And James knew it was false. Someone was playing a trick, a horrible trick, and when James got ahold of them, he would slice off their hands with a ragged seraph blade.
As he careened up the steps, the others quick on his heels, someone in the crowd shouted out, “You! Lightwoods!”
Christopher and Anna both turned, Christopher with an inquisitive look on his face. It was Augustus Pounceby, who had been muttering with the Townsends, who had called out. Anna gazed at him as if he were an insect she planned to feed to Percy.
“What?” she demanded.
“Get your parents to open up the Institute!” Augustus yelled. “We’ve heard they caught the murderer—we deserve to know who it is!”
“The Institute’s locked?” Lucie whispered. Usually anyone with Shadowhunter blood could open the front doors of the cathedral. Institutes were locked only in times of emergency. James took the remaining steps two at a time and seized the heavy door knocker.
The sound echoed through the Institute. Anna continued to look at Augustus as if he were a bug. A few moments later the front door of the cathedral opened a crack, and Gabriel Lightwood ushered them all inside.
“Thank the Angel it’s you. I thought I might have to chase off more nosy Enclave members.” Gabriel looked haggard, his brown hair sticking up in spikes. He hugged Anna and Christopher before turning to the rest of the group. “Well, this is a fine mess, isn’t it? How’d you find out?”
“Brother Enoch told us,” Matthew said shortly. “We know they found Thomas with Lilian Highsmith’s body, and they’ve arrested him.”
“Brother Enoch?” Gabriel looked puzzled.
“He’d dropped by with a recipe for mince pies,” said James. “How are Aunt Sophie and Uncle Gideon? And Eugenia?”
“They raced here as soon as they found out,” said Gabriel as they reached the second floor. “Just ahead of the crowd, thankfully. They’re frantic, of course—Thomas wasn’t just found with the body; he was covered in blood and holding a knife. And of all people to find him, it had to be Bridgestock.”
“The Inquisitor?” Cordelia looked dismayed. Come to think of it, James had seen Mrs. Bridgestock outside, though there had been no sign of Ariadne—or Grace, either, for that matter.
“He happened to be on patrol in the area,” said Gabriel. They had reached the library; they all spilled inside to find James’s aunt Sophie pacing back and forth across the polished wood floor. Lucie raced over to her. James stayed where he was; he felt wound impossibly tight, as if he might explode with rage if he touched anyone.
“Where is he?” James demanded, as Lucie seized their aunt’s hands and squeezed them. “Where’s Tom?”
“Oh, darling. He’s in the Sanctuary,” Sophie said, looking as warmly as she could at all of them. Her forehead was furrowed deeply with worry. “Bridgestock brought him back here and insisted he be locked up and the Council notified. Gideon went straight off to fetch Charlotte, and as soon as the Inquisitor got wind of that, he hared off to try to get to Mayfair first.” She passed a hand across her forehead. “I don’t know how word gets around so fast. We had to lock the doors—we were afraid we’d be mobbed by Enclave members who heard rumors that a suspect had been apprehended.”
“Will the rest of the Enclave be informed?” James asked, thinking of the angry crowd in the courtyard. “That Thomas is the suspect?”
“Not yet,” Sophie said. “Bridgestock grumbled, but even he saw the sense in keeping quiet until Charl—until the Consul arrived. He swore his patrol partners to secrecy too. There’s no reason to raise everyone’s ire, since Thomas is obviously innocent.”
Gabriel turned away, swearing quietly under his breath. James knew what he was thinking. Sophie might be convinced of Thomas’s innocence, but not everyone would be.
“We need to see Thomas,” James said. “Before everyone else gets here. Especially the Inquisitor. Aunt Sophie,” he said, seeing the uncertain look on her face. “You know he’ll want to see us.”
Sophie nodded. “All right, but only you, Christopher, and Matthew. And be quick. I expect Charlotte will be arriving shortly with her entourage, and the Inquisitor won’t want to find anyone in the Sanctuary. The rest of you will have to wait here—”
“Well, I shan’t be doing any waiting,” Anna said, in a voice like ice crystals. “Were there any witnesses to what happened, Aunt Sophie? Lilian’s death, or why Thomas was there?”