"It's Edward, isn't it?" Aaron said as John pulled out a chair.
"That would be my guess," John said. "I don't know him well enough to say for certain-"
"No one knows them well enough to say for certain," Aaron said.
"Them?" I asked.
"Edward and Natasha. They're a couple. Been together a very long time."
"I've heard those names," I said. "In the council minutes. They're immortality questers."
"Did the council investigate them?" Lucas asked.
"Investigated and exonerated, if I remember correctly," I said. "It was at least thirty, forty years ago. Another vampire expressed some concern about their questing-no outright allegations, just a bad feeling. Anyway, Edward and Natasha weren't breaking any codes, just searching for answers, like most questers."
"Well, it's gone beyond bad feelings," Aaron said. "Seems rumors have been circulating about them in the vamp community for a while, saying they've gotten into some nasty shit up in Ohio." Aaron caught my look. "Yeah, they've been living in Cincinnati. Lucas told me that's where you figure the killer's from. I'd say we've got ourselves a suspect."
"Is this connected to their questing?" I asked.
"Possible," Lucas said. "They may have uncovered a ritual requiring supernatural blood."
"Then where's the Cabal connection? Sure, it's a great way to find supernaturals-just hack into the Cabal employment records-but you think they'd stick to the periphery, with runaways like Dana. Attacking a CEO's family is only going to raise the stakes."
"That could be a side effect of the killing itself," Lucas said. "After Dana and Jacob, Edward saw the chaos he was creating and couldn't resist a bigger challenge."
"Or maybe the ritual wasn't working and they thought Cabal royal blood might help."
"Not they," John said. "Only Edward."
Cassandra shook her head. "Those two don't do anything alone."
"They do now," Aaron said. "No one's seen Natasha for months. Rumor is she'd finally had enough, that things got too bad, and she took off."
"I find that hard to believe," Cassandra said. "They'd been together for over a century. After that long, you don't just-" Her gaze flicked toward Aaron. "What I mean is, it seems unlikely that those two would separate."
"Well, one way or another, she is gone," John said. "And I doubt Edwards happy about it."
Quest for Immortality
Next stop: Cincinnati, Ohio. Using Edward and Natasha's known aliases, as provided by Aaron, Lucas had found two Cincinnati area addresses for the vampires. There, we hoped to find either more evidence or some clue as to their current whereabouts. Aaron offered to come along, and Cassandra was in for the long haul, so all four of us were going, which seemed an expensive proposition… until Lucas led us to the private airstrip at the Lakefront Airport.
"I wondered how you two got to New Orleans so fast," I said as we approached the Cortez jet.
Lucas's gaze slid away and he shifted our bags to his other shoulder. "Yes, well, after I spoke to you, my father called and when I told him we were pursuing a lead, he offered the use of the jet. It seemed a wise idea, allowing us to bypass the schedules and restrictions of commercial flight." He shifted the bags again. "Perhaps I should have-"
"You did the right thing," I said. "The faster we can move, the better."
"I don't see what all the fuss is about," Cassandra said as the flight crew scrambled to lower the boarding ramp. "This business about refusing to join your own Cabal makes absolutely no sense. If you want my opinion-"
"I'm pretty sure he doesn't, Cass," Aaron said.
"Well, I was just going to say-"
With impeccable timing, the pilot hailed Lucas to discuss last-minute flight details. A crew member took our overnight bags, then the attendant showed us to our seats. By the time Lucas returned, the plane was taxiing down the runway. The attendant followed him in and took beverage orders, then chatted with Lucas for a moment as the plane lifted off. And if you think this sidetracked Cassandra from voicing her opinion about Lucas's situation, then you don't know Cassandra.
"As I was saying," Cassandra said after the attendant delivered our drinks. "I really fail to understand this whole rebellion of yours-"
"Cass, please," Aaron said.
"No, that's fine," Lucas said. "Go ahead, Cassandra."
"One would think, if you are serious about this Cabal reformation business, then the best position from which to effect change is within the organization itself."
"Ah, the Michael Corleone strategy," I said.
Aaron grinned. "Hey, I hadn't thought of that one."
The light flashed, telling us we could remove our seat belts. After taking his off, Aaron stood and shucked his jacket. Underneath, he wore a T-shirt with the sleeves ripped off. Now, not every guy can pull off the sleeveless T-shirt look, but Aaron… well, Aaron could. And the sight temporarily diverted Cassandra from her course. As Aaron reached around the corner to hang his jacket, her gaze slid down his well-muscled arms, and came to rest on his backside. A look flitted through her eyes, more wistful than lustful. Then she jerked her gaze away with a sharp shake of her head.
"Michael Corleone," she said, honing in on her target again. "Do I know him?"
"From the Godfather movies," Aaron said as he lowered himself into his seat. "His father was a Mafia don. He didn't want any part of the family business, but finally decided to take over and mold it into a legitimate business. In the end, he became exactly what he'd rebelled against."
"Is that what you're afraid of?" Cassandra asked Lucas.
"No, but the basic premise holds. One man cannot reform an institution, not when everyone working for him is happy with the status quo. I'd face such serious opposition that my authority would be completely undermined and, if I continued, the board of directors would have me assassinated."
"So you pursue individual acts of injustice from outside the organization." Cassandra sipped her coffee, then nodded. "Yes, I suppose that makes sense."
"And I'm sure he's thrilled to hear that his life meets with your approval," Aaron said.
She glared at him. "I was simply clarifying matters for my own understanding."
"Okay, but why do you always have to be so damned antagonistic about it? You never just ask questions, Cass. You lob them like grenades."
"Aaron," I cut in. "You said you have two addresses. One in the city and one outside it. Is that an old one and a current one?"
"I'm not sure," Aaron said. "They're under separate aliases, an old one and a current one. According to Josie-"
"Josie?" Cassandra cut in. "Your source is Josie? Oh, Aaron. Really. The woman has porridge for brains. She-"
"I'm not sleeping with her."
"That's not-" Cassandra shot a glare around the cabin. "Where is that girl? What, she serves coffee and disappears until the flight's over? Paige's cup is almost empty."
"Uh, that's okay, Cassandra," I said. "But thanks for thinking of me."
"If you need anything, just press the buzzer by your elbow," Lucas said. "Otherwise, I've asked Annette to stay up front so we can speak freely. Now, about these two addresses. The rural one is under an older alias, but we should check out both. It won't take long."
"It'd be even faster if we split up," Aaron said. "Lucas and I take one, you ladies take the other. That way, we each have a spell-caster for breaking in and a vampire for sneaking around."
"Good idea," I said. "We'll take the rural address, and leave the city one for Lucas, in case he needs to do more than peer in the windows. He's the break-in pro, not me."
Cassandra's brows arched. "And you admit it? That's a first. You really are growing up, aren't you?"