14 February 1875 of the 6th Era, The Iron Giant

  “Following what I had heard during yesterday’s dinner, I was really looking forward to your lecture, Professor,” Lady Flowers sighed as she sat down in the armchair and diligently straightened her skirt. The dress she was wearing today was just as exuberant, made of high quality silk and decorated with golden embroidery. “How truly unfortunate. And poor Ms Glancy. I was given to understand that her death is somehow related to necromancy? Is that correct, Mr Holmes?”

  Antony carefully watched her, once again assessing his previous observations. She only addressed Alex because he opened the door for her. Then, without much delay, turned to the one she believed to be in charge.

  “Autopsy will tell for sure, but preliminary examination does indeed point towards some sort of poison imbued with necromantic energies,” Dorian replied.

  “Oh, how terrifying,” she clasped her hands. “And the killer is still at large? Among the passengers? Does that mean that we’re all in danger? And… I take it, there was no way to accidentally concoct such a brew? Say, by mixing a few harmless components one would have at hand?”

  “Mr Placek and other members of the SIU on board are conducting searches, as you have probably noticed. And they are professionals, believe me. I’m certain that if the killer still has any poison on them, Mr Placek and his team will find it,” Dorian took some time to consider her second question. His voice sounded maybe but a fracture less confident when he replied, “We have no information on the exact alchemical composition, but I am yet to hear of anything even remotely necromantic in nature getting created with the help of, say, common cleaning solutions that are used by the staff here. We have inspected all of the bottles. Of course, we might still discover a thing or two once we arrive in Stolberg. We don’t have any proper testing kits and only have one trained alchemist among our ranks, Lord Weinmann, who stated that he had little experience with poisons, and zero experience with poisons based on necromancy. However, he found it quite impossible, and I trust his judgement.”

  His overly official tone seemed to placate Lady Flowers, if only because it became more of a buzzing sound to her a couple of words into his monologue. Still, she was unable to fully let go of her worries.

  “In that case, how did someone manage to smuggle it? Our belongings were thoroughly checked when we were boarding the train. Unless, of course, someone received special treatment,” she cast an almost accusatory glance at Charlotte.

  “No such thing. Even my father had to present his suitcase for inspection,” there was no indication in her tone that Lady Flowers’ remark bothered her. “It is, however, a valid question, and one we will have to solve if we wish to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.”

  “If we had any doubts about Lady Dawntreader’s innocence, we would have detained her already,” Dorian came to her defence. “And we would definitely not have put her in charge of the investigation.”

  “But of course,” Lady Flowers turned to Charlotte, “you did mention you were an exorcist. I will gladly answer your questions, even though I don’t think I can be of much help.”

  “Simon, if you would.”

  Lady Flowers frowned, turning to Antony now.

  “Of course. If you would allow, I would like to ask you a few questions about Ms Glancy and Mr Flint.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Let us start with the simple. How did you and Ms Glancy meet, and how well did you know her?”

  “It was during one of my poetry salons. A half a year ago, maybe? Not sure who introduced her to me. Possibly Professor Stein, as she often recommends new and aspiring authors.”

  “From what I was told, the award Ms Glancy received would mark her as someone, how should I put it, not exactly new to the scene?” Antony looked at Professor O’Neill, who nodded.

  “True. However, I had never heard of Ms Glancy, and was just as surprised as everyone else when Professor Stein mentioned she was a laureate of that award. I guess she wrote under a pseudonym. That happens often,” Lady Flowers elegantly waved her hand. “Mind, I do try to keep up with the scene. After all, what kind of hostess would I be if I knew nothing of the subject?”

  Lady Flowers suddenly stopped, lowering her head and frowning, then biting her lip.

  “Is something wrong?” Antony looked up from his notes, puzzled by the silence.

  “It’s just that… Now that I think of it properly, I’m not sure I’ve ever read anything by Ms Glancy,” she finally confessed. “Truly, so uncharacteristic of me. Usually I do my best to pick up a few works at least to be able to start a conversation.

  “Yes. Now I remember. It was definitely Professor Stein who originally introduced her to me. Simply brought her to one of the events that I was hosting. Back then, I found Ms Glancy such an interesting conversation partner that I invited her again. And then once more. And then she became a bit of a regular for a few months.”

  Her account of events confirmed what Mr Flint had just told them.

  “I’ll need to ask Ms Maxwell for more details. That is my secretary,” she added helpfully, seeing the blank faces of those present.

  “She is not accompanying you?”

  “It was a short trip to Lindau. She was of no use to me,” she dropped the last sentence carelessly, as if she were talking about an item, not a person.

  “I hope my question does not sound offensive, but what were you doing in Lindau?”

  “Not at all, Mr… Dahl, wasn’t it? I was visiting a distant relative of mine on my mother’s side. Initially, it was but a three day trip, and I was planning to return to Stolberg via teleportation. But then Mr Perkins offered me to try out this new toy of his,” she lovingly waved her hand around, indicating that she was talking about the train. “He’s done a lot for my family throughout the centuries. For me, it is hard to imagine that he knew my great great great great – and who knows how many more “great” I need to add here – grandfather all the way back during the Great Mana Draught. Obviously, you people are on the other side of this equation, watching us fade away akin to fireflies on a July morning. You’re probably unable to fathom how we manage to achieve anything given how short our lives are.

  “I just could not decline the invitation. Both because I respect him and because this truly felt novel,” seeing Antony’s puzzled expression, she added, “I don’t get to travel by train much, as I rarely leave Stolberg and prefer teleports for any distance that cannot be reasonably covered by carriage.”

  “When did you decide on the trip? I mean, to visit Lindau. I was told that Mr Perkins sent his invitations at least six months in advance, though perhaps I was wrong.”

  “Well, you somehow got on this train last minute. I’m certain that your name was nowhere to be found when I boarded it in Lindau, and I don’t think I ever heard your name mentioned by anyone, either,” she said, somewhat annoyed, but quickly regained her composure. Antony’s questions were beginning to get on her nerves, and Lady Flowers kept looking at Charlotte, as if expecting her to take over the conversation. Yet, the latter remained cryptically silent, merely observing the exchange. “To answer your question, I made my initial plans about a month ago. Then, last week as I was already in Lundhaven, I chanced on Mr Perkins at a ball held by Lord Seaspire. Is that name familiar to you, Mr Dahl?”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “I have heard of him. I believe his events are on the grander scale, almost rivalling those of the Royal Palace.”

  “That is very apt. Who knows, perhaps one day you, too, will get to experience that splendour,” she said sarcastically. “Well, amid enjoying the buffet and having a very pleasant conversation about Enua’s politics, Mr Perkins suddenly asked me when I was planning to return to Stolberg. I mentioned having scheduled a teleportation, and lo and behold, it just happened to be on the day when The Iron Giant was supposed to begin its journey. And then, completely out of nowhere, he offered me a spot. I’m not sure why he did that. Perhaps someone had a change of plans at the last moment, and he did not want to see empty compartments? Who knows.

  “It was a very quick decision on both sides following that. Does that satisfy your curiosity, Mr Dahl?”

  “Fairly. And what about Mr Flint and Ms Glancy?”

  “Frankly, no idea. I do vaguely remember Mr Flint mentioning something about The Iron Giant. He is a well-known name in the mana crystal industry, after all. Not as big as, say, Lr’mon’s Manufacture or Ms Sharrock, but there can be only so many big names, right?”

  “Mr Flint told us that he was about to decline the invitation, but you talked him out of it.”

  “Did he?.. Right. That did indeed happen. He complained that he did not know a single soul on that train,” Lady Flowers nodded to her own thoughts. “When I told him I was also coming, he changed his mind.

  “As for Ms Glancy, I did not expect to see her at all. Was even more surprised when I saw her on the platform in Lindau,” she shrugged. “Maybe Mr Perkins will be able to provide more information? He did put together a rather weird list of passengers. For one, I expected to see Mr Lr’mon. Ms Sharrock’s engine would never have been possible without the advances he made, from what I understood?”

  “He is indeed a pioneer in mana crystal technologies, and a true genius,” Dorian chimed in. “From what I know, Mr Perkins did invite him, and so did Ms Sharrock. He politely declined both times stating a busy schedule.”

  “How interesting. And Lord Blackwater?”

  “What about him?”

  “He invested ten thousand pounds into this, didn’t he? At least so the rumour goes,” she hastily added.

  “According to his secretary, Lord Blackwater is presently on a trip to the Western Continent,” Dorian replied, his face becoming perfectly blank. “It is the first time I hear of such a sum coming from his pockets. Quite… curious, but then again, the man is a visionary, and him showing support for new technologies is hardly surprising.”

  Antony remained calm throughout that exchange, even though it took him a lot of self-restraint to not correct Lady Flowers. Ten thousand was Andrew’s initial investment in Mr Perkins’ endeavour about a decade ago. Now, the total sum probably ran up to five times that, and those were just the numbers that went through him. Who knew what documents Andrew conveniently “forgot” to show.

  Instead, he carefully asked, “Lady Flowers, as I mentioned, just before we invited you here, we were visited by Mr Flint. He claimed that he had been cursed, talked about uncanny streaks of bad luck and weird knocking sounds on the windows, to give a few examples. Do you know anything about that? He was almost inconsolable.”

  “Oh, that,” she dismissively waved him away. “George is just rather impressionable when it comes to ghosts.”

  “Is he?”

  “I can tell you so many stories,” her annoyance immediately evaporated, and she leaned forward a little, cheekily winking at Antony. “Truly. He is the greatest coward the world has ever seen. He sees a black cat? He is destitute for the entire day, jumping at shadows, and only calms down when something bad actually happens. Say, something falls down and breaks, or he trips over a pebble.

  “One time, we were having dinner at Lord Cooper’s estate, and he suddenly started shrieking like a little girl. One of the servants was a winterborn sylph, and he briefly saw her reflection in a gilded vase, mistaking it for a ghost. I… hope you’re not offended by such a comparison, Lady Dawntreader.”

  “Not at all.”

  Lady Flowers paused, as if hoping that Charlotte would finally enter the conversation. That did not happen, so she continued, “Obviously, George is much older than me, him having seen over a hundred summers. But he’s quite young for a dwarf, I guess? Not sure how age converts for them. Still, he is much more impressionable. Much easier to manipulate. Not when it comes to his business, but mention anything connected to the Other World, and he’s on the brink of fainting.

  “He did say that he heard some knocking on his window during the very first night. Then he claimed he saw a ghost in the mirror some time later. I’m certain that the knocking was just some branch or other. We passed through a forest earlier that day, one could have gotten stuck on something. As for the mirror… Honestly, if he mistook a sylph for a ghost, that ‘apparition’ could have been a cloud or a lonely sheep on a hill, for all I know.”

  “He strongly believed that he was cursed. Do you know who could have suggested that idea to him?”

  Lady Flowers thought about it, “My guess would be Ms Glancy. Truly, the poor woman. I did not get to know her well, but unlike George, she was fascinated with everything connected to Undeath. She once even mentioned that she had a large collection of poetry about ghosts and apparitions.

  “Mind, I don’t think she meant ill when she told George that all of his recent misadventures seemed uncannily connected. A harmless observation that he took a tad too seriously.”

  Just like Mr Flint, Lady Flowers, too, pointed out that Ms Glancy was fascinated by all things unnatural, and Antony could not help but wonder just how far that fascination truly went. If he hadn’t seen the masked intruder, by now, he would have probably been entertaining the possibility that Ms Glancy was the original owner of the poison and took it by accident. And the lack of a vial or any other vessel that could have contained the poison? Obviously, Ms Glancy got rid of it, as she was planning to poison someone else. It is just that the Lady of Luck, or, perhaps, one of the Lords of Misfortune, was not on her side that day.

  “Do you remember when she suggested that?”

  “A few days into the trip. I think when Mr Flint complained yet again that he tripped over a carpet in the corridor. Mind, I suspect there’s a tiny crease there, as I, too, almost lost my balance in roughly the same spot once or twice. I did inform the staff about it. Nothing unnatural.”

  “Alright. Lady Flowers, I understand that you are not that well acquainted with Ms Glancy, but I still must ask you this. Do you know if someone wished her ill? Threatened her?”

  “No,” she replied without a moment’s pause. “No such thing.”

  “Yesterday, when the illusion appeared in the salon,” Charlotte sharply raised her head, looking directly at Lady Flowers, “Ms Glancy almost cowered when she saw it. Do you know why that happened?”

  “Are you sure she did that? I would have expected her to jump for joy. Well, I… I’m not sure, either,” she rubbed her shoulders as if she were cold. “I didn’t even notice that. I was looking at the illusion, just like everyone else. And the lights exploding. That was terrifying. Maybe that was what scared Ms Glancy?”

  “Not impossible,” Charlotte continued to eye her with suspicion, but Lady Flowers stubbornly lowered her head, indicating that she had no further plans to continue this discussion. “Very well. However, if you do remember a name or two, or maybe a rumour, please let me know. Ms Glancy is dead, and our task is to find out who and why killed her, and bring them to justice.”

  “I most definitely will, but truly, I have no clue who might have wished her ill. She was a quiet, amicable woman. Even when George drove everyone around him up the wall with his, how to put it nicely, exuberantly flawed theories regarding some poetry pieces, she remained mellow. Even tried to find angles where his assumptions could be viewed as plausible, if not reasonable. He never appreciated that openly, of course, but I’m certain he deeply regrets it now. If you have no more questions,” she expectantly looked at them, saw everyone shake their heads and stood up. “In this case, I will see if the SIU is done inspecting my room, and if they aren’t, I will move to the restaurant. It’s just a couple of hours till we reach Stolberg anyway.”

  Once Lady Flowers left the room, Antony spent a minute turning the pages of his little notepad, getting his thoughts together and trying to make sure he had not forgotten anything. Finally, with a quiet sigh, he asked, “Did I accidentally offend your grandfather? Or say something otherwise inappropriate to draw this level of ire?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me Blackwater was a major investor?” Dorian barely managed to keep his voice down.

  “Frankly, I thought you knew. Andrew didn’t talk much about it, but I don’t recall him making a secret out of it, either. I hope that now both of you understand even better why Mr Levy had to politely decline the invitations,” Antony replied grimly after prolonged silence.

  “An audit on behalf of Lord Blackwater, even if you tried to deny that. Of course. The last thing I want is Mr Perkins dropping dead from a heart attack. He could completely misinterpret your involvement.”

  “In this case… Who shall we invite next, Mr Perkins or Professor Stein?” Professor O’Neill stood up.

  “Professor Stein for sure,” Dorian fell back in his armchair, folding his arms on his chest and closing his eyes. “I need to regain my senses before I can look Mr Perkins in the eyes.”