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5. Investigation to identify both UW and MS is still ongoing.
Hadrian studied my expression when I finished reading the incident report and handed him back his phone. “You have questions?”
I didn’t answer right away. Although we had one of the hospital’s consultation rooms all to ourselves, the glass partition didn’t exactly provide us total privacy. Anyone walking the hallways outside would see Hadrian talking, and I was worried they’d think he was crazy.
“Don’t you think it’s better if you pretend you’re on the phone while we’re talking—-”
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Hadrian said. “I have my work badge with me.” He showed me his watch, and I blinked in confusion. Sure, it looked expensive and sophisticated, but nothing about it screamed ‘I see dead people’, if you know what I mean.
Looking up, I said baldly, “I don’t get it.”
“There’s a symbol that flashes here—-” He tapped on the glass-covered face of his watch. “But it’s a spell-protected symbol—-”
“Not that again,” I said with a groan.
Hadrian smiled. “But it is that. More than half of this town’s population consists of people who are able to practice magic, and that number includes Silver Mist Hospital’s entire workforce.”
“No shit?”
“No shit.”
Hadrian’s bland tone, however, was belied by the way his silver eyes were so clearly laughing at me – again – and I wrinkled my nose at him. “Cut me some slack. All this mention of magic—-”
“Might be as unbelievable as someone talking to a ghost, perhaps?”
He really had a point there, so I decided to change the subject instead of having to admit that I was wrong. “So, about the incident report…” Hadrian’s smirk told me he knew what I was doing, but I pretended not to notice this. “Why did your wall…rupture?”
“Because someone dared to create a portal between this world and Tartarus.”
“So the unidentified woman…”
“Was a living person from this world.”
“And she willingly went to Hell?” I asked incredulously.
“She did more than that, actually,” Hadrian said grimly. “As you’ve read from the incident report, the evidence we have in our possession strongly suggests that a swapping spell was used.”
“I didn’t actually get that part,” I admitted. “What kind of evidence was collected and what’s a swapping spell?”
“Every time a person performs a spell, it usually leaves a trace of…I suppose the best term to use is magical DNA. And we have experts, machinery, and means to examine such evidence. In this case, CSI—-”
“CSI? You’re working with the CSI?”
“CSI as in Circe Security Initiative.”
“Ah.” I made a mental note to Google what Kurkey meant. Was it related to Turkey the country or turkey the bird?
“It’s a government agency that handles all types of crimes perpetuated with the aid of magic.”
“So, just like this world’s CSI but with magic involved,” I concluded.
“Exactly.”
“And the swapping spell?” I asked. “I’m trying to think of what someone from this world could possibly want to exchange with someone from Hell. Brimstone for, say, jelly beans?”
“You’re thinking in terms of objects, but with a swapping spell, it actually means the soul of UW is now in MS…and vice versa.”
My jaw dropped. That was possible? ”
“And because UW, who is now in MS’ body, voluntarily jumped into the waters of Phlegethon—-”
Phlegethon, according to Google, was one of the five main bodies of water in Underworld, but more importantly, it was one of the more dangerous rivers, too. Why not dive into the waters of, say, Lethe, for instance, which was the river of forgetfulness? Amnesia might suck, but it wouldn’t kill you, whereas fire, well…It didn’t just guarantee one’s death but also…
“She didn’t just want to kill herself,” I gasped in horrified realization. “She was also hoping she could destroy all evidence of MS’ body so you’d have a harder time connecting the dots between them.”
Hadrian’s lips curved. “Well done, detective.”
I was about to preen and give myself a pat on the shoulder when a nurse knocked on our door and told Hadrian that Dr. Ace was now ready to receive him.
“Dr. Ace?” The only Ace I know was a pet detective.
“Short for Aesculapius.”
“Uh huh.” No point Googling that guy since I couldn’t even begin to figure out how to spell his name.
“Would you like me to introduce you to him when we get to his lab?” Hadrian asked as we took the stairs to the basement.
“Would he be able to see or hear me?”
“There’s a spell I can use—-”
“Oh, it’s fine,” I protested quickly. “I appreciate the offer, but it’s fine.” Talking about magic was one thing. Experiencing it was another, and even my ghostly self wasn’t ready for that.
“As you wish.”
We made it to the basement, and Hadrian continued walking past several laboratories until we came to a halt before a pair of digitally secured glass doors with a name plate mounted above it.
AESCULAPIUS, M.D.
CHIEF CORONER
