Ghost of a Chance

He held up an envelope made of heavy-looking paper. A gold foil seal had been placed over the point of the envelope’s flap. Even at a distance, Alex could see it bore an obfuscation rune.

“How did you know?” Detweiler asked.

“Come in,” Lieutenant,” Alex said. “We need to invite a few other people to join us and then I’ll explain everything.”

* * *

An hour and a half later, the brownstone’s kitchen was full of people. Detweiler and his contingent of police were present along with Detective North and two more officers he’d brought along. Captain Rooney sat next to Detweiler at the far end of the oak table. The Lieutenant had strenuously objected to the inclusion of Billy Tasker, but Alex had insisted. Now the reporter sat near the head of the table by Iggy.

“Now that everyone’s here, we can get started,” Alex said, standing up to address the crowded room.

“You said we should be ready to apprehend the ghost,” Rooney said. “How exactly are we going to do that in Dr. Bell’s home? He wasn’t a member of North Shore Development.”

“That’s true,” Alex said, “but the ghost is going to come here nevertheless.” Alex held up the envelope Detweiler had brought with him. “Last night, I telephoned Lieutenant Detweiler.”

“In the middle of the night,” Detweiler grumbled.

Alex put his hand over his heart and affected his most contrite expression.

“My most sincere apologies, Lieutenant,” he said. “But I was worried the ghost might strike again if you didn’t act quickly.”

“What did he have you do?” Captain Rooney asked, looking a bit perturbed, though whether that was because Alex was giving his men orders or because Detweiler followed them, Alex couldn’t tell.

“Lockerby told me that there would be a letter waiting at one of the potential victim’s homes,” Detweiler said. “We searched for the envelope Lockerby described. This morning we found one on in a pile of unopened mail at the Zimmerman home.”

“This envelope here,” Alex said, holding it up so all could see.

“What does that have to do with the ghost?” Detective North asked.

“This is how the Ghost has been getting into his victim’s homes,” Alex explained. “We know he’s been using an escape rune to flee the scenes of his crimes. It’s a very rare type of rune that costs the user’s own life to transport him to a fixed location. To use one, a runewright would have to make an anchor rune in the spot he wanted to travel to.”

“So someone snuck in and put one of these anchor runes in the houses of the victims?” Tasker asked.

Alex shook his head.

“No, the anchor rune is in here.” He held up the envelope. “This seal,” he indicated the foil label on the front of the envelope. “This contains a special type of rune that prevents nearby runes from making a magical connection. Without a connection, the anchor rune is useless. When the recipient breaks the seal to read the letter, the anchor rune becomes active.”

“And the ghost attacks,” Detweiler finished.

“Just so,” Alex said.

“So let’s go down to the Central Office, break the seal, and throw the letter into a cell,” Captain Rooney said. “Why did we have to come all the way over here on a Sunday for this?”

A rumble of assent from the assembled police circled the room.

“Because,” Iggy said, standing up, “this house has special protection runes on it that prevent people from using escape runes while inside.”

“That means that the ghost can use the rune to get here, but not to leave again,” Alex explained. If Iggy’s protection runes didn’t allow escape runes in, Alex wouldn’t have been able to return here when he used his own rune last year. Of course, now that they knew that it was possible to mail an anchor rune, adjustments would have to be made.

“How would the ghost know that his victim had the letter?” Tasker asked. “I mean, what if they opened it and then went to answer the telephone?”

Alex held up the envelope again.

“This envelope feels pretty heavy,” he said. “I’ll bet there’s a long letter inside designed to keep his intended victim reading. That will give him time to attack. Now, once I break this seal, the ghost will know, so he should get here within the next few minutes.”

“But because of the protection runes on the house, he’ll be trapped here,” Rooney concluded.

“Yes,” Alex said. “Once he arrives, Captain, you and your men will have him.”

Alex stepped over to the light switch and flicked it, extinguishing the magelights in the chandelier over the dining table. There was still a little light from the windows in the front library, but the table and its occupants were mostly obscured.

“I’d ask you not to move or speak until the ghost shows himself,” Alex said, moving to the little hallway that connected the kitchen and the library.

He held up the envelope and tore it open with a swift motion. Inside were several sheets of heavy paper. Alex took them out and unfolded them, turning them over to the back. As he expected, an anchor rune was neatly drawn on the back side of the last page.