“Mr. Mosley,” I said. “You’re looking much better today.”
And he truly did. His silver hair was neatly brushed, his Rudolph-red nose had returned to its normal color, and his hazel eyes were sharp and clear instead of tired and watery. Plus, he was wearing a suit instead of the rumpled pajamas he’d had on the last time I’d seen him.
Mosley harrumphed. “Yes, according to Finn, I am not a germ-infested, snot-ridden mess anymore, so that’s a definite improvement.”
I laughed, pulled my order pad out of the back pocket of my jeans, and grabbed a pen from the top of the cash register. “So what can I get you?”
“I’m not here to eat.”
“Oh?”
Mosley glanced around the restaurant, which was largely empty, since the lunch rush had already come and gone. Only two spots were occupied.
Jade Jamison sat at a table across from Dr. Ryan Colson. Given the way the two of them kept staring at each other, smiling and laughing, I’d say that they were on an unofficial date, whether they realized it or not. Jade saw me watching them, and I flashed her a thumbs-up. She grinned back at me, and a faint blush colored her cheeks. She leaned forward and focused on Ryan again.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed Jade and Ryan together. From a nearby booth, Elissa Daniels stared over at her sister, a faint smile lifting her lips.
Jade had been calling me every day with updates. Elissa was seeing a therapist and trying to cope the best she could with everything that had happened. Bria had been able to keep Elissa out of the official police investigation, so no one knew that she’d almost been the Dollmaker’s next victim. The last thing she needed right now was to be hounded by the news reporters who had been covering the story nonstop.
Jade had told me that Elissa just wanted things to go back to normal—or as normal as they could be—so I’d decided to help with that. Three other girls were sitting in the booth with Elissa: Eva Grayson, Owen’s sister; Violet Fox, her best friend; and Catalina Vasquez, Silvio’s niece.
Eva, Violet, and Catalina had all been through some pretty horrific things themselves, and I thought that the four of them might be able to help each other. That they might be able to talk about things together in a way that maybe they couldn’t with the older people in their lives. At the very least, Eva, Violet, and Catalina could show Elissa that this too would eventually pass, that the pain and fear would slowly lessen, and that there were still plenty of good things and people left in the world, instead of just the nightmare that she’d experienced.
Plates of food were spread out across the table, along with their laptops and textbooks. Ostensibly, they’d come here to study, although they didn’t seem to be getting any work done. Eva was doing most of the talking, throwing her hands up into the air as she told some story, with Violet and Catalina both chiming in occasionally. Elissa sat there, nodding her head instead of talking, but every once in a while, her eyes would brighten, and she would smile a little at something one of the other girls said. You couldn’t get more normal than gabbing with some new girlfriends. I just hoped that it helped her.
Mosley looked over at Elissa. “She seems to be doing well.”
“As well as can be expected, I suppose.”
Elissa noticed Mosley sitting at the counter. She hesitated, then raised her hand and waved at him. He waved back at her, a strained expression on his face. Elissa went back to her conversation with the other girls, and Mosley turned around and faced me again.
“I reached out to Ms. Jamison as soon as Finn told me what happened,” he said. “Jade told me that they were coming here today. I didn’t want to intrude on Elissa’s recovery, but I wanted to see her for myself. Make sure that she was really okay. Physically, at least. I’ve also set up a trust to pay for whatever she needs now and in the future.”
“That was nice of you.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s not. Not since all of this is my fault.”
“How do you figure that?”
“If I hadn’t gotten sick that night, Elissa would have been at that charity dinner with me,” Mosley said. “She never would have gone to Northern Aggression, and Bruce Porter would never have gotten his hands on her.”
“No,” I said. “He would have kidnapped some other poor girl, someone whose sister didn’t come to me for help, and we might never have found her, much less stopped him for good. Believe me, Mr. Mosley, I am well acquainted with guilt. None of this is your fault. It’s all on Porter. He’s the one who chose to kidnap and kill all those women.”
“Including my Joanna.” His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper.
I didn’t say anything. Nothing I could say would take away Mosley’s grief over his granddaughter’s murder.
He stared down at the counter for several seconds, slowly tracing his fingers back and forth along the smooth, shiny surface, lost in his own thoughts. Finally, he cleared his throat and looked up at me again.
“There’s no need to stand on formality. You can call me Stuart.” His mouth quirked with a bit of amusement. “After all, you have seen me in my pajamas now.”
“Only if you call me Gin.”
He nodded and steepled his hands together, finally getting down to business. “Seeing Elissa isn’t the only reason that I came here today. I wanted you to know how grateful I am for everything that you did for her, my granddaughter, and all of Porter’s other victims. I only wish that I’d been able to get my hands on him myself.”
For a moment, his face darkened, and cold, calculating rage glinted in his hazel eyes. And I realized that Stuart Mosley was not a man you wanted to mess with.
He looked at me again. “I also came here today to tell you that my offer still stands.”
“And what offer would that be?”
“Any favor you want, any boon or consideration that you, Finn, or the rest of your friends need. I am not without money, resources, and influence.”
First Jade, now Mosley. I should take down serial killers more often. Everybody wanted to do me favors now.
I wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity.
“I have questions. About Fletcher. And the Circle. Did he tell you about them?”
Mosley nodded. “Yes. Fletcher didn’t tell me much about what he was up to or about the group itself, but I’ll be happy to answer what I can. Perhaps over dinner one day soon?”
“I’d like that.”
He smiled at me. “I would too.”
“But first things first.” I stabbed my pen at him. “You need to order some food. Fletcher would never forgive me if I let one of his friends leave without a good hot meal.”
Mosley chuckled, thinking that I was joking. But when he realized that I was serious, he ordered a platter of pulled barbecue chicken, along with baked beans, a garden salad, and a basket of Sophia’s homemade sourdough rolls. I also threw in a heaping serving of blackberry cobbler with vanilla-bean ice cream for dessert.
Some more folks came in to eat, and we were suddenly busy again. Sophia helped me fix Mosley’s food, and I’d just set it on the counter in front of him when the bell over the front door chimed. I looked up to call out a greeting to my new customer, but the words died on my lips when I realized who it was.
Hugh Tucker had just strolled into the Pork Pit.
30
I had two knives in my hands before Tucker took another step into the restaurant. Silvio was also on his feet, his tablet clutched in his hand as though he planned to brain the other vampire over the head with it. Sophia was at the far end of the counter at one of the cooking stations, but she had a death grip on a cast-iron skillet, ready to wade into the fray.
Mosley turned his head, wondering what had alarmed the three of us. I didn’t know if he recognized Tucker, but his eyes narrowed, and he tightened his grip on the knife and fork in his hands. Everyone else was still absorbed in their
food and conversations, and they didn’t notice the sudden tension in the restaurant.
Tucker held up his hands and slowly walked toward the cash register where I was standing. “I’m not here to fight. I just want to have a simple conversation.”
I gripped my knives a little tighter. “And what’s to stop me from cutting you down right here, right now?”
He glanced around. “Well, all of these nice folks, for one thing. You wouldn’t want to ruin their meals, would you?”
He was right. More than two dozen people were in the restaurant, chowing down on their barbecue and side dishes. They hadn’t come here to witness a murder, and I wasn’t about to subject them to that, especially not Elissa, after what she’d just been through. No matter how badly I wanted to kill Tucker.
“Plus,” he continued, “I have someone stationed outside the restaurant with a gun aimed right at you. Just for some added insurance.”
I glanced out through the storefront windows. I didn’t see anyone lurking on the sidewalk, but that didn’t mean they weren’t out there, maybe sitting in a car at the curb. Not that a gun would do them much good outside, since the windows were bulletproof. But if a fight broke out inside the restaurant and my customers started fleeing out the front door, the shooter could always decide to target them instead of me. So as much as I hated it, I had to play along with Tucker. Besides, I thought that I knew exactly why he was here, and part of me wanted to see if I was right.
“Fine,” I snapped. “What do you want?”
He tilted his head at an empty booth in the back corner of the restaurant. “Why don’t we go over there and discuss it? Away from prying eyes and ears?”
He looked at Silvio, who shrugged back at him. Thanks to his own enhanced vampiric senses, my assistant would still be able to hear our conversation no matter how softly Tucker talked.
“Lead the way,” I said.
“So you can stab me in the back with one of your knives?” Tucker laughed. “I don’t think so. Why don’t you put those away so we can have a civilized conversation like normal people? And I do hope you know that it’s not a request.”
He gestured with his hand, and I had no choice but to slide my knives back up my sleeves, step out from behind the cash register, and head over to the booth. I started to sit down, but Tucker called out behind me.
“Other side, please. I prefer to sit with my back against the wall. Plus, I wouldn’t want Ms. Deveraux getting any bright ideas about sneaking up behind me and whacking me on the head with her lovely skillet.”
I ground my teeth. That had been exactly what I was hoping would happen, but I glanced over my shoulder at Sophia and shook my head, telling her and Silvio to stand down. Sophia went back to her cooking, while Silvio sat back down on his stool. Mosley relaxed a bit too, although he kept glancing in this direction.
Once I was sure that my friends were going to hold their positions, I did as Tucker had commanded and sat down in the booth. He unbuttoned his dark blue suit jacket and slid into the opposite side.
He stared at me, and I looked right back at him. His gaze focused on my hair, once again its usual dark brown color and pulled back into a ponytail.
“You dyed your hair back already.”
“You sound disappointed. Why? Because I don’t look quite as much like my mother anymore? You should be careful about dwelling on the past, Tuck. One day you might wake up and be just like Bruce Porter.”
He arched his eyebrows, but he didn’t respond to my taunt.
I leaned forward and fixed my cold gray gaze on his inscrutable black one. “Actually, I’m glad that you came by today.”
“Really? Why is that?”
“Because I have something that belongs to you.”
I started to drop my hand down under the table, but Tucker waggled his finger at me. “Ah-ah,” he warned. “Slowly, Gin. Slowly.”
I rolled my eyes, but I did as he asked. With slow, exaggerated movements, I reached into my jeans pocket, pulled something out, and set it on the table between us.
The gold tube of Heartbreaker lipstick glinted in the sunlight streaming in through the storefront windows.
Tucker stared at the lipstick a moment, then arched his eyebrows again. “And why would you think that belongs to me? I am many things, Gin, but I am not into women’s makeup.”
I sat back and crossed my arms over my chest. “Because you set this whole thing up, you sneaky son of a bitch.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I snorted. “Oh, that’s rich coming from you.”
Tucker crossed his arms over his own chest, mimicking my hostile posture. “Please. Enlighten me.”
“I’ll readily admit that I have the world’s worst luck,” I said. “But I thought that it was a very strange coincidence that I found a woman’s body at Northern Aggression the very same night that I went there looking for a missing girl. I really should have known by now that there are no coincidences. Especially where you’re concerned.”
Tucker kept staring at me.
“You see, I heard that little chat you had with Damian Rivera in his office several nights ago. You were telling him to clean up his mess—or else—but you weren’t talking about Rivera’s habitual drunkenness and DUIs, were you? You were talking about the fact that Bruce Porter was a serial killer and the police had discovered a pattern to all these pretty blond girls being murdered and dumped all over Ashland. Care to tell me which one of the cops on your payroll tipped you off about the Dollmaker investigation?”
Tucker didn’t say anything, and his face remained as impassive as ever, so I continued.
“But you knew that I was there and that I was listening to every single word that you and Rivera said, since I’d left the window open on my way out of the office. Given your freaky vampire senses, you probably heard me out on the roof too. And Rivera royally pissed you off when he mocked you about being reduced to the Circle’s errand boy. But Rivera was right about how powerless you were compared with him. You couldn’t act against Rivera yourself. Not openly. Not without the rest of the Circle’s approval. So you decided to use me to do your damn dirty work for you.”
My accusation hung in the air between us like a storm cloud crackling with lightning, and I could almost see the wheels turning in Tucker’s mind as he debated how to respond.
“While I’m highly flattered that you think that I’m some sort of genius criminal mastermind, I really have no idea what you’re talking about, Gin.” Tucker tapped his fingers on the table. “I certainly didn’t tell Bruce Porter to kidnap and murder all those poor women.”
“No,” I said. “But you were the one who drew my spider runes on the dead girl Porter dumped at Northern Aggression.”
Tucker’s fingers stilled, and surprise flashed in his eyes before he could hide it. He hadn’t thought that I would figure it out. I’d been right when I felt I was trying to solve two separate but connected puzzles. One had been figuring out that Porter was the Dollmaker. And the other one was about Tucker giving me the one clue that had led me straight to Rivera.
“Now, I don’t know exactly what happened. If you followed Porter from the mansion that night and realized that he was dumping a body at the nightclub, or if you found out about the dead woman some other way. But you wanted to get rid of Porter and Rivera, and it was too good an opportunity to pass up. So you drew my spider runes on that dead girl’s palms, knowing that someone in the police department or coroner’s office would recognize the symbols as my personal rune. You also realized that Bria would find out about the marks sooner or later, that she would tell me, and that I would be pissed off enough to investigate.”
Tucker didn’t say anything, but his mouth quirked up into the faintest smile. That was all the confirmation I needed.
“But you still had another problem to solve. Porter had been very ca
reful, and nothing linked him or Rivera to any of the victims. You had to point me in that direction somehow, so you decided to leave a little clue behind for me to find.” I tapped my fingernail against the top of the gold tube. “A very expensive brand of lipstick that you somehow knew that Porter used in his ritual.”
Tucker eyed the lipstick, but he still didn’t say anything.
“But then you had another problem. Where to leave the lipstick so that I would find it. You checked with your sources, probably the same cop who tipped you off about the Dollmaker investigation, and you heard about Elissa Daniels. You realized that Porter had grabbed her and was going to make her his next victim. Now, I don’t know if you found out that she was Jade’s sister or if you just followed me back to Jade’s house when I drove her home from the police station. But that night, you broke into Jade’s house, getting as far as opening the kitchen door. I imagine that you were going to leave the lipstick behind somewhere in the house for me to find. But I heard you creeping inside, and since you couldn’t afford to be seen, you slipped away.”
He tipped his head at me. “It seems that I’m not the only one with good hearing.”
I ignored his compliment. “But you still needed to plant the lipstick somewhere. So I imagine that you started following me around, waiting for your chance. Somehow you realized that I was heading back to the scene of the crime at Northern Aggression. You managed to get there ahead of me, and you finally planted the lipstick for me to find. But once again, I almost caught you, and you had to leave in a hurry. But you didn’t really care, did you? Because you knew that I would find the lipstick and that I would trace it back to Rivera. Then one thing would lead to another, and I would most likely kill him and Porter and solve all your problems for you.”
A faint smile lifted Tucker’s lips. “That was the idea, although Damian almost ruined everything by sending his men over to Ms. Jamison’s home. I didn’t realize that he had his own sources in the police department or that he would be smart enough to send his men over there to destroy any files she had. Still, you killed them in the end, and the men were another link back to Damian, so it all worked out for the best.”