He shook his head. “I thought it would be better for you to tell us all at once.”
I did. They listened intently but no one said a word until I finished. Cadmael, who had taken the chair beside Vlad, tipped his head back, studying the night sky again. “This has happened before.”
Vlad nodded. “There were a series of these kinds of obvious vampire attacks in Paris, Prague, Bucharest.”
“Rio de Janeiro,” Cadmael continued. “Mexico City, Chicago. We discussed it in the Guild. The Masters in each of those cities investigated, often with the help of the Counselor. None of them could find even one of the killers.”
“I would say the Counselors were in on it,” Vlad said, “had I not been the one to investigate the killings in Bucharest. There were five victims—all human—though a mix of genders, ages, and ethnicities. There were no clues and no scents, other than the dead humans and their pets.”
“They all had pets?” I asked, sitting forward.
Vlad nodded. “Yes, but that wasn’t the case in Paris or Prague. A few did, but not all.”
“That could be correlated rather than causal,” Clive said. “People walk alone at night when they’re walking their dogs. They feel safe doing so, not realizing how many predators there are in the world.”
“Humans walking alone at night are the perfect target for my kind,” Vlad added.
Cadmael nodded. “Does this group have a wicche working with them? How are they hiding their scent?”
“Maybe a sorcerer?” I suggested. “Do the fae have the ability to disguise scent markers?”
Clive shrugged one shoulder. “I have no idea, though the fae seem capable of doing whatever they want.”
Cadmael shook his head. “The fae are sickened by us. I can’t imagine one wanting to help us kill undetected.”
“There are only a few really powerful wicche families left in the world,” Vlad volunteered. “We can get the Historians tracking family trees and looking for ones vulnerable to bribery or manipulation.”
I raised my hand. “I know one of the families.” I thought about it a moment. “Actually, I know a million wicches. Is it okay if I ask around, or am I not allowed to talk about these killings?”
Clive scratched his cheek. “I’d normally ask you not to say anything, but the wicches in this town love you and would share information with you that they’d never tell any of us.” He looked at Cadmael and Vlad. “Opinions?”
Cadmael shook his head, but Vlad said, “She found the body. It would be natural, even expected, for her to discuss it with her friends in her own place of business.” He turned to me. “You might even mention that you didn’t scent a vampire, even though it looked like a vampire attack. Someone may explain to you how that could be.”
“I don’t like it,” Cadmael grumbled.
“So what else is new?” I muttered. “Okay, so tomorrow while you all are sleeping—I mean while two of you are sleeping—I’ll call Arwyn again to ask about Coreys who might be in league with rogue vampires, and I’ll talk about that poor dead woman. Maybe I can find out about hiding scent trails. Oh, by the way, I left a message for Russell earlier today to see if he could get any additional news about our victim or the way in which she was killed.”
“Hmm.” Clive took his phone out of his pocket, swiped through screens, and tapped on Godfrey.
A moment later, we heard, “Good evening, former liege.”
“Godfrey, my wife tells me she called Russell about a murder this morning. Have you learned anything yet?”
“Well, I’m not sure I’m at liberty to discuss this with you. Let me check with the Master of the City.”
We heard an annoyed, Godfrey, in the background.
“It seems my current liege has given me permission to speak with you,” Godfrey said.
“Hi!” I chimed in. “By the way, Cadmael and Vlad are with us right now.”
“Ooh, clandestine meetings, eh? And we weren’t invited? Maybe next time. How are you, Missus? Is our former lord and master treating you well?”
Clive rolled his eyes, but I laughed. “I’m fine and he’s good. I’ve missed you, though.”
“Of course you have. What’s not to miss?”
At another grumbled, Godfrey, we heard a sigh. “Yes, sorry. The Master will speak with you now.”
