“I’ll see what I can do,” he said.
“Mr. Sanguinati?” Stern said. “If I could have a word?”
“In a few minutes.”
Ilya stepped out of the library and closed the door. Then he removed his mobile phone from his briefcase and called Natasha, who handed him to Julian.
“Vicki already asked for more of the Wolf Team books for The Jumble’s library, and Natasha purchased a full set of the books for Silence Lodge,” Julian said. “I have some of Michael Stern’s books. Do you want Margaret Shaw as well?”
“Why would I want this Shaw female?”
“Michael’s pseudonym. He writes romances with a touch of the strange. Enchanted objects or haunted houses.”
“He is an Intuit?” Ilya didn’t wait for Julian to confirm what he’d already guessed, since it wasn’t likely that Julian would confirm that about a fellow Intuit. “Would he participate in a prank for research?”
“No.” A hesitation. “I have family in Ravendell. Michael, Ian, and I knew each other when we were young. Anything Michael passively observes would be research for his books, but he wouldn’t have participated in what happened last night.”
Ilya doubted that whoever had planned that prank had intended for someone to die. “How does The Jumble feel?”
“Unsettled but not threatening.” Another hesitation. “But not without threat.”
If he understood the words, the unknown hunter wasn’t currently in The Jumble but was close enough to touch the boundaries and could attack again at any time.
“I realize it is inconvenient for you not to open your store today, but purchasing books would be a distraction for Victoria’s guests since it may be a while yet before Chief Grimshaw allows them to leave.”
“I’ll pack up a couple of boxes of books for Vicki’s guests to peruse; then Ms. Sanguinati and I will head to The Jumble,” Julian said.
“Very well.” Ilya disconnected, slipped the phone back in his briefcase, and headed for the TV room to check on the other three youngsters.
He paused in the doorway, studying the arrangement of people in the room.
Ben Malacki and David Shuman, the academics who were staying in the main house’s second suite, were sitting in chairs. Viktor and Karol were perched on the arms of the couch, poised to attack. Kira was sitting on the couch with Ian Stern, the other male who was staying in the lake cabins. One of his arms rested on the back of the couch, and his body was turned toward Kira. Not . . . suggestive. Cautious. Wary. Protective.
Ilya studied Kira, who looked intimidated by the presence of two of the human males and in need of rescuing. With two other Sanguinati in the room, that look struck him as wrong, as false.
Was Ian Stern being manipulated into believing that Kira needed protecting? If that was the case, Stern was the one in need of protection.
“How many Sanguinati live around Lake Silence?” Malacki asked.
“Enough of us,” Viktor replied.
“Is it a family clan? Like, an extended family supporting a dominant pair?”
“Enough to do what?” Shuman asked.
“That’s a question that should be directed to one of the adults, don’t you think?” Ian Stern said quietly. “Attempting to extract information from young people is unseemly.”
“I agree,” Ilya said, stepping into the room.
Malacki gave Ilya a smile that was in no way sincere. “Well, it’s not often we get to converse with the Sanguinati.”
“I have had many conversations with humans. They don’t sound like police interrogations, even when the people are asking questions to find some common ground.” Ilya set his briefcase next to the sofa, then turned to the youngsters. “Mr. Farrow is bringing books that you may purchase. Why don’t you ask Victoria where he can set up his stock and assist her in getting things ready?”
Karol, Kira, and Viktor hurried toward the door. Then Kira stopped and looked back. “We enjoyed conversing with you, Mr. Stern.”
A look in Viktor’s eyes as he closed the door.
Ilya wondered if Malacki and Shuman understood they had been condemned by seven words and a look.
The alarm he saw in Stern’s eyes before the Intuit looked away told him that one human understood what had happened in that room.
Nothing fatal. Thanks to Stern’s presence and interference, Malacki and Shuman hadn’t crossed a line to that extent. But word would go out to all the Sanguinati who lived in the Northeast Region, with emphasis to any and all who lived around the college where these men taught.
They would be watched. Perhaps even hunted. Supplying the Sanguinati with a meal would be educational and increase their understanding of one kind of terra indigene.
Ilya removed a pad of paper and a pen from his briefcase. He smiled, showing a hint of fang. “Since you enjoy questions and answers so much, you can talk to me. I have questions, gentlemen. I hope, for your sake, that you have satisfactory answers.”
CHAPTER 23
Vicki
Thaisday, Novembros 1
Grimshaw and I moved cars and watched the Cornleys scamper off. Something about the way the husband looked at Grimshaw, then at me, before driving away gave me a funny feeling.
I don’t want to be the morality police, and I’m hopeful that someday I’ll wrestle my trust and man issues into submission enough to entertain the possibility of being a consenting adult, but . . . “They’re not married, are they?”
A beat of silence. “Not to each other.”
I sighed. “I guess that explains why they looked so happy to be together.”
“Don’t,” Grimshaw said.
“I didn’t—”
“You’re thinking your dickhead ex-husband looked that happy when he went off for a romantic weekend with someone else, leaving you home to do the laundry and pay the bills, and maybe you really weren’t interesting enough or sexy enough for him to want to take you on a weekend adventure.” He looked at me. “Am I close?”
Right on the nose. “No comment.”
He kept looking at me, which wasn’t comfortable because Grimshaw was a large man with a gun and all those other nifty cop accessories.
“You’re nervy about some things, and having met your ex, I can see why, but you’ve got more sand than Yorick Dane will ever understand or appreciate. Maybe you should look for someone who can accept the nerves and the trust issues and also appreciates that sand.”