Chapter 41

I reviewed Sidnee and Gunnar’s notes from the interviews with the barrier protestors and two people struck me: Martin Snow and Ezra Taylor. I called and made appointments for them to come in again. Snow was available immediately so he gruffly promised to present himself for interview.

When he walked in, I had to suppress a gasp. He had two black eyes, one of which was cut and swollen shut, and he was moving stiffly. ‘What happened?’ I asked. ‘I can help.’

He shot me a bitter smile. ‘No, you can’t.’

‘I can speak to Stan…’

He flinched and then I put it all together. Stan had done this; he’d beaten up Snow for failing him at the wind witch’s house, then he’d forbidden him from shifting so his injuries could heal quickly. Stan wanted to punish the moose shifter for his supposed failure. I grimaced. I didn’t believe in corporal punishment.

‘Do you want me to get involved?’ I asked hopefully. Group matters were dealt with largely in-house and I could only intrude if there were bodies on the floor, if other groups were affected, or if I was invited to deal with the matter.

‘No,’ he grunted, ‘I don’t. But I’ve been told to co-operate with you, so here I am.’

‘I appreciate that.’ I led him into the interview room, clicked on the recording equipment, ran through my usual spiel and then we began. ‘You were at the barrier protest, yes?’

‘Yeah. That’s not a crime.’

‘No, it’s not,’ I soothed. ‘Why don’t you like the barrier?’

‘I don’t care about the damned barrier, what I care about is paying for it. The council should foot the bill, not us. It’s hard enough to make ends meet without ridiculous taxes too.’

‘You were rostered on guard for the wind gem the day it got stolen?’ I asked.

‘Yes.’

‘What did you see the day the house got burned down?’

He grimaced. ‘I didn’t see anything. Wintersteen is obsessive about privacy and she never lets her guards stand too close to the property. We can be out front with eyes on her front door and that’s all. She’s never let any of us in. She doesn’t trust us.’

Evidently she was right not to; Snow had let her down in a big way. ‘And on that day, when your shift started?’

Snow sighed. ‘Stan told me to tell you everything so I’ll tell you, though I don’t like you knowing. I have a gambling problem. I’d been given a tip about a horse – a sure win.’ He licked his lips. ‘I went to the bookie.’

‘Why didn’t you bet online?’ I asked nosily.

‘You get better rates at the sports book if you go in person.’

‘Did the tip pay off?’

He glowered. ‘No. I bet, I watched the race and I lost a tonne. After that I drank some akpik moonshine.’ Akpik was the most popular moonshine flavour that the Grimes brothers sold up at their trading post.

‘Some akpik?’ I queried.

‘A lot of akpik,’ he admitted.

‘You weren’t at your post because you were drunk?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Who gave you the tip about the horse?’

He gave a one-shouldered shrug. ‘Mr Wintersteen. He was making conversation before he went in the house. He knows I like the horses.’

‘Does Mr Wintersteen like the horses?’

‘Not as far as I know, but he said a friend of his had told him Sierra Dash was a sure thing.’

‘His mate was wrong.’

His glare intensified. ‘No shit.’

I wondered how much Snow had lost but it didn’t really matter. He’d given into his addiction and he’d been betting and drinking rather than manning his post. Stan had originally said that Snow was solid and that he trusted him, but I bet if I asked Stan now he’d give me a different answer. But I felt bad for Snow; gambling was an addiction and he needed help. ‘If you want to kick the habit–’ I started.

‘I know about Gambler’s Anonymous,’ he growled unhappily. ‘Stan is making me go. I don’t need you sticking your nose into my business. We’re done here.’

I didn’t have any more questions so I let him walk out. I didn’t think he was involved in either of the gem thefts. He didn’t like paying money for the barrier’s maintenance because he was broke due to his gambling. Some of the other protestors were fanatical about the barrier but Snow was just low-key pissed off. He wasn’t the person I was looking for.

While I waited for Ezra, I called the hospital. Nora Sullivan’s condition was critical but stable; Jayden Donaldson was in surgery for his ruined shoulder. Both of them would be unavailable for several more hours.

Ezra Taylor strolled in, neatly dressed and a little full of himself. I’d warmed to him when he’d helped me during the tsunami warning but there was no room for personal feelings in this business. ‘Fanged Flopsy,’ he greeted me, his tone a shade mocking.

‘Mr Taylor, thank you for coming so promptly. Follow me.’

I led him into the interview room but when I went to hit record, he objected. ‘No. Off the record.’

I hadn’t had an ‘off the record’ situation before. I wouldn’t be able to use anything he said in a court case against him – but it might mean he would talk more frankly. In the end I nodded and dropped my hand. I remained standing whilst he sat down because I thought it would give me a psychological advantage, but wouldn’t you know it? He leaned back in his chair, stretched out his legs and crossed them at the ankles, then laced his fingers together and tucked his hands behind his head. His body language was saying he was completely comfortable and he owned the place.

I narrowed my eyes. ‘Are you quite done, Mr Taylor?’

He smirked. ‘Just getting comfy, love.’

‘Uh-huh. Talk to me about the barrier.’

He raised a smooth, blond eyebrow. ‘What’s to say? I think it is a travesty, nothing more than a long con by the witches to bleed us dry. And I know you’re going to say otherwise, but you’re either in on it or you’re ignorant.’

‘I’m so glad you clarified my options,’ I said sarcastically. We weren’t recording so I could let a hint of mockery come out to play. He certainly wasn’t showing me any respect and I didn’t like his attitude. Things had definitely slid backwards since the tsunami alert.

I gritted my teeth and tried to improve the situation. ‘I’ve been beyond the barrier, Mr Taylor. I’ve seen the monster.’ I let fear show on my face. ‘If it gets into town, it will kill us all. The barrier is a necessity, not a frivolity. We’re not keeping out keeluts.’

He studied me for a long moment then leaned forward and put his hands down on the metal desk. His arrogant mask had bled away. ‘I believe that you believe that,’ he said slowly.

‘Then how do you explain it?’ I asked in exasperation. ‘If you know I believe I saw the monster…’

‘Because, Officer Barrington, we live in a world of magic and the Grimes brothers are two of the strongest illusion witches in the world. Do you seriously expect me to believe that they’re here to – what? Brew moonshine?’ His voice was incredulous. ‘No, they’re here to facilitate the con, to create the occasional illusion to convince the masses to keep on paying the witches through the nose.’

Damn, that was a good argument. It took me a moment to rally. ‘And what of Kivuk? The vampire? The Savik brothers?’

‘More illusion. The hunters died in a tragic accident and someone – probably a well-paid shifter – tore their bodies apart for you to find.’

‘And the Grimes brothers were hiding behind a nearby bush casting illusions of the creature?’

‘Exactly,’ he looked pleased that I was getting it.

I thought back to those terror-filled moments. There was a flaw in his argument; the monster had flung rocks and trees at us and struck Fluffy. There was no way either of the Grimes was strong enough to chuck a tree – but neither was there any way I’d convince Ezra of that. It was time to change tack.

‘Talk to me about Nora.’

He blinked. ‘What about her?’

‘You’re seeing her, aren’t you?’ It was a shot in the dark based on Aoife’s teasing of her mum.

He sighed. ‘Nora and I are friends. Like me, she knows the truth about the barrier.’

‘And was it your idea or hers to break into my house?’

He grimaced and glanced again at the camera to check it was off. ‘It was an error in judgement,’ he admitted. ‘I see that now.’

‘You smashed up my metal shutter mechanism whilst she sprayed the threat.’ It was one of the things that had nagged at me. Shadow had woken me pretty quickly but my intruder had done a lot of damage in a couple of different areas. It made sense that there were two of them working together to do so much damage in such a short space of time.

‘As I said,’ Ezra said mildly, ‘it was an error of judgement.’

‘And Aoife?’

‘I had nothing to do with that girl’s death. Absolutely nothing.’

The worst thing was that I believed him.