Grimoires and Where to Find Them by Raconteur, Honor (best affordable ebook reader .TXT) 📗

“Like me,” Walcott said humorlessly, his mouth twisting up in a parody of a smile. “Nothing obvious from what I saw. He did wear gloves, though. I thought it strange at the time as it was a very warm day, chalked it up to his profession, but…his hands might show signs.”

They probably did. Hopefully, that would help us.

Jamie gave him a nod. “You sit tight for a second while I get things arranged.”

I followed Jamie out, and it was only after the door closed that she and I shared a speaking look.

“A thief who’s been active for years and never caught,” I stated sourly.

“Which means he’s probably using various aliases, moves around the city a lot, and has an everyman face that people can’t recall five minutes later.” Jamie groaned, her head flopping back on her neck. “Oh, this will not be fun.”

I grunted sourly in agreement. “I’m calling Seaton. I want to double-check that good wards are up around each of the remaining grimoires and the owner’s houses until this is well over. I know the thief got around the palace wards, but I don’t think he can duplicate the same process in a house.”

“Yeah, harder to find a dupe there. Still, even with the grimoire owners on their guard, changing locations entirely might not be a bad call. They can bring their volumes to the station for safe keeping, or put them in a bank for the time being.”

“Also a good thought. I’ll suggest it to them.” I gave her a side-eye. “Knowing who this fence is would be a good in. I’d like to know Massimo’s acquaintances.”

“Yeah, me too. I’ll see if I can weasel it out of Walcott while he’s with the sketch artist tomorrow.” Jamie blew out a breath, looking stressed and harried. “And on that note, one, two, three, break!”

I came back into the station the next morning ahead of Henri, as I wanted to process Walcott properly now that people were back in their offices. He had been stubbornly mute on names yesterday, and I hoped to tap him again today to see if he would at least give me the name of one of Massimo’s acquaintances. Just something for a lead. I seriously had no idea where to find this man right now. After a night in jail, I hoped Walcott would be more talkative.

I drove in, as I had a feeling today would be one of those days I’d be darting all over the city. I parked in the lot and came in through the back door. As I slung myself off the bike, I spotted Colette coming out of the Evidence Building and gave her a wave.

“Morning.”

“Morning.” She waved back, then yawned and drank heartily out of the coffee cup in her hand. “Mercy, but it’s turning out to be one of those mornings already.”

Well, that didn’t sound auspicious. “Yeah? What’s happened?”

“Bunch of nothing that people are making into something, that’s what.” She paused at the door and waited for me to catch up with her. “You know how that sliced-up grimoire came in?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, everyone on staff in the Evidence Building is nervous about it. Keep wanting me to move it away from the other magical artifacts in storage. But I was here when Jere brought a staging box in—and it’s solid. I told them so. I ain’t moving it.”

She gave a decisive nod of the head, her multitude of braids swinging a bit with the motion. Normally, she kept her hair up in a two-tiered bun, but today it was in a high ponytail, and she wasn’t in her usual assortment of layers—just a plain tan skirt and white shirt. That told me she’d been in a hurry this morning.

I could make a few educated guesses. “Someone came in for an early shift, saw the box, and panicked? Called you in?”

“No, they bumped into the box, dinged a corner, became convinced it wasn’t sturdy enough to do the job,” she corrected on a long sigh. A lord-preserve-me sort of sigh. “As if scratching a corner of a wooden box is going to do anything.”

“Ah.” I had some sympathy for her. When people didn’t understand much about something, they tended to jump to the wrong conclusions. “Thanks for taking point on this kind of stuff. I know you didn’t sign up for this when you joined.”

“I daresay Henri didn’t either when he signed on.” Colette gave a shrug of her wide shoulders. “But it’s only fair to pitch in while he’s on a case with you. And I understand this one is a whopper.”

“Jere filled you in?”

“That he did. I don’t envy you the task of figuring this one out. Any leads?”

“A good one, actually. If you can call it that.” I made a face, wishing for strong coffee myself. “Long story short, a key witness named a man who he knows is a thief and obsessed with Radman’s works. Odds are, he’s the thief we’re looking for. I’m getting a sketch artist in this morning, but I’m also not holding my breath. My witness described the man as having a very forgettable face.”

“Oh, glory.” Colette offered me her coffee. “Need a sip?”

“Bless you.” I accepted the offering and took a healthy swallow. “I can’t linger. I’ve got ducklings coming in to meet me, but let’s catch up later. Dinner or something.”

“Sure, sure. I’d love to hear how this pans out. And reassure Henri, if you see him before I do, that we’re managing without him.”

I was surprised at that. “Really? Light week?”

“Not as such. Everything that’s come through this past week has been simple. No chance of a backlog building, so far.”

“Ahhh. Well, it was kind of the universe to cut you some slack.”

“I will take it with thanks.” She took her coffee back.

I was sad about that, but I was a grown adult. I could get my own coffee. We exchanged wry smiles, and I went ahead of her to my desk. I had