The Case of the Strange Society by A A Albright

Author:A A Albright [Albright, A A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-21T04:00:00+00:00

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As the image faded away, we all stared at one another. There was no need to say any of it aloud. We all knew what this meant. If Kieran had the Ice Crystal, then he could only have gotten it from Jude. Wherever she was now, he had something to do with her disappearance.

And I couldn’t bear to ask Eva those terrifying words: Do you think your brother could have killed your mother? His mother?

Because if she didn’t think it was a possibility, she’d be saying so right now.

‘I em …’ Eva put her wand away and took a seat on the couch. ‘I know that this happened on Friday. Late in the evening, a few hours before you and Hamish headed to Riddler’s Edge. The college was fairly full at the time. I was working late and I popped to Ye Olde Banquet Hall to grab a bite. When I got back to my office I found something of mine smashed. It was a jar of soil I kept on my desk. It had soil from Moonstone Farm, something I keep close to me at all times.’

‘You never mentioned it,’ I said.

She shrugged. ‘At the time I thought it was a nasty student playing a prank. Or maybe one of the master wizards who thought they should have gotten the job instead of me. Academic life can be exhaustingly competitive sometimes. And no one knows about me, about my family, so I had no reason to think anything else. But now we know it was my brother.’ She shivered. ‘He really is as cold as ice – no pun intended.’

‘Well, it tallies with the fact that Hamish was accessing files here on Friday night, I suppose,’ I said. ‘Jeez, I can’t believe how brazen they all are, coming to the college when there were people around.’

‘I can.’ Ned scowled. ‘My sister’s always been brazen. So do you think that’s where Hamish is now? Making another Elvira for them?’

Eek. I could hardly bear to tell her what I thought, but she had to know. Taking a deep breath, I said, ‘No, actually. I think he’s already made it.’

I walked along the line of robots and pointed to one of the most lifelike brunettes. ‘There were a few models that looked exactly like this one, but they were gone when Eva and I were here the last time. I thought the Wayfarers took them for testing, but now … now I think it must have been Hamish. Look familiar?’

Ned gasped. ‘It looks just like the woman Jay was with, except more natural. Wow, vampy clothes and a whole lot of make-up really do make a difference.’ She shook her hands out and sat on the edge of the desk, looking dizzy. ‘I can’t wrap my head around this. I mean … Jay was with a robot when we saw him at that café?’

‘Well, a robotic extension of a supercomputer, yeah.’ I nodded sadly. ‘And coupled with the fact that Angelica’s already

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