"Yes, I know, but we came across his name in our search" – I hesitated, then remembered I'd told her at least some of the story the last time we'd been here – "for the keys to heaven and hell's gates, and were just wondering —"
"I assure you," Adeline interrupted again. "Michael would never be involved in such a theft. Alive or dead."
"I didn't mean to imply that he was. It's just that we think someone might have assumed his identity. In which case, we need to know more about Michael in order to track down the fraud."
She studied me for a moment, then rose and walked over to the mantelpiece. She picked up a small, framed photograph and offered it to me. "That's Michael. It was taken just before he died."
The man in the photograph was silver haired, with blue eyes and round, kind features and a build not dissimilar to Adeline's – although he was far thinner than she now was. "How old was he here?"
"Nearly thirty. Gray hair runs in the family, I'm afraid."
"And do you have any contact with his friends? Was he close to anyone in particular, or did he make a new acquaintance just before he died?"
"Not that I'm aware of. Why?"
I ignored her question, asking instead, "And how did he die?"
"Accident. He was heavily into the motor cross scene, and slid off during a race and hit several trees. Unfortunately, one of the smaller ones speared him. He never recovered."
So, an accident rather than murder, Azriel commented. Perhaps in this case, the shifter merely appropriated the name of someone with few relatives.
Sounds like it. Still, it couldn't hurt to be sure. "And he was buried appropriately?"
Her frown grew. "Of course. I ensured he could not be raised, if that is your next question. And it isn't as if a zombie would be much use to anyone anyway. They are very obviously dead."
But they could still be damn dangerous if raised by the wrong person.
"True, but that wasn't the point of the question. You see, Michael is not the only person whose identity our shifter has stolen, but up until your brother, he's murdered all those whose lives he's stepped into. I just wanted to make sure Michael wasn't another of his victims."