The important thing is not to stop questioning.— Albert Einstein
On site, the team note the large amounts of candle wax, indicating the large number of candles that illuminated the area, and take samples. Expensive unscented beeswax candles, it later turns out. They carry on to the ladder that the McKenzies ascended, at which point they admit to seeing someone on fire. Initial skepticism amongst the police is confounded by the baked patches in the muck; one of them large, the rest about footprint sized. And then of course there is the melted rung of the ladder, and what to Blakely's experienced eyes looks like blood. Shelly gets very squeamish at this point, apparently honestly. Magariel has dark thoughts of human sacrifice, and more samples are taken of everything interested.
Casting around, the investigators find the freshly-collapsed sewer, and painstakingly make the same deductions that were made last night. The collapse is less than a day old, and was caused by extreme heat. Someone was living here, judging from the crisp packets, but the area's too churned up to be able to tell any more. And so on.
Meanwhile Atoziel is investigating Herald, since the angels are no longer sure that she's human. She has a live-in boyfriend, a plumber by the name of Richard Brierly. Brierly survives Atoziel's background checks, as does Herald to the extent that the angel concentrates on her. It appears that Brierly has been kept informed of Herald's disappearance.
Boriel in his turn has a brief phone conversation with Harry. Harry's in the office and doesn't want to talk just then, so the two agree to meet up for lunch.
Back down in the sewers, the police team follow the McKenzies' trail up to the next sewer level. The extra four sets of tracks of the rugby players are noted, but the McKenzies keep quiet about them until pressed. Yes, there were more people down here for the same nebulous reasons as the McKenzies, but even then they decline to identify them.
As they leave the sewers, Magariel asks Shelly if she could draw a picture of the flaming person they saw, to see if it will give them any better idea. Shelly, dubious of her own artistic talents, agrees to try; Magariel looks forward to having something created to use her attunment on.
At lunchtime, Boriel and Harry meet up in the Dog and Duck. Harry passes on the news that they did find the person that Barry and Jono "saw" and helped get him to hospital. They've tried to keep a low profile about this, so don't go telling anyone, OK. On being pressed about the surprising degree of acceptance that the four of them showed, Harry admits that this isn't the first vision that Jono has had. The first one was in circumstances that they all knew to be true, but Harry refuses to be drawn any further. It's done with, and none of them want to think about it ever again.
Helophel spends her morning assisting Jophiel, the excitable Ofanite secretary at the Cenotaph offices, in the creation and filling out of the Department of Extra-Normal Affairs. It is noted that CI5 do show interest in their existence.
Back at the police station, Blakely and Magariel set about the forensic work. Magariel does take a lunch break to check on Jenny, who is in a mildly dangerous situation that shouldn't threaten physical danger in the near future (meaning that Tom isn't going to do anything stupid immediately), and to return Boriel's laptop. The forensics show that the blood collected was of Herald's blood type. As Blakley is arranging to visit Herald's flat to see if he can collect DNA to match against the evidence, PC McClennan sidles in to warn them that the Internal Affairs officers are back with more questions. No great surprise there.
Blakely heads off, leaving Maggie to take care of the lab, reasoning that Internal Affairs can catch up with him later if they need anything Maggie can't tell them. It isn't until some minutes later that Inspector Jones of Internal Affairs and his tame gorilla — sorry, well-built assistant — arrive. Jones demands information, and Maggie finds herself needing to make a Will roll to resist a Balseraphic resonance. Flexing her mental muscles but unwilling to give herself away by spending Essence, Maggie none the less makes it. She plays along, however, telling nearly all and showing off the evidence to the pair. Jones shows interest when the burning is mentioned, and Magariel notes that his assistant, who is never introduced to her, readily identifies the blood in the muck samples. They thank her and leave, and Maggie is able to find out from the other officers lurking around that they are heading off to the hospital next to visit Wells. Since Wells is still sedated, this isn't going to get them much information is the general opinion.
Magariel immediately phones Boriel, asking him to keep watch on Wells. She's not quite sure what Jones will do, but she reckons he's a demon, which is good enough for the Malakite. Boriel in turn phones Helophel to get her over to Hammersmith General, while Magariel warns Blakely (whose Will is pitiful really, so it's a good thing he wasn't in the lab). Much rapid planning ensues.