Dim Sum Asylum(60)
“Can you walk me through what happened?” Focusing on the job helped. Taking notes as well as recording the interview went a long way toward keeping my mind from wandering, and the scratch of my pen across my notebook helped me keep my eyes on the page.
“The night tech was taking his thirty when it happened, so I can’t tell you what triggered the incident. If it was anything other than a timed event,” Jaan added. “I was in the testing room, but it was loud enough to get my attention. Right now I can only guess at what occurred, but it looks like the foreign object lodged in the victim’s throat was embedded with a secondary curse. One I didn’t find in the other two objects secured from… well, you and your grandfather.”
“Did the netsuke found in Jie match the one attached to me? I know the other one, the one on Takahashi, was an exact match.” I did a quick sketch of a scorpion rolled up in a ball, then a question mark next to Jie’s name. “I’m working on a theory of threes, but it’s sketchy at best.”
“You’re not wrong,” he agreed, nodding his chin toward the examination table slickened with blood and bits of bone. “I did the preliminary on the piece before I gave my initial findings report to Captain Gaines. I had visual confirmation of the object matching the previous two found, and from what I could see from my base casting, they were animated in the same circle. Similar echoes of power were found on the other two victims, as well as the shrine god you tossed off that building.”
I was about to deny destroying evidence when I caught the mischievous twinkle in Jaan’s eye. “Nice. Trust me. If I could have, I’d have caught the damned thing before it broke. It was more mobile than the scorpion that came after me. Supposition on that? Ceramic is more malleable?”
“Yes, but also more delicate. The stonework netsuke would be slower because stone bends less than pottery. It’s a solid structure, whereas ceramics are an amalgamation, so the binding of materials is weaker.” He frowned, then got on his knees in front of a low cabinet, muttering something under his breath.
“Can’t hear you,” I called out as he shoved his hand under the cabinet. “So, initial spell analysis confirms the threes theory. I guessed the statue could have been a last-minute swap out because of the change in materials.”
“Either that or it was a test,” Jaan replied, his voice muffled by the shelving. I heard a lens shutter go off three times. Then Jaan’s hand shot up to place a camera on the clean evidence mat he’d laid down earlier. “Sorry, I’ve got to document where this fell. But yes, the change of materials is interesting, but it could be the caster simply trying out the components to see if it was viable. A dry run up to the main event, as it were. That’s a common practice for intensely powerful spell work. You’d want to see if something worked on a smaller scale before dumping all of your energy into a flawed ritual.”
“Two people died simply to test out a spell?” I rested my hip against a table outside of the cordoned-off area. “It makes sense since I can’t find anything solid to link the victims, except for a nebulous thread to a woman who’s gone missing. Still, seems kind of extreme.”
“Some people do not respect the sanctity of life, Inspector. You of all people should know that.” He stood up, his coveralls sticky with a smear of blood. “There’s something under here. If I can’t get it out on my own, do you think you can help me? I won’t think less of you if you say no. This is… I know this is difficult for you. She was your friend.”
“That’s exactly why I’m here and sent Trent to corral Ghost,” I said softly. “Wait… if this guy is doing an open-ended casting with the animation having a clear resolution, like killing me, and it doesn’t complete the job before it’s broken, isn’t there an overflow? Unused magic from the casting? If he’s doing a thirds casting and doesn’t want the magic returned to him, is the overflow going into the third object? Could that be why the netsuke exploded?”
“You know, you’re wasted wearing a badge, Inspector,” Jaan said with a chuckle. “Are you sure you don’t want to be down here with me? Most cops just know the basics like salt, tea, or holy water.”
“Magic theory’s an interest, and, well, I work in Dim Sum Asylum, remember? How am I supposed to track down arcane abuse if I don’t know what I’m looking at?” I made another diagram, working out the possible schematics of the spell. “It could be why the first third grouping included the shrine god. It was bigger and connected to the tanuki netsuke because both are symbols of fertility.”
“The statue didn’t shatter into dust,” Jaan replied. “Not like the scorpion netsuke. I have hopes of retrieving the caster’s signature from the larger pieces because, yes, I suspected that is where the overflow is pouring into, because the caster wouldn’t want a line of power leading back to them. It would make them extremely traceable.”
“I’ve got that missing woman I suspect he’s using to fuel the animations, but I’ve not got anything confirming that.” There were too many loose ends, and my frustration grew as I contemplated the lack of leads. “Do you think you can follow the signature of power to who he’s using to fuel these? Or do you think a caster could be powerful enough to animate these using his own essence?”