Chapter 21
Not Even for Thirty Pieces of Silver
Vigau, Arielle, Bonaventure
In his office, Inspector Andress was reviewing the list of registered members of the Phoenix Guild and cross-referencing it with a map of the town he had pinned to the corkboard. Red pushpins marked the locations he had yet to secure, green the ones where he had already made successful arrests and yellow for places where the suspects were not found but warranted further observation. He wanted the operation to proceed in an orderly fashion, but there also needed to be an element of unpredictability or else the suspects would get wise to the plan and better elude capture.
There was a knock at the door and Constable Andretti stuck his head in, saying, "Inspector, we got a visitor for you, a Miss Henrietta Gamble."
Henrietta Gamble? Inspector Andress remembered the name from the list of students suspected of having a hand in the incident at the Lycée Werner Duchamp. The parents conspired to help the girls escape, something made significantly easier when one of the parents involved was a patrolman in the Municipal Police. Apparently they hadn't gotten that far and one of them broke and turned herself in. It was not so unusual a thing with fugitives. Most people are not built for a life on the run.
"Let her in," the Inspector said.
Constable Andretti opened the door and in walked this ugly duckling sort of girl. If she was ever going to grow into a swan was not the Inspector's concern.
"Miss Gamble, to what do I owe the pleasure?" the Inspector asked.
"You, you're looking for us," Miss Gamble said awkwardly. "The Witch-hunters, I mean."
"By 'us', I take it you mean you and your friends."
She averted her eyes and muttered, "They're not my friends."
A falling out, was it? Fragile bonds had a way of ending many a criminal enterprise.
"They are, at very least, your accomplices," the Inspector said.
"I didn't do anything!" Miss Gamble protested. "I couldn't do anything. They made me go along with them. They threatened me!"
"Coercion could be a mitigating factor," the Inspector said, giving her some hope without promising anything concrete.
"You have my mom, don't you?"
"Aiding and abetting suspected criminals is a serious offense," the Inspector replied.
"I, I want a deal," Miss Gamble said. "Let me and my mom go and I'll tell you where the others are."
Inspector Andress was not interested in cutting any deals, but Miss Gamble did not need to know that. If he could string her along, he could get the information he wanted without committing himself to anything. It did not look like it would be that difficult.
"You said you didn't do anything, that you couldn't do anything. Are you saying that you don't have any magical powers?"
Miss Gamble nodded.
"But the others do?"
She nodded again.
Her claim was easy enough to confirm. Inspector Andress walked up to the girl, pulled out his pocket detector and held it up to her face. There was not even the slightest reaction. No mage could hide their magical signature so perfectly, so she was telling the truth about not having any powers of her own.
As he put away his detector, the Inspector said, "It must have been difficult for you, Miss Gamble, being left out of the group yet caught in the same net."
He paused, remembering the details of the Grimalkin Incident.
"But that isn't all of it, is it? Jonry Gamble. Your father was killed in the attack on your school."
Miss Gamble clenched her fists.
"It's all their fault... They called that... that thing..."
The Inspector got closer to her and said, "Tell me where I can find them."
"They're hiding out in a cottage off Rue Caravel."
A shock went down the Inspector's spine. Even before Miss Gamble pointed to it on his map, he knew the place.
"19 Rue Caravel... You've been staying with Giger Taus?"
"I don't know about any Giger Taus," Miss Gamble said. "The woman who lives there is called Kamellia. Kamellia Rice, I think."
Kamellia Rice? Could she mean Kamellia Reis? She was supposed to have died in the Vigau Incident. What was her connection to Giger Taus?
While he was trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together, Miss Gamble asked him, "You'll let me and my mom go?"
She had already given away her only leverage. She did not think to get anything in writing or to have a lawyer present. If only everyone the Inspector dealt with was so easy.
"We need to keep you in protective custody until all this is sorted out," the Inspector said. "It's for your safety, you understand."
"I guess so," Miss Gamble said uncertainly.
"Andretti, go show Miss Gamble to her new accommodations and call Inspector Coriolis in here. We need to act on this as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir," Constable Andretti replied. Then to Miss Gamble, he said, "Right this way, miss."
Miss Gamble started to go with Constable Andretti, but apparently some animal instinct stirred within her, sensing the trap in spite of her general gullibility.
"You'll let us go when this is over, won't you?"
Inspector Andress made his best effort to smile benignly and said, "Don't worry, Miss Gamble. You'll be taken care of."