Page 97 of The Vampire and the Barista

“Not yet,” Kevin growled out. “I’m just putting it out there, if I come across him, I’m ripping his throat out.”

“Help yourself,” David replied.

“Gabe, did you sense Jamie’s dad anywhere around here?” Seth asked.

Gabe shook his head. “Not inside the house. Are there buildings out the back?”

“There are,” Ivan said from the doorway. “His body is in one of the outbuildings. I can say that Derrick is just as mad, if not more so, than before.”

“We’re gonna have to move the body and get rid of it before the owners of this place find it and call the police,” Bert suggested. “I’ll go and sort that.”

“Thanks, Bert,” Ivan said. “Drake, Troy and Cairo have found stuff, you should see.”

“I’ll see Drake first, then,” Bert replied.

“David, Seth, Gabe, Adrian, you should see this as well,” Ivan told them.

“You guys do that. The rest of us will go outside and keep watch. With any luck, Derrick will turn up,” Gio said, and everyone started leaving the basement.

Ivan led them into a room at the back of the house. It looked like an old witch’s workroom. There were herbs hung up drying, pots and cans dotted around, and shelves filled with glass jars. Gabriel and Adrian had a look at the shelves and pulled open cupboards and draws.

“I would happily live in here,” Adrian commented.

“Me too. My workroom is nowhere near this impressive. I need to up my workroom game.”

“We found these,” Troy said, holding up a few green bottles.

Gabe and Adrian walked over to take them and had a look.

“This is a strength serum,” Adrian said, reading the label.

“It could be the super witch serum,” Mathis mentioned.

“Derrick could have taken it as well. Creed said Derrick was vampire strong,” Kevin told them.

“This one is a shifter suppressant,” Gabe said. “It’s probably the same one that was used on the children.” He looked at Adrian. “We should be able to break this down and find an antidote.”

“We can indeed,” Adrian agreed.

“What is the last one?” Bert asked Troy

“The label isn’t complete, but as it was in the same kind of bottle as the other two, we thought it might be important. It seems to be a powder, though not a serum,” Troy said.

“It probably is. Hopefully, there is some paperwork detailing all of these,” David said.

“We can hope,” Bert agreed.

Gabe looked at him. “Should you not be going home and getting spruced up for your date tonight?”

Bert glanced at the time. “I really should, but I said I’d deal with the body.”

“The kitty and I can do that,” Cairo offered.

“Sure, offer our services for the crap jobs,” Troy grumbled.

“What’s up, kitty? The sight of a dead body too upsetting for you?” David taunted.

“Not in the least, fang boy, I wanted to take my mate on a date as well, without the stench of blood and dead bodies clinging to us.”