Page 56 of The Elementalist
“If you wind up having to deal with him or them directly, you should have the advantage. They would be reliant on trinkets and traps.”
A sudden feeling of no longer being alone came over me. I sat up and looked around, stretching my arm to grab the .44 beside the computer keyboard. Learning that vampires really existed didn’t worry me as much as learning the sun didn’t destroy them. Sure, they’re weaker in daylight, but a highly motivated vampire wouldn’t let that stop them. And killing an entire pack is plenty enough to motivate their friends.
But… I didn’t invite anyone inside. Thank God for that crazy rule.
With that thought in mind, I shifted my attention to the window, scanning the buildings across the street for someone watching me with binoculars. Something moved in the corner of my eye. I whirled to my left, aiming my gun at… Crystal’s underwear floating up off the bed. Oh, for the love of…
The flying panties stretched out, sank down near the floor, then took on the shape of the woman pulling them up into place.
“So, there’s nothing ‘magical’ that can be done to protect her?” I asked, spinning away and setting the .44 down on the table.
“Afraid not.”
“Damn. Hey, I need to go, Michael. Give me a call if you find something?”
“Will do. Be careful, Max.”
“I’d say I will, but you wouldn’t believe me.”
He laughed.
Crystal walked out of the bedroom as I set the phone down. She didn’t look too happy, but she also didn’t look angry.
“I’m guessing you didn’t find anything useful,” I said.
“More or less. I couldn’t get into her computer, but her desk drawers and file cabinets had some stuff that makes me think she’s in bed with the Blackwood family. Couldn’t tell if she’s been influenced with supernatural means or the old fashioned way. I’d assumed the Farringtons had her, but I think I guessedwrong.”
“Bribes? I don’t see Justine taking bribes.”
“Might not be money. Could be threats, or merely an appeal that she maintain the appearance that nothing strange goes on here. She definitely knew more about Dana and Luke’s murder than she’s told anyone, including you. Trust me. But, I didn’t see anything that implied she acted at the direction of the Farringtons.” She sighed and fell seated on the couch. “My best guess is that she probably just wanted to keep my sister’s murder quiet because vampires had been involved.”
I leaned back in my chair, folding my arms. “Damn. That doesn’t help us with the Nigel problem—that is, if he’s our main problem—but at least it’s a good sign that we won’t have to worry about Justine or the cops being a threat. I’ve got a reasonably clear video of Nigel shooting at us. Maybe we could take that to Justine and the police? Sure, the Farringtons have loads of money and influence, but even they shouldn’t be able to get away with trying to murder us in the middle of the road.”
“The video doesn’t provewhyhe was shooting or even who he fired at. He could’ve been defending himself from someone who attacked him, or shooting at one of those supposed large cats prowling around.”
“Why would someone in a car stop, get out, and pull a handgun on a mountain lion? They’d just keep driving.”
She raised her hands. “Hey, don’t bite my head off. I’m only saying whattheywill say. It’s a weak story but more plausible than vampires and they’d never admit to attempting to kidnap me, succubus or not.”
“Oh, I got some bad news.”
“How bad?”
“Bad.”
“Lemme guess... that phone call you were on when I came in.”
“Good guess.” I filled her in on what Michael told me regarding the reasons Nigel would want to abduct her. “He inferred that I’d met a succubus and he wanted more information. I figured you wouldn’t be too interested, so I gave him some generic stuff—good PR basically.”
She nodded. “I trust you to use good judgment.”
We sat there in silence for a moment, looking at each other. I tapped my fingers on my makeshift desk. “I’d rather not kill Nigel… or anyone else who isn’t already dead.”
“Yeah.” She played with her hair, twisting it around her finger, dropping it, and doing it again. “It wouldn’t really bother me that much if something happened to him, but I don’t think we should go kill him. What if we found dirt on him, then did one of those ‘if anything happens to me, it gets automatically mailed to all the news outlets’ things?”
“That’s technically extortion, isn’t it?”
Crystal shrugged. “Not quite. We’re not threatening to reveal sensitive information unless he pays us money. As long as he doesn’t kidnap and murder me, he’s safe. Besides, for him to go to the police about any extortion claim, he’d have to admit he intended to kidnap and murder me.”
