After a long, winding ride, a farmhouse inched into view ahead of us, the details crystalizing slowly as we approached. It was a two-story house near the base of a rocky, sloping hill, which rolled and bumped its way up into the bordering mountains. Beside the building sat a barn with a slightly sagging roof, and beyond that, a half-dozen goats were grazing in a wide field bordered by a simple wooden fence. I spied a figure in the sunlight, and then a second and third. They seemed to spot us as well, and three men came to greet the carriage as we drew to a halt.
The first was an older gentleman in faded coveralls and a battered, wide-brimmed hat. He gave Hank a friendly wave as we approached. The second was a young man in sturdy slacks and a tailored vest, though he had rolled up his sleeves, and his trousers were caked with dirt. A fine layer of dust seemed to have settled all over the fellow. The third was dressed in a policeman’s blues, and I recognized his face at once. Charlie caught my eye through the window and smiled as we drew near.
“Hank?” called the man in coveralls when the horses had stopped. “Hank Hudson, it is you! It’s been forever since you were out this way.”
The carriage rocked as Hank hopped to the ground. He greeted the man with a hearty handshake. “Hugo Brisbee. Good ta see ya, old man. Listen, I was real sorry to hear about Miss Madeleine. If you need anything at all . . .”
Brisbee forced a pained but appreciative smile. His eyes looked like they were welling up, but he blinked and shook his head. “That’s very kind of you, Hank, but I’ll make do. I’ve got to press on. My Maddie was never one to let me mope around when there was work to be done. She always . . .” His voice caught, and he took a deep breath. “Anyway, you should meet my new friend . . .”
Brisbee made a few introductions I couldn’t quite hear, and Charlie stepped forward to assist Jackaby and me out of the carriage. “Thank you, Mr. Barker,” I said, climbing down first.
“I wish I had known you would be here this early. I would have come to greet you at the station,” he said. “Things run a little more slowly out here in the valley. My new cabin is up the road just a few miles, so I took the liberty of meeting you here, instead. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Of course not. You’re lovely—I mean, it’s lovely!” My face instantly flushed. “To see you again. It’s lovely to see you again.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Rook. You’re the first visitors I’ve seen from my old life.” A hint of melancholy flickered across his face. I couldn’t imagine how he must have felt. It had been hard enough for me to choose to turn away from the life I had known, but in Charlie’s case, it was his life that had turned on him. “Mr. Jackaby,” he said, “I’m very happy to see you as well. I still owe you a great deal.”
Jackaby waved him away as he stepped down. “Nonsense. New Fiddleham owes us all a great deal, but cities are notoriously unreliable debtors. You’re better off dealing with goblins. How is banishment these days?”
“Not as wretched as you might imagine.” Charlie’s voice was soft, accented with a few gentle, Slavic undertones. “The valley is really quite serene, and I am getting to know my neighbors, few though they may be. There are good people here.”
“One fewer of them than there ought to be,” said Jackaby quietly.
Charlie nodded gravely and glanced back. The three men were chatting cordially behind him. “I haven’t discussed the matter with Mr. Brisbee,” he whispered. “I did not wish to cause him any further distress. The woman’s death was already hard enough—and it might have been nothing . . .”
“It’s never nothing, though, is it?” Jackaby gave me a meaningful glance. “Don’t worry. We will endeavor to keep our investigation clandestine.”
Charlie nodded.
Hudson laughed at something the dusty stranger had said, and then he turned his attention to us. “How about you, young man?” he called over to Charlie. “You ever go huntin’ big game?”
My stomach lurched.
“Big game?” Charlie asked.
“There’s somethin’ big come to Gad’s Valley.” The trapper was grinning avidly. “And I aim to catch it. Ever been on a hunt yourself?”