I am.”
“What are you doing here?”
Toby took several steps forward. Might as well invade the man’s personal space while he was at it. “I brought Mrs. Whyte back home and…”
“What exactly happened?” Adela asked.
“The house burned down last night.” He didn’t sound exactly concerned.
“So I observed.”
Toby held back a smile. Adela sounded positively waspish. And the deputy did not appreciate her attitude. “These things happen. Where were you?”
Adela was not one to be browbeaten. “Fortunately, out of the house.”
“Yeah, well, you can’t get in there now.” He nodded to the deputy. “Travers, get that crime scene tape.” The deputy bestowed another frown on them.
“You suspect a crime here, Officer? Surely not arson?” Sarcastic, yes, but justified in the circumstances.
“What are you suggesting?” The man had an impressive repertoire of belligerent facial expressions.
“You mentioned a crime, Deputy, and I have to agree. It’s rather odd that the house burned down with no one there.”
“Wasn’t the local fire department called?” Adela added, obviously getting into deputy-baiting.
“Back here, so far from the road, no one saw anything until it was too late,” he lied. “It was pretty burned out before anyone noticed.”
Toby resisted the urge to grab the man’s mind and force an admission of complicity. There was time. “Unfortunate. But I feel sure we can count on your good offices, to ensure there is no vandalism of the remains.” The second deputy paused in unwinding the yellow tape and Toby fancied a flicker of a smirk on his face.
Another fulsome scowl from the first deputy. Perhaps he suspected Toby was taking the mick. “You Australian or what?”
“Neither.” Toby met his scowl with a smile and a shake of his head. “I’m from South Carolina but have lived in the U.K. for a few years.” Nearly a century and a half, to be accurate. “Perhaps I picked up a bit of an accent.”
The man grunted back. “You can’t get in either, you know. No one crosses that tape.”
“I can’t imagine why anyone would want to!” Adela replied, an edge in her voice under the apparent nonchalance. “I’ll have to let Gertrude know what happened. I’m sure she’ll want to contact you and the local fire chief—for the insurance, of course. I expect they’ll send someone down to investigate. At least then we’ll know how it all started.”
Good for Adela! The belligerence register went up at least five notches.
“We’ll see about that.”
“I trust you will, Officer.” The man had his hand on the butt of his gun. Not that the prospect of a bullet bothered Toby, but Adela was mortal and vulnerable to gunshots. He took her arm. “We might as well get back. You need to contact the owner so she can take care of everything.” He couldn’t resist a final genial smile at the sad specimen of law enforcement. “I’m sure you’ll be contacted.”
“He should be damn thankful,” Adela muttered between clenched teeth, “that I follow the Wiccan reede of ‘Harm to none.’ He’s a lying bastard!”
“I do sympathize. If I hadn’t been hamstrung by our code, I’d have been tempted to sink my teeth in his throat! But”—he paused as he negotiated a sharp bend—“the most pressing need is to contact your friend.”
“I have this hideous worry that Gertrude didn’t have insurance.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that.”
“And why not? Replacing a house and all your furniture and belongings isn’t exactly like buying a new washing machine!”
Mortals did get testy under stress. “If she is uninsured, we contact our mutual acquaintance Mr. Roman.”
“Vlad?” She must be the only mortal to know the Lord of Wallachia’s traveling name.
“I don’t doubt in his vast empire, he has an insurance company or two. If nothing else, he will make sure the arson is investigated.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because one of the conditions of my stay in his territory was I keep watch on you. He will not be pleased at what happened, and he and his clan don’t adhere to the strict tenets of our colony.”
Took her a minute or two to digest that lump of surprise. “What have I done to merit his concern like that?”
He couldn’t hold back the chuckle. “My dear Adela. I would hazard a guess, you’re the only mortal who’s looked him in the eyes and demanded something of him. Few vampires would even dare that. You did and survived intact. He admires you and respects you. And in addition, Elizabeth, your protégée, destroyed a vampire who invaded his territory and not only ignored all the conventions of hospitality but did active harm that could have rebounded on Vlad’s clan. Yes, Adela, Vlad Tepes holds you in high regard.”
He heard her swallow. “I’m not entirely sure that’s a welcome circumstance.”
He understood, being none too relaxed knowing he owed Vlad a favor for his continued sojourn in his territory. “It’s a whole lot better than earning his enmity.”
She didn’t argue with that. “How old and powerful is he?”
“Let’s put it this way: If Vlad had found Laran, I doubt he’d have needed magic. Also, he has a nasty reputation for killing slowly.”
She shuddered. “Not a person to piss off, right?”
“No, my dear Adela. Definitely not.”
They headed back to Devil’s Elbow, Adela to contact her friend Gertrude, and Toby intending to head for the office. But as he turned off the road and headed up the drive to the house, he glimpsed two black cars through the trees. Swearing under his breath, he reversed. Fast.
“Adela,” he said, letting the engine idle as he stopped. “I have visitors. May I suggest you get out here? There’s a path down to the beach. I’ll come and get you when the coast is clear.” He sensed an argument rising. “Unless you really want to get entangled with the FBI.”
“They are still investigating Piet?”
“Unfortunately, yes. At least seeing him might satisfy them that he cannot help them with their enquiries, but who knows what they might make of his ex-wife staying in the house.”
She took no more convincing. “Damn, I need to call Gertrude but…” She opened the door. “See you soon—I hope.”
He waited, just long enough to be sure she found the path, before proceeding toward the house.
It was a car and a van, both parked askew,
