"Who has access to the money?" said Fisher.
Medley frowned. "That's the problem; quite a few people. James and myself, of course; Dannielle, the butler Villiers and half a dozen other servants, and of course several Reform people who worked on the campaign with us."
"We'll need a list of names," said Hawk.
"I'll see you get it."
"How was the money taken?" said Fisher.
"I'm not actually sure," said Medley. "The accountants were the first to notice something was wrong. Do you want to take a look at the books?"
Hawk and Fisher looked at each other. "Maybe later," said Hawk. "Tell me about Adamant. How has he responded to the death threats?"
"Fairly coolly. They're not the first he's had, and they won't be the last. It's a part of politics in Haven. The magic attacks worry him, of course; Mortice isn't as reliable as he once was."
"Then why doesn't he hire a new sorcerer?" said Fisher.
"Mortice is James's friend. And he lost his life defending James from attack. James can't just abandon him. And besides, when he's in form, Mortice is still one of the most powerful sorcerers in Haven."
They sat in silence for a while, each looking expectantly at the other.
"If there's nothing else;" said Medley.
"You're in charge of Adamant's affairs," said Hawk. "Who do you think has been leaking information?"
"I don't know," said Medley. "It has to be someone with a grudge against James, but I'm damned if I know who. James is one of the fairest and most honorable men I know. The only enemies he has are political ones. Now if you'll excuse me;"
He dropped his papers on the desk, nodded briskly to the Guards to indicate the interview was over, and left the study. Hawk let him go. He leafed through the papers on the desk, but they told him nothing.
"For a political Advisor, he's either extremely tactful or not very bright," said Fisher. "I can think of several possible enemies among Adamant's own people. Mortice, to start with. He saves Adamant's life, and ends up a rotting corpse for his trouble. And then there's his wife, Dannielle. She wouldn't be the first woman to be mad at her husband because he was more interested in his work than he was in her. And finally, what about Medley himself? He's in charge of the day-to-day running of the campaign; who has a better chance to embezzle money without it being missed?"
"Wait a minute," said Hawk. "Mortice and Dannielle I'll go along with, but Medley? What's his motive?"
"As I understand it, he worked both sides of the political fence before he came to work for Adamant. He could still be on the Conservative payroll as an undercover agent."
Hawk scowled unhappily. "This is going to be another tricky one. If we point the finger at the wrong person, or even the right person but without enough proof, we could end up in a hell of a lot of trouble."
"You got that right," said Fisher.
Up in the Adamants' bedroom, Dannielle sat elegantly on the edge of the bed and watched critically as James held a shirt up against himself for her approval. It didn't look any better than the first two, but she supposed she'd better agree to this one or he'd get annoyed with her. She wouldn't have minded if he just got red in the face and shouted at her, but James tended more to looking terribly hurt and put upon, and being icily polite. When he wasn't sulking. Dannielle sometimes found herself picking fights with the servants just to have someone she could yell at. At least some of them would yell back at her. She realized James was still waiting patiently, and she quickly smiled and nodded her approval of the shirt. He smiled, and put it on.
Dannielle bit her lip. Better to say it now, while he was in a good mood. "James, what do you think of Hawk and Fisher?"
"They seem competent enough. And surprisingly intelligent, for Guards."
"But do you think they'll be good at their job? As bodyguards?"
"Oh, certainly."
"Then we don't need to rely on Mortice so much anymore, do we?" James looked at her sharply, and she hurried on before he could say anything. "You've got to do something about Mortice, James. We can't go on as we are. We need real magical protection. It was different when we had no one else we could trust, but now we've got Hawk and Fisher;"
"Mortice is one of the most powerful sorcerers in Haven," said Adamant flatly.
"He used to be; now he's just a corpse with delusions of grandeur. His mind's going, James. Those blood-creatures weren't the first things to get past his wards, were they?"
"He's friend," said Adamant quietly. "He gave his life for me. I can't just turn my back on him."
"When was the last time you went to see him, before today?"
Adamant came and sat down on the bed beside her. He suddenly looked very tired. "I can't bear to see him anymore, Danny. Just looking at him makes me feel sick and angry and guilty. If he'd just died, I could mourn for him and let him go. But he isn't dead or alive; Just being in the cellar with him makes my skin crawl. The sorcerer Masque was my friend, not that thing rotting in the darkness! But he was my friend, and if it wasn't for him I would have died. Oh, Danny, I don't know what to feel anymore!"
Dannielle put her arms around him and rocked him back and forth. "I know, love. I know."
Dannielle came into the study only a few minutes after Hawk sent for her. She smiled brightly at the two Guards, and sank gracefully into her favorite chair.
"I do hope this won't take long. James is almost ready to go."
"We just need to get a few things clear," said Hawk easily. "Nothing too difficult. How involved are you with the day-to-day running of Adamant's campaign?"
"Not very. Stefan handles all that. I've no head for organizing things, so I let the two men get on with it. My job is to stand conspicuously at James's side and smile at anyone who looks like they might vote for him. I'm rather good at that."
"What about the financial side?" said Fisher.
"I'm afraid I'm not very good with figures, either. It's all I can do to handle the household accounts. Once I went a few hundred ducats over budget and James was positively rude to me. Stefan handles all the money to do with the campaign. That's part of his job."
"Let's talk about the gossip," said Hawk.
Dannielle looked at him guilelessly. "What gossip?"
"Come on," said Fisher. "There's always gossip, and you're in the best position to know about it. Servants will talk to you where they wouldn't talk to Adamant or Medley. Or us."
Dannielle thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "Very well, but I can't vouch for how authentic any of this is. Stefan's been a bit; distracted recently. Apparently he's got a new girlfriend he's very fond of, but he's trying to keep it quiet because James wouldn't approve of her. It seems she's minor Quality, from a very Conservative family with strong connections to Hardcastle. You can imagine what the broadsheet singers would make of that, if it ever got out."
"How long has this been going on?" said Hawk.
"I'm not sure. About a month. I think."
"After the problems with the embezzlement began?"
"Oh, well after. Besides, Stefan would never betray James. He's far too <em>professional</em>."
Hawk caught the emphasis, and raised an eyebrow. "I thought that was why Adamant hired him?"
"There's such a thing as being too professional. Stefan lives, eats, and breathes his work. His word is never broken, and he defends his reputation the way some women defend their honor. What's more, he works all the hours God sends, and expects James to do the same. It's all I can do to get the pair of them to eat regularly. I'll be glad when this bloody campaign is over and we can all get back to normal."
"Is there anything else you can tell us?" said Hawk. "Has anything unusual happened recently?"
"You mean apart from my garden disappearing overnight and a rain of blood in my hall?"