“Then I’ll say good night.” He got out of the car. “As usual, it’s been a different experience, Nancy Jo.”
“But I don’t believe you dislike it as much, do you?” She added, “You’re not afraid of me any longer?”
“I was never afraid of—Well, maybe those first few minutes.”
“But not now?” She was looking at him like a lost puppy.
“I’m not afraid, and I don’t dislike you.” He made a face. “I guess I’m getting used to you.”
“And I’m getting used to you,” she said eagerly. “That’s part of being friends. Are we friends, Joe?”
He gazed helplessly at her. He could no more reject her than he could a child in need. He said gently, “We’re friends, Nancy Jo.”
She smiled brilliantly. “Thank you.”
He turned and went up the porch steps. He glanced back when he opened the screen door.
She was gone.
She had learned the trick.
TEN
JANE’S CELL PHONE RANG AT TWO thirty in the morning, waking her from a deep sleep. She didn’t recognize the ID.
She did recognize the voice.
“Sorry to wake you,” Caleb said. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“And I was sleeping very well.” She got up on one elbow. “It couldn’t wait until morning?”
“Probably. But then I’d have to run the gauntlet with Eve and Quinn. I want to talk to you.”
“So talk.”
“Meet me on the porch in five minutes.”
“Why?”
“I want to see your face, your expressions. I don’t like telephones.”
“Why choose me? Why not Eve?”
“You’re more open to me. I could tell that the moment I met you.”
“You mean you think you could talk me into something.”
“No, I wouldn’t make the attempt. I pick and choose.”
“What did you do to Patty’s grandfather?”
“Meet me outside, and we’ll talk about it.”
“If you come near the porch, the police officers in that squad car will stop you.”
“I’ll drop by and have a talk with them. I’ll show them how harmless I am.”
“You’ll get your ass shot.”
“Five minutes.” He hung up.
She slowly hung up. She should stay in bed and ignore Caleb. He was a disturbing influence, and Joe was right in treating him warily.
To hell with it. She had never been afraid of disturbances. They were what made life interesting. And Caleb was a disturbance that would have a gigantic payoff if she could find a way to use him to help Eve. He was right, she was open to him, to anyone who could end this hellish situation.
Besides, she was curious. He was an enigma, and she wanted to know more about him. She threw back the covers and got out of bed. She drew on her terry robe and headed for the door. Toby was running ahead of her as she tried to move quietly through the house.
Caleb was sitting on the top step of the porch when she opened the screen door.
“Turn on the porch light. It will make the cops in the squad car feel better. And I’ll be able to see your face.” He looked at her and smiled. “It’s beautiful up here. You must love to visit. Come sit down.”
She switched on the light and glanced at the squad car. “I can’t believe they didn’t stop you. The least they could do was to call us and check.”
“I told you, they could see I was harmless.”
“Yeah, sure.” Even leaning casually against the porch rail, he looked anything but harmless. She dropped down beside him, then had to shift over as Toby squeezed between them. “Did Patty’s grandfather think you were harmless?”
“You won’t let that go. It must have upset you.”
“I don’t like puzzles. What happened with her grandfather was a puzzle.”
“And I like puzzles. It keeps the wits sharp. That’s important.”
“Patty’s grandfather,” she prompted.
He smiled. “I just talked to him. I reminded him what a wonderful granddaughter he had in Patty. I suggested he mellow out and enjoy life a little more.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
“And he accepted your suggestions even though you’re a stranger to him?”
“Sometimes it happens like that.”
“You’re not telling the truth.”
“Actually I am.”
“Not all the truth.”
“You do dig deep.” He chuckled. “No, not quite.” He looked out at the lake. “I told you I was a hunter. I have certain talents that make me valuable in that area. I’m very persuasive.”
“What does that mean?”
“To find someone, you have to have people willing to tell you what you want to know. I have no problem with accomplishing that end. I can make people want to please me.”
“Hypnosis?”
“I guess you could call it that if you wanted to generalize. It’s a little more abstract and complicated.”
“Against their will?”
“Sometimes. Or you could say it wasn’t against their will if they wanted to do it. Isn’t that right?”
“No.”
He laughed. “You’re absolutely correct. By every moral standard it’s wrong. That’s why I had to develop my own code of choices and limitations.”
“But they’re your choices. You could change them to suit yourself. That could be an awesome power in the wrong—” She stopped. “Good God, I’m accepting all this crap as if I believe it.”
“You do believe it. You see things that aren’t clear to other people. That’s why I’m talking to you tonight.”
“There could be another perfectly logical reason why Patty’s grandfather turned into a reformed Scrooge.”
He didn’t answer.
“If you’re telling the truth, is the change permanent?”
“No, I didn’t have enough time. All the selfishness will come back in a day or two. But I think he’ll remember that he cares about her.”
A memory of love was a wonderful thing in itself, Jane thought.
“I didn’t hurt him,” Caleb said. “I chose to help Quinn, and perhaps it helped Patty and her grandfather too.”
“Out of the kindness of your heart,” she said sarcastically.
“No, that’s not what this is all about. It’s about hunting down Jelak. I wanted to make it simpler for Quinn and leave a little thread to make you curious.”
And he had succeeded. Lord, he was clever. “You haven’t convinced me.”
“It will take time. I’ve been through this before. I think it helps that Eve believes in Megan. There’s no one you trust more than Eve.”
“Yes.” She was silent again. “Is that how you convinced those policemen to let you come on the porch?”
He nodded. “They think they’re doing you a service. After all, no one is safer than I am.”
No one was more dangerous if what he said was true.
“I could prove it to you,” he said softly. “I could make you think that I was your best friend, even your lover. It would be difficult because you’re so strong, but I’m very, very good.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Then look at me, and I’ll give you a taste. Nothing permanent. I promise.” He smiled. “Aren’t you curious? I dare you, Jane.” He repeated, “Look at me.”
She slowly raised her eyes to meet his own.
Warmth, no, heat, memories of Caleb holding her naked, driving into her body. Desire so intense and sexual that she couldn’t bear it. Her breasts were firming, readying. She was melting toward him, into him.
Then he was looking away from her. “Oh, the temptation. You would be a delight.”
She felt dazed, her body sensitive and still tingling. “You son of a bitch.”
“Yes, I couldn’t resist. Much more interesting than a comfortable, friendly interchange. But it did prove my point.”
She couldn’t den
y that when her body was still aching. “They should keep you confined.”
“They’ve tried over the years. But the only way to do it is to keep me drugged. And I become drug-tolerant very quickly.” He smiled. “So it’s up to me. I do have my code. And I don’t fall from grace very often. You were just too much of a temptation, and I actually had a legitimate reason to do it.”
“Rationalization.”
He nodded. “Perhaps. But you weren’t going to let me discuss anything until I dealt with what happened to Patty’s grandfather. I had to be honest with you.”
“You wouldn’t have it so easy next time. I’d be prepared for you.”
“And you’re strong. So let’s forget it and get down to the reason I’m here.”
He hadn’t argued with her but stepped aside. “Why are you here?”
“To get your cooperation.” He turned and looked at her again. “We both know he’s going to go after Eve. That attempt on your friend was only a gesture of rage. He wants Eve, and you’re the ticket he’ll use to get to her.”
“Why does he want Eve so badly?”
“She’s the final one. He thinks her blood will put him over the top into vampire nirvana.”
“Why?”
“She’s extraordinary. She’s extremely strong. She’s old enough and experienced enough to make her blood richer than, say, yours, Jane. You’re strong, but you lack the experience Eve’s gained over the years. The tragedy she’s gone through has made both her mind and blood the apex of richness. She’s the complete package.”
“Why would that make her blood different?”
“Because Jelak thinks it does. He believes it’s part of the essence, the soul of her. It’s what he was taught. And that’s all that’s important.”
“It’s bullshit. Tragic bullshit. And you said some of those victims were killed for no real purpose in his view.”
“Except for the hunger. During this stage, the hunger is very much present. He won’t be able to keep himself from taking frequent victims. After he reaches his final goal, then everything changes.”
“And Eve is that goal.”
“Yes,” Caleb said. “And you’re the path that leads to her. You can see where I’m going.”
“Eve said that you’d serve up any of us on Jelak’s altar. You want me to be your bait.”
“Yes.”
“And that was why you didn’t want Eve and Joe around when you told me.”
“It would have been awkward.”
She looked at him and started to laugh. “That’s one way of putting it. Joe would have thrown you into the lake.”
“I could probably convince him that wouldn’t be a good idea.”
She remembered that moment at the restaurant when he’d been trying to persuade Joe to go hunting with him. He had been intense but not totally mesmerizing as he had been with her. “Why didn’t you try that before? Doesn’t it work with Joe?”
“I don’t know. Probably. I prefer not to interfere with free choice when it may involve the death of the subject.”
She shook her head. “You’re incredible.”
“Yes, I am. Now let’s get down to business. I promise to keep you alive if you decide to help me catch Jelak.”
“With all my blood intact?”
“That goes without saying. We can’t have one without the other. I won’t bring you into the picture until I have a scenario I can control.”
“I’m not sure I’d trust you.”
“Of course not. But you’ll probably do it anyway. You love Eve enough to do anything for her. I wouldn’t tell them about our talk if I were you. It would only worry them.” He got to his feet. “Think about it. I’ll let you know when I can arrange it. First we have to find him.”
She stared at him. The light was illuminating the deep planes of his face and that beautifully sensual mouth. Power and intensity and the alluring magnetism that was even stronger than she had imagined. “You’re a very ruthless man, Seth Caleb.”
“You have no idea.” He started down the steps. “But you will, Jane.” He stopped to smile and wave at the two officers in the squad car. They waved back, and he continued down the steps and strode toward his car.
Jane got to her feet and started toward the front door. Yes, she would very likely plumb the incalculable depths of Caleb before this was over.
She wasn’t sure that she wanted to discover what lay beneath.
THE WOMAN WAS PERHAPS THIRTY-FIVE, dressed in a dark suit, and was frowning thoughtfully as she crossed the CDC parking lot.
Serious and responsible, Jelak thought. She was everything he had been hoping for when he had staked out the building. Old enough to be experienced, and her job with the Centers for Disease Control reflected intelligence and perhaps the qualities that, at least, made her a candidate to permit him to ingest her blood.
And perhaps more. Perhaps another step closer.
She was unlocking the door of a tan Toyota and getting into the driver’s seat.
Sensible car, again reflecting that maturity that was so important to make the feeding tolerable at this stage of his development.
Yes, it was going to be all right. He knew it. Relief poured through him. She would give him the strength he needed to endure until he could take that final goblet from Eve Duncan.
He started his car and followed the tan Toyota out of the parking lot.
IT WAS FOUR THIRTY IN THE morning when Joe’s cell phone rang.
Ed Norris? What the hell?
“I suppose I don’t have to ask how you got my cell number, Norris.”
“Another one,” Ed Norris bit out. “When are you going to stop it? When are you going to catch him?”
“As soon as I can. What are you talking about?”
Eve was sitting up in bed, looking at him. “I just got word from my informant at the precinct that there’s been a killing in midtown. Margaret Selkirk, researcher with the CDC. Body found in the backyard of her house by her daughter. Throat slit. You let him do it again, dammit.”
“I haven’t heard anything about—” But a call was coming in now from Gary Schindler. He punched over to the call. “What’s happening?”
“Margaret Selkirk. Killing. Throat slit. Seems like the same MO as the other murders.” Gary paused. “There was a goblet in her hand.”
“I’m on my way.” He switched back to Norris. “I’m heading for midtown. Keep your damn spies out from under my feet.”
He hung up and got out of bed. “Another victim. Margaret Selkirk, a researcher with the CDC. Ed Norris is raising hell. I feel like raising hell too. It’s pissing me off that he’s finding out about Jelak’s moves before I do.”
“Bribery?”
“No doubt about it.”
“Any change from the Heather Carmello murder?”
“They found a goblet.” He headed for the bathroom. “I’m sure that bastard, Caleb, would be able to interpret the significance of that.”
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to ask him.” Eve slipped on her robe. “I might as well make coffee, then get to work. I won’t be able to go back to sleep.”
“Sorry.”
“I’m not.” She headed for the door. “Actually, I’d go with you, but you’ll have enough to contend with dealing with Norris.”
“I don’t want you at the crime scene. I don’t want you anywhere near those victims.”
“Because you think Jelak may be hovering? Caleb said he probably wouldn’t have stayed at Piedmont Park after the killing.”
“I don’t want you there,” he repeated. “I don’t care what Caleb said.”
“Okay, for now.” She added quietly, “But I can’t bury my head in the sand. Three victims, and Patty could have been one of them if she hadn’t been lucky. I seem to be the eye of the storm. It has to stop, Joe.”
“It will stop.” He closed the bathroom door behind him.
EVE STOOD ON THE PORCH watching Joe’s Jeep go down the drive.
She
clasped her arms across her chest as she felt chill at the thought of that poor woman who had died tonight. Margaret Selkirk, who had done nothing but happen to cross Jelak’s path.
It will stop, Joe had said.
But how long would it be? How many victims would Jelak take before they’d manage to bring that monster down?
Joe would do his job with his usual intelligence and efficiency, but he wouldn’t tolerate even a slight risk to her.
But that risk might have to be run eventually. In the meantime, they’d have to explore every single avenue.
Starting with Margaret Selkirk’s death.
She turned and strode back into the house.
“HER FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER found her,” Schindler said, when Joe arrived at the small, white house on Peachtree Circle. “The kid is almost hysterical. She said she’s a restless sleeper and woke up because she thought she heard a car start outside.”
“What time?”
“Two forty. She got up and noticed her mother’s door was open and her bed hadn’t been slept in. Her mother had been working late for the past two weeks, but she thought she’d heard her come in. So she started looking for her.”
“And found her in the backyard?”
Schindler nodded. “Naked. By the garden shed at the end of the yard.” He was leading Joe around the house. “With the goblet in her right hand. The kid called 911, then went upstairs to take care of her little brother and keep him from seeing their mother.”
“Good move on her part. Did you call any of their relatives to come for the kids?”
“Margaret Selkirk has a sister in Helen, Georgia. She’s on her way.” He opened the gate. “And that expert you sent arrived about five minutes ago. He’s with forensics examining that goblet.”
“Expert?” Joe frowned. “What expert?”
“Seth Caleb,” Schindler said. “Good man. We should have had him on the case earlier. Where did you get him? FBI?”
“What?” Joe’s gaze flew across the yard to the man standing over the body. “He told you I sent him? You believed him?”
“Of course I believed him,” Schindler said. “What’s wrong? Are you trying to keep it confidential?”