The Unskillful Thaumaturge

XXXVIII

"So what exactly happened?" Lillian wondered.

"We went to find Ashley and when we got there, the apartment was empty," Galena began to explain.

"As in, she wasn't there?"

"No, more than that. All of the furniture in the apartment was gone. The rugs, the light fixtures, the sofa, the bed, and pretty much everything she owned."

"So she moved?"

"We talked to the neighbors and the super and Ashley owned the apartment. She still does. It's hers. Her utility bills need to get paid by the end of the month. No one knew she was moving out, no one saw her moving anything, no one heard anything about her leaving. The most likely idea is that she moved everything out during the night without telling anyone and then left. The door was locked."

"And the only thing she left was a hand mirror case?" Lillian quickly switched hands, bringing the phone around her face to her other ear.

"Yes. Exactly the same thing that we found in the coffin."

"The same one?"

"No, of course not. We have both in the lab. Evan tested the new one for fingerprints. Ashley's were on it, obviously. There wasn't anything else."

"So you think she just dropped the mirror case in the bathtub and left?"

"Essentially, yes."

"She would have had to pry the mirror out first, right?"

"See, that's the thing. The mirror case, like pretty much everything that gets sold today, had a barrier on it. It wasn't Ashley's barrier, it was whoever manufactured it. So yes, she would have had to pry the mirror out- but her fingerprints were only on the lid and the bottom of the case, not the inside where the mirror would have been."

"So..." Lillian trailed off, not sure what to say. "What does that mean?"

"It's very strange. It would imply that she bought the mirror case without the mirror in it. The problem is that the brand that we've identified as having produced the mirror case doesn't sell empty cases. I'm not sure if any brand does."

"So it's different than the one from the coffin?"

"No, that's the thing. The one from the coffin was in exactly the same situation. It was a different brand, of course, but there still weren't any prints underneath the mirror."

Lillian wasn't sure how to respond. "That's... it's very strange."

"I'll let you know if we get any further. But I doubt anything will be happening over the weekend. No one is at work. I'm at home right now as well. Just- if you see or hear absolutely anything about Beanie or Mo- Ashley, please let me know, okay?" Galena sounded strained.

"Okay," Lillian responded, her lips set in a grim smile. As she hung up, she realized just how hard this must be for Galena. Lillian couldn't bear to imagine having to investigate Morgan or Chris, and for Galena it was even worse since Ashley was her only family.

But whatever Ashley and Beanie were involved in, Lillian was determined to find answers.

❦

"So can you tell me exactly where they are?" Dakota asked, leaning back in the spinning chair. Ashley was still standing, despite the fact that the two had been talking for over half an hour. He swept his arm toward the nearest chair, but she declined with an imperceptible shake of her head.

"They linked you to the vagrant from '78. They went to dig up the body and found the mirror case. They think you're doing something called Fifth Wheel thaumaturgy that isn't limited by barriers. They're looking for you. And now, because of that trick you pulled with the machine and the bus stop, they're looking for me as well," Ashley snapped.

"It wasn't entirely my fault. You tried to leave without telling me."

"You didn't need to know anything else. But they've connected the hand mirror case in the bathtub to the one in the coffin. Obviously. And now they're very confused."

"What next?"

"Well... that depends. I trust, unless something weird happens, that they won't be finding anything new until Lillian's DNA test comes back."

"Something weird? Like what?"

"We have a little bit of a problem. You know Evan, the forensic assistant in the lab?"

"Yeah, okay?"

"He has a younger sister in your class," Ashley explained.

"Wait, who?"

"Jennifer."

"Jennifer Maple?"

"The very same," Ashley replied.

"So the problem is..." Dakota prompted.

"I think the main problem is Jennifer. She likes your class, right? So if she starts talking to Evan about it, and if she describes the professor..."

"That would be a very bad problem," Dakota realized.

The Nine might even find out where you are.

"What do you suggest I do?"

"Well, there are a lot of things you could do; the problem is that most of them either endanger you more or are just unethical. Probably your best option is to just wait and hope. Jennifer and Evan only talk around once a week, and you aren't her main concern right now. She's under a lot of stress from schoolwork. Evan is good at what he does and I think he's trustworthy enough not to talk about the investigation with his sister. So for right now, I think your best option is waiting it out until the semester ends and hoping she doesn't mention you."

"Hope?" The word sounded slightly unfamiliar in Dakota's mouth. "I can't just sit on this. If Jennifer casually mentions this to Evan, it's going to ruin everything."

"I know. I'll be keeping tabs on them when they're talking to each other. And if she tells him, I really don't have a choice but just to erase it. They'll never know the difference."

"Jennifer might notice."

"Look, I'll try my best, okay?"

"This is awful," Dakota moaned. "I don't even know what to do."

Ashley poked him in the side. "Sit up," she said briskly. "It's not that bad. It's not the end of the world."

Dakota looked up from where his head was buried in his hands. "It might be."

"No way. If something happens to you, we've got Lillian covered. Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

"Hey, at least you're better at it than Rory."

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't had a conversation this long with Rory since he got here, and you just told me more than I've heard from him in the last week."

"I'm doing my best to keep you informed and safe. And if that includes providing information, or worrying about you, I'll still help. It's my responsibility."

Dakota raised his eyes to meet her gaze. She stared back, unwavering.

"Thank you," he breathed, so softly she barely heard it.

"You're welcome."