It was late the next morning by the time Aggie arrived back at the office, but Gladys noticed the diminutive inspector was in high spirits. She moved with a spritely speed, slipping in through the door and hanging her belted cashmere coat on the chrome hatstand next to it. Gladys didn’t say anything, though, because she also knew the many masks of Aggie McPherson. This one’s smile contained an edge of cruelty that her never liked.

“The drive to the X’Komish reservation wasn’t a short one, but it was worth it. That ought to put them into a tail spin,” Aggie announced to Gladys as she finished shedding her coat.

Gladys fluttered her eyelashes. “You’ve got me guessing.”

Aggie strode closer, like she might plant a kiss on top of Gladys’ head, then diverted herself into her office, leaving a trail of words that Gladys didn’t care for either. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.”

Gladys let her displeasure be known by saying, “You’re doing it again.”

From her office, Aggie called, “Doing what?”

“You had a phrase for it,” Gladys tapped her desk with a long fingernail, drawing out the words.

A second later, Aggie poked her head out, the longer hair on top of her head flopping out to the side. “Being a dick?”

Gladys wrapped her knuckles on her desk as if her boss had won a prize. “That’s it!”

Aggie straightened herself and now, free of her blazer, walked out in her gray slacks and white Oxford shirt. She smoothed her tie into her vest as she sat on the desk’s edge. She smiled kindly at her assistant. “Sorry, what were you asking?”

“Who’s in a what now?” Gladys asked simply.

Aggie grinned like the Cheshire cat. “A tailspin. The Legion of Silver Shields. Haddo Skull specifically. At least three of his men are currently fleeing the state. Haddo’s been dabbling in goetia and – “

“What?”

“Sorcery. Demonic magic. His men were using some of it to commit robberies. Haddo is going to wonder where they went. And when he learns about the robberies, he’s going to wonder where the money went.”

“Where did the money go?”

Aggie rapped her knuckles on Gladys’ desk, imitating her game show enthusiasm. “Excellent question. When he finds out they were sending the money elsewhere, he’ll know they betrayed him.

“Particularly one named Randall Wayne. He actually seemed like he could be dangerous. I’m guessing he’s one of Haddo’s top men.” Aggie emphasized the last adjective as if quoting a motion picture.

Gladys quirked an eyebrow at her boss. “I don’t understand. Didn’t Haddo hire you to find out about a Revenant?”

“He will as soon as he hands me those condo papers. But I’m not going to find out what’s up with this Revenant by asking it. It’ll become clear when I figure out what sin of Haddo’s birthed it. And Haddo isn’t too keen on talking about his past.”

“He’s hiding something,” Gladys nodded.

“He’s trying to hide everything. I seriously doubt Haddo Skull is his real name. So at least him being worried about Wayne and his crew will keep him occupied while I figure this out.”

Gladys crinkled up her nose in way she couldn’t help when she thought she might have bad news. “What was that name again?”

“Randall Wayne?”

“Oh,” Gladys let the word drop like it was going down a well. “I don’t think Haddo is going to have to worry about him.”

“What do you mean?”

Gladys laid out the morning paper on her desk. Aggie had arranged for Slakterquay’s only remaining newspaper to be delivered through the office door slot. It was a kindness as Gladys often found she had little to do before her boss’s arrival. 

Gladys flipped past the front page story concerning a kidnapping plot against the governor. She smoothed page three out, displaying the headline, 3 Dead in Fiery Interstate Crash.

“The car was registered to a Randall Wayne. There were two others with him that haven’t been identified yet.

“It burst into flames while traveling down the highway. The authorities haven’t figured out why, but it closed the road for hours.” Gladys kept her eyes on the paper. She could feel Aggie lean closer, scanning the article quickly for the details.

“Well,” Aggie said, the word propelling her back to standing. “Now I guess I have to attend a funeral.”

Gladys couldn’t’ keep the surprise out of her voice. “For these three?”

Aggie responded with a chop of her head and a, “Yep.”

Normally the unexpected was one of Gladys’ favorite parts of working for Aggie, but those surprises didn’t usually include fascists. “Why?”

“Whoever killed them might show up.”

“Haddo didn’t? Kill them, I mean.”

Aggie smiled at Gladys in a way that made her feel like a particularly bright student. “That’s a logical conclusion. Haddo would have had to figure out who stole the rod pretty quick, though, and I’m not sure he would have gone right for his head guy. So it’s possible we have a new player.”

“And you think they’ll show up at the funeral?” Gladys’ surprise became doubt.

“Maybe. Even if they don’t, whoever he’s been sending the money will likely be there.” Aggi concluded, hands on her hips, eyes still on the paper.

Gladys responded, “Well, you’d better get your mourning suit out. It looks like the funeral is already scheduled.”

“That was fast.” The corner of Aggie’s mouth twisted down, a mixture of concentration and confusion. “I wouldn’t think that the Silver Shields would be holding a service until Haddo figured out what happened to Wayne.”

Gladys crinkled her nose again. “Well, there’s more bad news.”

“News is how you look at it,” Aggie’s voice went up, willing positivity.

Gladys drew a finger to the last paragraph of the article. “The service is being held by the Urquhart Fraternal Order of Police.”

Aggie blinked, smile vanishing. “Wayne wasn’t a cop.”

“Well,” Gladys considered all the bootleggers she had known and how tight they all were with lawmen. “Someone in Urquhart thinks enough of him to give him a send off.”

Aggie tapped the desk, eyes wandering to her office door and the Slakterquay skyline that rose beyond its windows. “Gladys dear,” she said in a way that Gladys knew meant something unpleasant. “Would you mind going downstairs to the stacks and seeing if you can find anything else on Randall Wayne? I think we’re missing some pieces from our puzzle.”

“Ugh. Do I have to? I hate it down there. It’s so dark and musty.”

Aggie leaned forward and fluttered her eyes in a weird way that reminded Gladys of a girl she had met once in Greenwich Village. “Please?”

Gladys recoiled playfully, “Stop that. What are you, Bonzo the Dog?” Aggie leaned forward until Gladys replied with a prolonged, “Fine.”

“Thanks. I need to get ready for a funeral.” Aggie pushed herself off the desk and headed back towards the door.

“You’ll have to ankle it. It’s in three days and Urquhart is in the eastern part of the state.”

“Well, at least that means Haddo won’t be there then. That might bring him closer to the Revenant.”

Gladys frowned. “Yes. What a shame that would be.”

“Think of Reverend Taggart, Gladys. At least this is all keeping Haddo busy.”

“It’s just,” Gladys tried to keep judgment out of her voice, “from what you’ve told me, Haddo is an odious man.”

“He is,” Aggie agreed. “And if Taggart won’t do something about him, then I will.”

See the author’s published work here.

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