The Wild Dead (The Bannerless Saga 2)

Juni collected a pair of bowls from a shelf and began filling them with chowder. “Come and sit. We want to know how everything went. What have you decided about Semperfi? You talked to Erik?”

Enid hesitated, confused for a moment. She hadn’t been thinking of Semperfi at all. “We’ve been a little bit distracted, I’m afraid.”

“Oh. Yes. I suppose. I assumed . . . if that poor girl isn’t from here, then it can’t possibly have anything to do with us. Can it?” She sounded more hopeful than sure.

Teeg’s questioning gaze met Enid’s. Asking for her lead on how to deal with this. The poor kid still seemed shaken, his grip on his staff a little too tight. He hadn’t set it aside all day. Now he took up his role as enforcer, standing at the doorway, keeping watch. Folk kept glancing at the staff he carried.

“That’s one of the things we need to find out, isn’t it? Mind if I ask a couple of questions?” Enid said, looking around to take in everyone in the room. They stared back at her, and if anyone had a contrary opinion, no one said anything. They could always refuse to answer. And she would note that in her reports, along with the rest.

Weakly, Juni offered the bowls she’d just poured. “But . . . soup’ll get cold.”

“It’ll just take a minute. You said before, you couldn’t think of anyone around here that has a temper. That still true? Especially lately, has anyone seemed under a lot of stress?”

Jess said, “If you’re thinking of that argument at Semperfi earlier—”

“I wasn’t,” she said. “But is that kind of thing usual? You do a lot of arguing around here?”

“No,” he said. “No, not like that. Not usually. I think everyone’s a little on edge. You know. Investigators.” He nodded at their uniforms, and Enid smiled wryly. “And no one would be angry at a stranger, an outsider. Not like that.”

Leaning against the counter, resigned to the chowder going cold, Juni added, “Erik’s been stressed about that house. Nagging at people about it. But I wouldn’t say that’s unusual. Just now, when it’s all come to a head.”

Enid was considering that someone who’d just killed a person would show signs of stress, some kind of agitation. But it might also be the case that someone who was already under stress might act out in a way they wouldn’t, normally. Erik hadn’t been all that surprised to find evidence of a squatter in the house . . .

She’d have to think about this.

Next she asked, “You all have machetes? I saw you working earlier today. Does everyone in the Estuary carry them?”

The silence grew stiff, their stares incredulous.

Finally, Jess said, “You really think someone here could have done it?”

As much as Enid wanted to assure them that all was safe, that they had nothing to worry about, she wasn’t sure. Someone had been sleeping in that house at Semperfi. Maybe it was the dead woman. Or maybe it was whoever had killed her.

“We’re just asking questions,” Enid said, deflecting him. “We went up to Last House. Juni, you and Neeve really twins?”

The woman seemed taken aback. She turned back to the stove, pausing with a ladle in one hand and a bowl in the other, mouth open like she didn’t know what to say. Surely this couldn’t be an unexpected question. Finally, she recovered, setting the ladle aside. Talked like nothing was wrong. “Yeah, we are. Two babies with one banner—only time anyone in the Estuary ever exceeded a quota.” She chuckled weakly.

Enid smiled at the joke. “Twins—that’s something special. You didn’t say anything.”

“Honestly didn’t think about it. Don’t think about her if I can help it. I disown her.”

“You’re the one turned her in, back when this was Bridge House? When you found out what she’d done?” Enid asked.

Juni glared hard. “Thought it might save the household. Didn’t do much good, did it? But I got a banner, eventually, didn’t I?” Jaw taut, she jabbed a finger at the red-and-green cloth hanging above the doorway. The thing had happened a generation ago, and she was still angry.

Jess came up to stand by Juni. “What’s all that got to do with anything?”

Enid shrugged.

“Nothing, I suppose. I’m just trying to understand the place.”

Juni said, “And what did they say, up at Last House? What did she say?”

“That you didn’t get along. Really, I get the impression the Last House folk don’t talk to anyone much.”

“Got that right,” Jess muttered.

Juni said, “What did they say about the dead girl? Do they know her? Do they know where she came from?”