Chapter 13
13
When we left the curator at the café yesterday, I again warned him not to interfere and that we would intercept and deal with the blackmailers. We'd be more effective against the town's teens, and he eventually seemed satisfied that I could find his mole.
The guys grumbled that Dale might not show up if Kai gets to him, and we could spend an evening hanging out in the dark with no results. When I informed them my alternative would be to confront Dale directly, their complaints stopped. Besides, we've no guarantee that Dale is the blackmailer, and there could still be witch involvement.
We split up to watch the homes of the teens. Rowan and I watch Corrie's house—in case she really does have a mysterious stalker—but nobody loiters around her street this evening apart from us. Nobody followed us tonight; perhaps the figure in the graveyard was a coincidence.
No. Nothing is ever a coincidence.
Grayson, who's watching Kai's house, sends a message when Kai drives away early evening. And Leif, who's watching Dale's house, confirms the car arrives there.
The human pair leave together shortly afterwards and drive away from town. I suspected this would happen. If Kai joins Dale, they can split the cash. Good grief. I had decided Kai's recent troubles increased his common sense, but seems he shares his father's desire to make money from any possible situation.
The four of us have since rendezvoused at the place indicated in the ransom note. A smattering of vehicles remain in the visitor center's unlit car park overnight, including a small van marked with the town council symbols parked beside a large metal sign depicting a map of the local area.
The single-story building acts as a focal point for the tourists who—for reasons I can't fathom—visit the town and then tramp around the countryside. The town's crime rate hasn't discouraged visitors yet, but I'm sure a human will spy an opportunity to milk the murderous reputation of the area for financial gain. Perhaps a 'murder walk' to visit the sites since humans seem to enjoy walking, and some also share my love for the macabre.
They like to spook themselves— my love of all things deathly comes from the darkness inside me that delights in dead energy. Recently, I've been avoiding the dead more, but the fascination was born into me and will never leave.
"Do they honestly believe the blackmail will work?" retorts Leif.
"Morons," says Grayson.
"Grayson—wait in the trees by the road. You can intervene if something happens to them on the way here or warn us if you see anybody else approach."
"I'd rather stay near you, Violet."
"I've Rowan, and you're the quickest and best at hiding."
"At stalking ," puts in Rowan. Grayson glares.
"We'll wait over there until they reach the building." I point to the low wall opposite the visitor center. "Leif can watch the other entrance into the car park. The person threatening the teens may enter that way in order to accost them."
Rowan sighs. "Violet, you're always filled with far too much glee when faced with a possible murderous situation."
"My glee comes from coming close to a result for this investigation."
Grayson hesitates before blurring into the dim, his figure barely visible as he heads to the trees that edge the car park. Despite his reluctance sometimes, Grayson's vampire skill at climbing, along with his agility in pursuing and catching people, make him an invaluable team member.
I pull at Rowan's sleeve, and we both crouch behind the wall that faces the side of the building with a view of the box.
Minutes later, Kai and Dale appear. The two blackmailing fools slink from the trees and into the carpark, leaving the cover of night to dart towards the visitor center. They're dressed for the part, scarves obscuring their faces, clothes shapeless and black.
"Can you sense anyone else?" whispers Rowan, and I shake my head.
Curiously, the pair stop halfway, and a minor argument breaks out between them. Kai grabs Dale's backpack, pulls out a mole-shaped object, and waves it in his face.
Well, that's subtle.
"What the hell are they doing?" asks Rowan.
"I'm that little bit too far away to hear," I grumble.
We've placed an envelope stuffed with torn sheets of paper into the wooden box, hiding it beneath the free maps available for tourists, and the two guys head towards that spot.
"I still can't believe they're going ahead with this," says Rowan.
Kai and Dale edge around the building until they're out of sight, and I shift positions to watch their progress towards the box attached to the wall. Kai looks around while Dale opens the lid and pulls something out.
The envelope.
I'd fully expected one of them to study the contents then discover the trick, and then we'd step out to confront the guys, but Kai immediately shoves the envelope into his jacket pocket.
Dale does not drop the creature into the box.
The pair turn away, and I dash across the car park. "Good evening," I say.
"Shit!" exclaims Kai as I suddenly emerge from the gloom. "What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" Rowan asks as he reaches us. "Are you insane?"
Kai's hand goes into his pocket, clutching the envelope. "The museum still gets the mole, what's the problem?"
"Except you still possess the mole," I reply. "We watched the so-called exchange."
Dale swears. "They saw."
"Fine. I kept the mole because you asked me to being the thing to you tomorrow. I didn't want to upset Violet Blackwood—nobody does," says Kai.
"But kept the cash?" I arch a brow. "What happened to the decision to stop the blackmail occurring, Kai?"
"Were you in on this all along?" asks Rowan.
Kai darts a look around, startled, as Leif jogs over to join us. "Did you bring the police with you? The curator?"
"Oh, no. I'd rather deal with you personally," I say quietly and step closer. "Hand back the money."
"Don't threaten me," Kai warns, pulling the envelope from his pocket. He slaps it into my hand.
"Can we go?" whines Dale. "I have a bad feeling about the woods after the recent murders."
He's eyeing me . "Because I'm here? You should be more concerned about the vamp hiding up a tree ready to ambush you."
"Wh-what?" asks Dale.
For someone who orchestrated a blackmail plot, he's really not thought everything through.
"What did you argue about a few minutes ago?" I study them. "Did one of you change your mind?"
Dale suddenly becomes fascinated by his shoes.
"The mole is erm… damaged," says Kai.
"That's the real reason we didn't leave the mole in the box. We want to fix it first," mumbles Dale.
"How damaged?" I snap and pull the object from a protesting Dale's hands. "What did you do to it?"
"Yeah, Dale. What did you do?" asks Kai with snark.
"I wasn't lying when I told you that I lost the mole at school." He doesn't look up. "But uh… I found it by a bench outside class later."
"You're lying," says Rowan. "You can't expect us to believe that you lost the mole and miraculously found it again?"
"I'm not!"
He is lying. I run my fingers over the mole's body, intrigued by such an item. There's no obvious damage—all limbs are intact, and there aren't any holes.
Oh. Wrong. Two holes.
"Where are the eyes?" I demand.
Dale shrugs. "Must've fallen out when it went missing."
"Fallen out ?" scoffs Rowan.
"Marvin had eyes in his last post," says Leif gruffly.
I shift to face Dale. "Look at me."
"No. You'll use that mind-reading shit."
"With that comment, you've confirmed you're lying," I say with a smile.
"I need the bathroom," mutters Kai.
"Excitement too much for you, huh?" asks Leif.
"A vampire girl just scared the shit out of me."
Ugh. "I do hope that isn't a literal comment."
"There're bathrooms adjacent to the center." Kai points. "Not exactly pleasant, but I can't wait."
"Don't disappear."
"I'm not disappearing!" he protests and scoots away toward the bathrooms.
I shake my head. "Leif. Watch in case Kai absconds."
Sighing, Leif ambles after Kai, who does indeed appear desperate for relief as he rushes inside the block holding the bathrooms.
More shoes sound in the graveled car park, and I look around.
"Fuck!" breathes out Dale, and before I can turn back to him, he snatches the mole from me and scarpers into the woods.
Rowan makes to follow, but as the figure approaches, I grab Rowan's arm to stop him. "No," I whisper. "You won't catch Dale, and if this person is who I think, running away will imply guilt."
As I suspected, the curator, wearing a padded green jacket, is the one who emerges from the night and haughtily stalks over, darting a look between us and the direction in which Dale ran.
"Good evening," I say lightly. "Any reason you've decided to take a nighttime walk to the location of the blackmail plot? We were here to retrieve the mole for you. Don't you trust my abilities?"
"No. I don't trust you ," he says. "I wanted to catch you all. I knew you were in on this. Someone saw you with the Sawyer kid and his mates at the cafe. He stole the mole, didn't he?"
"Good grief," I retort. "I'd never join forces with imbeciles, and I told you that I'd find your exhibit in return for information held inside the museum. Why interfere?"
Oh.
A thought strikes.
Does the curator not want me to handle the mole?
"I'm here because the longer the mole is out of the museum, the more chance the exhibit could get damaged. I just knew someone would bring the mole here tonight. Give it to me."
Damaged.
"The boy who ran has the mole still."
"You didn't stop him!" shouts the curator.
"Excuse your tone, but you interrupted, Mr. Wright. I was on the verge of apprehending the teens and retrieving your mole." I thin my lips. "You should not have requested my help if you were going to interfere."
"Get me that godforsaken mole tonight or I'm reporting you all for blackmail!" he yells. "This exhibit must go back to the museum before anything untoward happens."
"And I shall meet you there later this evening, with the mole," I say calmly.
Something isn't right here. Yes, losing a museum exhibit would cause distress, but not this much. The curator certainly isn't reacting in the same way about the missing pocket watch.
"I'm going straight to the police station to report Kai Sawyer… the lot of you! I have the blackmail note, you know," he continues, voice rising.
I clear my throat and capture his eyes with mine. "Mr. Wright," I say softly. "Return to the museum. You were never here."
"Violet," says Rowan in a hushed tone as the man looks at me, unblinking.
"What? We need the curator to forget he met us or saw Kai and Dale." I look back at the man. "You have a lot to organize tonight, and you're positive that Violet Blackwood will bring you the mole soon. You never left the building."
"Can you get into his memories?" whispers Rowan."
Quick. Leave," I say to the man. "Didn't you see kids loitering outside the museum earlier? They could be back to steal more exhibits."
I tap my lips as the alarmed curator heads away with an addled brain, and moments later a car door slams. "I had no time to search his memories. I'll find out why the curator holds such concern about the mole disappearing as soon as I discover where the mole's eyes are."
Headlights beam across the car park, and I step back into the dark as the curator's car passes. Within seconds, I'm alerted by scuffling behind me. I turn to where Leif approaches, half-dragging Kai behind him.
"This guy watches too many movies," Leif says, shoving the disheveled kid towards me. "Thought he could escape through a bathroom window."
"Good grief," I mutter then step forward. "We're not the people you should be running from. Where are the eyes? I'd like to inspect them."
"How should I bloody know?" says Kai. "I'm as pissed as you that they're missing. How can we give the thing back to the museum if it's damaged?"
"Judging by the curator's behavior, and Dale 'losing' the eyes, there's something about this mole we're unaware of." Although things are tying together in my mind. Almost. "Find Dale and hope that he has them. If he doesn't tell the truth, someone might get hurt," I say. Kai steps back. "Not by me!"
Kai looks between us and in the direction that Dale escaped, and Leif clears his throat. "It's pointless trying to run, mate. You know Violet would track you down."
"And within seconds."
Kai mumbles something, tells us to follow, and strides towards the entrance to the car park.