"Go with Matt to this address: they found the body of one of the three men who broke into Lu Shen's house."
Zeyang took the note from Lombardi and went to call his colleague.
In the car he watched the buildings slide past without really seeing them, still reflecting as he gnawed on the knuckle of his right index finger.
The discovery site was outside the city, on a patch of uncultivated land far from any homes. The man had been killed with a shot to the head.
"Looks like an execution," Matt said, looking at the body lying in the mud.
And that did not bode well, the detective thought as he studied the footprints on the ground. "Call for forensics."
There were no tire tracks, but there were shoe prints. He hoped something had been left on the body as well that might provide a clue.
They waited as the rain began again, and the detective cursed the weather while they sat in the car waiting for their colleagues.
A dark sedan parked behind them and he got out, pulling up his hood and giving a brief account of what they had found.
The two colleagues took their equipment and headed toward the body.
Zeyang and Matt waited until they had finished, then they all returned to the office.
---
Lu Shen watched the rain blur the landscape outside. Even though Ling was there, the house felt silent.
He went back to his desk and picked up the file Zeyang had left him on Mo Yiran. There was also a photograph. He looked at it. She looked just as he remembered Mrs. Wen. Of his mother, instead, he had no memories, no photographs. He had been barely two years old when she left, and his father had erased every trace of her. He did not know what his mother's face looked like… until yesterday.
He reread the printed information and, finally overcoming an inner resistance, searched for the shop online.
There was no information about the owner, only what could be found in the store.
Why did she come to him for spells? The question had haunted him since the day before.
Along with the desire to go there and see her… from a distance.
---
After driving Andrea home, Zeyang went to Lu Shen's place: he wanted to tell him in person about the man who had been found dead and to make sure he was all right.
The sorcerer welcomed him and had him sit down for dinner. When he had told him he would stop by, he had asked Ling to prepare something for the evening.
"You look exhausted, you didn't have to come."
"And you're supposed to be resting."
Lu Shen's lips curved into a faint smile. "Tell me what's worrying you."
Zeyang savored the hot stew, buying time, and the sorcerer did not rush him.
They were finishing the meal when he finally spoke. "Today we found the body of one of the three men who broke into your house."
"Natural causes?"
"No."
"What do you fear?"
"That whoever is behind all this is erasing every trace."
"But wouldn't that also be a trace?"
The detective laughed. "In a way." He stood and took his leave.
"If you can, keep me updated."
"Of course," he said, greeting him as he left.
---
The next day the man who had assaulted Lu Shen was found.
Last of all, the sorcerer from the guild.
Zeyang looked at the corpse, which still held remnants of magic. Probably a containment spell.
All killed with a gunshot to the head. A nine-millimeter.
The three bodies had been found in three different areas of the city: south, east, west.
No trace had yet led them to the killer or killers.
They had concluded that, after the stance taken by the guild, it had been safer for whoever had commissioned the thefts and the attack on Lu Shen to eliminate the sorcerer who had exposed himself and the two humans who had worked with him. So there had to be someone else behind all this. A more organized individual or group?
Zeyang and Lombardi had discussed it, but there were not enough clues.
He had talked at length with Lu Shen, trying to understand what the ultimate objective might be, but they had not yet figured it out.
The detective had the feeling that time was running out and that they were still too far from a solution.
He decided to return to the guild.
---
Lu Shen looked at the small herbal shop. The sign and wooden trim were painted sage green, the name in gold lettering. The large window display was arranged with flowers and plants, a small table and a wrought-iron chair in an off-cream color.
He could glimpse the large dark-wood counter inside and, behind it, small drawers with white knobs and shelves holding ceramic jars.
There was no sign of Mo Yiran.
When a customer opened the door, a little bell chimed. And then he saw her.
The woman served the customer calmly, following her with her gaze until she left.
Lu Shen remained watching her a moment longer, until she disappeared into the back.
Only then did he realize his knuckles had gone white from gripping the steering wheel.
He loosened his hold, took a deep breath, then started the engine again and drove home.
---
The secretary, Nicolaj Zalopulos, welcomed him into the guild's sumptuous headquarters. Their footsteps were muffled by the thick carpets covering the marble floor as he led him into a small sitting room and served him tea.
"Our president is away today, but I can try to assist you myself, Detective," he said, gesturing toward the sofa and sitting in an armchair nearby.
"I need to know who the people closest to Juan Veron were, the sorcerer we found murdered."
"The sorcerer who betrayed this guild," the secretary said in a courteous voice. "But I wouldn't know what to tell you, Detective: I handle all bureaucratic matters, event organization, but I do not know the social relationships our members cultivate among themselves."
"How many years have you been secretary?"
"Eight years."
"And in those eight years, you haven't gotten to know the people who frequent this place daily?"
The other did not flinch. "It is not part of my duties, and I am a very discreet person."
"But when you organize events, you must know how to assign seats so as not to create friction or disagreements."
"Ours is a very polite and discreet community: if there are personal antipathies, they are never displayed publicly. Therefore, at official events unpleasant situations could never arise: each member knows they must respect etiquette."
Zeyang smiled at him, thinking how false the person in front of him seemed.
"Do members ever meet here to talk, outside official events?"
"Of course: there are rooms and lounges that can be booked and reserved, as well as studies or laboratories."
"And you don't recall whom Veron met with?"
"I'm sorry, but I truly have too many things to handle, so I do not pay much attention to the social relations conducted on these premises. Also because it would violate the privacy of our associates, which we strive to preserve."
"I noticed," Zeyang said, standing up. "Thank you for your time."
"My duty," the other replied, heading toward the door and escorting him to the exit.
Out on the street, Zeyang sighed. He did not like Zalopulos at all. He was certain he knew much more—and he also knew he would not get anything out of him unless he found the right leverage.