'No, Hawk, I still don't buy that. You saw the witch when she was talking about Blackstone; she all but worshipped the ground he trod on.'
Hawk frowned. 'That kind of worship can be dangerous. If something happened to disillusion her, and that worship turned sour;'
'Yeah,' said Fisher reluctantly. 'You're right, Hawk. Visage has to be a suspect.'
'Ah, hell,' said Hawk tiredly. 'Until we've got something definite to go on, they're all suspects.'
'Including Stalker?'
'I don't know, lass. Adam Stalker is a hero and a legend; but like Dorimant said, we're all capable of murder if we're pushed hard enough. And Stalker was definitely jumpy all the time we were talking to him.'
'So we count him as a suspect?'
'Yes,' said Hawk. 'He's killed often enough in the past, with good reason. Maybe this time he found a bad reason.' He sighed wearily, and stretched out his legs before him. 'I think we've done all we can, for the moment. Gaunt's isolation spell won't wear off until first light, so we're all stuck here for the night anyway. Let's call it a day, and yell for some help in the morning. A forensic magician should get us some answers, even if he has to set up a truthspell to do it.'
'Gaunt could set up a truthspell,' said Fisher thoughtfully.
'Yeah, I suppose he could, but we don't have the authority to order everyone to submit to it, and somehow I don't see them volunteering. There are some powerful people out there, Isobel. We're going to need some pretty solid backing before we can start pushing them around.'
'Right,' said Fisher. 'Come on, let's get out of here. The sooner we face our jovial bunch of suspects, the sooner we can pack them all off to bed, and then maybe we can get a little peace and quiet.'
Hawk nodded tiredly, and he and Fisher got to their feet. Fisher started towards the door, and then stopped as she realized Hawk wasn't with her. He was standing still in the middle of the room, head cocked to one side, listening.
'What is it?' said Fisher.
'I'm not sure,' said Hawk slowly. 'I thought I heard something. Something; strange.' He looked about him, frowning, and then his gaze fell on the closed door to his left.
'Forget it, Hawk,' said Fisher quickly. 'That's Gaunt's laboratory. It's private, and it's locked.'
'Yeah,' said Hawk. 'And Visage said she found it; disturbing.'
He moved quietly over to the door and pressed his ear against the wood. Fisher glanced quickly about her, and then moved over to stand beside him.
'Can you hear anything?' she asked quietly.
'No.'
'What did you think you heard?'
'I'm not sure.' Hawk straightened up and stepped back from the door. He frowned, and looked thoughtfully at the door handle. 'It sounded like a growl, or something;' He tried the handle cautiously. It turned easily in his grasp, but the door wouldn't open. He let go of the handle.
'Hawk,' said Fisher slowly, 'there's something strange about that door; I'm getting a very bad feeling about it. Come away.'
'Nothing to worry about, lass. The door's locked.'
'I don't care. Come away.'
Hawk nodded stiffly. He could feel the hackles rising on the back of his neck. Whatever it was he'd heard, it was gone, but still he knew, with absolute certainty, that there was something awful on the other side of the laboratory door. Something that was listening, and waiting for him to open the door; He stepped back a pace and the feeling was gone. He swallowed dryly, and looked away.
'I suppose you're bound to come across a few strange things in a sorcerer's house,' he said slowly. 'Let's get out of here.'
'Right,' said Fisher.
Hawk moved over to the main door, pulled it open and walked quickly out into the hall. Fisher stayed close behind him all the way, her hand on the pommel of her sword. Once out in the hall, they both felt a little ridiculous. Hawk shook himself quickly and pulled the library door shut. When he had a moment, he'd better have a word with Gaunt about his laboratory; He glanced at Fisher, and she nodded quickly. Hawk smiled wryly, and then walked confidently forward into the parlor, with Fisher at his side. The sorcerer and his guests looked at the Guards with a thinly disguised mixture of politeness and hostility.
'Thank you for your patience,' said Hawk. 'This part of the investigation is at an end. Everything else will have to wait until we can bring in the experts tomorrow morning.'
Bowman stepped forward a pace. 'Gaunt tells us we can't leave the house till morning, because of the isolation spell. Did you order him to cast that spell?'
'Yes,' said Hawk. 'I couldn't take the risk of the killer getting away, and I had no other means of ensuring that he couldn't leave the house.'
'But that means we're all stuck here!'
'That's right,' said Hawk. 'I suggest you retire to your rooms and get what sleep you can.'
'Are you saying,' said Hightower slowly, 'that because of you we have to spend the night here, when one of us may be a killer?'
'You can always lock your door,' said Fisher.
'That didn't save William,' said Dorimant.
'All right,' said Hawk sharply. 'That's enough. It's not a happy situation, I know, but there's nothing we can do about it. If you've got any complaints, you can take them up with my superiors in the morning. In the meantime, I don't think any of us are in any real danger as long as we act sensibly. I suggest you all go to your rooms and stay there. Fisher and I will be here in the parlor all night, on guard. If anyone feels at all worried, they have only to call out, and we'll be there in the time it takes to run up the stairs. If anyone starts moving about, we'll know. So I suggest that once you're in your room, you stay there.'
'What if I want to go to the bathroom?' asked Bowman.
'Use the pot under your bed,' said Fisher.
There was a slight pause as the guests looked at each other uncertainly. Then Katherine made for the door and the group broke apart. There was a muttering of good nights, and one by one the guests left the parlor and made their way up the stairs to their rooms. Hawk signaled for Gaunt to stay behind, and the sorcerer did so. When everyone else had gone, Hawk and Fisher looked steadily at the sorcerer.
'What have you got in your laboratory, sir Gaunt?' said Hawk bluntly.
'Odds and ends. Chemicals and the like. Why?'
Hawk scowled uncertainly. 'I felt something; something strange;'
'Oh, of course,' said Gaunt, smiling slightly. 'I should have warned you. The door has an avoidance spell on it, as a precaution. If you get too close to it, the spell makes you feel so uncomfortable and worried that you daren't try to force open the door. Simple, but effective.'
'Ah, I see,' said Hawk, trying not to sound too relieved. 'Well, sir sorcerer, I think that's all. Fisher and I will spend the night here in the parlor. One of us will always be on watch.'
'That sounds very reassuring,' said Gaunt. 'I'll be sleeping in my laboratory tonight. If you need me for any reason, just call. I'll hear you. Well, I'll see you both in the morning. Good night, Captain Hawk, Captain Fisher.'
He bowed politely, and left the parlor. Hawk and Fisher looked round the empty room.
'We never did get our dinner,' said Fisher.
'Yeah,' said Hawk. 'It's a tough life in the Guard.'
'Toss you for the first watch?'
'Your coin or mine?'
'How well you know me,' said Fisher, grinning.
Chapter Four
Secrets
Edward Bowman sat back in the chair by his bed and looked round the room Gaunt had given him. It was a comfortable enough room, all told, but the color scheme was a dark, disturbing shade of mauve. It looked like the
