Ghost of Glasgow: Immortal Stonekeeper Case Files #2 (2023) Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Unwelcome Visitors

Read chapter 7 of Ghost of Glasgow: Immortal Stonekeeper Case Files #2 (2023) by Mercynarie on NovelPedia.

London’s biggest psychiatric ward was way up north of the city, beside a prison barely half its size. If there was something the government loved doing, it was segregating its citizens into conveniently localised spaces. And in this case, the city’s most dangerous people. The light evening had just fallen when Jonathan rolled up to the institution in a borrowed car from the Paranormal Bureau. She had been silent throughout the whole journey, although it was obvious to Jonathan that something had spooked her in the past few days. He did not bother probing; he knew Anya long enough to understand how stubborn she could be. The duo walked through the looming gates and headed for the reception. “Baba Yaga?” The chief warden raised an eyebrow at them. “How did you know we have this patient here? I’m going to need some identification.” “Inspector Anya Sechina,” Anya said before Jonathan could open his mouth. “Authority of the Metropolitan Police, Paranormal Division. This is my partner. Jonathan Warner.” The warden’s gaze shifted to the silver-haired woman beside them. “And you?” “Her name’s Lucy Carpenter. She’s an important witness,” Jonathan spoke up hurriedly. “Please, we need to speak with Baba Yaga for an investigation.” The truth, of course, was that Jonathan could keep an eye on Lucy at all times. But obviously, he had to come up with a more solid excuse to let her in. Rapid clicks permeated Lucy’s idle humming as they waited for the guards to finish verifying their identities. “Everything seems in place,” the warden said. “You should’ve saved us all some trouble and told us that Angus sent you. He’s a whitelisted individual in this place.” “Thank you.” Jonathan grinned in relief as the gates opened for them. “Word of advice, though, I wouldn’t place my hopes on getting anything out of Baba Yaga,” the warden called out to them. “She’s been catatonic for even longer than I’ve been here, and I’ve worked here for more than thirty years. That woman acted out a few days prior for no damn reason too. There’s an emergency button in every room. It looks like this.” He pointed at a simple red button. “Don’t hesitate to press it if you get in trouble.” “How about cameras?” Anya asked. “We have them everywhere as well, but we can’t avoid blind spots,” he replied. “There’s one in Baba’s room too, but… Well, she messes it up from time to time. We can’t get a steady feed from her; it keeps cutting off during her dinner time. It’s definitely because she’s a wi— Well, I’m assuming you know what I mean, since you’re acquainted with Angus.” Jonathan nodded. “Thanks, mate. We’ll be careful.” ~ ~ ~ If the point of an asylum was to rehabilitate the mentally ill, this room was certainly doing a dismal job. It was more of a prison, or some kind of metaphor for the emotional indifference to the mentally broken. White upon white splashed over the bare walls wrapping the room, interrupted only by patches of mould and the occasional fingernail scratch. The concrete cage was windowless, of course, to prevent its literal nutjob of a prisoner from offing herself. Fluorescent light replaced the glory of the sun without all its warmth, and a big red button sat conspicuously beside the sole patient chained to her bed. “Well met, Baba Yaga. I am Paranormal Investigator Jonathan Warner,” Jonathan said as the handle-less door closed behind him. “I have come on the behest of Changeling Angus, and I have some questions for you.” The old witch did not even bother to look at him. Well, either that or she simply couldn’t. The warden sure wasn’t lying when he said that Baba Yaga was in a catatonic state. “Do you find this symbol familiar?” Jonathan shoved his phone in her face. No time to be courteous now. Every minute of leaving this case unsolved only increased the risk of finding another murder victim. Baba Yaga groaned in response. Jonathan took it as a yes. “Of course you do. You survived an attack from the Ghost of Glasgow, didn’t you?” he continued. “How did y