“Fuck.” I ran a shaky hand through my damp hair. “That seems like proof he’s not involved. Did David speak to you then?”
“Aye. Both him and Nita have kept me updated now they know Charley was staying here. They seem a little naïve, to be so trusting of me over the phone, but Charley did have my number open on his mobile, so I assume they believe I’m not involved.” He paused. “Like I say, a touch naïve. Luckily correct.”
“Hmm.” They were lucky Dalziel was on our side. “Charley seemed to think his talk with Ledge went okay yesterday. He didn’t seem more than averagely concerned about his legendary lack of filter.” I paused. “Did he report back to you, or Baxter?”
This time Dalziel sounded shifty. “Not exactly. I had someone in the coffee shop.”
“What? Spying on him?”
“Absolutely not!” he thundered. “He’s my son, Lucien. I intend to keep him safe. By any means necessary.” His tone softened. “I’m only sorry I didn’t think this extended to locking him down as a prisoner in his own home.”
“Huh. How did you even have a vamp in the place in daylight?”
He snorted. “Please. I’m three hundred plus. Not all my friends are supernatural. I am capable of sustaining human friendships, short and frail as they are.”
“Sorry.” Apparently I’d touched a nerve. “So why can’t it be a wolf handler rather than a vamp one? Wouldn’t that be easier, and quicker?”
“Not for me. Please try not to take offence, Lucien. I’m already dealing with my son’s lover being a wolf. And I think I’m coping with it pretty well, all things considered. If I may, I will send my friend Sorley.” There was a barely perceptible pause, but I picked up the faint sound of typing, before Dalziel added, “You will know he’s the right man.”
“Right.” I mentally ran through our conversation again, checking I hadn’t forgotten to ask anything. “So you need me to try and track Charley from his last known position in his back garden. Am I right?”
“Correct. There were signs of a scuffle, some broken plants, plus the unlocked back door, and Nita said Charley’s garden boots were missing. I’m not quite sure what she meant, but she seemed convinced he would have put them on before going outside.”
I almost smiled in spite of the seriousness of the situation. “Us plebs tend to have an old pair of shoes we use for mucky work outside the house. Unlike you, we don’t have staff, Dalziel.”
“Ahh, I see.” There was a silence then, but I didn’t feel the urge to fill it. I sensed that Dalziel was choosing his next words carefully.
“I do not want you to place yourself in any danger, Lucien. This is a reconnaissance mission only as far as you’re concerned.”
“Oh fuck that!” I said hotly. “Absolutely fuck that. If I find him, I’m not bloody leaving him to be rescued by someone else. You vampires aren’t the only ones capable of termination with extreme prejudice.” I could feel the anger against whoever had dared take my mate vibrating under my skin, waiting for the chance to explode in a shower of teeth and claws.
“By the saints, you younglings are all the same.” Dalziel sighed heavily. “I am not besmirching your capability as a fighter, Lucien, heaven forbid. I’m merely pointing out that I wouldprefermy son’s mate not to be wounded, or worse. If it’s all the same to you, I can live without the guilt and fear of facing Charley should anything untoward happen to you. Bad enough we’ve been on the wrong side of his wrath once. I’m not in a hurry to make it twice.”
I grimaced. “I wasn’t affected by the whole ice shower thing. Nasty, was it?”
“Rather more scary than I care to admit, to be honest.” Oh shit, he was being sincere.
I figured it had taken a lot for Dalziel to call. “He was kind of impressive,” I breathed. “Which is why perhaps we should be a bit more concerned for whoever’s taken him.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck if he freezes them solid, as long as he sticks around long enough to direct us to where we need to clean up the pieces.” The chill coming down the line was palpable. I was no slouch as a weapon myself, but pitted against the vampire might of several centuries, I’d do well to remind myself there was a reason vamps were feared astheapex predators.
He rang off. I cancelled lunch, making an excuse about an urgent business meeting. I no longer felt like eating, but I forced down a glass of water, then laced my trainers and grabbed my car keys. Whatever Dalziel’s concerns about my turning up in wolf form at Charley’s house, I wasnotwaiting around all day when I could be searching for him. I’d have to stay in human form, but unlike vampires, I wasn’t hampered by daylight. Dalziel might be old and powerful but he’d spent too long in the shadows. Finding Charley was something that couldn’t wait for dusk.
* * *
Tratton St Marywas averagely busy, which meant there were far too many people and vehicles in the town centre for comfort. I parked in the main car park by the market square and fed the machine a handful of coins. Locking the car, I swept my gaze in a circle. I had no idea where to start.
I pulled out my phone, and forced down a lump in my throat that rose as I realised the enormity of my task. It wasn’t even market day, but the residual aromas of raw meat and fish, cheap make-up, and assorted plastic crap assailed my nostrils as I decided on a direction. Overlaying those were the much more agreeable scents of fresh pastries, hot coffee, and even the nearby florist. I sucked in a determined breath. One road, one street, one alleyway at a time. All I needed to do was cover every inch of town, methodically, and somewhere, someone would have stashed my love. I was absolutely capable of this, as long as I kept my head, and treated it like a routine work assignment: one problem at a time.
The trouble with an ancient market town of decent size was that it had grown up haphazardly, lanes and cobbled passageways mingling and merging, one-way streets determinedly cutting across pedestrian areas with no hint of planning or common sense, and buildings dropped across junctions and behind one another wherever space allowed. Every time I thought I’d mentally ticked off an area, I rounded a corner and found another as-yet-unexplored nook. Coupled with that was the very real problem of not being in my wolf persona. My sense of smell as a man was far superior to most humans, but nowhere near as sensitive as my wolf’s. Usually I shut my senses down so as not to feel overwhelmed, but now that I was actively trying to tune them in, I was bombarded with an overload of smells, some of them distinctly unpleasant. And none of them Charley.
Even though I felt it was unlikely he’d be held anywhere folk could just walk in, I couldn’t assume whoever had taken him would think like me. Most humans could gag and bind someone and think hiding them behind a closed door would prevent their captive from being found. So, I duly entered every coffee shop, café and bakery I passed as well. Sometimes I was greeted at the door, so had to pretend I was looking for a friend but had forgotten where we’d arranged to meet. Other times I slipped in unnoticed and did a quick circuit of the establishment, then made for the rear, checking out the toilets, rattling the doors to the staff room, and occasionally exiting onto the grimy, refuse-stained concrete slabs that ran parallel to the High Street out the back. Not a sign or a sniff of Charley anywhere, not even a hint.
Undeterred, I continued. I widened my search to include all the shops in town. Thankfully, due to the downturn in the local economy, there weren’t as many as even the previous year. That meant empty properties though, and more potential places to stash a person. Folk in the less well-visited establishments were more wary of someone poking about asking questions, and I got a ton of weird looks, and even chased out of the ironmongers on Settle Row. However, well before the shops closed for the day, I’d exhausted all potential retail outlets.
So where now? I made my way back to the car, despondent. There had to be more to this searching lark than I’d been doing. I gulped the dregs from an almost empty bottle of water, and pulled a face at how stale it tasted. Where could someone, presumably someone connected with a biker club, possibly have taken Charl—
Oh my god!! I wassodense.Biker clubs.Bikers had bikes. And bikes required servicing and tyres and, why the fuck hadn’t it occurred to me to start with all the garages in the area?
