“Father went with them,” Christopher added, taking off his spectacles and cleaning them on his shirt. “They turned the place upside down, but they didn’t find anything but an abandoned Ourobas nest. They’ll keep an eye on it, but…”

“No one really thinks the killer’s likely to return,” James said. “Why he dumped the cloak there, we don’t know—presumably he didn’t want to be caught wandering about London in bloody clothes.”

“They’ve tried Tracking the killer with the cloak, but no luck, even with the blood on it,” Thomas said. “They’ll probably hand it over to the Brothers for further investigation.”

“I can’t help wondering, ought we to tell the Enclave about the other ghost? The one who guided us to the factory?” asked Lucie. She was twisting her skirt around one hand anxiously.

“No,” James said firmly. “Ghosts talk to each other, don’t they? There’s no reason to think that your Regency gentleman had anything to do with the murders. And if the Enclave finds out that ghosts are appealing to you, Luce…” He sighed, leaning his back against the frame of the ottoman. His hair was even untidier than usual, his eyes a dark, somber gold. “I don’t like the idea. They’ll start poking and prodding at you, seeing if you can get other ghosts to approach you, seeing if they can use you to get clues. And not all the dead are friendly.”

Lucie looked horrified. “You think they’d do that?”

“Bridgestock would certainly want to,” said Matthew. “James is right.”

“Then let’s think about something else instead,” said Cordelia. “What of the killer’s motive? Filomena was barely known by anyone, and why would anyone who wanted Pounceby or Gladstone dead have something against her as well?”

“Your brother, Alastair, said something last night, at the meeting,” said Thomas reluctantly. “I gather he reads mundane newspapers. Among mundanes, there are mad people who kill just to kill. Perhaps there is no motive.”

“When there is no motive or personal connection, only indiscriminate hate, it may be nearly impossible to find a murderer,” said Matthew.

“But the killer isn’t being indiscriminate,” Lucie said. “He killed three Shadowhunters. We’re a specific group. Mundanes don’t know about us, so it can’t be one of them killing randomly. Though I suppose… I suppose it could be someone with the Sight killing within Downworld.”

“If that were the case, Downworlders would turn up dead as well,” said James. “As for Shadowhunters, we kill for our livelihood. They put weapons in our hands when we are children and tell us, ‘Kill monsters.’ Such violence might make anyone mad.”

“What about a possessed Shadowhunter?” said Lucie. “Under a warlock’s control or—”

“We cannot be possessed, Lucie,” said Christopher. “You know that. We have the protection spells we are given at birth.”