Читать книгу Midnight Lover - Rosemary Laurey - Страница 10

Yesterday Toby had driven this road, thinking perhaps Adela was overreacting. Now he wondered what exactly awaited them in Dark Falls. He was actually quite curious to hear what tale the deputy had to spin.

“I don’t know what to tell Gertrude,” Adela said, shaking her head. “I should have called her and told her.”

“Best wait until we know for sure. Might not be as bad as it looked last night. It was dark.”

She gave a dry chuckle. “Toby, I appreciate your efforts to be tactful but are you really telling me you couldn’t see with your vampire sight?”

“I could see, but couldn’t foresee how it would burn. Something may be left.”

Not much.

The house was a charred shell, the car a heap of black metal. The smell of burned rubber still lingered in the air and the remaining grass and shrubs were trampled underfoot.

“Dear goddess!” Adela said, her voice tight and low with shock. “It’s destroyed.”

He couldn’t argue. “I brought a camera. A few pictures for the insurance will help your friend.”

“I bet her insurance papers were in the house.”

He smiled. “We can take care of things.”

That earned him a sideways look. “Oh! I forgot how you people manage everything.” Obviously realizing that sounded snippy, she shrugged. “Sorry, didn’t quite mean that the way it came out.”

Maybe she hadn’t. One never knew with a witch. Not that he’d known that many others. Elizabeth Kyd and old Nora back on the plantation were about it. “Never mind. Do what you, or Gertrude, can. If there’s any trouble, the colony is at your service.”

“Of two witches?”

“Why not?”

“Thank you,” she said, as they walked to the back of the ruin. Here it was even worse. The flames having swept this direction and engulfed two trees and a low hedge that bordered the now-ruined vegetable garden. Astounding what a bunch of clodhopping yahoos could do in a few hours.

What if Adela had been in the house? True, the deputy made an attempt to remove her from the house, but even so…“Adela, someone’s coming.” At her raised eyebrow, he grinned. Couldn’t help it. “Up the road. They’ll be here in a minute. Want to stay out of sight?”

“Why should I? I’ve a vampire to defend me.”

“Better keep that under your hat. As unfriendly as the locals are, they’ll start sharpening stakes.”

“Ouch.” She smiled back. “Works, does it?”

Best to let mortals think it did. “Let’s meet the visitors, shall we?”

They turned the side of the house just as the cruiser pulled up and two deputies got out, one reaching into the boot for a bundle of stakes. Interesting. A coincidence, of course. Toby hoped.

“Toby?” Adela whispered, tension tightening her voice.

He shook his head and grinned and walked up to the deputy, who was standing, back to the house, watching as the deputy reached into the boot again. “Get the lead out, Travers! We haven’t got all day.”

“Ah! Good morning, Officer!”

The man spun in surprise and welcomed them both with a deep scowl. “You here again?”

“Indeed I am.”

“What are you doing here?”

Toby took several steps forward. Might as well invade the man’s personal space while he was at it. “I brought Mrs. Whyte back home and…”

“What exactly happened?” Adela asked.

“The house burned down last night.” He didn’t sound exactly concerned.

“So I observed.”

Toby held back a smile. Adela sounded positively waspish. And the deputy did not appreciate her attitude. “These things happen. Where were you?”

Adela was not one to be browbeaten. “Fortunately, out of the house.”

“Yeah, well, you can’t get in there now.” He nodded to the deputy. “Travers, get that crime scene tape.” The deputy bestowed another frown on them.

“You suspect a crime here, Officer? Surely not arson?” Sarcastic, yes, but justified in the circumstances.

“What are you suggesting?” The man had an impressive repertoire of belligerent facial expressions.

“You mentioned a crime, Deputy, and I have to agree. It’s rather odd that the house burned down with no one there.”

“Wasn’t the local fire department called?” Adela added, obviously getting into deputy-baiting.

“Back here, so far from the road, no one saw anything until it was too late,” he lied. “It was pretty burned out before anyone noticed.”

Toby resisted the urge to grab the man’s mind and force an admission of complicity. There was time. “Unfortunate. But I feel sure we can count on your good offices, to ensure there is no vandalism of the remains.” The second deputy paused in unwinding the yellow tape and Toby fancied a flicker of a smirk on his face.

Another fulsome scowl from the first deputy. Perhaps he suspected Toby was taking the mick. “You Australian or what?”

“Neither.” Toby met his scowl with a smile and a shake of his head. “I’m from South Carolina but have lived in the U.K. for a few years.” Nearly a century and a half, to be accurate. “Perhaps I picked up a bit of an accent.”

The man grunted back. “You can’t get in either, you know. No one crosses that tape.”

“I can’t imagine why anyone would want to!” Adela replied, an edge in her voice under the apparent nonchalance. “I’ll have to let Gertrude know what happened. I’m sure she’ll want to contact you and the local fire chief—for the insurance, of course. I expect they’ll send someone down to investigate. At least then we’ll know how it all started.”

Good for Adela! The belligerence register went up at least five notches.

“We’ll see about that.”

“I trust you will, Officer.” The man had his hand on the butt of his gun. Not that the prospect of a bullet bothered Toby, but Adela was mortal and vulnerable to gunshots. He took her arm. “We might as well get back. You need to contact the owner so she can take care of everything.” He couldn’t resist a final genial smile at the sad specimen of law enforcement. “I’m sure you’ll be contacted.”

“He should be damn thankful,” Adela muttered between clenched teeth, “that I follow the Wiccan reede of ‘Harm to none.’ He’s a lying bastard!”

“I do sympathize. If I hadn’t been hamstrung by our code, I’d have been tempted to sink my teeth in his throat! But”—he paused as he negotiated a sharp bend—“the most pressing need is to contact your friend.”

“I have this hideous worry that Gertrude didn’t have insurance.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that.”

“And why not? Replacing a house and all your furniture and belongings isn’t exactly like buying a new washing machine!”

Mortals did get testy under stress. “If she is uninsured, we contact our mutual acquaintance Mr. Roman.”

“Vlad?” She must be the only mortal to know the Lord of Wallachia’s traveling name.

“I don’t doubt in his vast empire, he has an insurance company or two. If nothing else, he will make sure the arson is investigated.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because one of the conditions of my stay in his territory was I keep watch on you. He will not be pleased at what happened, and he and his clan don’t adhere to the strict tenets of our colony.”

Took her a minute or two to digest that lump of surprise. “What have I done to merit his concern like that?”

He couldn’t hold back the chuckle. “My dear Adela. I would hazard a guess, you’re the only mortal who’s looked him in the eyes and demanded something of him. Few vampires would even dare that. You did and survived intact. He admires you and respects you. And in addition, Elizabeth, your protégée, destroyed a vampire who invaded his territory and not only ignored all the conventions of hospitality but did active harm that could have rebounded on Vlad’s clan. Yes, Adela, Vlad Tepes holds you in high regard.”

He heard her swallow. “I’m not entirely sure that’s a welcome circumstance.”

He understood, being none too relaxed knowing he owed Vlad a favor for his continued sojourn in his territory. “It’s a whole lot better than earning his enmity.”

She didn’t argue with that. “How old and powerful is he?”

“Let’s put it this way: If Vlad had found Laran, I doubt he’d have needed magic. Also, he has a nasty reputation for killing slowly.”

She shuddered. “Not a person to piss off, right?”

“No, my dear Adela. Definitely not.”

They headed back to Devil’s Elbow, Adela to contact her friend Gertrude, and Toby intending to head for the office. But as he turned off the road and headed up the drive to the house, he glimpsed two black cars through the trees. Swearing under his breath, he reversed. Fast.

“Adela,” he said, letting the engine idle as he stopped. “I have visitors. May I suggest you get out here? There’s a path down to the beach. I’ll come and get you when the coast is clear.” He sensed an argument rising. “Unless you really want to get entangled with the FBI.”

“They are still investigating Piet?”

“Unfortunately, yes. At least seeing him might satisfy them that he cannot help them with their enquiries, but who knows what they might make of his ex-wife staying in the house.”

She took no more convincing. “Damn, I need to call Gertrude but…” She opened the door. “See you soon—I hope.”

He waited, just long enough to be sure she found the path, before proceeding toward the house.

It was a car and a van, both parked askew, blocking the garage door. Toby parked, crossed the drive and nodded at the two drivers propping up their respective front bumpers. “Busy morning, gentlemen?”

“You can’t go in there,” one answered, reaching out an arm to block Toby’s way.

He didn’t even pause to argue, just entered one mind, then the second. They could catch grief later. Right now he was feeling less than sympathetic toward law enforcement of all stripes. Toby stepped into the hall, just in time to meet Agent Bright directing two others, carrying a computer and a box of papers.

“Acquiring evidence, Agent Bright? I did agree to hand over whatever you requested.”

“No need, Mr. Wise. I have a search warrant and a subpoena for certain documents and your computer and disks.” He pulled a paper from his inside pocket and flashed it at Toby.

Faster than Bright could tuck it safely away, Toby took it from him. Ignoring the man’s surprise, Toby read. Fast. He looked up at the agent’s irate eyes. “Find everything you want?”

Courtesy and helpfulness appeared unwelcome. How times had changed! “Obstruct me and I’ll have you arrested!” Bright scowled as he all but elbowed Toby out of the way. He’d have succeeded with a fellow mortal. As it was, with luck he would have a rather sore elbow.

“I have no intention of doing so.”

Amy Redding, the current day nurse, came rushing out. “Oh! Mr. Wise, thank heavens you’re back. It’s been terrible; I had no idea what to do, and they had papers.”

Toby rested his hand on her shoulder. Pity he couldn’t will calm on her, but he had too large an audience for that. “Never mind, Nurse Redding. Is Piet alright?”

“Yes, I think so. They pestered him a bit, finally gave up. The poor man. It upset him some but he’s settled back. The banging and bumping distracted him a bit, but he’ll be fine.”

Toby hoped the same could be said for the Duncan Phyfe library table in the study. However, if they scratched it, they did. He could see for himself the slate floor in the hall would never be the same again. “I’ll sit with Piet, Nurse Redding. I’m sure you’re due for a break. I never expected you’d have to cope with this.” His gesture included the dark-suited types scurrying back and forth. One, Toby noticed, carried his printer.

Let the mortals have their fun. They’d find nothing. Tom Kyd was too good for them.

It was almost an hour before they finished moving furniture and confiscating disks and subversive-looking books. Toby considered himself the soul of endurance and patience, but Bright’s insistence he sign for, and accept, a receipt almost drove him to the edge.

Granger Fox snapped his cell phone shut. Interesting, and the perfect out from the unpleasantness looming ahead. A suspicious fire on the outskirts of Dark Falls was good enough reason to dash over and see what sort of story he could find. He had a legitimate excuse not to obey the order to return to Axel and report, but the compulsion was too strong.

He could no more disobey than fly.

He drove the remaining distance to the newspaper office and braced himself. He had failed and deserved the coming chastisement.

“She what?” Axel’s eyes blazed almost red as he glared. “You were told to see she obeyed. Maybe I need to encourage her.”

“No!” He wasn’t that far gone to let Axel have his hands on Laura. “She’ll get what you want. There was coming and going all night. She didn’t want to risk getting caught. That wouldn’t help, would it?”

Axel’s silent shrug implied little concern over any possible awkwardness for Laura. “She’d better get me something tonight, without fail.”

“She promised, didn’t she? My Laura will come up with something.” He so hoped.

“So”—the light in Axel’s eyes turned to a feral gleam—“come here, Granger. Take off your shirt.”

It was what Granger Fox feared, loathed, dreaded…and yearned for as much as air and sunshine. His fingers trembled as he unbuttoned his checked shirt. He pulled it off his arms and, still holding his shirt by the collar, looked up at Axel.

“Your left arm this time, I think.”

Taking a deep breath, Granger stepped forward and held out his left arm. A cold hand grabbed his upper arm and yanked him close. He held his breath, bracing for the pain as Axel’s fangs scraped skin. Granger winced, almost suppressed the groan and shuddered as Axel sucked hard, pulling at the flesh until the skin tore more and Granger cried out.

He could have screamed, for all the difference it made. Axel fed, taking what he wanted while Granger waited, passive, steadying himself on the desk with his free hand.

Then, as always, through the pain and hurt came a flicker of pleasure, like a match in pitch dark. Granger exhaled as the slender dart of sensation became a raging blaze. For a few, brief moments, he rode the wave of ecstasy, until Axel abruptly pulled his mouth away and Granger was jerked back to the reality of a messy office and an unwritten story.

Axel reached for the dropped shirt and wiped his mouth with it before tossing it to Granger. “Better get dressed. Might shock the populace to find you in your undershirt.”

Giddy and lightheaded, Granger sank into the desk chair and reached into a drawer for the tissues he kept for these moments. As Axel slammed the door behind him, Granger held a wodge of tissues to the still-seeping wound. It would soon stop bleeding. It always did. But his arm—heck, both arms, legs and chest were a mass of scars and fading bruises. If he had any sense he’d refuse Axel before the man bled him to death. But that had never happened. Denying Axel was beyond his strength. He needed Axel, dreaded being abandoned, and for him to keep Axel, Laura had to come up to snuff.

What a day! Talk about an insane twenty-four hours. Toby scowled at the phone. He’d had a panic-stricken phone call, faced down a decidedly venal deputy, rescued Adela from a witch hunt, witnessed arson, fought a filthy mythical beast, found the woman he’d developed a tendre for rifling though his filing cabinets, and had his home invaded by the FBI. On top of all that, he had to call Vlad Tepes.

He should be able to manage that. Might even actually get a couple of hours in at the office if he looked lively, not that it really was worth it at this point and—damn! He’d forgotten that Adela was still down on the beach waiting for him to give the all clear.

Still, it was a nice morning. Alright, a nice afternoon. She could wait. She owed him, whereas he was in Vlad’s territory.

First, he called the office. Sarah Wallace’s “Hello, Mr. Wise’s office. May I help you?” was the best reminder of normality he’d had all day.

“Sarah, Toby here. I’m not coming in today. Our friends Healy and Bright were here at the house.”

Her snort showed what she thought of the FBI. “They’re here right now, grabbing and snatching and waving search warrants and I don’t know what. I feel sorry for the cleaning crew this evening. The place is in a shambles.”

“Tell maintenance to send in extra teams if needed, and ask everyone there to tidy up their own areas as best they can. Let the marauders take whatever they want. Just be sure they leave the coffeemakers. I don’t want a staff revolt tomorrow morning.”

Her snort suggested she didn’t appreciate levity. “They are taking computers, backup drives, disks. It’s ridiculous!”

He agreed and wondered how many months it would take them to realize they were barking up an empty tree. “Let them have their fun. There’s nothing there to find. Just do your best to see people don’t get too upset.”

“I’ll do my best….” She would.

“I’ll be in early.” Maybe even before dawn. Doing his best to convince her to persuade everyone else not to worry. Toby hung up.

Now to explain what was going on (or as much of it as Toby knew or hypothesized) to the Lord of Wallachia.