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A Stroke Of Midnight :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 39 из 293It was an emergency, and we needed to act swiftly to minimize the damage, no matter what choice we made. Even if the choice was to hide the bodies and act as if it hadn’t happened, it needed to be done quickly. The more people who knew the secret the less chance of keeping it.
If the police were going to bring in forensics for the crime scene, every minute contaminated the crime scene. Every second might be losing us some clue.
“Madeline told me that our Frost had lost control in front of the cameras.” She paced a tight circle, then turned back to look at Frost. It was as if any target, any problem, was better than addressing the murders. Did she think Cel’s people had done this? Was that why she didn’t want to decide on a course of action? Was she afraid to find the truth, afraid of where it would lead?
“Are the reporters gone then?” I asked softly.
“They were about to file out all nice and neat,” she said, and her voice was rising as she spoke and paced, naked and dangerous, “until one group realized they were missing a photographer. A photographer!” She screamed the last word. “How did he break through the spells that were supposed to make it impossible for him to leave the guarded areas?” She didn’t seem to be asking anyone in particular, so no one answered.
“Was there a camera found?” she asked, and her voice was almost normal.
“Yes, my queen,” Doyle said.
“Would it have pictures of the crime?”
“Perhaps,” Doyle said.
“We’ll need to send the film out to be developed,” I said.
“Have we no one of faerie who could do it for us?”
“No, my queen.”
“What else did you find on this reporter?”
“We haven’t searched the body thoroughly,” I said.
“Why have you not searched the body thoroughly?” she asked, and the edge of near hysterical anger shadowed the last word.
I swallowed, and let my breath out slowly. It was now or never. Doyle’s hand squeezed my arm, as if he was saying, “Don’t.” But if I were ever to be queen, Andais would have to step down for me. She was immortal, and I was not, so she would always be a presence in the court. I had to get some control between her and me now, or I would never truly be queen. Never truly be safe from her anger.
“There are clues on the body that a scientific team could find. The less we touch it, the better the science will work.”
“What are you babbling about, Meredith?”
Doyle squeezed my arm tighter.
If the police were going to bring in forensics for the crime scene, every minute contaminated the crime scene. Every second might be losing us some clue.
“Madeline told me that our Frost had lost control in front of the cameras.” She paced a tight circle, then turned back to look at Frost. It was as if any target, any problem, was better than addressing the murders. Did she think Cel’s people had done this? Was that why she didn’t want to decide on a course of action? Was she afraid to find the truth, afraid of where it would lead?
“Are the reporters gone then?” I asked softly.
“They were about to file out all nice and neat,” she said, and her voice was rising as she spoke and paced, naked and dangerous, “until one group realized they were missing a photographer. A photographer!” She screamed the last word. “How did he break through the spells that were supposed to make it impossible for him to leave the guarded areas?” She didn’t seem to be asking anyone in particular, so no one answered.
“Was there a camera found?” she asked, and her voice was almost normal.
“Yes, my queen,” Doyle said.
“Would it have pictures of the crime?”
“Perhaps,” Doyle said.
“We’ll need to send the film out to be developed,” I said.
“Have we no one of faerie who could do it for us?”
“No, my queen.”
“What else did you find on this reporter?”
“We haven’t searched the body thoroughly,” I said.
“Why have you not searched the body thoroughly?” she asked, and the edge of near hysterical anger shadowed the last word.
I swallowed, and let my breath out slowly. It was now or never. Doyle’s hand squeezed my arm, as if he was saying, “Don’t.” But if I were ever to be queen, Andais would have to step down for me. She was immortal, and I was not, so she would always be a presence in the court. I had to get some control between her and me now, or I would never truly be queen. Never truly be safe from her anger.
“There are clues on the body that a scientific team could find. The less we touch it, the better the science will work.”
“What are you babbling about, Meredith?”
Doyle squeezed my arm tighter.