COLIN BRADFORD

SLIGHTLY SUNNY, MAINLY OVERCAST

That morning, Colin had woken up afraid that there might have to face another victim of the maybe-Serpent Society. He had not slept very well throughout the night, and thus he had been almost glad to be sent out of the police station all morning. He had spent hours at the doctor’s laboratory, where Alfred Hughes and Viola Wood’s autopsies had been carried out.

The sight of their bodies, lying on the tables in the cold room, had turned his stomach, even as they were covered with a white, pristine sheet.

He had brought Clare along with him, as his partner, and had regretted it almost instantly, only to find that she was perhaps handling the whole thing much better than he was. At the very least, she was a much more talented actress than he had thought and given her credit for. The young woman had not turned, not retched – nothing. She had remained professional, asking clever questions and watching the bodies when it was required, even if she quickly turned her head away whenever she could.

The feelings of gratefulness at the idea of being away from his desk had definitely not lingered for long indeed. But he was still secretly glad that he was not alone to go through this.

Walking next to him out of the laboratories, Clare exhaled deeply, tilting her head upwards so that she could breathe in fully the cold air that surrounded them. It did not matter that it was not exactly the most comfortable sensation – this was better than the stickiness of Death that they had been stuck with all morning.

“I thought that it would never end.” Colin admitted with a slight chuckle.

Clare turned her head in his direction, even if he could barely see her eyes under the edge of her hat. “Me neither. I don’t know how my stomach survived this, but I’m glad I only had a light breakfast.”

“Oh, yes. I was wondering how you could keep your composure so well.”

“Trust me, inside I was screaming for mercy.”

He laughed, even if he was still impressed by her self-control. How come this was her first leading position? Could no one see how greatly she behaved through the highs and lows of their duties?

Colin knew a few inspectors from the station that would have thrown their stomach up or fainted. Maybe both, even.

“Let’s see, then.” He started again, shoving his hands into his coat pockets and cursing himself yet another time for having forgotten his gloves.

He truly was tired indeed – and preoccupied, mainly.

“Let me guess: what do we have now, Miss Hampshire?” Clare offered, a faint smile dancing on her lips even as she was not looking in his direction anymore.

He chuckled. “Touché.”

Colin noticed that the young woman was not holding her notebook, as it was often the case – he assumed that she had tucked it into her satchel, for safekeeping and so that she could keep her hands warm inside her pockets, too.

So maybe she had a good memory, too, to be added to the growing list of qualities he found her every new day they happened to work together.

It felt like it was not close to the end, too.

“We now know for sure that Alfred Hughes died from the bullet in his head, unsurprisingly. Likewise, Viola Wood was beaten to death, primarily in the upper half of her body, and she…” She took another breath as she hopped over a large puddle. “She probably choked on her own blood, as it is.”

“The analyses cannot establish whether the crimes were committed by the same hand, but there is still that common thread that links them together.”

“The exhibition.” Clare concluded.

He nodded, looking up at the cloudy sky. If the wind could brush away those clouds, it would surely be sunny – at least a little.

That would definitely feel good. Not only was winter well on its way, if not already established, but he felt as if a bit of sunshine would help with the general morale. Death loomed around, and it could be a heavy burden to carry.

It only got heavier with time.

“There’s another common point.”

When he glanced down at her by his side, he noticed that she was pursing her lips. She did not look very happy by that last remark, and he could tell that she knew what he had meant by it.

Still, despite her obvious feelings about his ideas, the young man continued.

“The mark.”

Clare sighed. “The mark.”

She still was not convinced, despite the fact that they had indeed checked both bodies, and Alfred Hughes and Viola Wood had a discreet snake imprinted into their skin, something that Colin had genuinely never seen before. They had struggled to spot the marks, though, as they were already disappearing and fading away – in that, he considered himself lucky to have spotted it the first time, the day before.

He and Clare had also managed to make a much better sketch of the symbol, too – her drawing skills were infinitely more advanced than his. She would not be the next Picasso, but it was still much better than anything he might have done, so he was not complaining in the slightest.

“Think about it.” Colin said, and it was not the first time that he said those words today, both in his head and out loud. “Now that we know that it’s a symbol that they have in common, both cases are linked by default. If the Serpent Society truly is behind it, then it means that the victims were either killed by that group, or gang, or whatever they might call themselves, or they were part of it.”

“Like… what? A secret identification?” Clare raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, something like that.” He nodded. “Look, I know you’re not completely convinced.”

More like not convinced at all. Somehow, it only gave the young man more drive to have her sold by his idea – he desperately needed someone on his side, and if that person could be his partner, that would have been ideal indeed.

“I just feel like you’re going at this very fast, maybe you should find some sort of preliminary proof that you’re on the right track about this?” She asked, and it made sense.

It was sound advice, by any mean, and something that he should probably pay more attention to. Truthfully, he was scared of that hypothesis, too, because he had no idea what was waiting for him. He was going forward with it literally blindly, but… he could not not do it.

There was this burning sense of curiosity gnawing at his insides, and the young man just needed to figure it out. He would never be sure of the truth until he looked.

There was no way back now.

“No offence, Colin, but just because we saw a snake doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s about the Serpent Society. Which, incidentally, has been quiet and silent for years, now.”

He glanced at her again. “Did you actually do some research about them?”

She shrugged. “A little bit. It’s not easy to find information about them. The hard part is to figure out what’s true, and I’d venture in saying that there isn’t much of it anywhere.”

“Maybe yes, maybe no.” He shrugged back at her. “I know that I’m shooting in the dark, here, but what else am I supposed to do?”

Clare actually looked up at him in mild bewilderment at that question, and he almost laughed at her face. “Go to the library and catalogue the snake symbols across history?”

He gave her a look that conveyed his feelings better than any word might do. “And run the risk of having ten more victims while I bury myself inside encyclopaedias for weeks on end?”

She sighed deeply, and he knew that he had somehow scored a point there.

“I’ll start with the Society. If it doesn’t work out, if they’re innocent, or if I can’t find anything at all, I’ll start over with another secret society that might be behind a snake symbol.”

It sounded better when he said that in his mind, actually – right now, he felt like a lunatic who had just found a new obsession.

Maybe he was walking on a tight rope, after all.

“But if it’s enough to get killed, do you think it’s worth pursuing this?”

Colin met Clare’s beautiful green eyes, and he could tell that the words meant nothing – but they sort of did, still, at least enough to have her speak them out loud.

“You can’t be saying that seriously, now, can you? We’re inspectors. Our job is to seek and pursue danger. So that we can stop it.”

She sighed, defeated. “I know that. I’m just… concerned. It feels too hasty to me.”

“I know.” Colin conceded. “But on the other hand, we already have two bodies on our hands in less than a week. I don’t want any more than that.”

“Maybe that’s naïve, maybe we won’t get any more than two?” The young woman tilted her head to the side.

“I hope so. But if we have a trail, I’ll follow it.”

She frowned. “What if you created it?”

That was a good point.

He had no answer to that.

Truthfully, all he could truly do was follow said trail and see where it would take him. In an ideal world, everything would go smoothly. In an even more ideal world, he would be able to bring people on his walk with him, least of which Clare and Kit, even if they still were not convinced.

It just meant that he had to work harder.

It was not impossible, just potentially dangerous. He could not blame Clare for not being easily persuaded, and he did not even think that it had anything to do with fear at this point. He just did not have any proof of his hypothesis, and he was going in blind, following his instincts.

If his father heard about that too soon, he would be dead meat.

The two young inspectors remained silent for the rest of the way back to the police station. Once they were there, Colin watched Clare walk about to her desk with her bag and her notebook, ready to start dissecting the evidence they had collected so far.

He probably should have followed her at this point, but instead the young man walked in another direction, ignoring most of his colleagues or merely greeting them with a faint nod as he passed by their desks.

He found Marlene sitting down, hard at work. She looked up when she heard him come closer and smiled when she recognised him. The young woman truly was one of those beaming, bright people who could light up a room with just their smile. She had red lipstick on, which made her smile that much louder, and her appearance was, as always, absolutely impeccable, with her short bangs and high bun, elegant clothes and simple makeup.

Sometimes, Colin feared that she, too, was subjected to their colleagues’ wrath, like Clare was.

But he had never seen something of the sort.

“Hi, Marlene.” Colin said quietly when he had her attention.

“Hi, Inspector Bradford!” She replied, animated.

“By any chance, did you have time to go over what I gave you this morning?” He asked, not quite sure how he could ask for results without being impolite.

Marlene had only had a few hours to take care of the assignment he had given her, and she was not his personal assistant. He was fairly certain that she had plenty of work as it was.

“Yes!” She nodded eagerly, and something in Colin’s chest collapsed a little with relief.

Things would be alright.

“I was trying to finish this quickly for you, but then I got distracted by Paul and his search for the best present for his girlfriend. It’s her birthday soon, you see. Did you know?”

Colin blinked – it seemed that their archivist had fallen into yet another loop of gossip and tales. “… No, I didn’t know that.”

He was not sure that he cared either, but that was never something that he could say out loud.

“Well, we talked a little bit about it, and then I tried to suggest good ideas for her…” She tapped her chin thoughtfully, her eyes glossing over for a bit as she surely remembered the earlier interaction. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to have your help, too, if you have any idea!”

Colin nodded when she focused her attention on him once more, and they stared at each other for a heartbeat or two.

The young man could not even feel any tension between them – it was just awkward and unnecessary.

“Marlene?” He asked.

The young woman seemed to have lost herself in her thoughts again, her gentle and soft eyes lost on his face. He was not quite sure that she was actually looking at him anymore, too. Whatever Paul had done to her had been soporific, it seemed.

“Yes, Inspector?” She asked.

“If it’s ready, could I have the list you compiled for me, please?”

Marlene laughed in embarrassment as she scrambled over the papers on her desk. “Oh my, absolutely, I’m sorry! My head was in the clouds or something!”

So it seemed.

“Here it is!” She brandished a thin piece of paper that was covered with elegant handwriting. “I did my best in the time I had, so you have a good start with a few names, but obviously the list is not exhaustive.”

“It’s alright.” Colin took it with a faint smile, his eyes roaming over the names. “Thank you, Marlene. I appreciate it.”

She grinned, pleased. “My pleasure!”

Before she could embark him in another round of gossip or small talk, the young man thanked her once again, sincerely, before escaping to his desk. He sat down and grabbed his glasses, looking down at the names Marlene had found again; he took his notepad and opened it to prepare his next move.

That morning, upon arriving to work and just before leaving again to go to the doctor’s practice with Clare, Colin had asked Marlene for her help. He needed someone to compile a list of questionable individuals that were known by the police – not to arrest them, but rather to ask them questions about the Serpent Society.

Naturally, he had not told that part to their favourite clerk. Instead, he had just asked for a list of people they often went to when they needed intelligence.

In exchange for protection or advantages – even money, sometimes – even the most vicious of criminals were willing to talk, and Colin knew that it had happened in the past. Was it completely ethical? No, probably not.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

But if it worked for his case, he was going to use it.

There were seven names on the paper that Marlene had given him – some of them he already knew, while others were new to him. The young woman had added the people’s address and, if that was more relevant, the places where they would be easily found, based on past experiences in the station or simply rumours.

Colin would not be able to see everyone today, and he might not see everyone at all. But he was determined to at least find and meet two of these criminals in the hours he still had left of work.

The first name he wrote on his notebook was Gilbert White. He knew that man, having arrested and interrogated him a few months back after a series of attacks in the city – Gilbert had not been convicted, but he was still on the police radar as the officers on duty had never quite been able to trace with precision how far his allegiance to the real criminal had been.

As a measure of precaution, they always considered him a bit dodgy, especially when he offered information or intelligence.

Colin would go to him with the same level of cautiousness, if he could find him today.

The second person he added to his target list was a woman named Elaine Williams. She was a well-known thief in the city, who had recently turned around so that she could use those skills whenever the police needed her, provided that she stopped her insane activities on a personal level. Colin had never managed to be sure that she was holding her end of the bargain, but at least she made herself available whenever they needed her.

As such, he would find her.

The young man rubbed his brow in embarrassment. While he knew that officers and inspectors sometimes had to resort to questionable methods to get answers to their questions, he also felt out of his depth.

Even to his own senses, his theory sounded a little far-fetched, especially without proper clues. So what would his colleagues say if they heard that he was using valuable resources for something almost personal?

Worst of all – what would his father think? Chief Superintendent Bradford had done wonders at making people almost completely forget that Colin was his son, treating him like any other of his men under his command, but… the fact remained that they were father and son. They had lunch on Sunday together. He was the man he called whenever he needed a piece of advice or some help, even if he had distanced himself as he grew up and independent.

If his boss was disappointed in him, his father would be, too, perhaps even more so.

Colin was not sure that he would enjoy that. As a matter of fact, the idea filled him with a dread so violent that he almost felt sick, sitting at his desk just thinking about it.

“Colin!”

The young man jumped on his seat and glanced up in surprise and fright. Instantly, his gaze fell on Kit’s familiar green eyes, a shade different from Clare, now that he thought about it. He also had a worried expression on his face, which brought the young man back to reality in a rather quick way.

It was the first that he had seen of his friend today, and already Colin could tell that Kit was having enough of their workday. His jacket was off, suspenders on display, and his hair looked like he had run his hands through it way too many times – there was no way to recover from that look at this point, which probably explained why he ran with it, apparently.

Still, no one ever made fun of Inspector McGill for the way he might look when he was head deep into an intense investigation. Maybe it came from his dark aura, perhaps it was his scar, or maybe his broad form… Colin did not know.

But Kit was one of those men you did not come to bother. Even someone who did not know him or about him knew better than to go and try their luck.

“Yes?” Colin asked.

“I’ve been calling your name at least ten times!” Kit frowned. “Are you alright, Mate?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Sorry, I was… in my head.”

“Yeah, clearly, and it’s apparently quite the chaos up there.” He tapped his temple with his index finger, the look of concern not quite going away from his expression.

Colin tried to smile in apology. “I’m sorry.” He repeated.

“It’s alright, you just scared me, I thought you were having a stroke or something.”

He snorted. “I’m alright. How can I help you?”

“I was coming to see if you wanted to have lunch with me in one of the conference rooms, but that’s not even a question anymore, you need to have lunch.”

“I’m fine, Kit.” Colin shook his head.

He was actually trying hard not to laugh at his friend – his preoccupation was touching, if anything, even if it was misplaced and a little too intense.

Still, everyone should have someone to look out for them. To Colin, this was Kit.

“You were staring at nothing, your eyes glossing over, and you look like you haven’t slept in eight days.” The other young man shook his head. “You can say what you want, but you’re going to take a break and eat something.”

He frowned faintly. “Remind me who’s older between us?”

Kit raised an eyebrow. “Not working, we’re the same age. Now get up.”

Colin sighed but obeyed nonetheless. He made a neat pile with his documents and placed them tidily back into their folders, carefully hiding Marlene’s list inside his notebook. Then, he followed his friend away from his desk.

When he looked around to see if Clare wanted to join them, she was nowhere to be found.

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It took an hour, his whole packed lunch plus an apple that Kit stole from the basket in their small kitchen area for Colin to manage to reassure his best friend on his mental and physical state. They talked about everything and anything that was not the case, and it was true that the young man felt more energised when he headed back to his desk.

Kit was in charge of questioning some of Alfred Hughes’ relatives this afternoon, which was why Colin could not feel his hawk-like stare following him through the open space.

The young man reached his desk and grabbed his things, shoving them in the small messenger bag he sometimes used while he was travelling to and from the police station. In a matter of minutes, mainly because he did not want anyone disrupting his groove with questions or small talk, he had gathered his papers, grabbed his coat and hat, and he was heading out.

He did not quite know why he was so nervous, in the end – no one even batted an eyelash as he walked past his colleagues’ desks.

The young man barely felt better outside the premise, but it was still better than nothing. He headed out and downtown, hoping to catch Gilbert White first.

The aging man was leaving in a relatively cosy area of the centre, and Colin half-believed half-hoped that he would find him there at this hour.

It did not take him very long to reach the right address, and entering the building was much easier than he could have dreamed of, given that the door was unlocked. Some habits were hard to change apparently, but Colin could not help but wonder if that kind was truly safe.

He saw no one on his way to the first floor, yet still asked himself whether he should have brought someone along with him, just for safety.

White and Williams were not dangerous people per se, and they had never – at least to his knowledge – meddled with violent business or conflict. But what if an inspector’s surprise visit triggered Gilbert?

What if he was not the only criminal in that house?

Colin should have thought of that earlier.

He still knocked on the door and took a step back, waiting patiently, regretting his gloves once again.

Gilbert White appeared, his pale, wrinkled white head popping into the slit from the door slowly opening, then left ajar. His pale grey eyes took in Colin – tall, young and looking surprisingly fresh and innocent for someone who had already seen the bad side of humanity a little too intimately.

“… Yes?” He asked, frowning.

“Mister White, good afternoon. My name is Colin Bradford, I’m an inspector with the police, and I’d like to ask you for your assistance in answering a few questions, please?”

The man paled even more than before, eyes widening in surprise at Colin’s words. The young man could see all the confusion and worry they filled with, and he felt a little bad – at his age, maybe White’s heart was not so strong for such emotions.

“You’re not being investigated.” He quickly added, shaking his head. “My request concerns your knowledge. Since you’ve helped us in the past…” He let his voice trail, not quite sure how far he was willing to go just yet.

It worked, though, and Gilbert White visibly relaxed, even if a little, at his words. “Oh.”

If he could trust the glint slowly making an appearance in his pale eyes, Colin even thought that the old man was already feeling smug about being consulted.

“Are you coming here for a favour?”

The young man tried not to wince at the obvious implications. If Colin was indebted to this man, he was putting his and the station’s responsibility on the line. It was always the deal, but he had thought that extending the settled agreements would be enough.

Maybe he had been wrong, then.

Maybe Gilbert White had grown greedier since the last time they had managed to make a deal.

Colin did not reply, but it seemed like the older man did not need much to keep going.

“What will I get in return, boy?” He asked – was he thinking that just because he was young, Colin was going to bend before him? “I want something valuable.”

The young inspector had no idea what to banter for. He did not even know if it was worth it anymore – maybe Clare had been right, and he should have gone to the library first.

“It depends on what information you give me.” He taunted, clearly stalling, but not quite sure about what else to do.

Gilbert chuckled, and it sounded horrific. “Boy, if you think that you’re going to coax me into working with you without some sort of gain, you are sillier than I thought by just coming here in the first place.”

To be fair, Colin was starting to question his own intelligence, at this moment.

“Very well.” He conceded. “My apologies for bothering you, Sir.” He bowed his head in mock reverence, before taking another step back.

When he straightened his back once more, White had lost his cocky façade, and he was looking at the young man as if he had just stabbed him in the back and was leaving him behind to bleed to death.

“Wait.” He opened the door a little wider and took a step forward – inside, it smelled like soup and warmth. “You’re just going to leave? Just like that?”

Colin shrugged. “It was foolish of me to think that I could ask for your knowledge. I’ll find it somewhere else, I’m sure.”

He could not quite believe that this stupid act was working.

“Wait.” Gilbert said again, narrowing his eyes at him. “Fine, tell me what you want. I’ll give you my price after.”

That was better than nothing. “I want to hear what you have to tell me about the Serpent Society.”

Colin did not have to watch his face carefully to see how shocked Mister White was – this time for real. There was no trace of smugness left in his expression, and the gaze he set on him was filled with very real fear at that moment.

“Oh, then I know nothing.” He said too quickly, too sharply, shaking his head vehemently.

Colin frowned, definitely taken aback by that reaction. “Are you sure? Because you look…”

“I’m sure.” Gilbert took a step back, retreating into his apartment.

“Do you know anything at all about them, then? Any rumours, any…”

“Nothing.” He gripped the door a little tighter. “I don’t know anything, and I don’t want you to talk to me about them.”

“But…”

“I’d like you to leave now.”

Now, that was a plot twist that Colin had definitely not seen coming.

“Mister White…”

“Just leave.”

And without further ado, Gilbert White, criminal extraordinaire who had been smug as all hell minutes earlier at the idea of having the upper hand over him, scurried back into his home and slammed the door shut in his face.

Colin remained unmoving for a moment, flabbergasted and speechless. Part of him wanted to pound his fist on the door so that he would open again, but something in the old man’s expression had triggered him somehow.

The fear that he had seen there was not something that could be faked. He had genuinely been terrified of what he knew about the Serpent Society – to the point of not sharing that knowledge with him.

What kind of group instilled so many dark and negative emotions in someone? Surely it could not be good, which meant that there was something to dig there.

If he was afraid of disclosing anything, it meant that there was something dodgy about power plays and influence. It was either that Gilbert White could not tell him anything because he had been urged to, or because the price he would have to pay for that was too big.

Maybe he was on the right track, then.

Still, once again he was reminded of Clare’s earlier words – it sounded much more dangerous now that he was faced by the obvious reluctance from an actual criminal. To have someone who was already in trouble be afraid of getting in more trouble for speaking… This was bad.

Really bad.

With a little luck, however, Colin might still have a chance at this. He looked down at his list and checked the next address. Maybe he should have selected more names for this afternoon, if all his chosen ones were to slam the door in his face.

As the young man exited the building and walked into the cold all over again, he could not help but feel as if time had gone back – he felt as if he was back to his lost, confused self during the first year of his career, when he was just a fresh boy who had great ambition and a lot of dreams.

He did not know where that boy had gone, but right at this moment he felt as unsettled as he had been back then, as if each step could be his last – which was ridiculous – and as if he would lose his job if he made the tiniest of mistakes.

Of course, he was walking on eggshells right now. But he needed to believe that he was safe, too. Because he was.

All he had to do was keep walking, because Elaine Williams was next on his list.

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Colin’s ventures brought him to a crowded, dirty pub, and he was not the most excited about that turn of events. Naturally, the young man enjoyed a beer occasionally, but his privileged ass tended to prefer more upstanding establishments – probably because of his profession, but that was a reason he was still trying to feed himself.

The point, at that moment, remained that he felt completely out of his depth, and he probably looked like he did not belong in that place at all.

This time, however, and perhaps in an attempt to reassure himself, he knew who he was looking for.

Elaine Williams was sitting at the bar, holding her chin in her hand, and it felt like she was bored, even as Colin could not see her face from where he was standing. She was a small woman, with an appearance as inconspicuous and innocent as they came, in a way. She was brown-haired and was dressed in a way that might make a few men frown if the population here even cared a little – women in trousers were still not a completely established practice around here.

Despite his own opinion on the matter, it made sense to Colin: if she needed to make a quick exit, it was always more comfortable to run like that than in a dress or a skirt. At least, he imagined so.

She also had a light way of letting her fingers trail and dance on the rim of her glass, still filled with amber liquid – she was known for the fast reflexes, and perhaps was she trying to tame her anticipation.

Or she was plotting her next robbery or pickpocketing.

Because he did not want to risk losing her to anyone else or her unlawful activities, Colin did not waste time and went forward, reaching the counter in a few feet.

He ordered a beet when the barman came close, before turning his head towards Miss Williams – she was not looking his way, either because she had not seen him, or being she was ignoring him.

From a closer look, Colin could see that time had not quite been kind to her – her skin was pale and dry, lining her forehead and the corners of her eyes. He figured that a life as a thief was perhaps no life at all, all things considered, and she probably lived with much grief in her heart.

“Hi.” He started.

She glanced at him. Her light brown eyes ran over his face, his hair, which had been slightly messed up from the weather outside, and Colin could tell that she was trying to remember him from somewhere – but they had never met before.

“Hi.” She replied eventually, her voice a little rough, but mainly low and inviting. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Is it?”

“Sweet boy, looking like a deer that’s been caught by hunters…” She chuckled and took a sip of her drink. “What is it that you want, hm?”

“What makes you think that I want anything?”

Miss Williams narrowed her eyes, apparently not in the mood to waste any time. “Have you listened to any word that I just said? Speak now, boy, because I might not have so much patience for you in no time.”

Colin sighed. He felt a little disappointed in himself at this moment – so far, he had met two potential helpers, informants in this case, and he felt like he had messed up with handling both of them. It had been a little while since he had last done any field work where he had to be charming and convincing, and he was clearly more accustomed to interrogating people.

A burning feeling of shame coursed through his insides.

But he had made his bed now, so he might as well lie in it.

“I work with the police.” He stated quietly, nodding at the barman when he brought him his beer.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Elaine Williams smile faintly. There was a lot of satisfaction in this expression.

“Do you want action, or do you want words?” She asked.

Colin frowned faintly. “You’re not going to ask for more than that?”

“Look.” She turned towards him. “I often help the police. You might not be used to it, because I sure as hell have never made a deal with someone like you, but I get paid good money to help the way I do. I’d be stupid to turn it down in our economy. It’s not all love and daisies for everyone, in case you didn’t know.”

The young man sighed. “I am aware, Miss Williams. My apologies if I insulted you.”

She laughed. “Boy, I need more than that to feel offended.”

Colin took a swig of his beer for good luck. His nerves were too erratic at this moment, and he felt fidgety – never again was he going to take actions behind everyone else’s back if that was how he reacted when he did it.

He was a mess.

Inside, granted, because he could still behave normally, but still. Nothing about this moment, whether it was the way his palms were sweating, or his heart was beating erratically, was pleasant.

Far from it.

“So, tell me.” Elaine Williams prompted him again. “Time is money, and I need to get going.”

He sighed once more, before turning to her; from an outside perspective, they probably looked weird like that, not quite facing each other and not quite facing the counter. “I need information.”

“I have plenty of it. Go on.” She replied without blinking.

Now, Colin understood why this conversation was truly making him uncomfortable. Of course, there was the problem that he was doing this slightly illegally, at least behind everyone else’s back.

But mainly, it was because Elaine Williams was not afraid of what he represented as a law enforcement official, and she was clearly taking him for the twenty-five-year-old young man that he was.

In short, it felt like he was talking to his mother.

And anyone knew that a mother was impossible to fool.

“What do you know about the Serpent Society?”

At that point, the young man felt like he had managed to surprise her, at least. Just like Gilbert White before her, Elaine’s eyes widened in surprise at the name, but she did not run away like she had just been cursed. Instead, she tilted her head to the side, watching him with renewed interest.

Her gaze was unreadable, and Colin was reminded of Clare as he looked at her.

Perhaps thinking about her would make this moment a little less painful. She always did plenty of things that she did not like, he was sure. Every day, she came to work knowing that someone would trick, mock, or humiliate her.

But she never backed down.

So why would he?

“Well.” She took another sip of her drink. “That’s a question I wasn’t expecting. Especially from someone like you.”

Colin started. “Why?”

“You’re too sweet for this. Do you have any idea of what you’re asking?”

“No.” He answered sincerely. “That’s why I am. I only know… legends. If you wish to call them that.”

She hummed. “I don’t know if I would go that far. In my opinion, the Society does exist.”

That was all Colin needed to perk up a little, finally energised after feeling so down at his own performance.

Maybe he could redeem himself now.

“Does it, now?” He asked. “What can you tell me about it?”

Miss Williams chuckled faintly, shaking her head. “You need to understand that only someone who is part of the Society could tell you the truth with absolute certainty. But once you’re part of the group, you don’t get out. And if you betray them…” She looked back up and met his eyes. “Let’s say you’re not in your capacity to say anything anymore. If you know what I mean.”

It was rather clear. Colin nodded as she swallowed hard, taking another swig of his beer to somehow help pass the discomfort.

“What do they do?”

She sighed. “It’s not clear. Again, I’ll only repeat what other people say, you know?”

“That’s a good start.” He refused to sound like he was begging, but maybe he was begging a little.

“They serve their own justice.”

Colin went still, but while he frowned, he did not say anything so that Elaine Williams could keep going, uninterrupted.

“They perhaps behave like vigilantes of sorts.” She continued. “When the official system fails, you can be sure that they’ll be on the case to literally bring whoever they want to justice.”

“Why don’t they let us do it?”

She glared at him. “Because you don’t. How many criminals have been spared because they knew someone who could influence the police, because they had enough money to buy everyone’s silence, because it would be impractical…? The system is corrupted. Only a fool would say that it’s not.”

He swallowed the lump in his throat, but it did not go away. It only felt like it was growing bigger, if anything.

“So the Society takes care of them. I think that it was initially set up by victims who had been wronged and betrayed, but I never really got confirmation of that. To be fair, if you start digging into them, you will find trouble.”

“If they’re vigilantes, how come they’ve been silent for so long?”

Elaine looked perplexed at the question. “What do you mean, silent?”

“It appears that they’re starting to act up only now, which would mean that no one had heard from them or seen their work in literal years. Why?”

She laughed and shook her head. “You are a fool, boy.”

That stung, but Colin only clenched his jaw.

“The Serpent Society has never stopped working since the day it was set up. It is always looming in the streets, threatening in silence, acting behind closed doors.” She raised an eyebrow. “If you think they are coming out again, then we should all be afraid. Because they don’t appear for nothing. They must have a very good reason to risk exposure and disclosure.”

We should all be afraid.

Colin knew, despite the obvious discomfort that he was feeling, that he was somehow on the right track. It made sense, there was no other explanation.

They must have been behind the murders of Alfred Hughes and Viola Wood.

But why?

If they were bringers of justice, what did they think Hughes and Wood had done that had gone unpunished?

“Do we know who is a member?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Of course, there are rumours about that too, but we’re not going into that.”

“Why not?”

Elaine shook her head, leaning slightly closer to him, her eyes intense and slightly terrifying. “If you dig, they’ll dig back. They are dangerous. If you can’t stay away, you need to be ready to fight, and I’d rather not have them chasing me around town.”

Colin almost shuddered.

“Did that answer your questions?” She asked, her tone lighter as she straightened up and finished her glass.

“It’s… a start.”

“Good.” She threw some coins on the counter and got up. “My advice would be to keep a low profile and to drop whatever you were planning to do. The Society is not worth it. But they’ll take everything you hold dear if you think you’re better than them.”

Which was exactly why Colin needed to win this. There was no other way.

Because he knew he had had the right intuition.