Kate Daniels 05.5 - Magic Gifts

off a beautiful smile. "Lawrence is waiting for you upstairs. Follow me, please."
    We followed, Rowena's shiny perfect butt shifting as she walked the stairs two feet in front of us. Curran heroically didn't look at it.
    She led us to a small room with a two way mirror. One would've expected a table, severe grey walls, and chairs bolted to the floor, but no, the room's walls were cream with a delicate pale lattice carved at the top and the furniture consisted of a modern sofa and two soft chair set with a coffee table between them. Lawrence sat in the corner of the sofa. He looked pale and his eyes were bloodshot.
    We sat in the chairs.
    "Do you know who we are?" Curran said quietly.
    Lawrence nodded. "I've been briefed. I'm supposed to cooperate."
    I pulled out a notepad from my pocket. "How long did you know Amanda?"
    Lawrence swallowed. "Three years. She was admitted as an apprentice right after her high school graduation."
    "How long have you dated?" I asked.
    "Thirteen months next week," he said. His voice was hoarse. He cleared his throat.
    "Tell us about her family," Curran said.
    Lawrence sighed. "She didn't like them."
    "Why not?" I prompted.
    "She said her mother was very cold. Aurellia would go through the motions, make sure that Amanda and her brother were fed and appropriately dressed. She was very specific about their schedule. The Steel Calendar, Amanda called it. If they had to have a doctor's appointment or a school trip, it was put on the calendar and there was no deviation from it. Amanda had perfect attendance the entire four years in high school. No matter how sick she was, her mother would send her to school. Never late. But there was never any love or real warmth there."
    "And her father?" Curran asked.
    "Colin worships the ground Aurellia walks on." Lawrence gave a bitter laugh. "It's like he is blind when she's in the room. The only time Amanda could talk to him was when her mother was otherwise occupied. She couldn't wait to get out of there. She told me that's why she enlisted with People. The apprentices qualify for room and board in the Casino."
    "Was her mother upset because Amanda did this?" I asked.
    "Aurellia doesn't get upset. She is like a pretty robot," Lawrence said. "Never screams. Never loses her temper. I don't think she cared one way or another."
    "Have you ever interacted with the parents personally?" Curran asked.
    "Yes. We went to a dinner once. Colin seemed normal. Aurellia didn't speak, except when she ordered her food. I got a feeling she does only what is required of her, and talking to me or Amanda wasn't required."
    "What about the necklace?" I asked.
    Lawrence took several shallow rapid breaths.
    We waited.
    "It was a gift," he finally said. "It arrived to the house one Christmas, addressed to Colin. He took it out of the box - it was in a glass case - and tried to open it, and then Aurellia took it out of his hands. They put the necklace into a glass box and hung it on the wall in their foyer really high up. Amanda was about fifteen at the time. She loved it. She said she used to stand there and look at it, because it was so beautiful. She was never allowed to touch it. They had a break-in six months ago. The burglars took some jewelry, money, and somehow got the necklace down and made off with it. She was really upset about it."
    Lawrence looked at his hands. "I saw it at a pawnshop a week ago. I bought it for her. I... I killed her. She was so nice, so beautiful. She would sing little songs sometimes to herself when she was thinking about something or when she made coffee. And I killed her. She put it on and she just... she just died. I was right there and I couldn't do anything..."
    We stayed with him for another ten minutes, but Lawrence was done.
    Ghastek waited for us in the hallway.
    "Please tell me he's on suicide watch," Curran said.
    "Of course," the Master of the Dead said. "He is under the care of a therapist, he's given access to the priest, and he is watched even when he sleeps. However, if he truly wants to kill himself, there is nothing any of us can do. It is unfortunate. He is nearing the end of his five-year journeymanship. We've invested a lot of money and time into his education."
    Of course. How silly of me to forget: People didn't employees, they had human assets, each of which with a price tag attached.
    "I've examined your drawing of the writing on the necklace," Ghastek said. "You said it appears to be a runic script of some sort but the