She considered. “It’s a place to start at least. Like I said, records from that time period are sparse and a lot of things have been lost over the years.”
I gave her the names the draugr had given me. Maybe we’d get lucky and his name was actually one of them.
The third floor was empty as we walked through the poorly lit halls. Half the lights were off, and the place had an air of abandonment.
“Are we supposed to be up here?” I asked, looking around.
“No, they close this section at ten. I’ve got special privileges due to my dissertation. If anybody asks, I’ll just refer them to my thesis professor.”
“Ah.”
Caroline tossed her bag onto a table and headed to a computer. Not sure what else to do, I followed.
“How can I help?”
Her fingers paused as they flew over the keyboard.
“You see that couch over there?”
I looked behind us at a sitting area, complete with a bright orange couch and comfortable looking chairs.
“Yup.”
“I want you to go sit on it and not talk to me for the next few hours.”
Her fingers resumed their typing.
“Okay. I can do that.”
I backed away and headed for the couch. It was going to be a long night. I lay back and snuggled my head on the cushion behind me.
My phone bit into my hip, and I dug it out. Eight missed calls and three messages. Wonder who that could be.
I clicked into my messages and listened to Liam’s terse voice.
“Aileen, we’re at the house. Where are you? The draugr was already gone by the time we got here. Call me back.”
That didn’t surprise me. I doubted it would return anytime soon now that I’d disturbed its feeding ground. The creature was crazy; not stupid.
I clicked delete and played the next one.
“This is the third check in you’ve missed, and I’ve yet to hear from you. Call me now.”
I deleted the message and moved to the next.
“Aileen.” I sat up in surprise at Brax’s voice. “I need to speak with you as soon as possible.”
I had a feeling it had to do with the werewolf Liam said he’d lost. Brax had been pretty convinced he didn’t need my help earlier. He might just be planning to use the connection he thought I had to the crimes. It might be worth giving him a call back when I was through here.
The last message was from Liam. It was short and to the point.
“Call. Now.”
I had no plans to follow his order, knowing his next step would be to yank me off the streets. I couldn’t chance that. Not when there was so much on the line.
“You seem happy,” Caroline observed from her computer. “More like yourself.”
I sat up, thinking over her comment. It was true that some of the general numbness I’d been feeling lately was missing, replaced by adrenaline. I was focused with a laser intensity on the problems in front of me. It was a feeling that had been absent from my life for a while now. I didn’t feel especially happy, though.
