“So, basically, what everyone else would shrug their shoulders about, say what-the-fuck-ever, Alice takes as personal?”
“Extremely personal.”
“That’s just great.” Sam took a large sip from her wine and swallowed quickly. She enjoyed the warm feeling it created as the alcohol began to move into her system. “What do you think she’s up to?”
Hudson shrugged. “She was with John Prutzmann for more than a decade... Cared for, trained, loved, even... Now, he’s gone, and the reason why he’s gone, coupled with her own natural instability...” He trailed off and shrugged again.
“In her mind, it’s our fault he’s dead,” Sam ventured, and took another sip of wine. “My fault, anyway.”
“What’s your fault?” Ronne shuffled into the kitchen, his usual well-cut slacks and shirts exchanged for track pants and a tank top. He was a bit sweaty, having clearly come in from a run, and made a beeline for the refrigerator, and a bottle of water. He popped the top, taking a modest sip as he studied the pair in front of him. Ronne frowned. “What’s the matter?”
Sam drained her wine glass. “Nothing. And everything. Any luck at the museum?”
“They said they’d pass it along to their archivist. Mostly a wait and see now.” Ronne took another sip of water, and quickly changed the subject. “The papers are announcing a press conference for tomorrow morning. Rumor has it... Strong’s going to withdraw from the race. Rumor also has it her portion of the press conference may be recorded because Strong has apparently headed north to her Dobbs Ferry home already.” Ronne sat down on one of the barstools and enjoyed another large sip of water. “I’ll bet those servers are getting wiped as we speak. Not that it does her any good, the vultures already have everything.”
Ben entered the kitchen, a concerned look on his unadorned face. It was odd seeing him early in the day, without the eyeliner and wardrobe, along with the persona that in many ways accompanied them. In the morning, when coffee and breakfast were being had, in his sweatpants and tee shirt, Ben looked young and quiet. And, of course, right now he looked worried.
“What’s the matter?” Sam asked, the smirk of a smile that Ronne’s words had conjured disappearing in an instant. Ben sighed and plopped down in one of the chairs in the breakfast nook.
“Underland.”
“What about it?”
“First off,” Ben began, “there is a general uproar over the Strong business. If we were looking to off werewolf-y types, now would be the time, ‘cause they are outing themselves on the boards.” Hudson groaned at that, and refilled his wine glass generously, and took a large drink before speaking.
“What else? That can’t be why you have that expression on your face.” Ben hesitated and looked at each of them in turn.
“The Pack... kicked Alice out.”
Sam’s eyes were wide, and her mouth dropped open. This was extraordinarily bad, a sentiment Hudson vocalized moments later. Ben just nodded and seemed a bit dazed.
“I didn’t think it would be long before that happened.” Vincent stepped into view, and leaned against the archway, his expression grim. “She’s like me, in many ways... dangerous ways. And now, she’s grieving Prutzmann, she’s lost her pack...” He trailed off.
“Shit. Do you think she’ll try to come here?”
Vincent shrugged, and shook his head. “No idea.” He gestured to Ben. “He’d have a better idea... He’s her bird.” Ben blanched slightly at that and shrunk back into his chair.
“Is that true, Benny?” Sam asked, prepared for him to confirm what she’d already suspected for quite some time. He started to speak, stopped, and shrugged his shoulders.
“I guess. I don’t know.”
“Can you sense her?” Ronne’s brow creased in a frown, but his tone was mild.
“Now? No.” Ben sighed and looked embarrassed by the attention. “But... I have before. When we met, and went to the place where they were keeping the kids... I could feel the connection. I just figured...” He trailed off and glanced at Vincent. “I don’t know. But since the last time she was around, when we were at Sam’s place... I haven’t felt anything.”
Ronne shared a look with Hudson, then nodded. “Okay. If you do at any time, sense her...” He trailed off, leaving the unasked question hovering in the kitchen air like the smell of the roast beef Sam was currently cooking.
“If I do...,” Ben smiled weakly, and looked at Sam. “I’ll tell you.” Sam matched his smile and gave him a wink that appeared to set him at ease a bit.
Ronne’s ringtone broke the silence, and the tension, in the room, and everyone seemed to move at once, or at least start to. Ronne pulled his phone out and answered. “Ronne... Hey, how are—” The smile quickly faded from Ronne’s face, replaced by an intense look in his eyes, coupled with a frown that only got deeper as the person on the other line talked. Finally, Ronne said, “Alright, I’ll tell her. We’ll be there as soon as we can.” He hung up, and looked at Sam. “We have a situation. I’ll jump in the shower, and we’ll go.”
“Go? Go where? Who was that?” Ronne shook his head, the tension in his face heavy, and expressing more than his answer possibly could.
“Lenny. He’s okay,” Ronne added, as Sam opened her mouth to speak. “But you need to prepare yourself.” He turned to the other three men and looked at each in turn. “We’re going alone. This is a police situation.”
Sam chuckled. “I’m not a cop anymore.”
“You are now. Lieutenant’s on-scene, and you’ve been reinstated, effective immediately.”
37
THE DEN
Sam knew the minute they turned the corner onto 121st Street that this was serious. Sure, Ronne had said it was a “situation”, but he’d kept the details to a minimum, perhaps afraid she would relay it to Vincent, inadvertently or otherwise. In any case, she hadn’t expected the volume of police vehicles and crime scene units jammed into the street. And she knew what was on 121st Street...
“If she hurt those kids, so help me God...” Sam trailed off, as emotions of all sorts overwhelmed her, and caused her voice to catch in her throat. She and Ronne crossed the police line and met Lenny by one of the mobile response vehicles. He looked grim, and, when his eyes met Sam’s, they were moist.
“Sammy, I—”
Sam shook her head. “Don’t, Lenny. There’s no need. Let’s just work this.”
Lenny ran a hand over his face, wiping away sweat and composing himself at once. “The kids aren’t here. Do you know how many there were?”
Sam shook her head. “I’m really not sure. Eight or ten, maybe? I only ever saw one in person. Ben might know, he was here once before he brought me. There’s no sign of them at all?”
The three walked toward the front stairs, and Lenny replied. “There are signs that they lived there, of course. Crime scene techs are collecting as fast as they can, but it doesn’t appear that any... bodies... were dragged from the home. So, we’re guessing that the blood we’ve found is from the adults, not the children.” They climbed the steps and paused as a pair of techs exited the building with some of their equipment. “I’ve gotta warn you,” Lenny said, “it’s pretty bad.” Sam nodded her understanding, and the trio entered the building.
The smell of blood and death assailed Sam as soon as the door swung open, and she heard herself gasp as she tried to control her breathing. It wasn’t just her that was having trouble. She could hear Ronne, sputtering a bit as he tried to get past the initial whiff.
The foyer of the brownstone was a scene of carnage. One of the caretakers lay sprawled on the staircase in front of them, her overweight form spanning nearly the entire breadth from railing to wall. There were gouges in the wood of the railing and spindles, some torn completely from their spot. The wallpaper on the stairwell was torn in places, the tears spaced equal distance apart. Another body was lying on the floor near the doorway to the front room, blood pooled on the floor along with portions of her internal organs. There was more b
lood smeared on the walls, and across the floor, as if someone had skated through it, and used their hands to rub it on the cream, patterned wallpaper. Jack the Ripper would be proud, Sam thought to herself.
“Somebody had fun,” Ronne whispered quietly, and Sam nodded slowly. No question who the somebody was.
“Lenny? Is this everyone, or are there more?”
“There’s another... upstairs, outside the room where the kids were. Or at least, where some of them were.” Lenny hesitated. “It looks like the older kids took the little ones to a room and tried to barricade themselves. There was no blood in the room, though. Not a drop.”
“Even in her madness, she can’t hurt the kids.”
Ronne snorted. “Can’t? I think she’s capable of anything, quite frankly.”
“Not that.” Sam looked at the staircase and decided that trying to climb over the large fat woman was not something she wanted to do. “Based on her pathology, the stuff she’s been through... She won’t hurt the kids, not intentionally... It may be the only thing we have going for us right now.” Sam turned to Lenny. “When did this happen? The blood smells fresh.”
“Not more than two hours ago.” Sam frowned at that.
“Two hours? It was only an hour ago you called us, how did you find out about it?”
“Someone called it in.” The three whirled at the sound of the voice, and Sam couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. Lieutenant Don Martino returned the smile in his own impish way, and nodded to Sam. “How are you, Karolyi? Welcome back.”
“Thank you... I think. Not sure how I’m going to manage this, though.”
Martino waved his hands dismissively. “Details. We’ll figure it out. Maybe a special task force or something. We’ll find something for that boyfriend of yours to do, too.” He looked at Lenny. “So, what is the plan?”
“Hang on,” Sam chimed in. “You said someone called it in. Did you get a name? Hear the voice?”
Martino nodded. “Dispatch said it was a woman. Young. And she had an accent... Irish.”
“Alice Kremer. The crazy bitch called it in.” Ronne shook his head. “She wanted us here. Is the scene secure?”
“Completely,” Martino replied. “She’s not getting through here without being seen. But we need to figure out where she would take these kids. According to the foster logs we’ve been able to pull, some of these kids are quite small.”
Sam’s phone began to ring. A quick look at the screen revealed the caller was Ben. She took a deep breath and hoped it would quiet any emotion in her voice as she answered. “Hey, Benny.”
“She’s sent you a message.”
“She... you mean Alice?” As Sam said her name, the three men with her grew quiet. “What does she want?”
“It came up on Underland. She says... ‘The Tea Party’s in full-swing, darlin’... where are you?’ “
“The Tea Party’s in full-swing? ... Alright, thanks, Benny.” Sam hung up, a frown of concern and deep thought creasing her brow. “Tea Party... Tea Party...” Suddenly, Sam’s frown faded, and her eyes went wide. “Oh my God, I know where she is! We have to secure the area before I can try to go in.”
“Secure? Secure where?” But Sam headed out the front door before the words were out of Lenny’s mouth. Ronne hurried after her, and Lenny joined Martino as they exited, too.
“The only Tea Party I know is in Alice in Wonderland,” Martino said as they descended the stairs. Lenny blanched.
“Fuck a duck, I know where Sam means, too. In the Park, east side near the Ramble. There’s a statue.” Realization dawned on Martino’s face.
“Sonofabitch! The statue, of course! Sam!” Martino hurried to catch up with Sam and Ronne. “What do you need?”
“I need to get in the Park,” Sam replied. “And I need you all to make sure no one, and nothing, leaves it. Understood?” The three men hesitated, then nodded slowly. “Right. Frank, I need Ben to meet us there. He might be able to track her.” Ronne nodded, and stepped away to make the call. Martino had rushed off to begin to coordinate securing the Park, leaving Lenny and Sam alone.
“You keep back as far as you can, Len, okay? No matter what happens, you go home to Julissa tonight.” Lenny’s jaw was tight, his lips pressed together as he nodded his ascent. Sam looked up at the partly cloudy sky. A particularly large cloud had moved over the sun, which allowed her to see the full moon already shining in the sky. By evening, it would be a bright, intense orb, and the pull... would be too much...
It was going to be one hell of a night.
38
SHUTTING DOWN CENTRAL Park, or rather a portion of it, was no mean feat, but by the time Sam and the others arrived there, Martino had blocked off the eastern area around 75th Street, with a perimeter extending south to Conservatory Water and north to the edge of the Ramble. If Alice managed to slip through and get into the wooded area, it would be difficult to stop her... Unless, of course, one was a werewolf. Vincent wanted to take the northern front, and everyone was for it, except Sam. He noticed her hesitation, and she could tell his nose was out of joint over it, but Hudson’s warnings had had the desired effect on her. Sam was worried about Vincent being on his own with the full moon set to wreak havoc tonight.
Sam spotted the statue ahead of her. She’d insisted on entering the area alone. If Alice was there, and if the children were with her, spooking her with a major assault would be a huge mistake. No, Sam needed to go in alone, and find out where those kids were first. The late afternoon sun reflected off the bronze statue, and the glare caused her to avert her eyes for a moment. When she looked back, Alice Kremer sat comfortably on the mushroom, her position all but making her the ‘Alice’ of the piece.
“’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves; Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.” Alice chuckled, and shook her head. “’Tis a bit past brillig, but it seemed appropriate.”
“Jabberwocky. Very nice. Never figured out what it actually meant, although somebody definitely killed something.” Sam took a moment to scent the air, but only Alice’s scent could be detected in the air.
“They aren’t here,” Alice said, and stretched luxuriously as a yawn overcame her.
“I gathered. Where are they?”
“Safe in their castle tower.” Alice smiled, and Sam had to admit she was looking a bit more Clockwork Orange than Disney Alice at the moment. Sam carefully reached out with her mind and tried to feel Vincent.
What, darlin’?
The kids are at Belvedere. Take Ronne and get them out.
He didn’t respond, but Sam was confident Vincent knew where to go, and if he didn’t Ronne certainly would. It was a gut instinct, but the minute Alice mentioned a castle tower, Sam’s mind went to Belvedere Castle to the west. It wasn’t much of a castle, but you could get inside it. She couldn’t worry anymore about the kids, though. She needed to focus on the woman in front of her who, if the glint in her dark eyes was any indicator, was getting nuttier by the minute.
“Are you quite done talking to my brother?” Alice’s mad smile faded a bit, and her eyes darkened as she inched along the large mushroom, sliding down onto the lower one. “Do you know... I saw my brother kill once. No, not when he shot me... I mean as a wolf.” Alice leaned forward, her voice dropping slightly. “You saw what I was up to today?” The smile disappeared abruptly. “That was nothing compared to what he’s done... what he could do again.”
“Not again.” Sam could feel the tension in her muscles, the twitching of her nerves driving her crazy... and her head... was beginning... to ache... “As long as he doesn’t change...”
Alice laughed, the sound becoming almost maniacal towards the end. “You don’t honestly think you can keep him from changing when the right stimulus is applied, do you? I mean, look at you... ‘Tis barely five o’clock, and you’re already shaking for it.” Alice shook her head. “Worst timing, isn’t it? Although I have no problem changing for our dan
ce, if you’d like.”
“No!” Weak from the pain in her head, which was only increasing, and the stress on her body, Sam turned slowly toward the sound. Benny... Ben Lewis stood at the opposite corner of the statue courtyard, his posture strong, facing his charge head on as any Raven with a backbone would.
“Alice, you don’t want to do that,” Ben said, his voice calm and controlled, though he was afraid... Sam could smell it on him, as Alice could as well, no doubt.
“Really?” Alice scoffed. “And why not, pray?”
“Because you know what’s surrounding you, and you know they’re armed, and you know they’re going to kill you.” Alice let rip the maniacal laugh again, and Sam made a mental note through her pain to make sure she got her in the throat when she attacked so she wouldn’t have to listen to it again.
“They can’t kill me, remember? Immune to the quicksilver,” Alice sniped.
“That isn’t entirely accurate.” Sam recognized the voice even before he stepped into sight nearby. Lenny was carrying one of Vincent’s H&Ks, no doubt loaded, and with extra magazines in his pocket. He glanced at Sam and looked a bit worried. Shit, I wonder what I look like now, she thought, as another wave of pain and nausea swept over her, and she doubled over, gripping her stomach.
“She alright?” Lenny called out, presumably to Ben. There was silence for a moment...
The Bloodline Series Box Set Page 64