan now that my worried father was gone. “How did you know about the spell book? Did I tell you? What did I tell you about the grimoire?”

His laugh didn’t sound happy. He grabbed the stool chair again and took a seat. “Let’s see.” He closed his eyes for a moment. Tilted his head from side to side, then opened them, pinning me with a furious glare. “If memory serves, you said a vampire scholar had a grimoire with a potion spell that increased vampiric power and Rafi was blackmailing you into retrieving it for him.”

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