“It doesn’t need to be.”
“All the same, I think it would be best if I accompany you to this meeting.”
Avery smiled at him. Genuinely. Apprehension was etched into the inspector’s brow. Regardless of what his opinion of her past actions might have been, or even how she had drawn his niece into the investigation, this man was sincerely anxious about her welfare, even if it was purely out of duty. “Your concern is noted, but I will be fine. Though we should leave now. Finding a grave I’ve never been to even in broad daylight would take hours. We are losing sunlight.”
There are a handful of things people take for granted simply because they experience them so often they don’t notice their uniqueness. For instance, the difference in perspective on a train or in the back seat of a town car is wildly different from that of a front passenger seat, perspective that Avery Hemlock had not at all been prepared for.
It was a comically tense twenty-minute drive from Baker Street to Highgate as every turn had the tall half-fey planting her hands and feet in odd positions as if she could push herself away from what appeared to be dangerously close objects to the car. Being able toseethe road ahead of them as they were actively in motion created a strange trepidation and sudden doubt in the mechanical contraption’s soundness. It was only shortly before they arrived that she’d begun to acclimate to the process well enough that her muscles relaxed fully into the car seat.
“This is as close as I can take you,” Lahiri said. “I could try to throw the sirens, but I suspect that would cause you more problems.”
“That they would,” Avery agreed, smoothing down the front of her vest and shirt. “I’ll be able to manage from here, thank you.” She opened the car door to exit and was stopped by the seat belt she’d forgotten wason. The shakiness still subtly rattling her hands, she unbuckled and stepped out.
“Do you want me to wait?”
“No. I can find my own way home. And I’m worried your presence carries the sort of authority that might persuade them to not reveal themselves.”
“It doesn’t feel safe to leave you here alone. What even constitutes an irregular mausoleum anyway?”
“It’s not an adjective, Inspector,” Avery explained with reverence. “It is a name.”
Chapter 12
Saga
The house in Primrose Hill was one of many in a row that lined Chalcot Road. It was happily situated across from Chalcot Square and a stone’s throw from Regent’s Park itself. Much like a good deal of Camden Town, it seemed more out of a film than reality—though the genres were contrasting to say the least. Where the rest of the borough was lively and buzzing, known for its vibrant music and markets, Primrose Hill remained far more subdued and echoed a bygone era in its architecture and the pace at which its residents lived their lives.
The London housing market had been kind over the past years, but it had been mentioned on more than one occasion, had the residence not belonged to the Lahiri family, Reza and Leigh never would have been able to afford such a location, even despite its comparatively modest size.
Saga now wondered, knowing what she did, how long it had been in the Lahiri family. She was sitting in an overstuffed armchair by the fireplace, focusing intently on the knitting project that lay in her lap.
Avery had mentioned that Reza worked for something called the “Winter Council.” Did that mean he was also a witch? Or was he something else entirely?
Knitting needles moved golden yellow yarn through a simple slip-stitch pattern. She liked yellow—at least the warm shades she often found in the flowers around the park. She meditated on the magical properties often associated with the color as she moved through each stitch. Prosperity, learning, mental clarity, understanding, gaining knowledge, creativity, harmony…
All would be useful during an investigation.
Leigh wandered into the sitting room, circling around the couch and back again.
“Are you all right?”
Leigh blinked from her trance. “River’s down.” She wrung her hands. With her baby asleep, she was now without occupation, which left her in the dangerous position of being at the mercy of her own thoughts. “Did you get enough to eat? I can go get us some dessert or…”
“You should sit,” said Saga, setting the barely begun project and the two skeins of yarn beside her. “Can I getyouanything?”
“No, love, I’m fine, I’m fine…” She wasn’t fine. She was pacing slowly around the parlor. First to the fireplace, then to the window. “I’m just…” She made a circular gesture with her wrist, trying to formulate the proper words before letting her hand drop to her side and abandoning the sentence altogether. “There’s so much to prepare for your grandmother’s…” She didn’t finish that sentence either. “So many people don’t know, we’ll need to call them; they shouldn’t read about it in the paper. What a horrible way to find out someone you loved died.” She anxiously rapped her fingertips against her collarbone. “I’ll need to call Audrey.” Then all fidgeting ceased into terrified stillness. “Oh Brigid aid me, I need to callAudrey.” She took a deep breath and straightened her posture, rallying. “No, that’s okay. That will be good in the end. She’ll take care of logistics, she’s good at that, she’ll…” Something broke within her. Leigh crumpled into herself, her hands rising to cover her face. “Fuck.”
Saga slid from the chair to hug her aunt. “I can call her.”
This simple offer was enough to rouse Leigh out of her tears. “Oh! Oh no, love, you’ve been through so much already—the last thing you need is a conversation with your mother.”
“If it would make any of this easier on you, I don’t mind.” It was an honest offer, albeit a self-sacrificing one.
“A call to my sister isn’t going to make my life harder, Saga,” Leigh assured, delicately wiping just under her eyes for any smeared makeup.“I’m just not sure how I’m going to explain why our mother’s body is in police custody and undergoing an autopsy when the official cause of death is a heart attack.” She took a deep, clarifying breath. “Maybe I should wait. Reza said they would release her in a day or so.”
Saga chewed on her newly found realization. “So… Mum doesn’t know.”
Leigh’s gaze involuntarily hesitated before meeting Saga’s. “Your mother doesn’tbelieve.”
