Blood Game (20 page)

“All the way.” He glanced at Eve. “Could we have coffee on the porch? I’ve grown very fond of your wonderful views.”

“I suppose we could.” Eve got to her feet. “As long as you’re not trying to evade our questions.”

“Perish the thought. I’m encouraged that Quinn is thinking that I can be useful in digging into Jelak’s psyche.” He got to his feet. “I have a call to make. I’ll meet you on the porch.”

“Sidestepping?” Eve said to Joe as Caleb left the room.

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. We’ll know later.” He got down the tray and carafe. “Because I’m going to ask him a boatload of questions.”

Caleb was just finishing his call when they joined him on the porch. “You’ll be glad to know that Jane is fine. They’d just finished the dinner that Charlie Brand had cooked.” He smiled. “And it was not Hamburger Helper.”

“You called Jane?” Eve asked. “Why?”

“I like to keep track of her,” Caleb said as he took the cup Eve handed him. “Jelak thinks she’s important. I do too.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t hang up on you,” Eve said.

“She knows I want the best for her. She was impatient, but not angry. She’s a very smart woman.” He sat down on the top step and gestured to the swing. “Sit down. I’m sure you’re impatient too, Quinn. You want answers. I just wanted to be sure about Jane.”

“So do we,” Joe said. “But there’s an officer with her.”

“And that was probably enough of a deterrent. However, Jelak is getting closer to his time and may get desperate.” He took a sip of his coffee. “You were asking about Jelak and food.” He chuckled. “You’ve been thinking back about all the trashy movies and novels you’ve read about vampires and the traditional profiles. Let’s see, vampires never eat.”

“You’ve just said that Jelak doesn’t,” Eve said.

“Not at this point. According to what his master, Franco Donari, taught him when he was in training, he should have no hunger except for the blood when he was coming near to his completion. Since he’s completely sure that he’s right around the bend from that august state, he’s convinced himself that he has every sign he should have to support that fact.”

“In other words, he’s sold himself a bill of goods,” Joe said. “What happens when he doesn’t reach this completion? He’d starve to death.”

“Not for a long time. The mind can do amazing things.”

“I thought you said this vampire cult Jelak belonged to only believed the more palatable things connected with the legends. Starving seems pretty extreme.”

“But only in the last stage of his resurrection.”

“Resurrection? You’ve never mentioned that word.”

“Didn’t I? Perhaps it sounded too pretentious.” He leaned back against the railing. “What else, Quinn?”

“Does he believe he can’t go out in daylight?”

“No, but he’s a night creature because it’s easier to prey. Very sensible. I’ve always wondered if that’s how that legend got started.” He smiled. “And he doesn’t think garlic or onion or holy crosses will make him powerless. A stake in the heart? At this stage he thinks a bullet would do the job. That’s why he’s wary.”

“At this stage?” Eve repeated. “What about when he goes through this resurrection? What does he think it’s going to bring him?”

“He’s certain it’s going to give him everything that he wants in the world.” He took another sip of coffee. “It’s going to make him a god.”

“Even a nut like Jelak couldn’t believe that,” Joe said.

“He believes what he wants to believe. According to what the cult taught him, when he reaches his final transformation, he’ll receive powers beyond belief. There will be nothing that he can’t reach out and take. No one who will be safe from him.”

“Easy promises,” Eve said. “And ones that would appeal to a monster like Jelak.”

He nodded. “And like all gods, he’ll be invisible to mortal man.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.”

“I never said that it wasn’t totally irrational. But you can see how that would make an unbalanced man try to gain all the rewards promised by the cult.”

Unbalanced? Eve thought. Jelak had to be totally insane to believe that he could make himself a supreme being by spreading this trail of blood and death. “And I can’t understand how he’d ever believe in that cult. It’s too outlandish. You said that he’d gone to several countries before he went to Italy and linked up with that group.”

“This one suited him,” Caleb said. “It told him what he wanted to hear. And the cult had the cachet of having been in existence for hundreds of years. I’m sure Jelak thought that he’d found the true stronghold of the vampire. There were all kinds of wild tales about how it started. It was believed to have originated back in the fourteenth century because the people of the village of Fiero had seen dark magic performed in their midst by two brothers who had recently come to their town.”

“What kind of dark magic?”

“Blood. Power. Death. The villagers were terrified. For decades they were made practically into servants by the Ridondo brothers and their descendants. But they were also fascinated, envious, and set about to study and copy them. Hence the cult was born.”

“You’re saying the Ridondo family were vampires?” Jane asked skeptically.

“I’m saying that the legend connects their dark arts with blood.” He shrugged. “And that Jelak believed the legend.”

“And you haven’t told us one thing that could help us nail Jelak,” Joe said.

“You understand him better now,” Caleb said. “You know he thinks he’s got to keep on killing to keep himself alive. You know he’s feverishly trying to reach his goal of resurrection now.” He paused. “You know he’s close to it.”

“How close?” Joe asked.

“Selkirk was a good find for him.” He reached into his pocket and brought out his digital camera. “I’m sure you noticed the goblet was different.” He handed the camera to Eve. “He knew right away that he’d found a gem.”

Eve looked at the viewer. At first it appeared the same as the other goblets but when she looked closer . . . “There are ten men sitting at the table instead of nine.”

Caleb nodded. “Margaret Selkirk was a step in the right direction. Her blood was strong enough not only to feed him but to give him a step toward resurrection. He only has two to go.” He looked at Eve. “I think that may mean your friend Patty may be off the hook.”

“Patty.” She immediately caught the omission. “Not Jane.”

He shook his head. “And not you. He has to have two that will be sure things. And quickly. He doesn’t have time to hunt down another quality kill. He got lucky with Margaret Selkirk.”

“If he doesn’t get his hands on either one of them right away, will he get reckless?” Joe asked. “If we do a stakeout, could we catch him?”

“Maybe,” Caleb said. “Or maybe he’ll keep killing to feed until one of you gets careless. That would be a form of triumph for him. How many deaths are you willing to give him?”

“None,” Eve said flatly.

“Then we’d better find a way to get him quickly. If he’s frustrated, then he’ll start killing randomly. To prove how smart he is, to prove he’s near to being a god right now.” He met Joe’s eyes. “What’s the best way to trap a tiger, Quinn?”

“Don’t even think about it,” Joe said.

“I can’t think of anything else. Can you?” He got to his feet. “We can make it safe.” He started down the steps. “You’re going to get angry now, so I’d better leave. I’ll call you in the morning.” He stopped as he reached the bottom of the stairs. “I see headlights up the road. It must be Jane.” He stood, waiting until Jane was dropped off by the squad car and came toward him. “Hello. Have a good evening?”

“Not bad. Charlie Brand is a good cook. Patty’s grandfather wasn’t unbearable and even seemed to like Charlie. Patty wasn’t too nervous about the killing.” She shrugged. “On the whole, it could have been a lot worse.”

“And how do you feel about the Selkirk murder?” Caleb asked.

“How do you think I feel?” Jane looked up at him. “You know damn well how I feel, Caleb.”

Eve suddenly tensed as she looked at the two of them. The bond between them was almost visible. What kind of bond? And how had it been forged? Whatever it was, she wanted it broken. She said quickly, “Jane, there’s coffee in the carafe.”

Caleb glanced at her and smiled. “Yes, give her a cup of coffee. It’s beginning to be a little chilly. Good night, Jane. I’m glad everything went well for you.” He smiled at Eve. “Good night, Eve. Thank you for bringing me into the fold. You won’t regret it.”

“I hope not,” Eve said. “But I’ve always found if I make a mistake, I can just smash it down and start over.”

“On your reconstructions?” He nodded. “I can see you doing that. You wouldn’t tolerate anything but perfection in a task so important.” He waved as he set off for his car. “It obviously works for you. I’ll have to see if it does for me.”

Jane stood watching him walk away before turning and starting up the stairs. “He seems right at home. Things have obviously changed. You’ll have to fill me in about your evening.”

“I will,” Eve said. “We know more about Jelak and his vampire obsession than I want to know. You’ll find it as bizarre as we did.”

“And did you find out any more about Caleb?” She poured herself a cup of coffee. “He’s a little bizarre himself.”

“Do I detect a note of resentment?” Joe asked. “Good. Keep it. We’ve agreed to use each other to get Jelak, but don’t trust him.”

“There may be a time when we have to trust him,” Jane said. “I’d like to know more about him. You said you were going to check him out.”

“I did. No criminal record. Thirty-seven years old. Parents dead. Born in Lucerne, Switzerland, but grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his uncle, Rolf Mardell, now deceased. He was left a sizable fortune by both his parents and Mardell. He spends a lot of time traveling about the world.”

“Hunting,” Jane said softly.

Joe nodded. “Hunting.”

Jane turned to Eve. “You’re being very quiet.”

“I’m thinking that I should get back to work.” She stood up. “I didn’t get enough done before Joe brought Caleb home.” She gave Jane a level look. “I can control my work. I’m having trouble with everything else at the moment. I’m not sure what’s happening with either you or Joe.”

Jane said quietly, “Anything that’s happened is because we care about you.”

“Not good enough. I don’t like being an outsider because you think it will make me safer.” Eve didn’t wait for an answer. She went into the house and strode over to her studio corner.

She took the towel off the head of the skull. “Hello, Matt. I’m relieved to get back to you. It’s much simpler when it’s just the two of us.”

The little boy’s face was beginning to take form beneath her fingers. All the painstaking measuring of tissue depths was vitally important, but it was the actual molding that was Eve’s special domain. She relied on accuracy but also her instinct. At this stage she was always absorbed, almost mesmerized by the creative process. She had been in that state earlier in the evening when that sickening panic had struck her. It had been all the more frightening because it had jarred her away from the work that was her passion.

Could an obsession as strong as Jelak’s have had the power to reach out and touch her?

She didn’t know, she thought wearily. Stranger things were happening all around her.

Give a face to this lost child. Bring him home. Let his parents have closure at last.

Close Jelak out. Close out Caleb, who was almost as disturbing.

Close out the thought of the blood.

________

“WE THINK WE’VE LOCATED Jelak’s car,” Schindler said, when Joe walked into the squad room the next morning. “It looks like the same one that the security camera caught at Perimeter Mall. An old Lincoln Town Car. Maybe ’93.”

Joe stiffened. Dammit, a break at last. “Where?”

“Don’t get excited. GBI found it on the side of the road near Kennesaw Mountain about an hour ago. It was apparently abandoned.”

“That doesn’t mean he didn’t leave something in it that we could trace. Is forensics there yet?”

Schindler nodded. “They’re going over it with a fine-tooth comb. Do you want to go or wait for the report?”

“I’m going.” He turned and walked out of the squad room. He was reaching for his phone as he reached the car. He dialed Caleb. “They’ve found Jelak’s car abandoned. Will you be able to tell anything about his whereabouts from it? You said you could feel him.”

“Doubtful just from the vehicle. But I can try.”

“Damn right, you can.” Joe pulled out of the parking space. “Kennesaw Mountain. I’ll give you exact directions when I’m closer.” He hung up and glanced at his rearview mirror. Blue Toyota. He was being tailed again. Ed Norris probably knew everything that he knew. What the hell. Joe probably wouldn’t know that much that the world didn’t. Caleb had not been encouraging, and Joe was probably an idiot for using spook tactics to try to find Jelak.

At this point, he’d use anything he could to get a line on the bastard.

FORENSICS WAS STILL GOING over the massive gray car when Joe arrived at the park.

Caleb was standing to one side, watching them.

“Well?” Joe asked.

He shook his head. “All I know is that he’s nowhere near here.”

“What good is that going to do us?”

“Not a damn thing.” He grimaced. “What did you expect? That I’d touch the steering wheel and get a vision of him? Sorry, it doesn’t work like that. If he’s within two miles, and there’s low interference, I can feel him, track him. Otherwise, I’m blank.”

“Some hunter.”

“Shut up, Quinn. I could call Renata and see if she could send someone who can do the touchy-feely stuff. But it will take her a while.”

“And by that time Jelak will have moved on.” He was gazing at the huge car. How many times had Jelak used it to stuff bodies in that trunk or in the backseat? “Those forensic boys are probably getting a hell of a lot of fiber evidence.”

“For the trial,” Caleb said. “Which is never going to happen. He used that car when he kidnapped Nancy Jo Norris, didn’t he?”

Joe nodded. “He picked her up in it at Perimeter Mall.” He stiffened as a thought occurred to him. “Are you sure you can’t trace him?”