Page 57 of Hextreme Measures

“Right.” Ofelia bobbed her head and kept reading. “It says here that the woman who wrote the book saw the banshee multiple times. Then she approached her finally to ask how it was possible that she was a wailing woman and also a … huh.”

“Huh, what?” Sully demanded. “You can’t just stop in the middle of a sentence like that.”

“She believed the banshee was also a witch.” Ofelia lifted her chin and looked around the house again. There were signs that Shirley was a believer in at least one religion. When she really considered it, it felt more like Shirley believed in two or three religions. “Do you think being a banshee is a religion?” she asked.

Sully didn’t know how to answer the question on the face of it. “Um …”

Ofelia sent him a sidelong look. “It’s not a trick question.”

“I know. I’m just thinking.” His expression was hard to read. “Is vampirism a religion?”

“Not the way Pascal does it,” Ofelia replied with a smile. “I’ve seen others treat it that way, though.”

“And there’s pack culture with shifters, which is a form of religion.” He rolled his neck until it cracked. “You know what? It does sort of feel like a religion to me.”

“And there are elements of hoodoo and Wicca in this house,” Ofelia mused.

“What do you think it means?”

“It means that looking at banshees as simplistic creatures who are fueled by grief and rage no longer applies.” Ofelia closed the book and put it on the cushion next to her. “I’m taking that with me when I go, for the record.”

Sully chuckled. “I figured. I’m not too worried about it. Shirley would have to go to the higher-ups to lodge a complaint, and I can’t see her doing that if she’s a banshee.”

“Definitely not,” Ofelia agreed. Her eyes narrowed when she looked toward the front wall that was by the main door. There had to be at least 25 framed photographs on the wall, arranged in one of those artful patterns that always stymied Ofelia. They looked like family photographs. “Hmm.”

She left the book on the couch and moved to the wall. The photographs were a hodgepodge of old black and white portraits and more recent snapshots. She focused on the old photographs first and was struck immediately by the number of people who had silver hair and light blue eyes. Sure, she couldn’t see the color in the photos, but it was obvious what they were dealing with.

“These banshees are breeding,” she said after a beat, dumbfounded. “They’re getting married and having children.”

Sully moved in behind her. “You’re surprised, but given what we’ve uncovered, that shouldn’t be surprising. It’s a biological imperative to want to procreate.”

Ofelia gave him a sharp look.

“I’m not saying I want a million kids to carry on my name,” he assured her, raising his hands in supplication. “I’m just saying it makes sense that if they’re cognizant, at least some of them would want to carry on their lines.”

“And yet we’ve never heard about stuff like this,” Ofelia said, shaking her head. “It boggles the mind.”

“Obviously, they’ve kept it secret. They might even have another name for what they are. It might be one of those things that they just naturally keep to themselves, too.”

“I guess.” Ofelia moved to the last line of photographs. They were the most recent ones. She wasn’t even certain what she was seeing until she had to return to the last photo three times. That’s how long it took for it to sink in. “Zach.” Her voice cracked when she said his name.

Sully, who had been looking at the older photos, moved closer to her. “What?”

Ofelia pointed at the photo that had caught her attention.

Sully looked at it — there were three people in the photo, and one was a teenage kid — and much like Ofelia, he had to stare for a lot longer than should have been necessary. They didn’t know the teenager. They were familiar with the man he’d grown into, though. It was obvious once the realization hit him. How could he have missed it?

“That’s Biff,” he said dumbly.

Ofelia nodded, her insides twisting. “Yeah. I think Biff is the son of Shirley Castle.”

14

FOURTEEN

“That can’t be right.” Sully emphatically shook his head. Even though he was seeing it with his own eyes, it didn’t make sense. “There’s no way.”

Ofelia, on the other hand, felt the revelation made her understand Biff in a way that had been impossible before.