After a minute, the rune vanished, and the jar was more or less whole. There were dozens of tiny voids, places where the fragments were too far away from the rune to be drawn back to their original place. Thousands of cracks ran through the jar, making it look like crackle glass, but despite that, the jar was solid.
“Danny,” he called, picking up the jar with his handkerchief and placing it on the table. “I think I found one of the missing jars from the table.”
“Does it look like it will fit in here?” Danny asked, emerging from the bedroom. He carried a black shipping case a little larger than a standard briefcase. He held it open so Alex could see the padded inside. There were four divots, each big enough for a jar about six inches high and three around. Just like the one Alex had repaired.
“Where did you find that?” Alex asked.
“At the bottom of Beaumont’s laundry basket,” Danny said. “Though I’m more interested in where it came from.” He closed the case and Alex could see several official-looking labels covering its outside.
“That’s a standard small shipping case,” Alex said, the truth finally dawning on him.
“What does that mean?” Danny asked. Alex grinned at him.
“It means you get to keep your job,” he said. “It means we know who murdered Jerry Pemberton, and why.”
19
The Meeting
Alex waited an hour before making the phone calls. Danny called Lieutenant Callahan and Captain Rooney. Based on Danny’s reaction, the Captain wasn’t happy, but eventually Danny convinced him to come to Beaumont’s apartment. Once the police were on their way, Alex called Iggy. He hated waking the old man, but if he was going to save his skin, and Danny’s, he might need Iggy’s medical knowledge.
“That’s wonderful, lad,” Iggy said once Alex had told him what they found.
“I know you’re tired, but I might need you over here.”
“Say nothing of it,” he said, yawning. “I’ll throw on my clothes and be over as soon as I can.”
Alex thanked him and hung up. He wanted to stay on the line. Not because there was more he wanted to say to Iggy, but rather to avoid making the next call on his list. He took out his rune book and opened it to the back cover. Inside the cover was a pocket, sewn into the fabric. Alex kept loose papers there, notes and cards. He pulled out a simple white business card with a name and telephone number printed on it in blue ink. After a long moment, he sighed and dialed the phone.
“Hello?” a weary woman’s voice said. “Who is this?”
“Good morning, Sorceress,” he said in his most chipper voice.
“Mr. Lockerby,” Sorsha said, her voice dropping several degrees. “I trust you have a good reason for disturbing me at this hour.”
“You mean other than hearing your sparkling voice?”
There was a long pause and Alex could have sworn he felt the phone’s receiver getting cold. He really shouldn’t antagonize Sorsha, but she just made it so easy.
“Are you still interested in the disease that killed everyone at the Brotherhood of Hope?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said, her voice perking up.
“I can tell you who brought it there, and where it came from.”
‘Well?” she said after a long moment.
“Not now,” Alex said. “Put on your work clothes, grab your FBI lackeys, and meet me.”
“If you’re wasting my time, scribbler, I’ll…”
“No joke, Sorceress,” Alex said. “Got a pencil?” He gave her Beaumont’s address and hung up.
The first to arrive was Callahan; he came in with two of his detectives and two uniforms whom he left outside the door.
“What’s this about, Danny?” he asked, after having a quick look around.
“Give us a few minutes,” Danny said. “There’s a few more people coming.”
Callahan pressed his hand to his forehead. “Please tell me you didn’t call the Captain.”
“He didn’t,” Alex lied. “I did.”
“Jesus, Lockerby,” Callahan swore. “Why don’t you just get us all fired?”
“Don’t worry, Lieutenant,” Alex said. “He’ll be smiling from ear to ear when he hears what we have to say.”
“You should worry more about whether I’ll be smiling,” Sorsha said, pushing the door open. Agents Davis and Warner followed in her wake, each looking like they weren’t used to being rousted in the early hours of the morning. If getting up early or being rushed out of her boudoir affected Sorsha, it didn’t show. Her face was perfect, alabaster skin without a single flaw, as if she’d been carved of marble. The only appearance of makeup were a few precise strokes of eyeliner and bright red lipstick. Alex had heard that the subtler the makeup, the longer it took to apply; if this was what Sorsha could do with just a few minutes, he really wanted to see what she looked like on her way to a party.
Alex introduced Sorsha and the FBI men to Callahan, then directed the Sorceress to the couch to await the rest.
“You do like living dangerously,” Callahan said under his breath, once Sorsha had taken a seat.
The next to arrive was Iggy. Sorsha was delighted to see the doctor again and invited him to sit with her on the couch. Last of all was Captain Rooney. He arrived in a rumpled suit with his vest mis-buttoned and his tie showing from under the back of his collar. Callahan and his detectives looked tired, but their clothes were neat and professional, a sign that they were used to going to work whenever the job required it. Rooney, on the other hand, kept banker’s hours, and it showed.
He started to shout at Alex, Danny, and Callahan, but stopped when he saw Sorsha.
“I assume,” he said in a calmer voice, “that you dragged everyone out of bed for a good reason.”
“I did, Captain,” Alex said, taking the lead. “You challenged me to find out who killed Jerry Pemberton, and with Detective Pak’s help, I have.”
“If that’s all this is about,” Rooney said, his voice dropping low, “I’ll have your license pulled so quick.”
Alex put his hand on his heart and feigned a wounded expression. “Patience, Captain.” He took a step back and addressed the whole room. “I’d like to welcome everyone to the home of Charles Beaumont,” he said.
A murmur of recognition flared up briefly, but there were many bewildered looks.
“Before Detective Pak and I get to the reason we called this little clam bake, I need to bring everyone up to speed,” Alex added.
Of the people in the room, only he, Danny, Iggy, and Callahan were familiar with both the case of Jerry Pemberton and the incident at the Brotherhood of Hope Mission. Alex briefly related the facts of each case, then asked for questions.
“How does Charles Beaumont connect to Jerry Pemberton?” Callahan asked.
“Beaumont was Pemberton’s partner,” Danny said. “The people who killed Pemberton were looking for Beaumont.”
“Why?” Rooney growled.
“Because of this,” Alex said, holding up the glass container he’d reconstructed. “There were four of these, each full of an alchemical solution that causes the disease that killed Father Harrison Clementine and everyone at the Mission.”
“And how do you know this?” Sorsha said.
Alex took out his multi-lamp and snapped the silverlight burner in it. “You’ll need to wear this,” he said, holding out his oculus to the Sorceress.
She hesitated for a minute, then slipped the strap over her head. Alex lit the lamp and then pointed to the table.
“See here, how three round objects stood here.” He put the reconstructed jar on the table.
Sorsha closed her uncovered eye and looked. After a moment, she moved the jar slightly to the left, covering one of the voids.