"Ms. D?"
Angel drew a sharp breath as she repeated the name.
Her codename made it clear that she was another Oracle of the Aurora Order.
"That's what the man who came to redeem the bearer bond called her. He sounded respectful, like he was speaking to a superior or a teacher."
After a cup of coffee with extra sugar, Klein had recovered some strength, but he still lay slumped on the sofa as he added,
"Apparently, every Oracle of the Aurora Order has a number of subordinates. Some have enough to form combat teams. It looks like he's one of them."
Dunn thought for a moment, then shared what he knew with the other two Nighthawks.
"But they can't be equals, can they?" Angel asked. "That means the person who killed the Pluck Family wasn't an Oracle of the Aurora Order. That's different from what we thought."
"Or Ms. D was the one behind the murders, and the killer we've identified is just a front. Bait?"
Another possibility had occurred to her, one that made more sense and fit the Aurora Order's way of doing things.
"At a time like this, you're supposed to say..." Klein sat up and smiled. "Seer, verify it for us."
He unfastened the cuff at his left wrist, where his police uniform concealed a gold chain. He let it fall, leaving the amethyst suspended above the table, swaying gently.
"The person who redeemed this bond was the true killer of Alan Pluck's family."
He repeated the divination statement silently seven times, entered a meditative state, and quickly reached a conclusion.
The real killer was someone else!
After returning the intact bond to a visibly relieved bank manager, the three Nighthawks took a carriage straight back to the Blackthorn Security Company on Zouteland Street.