"That is really clever!" Ben enthused. "I mean, really...we do this sort of thing at the Yard with fingerprint powder because it takes an electrostatic charge really well. But to do this off the cuff with flour and get such clear definition..."

It had taken Athena and me most of the day following our investigation at the Fishers' home to catch up on our sleep, and we had missed not one but three Sendings from Ben inviting us to dinner. It had been highly amusing, flattering, and kind of sweet (in a weird sort of way) to wake up and have all three of them attempt to deliver their messages simultaneously the morning after he'd hoped to meet us.

The end result was this: lunch at Harrods. We were sitting together at (or under, in Artemis's case) a cozy little table set back in one corner of the cafe and had just finished a light meal during which I had explained why I'd never responded to his Sendings.

"I'd assumed you had a good reason," Ben said absently as he slowly turned the cabochon-cut quartz crystal I'd used to record the ghost's image. Then, more eagerly, he added, "This is simply fascinating! Are you sure it's a ghost?"

"Dead grass beneath it," I said, smiling across the table at him. I was amused by the enthusiasm he'd shown when I finished telling him my story, and had acquiesced to his request to see the image I'd recorded of the ghost. I knew we were drawing a few looks from the people around us, but I'd seen two architects using a similar spell to go over a building's floor plans when we arrived. So it wasn't that unusual.

"Mmm," he replied absently. "Tell-tale, but not definitive." He bent down and looked at it from a different angle. "This scar on its head..."

"If it was a literal scar," I pointed out. "We don't know that for certain."

"True, but it definitely looks like one," his eyes met mine through the translucent foot-tall image floating above the crystal. He smiled at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Alys, this is really amazing. The best forensic mages at the Yard could hardly do better. And you did this on the fly without prepared equipment."

"Athena helped," I said weakly, not sure how to respond to that kind of praise from someone who wasn't one of my teachers.

Athena snorted, but was purring quietly. "Honestly, Mistress, all I did was lay the groundwork for you. You did the heavy lifting, so to speak."

Ben sat back up, smiling at Athena. "But a good leader shares the credit with everyone who helped."

From beneath the table, Artemis huffed. <> she muttered.

Athena reached under the table and stroked her sister's head and ears gently. <>

Ben noticed the exchange and smiled at me. "Is Artemis feeling left out?"

I shrugged sheepishly. "There wasn't much for her to do except keep a look-out for us."

Ben leaned over and peered beneath the table at her. "Just you wait, Artemis," he said quietly. "Sooner or later, they'll get in a bind and you'll be the one to do all the important work."

Artemis purred and moved to rest her chin on his knee so he could pet her, which he did obligingly. <>

I rolled my eyes, but smiled in spite of myself. "We all had parts to play. Some more important than others. I'm certain that will change from job to job."

Ben nodded. "Very true." He continued scratching behind Artemis's ears as he returned his attention to the ghostly image. "So, did any of them recognize this?"

I shook my head. "Unfortunately, no. I'd hoped that it might be familiar to one or more of them, maybe even a criminal that Joseph Fisher had prosecuted at some point. But either the image isn't recognizable enough or..." I trailed off and frowned. "Or I don't understand at all what it was doing there."

"Why would a ghost attack a set of wards at random..." Ben said absently, slowly turning the crystal again. "Speaking of which, when we have time I'd really love to see a demonstration of your ward-stones. It sounds like a fascinating idea."

"That's very progressive of you," I teased gently. "My exam proctor was scandalized when I brought out a set of generic rune-engraved cubes to demonstrate ward construction rather than chalking a circle on the floor. I will never understand the Hermetic tradition’s aversion to using engraved rune stones. Norden spellcasters have been doing it since the dawn of time."

Ben grinned. "Let me tell you, chalking circles when it's pouring rain can be a tremendous pain. You might have to demonstrate these rune-stones for my supervisors at the Yard."

"Speaking of which," I said pointedly, "I got the impression that this wasn't entirely a social call."

Ben sighed and passed a hand over the quartz crystal, making the image flicker and fade away. "No, it isn't. I wish it were," He added with a smile, "as I quite enjoy your company." Then he sighed and slid the crystal back across the table to me. "No, I have a case on my desk that I could use your help on. It might be related to your mysterious Brenna, so I'd hoped you'd be willing to consult."

"Officially?" I was both curious and hopeful. Being an official consultant on a Scotland Yard case at my age would be a huge feather in my hat, and it would be great experience.

He nodded. "Officially. I filed a request for the paperwork to make you an official consultant yesterday. You can go over the public details of the case before deciding if you want to work with me on it."

I smiled my most innocent smile. "I can't see myself turning down an opportunity to work with you."

Ben flashed a happy, charming smile, but it didn't quite touch his eyes. There was something behind that smile, something bothering him, and I couldn't imagine what. Athena seemed to sense it too, because her eyes moved to meet mine and she raised an eyebrow.

<> she observed.

<> I agreed. <>

Artemis made a non-committal noise from beneath the table. <>

For his part, Ben seemed to have noticed our silent exchange. "What's the consensus? Care to join me at the Yard to have a look?"

I nodded. "We're all curious."

"Excellent." He rose, leaving money on the table for our lunch and hurrying to pull out my chair for me as I started to rise. His chivalry was old-fashioned, charming and amusing, and he's lucky I wasn't one of those silly young women who were offended by such things.

Honestly, if a man - or another woman - wants to do things for you like hold doors and pull out chairs, what's the harm in letting them? It's sweet.

It was a short cab ride to Victoria and the New Scotland Yard headquarters. Athena, Artemis and I were signed in and each of us was given a guest pass…the one for Artemis even had a special clip for attaching it to her collar. In a few minutes, we were ensconced in Ben's office.

His office wasn't very large, but it did at least have a window and was big enough for the simple desk, chairs and filing cabinets that filled it. A potted violet on top of the little table by the window was the only sign that he actually inhabited the office. He must have noticed my casual perusal for he immediately explained, "I don't spend a lot of time here," as he sat down behind the desk, "so it's a bit plain."

Athena and I settled in the chairs across the desk from him and Artemis sprawled across the doorway, ensuring that nobody would be able to get in without disturbing her. "That's all right," I said. "It just means you've been busy."

"Very," he agreed, pulling a case file from the corner of his desk and opening it. "There have been several murders in London recently that I could use your input on..."

He began flicking pictures across the desk to me, and with a jolt of surprise I realized that I recognized each of them. The first was of Eyepatch...the nickname I had mentally asigned the leader of the thugs who had attacked me, Athena and Artemis on the docks the previous October while we'd been collecting a package for Hollis. Three of the remaining pictures were of the other survivors of that incident. The final picture was of the exotic animals dealer I'd purchased Athena and Artemis from on my first day in London.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Surprise quickly turned to alarm and my eyes leaped from the pictures to Ben's face, narrowing as I fixed my attention on him. "Is this some kind of bad joke?"

I felt trapped. Had this all been some sort of trick to bring me in for questioning without a fight? I couldn't believe that Ben would do something like that.

Beside me, Athena shifted a little in her chair. We'd both come out unarmed today, seeing no reason to carry any gear just to meet Ben for lunch, so she was angling to be able to lunge across the desk if need be. I heard Artemis growl softly behind us.

Ben didn't seem to notice either my tension or theirs; his attention was entirely on the pictures as he shook his head. "No joke," he replied, pointing to Eyepatch and his thugs. "They were killed - torn apart, actually - three days ago. Smith Smithson here," he tapped Eyepatch's photo, "And there's an alias if I've ever heard one, was found behind a bar in the West End. His buddies were found a little way down the alley. They'd all been pretty well dismembered."

Three days ago would make it right after I’d returned to London. Was he seriously accusing me of murder? Or trying to get me to confess to the crimes? I had to be wrong, it just wasn't like him at all. Or maybe I'd misread him completely...I'd known him for barely a week and had only gone out with him twice. Maybe I was seeing what I'd wanted to see rather than who he really was.

He moved his hand and tapped the picture of the animal dealer. "Mr. Gerrik was found yesterday morning. It appears that one of his animals broke free and tore him to bits, but when the body was examined they found scorch marks consistent with lightning on his chest and arms."

"Surely you don't think I did it!" I was hurt, and it came across in my voice in spite of myself. I quite liked this young man and had already begun to trust him. I wanted to be right about my trust in him, and wanted him to like and trust me in return.

He looked up from the pictures and coolly replied, "Should I?" Then he winced and opened his mouth to say something else.

I cut him off, my chest tight and my heart aching. "Should you? How could you think that I'd do something like that? Besides, three days ago I was at the Central Library, you can check their security logs. Two nights ago I was busy at the Fishers' home dealing with that ghost I told you about over lunch!"

He sighed. "I know that," he said calmly. "In fact, until I saw the second case this morning, it hadn't even occurred to anyone that they might be related. You aren't a suspect and this isn't any kind of trap. I checked on your whereabouts over the past three days to make sure nobody could try to pin it on you."

"Then why did you ask...?" Athena started to ask, her voice echoing my bewilderment and hurt.

He smiled sheepishly, first at me, then at Athena. "I'm a police detective. It's an automatic response. Alys, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you might be a suspect. You're not, not in any way.

I stared at him for a long moment, then something clicked into place and the pain in my chest eased, replaced by confused amusement. "Let me get this straight...I'm not a suspect, but you're keeping tabs on my whereabouts?"

Ben shrugged. "It wasn't exactly hard. All I had to do was call the Central Library and have someone check with the Fishers. I called Hollis Ellister when you didn't reply to my Sendings yesterday because I was worried. That's all."

Beside me, I felt Athena relax, her amusement rolling over me. She was probably feeling my intense relief in return. I heard Artemis blow out a breath as she relaxed again.

I looked across the desk at Ben, unable to hide my amusement. "We need to work on your social skills," I said gently.

He blinked a few times, then looked embarrassed. "Oh. Yeah, I suppose I did bring it up kind of badly. I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "I'll let it go this time because I'm sorry I thought you were accusing me of having committed murder."

"It's fine," he said quickly, his eyes lifting to meet mine again. "I understand why you did, after everything that happened in Killarney. And now this...a bunch of thugs that caused you trouble right after you arrived in London, and Gerrik is the man who you got Athena and Artemis from, isn't he?" He folded his hands and leaned forward a little. "I really do want your help on this, especially since it looks to me like someone might be trying to set you up as a suspect again."

I considered for a long moment. It was unconventional, at best, getting me involved when someone was trying to make me look like a suspect. On the other hand, he might be wrong...after all, both murders had taken place at times when I had easily checked, air-tight alibis. It could be entirely a coincidence. And the ocean might turn pink.

Either way, there was a good chance I was already involved one way or another, especially if Brenna was behind it all. "If I say no, are you going to chain us up in your office?"

"Of course not," he said firmly. "My office isn't the right place for that."

I blinked and my mouth fell open just slightly. Then I saw his eyes were twinkling with mischief.

"I was going to wait until we'd had at least two more dates," he continued, "But if you're that eager..."

"Sounds kinky," I replied dryly, assuming my very best poker face. "You'd better check with Athena first."

"Could be fun," Athena said from beside me in a flat, almost lazy drawl that was perfectly identical to my own.

Artemis sighed from over by the door. I got a mental impression of her putting her chin on the floor and her paws over her eyes.

Ben laughed. "I don't think we're quite ready for that yet, do you?"

"Not quite yet," I agreed, letting my smile out finally. "Yes, we'll do whatever we can to help you."

He nodded, obviously relieved. "Good. I don't know for sure that this is the work of the same girl who attacked you on the train and demolished your home town, but somehow it feels right to me. And I know I'm not equipped to handle someone like her on my own." He paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Frankly, we have no hard evidence that these murders are actually connected. You're the connecting factor right now...it just seems like too weird a coincidence."

"I agree. At least I've been ruled out as a suspect," I said dryly. "Do you have any leads in either case?"

"With the murder of Smithson and his cronies, almost nothing of practical use," Ben replied ruefully.

As he spoke, he slid a case file across the desk to me. I glanced at the cover before returning my attention to him. "Just one thing...if there's a chance that your superiors might think I'm a suspect, I probably shouldn't be involved."

"They won't," he said with absolute certainty. "I’ve already put your whereabouts at the time into my first report, and noted that you were already working with me on another investigation."

"Killarney?" I asked, amused.

He nodded. "I mean, I do want your help with that too, and now it may be part of the same case anyway."

I returned his nod and turned the case file to face me. "All right, then. Let's get to work." With that, I opened the folder, flipped to the crime scene report...and immediately regretted it. "Oh my god."

Athena leaned over to look and sucked in a little breath. "Is that...what is that?"

"Four bodies," Ben said somberly. "In parts. All mixed together. It took most of a day to piece them together enough to make positive identifications."

Athena made a little choking sound and covered her mouth with her hand, leaning back from the pictures. I never would have expected a predator cat to be squeamish about a few disembodied corpses. But then, my own stomach was threatening to expel lunch, so perhaps she'd gotten the trait from me.

I swallowed hard and looked up at Ben. "The..." I swallowed again as my stomach roiled unpleasantly. "The cause of death is pretty obvious. Is there any indication of what did it?"

Ben gave me a concerned look. "Are you going to be all right? You look a bit pale."

How could he tell? My skin was so pale normally that most people never noticed. "I have to be, right? I'd better get used to this sort of thing."

He frowned a little. "I suppose so...but honestly, it's rarely this bad. These crime scene pictures made me want to head for the loo. This is much worse than we usually have to deal with, thank the gods."

Somehow, that made me feel a bit better. Evidently it helped Athena as well - or perhaps she was helped by my relief - because she lowered her hand from her mouth and sat forward again.

"To answer your first question though...no. There's no indication of what did it." He flipped a type-written sheet of notes over onto the pictures to show me the crime scene writeup. "There was plenty of blood splashed around, but no footprints, no fingerprints, and none of the splatter patterns indicated any interference."

"So they were torn apart," Athena said for me as I frowned over the report, "But there wasn't anybody there to do it." Her voice was almost eerily similar to mine normally, but now it was so identical to mine that it might as well have been me speaking.

Ben looked startled and confused for a moment, glancing back and forth between us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Athena tip her head pointedly in my direction and flash him a quick smile. He seemed to understand, because he directed his reply to me. "In a nutshell. What really bothers me is the absence of gaps in the splatter patterns of the blood. I've never run across a spectral killer in my line of work that was incorporeal enough for blood to pass through it without disruption."

I nodded slowly, having slid the pictures from beneath the report as I read over it. I wanted to compare their evidence markers - what few there were - to the numbered placards in the pictures. At the same time, my brain quickly ran through what I knew of the of the various types of incorporeal entities capable of doing something like this, and came up with the same answer that Ben evidently had…I didn’t know of any that were so incorporeal that liquid would pass through them undisturbed, while still being able to affect the physical world.

Athena pursed her lips before speaking for me again. "We're not aware of any that can. Generally, something completely incorporeal can't do that..." She gestured to the pictures. "And things that can do that by definition have to be solid enough to disrupt a spray of liquid at least a little."

I looked up from the pictures and picked up where she left off. "This is amazingly weird, Ben. What about the Gerrik murder?" I slid the pictures and report back into the folder, closing it.

Ben was watching us with an expression of almost child-like enchantment. "You two are unbelievably cool," he said finally. "Did you have to practice that?"

"It actually came pretty naturally," Athena replied with a giggle. "I did it one day without thinking about it while Mistress was eating lunch, and after that it just felt right."

"We did practice a little," I added. "Mainly because it's kind of fun. The Gerrik murder?" I asked pointedly.

He looked embarrassed. "Right, stay on topic, sorry."

Behind us, Artemis sighed. <>

<> Athena replied, giggling.

"The Gerrick murder," Ben repeated. "I don't even have a full crime scene report yet. I was hoping you'd be willing to go take a look. Everything is still pretty much as they found it, except that the body has been taken away for autopsy. The initial report, like I said, showed evidence of scorch marks consistent with lightning, so something has changed. Shall we take a look at where it happened?"

I nodded. "Let's go."