Page 11 of Lucas
“You better not be. Don’t make me come in there, daggers blazing.”
He laughed. “I think the visual of that alone is enough to see me through.”
He strode with his head down, occasionally lifting it to track anyone who might be lurking about. The visitor parking had several cars so he wouldn’t be alone, and whatever might be going on within House Renaud in regard to theDe første dage, they wouldn’t tolerate a vampire attack within the library where other guests could be disturbed or inventory damaged.
The receptionist at the front desk greeted him with their usual spiel, and he quickly moved through the first floor and down the main staircase to the third. He spent ten minutes walking the stacks in search of the custodian but came up empty. One custodian stepped around a corner for an instant, but she wasn’t the one he needed. Ginger’s suggestion of speaking with a different custodian was an excellent plan B, but he wasn’t there yet.
He jogged up the stairs to the second floor, which held more books. He had checked every aisle, circling the floor twice before seeing a custodian enter the floor from one of the many doorways. Odds were with him that this might be the vampire he sought, and he hurried toward them.
“Excuse me,” Lucas called.
The custodian turned, and Lucas released a sigh of relief.
“Can I help you, sir?” When the custodian drew near, his eyes widened in recognition. He glanced behind him, then stepped into one of the stacks, crooking a finger for Lucas to follow.
When they were halfway down the aisle, the custodian turned on him. “Do you know how dangerous it is for you to be here?”
“I have a good idea.”
“There is no more I can tell you of the book.”
“That’s not why I’m here. Ms. Renaud made that plainly obvious.” Lucas glanced down the aisle and through the bookshelves to ensure they were alone. “You didn’t get into trouble, did you?”
The custodian sighed. “No. Our new curator doesn’t pay much attention to us, and we pay her little heed. Now, what can I do for you? It’s best you don’t stay long.”
“I’m searching for a young female custodian who worked here in 1925. She would have been a good friend to the curator at the time.”
The custodian’s eyes went wide, and then they squinted into two dark stones. “You play a dangerous game.”
“And these are dangerous times, though I would bet the majority of vampire society isn’t aware of how dangerous.”
“Come with me.” The custodian scurried down the aisle, away from the door he’d originally entered. When he reached another door, he used his card key for entrance. They rushed down a flight of stairs to a landing and a door that should lead to the third-floor stacks. The custodian kept going until they reached the next level, the walls made of stone rather than finished drywall. He moved quickly down two other hallways before coming to a door labeled Storage Room 422. Using his card key again, the diminutive vampire led Lucas in. Overhead lights came on automatically, everything sensor controlled.
The room was the size of a small apartment filled with filing cabinets and racks of artifacts. A lone computer sat on a counter at the far end of the room. The custodian typed in a password and immediately brought up a long list of names.
“I wasn’t here in 1925. I came a few years after Philipe Renaud moved to the Los Angeles library, but I heard nothing but wonderful things about him. The mission of the library was his only motivation.”
“You don’t happen to know where he is now?”
The vampire shot him a quick glance. “No. I’m not sure anyone does.”
“He’s still alive, isn’t he?” Lucas’s heartbeat picked up. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.
“As far as I know, yes. The rumors suggest he suffered a psychic break and is recuperating at one of the asylums, possibly in the homeland. Others say he walked out of his office and never returned, only giving notice that he was on permanent sabbatical.”
“Do you know when this happened?”
“It’s been decades now. Let me think. The current curator in Los Angeles has been there since just before World War II, or perhaps a bit earlier. I don’t usually follow human affairs but sometimes it’s easier when tracking time.”
He continued with running computer searches while Lucas considered the information. That wasn’t long after Guildford’s meeting with Philipe. The timing was suspect, but without any other information, he tucked it away for further consideration.
“Here we go. 1925. Are you sure about the year?”
“Yes.”
“There were two female custodians at the time. I know this first one. She works at the St. Louis branch now. The second one I don’t recognize. Fiona Blackwood.” He tapped a few more keys. “Oh yes, she was quite young when she worked here, barely a hundred years old.”
“Does it say where she’s working now?”
