Skulduggery Pleasant: Raising Cain

Chapter 178 - Interviewing Crux

Chapter 178

Ryan had quickly turned back into Deacon Maybury after the Doomsday Machine had been deactivated and the disassembly had begun. Valkyrie was quite unimpressed with Maybury, considering one of his identical brothers, Dafydd, had fallen prey to Foe's Gang, as well as drawing Crasis into the mess for no reason. And the fact he tried to sell a world-ending bomb on the Black-Market-for-Mages. That was pretty awful. She hadn't been there to punch him, but he had been arrested and would be facing legal consequences, and had apparently gone away crying.

Meanwhile, Valkyrie and Dexter went to the Sanctuary with their three prisoners to interview them. Of course, Mercy was immediately put into chains and doctors began the task of how much damage had been done to her brain. They just had to deal with Scapegrace and Crux for now. The rest of her family would be continuing with the New Year Eve problems without them, and there were a lot.

Crux had to be anesthetised to deal with getting him in an interview room, so while he sleepily sat at his interview table on his way to being coherent enough to talk to, Valkyrie and Dexter went to Scapegrace to start.

"Vaurien," Valkyrie said pleasantly. "You're a wanted man."

"I am?" He said blankly, before suddenly puffing his chest out. "I mean, of course I am! I'm the Killer Supreme."

"Multiple attempts at murder, evasion of the law, setting a luxury hot chocolate shop on fire in Wales, bodily assault, and for working for Grievers Down, a place that attempted to rape a minor at the same time of your employment, someone we know you came into contact with at the time. And now this. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Valkyrie asked sweetly.

He had been grinning proudly until she mentioned Grievers Down, and now he looked ill. "I never tried to – I wouldn't! I mean, I love to kill people, but I'd never do something like that! That's sick."

"Well, that's all well and good, Scapegrace, but right now it looks as if you're getting charged with assailing the escape of and profiting off of a business that attempts to rape minors. That carries a charge of approximately fifty to a hundred years depending on the severity of your involvement."

He looked aghast. "I only worked there that one night! I only volunteered too!"

"Vaurien," she simpered, reaching across the table although they couldn't reach each other. She smiled kindly. "I understand. You're not like that, and I can see how this charge offends you. But you have to understand, there are no reliable sources to validate your side of the story, we only know that you were there. But I can see that you weren't involved in the crimes of Grievers Down."

"You were there," he said defensively. "I only tried to kill you."

"I know, and I believe you, but the Sanctuary don't want to believe you on your word. How about I offer a deal. I'll have that charge taken off if you tell me what led you to know Foe's gang and Crux and all that happened in your time with them. I might even be able to get you a smaller sentence."

He went to nod, and then looked at her suspiciously. "How do I know you'll keep your word?"

"I always keep my word," she said seriously. "If I didn't, no one would trust me, after all."

Scapegrace considered and then agreed. He embellished his story greatly, but Valkyrie narrowed it down to this – he ran into Crux on accident and agreed to help him out of fear for his life when he upset Crux. Crux already knew Foe's gang at this point. Together, they broke into a low-level prison and busted Springheeled Jack who agreed to help Foe's gang as payment for breaking him out. Neither he nor Jack were told what the Doomsday Machine was other than it was a bomb and very important to Foe's gang. He had overheard Foe and Crux talking about a favour, which seemed to be that Foe's gang would only work for Crux if he helped them with getting the Doomsday Machine and key first, so it didn't seem Crux understood what it did either. Of course, upon getting to Nevada and fighting the Dead Men, the ever so brave Scapegrace had found out what the Doomsday Machine really did and cowered in the corner out of fear for his life but certainly did not help from there on out.