The Wild Dead (The Bannerless Saga 2)

“He’s wasted the investigators’ time.”

Mart flashed a worried glance at Enid, who grew annoyed at Mart and Jess, using her in their argument.

“You said I wasn’t in trouble.” Kellan’s eyes were round again, the panic returning.

“You’re not,” Enid said. “No one’s wasted my time. I’ve got plenty of time.” But she didn’t; she was counting every minute, felt like.

“Kellan’s always on the flats looking for things, he doesn’t need looking after,” Mart insisted.

Jess wasn’t finished. “I think you all need to decide if you’re really part of this community or not.”

Mart laughed. “What community? We don’t even have a committee! You never care about us until you need a body burned.”

“We wouldn’t be finding dead bodies on the marsh if not for—”

“Hey—”

“Quiet,” Enid said.

Neatly, both she and Teeg stepped between the two antagonists and glared them down. Their anger wilted, and they turned away from each other; folk usually did. Meanwhile, Kellan had curled up on the steps, arms wrapped around his head as if trying to shut out the noise. Or maybe the whole world.

Enid said, “Juni, thanks for your help. And Mart, thanks for coming. We’ll let you know if we need anything else, yeah?”

Mart nodded. “The pyre’s ready for the girl. We can hold it anytime.”

“Thanks,” Enid said, nodding.

Kellan leaned into Mart, let the man guide him away.

Enid turned on Jess. “So why don’t you all have a committee?”

“What? Well . . . I guess . . . we’ve never needed one.”

“Yeah? Maybe think about that for a minute. Teeg, want to take a walk?”

She marched off, down the road in the direction opposite the bridge, just to get some space. Teeg hurried alongside.

“So,” he said. “Kellan’s looking for a knife.”

“I’m not sure even Kellan knows exactly what he’s doing. Ella could have lost it anywhere. She might not even have had it with her when she died.”

Teeg stared. “Or it was used to kill her.”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” she said dryly.

“Do you think Kellan might have done it?”

“He doesn’t seem the type.” Thoughtfully, she shook her head. The idea was worth considering, however much she hated to admit it. “I don’t think he’d be able to keep something that big a secret. He’d have lost it before now.”

“You sure about that? He could be losing it now because he’s trying to keep a secret that big.”

They stopped on the road before they got too far from Bonavista. The main house was well in sight, but out of earshot. Enid did wonder what kind of rumors would start, when folk saw the two investigators off by themselves, having a meeting. Deciding the fate of them all.

Teeg regarded her, downright eager.

“Why? What did you find out?” she asked.

“Kellan said a few more things,