Chapter 12
TWELVE
Declan’s house was creepy. When we got to the second floor, in a room that had no windows, I lost my breath. I could only think one thing:
This is a torture chamber.
Julian was calm as he regarded the space. “Looks like a laboratory of some sort,” he said.
I took in the space with fresh eyes and recognized that, yes, it did sort of look like a laboratory. A very dark laboratory.
“You don’t find that weird?” I pointed to the chains fastened to the wall.
He followed my finger with his eyes. “I guess it depends on what he had chained there.”
That was ridiculous. “Obviously he chained his victims there.”
Julian arched an eyebrow. “How can you know that?”
“Common sense.” How could he not see that?
“I don’t know.” Lucinda had moved to that space. “I think he was experimenting on people.”
I was caught between a “give me a break” and “what makes you say that” when Marjory joined the other shifter.
“There’s no blood here,” she noted. “At least not that I can see … or scent.”
“Is that good?” I challenged.
“I should think so.” Marjory held out her hands. “Doesn’t blood make everything worse?”
“Definitely,” Taylor agreed, solemnly nodding her head. “Blood makes everything ten times worse.”
I gave the chains a wide berth and walked to the table in the center of the room.
I recognized some of the items on it — a mortar and pestle to grind potion ingredients, a scale to weigh them, and vials that I’d seen in movies where blood was supposed to be deposited for testing.
There were other items that seemed out of place.
I picked up a pair of small tongs. “What do these do?”
“They grab things,” Marjory replied. “They’re a smaller version of the ones Galen uses when he’s barbecuing.”
“And this?” I held up a vial of liquid. The glass was dark. My natural inclination was to pull the stopper and sniff it, but Julian stopped me.
“You really don’t have any survival skills, do you?” He clucked his tongue and shook his head. “What if that’s poison?”
“How would I figure that out if I don’t look inside?”
“What if it knocks you out when you inhale it?”
He was right that I didn’t have great survival skills when it came to stuff like this. “Well, then you’ll be here to catch me.” I jerked out the stopper and looked inside, tentatively lifting my nose to scent it. It smelled sort of like a really pungent penny.
“That’s blood,” Lucinda volunteered. She was still near the chains but left her spot to join us. “Not just any blood.” She jerked the vial away from me. “That’s vampire blood!”
Now I had more questions. “How can you know that?”
She gave me a “well, duh” look. “I’m a shifter,” she said as if that explained everything and I was an idiot.
“Okay.” I dragged out the word. “How do you know it’s vampire blood?”
“It’s a really rich scent,” Julian replied as he snagged the vial from her. He looked inside, as if searching for something, then replaced the stopper. “She’s right; it’s vampire blood.”
“Any vampires on the island?” Flip asked.
“A few,” I replied. “Why?”
“They can scent each other better than we can scent them.”
“He means that a vampire might be able to identify who this blood belongs to,” Julian offered.
I was friendly with one vampire. I didn’t mention him by name. “I might know somebody who can check it.”
Marjory nodded at me, apparently knowing who I meant. “That’s a good idea. He helped with some of the bodies that were found back then."
Julian looked curious but didn’t press me. “Take it with you.”
I didn’t need his permission. I was the freaking mayor. I pocketed the vial and then went back to looking at the items. “If he was doing experiments, the question is why?”
“I think the question is, were the bodies found part of the experiments,” Lucinda said. “Like, maybe he wanted to turn himself into a shade of some sort and was conducting blood experiments to get there.”
“You just told me you didn’t scent any blood there,” I reminded her.
“That’s because no blood was spilled.” Lucinda was matter of fact. “Have you considered that he was bringing paranormals here to get their blood and things got a little out of hand?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Anything that resulted in the tableau I saw on the other side constitutes things getting more than a little out of hand.”
“Maybe that was a gift to you.” Lucinda’s affect didn’t change.
She reminded me of a college professor giving a lecture.
Did that make me the ignorant student who still didn’t understand how an undertow worked?
I’d taken Oceanography because I thought it would be an easy science requirement fulfillment. I’d been wrong.
“A gift?” I challenged.
“The trap was supposedly laid for you specifically. You crossed and saw Clive, your enemy, dead. Perhaps this Declan wants to make nice with you.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s it.” I vehemently shook my head. “In fact, I know that’s not it. I can’t be bought with death.”
“He might not know that,” Julian countered. “Perhaps he thinks killing your enemy will soften you up for negotiation.”
“What does he think kidnapping my grandfather will get me to do?”
Julian held out his hands. “If he really does want something from you, odds are your grandfather is still alive.”
I wanted to believe that, but I couldn’t allow myself to hope too much. Not after seeing this. I pressed my lips together and considered my options.
“Let’s finish searching the lab,” I said. “If you see anything of note, anything at all, point it out to me. I might want to take it.”
“You can’t steal anything from the house,” Taylor argued, catching me off guard. I’d forgotten she was even with us. “We signed paperwork that said we wouldn’t touch anything.”
She was a rule-follower, something I appreciated even if I refused to lead my life by that example. “That’s great,” I replied, “but I’m the mayor.” I puffed myself out and looked to Marjory for confirmation.
She merely shrugged. “I’m not sure the others would agree with that. They would call it an abuse of power.”
I deflated a bit. “I’m supposed to be different from the DDA.” I was disappointed in myself.
“Maybe we should treat this as a one-off,” Julian offered. “Whoever took your grandfather is dangerous. It’s not as if you’re going into random citizens’ houses. This guy was a suspected serial killer. The residents won’t balk at you taking things, especially if it leads to a solution.”
I cocked my head, considering, then nodded.
“That.” I jabbed a finger at him. “We’re going with that.
” I started across the room and grabbed the book on the center of the table.
It was in a language I didn’t recognize, but it had obviously been important to Declan.
“Find whatever you think is important and gather it up.”
“Then what?” Taylor asked.
“Then I’m going to get my grandfather back.”
OTHER THAN THE BOOK AND VIAL OF BLOOD, there wasn’t much I found interesting enough to take with me. There were potion ingredients everywhere, so old they seemed to have lost their pungency. I made a mental note to get someone to the house who could compile an inventory.
The first person who came to mind was June Seaver, a fellow witch who owned a small boutique hotel. I’d met her through Galen. She’d been an authority figure with heart for him and Booker when they were warring boys. I figured she’d know most of this stuff and whether it was important or not.
We left together, Julian and his team following behind Marjory and me. I dropped her at the office — that was her request even though I’d invited her to lunch — and then headed to Lilac’s bar. Galen had texted that he and Booker were going there. I found them sitting at our usual table.
“Have I had a day,” I announced.
Booker and Galen looked up, both of them smiling.
“You’re so cute sometimes,” Galen teased as he wrapped his arm around my waist and tugged me into a hug. “Have I mentioned that I absolutely adore you?”
I was not in the mood for flirting. I dumped the book and the vial onto the table. “What do you guys know about Declan Wilkes?”
Galen’s smile faded. “What?”
“Declan Wilkes,” I repeated as I sat in the open chair next to him.
Lilac, crossing behind me with plates for a nearby table, gave me an odd look. She delivered the food and immediately circled back. “Did you say Declan Wilkes?” she asked.
“Did you know him?”
Lilac exchanged a weighted look with Booker.
“Should I take that as a yes?” I prodded.
“Why are you asking?” Galen asked.
“No, I asked first.” I shook my head. “You guys know something. Just tell me.”
Galen made an exasperated sound deep in his throat. “You’re so bossy.”
“You just said I was adorable.”
“You can be two things at once.”
“Galen,” I growled.
He sighed. “He was not a good guy.”
“I have his file.” I realized I’d left it in the cart and didn’t like the idea of it being potentially stolen. “I’ll be right back.” I hurried toward the door without saying anything else.
Leaving Galen, Booker, and Lilac to brainstorm about how much they should tell me was likely a bad idea. I was a woman on a mission, however, and would not be deterred.
When I returned, Galen’s shoulders were squared, telling me they’d made their decision.
I dropped the thick file on the table and glanced between them. “If you guys have decided to tell me the bare minimum in an attempt to keep me from running off half-cocked, you should know that won’t work.”
I regarded each of them in turn with a steely-eyed glare. “I’ve been in his house. Don’t let Julian buy that house, by the way,” I ordered Galen. “Some bad things happened there. It should be razed.”
Galen’s mouth opened in protest, but I shook my head to shut him up.
“There’s a mural in that house. It shows a dark shadow being worshipped by people, mostly women. One of the women is my mother.”
That was enough to suck the oxygen out of Galen’s lungs. He looked bewildered.
“What the hell?” Lilac said. “How did you get into the house?”
“Julian was there when I pulled up with Marjory. He had a key. The housekeeper — or whatever he is — said he’s willing to swing a deal for them to take over the house, but they have to give it back if Declan reappears before thirty years have passed.”
“That’s just weird.” Lilac’s mouth puckered. “I’m going to tell you the truth even though these guys want me to limit the information we share. They’re afraid you’ll go tearing back to Wesley’s place and race through that plane door again.”
“I won’t do that,” I assured her. At least not yet, I silently added. “I need a plan first.”
“Or you could just not go through the door again,” Galen argued.
“Yeah, that sounds nothing like me.”
Galen touched the tip of his tongue against his top lip — his brain was working overtime — but he ultimately nodded for Lilac to continue.
“Declan was a warlock,” Lilac explained. She seemed relieved to be able to say whatever she wanted. “Supposedly he had demon blood, or that was the rumor at the time. Nobody really knew him. I know this because I tried to get close to him when I was a kid.”
I wasn’t certain how to react to the news she was sharing. “Okay,” I hedged.
“Not in a creepy Lolita way,” Lilac assured me. “There weren’t a lot of demons on the island and I thought he could help me control my powers. I went to introduce myself.”
“Obviously you survived.”
She nodded. “I knocked on his door. There was a bad vibe about the house. I felt it right away. When he opened the door, he seemed surprised to see me. He invited me inside.”
“Oh, tell me you didn’t go inside,” I said. “You said no to the candy, right?”
Her lips quirked. “I went inside. He wanted me to go upstairs with him. I knew there was something wrong with him — he wasn’t subtle with his evil intentions — and I tried to run out of the house. He’d locked the door.”
I started feeling sick to my stomach. “When was this?”
“The day he disappeared,” Lilac replied.
“Did you guys kill him?” It was my natural assumption. If Lilac had gone there, even as children the others would have followed, determined to protect her.
“No, but I wish we had,” Galen replied grimly. “We didn’t know she was there.”
“I managed to escape,” Lilac replied. “I lost my temper and set him on fire. He seemed surprised and smothered my magic quickly, but it was enough time for me to jump out of a window and escape into the water.
“I got lucky,” she continued. “Aurora was out there with some of the other sirens. They swam me away when Declan tried wading in after me. He was furious … and I think a little curious.”
“She made it to us and I told my mother what happened,” Galen said. “She called the police. They found creepy stuff in Declan’s house, but he was nowhere to be found.”
“He ran,” I assumed.
“That was the prevailing idea,” Booker confirmed. “They sent out search parties, but everyone assumed he either escaped from the island or died from exposure.”
“There was a time people thought the sand worms got him,” Galen offered, referring to the worms that had served as sentries for a hidden village for a very long time. They were gone, and nobody had actually died because of them as far as I knew, but it was a reasonable assumption for the time.
“He was conducting experiments in his house,” I said. “He had chains on a wall in his laboratory. Have you ever been in there?”
Galen shook his head. “By the time I was installed in my position, he’d been gone for more than ten years. He was no longer a threat and I didn’t really think about him.”
“Well, we need to think about him now.” I was firm on that. “My mother is in that mural.”
“How?” Booker argued. “She died ten years before Declan disappeared.”
“I don’t know how, but she’s there and I’m going to find out why.”
Galen used his most reasonable voice in responding. “Fair enough. What’s the plan?”
I only had one option. “After lunch, I’m going to see Jareth.”
“Why?”
“Because the bottle contains vampire blood. I’m hopeful he knows something. Right now, Jareth is all I have.”
“I need to go into the office.” Galen looked apologetic. “Can you wait for a few hours? I’ll go with you.”
I shook my head. “I can see Jareth without a chaperone. I’m not waiting.” I paused a beat. “He’s my grandfather.”
Galen smiled. “Fair enough. But don’t go back to the ranch.”
“I won’t.” I didn’t have enough information to even attempt that. “Not yet anyway. I promise to tell you before I do.” That was the best I could do.