Quicksilver - Amanda Quick [30]
“Everything is just as it was the last time I was here,” he said.
“You’re right, there is nothing in this room that is obviously of great value.” Virginia crossed her arms, hugging herself, and surveyed the small space. “But the energy is certainly disturbing, is it not?”
“This is the room where Mrs. Ratford was murdered,” Owen said. “I am certain of it. And I am equally certain that the killer has been here a number of times since committing the crime. So, yes, there is a lot of bad energy in this room.”
He walked into the small space and heightened his senses. The hot, dark currents of violence fluoresced in the shadows, painting the room in the deepest shades of ultralight. Although he was braced for the impact, there was nothing he could do to suppress his response. The hunter in him was always aroused by such energy.
Virginia watched him. “What do you see?”
“What I perceived the last time I was here. She was murdered, but no gun or knife was used to commit the crime. It was murder by paranormal means, but it was not a swift kill. Whoever did this wanted Mrs. Ratford to suffer for a time.”
“But you are sure that psychical energy was involved?”
“There can be no doubt.” He concentrated on the residue of iridescent energy in the room. “Strong psychical currents were employed to commit murder in this room, but the killer was not present at the time. I can usually identify the precise location where he or she stood at the moment the murder took place. There is always a great deal of energy generated when one kills.”
“As the adage says, murder always leaves a stain.”
“Yes. We have made some progress this evening. We have found a means by which the killer could have committed the crime without being physically present in the room.”
“He used a clockwork curiosity,” Virginia said. “Perhaps the dragon.”
“It is a possibility.” Mentally he went through the logic and nodded once, satisfied. “He would have had to enter the room to set up the device, of course. Then he would have left and returned later when he was certain the clockwork weapon had performed the kill and had time to wind down. He retrieved the dragon but brought it back when he realized an intruder had been inside the house.”
“You said he has been here several times since the murder.”
“Yes.” Owen opened a drawer and glanced inside to make certain he had not overlooked anything on his first visit.
“Why would he do that?”
“To savor the energy of the kill,” he said absently.
There was a short, awful silence behind him. He closed the drawer and looked at Virginia.
“The killer comes here to savor the energy of death?” Virginia asked uneasily.
“In my experience it is not uncommon.”
“I see.” Virginia turned back to the mirror. “There were rumors after Mrs. Ratford died. She made her living claiming to communicate with spirits through mirrors. There are some who are convinced she really did manage to summon a malevolent entity from the Other Side. They believe it killed her.”
“We know one thing for certain: If Mrs. Ratford claimed to communicate with the dead, she was, by definition, a fraud.”
“No, not in her own mind.”
“I thought we agreed that there is no such thing as communicating with the dead,” he said flatly. “All those who claim to be mediums are, by definition, frauds of the lowest order, because they prey on the gullible and those who are made vulnerable by grief or a weak mind.”
“I was acquainted with Mrs. Ratford because she was a member of the Institute.” Virginia contemplated the mirror on the dressing table. “We were not close, but we had what you would call a professional connection. We occasionally had tea together in the Institute’s tearoom. We talked. I am convinced that she actually did have some degree of genuine glasslight talent.”
“Then why the devil would she claim to speak with spirits? Why not use her talent in an honest fashion, as you do?”
“Probably because she did not understand what she saw in the mirrors, let alone know how to interpret the visions and images. I told you, her talent