That made Chess shudder, too, for reasons she didnt understand. Being like all the others there was nothing wrong with that, right? Wasnt that what she wanted, to be like the rest of them, not like herself? Didnt she lie awake at night wishing she was like them, that shed grown up clean?
Yeah, she did. That didnt mean she deserved it. Maybe that was the problem.
Something to worry about later, though, because Jillian had been talking and Chess should have been listening. Sorry, what?
I asked if you wanted to lie down for a while or something, or if you want to get to the library. Its okay with me if you want to stay here or go back to your room
No, the library is fine. I want to get to work.
Jillian looked doubtful.
Really, Jillian, Im feeling better. Andwell, youre going to have this solved soon, right? So I want to make sure I get as much done as I can, you know?
That worked. Awesome. Yeah, I know. Come on.
Chess followed her through the living roomugh, lots of pink and bright blue, lots of little pillows everywhere and pictures of ballerinas; Jillian was girlier than she appearedbut stopped at the door. The open door Hey.
Yeah?
Didnt Trent sayat the Warings housedidnt he say the front door was unlocked? And the garage door was open?
Right, yeah.
So why would the Warings have left their door unlocked like that, their house open, at night?
Jillian shrugged and, as if to illustrate her words, closed her front door behind them and turned to walk away without locking it. Lots of people dont lock their doors until they go to bed. Theyre home, theyre in their living room why would they need to be locked in?
But the Warings were paranoid. Remember all those spells I found? They had a bunch of protection and ownership charms, and theyd bought some of them, at least I think they had.
Maybe some were given to them as gifts. Maybe they just liked them. Owning them didnt mean they were using them.
Yeah, but
It was ghosts, remember? Its not like you can lock them out.
Theyd reached one of the main footpaths leading back to the tall double doors at the front of the Church; theyd be inside in a minute, and once they got inside they wouldnt be able to discuss the case so openly anymore. Chess twisted her hair into a knot to keep it from blowing into her facedamn breezeand tucked it into her shirt collar. But the ghosts were Summoned, right? So theres a person behind it.
Jillian considered it. Youre thinking whoever Summoned the ghosts did it at the Warings house?
Jillian considered it. Youre thinking whoever Summoned the ghosts did it at the Warings house?
Well
We didnt find any signs of that kind of witchcraft.
Yeah, butwait. They stopped at the front doors; Chess grabbed Jillians arm. This is the third murder, right? The third ghost murder? What if its not just random, what if someones deliberately targeting these people?
I dont know. Jillian shook her head. Id think if that was a possibility, Trent and Vaughn would have figured it out by now.
Maybe they werent thinking about it.
Jillian glanced at the front doors, at the parking lot, at the doors again.
So Chess made another push. We can ask them, right? I mean, you can ask them. Maybe theyve thought of it and already know its not what happened or whatever, but maybe they didnt.
Theyre good investigators, Cesaria.
But even good investigators miss stuff. Isnt that what you told me before?
She wasnt sure why she was pushing so hard, especially when it didnt really matter. She was only in training. She wouldnt get any kind of bonusdid Inquisitors get bonuses? Shed heard Debunkers did, and Liaisers got annual payouts based on how many ghosts theyd channeled, but she had no idea about any of the other employeesand she wouldnt get anything in her file or anything, no class credit, but she didnt know.
She only knew that somehow, suddenly, it was important to her. Somewhere along the line, between the day before when shed seen the Warings living room transformed into a bloody abattoir and that moment when she stood looking at Jillian, it had started to matter to her. She wanted to figure it out, because she wanted to be right. To win.
She wanted to prove that she wasnt wrong about everything.
Ill ask them, Jillian said finally. Ill see what they think. And if theres time and you want to look for a connection between the victims, I guess you canafter you look up Mark.
Thanks.
A nod. Well, come on, lets check out the ghosts, anyway. But remember, we dont have proof that the ghosts Anna and Bruce found missing have anything to do with the murders, much less that they were Summoned to pick people off some list or something. You cant assume things in this job.
Sure. Whatever. Well, no, not whatever; Jillian was right. But still. The more Chess thought about it the more she thought it made sense, the more she could see how it could be done, even. How someone could use ghosts as murder weapons. All they needed to do was Summon some ghosts
No, they hadnt found any evidence of Summoning. So how would they ?
Maybe they could Host? No, a person could only share his or her body with one ghost at a time. Of course, there could be more than one killer involved, and hence more than one ghost. And it wouldnt be at all unusual for people to let their ghosts go free to kill someone, or even for the ghosts toNo, that couldnt be it in this case, though, because Trent and Vaughn hadnt found any real evidence of other people in the house. Only ghosts.
So how would someone move ghosts from place to place? How could ghosts be kept contained, kept in line, during that travel?
A van. They could transport ghosts in a van, one of those windowless ones lined with iron like the Church used to transport corpses or those who committed magical crimesor both.
So someone could be at that very moment driving around Triumph City with a van full of ghosts, just waiting for their next opportunity. And if Chess wanted to get anywhere in the Church, she needed to convince Jillian that was a distinct possibility. She needed to prove it.
As usual, the wide, bright hallway just inside the front doors made something rise in her chest, something she thought might be real happiness, real pride. She belonged therewell, sort of. They thought she belonged there, and she was going to make damn sure they never had reason to doubt it.
They walked past the long low bench where people waited for Liaising appointments or to meet with other Church employees, up the staircase, and across to the library, where Jillian led her to the filing cabinets along the back wall. The green labels are place files, where its recorded if a building or something is confirmed to be haunted. Mostly Debunkers use those, though we sometimes check them. Red labels are ghosts themselves, preHaunted Week deaths. If you want to check people who died after that, or living people, you have to check the computers, although how much information you can get depends on your position. Only Elders have access to full files, but we have almost as much, and then other employees usually have less. But to get everything youre always going to have to ask an Elder or a Chief Inquisitor.
Chess nodded.
Here. Jillian headed for the computers, typed something into one of them. Thats the Inquisitor training login. It wont let you alter any files, but that shouldnt be a problem, right? So you can check out whoever you want there. You have a notebook or something?
Chess pulled hers out of her bag. It was tucked in right next to her flask; the sight of the flask made her mouth water at the same time as it sent a hot flood of shame and nausea through her body and into her stomach, where it sat and festered.
But Jillian didnt see itwell, of course she didnt, she wasnt peering into Chesss bag like some kind of purse busybody. She just kept talking. The best way to start is to just type in the name youre looking for. Itll bring up whatever files exist. You can narrow it down by birth date or whatever, and then when you open the files there are usually pictures, and well, thats it.
Jillian sat down at the next computer. Damn, couldnt she have at least moved one more down, so Chess had a little privacy? Having someone sit so close to her it was like being breathed on. Kind of gross and uncomfortable, but there was no decent way to request that they stop. What was she supposed to say to Jillian, Dont watch what Im doing in the Churchs private restricted files?
No. Somehow she thought that wouldnt work very well. She glanced around, hoping she could use other people in the library as an excuse to move, but no; a one-way mirror separated the computers from the rest of the library, so no one could see over her shoulder.
Okay. Put it out of her mind and focus. This was her shot, right? Yes. She typed Mark Pollert in and waited, and when the results came up she had to admit that was pretty cool. Her first official act as a Church employee. That she technically wasnt a Church employee yet and was doing a side errand that probably had no bearing on the actual case didnt matter; it was still a big deal.
Only a few Mark Pollerts existed, which was nice because it meant it was easy to find the one she wanted. Born January 20, 1980, orphaned at age ten, moved from house to houseyeah, she sure as fuck knew that drilluntil ending up at the New Hope Mission. With the Warings.
Hey, Jillian, can I keep this file open and do another search?
What else do you need to search?
Shit. Somehow she didnt think Jillian was going to approve, but I wanted to see if theres anything on the Mission. The one the Warings worked for, where Mark lived for a while? I thought Double shit, because Jillians eyebrows were rising and Chess was pretty sure that didnt mean Jillian loved her fantastic idea.
She plowed on, though. If I can get some information on the Mission and the people who ran it, maybe I can get a more complete picture of Marks life. Maybe some people I can talk to about him, or would be talking to about him if I was actually doing that.