“I couldn’t stop him.” Vadim stared down at the scene below them, which was now being dealt with by the hospital staff and the authorities. “It was as if my magic bounced off.”
“You’re bleeding.” She touched the corner of his mouth. “Maybe it did. Maybe that dude Adam got to Brad while we were having dinner.”
Vadim swore softly and walked toward the door, glass falling from him like raindrops. Two of the hospital security team pushed past him and surveyed the ruined room and began to take pictures. He paused by the empty chair outside the door.
“Where’s Delia?”
She seems to be in a trance. No one can wake her.”
“Perhaps I should go and see her.”
Ella grabbed his sleeve. “Hold up. You haven’t told me exactly what happened here yet.”
“Isn’t it obvious? You said it yourself. Someone got in here and killed our patient.”
“Did Brad say anything to you? I thought I heard him shouting when I was coming back along the hallway.”
Vadim let out his breath. “He said an SBLE doctor told him he would never regain his true face even after plastic surgery.”
“
He got out his handkerchief and dabbed at the blood now dripping from his lip. “Someone got in here, convinced Brad his life was worthless and set him free to kill himself.”
“And by someone, I assume you mean Adam.” She took his injured hand and he sucked in a breath. “Come on, we need to see the security footage and get you fixed up.”
“But what about Delia?”
“She’s being guarded by SBLE security. I doubt they’ll be quite as easy to fool. You can go and see her in a minute.”
He allowed himself to be marched down to Ms. Phelps’s office and sat in a chair while they waited for Mr. Feehan and the police. Jose came to check out the state of his hands and face and applied warm cloths to his skin and then a thin layer of white glue, which he peeled off after it set, bringing most of the tiny splinters with it.
“I think you’ll be okay now, Vadim.” Jose rose to his feet. “When you get home, take some painkillers and have a long bath. That should loosen any other pieces. If you see any reddish or swollen sites, come back. You might have an infection.”
“Thanks, Jose.”
“You’re welcome.”
He was quite capable of healing himself, but in present company, he didn’t want to draw attention to his magical powers. Frustration boiled under his skin. He felt far too exposed. Had he spent so much time controlling his powers in this world that they wouldn’t respond to him any more? Feehan arrived, his thin hair blown wildly around by the wind, a smudge of red sauce on his knitted sweater.
“Are you all right, Vadim?”
“I’m fine. I can’t say the same for poor Mr. Dailey.”
Feehan took the seat opposite him. “What happened?”
“The SBLE version, or the one I’m going to tell the police?”
“I’ll handle the police. Tell me how you saw it.”
“Someone got in to see Brad by bespelling the nurse and pretending to be an SBLE doctor. This ‘doctor’ told Brad his face was unfixable and that he’d always look like that. Brad believed him and decided to jump out of the window.”
“Damn.” Feehan shook his head. “This is not going to go down well with our head office or with the Dailey family.” He hesitated. “Um, we don’t have doctors in the SBLE, do we?”
“No.” Vadim pressed his handkerchief to his lip again to stem the bleeding. “Where’s Ms. Walsh?”
“I passed her in the hallway. She’s gone to find the security tapes, or whatever they call them nowadays, for this floor. We’ll bring them back to our office to review.” Feehan patted Vadim’s knee, making him flinch. “Let’s hope we get an image of that so-called doctor.”
The sound of an altercation at the door reached Vadim’s ears and he looked up. Ella was toe-to-toe with one of San Francisco’s cops.
“He’s not ready to be interviewed. Can’t you wait until we’ve cleared up our part of the investigation before you start on yours?”
“I’m okay, Ms. Walsh.” Vadim waved the police officers over. “How can I help you?”
He told them the cleaned-up version of how Brad had been standing on the windowsill, threatening to jump, and that despite Vadim’s efforts, he hadn’t been able to reach Brad in time to stop him. The officers seemed okay with that, nodding as he described Brad’s fragile mental state and his often-expressed desire to die. The hospital records would confirm his words. It was contrived, but at this point, it was in everyone’s best interest to believe that the death was viewed as a suicide—everyone apart from Brad, his family and the investigating team of the SBLE, of course.
The police officers departed to check in with the medical team in the ER, where Brad now lay. Vadim shoved a hand through his hair and dislodged another shower of shards.
“You look like the Christmas fairy.” He looked up to see Ella standing in front of him, arms crossed over her chest, her expression fierce. “Are you really okay?”
Her mind tentatively touched his, and some part of him relaxed. “I’ll be fine.”
“Feehan wants us to go back to the office. Do you want me to put him off until the morning?”
Vadim got to his feet, aware of a thousand small pinpricks of pain stirring in his still-tender skin. He felt like an old man. “I’d rather get this out of the way while it’s fresh in our memories.”
“Then at least let me drive. Your car’s still here, isn’t it?”
He dug in his pocket and handed her the keys. “You don’t actually use the key. The door will unlock when you approach the car. You start the engine by putting your foot on the brake and pushing the start button.”
“Got it.” She jangled the keys in her hand in a manner guaranteed to set his teeth on edge. “Do you want me to bring the car around to the front of the building?”
“I want to see Delia first, and then I want to see Brad’s body.”
“Sure. I’ll come with you.”
He halted, his hand on the back of the chair. “You don’t have to follow me around.”
“Yes, I do.” She raised her chin to meet his gaze. “Let me show you where Delia is.”
Ella studied the nurse. Delia looked as if she were having an excellent nap. Only the fact that her eyes were still open gave a clue that it wasn’t exactly a natural kind of sleep.
“Can you get her out of it, Morosov?” She still whispered, even though she knew Delia couldn’t hear her.
“I’m not sure.”
Vadim sounded exhausted. She had the strangest urge to pick him up, wrap him in a blanket and take him home to bed. Not that he’d be any use to her there, but at least she could hold him close and look after him...
“Ms. Walsh, what’s wrong?”
Had her horror shown on her face? A ministering angel she was not. Damn Vadim for putting her in touch with her feminine side.
“Is she in a Fae trance?” She concentrated hard and found it impossible to penetrate Delia’s mind. It was as if a thick fog surrounded her thoughts.
“Yes.”
“And?”
“I’m not sure how to break the spell.”
Even though the only other personnel in the room were SBLE, Vadim spoke as quietly as she did.
“But you can do everything.”
“Not this time.” He removed his hand from Delia’s. “If she’s not better in the morning, I can try something more radical. I just hope that whatever our murderer did will eventually wear off. He has no motive for killing her.”
