Secrets and Lies

"I really don't want to go to Inverness," Phoebe admitted quietly as she cuddled up close against my side again. "Not right now. Not today."

She let out a long sigh then added, "This time yesterday? For sure. Hell if we'd got word while we were still on the train, I'd have stayed in the carriage and continued on to Inverness. I'd have texted Duncan an apology and an excuse, and dealt with the consequences later. But now, after talking with my parents last night? No. I don't want to rush off again just yet."

I gave the cute redhead a gentle squeeze before responding softly, "That's ok. We'll tell Grace that we can't do it right now. If that's not good enough they can send someone else. I don't know if Owen's ready to go back into the field, but Martin should be. And Dr. Goodland has experience with the military, that and her psychology training would make her ideal for this I think."

"Ava doesn't have any field experience," Feebs pointed out. "And despite what Terry said last week Martin's still recovering, same as Owen. Right now you and I are the only healthy experienced field operatives."

She had a point there, but that didn't mean we had to rush off immediately on a new case.

"I'm sure Owen would understand if we said we needed a few more days first," I replied. "I got the impression he knows things have been difficult between you and your family. From the sound of it he knew it's a big deal that you're visiting them now."

My partner sighed again, "Much as I don't want to go, that's the job we signed up for. And if something really is killing people we can't ignore it just because the timing's inconvenient."

She had a good point there, but I was still inclined to let the work situation wait a couple days. Instead I suggested, "Let's not make any decisions until we've had a chance to review the dossier. I'm sure there'll be more information in there that we didn't get during the call, that might help us decide whether or not it can wait another day or two."

"You could also tell your parents something's come up," I added. "Now that they know what you're really doing, they may well understand that sometimes work takes precedence over personal matters. At least when it comes to public safety."

"Aye," she nodded slowly. "That's a good idea too. Thanks Tril, for -"

Just then we were both distracted by a soft knock at the door, followed by an unfamiliar woman's voice. "Hello? Miss, are you awake?"

Phoebe and I exchanged a glance, then she responded by calling out, "Aye we're up. What is it?"

The voice replied, "Mrs. Campbell asked me to let you know breakfast will be served in thirty minutes, miss."

"Right, thank you!" Feebs called back towards the door.

Then she made a face and added quietly, "No idea who that was. One of the staff, I suppose."

I suggested, "We should probably think about getting up then. Join the family for breakfast, so you can spend some more time with your parents?"

"Aye," the redhead nodded. Then she grimaced, "And Duncan too, unfortunately."

Half an hour wasn't enough time for a proper shower before getting dressed, but then again we'd spent some time in that big bathtub last night so we could probably skip the shower for today. Instead we both freshened up in the en-suite bathroom then pulled on some clothes. The two of us opted for comfy and casual again, Feebs was in a pair of tight jeans and a scoop-neck tee while I pulled on some leggings and a larger tunic-style top.

When we were ready Phoebe led the way, back down the wide curving staircase in the big front hall and through a different door on the left. Part-way down that hall we found the dining room, which was another large opulent room. This one was dominated by a huge hardwood table that looked like it could comfortably seat well over a dozen people. There were ten chairs positioned around it, but only five of them had been prepared with place settings.

There was a second door off to one side of the room that I was pretty sure led to the kitchen, and next to that was a sideboard that was currently home to a pot of coffee on a warming plate, and a pitcher of orange juice along with mugs and glasses. And I spotted cream and sugar on the dining table, along with little pots of jam and marmalade.

Mr. Campbell sat at the head of the table, and today he was dressed in pressed trousers and a light jacket over a button-down shirt with a tie. Mrs. Campbell was seated to his left, she was dressed similar to last night with a warm jumper over her blouse and slacks. Duncan sat across from his mother, by his father's right side. And once again he was sharply-dressed, in a tailored suit and tie.

The two remaining place settings were on opposite sides of the table, one was beside Mrs. Campbell while the other was next to Phoebe's brother. Which wasn't ideal, I knew Feebs would have preferred to sit next to me and honestly I felt the same.

Everyone else already had coffee and juice in front of them, so Feebs and I helped ourselves to beverages before taking our seats. And rather than make a fuss over the seating arrangements I quietly took the spot to Duncan's right, since I figured of the two my partner would be more comfortable next to her mother.

"Good morning Phoebe, Trillium," Mr. Campbell said as the two of us got settled.

Mrs. Campbell asked, "I trust you both slept well?"

We exchanged a glance across the table that got the redhead's cheeks warming as she replied, "Aye. We had a good night."

Duncan scowled like he was about to comment, when that other door swung open and a young woman came through carrying a large tray. She looked to be in her mid thirties, a little taller than myself, and with an average build. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a bun, and her attractive face was accented by some subtle make-up. She was dressed in a long-sleeve white blouse, knee-length black skirt, black hose, and low-heeled shoes. Between the outfit and the tray she looked like a waitress, but I figured she was probably more like a maid.

She served Mr. Campbell first, followed by his wife and Phoebe, before moving around the table to set the last two plates down in front of Duncan and myself. We'd all been given the same thing, which consisted of two eggs sunny-side up, two slices of fried tomato, two slices of buttered toast, and a decent helping of crispy bacon.

"Thank you Lacie," Mrs. Campbell said while the young woman was working. Then she gestured towards Feebs and myself and introduced us, "This is our daughter Phoebe, and her partner Trillium."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," the maid greeted us both with a polite smile.

I recognized her voice as the person who called at our door earlier. My partner and I returned the greeting, then Lacie topped up Duncan's and Mr. Campbell's coffees before retreating back through the same doorway.

Mr. Campbell and Duncan both got started on their food, while Mrs. Campbell hesitated. The older woman looked to Phoebe and I as she asked, "I hope this is alright for both of you? If you have any special dietary requests or preferences you can let Pierre know and he'll take care of things."

"This is fine mother," Feebs replied. "Thanks for asking though."

Duncan scowled again but kept any comments to himself, and for the next few minutes all of us quietly enjoyed the meal. It was good too, apart from being a little greasy. It seemed like both the eggs and the tomato slices had been fried in the fat from all the bacon.

Eventually the patriarch of the family spoke up, "Have you had a chance to think about my request, Phoebe? Will you and Trillium be staying with us over the holidays?"

The cute redhead stifled a sigh, then paused for a deep sip of her coffee before responding.

"We were in the process of discussing it," she began as she set her mug back down. "But then we got an emergency call from work first thing this morning. Something's come up, and it sounds like it might be critical. There's -"

"Oh please," Duncan cut her off there with another scowl. "What sort of 'emergency' would some shady import export firm even have? Honestly this sounds like one of your pathetic excuses. If you're that desperate to turn your back on your family then I say go, and good riddance to you."

"Duncan," Mr. Campbell's voice was quiet but his expression was firm as he addressed his oldest child, "That's enough."

The older man's attention returned to Phoebe and he asked, "This emergency, is it the same sort of thing you told your mother and I about last night? Something dangerous?"

"Aye," Feebs sighed. "Possibly. That's part of what they want us to try and find out."

I added, "They'll be emailing us a full dossier shortly. Once we've had a chance to review all the details we should have a better idea of how urgent it is."

Duncan scoffed at that. His voice was thick with sarcasm as he asked, "Who exactly are 'they'? And again, what kind of emergency does an import firm have?"

"Unless you're importing illegal drugs," he added with an accusing look. "Then I suppose a lost shipment might lead to some dire consequences."

My partner retorted, "Open your bloody eyes, man! The firm's a front! It's right there in the name, Llewellyn Import Export Services? It's LIES, Duncan. It's a cover. And I don't care what you think of me, but you already know Tril's a detective. Over ten years experience at the Met, before she joined our team in Cardiff."

I added calmly, "In this case 'they' refers to the British Army. One of their generals contacted our team manager last night, to request our assistance."

William spoke up again there, before Duncan had a chance to try and refute what we'd just said. The older man advised his daughter, "Tell your brother what you really do, Phoebe. What you've been doing, all these years."

"Alright," Feebs sighed. "So here's the thing..."

She spent the rest of breakfast giving her brother a condensed version of everything she told her parents the night before. From her two decades with the brotherhood to its dissolution last year, then her move to Cardiff at a friend's request so she could join LIES. She told him how she was transformed by that monster in Yorkshire, and how I joined the team after that case. Through it all Duncan's expression remained set, and it was clear he didn't believe a word of it.

Sure enough the older sibling sounded sarcastic again as he asked, "I don't suppose you have some way to prove any of this nonsense? Apart from even more elaborate lies and excuses, that is."

Rather than respond Phoebe just gave her brother a dark look, so I decided to answer for her.

I turned in my seat to face Duncan and asked, "I take it you don't follow the news then? At least not news from London. Otherwise you might have seen both Phoebe and I in an altercation at the start of the month, when we intercepted a Lich in the lobby of a high-end hotel in Westminster."

"Then again if you're looking for immediate proof of magic and the supernatural there's always this," I added, before concentrating on the light spell.

Even if it was perhaps the most useless spell I knew, I still thought it was impressive. And apparently Phoebe's family shared that opinion, as all three of them ended up staring in shock at the glowing ball of light that appeared floating in mid-air in front of them. It was barely a dozen centimetres across, but shone pure white as it hovered a half meter above the table.

"That's just a simple light spell," Feebs commented quietly. "It's harmless, completely safe."

Her tone became much more grim as she continued, "And if we'd had this conversation last year, the people I used to work for wouldn't think twice before killing both Trillium and myself for divulging their secrets and openly demonstrating magic. Then they'd likely eliminate everyone else in the house, and burn the place to the ground afterwards, to ensure those secrets stayed kept. So I hope you'll understand why I've never breathed a word of this before."

By the time she was done her parents and brother had stopped gawking at the light spell and instead were staring at Phoebe. And from their expressions I could tell Duncan and her dad were both a little shocked, while her mom looked even more upset.

"Have you ever..." Mr. Campbell started to ask. After a brief pause he forced himself to finish the question, but his voice wavered as he did so. "You said you worked for them for two decades. Have you ever had to do that? Take a life, I mean?"

My partner hesitated, and for a second I thought she might not answer. It seemed like she was determined to come clean with her family though, so after a second or two she slowly nodded.

"Aye," she sighed. "In my time with the Brotherhood I've personally taken four lives. One was a dangerous fae who'd started preying on people, the other three were humans. I wasn't asked to murder people in cold blood for the sake of secrecy, they had specialists for that. I've killed two humans in self-defence, once to save my own skin and the other to save a colleague's life. The third was an act of mercy, to bring peace to someone who's suffering couldn't be ended any other way."

She'd been speaking softly through all that, but from the emotion in her voice at the end I knew there had to be an unpleasant story there. I was positive her parents noticed it too, and came to the same conclusion as me. Meanwhile her brother was looking a lot more wary now, and maybe even a little thoughtful too as he regarded the petite redhead. Then I remembered her threat to him from the other night, when he turned up at our flat. She'd warned him she was more dangerous than he could imagine, and it seemed like he understood now that she wasn't kidding.

The tension in the dining room suddenly eased when somebody's phone buzzed with an alert. Feebs let out another sigh as she reached back, and squirmed a bit before she was able to extract her mobile from a very tight pocket. She checked the screen then looked to me, "That's the dossier, and it looks like a big one. I don't suppose you brought your laptop?"

"It's in my travel bag," I nodded.

Phoebe got to her feet as she told her parents, "Mother, father, please excuse us. Trillium and I will need some time to review this. And I can guarantee it's not something any of you will want to see."

"Once we've had time to go over all the details we should have a better idea whether or not we'll have to deal with this immediately," I added as I stood up too. "Thank you for breakfast."