“Call?” Jaime said. “Summon a zombie, you mean? Sure, if I raised a zombie, I’d know how to call it to me, but these aren’t my-”
“Oh, so it’s beyond you, then, sister, is it? Not so simple as chatting with ghosts.” She flapped her arms, mumbling to herself. “No, no, you’re right. Wouldn’t help. They aren’t the problem. Smoke and mirrors. Sound and fury.”
My cell phone vibrated, spooking me enough to jump. I pulled it out, thinking-hoping-it was Jeremy.
“Elena? It’s me. Rita.”
“Oh. Um, Rita. Right. Can I call you back?”
“If you do, you’ll regret it. There’s been another murder.”
That stopped me. “You mean from last night? They found another-?”
“Body. And this just happened. Broad daylight. Downtown, a few blocks from the last one. Near Regent Park.”
For a second, I couldn’t speak. Then I thanked her and hung up.
“Another one,” Clay said before I could speak. “Right here. Right now.”
“Maybe it’s a coincidence-”
“It isn’t. It’s a message.”
Tee had completely retreated, pulling herself into her cocoon and going silent.
“We should check it out right away,” I said after telling Jaime and Zoe about the call. “While it’s still fresh. Maybe see if we can pick up a scent this time.”
Jaime nodded. “I’ll stay here-” A quick look over her shoulder, into Tee’s corner. “See if I can get her talking…”
“We’ll need you there,” I said. “In case the victim’s ghost is still around.”
Relief flooded her face. “Yes, of course. I’ll come.”
“I’ll work on Tee,” Zoe said. “I still need to-” Her gaze flicked to the crate with the penknife. “-give her what I promised. If I get anything from her, I’ll call you.”
Negotiation
CLAY HAD INSISTED ON MEETING THE OTHERS HALFWAY, mumbling something about being careful with his arm. In other words, if it was a setup, he didn’t feel comfortable protecting me alone.
I took Jeremy aside and told him what happened with Jaime.
“I’m really sorry,” I said. “If I’d known this woman was a necromancer-”
“You couldn’t have. Even if you had, I doubt we could have dissuaded Jaime. She’s-” He brushed back his hair. “She wants to help, and the uglier it gets, the more insistent she becomes. I’ll speak to her. The rest of you continue on to the crime scene.”
Fifteen minutes later, we were huddled a half block from the crime scene, waiting for Jeremy, having seen and heard all we needed.
“I’m sorry,” Hull said as we huddled to the side of the scene. “I’ve tried to keep quiet, but I cannot. This-” He waved an agitated hand toward the taped-off alley. “Surely, I can’t be the only one who sees this for what it is. The girl in there, the pregnancy, the physical resemblance-”
“We saw,” Clay said.
“Then you understand the significance-”
“I said-”
“We understand that it’s a message,” Antonio said slowly.
“Could it not be more than that? The resemblance, the location, the timing.” He looked at Clay. “If Shanahan sent this beast here, on orders, knowing your wife was near, and he saw that young woman, is it not possible that he mistook-”
My knees buckled, and only my grip on Clay’s hand kept me steady. What if that woman died-her baby died-because I’d been near, only a block away?
“Enough,” Antonio said, voice hard.
“I’m only saying she should be kept safe. If Shanahan gets hold of her-”
“No one needs to remind me of that,” Clay snarled. “I’m taking care of my wife and-”
“But you’re injured, are you not? If you can’t protect her-”
Antonio caught Hull ’s arm and propelled him backward, out of Clay’s reach. Clay didn’t move, though, just fixed Hull with a look that said he wouldn’t waste the energy on him.
“I think-” I began, then noticed a familiar face bobbing through the crowd. “Oh, here comes-”
I didn’t even get Jeremy’s name out before Hull had wriggled out of Antonio’s grasp and was scampering across the road to his protector.
“Where’s Jaime?” I asked as Jeremy reached us.
“She went back to the hotel. She insisted on coming to the end of the road, but when she found the victim was-” A quick glance at Hull, as he realized he had to be careful what he said. “-gone, I persuaded her to head back for a rest.”
My cell phone went off. I glanced at it and saw a hospital name flash across the screen.
“Hold on,” I said. “It could be Tolliver.”
A moment later, I returned to the group.
“It’s him,” I said.
“And?” Jeremy prompted.
“He has Shanahan,” I said, and handed Jeremy the phone.
“You cannot be serious,” Hull said, staring at Jeremy as if he’d just announced plans for a mission to Mars. “After-after this?” He waved in the direction of the crime scene. “You cannot negotiate with these people. They aren’t people at all. They-they’re monsters. In league with Satan. Go to that meeting if you must, but I pray to God it’s to kill them.”
“If it comes to that, yes,” Jeremy said. “But we gave our word to Tolliver that we would negotiate in good faith.”
Hull ’s eyes bulged. “Faith? You’re a good man, Mr. Danvers, but creatures such as that will never act nobly. They will lie to you, and cast magics against you. Negotiation? Annihilation is the only way to treat such beasts.”
“Antonio, please call a taxi for Matthew. I want to be sure he arrives back at the hotel safely.”
Hull shook his head. “No, if you go, I go-”
“That isn’t open for negotiation. This is dangerous business, and you need to keep out. You deserve to live long enough to enjoy your new life.”
Antonio left to hail a cab.
“But that madman could come after-” Hull began.
“Me,” I said. “That’s what we just finished discussing, right? That this murder suggests I’m still the primary target. So you’ll be a whole lot safer at that hotel than hanging out with us.”
Hull looked from me to Jeremy, openmouthed and wide-eyed. “Surely you don’t plan to take her to this meeting? After what just happened? If you need any further proof that she’s in danger-”
“I don’t,” Jeremy said. “And I didn’t before. But the safest place for her is with us.”
Jeremy had wanted a private, wide-open place, to avoid the possibility of being ambushed by the zombies. Tolliver still insisted that Shanahan wouldn’t know how to control a zombie if someone handed him a user’s manual, but he’d suggested a small community center where he coached an after-school soccer program. It was closed for the summer, but he had access.
The community center was indeed tiny-little more than a gymnasium, changing rooms and a meeting room. The property was a decent size, though, with basketball courts, soccer fields and a thickly wooded strip in the back. When Jeremy saw that small forest, he was much happier with Tolliver’s choice. If things went bad, we could get Shanahan to our turf quickly.
The ball courts and field were community property, but in late afternoon, with the summer sun cranked on full, no one much felt like playing ball. The empty court and field added an insulating layer of emptiness between the building and the surrounding town houses.
We didn’t break into the community center. No qualms about B &E, but there was always the chance that Tolliver and Shanahan were watching, or had set up a sorcerer security alarm. If we were seen going inside, that could suggest we’d gone in to prepare a trap, which would be grounds for canceling the meeting. So we settled for peering through windows and mapping out our plans that way.
As we circled the block, getting a wider lay of the land, Jeremy and Antonio took the lead, discussing the final details. Nick started in the rear with us, but when his few attempts to start conversation failed, he jogged up to Jeremy and his father.