Sheridan Bell & the Vanishing Beast: Chapter Ten

Henry followed Lord Anghau quietly back upstairs, and together, they stopped outside the doors to the foyer. Lord Anghau watched Henry out of the corner of his eye. “Apologies if I frightened you back there, Mr. Bell. Deals involving children are something I find particularly distasteful.”

“I understand, and I certainly can’t begrudge you for that. Thank you for all of your help, Lord Anghau,” Henry said, realizing too late he’d thanked the sídhe again. He opened his mouth to correct himself, but Lord Anghau only grinned, dimples appearing between the pale freckles on his cheeks.

“I should be thanking you, Henry — it seems I owe you yet another debt. I probably wouldn’t have found that forgery in time, without your help,” he said. The sídhe’s grin twisted, then, turning mischievous and striking Henry again with its familiarity. “You may call me by my first name, if you’d like.”

He paused as if waiting for Henry to ask for it, but Henry only nodded and said, “Taise, then.”

Lord Anghau’s smile fell. “You already knew? How?” he asked.

“I figured it out in the elevator, when you called moving between the cities ‘weaving’,” Henry said, scratching his nose, self-conscious. “You were the one who coined the term, after all. Then I saw your signature, illegible as it was, and that confirmed it well enough. I might’ve figured it out sooner, if not for…”

Taise flipped his hair — which was far, far lighter than it had been when he and Henry had first met — over his shoulder and grinned. “I do look a bit different, don’t I?”

“What happened to you?” Henry asked him. “I mean, what happened after I went back to my city? I tried to find you again, but your house…”

In lieu of answering, Taise only smirked and held a hand out to him. “How about another exchange: when you get this Hathaway situation sorted and save my reputation, I’ll tell you all about it.”

Henry laughed and shook his hand. “It’s a deal.”

“I’ll see you tonight, then, Henry,” Taise said with a wink, finally turning and heading back down the long hall, his heeled boots clicking again against the marble floor.

Henry watched until he was out of sight before returning to the foyer, where the receptionists took one look at his dazed expression and smiled. “Did Lord Anghau answer all of your questions, Mr. Bell?” the girl from before asked.

“I think he only gave me more,” Henry said. He hesitated, then, and added, “Actually, I do have a question the two of you might be able to answer: I’m wondering if a man came in here on Friday. Human, with blond hair and a mustache, about this tall? He would have been rather agitated, I think.”

The girl’s expression lit up. “Yes, I remember the one! He was taken up to see Lord Anghau.”

“I see. Thank you.”

“Was that all you wanted to know, sir?”

Henry laughed. “Definitely not, but I’m afraid I’ll have to figure out the rest myself,” he said. Then, wishing the receptionists a good day, he headed back out into the Tamarley of the aes sídhe. On his way home, he stopped briefly at a sídhe toy shop, and then at the police headquarters, where he gave Inspector Zhou detailed instructions for the evening while the Inspector gave the large toy box under Henry’s arm increasingly confused glances.

It was early evening by the time he finally returned to Moorham Court, tired and a little hungry. Instead of heading straight upstairs, though, he dragged himself over to the Amaikes’ flat, knocked on the peeling wood, and waited. The door flew open after a moment, and instead of the usual gentle greeting he received from the couple, a heavy weight crashed into Henry, warm arms thrown around his neck. Henry grunted in surprise and stumbled back, dropping his box in order to awkwardly return the embrace.

“Henry, you darling!” a bright voice squealed into his ear. “I had faith in you, of course, but I never thought you’d succeed so quickly!”

Henry’s eyes widened. “Ms. Evans?”

Saoirse Evans released Henry and stepped back, beaming from ear to ear. She wore the same suit dress she had come to him in the day before, and aside from the dark bags under her eyes, seemed unharmed. Apparently unable to stop herself, she stepped forward again and kissed Henry boldly on the cheek. Henry felt himself blush.

“How did you do it?” she asked, wasting no time. “You didn’t get yourself in trouble just to help me, did you? When I found out my — frankly exorbitant, by the way. I understand I was technically arrested for murder, but really — bail was posted by the Uí Anghau, I thought Alice might have—,”

“The Ui Anghau?” Henry asked, growing more puzzled by the moment. “Taise did this?”

“Yes, maybe. A tall, frightening fellow with silver hair. You should be careful with them, Henry. Lords know they have the strings to pull, but they must have pulled some pretty significant ones to get me released. Even then, I’m only out on the condition that the real killer gets caught soon, and that you keep an eye on me in the meantime.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Henry said. “If everything goes according to plan, we should have them tonight.”

“Oh! Is something happening tonight? I can come along and help, right?” Saoirse asked. Alice stood in the doorway behind her, listening, and Henry began to understand where the girl got her curiosity from.

“Well…”

“Please, Henry? I want to help catch the bastard who caused me all this grief. And besides, I did just say you needed to keep an eye on me.”

“Ms. Evans, I really don’t think that’s a good—,”

“Call me Saoirse, please.”

Henry sighed, defeated. “Saoirse, then. Fine, you can come. The younger Ms. Evans, however, cannot.” When Alice opened her mouth to protest, he said, “Don’t start with me, Alice. You’re too young and it’s going to be dangerous.”

Alice pouted, but before she could protest further, Joseph appeared in the doorway behind her. “Oh! Henry, thank the gods. I’m glad you made it home alright. Did you have any trouble in the other city?”

“None whatsoever.”

Joseph nodded. “Good, good. You made it back just in time. Come in; Ines and I are preparing dinner. It looks like we’re going to have a full table tonight.”

As dinner with the Amaikes concluded, Henry nudged Saoirse and they made their excuses. The night was cold and their designated meeting time approached too quickly for them to be able to stop by Saoirse’s apartment first, so Henry lent Saoirse one of his coats. She trailed behind him, rolling up her sleeves several times on each arm, as they passed into the chilly streets, letting the fog and darkness envelop them as they worked their way uptown.

“Henry, sweetheart, you have to tell me everything!” Saoirse called, cutting through the gloom of the night with her cheer. She had to trot to keep up with Henry’s brisk pace. “Alice told me about the parts she was around for, of course, but I want to know everything you’ve been up to.”

“Are you asking as a concerned client or because you’re curious?”

“Because I’m curious. I have the utmost faith in you, of course. It just sounds like you’ve had a marvelous adventure, meeting the cú sídhe and interrogating widows. I hear you can pass between the cities whenever you want. Is that true? Can you teach me?”

“Ah, so that’s what you’re after. Would you be using this knowledge for nefarious purposes, if I told you?” Henry asked, giving Saoirse a sidelong look.

“Nefarious? Me? I’ll have you know that once this is all over, I’m turning over a new leaf. My conning days are done. I’ll never sell another fake charm for as long as I live.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Saoirse laughed. “Hah, alright. I won’t lie because I know you’ll just come by my shop to see if I was telling the truth. You’d be too curious not to.”

Henry nodded his head in acknowledgment. “Yes, that’s…probably true.”

“I thought so. I see a bit of me in you — isn’t it funny how two people can understand each other so well so quickly?” Saoirse continued. “Well, I’m sure that’s nothing new to you, with your special detective eyes. It’s not new to me, either, of course. You have to be good at reading people to be as successful as I am in this business.”

“The business of conning?”

“It’s a respectable trade,” Saoirse sniffed. “I’ll tell you what, I’m never going to leave a complementary charm at a rich person’s house again, that’s for sure.”

“That is just asking for trouble,” Henry agreed.

Saoirse grinned. “Oh, so the detective does have a sense of humor! Henry, if you’re not going to tell me about your tricks or your adventures, please, for all that’s good in the world, at least tell me what’s in that box you’re holding.”

“If you insist,” Henry said, holding the long, rectangular box out to Saoirse so she could lift the lid off. She did so slowly, revealing a life-sized baby doll wrapped in crinkly paper. She stared at it a moment while she tried to puzzle through what she was seeing.

“What’s this?”

“I thought it would be useful to have,” Henry said.

“Useful to have for what?”

When Henry only smiled, Saoirse laughed and pulled the doll out of its box. “Keep your mysteries, then. She’s lovely! What’s her name?” she asked. At Henry’s hesitation, she continued, “Henry, we must name it! This is our child, the product of our first meeting, the one who brought us together! How about Little Saoirse?”

Henry snorted. “I don’t think so.”

“No, you’re right, that’s awfully silly. Perhaps we can call her Sherrie, like Sheridan. Yes, Sherrie will do.” She let out a wistful sigh. “I do so adore our little Sherrie.”

Henry laughed and tugged lightly on a lock of Saoirse’s hair. “She has your hair.”

Saoirse burst out laughing, so loud that several passersby shot her unamused looks. Carefully, Saoirse tucked the glass doll back into its box. “She does, doesn’t she? Perhaps she’ll have your brains. With that combination, she’ll be unstoppable.”

The reached Mrs. Raptis’ home just before nine and found two tall figures waiting for them, dark silhouettes in the fog, just visible under the flickering glow of a solitary street lamp. Henry thought he could make out Inspector Zhou’s broad frame and Taise’s long hair and sweeping cape.

It seemed they noticed Henry and Saoirse as well, because Inspector Zhou called out, “About time you got here.”

“Good evening, Inspector,” Henry greeted as he approached the odd pair. “Sorry for the delay.”

Inspector Zhou waved him off and asked, brusquely, “Are you going to tell us what’s going on now?”

“Soon. I promise.”

“It’s good to see you again so soon, Lord Anghau,” Saoirse said with a flourish and a low bow. “Less good to see you, Inspector. It’s nothing personal; I just found the hospitality in your jail cells to be slightly lacking.”

Taise frowned at the coat around Saoirse’s shoulders but bowed back all the same, bending at the waist with one foot forward, his long hair draping over his shoulder in a smoother, far more formal version of the sídhe bow Saoirse had been imitating. The sídhe wore golden jewelry and a rich, finely embroidered cape, looking more like the prince out of a storybook than a shrewd businessman. He made eye contact with Henry as he straightened out, his eyes almost seeming to glow in the darkness.

“Ah,” Henry said, flustered, looking quickly away. “Thank you for coming, Taise.”

“Lord Anghau?” Inspector Zhou asked, eyeing Taise with distaste. “As in—,”

“Yes,” Taise interrupted with a blithe smile.

“So you’re the one who bribed the precinct into releasing Ms. Evans,” the Inspector said.

“I posted her bail, yes,” Taise countered, his tone clipped, “As a favor to Henry. If you have a problem with that, Inspector, perhaps you should take it up with your superiors. They are, after all, the ones who accepted my money.”

The sídhe’s smile was sharp and challenging, his manner the same as it had been when he’d interacted with his receptionist, or when he’d interacted with his assistant: cold, detached, disinterested. If this was the face Taise presented to the public, it explained why everyone called him frightening. Henry just didn’t understand why he received special treatment — one chance encounter well over a decade ago didn’t seem enough to justify it.

“Taise has been kind enough to offer his assistance for tonight,” Henry explained, not understanding what was going on between the two men but eager to move past it.

“For free?” Inspector Zhou asked, still with that same distasteful look. “Did you make a deal with this scoundrel, Henry?”

“He made two,” Taise said. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Henry, you said you didn’t!” Saoirse cried.

All three of them turned to Henry expectantly. “Um,” Henry said.

Inspector Zhou rolled his eyes. “What do we need the Uí Anghau for, anyway?”

“Catching one of the cú sídhe, I assume,” Taise said, though he looked to Henry for confirmation. Henry nodded.

“What are the cú sídhe?” Inspector Zhou asked. At the same time, Saoirse said, “Aren’t those just a myth?”

“Magical sídhe hounds. Very powerful, very deadly,” Henry told Inspector Zhou.

Taise grinned at Saoirse, sly as a fox. “They’re very real, I’m afraid. If you’re lucky, you may get to see one of them tonight.”

“Lucky?” Inspector Zhou asked, voice raising in pitch. “How would that be lucky?”

“It would mean that I was right,” Henry said, “And that my plan worked. Inspector Zhou, please stop looking at Lord Anghau like that; he’s been very helpful and I’ve only gotten this far because of him.”

Taise smirked at Inspector Zhou, who huffed and looked away.

“Did you follow my instructions, Inspector?” Henry asked.

“Of course. This plan of yours had better be worth it, Henry. I still don’t see why you’re so sure something is going to happen tonight.”

Henry ignored his grumbling. He knew Inspector Zhou didn’t really mean anything by it. “And Mrs. Hathaway?”

“Reluctantly agreed to let us stay in the house tonight.”

“Perfect,” Henry said, glancing up and down the street. It was quiet, but far from empty, people milling about between storefronts and outside the church across from Mrs. Raptis’ home, which sat with its lights all aglow. “Let’s get inside before it gets too late: we have a trap to set.”