her? '
'She was supposed to come back.' Stephanie shrugged. 'But she never did.'
'Who is this Val?' Beryl asked, confused. 'What has she got to do with anything? There is a dangerous lunatic on the loose, claiming to be a policeman!'
Tanith's eyes narrowed. 'He said he was a cop?'
'Mr. Brennan said he told him he was a detective.'
'Crux ...'
'I beg your pardon?'
'I know this man.' Tanith nodded. 'And you're right, he is a lunatic. Have you called the police?'
Fergus spoke up at last. 'They, uh, they said they'd stop by this afternoon....'
'Tell them not to bother. This man has a history of psychiatric problems. He just forgot to take his pills this morning, that's all. I'm his doctor.'
'What kind of doctor dresses in brown leather?' Beryl asked suspiciously.
The young lady flashed her a quick smile. 'The kind who looks good in it,' she said. 'Thank you for your time. You all have a good day now. Good-bye, Stephanie.'
'Good-bye,' Stephanie said, and sat down to finish off her lunch.
Beryl followed Tanith to the front door, her mind overloading with questions, but Tanith just kept walking and didn't look back. She got to the road, and a dreadful purple car pulled up and she got in. Beryl tried to catch a better look at the driver, but all she could see was a man in a hat, and then they were gone.
Beryl frowned. The man in the hat seemed awfully familiar...
Chapter Thirty-one. Old Friends
Crux burst into her apartment, and China turned, appraising him coolly. 'We have the girl,' Crux said triumphantly. 'I tracked her down and arrested her. Put her in the cell myself.'
'She's fourteen,' China said. 'That was very brave of you.'
'You can save your snide comments. The Diablerie have the Grand Mage.'
'It's the talk of the town, but apparently, you'd still prefer to go after Skulduggery than the real enemy.»'He is the real enemy. I figured it out, and it's all so obvious. It fits.'
'What fits, Remus?'
He stood with his hands on his hips.' Skulduggery Pleasant is Batu.'
'Oh, my God....' China stared at him. 'You are actually thicker than you look.'
Crux stepped in close. 'Where is he? Where are they keeping the Grand Mage?'
'I tried to help you, Remus. I told you where Skulduggery was making his headquarters, and you went in, you stormed the place, and what happened? You missed Skulduggery, you missed Valkyrie, and you got the Grand Mage kidnapped. I've done what I can--it's not my fault you're not very good at your job.'
'I'm good enough, China. I was good enough to figure out your dark little secret, wasn't I?'
'You didn't work anything out. A dying man told you because you were the only one around at the time.'
'Where is the skeleton?
'I don't know.'
'Then where will he be?'
'Oh, now that one I do know. Once he learns that you've arrested Valkyrie, you're not going to have to look for him. He'll come to you.'
'I'm not scared of Skulduggery Pleasant.'
'Yes, you are, Remus. Everyone is.'
'You have failed to cooperate with a Sanctuary investigation, and furthermore, you are an obstruction to said investigation. I'm placing you under arrest.'
Crux produced the handcuffs with a flourish. China sighed and allowed her hands to be shackled behind her back.
'Once again, you're concentrating on the wrong people. First it was Skulduggery and now it's me, when the people you should be after are the Diablerie. Why are you doing this, Remus? Are you afraid of challenging them? Is that why you're going after everybody but them?'
'You will lead me to the enemy. You're working with Pleasant--'
'If Skulduggery was Batu, then he wouldn't have brought in Fletcher Renn in the first place, would he? He'd have locked him up until he needed him.'
'Your attempts at logic are as pathetic at your attempts at seduction.»China laughed. 'You have my word, Remus: I have never tried to seduce you.'
His face reddened. 'You've made a huge mistake in underestimating me, China. You chose to believe that I am not a man of my word. I told you what would happen. I made it quite clear. But you haven't helped me, and so I must go public with your secret.'
'I don't know where he is,' she insisted.
'It's too late.' Crux took her by the arm and escorted her to the door.
'Remus, listen to me. No matter what you think you know of what happened, no matter what you were told, it isn't the whole story.'
'You can tell your friend that when he finds you,' Crux replied. 'I'm sure he'll be in the mood to listen.'
'You don't know what this could do,' she snarled.
He smiled back at her. 'I have an idea.'
Crux opened the door, and there was a man standing outside.
'Hello, China,' Jaron Gallow said.
He walked in, and Crux quickly backed into the apartment, taking China with him. She wrenched her arm from his grasp.
'You're part of it,' Crux said to her, as Gallow gently closed the door. 'You're all part of it. You're all working together.'
'You're absolutely right, Detective,' Gallow said, a small smile on his lips. 'Everyone is in on it. It's a conspiracy the likes of which you have never seen. China, Skulduggery Pleasant, even the Grand Mage. We were going to invite you to join us at Aranmore Farm for the final act, but we took a vote and nobody wanted to ride with you. Please don't take it personally.'
Crux snapped his hand against the air, but Gallow moved out of the way, hooked his foot under the coffee table, and sent it into Crux's chest. Crux staggered and went for his gun, but Gallow twisted it from his hand.
'Not much of a fighter, are you?' Gallow asked, and threw the detective across the room.
Crux tumbled and spun. He was panicking. Gallow was blocking his escape route. Crux must have known he didn't stand a chance against Gallow, because he turned and ran for the window. He leaped, crashing through the glass and falling from sight.Gallow strolled over, eyebrow arched in quiet amazement. He leaned on the sill, looking out, and smiled.
'He's alive,' he said. 'He's not crawling away particularly fast, but he's alive. It looks like his leg is broken. Possibly an arm. Can you hear him screaming? Unusually high-pitched.'
'Why are you here, Jaron?' China asked.
He turned to her. 'We can't be stopped--I hope you realize that. In an hour we'll have Fletcher Renn, and then we'll be at the farm, and the gate will open, and we'll win. Just like we were always meant to.'
'You're inviting back an angry race of gods who hate us. I hope you realize that.'
'Have faith, China. Maybe they will rule, maybe they will scorch, maybe they will obliterate, or maybe they will just simply be. It is not our place to question them. A long time ago you told me that. You told me this world belongs to them. We've overseen it for millennia, and now it's time to give it back. You taught me well.'
'You were an excellent student,' she admitted. 'But if you're trying to get me to return to the fold, I'm going to have to disappoint you.»'Is that what you told Baron Vengeous when he asked you? '
'Something along those lines, yes.'
