“No, I hadn’t heard that,” Obadiah said, lifting a small basket off a hook on the side of the house and handing it to Jedediah. He was playing it real cool, papa Obadiah. This was a man who'd been around the block a few times. “How do you know he was a werewolf?” He scooped up a handful of feed from a bag on the ground and tossed it into the chicken coop.
“Well, he looked and acted like one,” I said. “He stalked, he growled a lot, grew a hunch at his back the angrier he got, his eyes were wild —”
Obadiah gave an almighty grunt. “That proves nothing.” He sprinkled some more feed as the chickens clucked behind us. “Did you happen to get his name?”
“Yeah, its Bauer. Didn't get a first name.”
Obadiah straightened and was quiet for a few minutes. I knew that I’d struck gold. He slowly turned around to face me again.
“You knew he was one of us,” Obadiah said. “How?”
“His son told me,” I said. “I already had a hunch, so I asked Derrick if his dad had been Amish. Sure enough.”
Obadiah rubbed his forehead. “Jed?” He glanced over at his son. “Take them on down the road to the Bauer farm.”
Jed tipped his hat and then dashed into the house.
I looked over my shoulder at Xandra and her face reflected my own surprise. Derrick still had family in the area?
Obadiah looked back down at me. “I heard you cleaned out almost all the vampires in Tampa. Killed Lord Draven, even.”
Was that a happy sort of tone? Or disappointed? It was hard to tell under all that booming baritone. I wondered if he’d been waiting until Jedediah was out of earshot to bring that up.
“Well, yeah, I did,” I said with a shrug. “What of it?”
“Don’t think you did yourself any favors,” Obadiah said, wiping his hands on a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket. “Vampires don’t stay gone. They’re like cockroaches. They’ll come back. And more of them are going to come now.”
A little tremor of fear washed over me as I looked up into his stern face. “Well, I’ll take care of them too, then,” I said.
Xandra’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head at that.
Okay, maybe it was a little too cocky. But I was no shrinking violet.
Obadiah’s mouth twitched at the very corner and his eyes flickered with faint...admiration?
Jedidiah reappeared at that moment, tearing out of the front door, cramming his hat back onto his head.
“Ready,” he said breathlessly, coming to a halt beside Xandra.
“A piece of advice from an old dog: Be careful you don't bite off more than you can chew.” Obadiah's eyes flickered and he gave us a dismissive wave, then turned back toward a herb garden in the corner of the yard, picking up a basket that Jed had abandoned, resuming the endless work he had before him.
Chapter 14
We walked back around the house to the car, which Lockwood had running for us. Not for heat, but for the air conditioning. I wondered if Lockwood appreciated air conditioning like we humans did.
Jedediah had run around the outside of the house and when Xandra and I caught up, we found him already waiting in the passenger side. I got the feeling he'd planned ahead on this one. Xandra and I slid into the backseat and I could see Jed nearly vibrating from excitement in the front. But I couldn't feel it, because the Maserati had a great suspension.
“Where to?” Lockwood asked, glancing over at Jed.
“The Bauer farm,” I answered when Jed didn’t realize that Lockwood was speaking to him. I guess the suspicion of magic had been passed on to him, too, in spite of his enchantment with the Maserati.
“Which is…?” Lockwood asked. If he took exception to Jed's treatment of him, he showed no sign.
“Out of Sarasota,” Jed said. “East, closer to Myakka.”
Lockwood obeyed and we started cruising.
Jed stayed quiet for all of five seconds, his face utterly straitlaced, a war on display as he looked sidelong at Lockwood for a second or two at a stretch until he finally asked, “Is this a V8?”
“Yes,” Lockwood said. He arched a brow at Jed. “Did you know or did you guess?”
Jed’s eyes grew even wider. “Well, it's a Quattroporte GTS, isn't it?”
Lockwood nodded.
“Four hundred and fifty-four horse power?”
“How does an Amish guy know all of this?” I asked.
Jed suddenly perked up and pointed right. “Okay, turn here.”
Lockwood obliged and we set off through a less populated area. We were moving farther inland. I had learned that moving inland meant less developments, less Publix stores and more trees.
“If I’m not being like, super rude, can I ask why you, the Amish, don't do the whole car thing? Or technology thing?” Xandra asked.
“Father always says that it’s because cars make it too easy to be away from home,” Jed said. “It sort of makes us all independent from one another. We believe so deeply in community that a lot of elders are afraid that it would damage the bonds between us all.”
“Wow,” Xandra said. “Maybe more of us should get rid of cars.”
“My dad wouldn’t mind that,” I said. “He hates driving.”
We were traveling along a straight, flat road, surrounded by trees. The sun was starting to set and the sky was painted with bright pinks and oranges. The clouds looked like cotton candy.
“Here we are,” Jed said, pointing out of the window at a large, sprawling piece of farmland that felt so removed from everything else in Florida. It was amazing that not even ten miles from the middle of Sarasota were these beautiful open fields.
We turned down a long, dirt drive and made our way up toward the farm. There was still plenty of light and out of the windows, I saw more cows in one field than I’d seen my whole time living in Florida, all of them out grazing. I imagined it would be almost time to bring them inside. It reminded me of home in New York, where a field just like this was across the road from my high school.
Lockwood’s car was being bathed in fine dirt as we drew closer to the farmhouse. There were bright lights coming from the barn and I knew that Amish would occasionally have power to keep up their barns, to protect the animals, have heaters and keep their machines clean. I didn't pretend to understand how they justified that, I just knew that it was sometimes so.
A tall, muscular man was standing just inside the door of the barn, staring out at our car as we approached. Other children were attending to scattered chores at the laundry line or heading toward the barn with milk pails in hand. All of them stopped at least for a moment to give us a look.
Lockwood killed the engine and Jed grabbed the door handle. “Just be aware…Mr. Bauer doesn’t like to have visitors very much,” Jed said. “Or...anyone, really.”
“Should we have called first?” Xandra asked. “Oh, wait —”
I opened the door and crawled out, my nose hit with the intense smell of farm life. Tilled earth mingled with manure. Yep. Definitely felt like I was back in New York again.
“Good evening, Mr. Bauer,” Jedediah said, waving as he approached. Lockwood, Xandra and I followed after him, like we were hiding in his shadow.
Bauer didn’t answer. He wasn’t nearly as burly as Obadiah, but I wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley somewhere. His beard was grey and thin, hanging all the way to his chest. His nose was bent as if it had been broken once or twice and he wore a frown that looked like it was glued in place. One of his eyes was narrowed like he'd twitched hard and it stuck.
Old Man Bauer glowered at Jedediah. “What’d you bring English around for?”
Xandra’s face contorted in confusion. “Who's a Brit?”
“He means us,” I said under my breath.
“Got business to talk over,” Jed said. He was approaching slowly, which told me something about Bauer.
Old Man Bauer turned to me, he crossed his arms over his chest, his grey eyes beady beneath his wide brimmed hat. “What do you want?”
Not the friendliest guy, was he? Funny how he'd pegged me as the leader on this, too.
“We came to ask you about your son,” I said. “He came to our school yesterday and...caused an incident. His son Derrick is in my class. He said that it was time for Derrick to inherit his legacy.”
Old Man Bauer ground his teeth. After a pause, he spoke in a growl. “That good for nothing boy…” He stared around at the farm around him, then shook his head. “He threw away his entire life, his entire heritage…now he thinks that he has any right to pass it off on his son?”
One of the little boys approached from behind, holding out a pair of gloves.
“Here, Grandad,” the boy said. “I finished cleaning the horseshoes.”
“Good lad,” Old Man Bauer said. It sounded so grudging I was surprised it came out without causing him physical pain. He gave the boy a little push and sent him back along toward the farmhouse.
Old Man Bauer looked up at me again. “Everyone else in my family saw the value of our traditions. But Thomas, my only son, decided that your world was far more interesting. My heir. I have six daughters, all of whom have been faithful. But no son. No blasted son. Good for nothing, waste of effort.”
“Why did he leave?” I asked. For some reason, I really thought that knowing the reason why would lead to the root of the issue with Derrick.
“Because he was a selfish, arrogant boy who had no respect for those around him,” Old Man Bauer spat.
Xandra gave me a look. “And here I thought maybe it was just the prohibitions on drinking.”
“I heard he's getting divorced,” Old Man Bauer growled. “Serves him right. That's his comeuppance for running off with some English hussy.”
“'Hussy'...?” Xandra looked like she was torn between being insulted and laughing.
“I understand that there might be some bad blood between you,” I said as graciously as I could. “But do you have any idea where Thomas might be?”
“Why are you so interested in where he is?” He glared at me. Not the worst I'd ever been on the receiving end of, but not the lightest, either.
“Because I’m worried about his son, your grandson,” I said. “Derrick doesn’t know his dad’s secret. I don’t think he even realizes that his dad is as much of a danger as he is.”
That made the old man shift uncomfortably.
“Look, I know you don’t know me at all, but I am a friend,” I said. “I’ve had my share of interaction with the supernatural —”
“I know who you are,” Old Man Bauer said. “The vampire slayer of Tampa.”
I felt my face flush. Why did that sound like praise from him? “I just…” I said. “I want to help and I’m afraid of the lengths that this man is going to go to accomplish whatever it is he wants to do. He had no qualms putting an entire school in danger to get to his son.”
Old Man Bauer chewed on his lip and rubbed his fingers over his chin.
“I don’t know exactly where he is,” he said. “I haven’t for years. But I do know that one of his oldest friends is in Clearwater and it is a friend that I know he would keep in contact with. Now...get out of here.” He waved his hand at us in a motion that would have scattered the birds from his crops. “Leave me be. And don't come back, not even if you find him.” His eyes set hard, the lines around the edges like scars carved into the granite of his tanned skin. “Especially if you find him.” And he turned away.
He was done with us.
“Bingo,” I whispered as I took his cue and walked away. Clearwater.
That was where we'd start.
Chapter 15
Darkness was starting to fall as we left the Bauer farm. We had crammed back in the Maserati and were on our way back toward Sarasota.
I tapped Jed on the shoulder, who had once again stolen the front seat. Apparently ladies had to ride in the back of the wagon. It was annoying, but whatever, he was Amish.
“How many Amish are werewolves?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “Not all of us. But we know all of our kind that are.”
That didn’t help me much, but he still seemed too interested in the car to really be of much help anyways.
“That whole family is kind of messed up,” I said. “Grandfather is kind of a jerk, dad is crazy. How is it that Derrick ended up normal?”
“He did just walk away from us when we were trying to tell him the truth,” Xandra said.
“I guess that's a good point,” I said. “Still, he hasn't had a full meltdown. Yet.”
“What is your plan, Lady Cassandra?” Lockwood asked, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. “What are you going to do with this information?”
“Not sure yet. Hey, isn’t that your driveway, Jed?” I asked, staring out the window. Partially because well, it was true, but also because I didn’t want to answer Lockwood. “Lockwood, you should turn around —”
“Hold on that,” Jed said, his finger in the air. He whipped around and grinned at me like an excited puppy. “I’m going with ya’ll.”
“What?” I asked, staring up at him. “Um, no. We need to get you back to your dad.”
Jed shook his head. “Nah. I can call the store later, leave a message with them for him. My dad sent me to help you guys. Can't do that from home. I've got to go with you, to Tampa.”
“That’s…reading between the lines a lot there,” I said. “I didn't hear him say anything about going to Tampa.
Jed looked at me like a wide-eyed puppy. “He told me to help you, I’m going to help you. It’ll be fine. Besides, you went straight at those vampires last time I saw you. I saw it at the fairgrounds.”
“Yeah and?” I asked.
“So, you are going to go right at this guy, too, aren’t you?” he asked.
“Um…” I said. “Maybe?”
“I’m in for that,” Jed said. “And I’m a werewolf, too, so I can help if you need an extra set of hands?”
“I think you mean paws,” I said. Still, it wasn’t the dumbest idea I’d ever heard. I was going in to find a werewolf, so was it really all that bad of an idea to have a werewolf tag along?
The looks that Lockwood kept shooting me in the rearview mirror told me yes, yes it was, though I wasn't sure why he felt that way. And I knew that Mill wouldn’t exactly be happy when he found out I’d gone to the werewolves for help.
Oh well. I’d cross that bridge when it came. Which would hopefully be never because this whole thing was just going to turn out to be nothing anyways. It would end peacefully and soon and before it could snowball into any further craziness. Unlike all those other times lately.
Right? Right.
This was going to be fine.
Totally fine.
Or so I kept telling myself on the way back to Tampa, ignoring the Amish werewolf hitchhiker who just so happened to be sitting in the passenger seat of the Maserati.
Chapter 16
“You’re sure this is the place?” Xandra asked.
We were standing in front of a house in the Tampa suburbs. The front yard was impressively and meticulously manicured, with a small palm tree in front of the windows, a large fountain beside the door and planter boxes filled with flowers. A sleek, silver BMW was parked in the driveway and as I looked down the street, I realized that nearly all the houses had higher end cars.
“This is the right address,” I said, glancing at the cast iron numbers beside the large, blue front door.
“You okay?” Lockwood asked me. He was hovering – not literally – a couple feet from me, Jed a step behind him. Jed's eyes were scanning the street, like he expected Mr. Bauer to come leaping out of the perfectly-tended shrubs across the front of the house.
I nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get this over with.”
We stepped up to the front porch. Pretty iron lamps on either side of the door gave off warm light. There was a nice set of new, cushioned patio furniture and another potter filled with vibrant plants. The house already looked like something out of a m
agazine. Nothing out of place. Nothing dirty or sandy or covered in cobwebs.
It made me wonder what we were going to find inside.
Lockwood hung back with Jed and Xandra came with me to the door. I lifted the door knocker and rapped it three times.
Xandra gave me a nervous glance. Maybe she felt like Mr. Bauer was going to spring out of the bushes, too. After our encounter this afternoon, I understood that feeling completely. The little hairs on my arm rippled as they stood up and goosebumps scattered over my skin.
A car drove by on the road behind us and a seagull cawed in the air overhead. I could hear live music from one of the restaurants on the water just a few miles away.
I heard the door lock slide open with a click and then the door was pulled open.
Derrick standing there, peering out into the night.
In the end, after some argument, we had decided not to go seek out Derrick’s dad yet, even though we thought we knew where he was. I'd wanted to, but Lockwood had strongly disagreed. Xandra had suggested that maybe I was being too reckless for little reason. When Xandra and Lockwood agreed on something, I listened. So here we were.
“Um…what are you doing here?” Derrick asked, giving me a skeptical look. “It’s like eight o’clock.”
“What are you, eighty?” I asked. I crossed my arms over myself. I hadn’t exactly expected him to be overjoyed to see us, but he was definitely more unhappy than not. “We think we figured out where your dad is.”
His eyes narrowed. “What are you, Nancy Drew?”
That was better than what most people called me at this point. “I’m just resourceful.”
Derrick sighed, shaking his head. I knew he probably didn’t want to talk about his dad anymore, but he was going to have to learn the truth one way or another. And honestly, it was better if it came from me than possibly at the hand of his nutball father. Who knew what he might do if he went full werewolf. Would he even recognize his son? His ex-wife?
“Can, uh…can we come in?” I asked.
Derrick looked around inside and then back out at me. I could see that he was looking for every excuse not to let us inside but couldn’t come up with one that was good enough.
Heir of the Dog (Liars and Vampires Book 6) Page 7