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“And you said that the mother Darya blamed Constance for her daughter Leonie’s death,” pointed out Leo. “She said there had been friction between Constance and Leonie. Perhaps Constance did have a reason to want to Leonie dead.”
Monroe had been tapping away at his laptop for the entire time that we had all been discussing the case. Now he spoke up. “I can’t find any records of Leonie Ashbeck ever going to school. I had thought maybe she might have stayed in touch with one of her school friends who might know something interesting.”
“It’s because Leonie never went to school. She was always home-schooled by her mother, and then by her aunt and tutors while she lived at the Ronin nest.” Storm explained this rather distractedly. He was frowning at his phone which had just buzzed, telling him that he had a new message.
I could read his face. Something important had happened. “What is it?” I asked him.
“DCK has struck again!” he said. “A few hours ago in Edinburgh. A woman called Grace Newman. He left her alive! They’ve taken her in to hospital.”
I couldn’t believe it. “But he never leaves them alive,” I said. “Are they sure it was him?”
Storm had already risen to his feet, as if he was intent on going down to Edinburgh this very minute. He was still checking his phone. “Dammit,” he said. “They’re saying we won’t be allowed to speak to her until tomorrow at the earliest.”
Monroe had been tapping away rapidly at his computer, and then he suddenly yelped in excitement and said, “No way!”
We looked at him, surprised by his unexpected outburst which was not in character. His eyes had gone wide. “Grace Newman is Constance Asbeck,” he said. He turned his screen around so that we could all see, and we all crowded to take a look. It was the record of a name change that had taken place six years ago. Constance Ashbeck had changed her name to Grace Newman.
“It can’t be,” Remi said. “This can’t be right.”
“It is,” said Storm grimly. “It’s her.” He held out his phone so that we could all see what was on the screen. It was a picture of a brunette woman, older now, but the same woman that I had seen in the photograph standing next to Joshua Ashbeck at his wedding. It was Constance Ashbeck
“This was in the email I’ve just been sent,” said Storm. “Grace Newman really is Constance Ashbeck.”
My mind had been doing rapid calculations and the conclusion it reached left me breathless. “The Devil Claw knew it was her,” I said in quiet awe. “He knew it was her! He was helping us find her. He left her alive on purpose!”
Leo shook his head. “He’s never behaved that way. He never leaves them alive.”
“Exactly!” I cried out. “He found her for us so that we could question her. He knows that she can give this information that’s going to get Steffane Ronin out of prison. Why else would have he have done it?”
“But why would he want Steffane Ronin out of prison?” said Monroe doubtfully. “How would he even know about any of this?”
“I don’t know how he knows,” I said. “But he has to know. Maybe he’s keeping an eye out on Steffane Ronin. Maybe he knew that we were looking into this case! It would make sense that if Ronin knows DCK he is, that DCK would keep an eye on Ronin!”
“Why would he want to help us get Ronin out of prison?” said Remi. “If he knew about the deal that you made with Steffane, then he would want to do his best to keep Ronin in prison so that Ronin can’t tell us about his identity. Right?”
“He wants him out because Steffane Ronin really does know who the Devil Claw Killer is,” I said breathlessly. “He wasn’t lying. He really does know!”
“I don’t get it,” said Monroe.
“Hes playing a game,” I said, my voice high with excitement. “He’s taking us on and he thinks he can win!”
“He wants to kill him,” said Storm quietly, his brain clearly having reached the same conclusion that I had reached. “He wants Ronin out of prison so that he can kill him.”
The mood in the room changed immediately. It was charged with stunned realization and growing exuberance. Because after all these years hunting for Devil Claw he was finally within this team’s reach.
Leo said what everyone was thinking. “All we have to do is get Steffane Ronin of prison. It will force Devil Claw to break his cover and come for hi
m.”
“And we’ll be waiting for him,” finished storm.
No, not you, I thought, though I did not say it out loud. It would be me who would be waiting for him. Me and my sword.
Chapter 21
DIANA
Storm and the rest of the team immediately departed for Edinburgh to look at the crime scene. Since we were not going to be allowed to interview Constance Ashbeck, or Grace Newman as she was now calling herself, until tomorrow at the earliest, I agreed that I would meet Storm at the hospital that Constance was in tomorrow.
