“No, I thought you would insist on coming. I had already put you in enough danger. I couldn’t take the chance.”
“Of what? Losing me?”
“Well, yeah.”
“And what was I supposed to do if something happened to you?”
That tongue-tied Jess. He wasn’t used to someone declaring outright feelings, especially toward him. It had been many years since that had happened—and look how that worked out for Tracy.
“I guess I didn’t think of it that way.”
“Well, we’re going to make one hell of a couple if you keep doing that.”
Jess couldn’t resist smiling. “I’m just glad you still want to be a couple.” When she didn’t offer up an answer, the smile dropped off his face. “You still want that, don’t you?”
“More than anything,” Maria said.
“That goes double for me. Am I allowed to say I’m sorry now?”
Maria looked back at the house where Jess was sure two mothers were watching their every move.
“Maybe later,” she said, finally allowing a grin.
But Jess took her in his arms and kissed her. When they came up for air, Maria looked ready to admonish him.
“Don’t worry,” Jess assured her. “I know for a fact that they’re both rooting for us.”
And then he kissed her again.
They spent the next hour making plans. Jess tried to get Tag on the phone down in Mexico, but it was impossible to get connected to the tiny village. He knew he was going to have to head south again in the next couple of days—just like he knew Maria was coming with him.
Jess didn’t know yet what to tell Tracy. Her father was dead and the secrets of the Civatateo had gone to his second grave with him. But Jess was determined to find some kind of answer and thought Tag Marlowe might hold the key. If he was smart enough to come up with a small flashlight that could destroy the Civatateo, perhaps he could invent something that would return Tracy to the living, or at least allow her to move among them in the daylight.
Inside the house, Harry was fast asleep. Sarah was back to her old routine of not talking to Jess and getting ready for a quiet dinner with Jaime Solis. Sadly, Jess was becoming convinced his sister was one of those women who weren’t happy without a man in their lives; he could only hope the country club owner was better than the previous one. Kate and Lena told him they were going to bed early and would make sure Harry’s window was double-locked.
Jess dropped Maria at her apartment and said he would be back in a little while. Benji had called him and asked if Jess could drop by the motel. He wanted to bring Benji up to date anyway; his friend deserved that for all his help. He kissed Maria goodbye and told her he was looking forward to more apologizing later in the evening.
Dusk had fallen by the time Jess pulled into the Sands parking lot, and as he got out of the SUV, he glanced at the room he had occupied upon his arrival just over a week ago. He had gone to sleep that first night more pissed than ever at his father with no idea what was lying in wait for him on the dark sands. It made Jess look forward more than ever to spending the night in Maria’s bed, back in her arms again.
Jess hadn’t had time to fill Benji in at the gorge, what with the sheriff present and the need to get Harry back home. They grabbed a couple of beers as Jess gave a blow-by-blow description of the confrontation down in the cavern.
“That would make an awesome graphic novel,” said Benji as he clinked bottles with Jess.
“I can’t thank you enough for everything.”
“Most excitement I’ve had here since the celebration after we won State. Those girls from Tech?”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Jess said, feigning amnesia.
“Sure you don’t.” Benji drained the bottle, and then actually remembered something. “Oh, I almost forgot…”
He reached behind the counter and picked up a package. It was a thick manila envelope addressed to Jess Stark, care of the Sands Motel. Jess flipped it over. Scribbled on the back was “E. Rice, MD.” The word “Urgent” was underlined three times.
“When did this come?”
“A few days ago. I really suck at running down to the post office and I hate paying bills. Plus, with everything happening, I didn’t get there till this afternoon.”
“What is it?” asked Jess.
“Do I look like I have X-ray vision? Which, of course, would be super cool.”
“You could’ve peeked.”
“It’s your mail. Besides, I figure you’ll tell me. You hungry?”
Jess realized he hadn’t eaten since the night before and said he could do with a snack. Benji went into the adjacent kitchen to scrounge up something and Jess opened the envelope.
He pulled out a thick notebook.
Printed neatly on the first page were the words “Introduction to the Journal of Edward D. Rice.”
Jess began to read.
By the time Benji brought over some food, Jess had lost his appetite.
EXCERPT FROM THE JOURNAL OF EDWARD D. RICE
July 23
No one had died yet at Meadowland, but two elderly patients had become severely anemic and refused to take their afternoon constitutional. I talked to both of them and the moment they told me they were finding the sunlight bothersome, I was barely able to contain my anxiety and fury. I told the nurses to keep them in their rooms during the day and put a close watch on their doors. When asked why the security measures, I said I was investigating a couple of medication violations and would fill them in when the time became appropriate.
I asked if either patient had recent visitors. It turned out Clark James had dropped by two evenings before to spread good cheer amongst the residents.
Good cheer, I thought. Ironic name for it.
The nurse thought James might have popped into one or both of the ailing patients’ rooms. I didn’t need confirmation. I knew that he had.
I went into my office and paced on the carpet, staring out the window until I saw the sun go down and knew Clark James would have awoken from his unholy sleep.
“What is it, Rice?” he asked. The actor was irritated to be called so early in his “day,” but changed his tune when I told him my theories concerning the patients.
“We should talk,” he suggested.
I agreed to meet him in the bar at the Palm Springs Country Club.
I hadn’t yet joined the country club set. I had one lunch there a few weeks before with Walter Stark when he wanted a status report on the medical staff. I must admit I was enamored of the genteel surroundings, gracious wait staff, and overall ambience, and had entertained thoughts of asking Clark to sponsor me at some future date.
I’m sure having a drink with a member-turned-vampire wasn’t going to be listed as an extracurricular activity on my application form.
When I arrived, Clark James was entertaining the regulars and nursing a Scotch I knew he would later spit out. He waved and put on a friendly face, then motioned for me to join him in a corner of the room.
I told the bartender I would order something later and got right down to business.
“What do you think you’re doing, Clark? My patients at my hospital? Are you out of your mind?” I struggled to keep my voice at a whisper even though I wanted to scream it out loud for all the sane world to hear.
“Clark needs sustenance. Why not from where it is safe?” asked a familiar voice.
I turned around and my heart sunk deep in my chest.
Clark James smiled. “Edward, have you met the new owner of the club? Jaime Solis?”
The handsome Mexican in a splendid suit offered up a well-manicured hand.
“Nice to see you again, Dr. Rice.”
It was the Civatateo.
14
“Jesus Christ.”
Jess stopped reading the journal and kicked himself. Of course the Civatateo was still alive. He had been stupid believing Clark James’s claim it died years before.
&
nbsp; Jaime Solis was the Civatateo.
The same Jaime Solis who happened to be having dinner that very minute with his sister Sarah.
Benji knew Jess’s outburst couldn’t mean anything good and pointed at the journal.
“Bad plot twist?”
“The worst.” Jess quickly summarized everything he had read.
Benji, clearly shaken, tried to take the matter in stride. “Can’t say much about your sister’s taste in men.”
Jess pulled out his cell phone and dialed the house. Lena picked up on the second ring and was happy to hear his voice. He couldn’t help asking if everything was okay, but she said that it was quiet; Harry was still sleeping and his mother was upstairs watching television.
“What about Sarah?” he asked, unable to keep the anxiety out of his voice.
“She’s in the backyard with Mr. Solis. He seems like a nice man.”
No, Jess thought. No, he’s not. But there wasn’t any point in telling Lena the truth at this very moment. “How long has he been there?”
“Maybe a half hour.” Suspicion crept into her voice. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” Jess lied. “I’m probably going to stop by for a few minutes. There was something I forgot to do earlier.”
Yeah, he thought. Deal with another vampire.
“Well, you know I’ll be here,” sighed Lena. “I’m always here.”
“I’ll see you in a bit.” He started to hang up, then thought to add something. “Lena? Don’t tell anyone I’m coming.”
One of Lena’s best qualities was knowing when not to ask questions. She told Jess she would be waiting for him and they disconnected.
“Want company?” asked Benji.
Jess had learned his lesson the hard way—enough of going maverick.
“I’ll take all the help I can get.”
He let Benji drive so he could sit in the passenger seat and flip through the rest of the journal. Jess came away with a quite different impression of the departed doctor.
“I don’t think he started off with bad intentions,” he said to Benji. “Rice was a victim of circumstance more than anything else.” He cited the critical point where the Civatateo presented Rice with the option of his career going up in flames or letting the creature turn Clark James.
“Once Rice allowed that, the Civatateo had his hooks into him.” The physician must have realized this when the vampire emerged in his new persona as the charming owner of the country club. And clearly Jaime Solis wasn’t going anywhere. Edward Rice was along for the ride whether he wanted to be or not.
“You think Solis killed him?” asked Benji, who was having difficulty keeping the Mustang under the speed limit.
“Had to be. The fact Rice sent this to me means he must have been ready to talk.” Jess tapped the notebook in his lap. “I’ll bet Solis doesn’t know Rice kept a journal, let alone gave it to someone else. Otherwise, his house would have been turned upside down when I got there.”
“Why couldn’t it have been your dad? He was there that night. You told me he surprised you in your car.”
“The one thing I know about my father is he didn’t take orders from anyone.” Jess shook his head. “I’m starting to think he was trying to stop Solis the whole time.”
Jess began itemizing like a defense lawyer making his closing argument. “He uncovered the deaths at Meadowland with Tom Cox. There was the warning on my windshield; then him following Rice and James out to the desert and rescuing me from the grave. He even tried to stop Clark from taking Harry into the cavern. None of that lines up with him killing Edward Rice.”
Benji swung onto Palm Canyon Drive. “I presume this isn’t a random social call we’re paying on Solis? You’ve got a plan?”
“I’m working on it.”
“Long as it doesn’t involve that cavern.”
“I don’t think he’s going back there so quick after what happened today.” Jess picked up the notebook. “Actually, seeing as how Solis has been masquerading all these years as a legitimate businessman, I thought he might be open to a deal.”
Jess ripped out the first couple of pages from the journal. He put them in his pocket, and then placed the notebook on the dashboard. “You have somewhere good to hide this?”
“Absolutely. I’ve stored stuff in places that I can’t even remember.”
“Perfect.”
Lena had left the gate open for Jess. Benji eased the Mustang up the driveway. He parked right beside the other guest, obviously Jaime Solis.
Moonlight gleamed off the polished chrome of the motorcycle.
The distinctive scarlet helmet hung off the headrest.
Lena was at the door before Jess could ring the bell. She was surprised to see Benji, but Jess explained they needed to spend a few minutes with Jaime Solis. Jess could see a dozen questions running through Lena’s head, but was happy she chose not to ask them. She led them through the house and out into the Cactus Garden.
Solis was on a stone bench in front of the greenhouse, sitting much closer to his sister than Jess would have liked. He was suddenly plagued by visions of the country club owner leaning over and taking a healthy bite out of Sarah’s neck, and he had to check himself from shoving Solis to the ground. Despite all the acrimony between Sarah and himself since returning home, Jess was still overly protective of his sister. It left him with hope that one day his family might return to a state of normality—though he knew that wasn’t possible until the creature on the bench was no longer in their midst.
“What are you doing here, Jess?” Sarah asked. He knew the curious tone was only for the benefit of Solis, who acknowledged their presence with a courteous nod. Otherwise, Jess was certain Sarah would have snapped his head off.
“We were wondering if we could talk to Mr. Solis for a couple of minutes.”
Sarah took immediate umbrage at the request. “We’re trying to have a quiet evening here. I’m sure Jaime would be happy to see you during his normal business hours.”
Just as Jess realized he was going to have to get more insistent, Solis saved him the trouble.
“Why don’t you give us a few moments, Sarah? I’m sure your brother wouldn’t have come here unless it was important.”
Lena, who had been hovering behind Jess and Benji, motioned to the girl. “Come inside. You can help me with the coffee.”
Sarah reluctantly got to her feet, but not before taking Solis’s hand, which might have been the most frightening thing Jess had seen since coming home. It took every ounce of willpower for him not to throttle the Civatateo right then and there. “I’ll be inside if you need me,” Sarah told Solis.
She walked past Jess. “Five minutes,” she said under her breath, then went inside the house with Lena.
Jess noticed that Solis’s eyes had been on him from the moment they stepped into the garden. Once the women were in the house, Solis reached into his pocket.
“I believe this belongs to you.”
He tossed the object at Jess, who caught it one-handed.
It was the solar flash he had dropped in the cavern that morning. It was cracked in half.
“I’m afraid it’s broken,” Solis said with a mocking shrug.
Then, he smiled slightly. Jess knew if he opened his mouth wider, his pointed teeth would sparkle in the moonlight.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” asked the Civatateo.
15
“I know who you are and what you are,” Jess told the Civatateo.
“I’m not disputing that,” said Solis. “It still doesn’t tell me why you interrupted my evening.”
“I want you to stay away from my sister.”
“Sarah’s an adult. She can make her own decisions about who she spends time with.”
“The problem is she’s a lousy judge of character.”
“You misconstrue my intentions, Jessie. I’m just offering moral support to Sarah. She’s taking the loss of Dr. Rice awfully hard.”
Benji
spoke up for the first time. “That’s convenient, seeing as how you’re the one who killed him.”
“Then it’s the least I could do, wouldn’t you say?” The smile was back on the vampire’s face.
Jess had to give the Civatateo credit. He didn’t pull punches.
“I wonder how she would feel if I told her the truth,” Jess said.
“I’d think she wouldn’t believe you.”
Jess dug the journal pages out of his pocket. “That might change after reading these.” He thrust them at the Civatateo, who casually took them as if being handed a menu by one of his waiters.
Solis gave them a cursory glance. “I might have underestimated the doctor. I didn’t think he had the nerve or fortitude for something like this.” He handed the pages back to Jess, nonplussed. “Fairy tales.”
“You know they aren’t,” said Jess.
“Anyone who reads that, and I assume there’s more you’ve put away for safekeeping, will think Edward Rice was a nutcase who needed to be committed. Short of me signing it as a confession, I’m afraid you’ll have to do better than that.”
“It would get someone like Sheriff Burke asking questions,” suggested Benji. “He saw what happened to Clark James and Jess’s father.”
“And just how is that investigation proceeding?” asked Solis. The Civatateo made an elaborate show out of an idea suddenly occurring to him. “Oh, that’s right. Burke dropped it before it even started.”
“Doesn’t mean it can’t be revisited,” said Jess.
“Have you met our good sheriff? He is as lazy and inefficient as any man I have ever encountered. And I’ve been around quite a long time.”
The emphasis on the word “long” wasn’t lost on either of them.
“Instead, you ought to be thanking me, Jessie.”
“And why is that?”
Solis looked up at the second floor of the house. “For making sure your brother doesn’t remember what happened earlier today.”
Jess didn’t respond, but Solis could tell he had struck a nerve for the first time since they began talking—and the Civatateo continued to press down on it.
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