Chapter Twenty-Nine #2
Grand General Devereaux tipped up her chin at Jade’s answer. She didn’t appear pleased, exactly, but the answer must have satisfied her.
“But Lady Arabella was fine, so I started to make my way back to the rafters as I assumed Lord Grannam and his associate would be on the move again. That was when Lord Martin of Waterstone fell from his box, which I don’t imagine was accidental. I believe the assassin was responsible.”
The air in the room chilled with nothing more than Grand General Devereaux’s icy stare.
“There is no reason to believe Lord Martin’s fall was the work of the same killer.
It doesn’t fit the assassin’s methodology.
The killer employs the use of poison, which has to be administered via consumed food or drink.
Lord Martin’s family confirmed the man had neither the entire time he was at the opera.
We also have no evidence that the man you heard speaking to Lord Grannam is, in fact, his assassin. ”
“Actually, I no longer believe that man is the assassin.”
Devereaux’s stare narrowed. “Why is that?”
“I don’t think the timing works for Lord Martin’s death. But I did see the assassin,” Jade replied, encroaching on impertinence with a commanding officer—and the grand general, at that. “Above the stage. I caught a glimpse of him when I went looking for Theo.”
“And I believe I encountered him in the flies.” Theo squared his shoulders as he spoke.
All eyes went to him, and Jade was thankful for the reprieve and support.
“Captain Ni’ihm found me shortly after I’d had a rope thrown around my neck in the flies above the wings.
I was stuck trying to keep it from tightening until Captain Ni’ihm discovered me and helped get me out of it.
” Theo’s eyes flashed from Devereaux to Jade, and the corners of Jade’s mouth curled in the barest hint of a smile.
“I also believe the culprit was the assassin responsible for all the murders.”
Hearing the tale from Theo’s mouth had Jade’s mind back in that moment, but with a different perspective.
If Theo truly was the assassin, could he have shed a cloak and gotten to that side of the stage that quickly?
He would have had to ensure there was a rope back there to tangle around himself as an alibi.
And if Theo was the assassin, he was a better actor than Jade had ever given him credit for.
She refused to believe it. Nicolas was getting under her skin. But his leads had never steered her wrong before.
The monotonous tick-tick-ticking of the clock grew to a roar as Grand General Devereaux seemed to ponder over the reports Jade and Theo had recounted. She drummed her fingers on the table, her nose high in the air.
“So you think the assassin and Lord Grannam’s associate are different people.
That is possible. But how would the assassin be involved in the death of Lord Martin?
” Devereaux’s tone held a mixture of curiosity and challenge as the rhythm of her fingers carried through the room.
“As I previously stated, he had consumed nothing that could have contained poison. He was not pushed. By all accounts, he became faint and lost his balance.”
Jade inhaled deeply through her nose, readying her words and preparing for Grand General Devereaux’s reaction, whatever it may be. “I believe the assassin is a sorcerer.”
The drumming on the table ceased. Devereaux froze, her narrowed gaze fixed on Jade. “Do you have any proof?”
There was an edge to the way Grand General Devereaux asked that set off an alert in Jade’s head, as though she needed to know what proof Jade had found rather than if she had found any.
“No, I don’t,” Jade replied, and she didn’t miss the slight release of tension in Devereaux’s shoulders. “Nothing except a sensation that came over me the first time I encountered the killer.”
Jade quickly recounted the tale from the night of Count Aubergine’s death. Only the tiniest flicker of reaction passed over Devereaux’s face—a clench of her jaw—and Jade didn’t know what to make of it.
When Jade had concluded, Devereaux brought her hands together again on the table, her fingers tightly interlocked. She paused, angling her head in thought before lifting her eyes again to Jade. When she spoke this time, each word came out quietly and slowly as if it carried a deadly secret.
“If this killer is truly a sorcerer, why would he not use the power of influence from his magic for all his murders? Why bother with poison?”
It was a question Jade had considered herself but didn’t have the answer to.
“I don’t know,” Jade replied, that now-familiar burn of failure coiling in her gut again.
“I think he has used magic in order to get around and gain access to his victims, but I can’t figure out why he always uses poison as his weapon.
It might be so that people wouldn’t suspect he is a sorcerer. ”
She cast a quick glance at Theo. He was no sorcerer. Jade had known him almost her whole life. In all that time, if he had been a sorcerer, some manifestation of it would have come out, especially as a child. No, Theo was no more a sorcerer than Jade, which sealed the opinion in her mind.
Theo was not the assassin. Nicolas was wrong.
Grand General Devereaux hummed, then turned to Theo. “Captain Redman, in your experience with this assassin, have you drawn the same conclusions?”
Theo sat forward, his forearms resting on the table. “I haven’t had the same kinds of interactions as Captain Ni’ihm has, but I support her position. In my opinion, it makes sense to assume that the killer is a magic-wielder.”
Jade could have hugged Theo. She would, after they left the meeting.
“It’s something worth investigating,” Grand General Devereaux said after a moment, shifting her focus from Theo to Jade. “But, unfortunately, we have nothing concrete to lead us back to the killer and currently no leads as to what Lord Grannam’s next move may be.”
“If I may make a suggestion . . . ” Jade moved in her seat to turn her attention to Commander Matherson.
She hadn’t forgotten what Nicolas had requested of her the last time they were together.
“I’ve cultivated a relationship with Lady Marguerite.
I can reach out to her and ask to pay her a visit, but only her.
The other times I have spent with her, others have always been around.
But perhaps if I can get her by herself, I could direct the conversation so she might divulge whatever she knows about her father’s plans. ”
Commander Matherson raised his eyebrows and turned to Devereaux, as if for confirmation. “This was ultimately the purpose of Captain Ni’ihm’s mission: to gather information from the royal family as a result of developing trust between them.”
Devereaux nodded. “Yes, we’ll set that up right away.” Pristine eyebrows arched over the sharp green eyes that cut Jade to her core. “No missteps, Captain. We need to know what Lord Grannam plans to do next.”
A thin smile stretched across Jade’s lips, her poor attempt at reassuring Grand General Devereaux that she would be successful. “Of course, Grand General.”
Information on Grannam for the military.
Information on Arabella for Nicolas. The two directions competing for Jade’s attention would have to battle it out in the moment whenever she met with Marguerite.
Perhaps she could get enough on each contender to satisfy both her commanding officers and Nicolas.
Either way, there was no question this conflict was drawing to a close. What remained to be seen was whether the ending would come about peacefully or go up in flames.