Page 55 of Slouch Witch
He sighed. ‘Second Level witches like myself are involved in the recruitment and promotion of others. For example, we sit on the board that decides whether witches like your neighbour are permitted to move into the next Level. Obviously the Third Level members have the final say but our opinions still carry weight. Adeptus Exemptus Diall had a bad habit of speaking up for those whose skills were not always up to par. I’ve been pushing to launch an investigation into his machinations for quite some time.’
I was intrigued. ‘Why would Diall do something like that? If he recommended someone who couldn’t do the job, it would surely come back to bite him in the arse.’
‘I have a theory.’ Winter fell silent.
I waited for him to elaborate further; when he didn’t, I prodded him. ‘Well? What’s your theory?’
‘It’s moot now.’
‘You don’t know that.’
‘I have no desire to speak ill of the dead. Or of a fellow witch.’ Winter’s manner was stiff and unyielding. No, that wasn’t going to work.
‘Winter,’ I said, ‘this might have something to do with our investigation.’
He snorted. ‘Unlikely.’
‘You’re too close to the subject matter because you’re emotionally involved. You need an objective ear.’
‘As much as you enjoy objecting, Ivy, I don’t think it could ever be said that you’re objective.’
The blue-eyed one certainly had a way with words. ‘Go on. I won’t tell anyone.’ I crossed my fingers and held them up to prove it. ‘I promise.’
Winter muttered something under his breath. ‘Fine,’ he said. ‘Diall was ambitious.’ He said it with a flourish, as if it would explain everything.
‘Er, I hate to break it to you, but just about every Order witch is ambitious.’
Winter rolled his eyes at my inability to understand his point. ‘He was encouraging lesser members into positions they shouldn’t have held so that in the future they would be more likely to support him in return.’ He paused. ‘Or so I believe. Adeptus Exemptus Diall could be very persuasive when he wanted to be.’
I considered this. ‘So couldn’t one of those so-called lesser members have killed him?’
‘Why would you bite the hand that feeds you?’
‘Because,’ I said softly, repeating my earlier point, ‘every Order witch is ambitious.’ I skipped round him to avoid a ladder propped up against the wall of my building.
Winter’s mouth twitched. ‘It’s a possibility,’ he finally conceded.
‘Ha ha! You see? I can do this.’ I stretched out my arms. ‘I can be an investigator extraordinaire.’
‘It’s a theory. And not a very plausible one either.’ Winter stopped walking for a moment. ‘It’s important not to believe too strongly in any one idea without concrete evidence. Otherwise you start looking for evidence to fit the theory rather than the other way around. There are no shortcuts in this line of work. And ambition isn’t a bad thing. The desire to succeed and do better is what drives society forward.’
‘Not everyone can be Ipsissimus. What drives society forward is having a strong backbone of people willing to do the jobs that their leaders don’t want to dirty their hands with.’
‘Like driving taxis?’ he asked drily.
‘Okay, maybe not that. I was thinking more like cleaners and binmen and herb collectors. Those sorts of jobs, although people do need to be able to get around when they need to. But you have to see what I mean.’
‘I do,’ he answered. ‘But you have to see what I mean too.’ He opened the main door and held it for me while I ducked inside.
I wrinkled my nose. ‘Yeah, okay, I suppose I do.’ I glanced at him and smiled. ‘Look at us,’ I marvelled. ‘Next we’ll be skipping along hand in hand.’ I turned left for the lift while Winter went immediately for the stairs. Oh well, you couldn’t have everything.
We re-grouped upstairs then walked into Eve’s flat. Although Bell End and Alice barely stirred, Princess Parma Periwinkle and Harold sprang apart. It looked to me as if they’d only been grooming each other but I couldn’t be sure. I reckoned Brutus would be pretty annoyed if he knew. That was until he emerged yawning and looking pretty darned self-satisfied from behind a nearby cushion. Alrighty.
Winter looked from the cats to me and back again. We shared a moment of amusement and then got to work. I went for Bell End while Winter focused on Alice.
‘How’s it hanging?’ I enquired. Bell End glared at me. I smiled, entirely without humour. ‘Let me guess. You want to be freed immediately. This has all been a terrible misunderstanding.’
Winter loosened Alice’s gag. ‘Would you like something to drink?’
