Leaving the air mattress and sleeping bag in the library, Julian crossed the entranceway at the same time Vicki came down the stairs—and something that sounded like a rain of pebbles hit the front door.
“What’s that?” Vicki asked, hurrying down the stairs.
Julian held up a hand, palm out, a command to stop. Then he walked to the front door, every step feeling like razors slicing his skin. Delicate slices, not too deep. Just enough to create a shiver of pain. His hands felt numb as he turned the lock, as one hand closed on the knob and turned it.
He flipped the switch for the outside lights, pulled the door open, and looked down.
Small white pebbles scattered just outside the door.
Not pebbles. Bones.
He glanced back and saw Vicki—and Kira and Aggie, now standing beside her.
Just like in the Murder game, he thought as a quiet sound coming from somewhere in the dark filled his brain.
Rattle, rattle, rattle. Rattle, rattle, rattle.
Julian slammed the door shut, turned the lock, and rushed toward Vicki.
“Call your guests at the lake cabins. Tell them to stay inside and lock the doors. I’ll call Wayne.”
“What’s out there?” Vicki asked.
“Crowbones,” Aggie whispered.
Julian nodded. “The real thing this time.”
He watched the color drain from Vicki’s face, watched her eyes go blank. Then she blinked, nodded, and hurried to her office with Kira and Aggie following on her heels.
Leaning against the reception desk, his eyes fixed on the front door, Julian took out his mobile phone and made the call.
“Grimshaw.”
“Wayne? It’s here. Crowbones is here.”
“Stay inside. I’m heading back that way and . . . Crap!”
“Wayne? Wayne!”
The call was cut off. Then his phone rang.
“Wayne?”
“It’s Ilya. You need to stay at The Jumble tonight, Mr. Farrow.”
Something strained in the Sanguinati’s voice. “Crowbones is here. Right now.”
“I know. But you can’t reach the village or the Mill Creek Cabins, so staying at The Jumble is your only choice.” A pause. “Mr. Farrow?”
“Yes?”
“Crowbones is not the only hunter looking for prey tonight.” Ilya ended the call.
Julian closed his eyes and pictured the Murder game board as it had been set up when they were looking for answers the other day. Three teenies together near the entrance of the “house.” Natasha placing the crow skull just outside the front door. And him grabbing teeny Vicki and the other two teenies to get them away from the threat.
Human, Crow, Sanguinati. Was that combination the trigger? Or was it those particular individuals?
Vicki hadn’t closed her office door. He could hear her talking to someone as he approached. When Aggie spotted him, he put a finger to his lips. No reason to interrupt Vicki. He’d talk to Doc Wallace—and Conan and Cougar. Warn them that the danger was right on the doorstep.
Ilya had said Crowbones wasn’t the only hunter out there tonight.
Who would be missing in the morning?
CHAPTER 52
Grimshaw
Watersday, Novembros 3
Grimshaw dropped his mobile phone and slammed on the brakes when the horse and rider suddenly appeared in his headlights. He waited for his heart to resume something close to a regular beat, then put the cruiser in park and stepped out, staying behind the open door.
“Aiden? Is there a problem?”
Fire and Twister approached the cruiser. “The road is closed tonight.”
“I was just heading to my cabin.”
Aiden shook his head. “Not tonight. Stay in the village, Chief.”
Not good. “Can I know why?”
“I am as much in the dark as you are,” Aiden replied.
I doubt that.
No point in arguing with an Elemental. A human would never win.
“All right. I’ll be back in the morning.”
Fire watched as he got in the cruiser and drove back to the village.
Someone was going to die tonight, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
Osgood was just about to bite down on a meat-loaf sandwich when Grimshaw walked into the station. The rookie took one look at him and lowered the sandwich.
“Chief?” Osgood said. “Thought you were heading home.”
“Road’s closed. The Mill Creek Cabins are out-of-bounds tonight.”
“Well . . . You can have my room at Ineke’s. I can sleep on the couch. I’ve done it before when Captain Hargreaves needed a place to stay.”
Grimshaw shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, but I can bunk here if there’s no one in the cell.”
“We don’t have company tonight.” Osgood made a face. “You sure, Chief?”
“I’m sure.”
“There’s an extra meal in the fridge if you want it. Helen from Come and Get It called to say she was closing early and asked if we wanted anything, so I picked up a couple of her meat-loaf sandwiches. There’s a container of soup too.”
“Thanks. I’ll heat up something in a bit. You eat.”
Grimshaw went into the station’s small kitchen, pulled his mobile phone out of the holder on his belt, and called Julian.
“Are you all right?” Julian asked, the question almost a demand. “What happened?”
“Fire happened,” he replied quietly. “The road to the cabins is blocked off tonight, so neither of us is getting home. By the way, Doc’s car is now parked behind yours, so you can’t leave until he does unless you swap vehicles.”
“We’re sheltering in place for the time being. The guests in the cabins are staying put and checking in. The rest of us . . . Wayne, it was like the Murder board we set up at the bookstore. Vicki, Aggie, and Kira together and then that sound at the door.”
“Check in, okay?”
“Will do.” A pause. “Where are you staying tonight?”
“I’m going to bunk at the station. Why?”
Another pause. “You have the spare set of keys I gave you for the store?”
“Locked in a safe box in my desk.”