Buffy shoved at the library doors, almost running as she left and nearly knocked Xander and Willow flat. Xander automatically reached out to steady himself, grabbing at her shoulders. "Whoa there, Buff, what's the deal?" he said jokingly before he looked at her pale, set face.
"Have either of you seen Giles?" she asked, looking quickly from one to the other. "I can't find him, and, and, well. You know he called me about Jenny last night, he told me not to go over, that he'd be OK, but he hasn't shown up here. He's not answering his phone……I'm worried, guys, you know Giles, this just – isn't him," she finished, the words almost falling over one another in her haste.
Xander gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze before slowly releasing her. "I'm sure he's fine, Buffy," he said firmly, looking at Willow before looking back at the tense face of the slayer. "He probably – he probably needs to be alone right now. Time to deal, you know?" He shook his head slowly. "Poor Miss Callender."
Buffy frowned, stared at them both for a moment then grabbed their hands and pulled them quickly back into the library she'd so recently left, backing through the doors in front of them. "Maybe you're right. But I have a feeling." She gestured behind her, and Willow gasped as she saw the ruined piles of ancient books, shredded pages littering the floor like leaves. "And this isn't like him either," Buffy added grimly. "You know how much he loves those books of his."
Willow wandered past Buffy, walking over to pick up a discarded book, flipping quietly through its ruined pages. She paused, looking over the top of the heap onto the floor behind the piled volumes. She hesitated. "Buffy? Did he – uh, did he tell you what happened? You never said when you called us last night."
"Just that, he found her. My God, I can't – can't even imagine it." Her expression changed and her eyes dropped to the floor, darkened with suppressed emotion. "He said he'd found a drawing. Of Jenny." Her voice cracked and she shrugged slightly. "That means it had to be Angel. Angelus who did it – who killed her."
"Oh." Willow said softly. "I'm sorry. I – we," she shot a glance a Xander, "know what this is like for you. But, uh, Buff? Think you need to come and see this. There's uh, blood over here. And, and. I think – one of Giles' ties."
Buffy hurried over to her, round the side of the books, dropping to kneel by the scattering of dark red-black drops. She reached out a tentative finger; the drops were tacky, almost dry now. And half in the shadows under the table lay a dimly patterned tie, coiled loosely, discarded.
* * * *
The three of the sat now, silent at the table in the library. The only sound was Xander's chair as he rocked backwards and forwards, the legs creaking slowly with each movement, and the sound as Willow nervously tapped a pencil on the polished wooden surface. The tie lay in front of them, accusing, coiled like a snake. Buffy took a deep breath and placed her hands flat on the table, looking at the other two.
"OK," she said. "What do we know? We know that Giles found Miss – uh, Jenny in his apartment last night. We know that it had to be something to do with Angel. But why her?" she mused. "Maybe she – found something. Her computer was wrecked, right?" Willow nodded. "So maybe it was something she was, uh, working on. So he, well, he took her to Giles, and, and left her." She laughed bitterly. "Left her for Giles to find. He called me, told me what had happened, but – well, he must have come here afterwards. But why?"
Willow looked up. They'd rummaged quickly through the discarded books earlier. "Well, the books in the pile – they're all Rituals of Summoning, Magicks." Buffy looked blank. "They're spells that can be used to summon things. I think he was trying to bring her back." Willow explained.
"Bring her – bring Jenny back – from the dead?" Buffy said, face disbelieving.
"Yeah, it would fit, wouldn't it?" Willow questioned. "You know, great love of his life, blah blah, cruelly killed by, er, cruelly killed. He'd want to reverse it, I'm sure." She smiled dreamily, sidetracked. "It's romantic, really."
"Will! And you think he found a way to do it?" Buffy asked.
Willow shook her head firmly, snapping back into reality, hair swinging round her face. "No way. There's no sign of magic, I can't feel anything, and there'd be some sign. There was no spelling or magic done here last night. But something sure happened."
Xander thumped his chair back onto all four legs. "So lets check out his apartment, see if we can find anything there." He shrugged as they looked at him. "What? I can't have an idea?"
"It's a crime scene, Xander." Buffy said. "I don't think they'd let us in to snoop round."
Xander looked hurt for a moment, then his face brightened. "Then-"
His words were cut short as the door opened and Principle Snyder strode in, looking round. He spotted them at the table and headed over to them, eyeing the piles of books and paper on the floor. Hastily the three rose to their feet as he stopped in front of them, hands folded across his chest. "So. You three again." He jerked his head at the chaos on the floor. "Anything to do with you?"
Buffy swallowed and looked at Xander and Willow who'd decided to study the table top intently. "Uh, no. We just came in here for, for books, because, we need, uh, books, and found them. Like that. Already."
"Hmph." He glanced round the room again, leaning forward slightly so he could see into the office. "Where's Mr Giles? I have some news for him."
Buffy shook her head. "We don't know, Principle Snyder. He's not here, he hasn't been in."
The Principle stared at her for a moment. "Well, he'll find out sooner or later. There are some sick people in this town, Miss Summers. Miss Callender's body is missing. From the morgue. If you see him first, tell him I want to see him. In my office." He paused for a second and then showed a side that seemed almost – human. "I know they – were close." He swung on his heel and walked out, the door swinging shut behind him.
Shocked, disbelieving, the three sat down at the table, sharing horrified glances. Xander stared back down at the table top. Willow was the first to voice their thoughts. "He – he wouldn't. Would he?" she said faintly. "He wouldn't have – taken her."
Buffy looked grim, face white. "This is Sunnydale, Will. Maybe she walked of her own accord."