“At the time of his death support for Vanguard and his ideas was coming from soldiers on both sides of the war. I’d always despised the man – this was when I was a supporter of Mevolent’s, you understand, and I know that Mevolent did not appreciate Vanguard’s attempts to broker peace.

“He suspected that Vanguard was working for Eachan Meritorious, in an effort to rob Mevolent’s troops of the will to die for him. A reasonable suspicion, I think you would agree.”

“So he sent Dreylan Scarab to kill Vanguard.”

“I had turned my back on the Faceless Ones by this stage, but yes, from what I can gather, Scarab was dispatched to eliminate the problem. An arrow, dipped in poison, while Vanguard was addressing a hall full of supporters. It happened so fast nobody had time to do anything. Vanguard was dead within seconds. The crowd, and bear in mind these were all sorcerers, swarmed the area, hunting for the killer, but Scarab was gone. Skulduggery found him a few days later, and with Guild’s help, he arrested him.”

Valkyrie frowned. “Guild?”

“Guild was one of Meritorious’s most trusted men. He oversaw certain departments within the Sanctuary and his duties included direct interaction with the investigators.”

“I didn’t think Skulduggery and Guild were ever friends.”

“Oh, they weren’t,” China smiled. “They hated each other from the very start, for reasons I won’t go into here. But they worked together on occasion.”

“So they arrested Scarab and he was sent to an American prison. Where does Sanguine come into this?”

“It took a long time for me to come across this little piece of information, so I hope you understand how much of a sacrifice it is to part with it for free.”

“It wouldn’t be for free,” Valkyrie said. “You’d have my undying gratitude.”

“Free then,” China sighed. “Scarab had a son, Valkyrie. You are trying to find out who is pulling Sanguine’s strings? I’d look no further than his father.”

“Scarab is Sanguine’s dad?” Valkyrie stood. “This is…This is huge.”

“Quite.”

“China, I’m really sorry, I have to go. If I have some spare time, maybe I can stop by later to see how you are.”

“By this time tomorrow I’ll be back to my usual self. But your concern – while pointless – is noted. Of course, if our positions were reversed…”

“I know,” Valkyrie smiled. “You’d do the same for me.”

China arched an eyebrow. “I’m sorry? Do I look like I make house calls? You may leave me now.”

“Thank you, China,” Valkyrie said and turned to go. “Oh, one more thing. Ghastly’s façade. It’s great.”

China smiled. “He seems to like it, doesn’t he? It took me long enough to devise, but I think it’s worth it.”

“Me too,” smiled Valkyrie then hurried out to the corridor.

“Well?” Fletcher asked grumpily.