I
appreciate it.”
“My pleasure,” he said. “I used to love this
sort of thing when I was on the force, except when it was kids. I
mean, not the death, but the puzzle, you know? It’s good to keep
the skills up.”
“So you said you could estimate cause of
death, how about this one?”
He winked. “That’s what the maggot’s
for.”
Susan looked at the jar and wrinkled her lip.
The maggot writhed around inside, looking for more garden fey to
eat. She found it even more disgusting than the corpse. She’d never
realized that investigating a murder would be so disgusting. “Any
idea what killed … him?”
Brian shook his head. “Broken neck, it looks
like. I don’t know if it’s pre- or post-mortem. A lab could find
out. I gotta warn you though, that costs a lot of money.”
Susan pulled her lips in. “Well, thanks
anyway.” If only there were a way of using magic to find things
out.
“It’s not hopeless, Susan. You can still
gather some facts.”
“Like what?” She put the lid back on the box.
It made it smell a little bit better.
“You can find out about their habits, basic
facts. What kind of gnosti is this?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. Some kind of
garden fey, I guess, by his size. I’ve never seen one like this
before.”
“That should tell you something, right? It’s
unusual. You’ve never seen one like this before. Could it be from
out of town?”
Susan shook her head. “Garden fey are very
local, from everything I’ve heard. Major ley lines are a barrier
for them, so they evolve into subspecies.”
“Who might know something about gnosti? Who
can see them, besides mages?”
“Anyone born with the sight, or anyone who
takes the time to learn.”
“Try ASU. There’s bound to be some grad
student who’s making garden fey his dissertation or something.
Offer to buy a grad student dinner and he’ll tell you
everything.”
“Thanks Brian.”
“See you Monday.” He waved her out. “And give
that thing a decent burial, will you?”
Chapter
Five
Griff sold all the wands that Alex gave him
in three days, and he gave everyone his number in case they knew of
someone else who wanted one, or if they wanted another one when the
first ran out. He drove home feeling stoked, racing along on his
motorcycle (which he had missed, he decided), wondering if this
would be the job that could let him quit working for Harrower Bros.
His elation lasted until he got back to Alex’s house.
Alex opened the door, attention not wavering
from the television screen, and went back to the futon couch. He
had an exacto knife and a twig of wood in one hand, a pair of
earbuds dangling around his neck, and a remote control in the other
hand. The only one he was using was the remote. It wasn’t so much
multitasking as multi-loafing. Griff shut the door behind himself
and moved some food wrappers out of the way to make a place on the
couch.
“So, made any new wands?” Griff asked. He had
to ask twice, and even then Alex only answered because the
commercial break came on.
“No, man. I can’t make that many a day. It
takes a while.”
“How long does it take? Maybe I can
help?”
Alex scoffed. “You can’t do it.”
Griff stood up and walked between him and the
television. “Then explain it to me. How do you do it?”
Blocking the view of the television broke
Alex’s trance. “Okay, so, first you get some sticks, and you cut
them kinda short. Then you bury them in the ground for a few days,
and every day I put some of this stuff on it, this potion I
make.”
“How many days?”
Alex shrugged. “I dunno. A couple, three
maybe.”
“And what’s in this potion?” Griff turned the
television off and scanned the room, looking for something to write
on. One table had several boxed games, and a notepad with the
scores from what looked like Scrabble, but the pen next to it was
dead.
“Tea, some ink, three drops of attar of
roses. Grandma said it had to be three. Three
appreciate it.”
“My pleasure,” he said. “I used to love this
sort of thing when I was on the force, except when it was kids. I
mean, not the death, but the puzzle, you know? It’s good to keep
the skills up.”
“So you said you could estimate cause of
death, how about this one?”
He winked. “That’s what the maggot’s
for.”
Susan looked at the jar and wrinkled her lip.
The maggot writhed around inside, looking for more garden fey to
eat. She found it even more disgusting than the corpse. She’d never
realized that investigating a murder would be so disgusting. “Any
idea what killed … him?”
Brian shook his head. “Broken neck, it looks
like. I don’t know if it’s pre- or post-mortem. A lab could find
out. I gotta warn you though, that costs a lot of money.”
Susan pulled her lips in. “Well, thanks
anyway.” If only there were a way of using magic to find things
out.
“It’s not hopeless, Susan. You can still
gather some facts.”
“Like what?” She put the lid back on the box.
It made it smell a little bit better.
“You can find out about their habits, basic
facts. What kind of gnosti is this?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. Some kind of
garden fey, I guess, by his size. I’ve never seen one like this
before.”
“That should tell you something, right? It’s
unusual. You’ve never seen one like this before. Could it be from
out of town?”
Susan shook her head. “Garden fey are very
local, from everything I’ve heard. Major ley lines are a barrier
for them, so they evolve into subspecies.”
“Who might know something about gnosti? Who
can see them, besides mages?”
“Anyone born with the sight, or anyone who
takes the time to learn.”
“Try ASU. There’s bound to be some grad
student who’s making garden fey his dissertation or something.
Offer to buy a grad student dinner and he’ll tell you
everything.”
“Thanks Brian.”
“See you Monday.” He waved her out. “And give
that thing a decent burial, will you?”
Chapter
Five
Griff sold all the wands that Alex gave him
in three days, and he gave everyone his number in case they knew of
someone else who wanted one, or if they wanted another one when the
first ran out. He drove home feeling stoked, racing along on his
motorcycle (which he had missed, he decided), wondering if this
would be the job that could let him quit working for Harrower Bros.
His elation lasted until he got back to Alex’s house.
Alex opened the door, attention not wavering
from the television screen, and went back to the futon couch. He
had an exacto knife and a twig of wood in one hand, a pair of
earbuds dangling around his neck, and a remote control in the other
hand. The only one he was using was the remote. It wasn’t so much
multitasking as multi-loafing. Griff shut the door behind himself
and moved some food wrappers out of the way to make a place on the
couch.
“So, made any new wands?” Griff asked. He had
to ask twice, and even then Alex only answered because the
commercial break came on.
“No, man. I can’t make that many a day. It
takes a while.”
“How long does it take? Maybe I can
help?”
Alex scoffed. “You can’t do it.”
Griff stood up and walked between him and the
television. “Then explain it to me. How do you do it?”
Blocking the view of the television broke
Alex’s trance. “Okay, so, first you get some sticks, and you cut
them kinda short. Then you bury them in the ground for a few days,
and every day I put some of this stuff on it, this potion I
make.”
“How many days?”
Alex shrugged. “I dunno. A couple, three
maybe.”
“And what’s in this potion?” Griff turned the
television off and scanned the room, looking for something to write
on. One table had several boxed games, and a notepad with the
scores from what looked like Scrabble, but the pen next to it was
dead.
“Tea, some ink, three drops of attar of
roses. Grandma said it had to be three. Three
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