Page 23 of Arcane Entanglement
Dr. Ambrose Mortimer put the knife down and reached for the bone saw. “You might want to step back for this, gentlemen.”
Rufus and Evander moved away from the table.
“Did the Charm Weavers Guild mention anything else of interest about Millbrook?” Evander asked above the shrill whirr of the device. “Something that might give us a clue as to why he was murdered?”
Rufus pressed a handkerchief to his nose, his face pale at the sight of Mortimer retracting the two halves of the dead man’s breastbone and exposing the contents of his chest.
He’d never been a fan of necropsies.
“The guild master mentioned the victim hadn’t attended the last two guild meetings.”
Evander filed this information for future consideration. Rufus had officially handed the case over to him when he’d arrived at Scotland Yard at noon that day. The inspector would be staying on to assist him, as per the recommendation of the head of the Homicide Unit and Evander’s own commander.
“Did Millbrook specialise in a particular kind of magical artefact?”
“The guild master didn’t specify. All he said was that Millbrook’s clients tended to be aristocrats interested in having items with peculiar functions made for them.”
The image of the crystal vial danced before Evander’s eyes. He’d given the object to the Artificers’ department an hour ago.
Mortimer’s eyes narrowed behind his goggles a moment later. “It appears Miss Shaw was correct. Our friend’s arteries have indeed been drained of blood.” He poked around the thoracic cavity with a metal probe before looking up and meeting Evander and Rufus’s stares. “Whoever removed the heart did so with a precision that can only be attributed to a highly skilled magic practitioner.”
Evander exchanged a startled glance with Rufus.
“Do you mean to say the murderer has committed this kind of crime before?” the inspector said sharply.
Mortimer shrugged. “If he has, he’s either done a good job of burying the bodies or practiced on plenty of animals. I have never observed this calibre of magical excision before and I’ve done plenty of necropsies in my time.” The physical examiner paused. “Oh, and I noted something interesting when I examined the skull. He had suffered some kind of blow to his head before his death.”
Unease chilled Evander’s skin.
He’d been right about this case giving him a bad feeling.
He walked over to a worktop and picked up the specimen vial containing the black substance they’d recovered at the scene of the crime.
“What of this? Any idea what it could be?”
“Oh. You mean this thing?”
Rufus gagged a little when Mortimer pulled out a long, stringy, dark clot from one of Millbrook’s main blood vessels. It was identical to the blob in the vial.
The physical examiner studied it under the light of his head lamp, his eyes gleaming with fascination.
“I am not certain yet, but I am willing to bet it is some kind of breakdown product of the magic that was used to perform this heinous act.”
Evander lowered his brows. “Do you believe it could be dark magic?”
Mortimer dropped the congealed mass in a bowl. “It is difficult to be certain. All I know is I’ve never seen the likes of it. Fascinating, isn’t it, your Grace?” He beamed at Evander, his entire face transforming with an expression akin to an excited child unwrapping his birthday presents. “Why, nothing gets the mental juices going like a good old mystery.”
Rufus looked like he was ready to bring up his breakfast at the mention of juices in the context of a necropsy.
Mortimer ignored the inspector’s sweaty complexion, picked up his scalpel, and leaned over the body. “Now, Mr. Millbrook, what shall your intestinal organs reveal to us?” He cackled under his breath.
Evander swallowed a sigh. There were days when he worried about his associates in the AFD. He and Rufus left Mortimer muttering to the corpse and exited the morgue.
They bumped into Shaw in the corridor.
“Ah, there you are, your Grace,” the forensic mage said brightly. “I was just coming to see you. I’ve finished examining the scene of the attack near Hyde Park Corner.”
Evander straightened. “I can tell from your smile that you found something.”
