“And you have no appreciation for fine cinema,” Francis added, tossing the case aside and continuing to rummage through the stacks of magazines littering the floor.
Remy leaned back against the chair and again surveyed the room around him.
“We don’t have time for this,” he said, feeling his frustration rise. “We don’t even know what we’re looking for.”
“Nope,” Francis agreed, as he flipped through some magazines. “But I’m thinking we’ll know it once we see it—at least I hope that’s the case.”
Remy’s eyes drifted over areas that he’d already inspected numerous times, searching for something he might have missed. Then he noticed that Aszrus’ drug box had been returned to the table beside the recliner; Remy dropped his gaze to where Marley had swept it to the floor.
And that was where he saw it: a small corner of white sticking out from beneath the chair.
Remy bent down, pulling the item from where it had slid. It was a photograph—a Polaroid—and it showed a baby, probably a few months old. There was the impression of a thumbprint on the corner of the picture, where it had started to burn from being held.
“What do you have there?” Francis asked. He had found a beer in the dormitory refrigerator and had helped himself.
“I have no idea,” Remy answered, staring at the picture of the baby.
Francis took the picture as he drank from the bottle of beer.
“Cute kid,” the former Guardian angel said. “What’s it got to do with Aszrus?”
“I have no idea,” Remy said again, taking the picture back.
“You say that a lot.”
“Seems to be the go-to response for this case.”
“Think the one who brought you up here originally might know something?” Francis asked, having some more of his beer.
“Marley?”
“Yeah.”
“It couldn’t hurt to ask.”
Marley had retired to her room on the far side of the mansion. Remy and Francis found their way to it, knocked on the door, and waited.
“Come in, Mr. Chandler,” Marley called out.
Remy opened the door to find her sitting in a chair by the open window, the room rich with the scent of the sea. He could see by the way she craned her neck and positioned her head that she was reading his angelic aura.
“Oh, and you’ve brought a friend.”
“Yes,” Remy said as Francis entered behind him. “His name is Francis.”
“Hello, Francis,” Marley said. She had been reading the Bible and closed it as they entered. “You’re an interesting one,” she added, her blind eyes fixed upon where Francis was standing. “You’re dangerous, aren’t you, Francis?”
“And these are dangerous times, Marley,” Francis replied.
“Yes, I suppose they are,” she said. “What can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if there’s anything else about Aszrus that you haven’t told me,” Remy suggested.
Marley smiled. “Like what, Mr. Chandler?”
“Secret things, Marley,” he said. “Things like his room that he might have kept from the others but may have shared with you.”
The servant gazed directly ahead, blankly.
“I’m afraid I have nothing more,” she said.
“I found a photograph,” Remy told her. He took it from his pocket, staring at it once again.
Marley smiled. “The master had many photographs,” she said. “Often of things he most desired.”
“The picture was of a baby,” Remy told her.
“Perhaps he was thinking of acquiring one in the near future,” the woman said.
“Like a pet?” Francis asked.
Marley moved her head from one side to the other. “Some treat their pets as if they were children,” Marley observed.
“So you don’t know of anything else that might be useful to us,” Remy said.
“I’m afraid I don’t, Mr. Chandler,” Marley confirmed.
Remy noticed that her hand went to her throat, where the flesh had become blotchy, as if she was suddenly nervous.
“Are you sure, Marley?” Remy stressed.
He stepped closer, and watched her become all the more anxious.
Francis seemed to sense it as well. “You’re holding something back, Marley,” he said, his voice suddenly cold. He reached down, brushing the top of her hand with his fingertips.
She gasped, and pulled her hand away.
“Where there is warmth in the others, you are incredibly cold,” she stated. “There’s something missing in you.”
“You’re right,” Francis agreed. “I’ve fallen, so the grace of God has been missing in me for quite some time.” He moved closer to the woman, allowing her a better sense of his presence. “And you know what?”
He leaned in close, his mouth mere inches from her ear.
“I don’t miss it one little bit.”
Marley began to tremble.
“Francis,” Remy started, not fully comfortable with his friend’s tactics.
But the former Guardian held up a finger.
“What are you hiding from us, Marley?” Francis continued.
“I told you,” she said. Her teeth were chattering as if the room had become incredibly cold. “I don’t . . .”
Francis leaned in closer. Her body was trembling even more violently as her hand continued to fumble about her throat.
“It’s nothing. He . . . he gave it to me before he stopped loving us,” she said, her voice shaking, not with cold but with emotion.
“What did he give you, Marley?” Remy asked, motioning for Francis to step back, which he did.
“I was only to wear it in his presence, but . . .” Marley reached into her blouse and withdrew a gold chain; a black key dangled at the end of it.
“A key,” Remy stated. “He gave you a key?”
She nodded vigorously. “He said that when I wore it, I would be his special one,” she said, tears leaking from her blind eyes.
Francis fingered the key about the woman’s neck.
“This isn’t just a normal key,” he said. “I can feel the magick in it.”
“What’s the key to, Marley?” Remy asked.
She shook her head. “I . . . I don’t know,” she said, as if finding it difficult to catch her breath.
“Marley, please,” Remy insisted. “This could be extremely important.”
“I’m telling you the truth, Mr. Chandler,” she said, flustered. “I was only to wear it when I was with him, but I so yearned to be his special one all the time.”
Francis gave the chain a quick yank, breaking it. Marley let out a pathetic scream and leaned forward, attempting to retrieve her prized possession with flailing hands.
“Catch,” Francis said, tossing it to him.
Remy caught the key one-handed and felt it almost immediately—an electric shock as the special magick contained within the black metal reacted to contact with him.
And Marley reacted as well, going completely rigid in her seat.
“Do you see this?” Francis asked, observing the stiffened woman.
“Yeah,” Remy said, noticing something else. He moved closer to the woman. A blackened hole had appeared
