Eighteen
Mrs. Cain looked, if
anything, more haggard than she had when Rachael had last seen her.
So she greeted her with, “Not another murder?”
“No, thank all the
gods. But it’s wreaking havoc on our new ad campaign. ‘Come to
Minnesota . . . and be killed!’”
“It’s not as good as
‘Florida is for lovers,’ ” Rachael agreed.
“I’m afraid I have no
new information for you, other than the fact that the victims were
most definitely not Pack.”
“Or, presumably,
vampire.”
Mrs. Cain blinked.
“No. Of course not. But can you imagine? How would they ever cover
it up?”
“No idea. But about
the victims being vanilla humans, I figured. I stopped by to let
you know I’m off to set up a meeting with the vampire
queen.”
“You’re what?” Mrs.
Cain had surged to her feet so quickly only another Pack member
could have tracked the movement. “Have you lost your
mind?”
“Almost certainly
not.” Except when it came to seducing a fellow
accountant and watching Zombieland twice in a row, not to mention the french fry
fight. “I’ve been thinking since we last met, and I don’t
like this at all.”
“I can assure you,
you’re not alone. No one likes it.” She eased back down in her
seat, looking past Rachael instead of at her. Typical Pack
behavior: she was physically backing down so Rachael wouldn’t
assume the woman was challenging her. Although normally the domain
of males, there were alpha and beta females as well, and,
occasionally, Challenges. “But I fail to see what meeting with that
woman would accomplish.”
“I’m not sure,
either, but think about it.”
“I have been,” she
said, looking glum. “I’ve mentioned I don’t like it,
yes?”
So she wouldn’t be
seen as looming over the woman, Rachael plopped into a chair across
from her. “Michael sends me to town to keep an eye on the queen,
correct? And I’m no sooner here than people start turning up dead .
. . people you had arranged for me to meet. That in itself is
plenty odd, but what if someone is trying to stir up trouble
between the vamps or the Pack?”
“I’m
not—”
Rachael stepped on
the woman’s words. “What if someone is trying to stir up trouble
between the vamps and our Pack? The
situation is already awkward—many of our people haven’t forgiven
the vampire for letting our Antonia die in her
service.
“And you can’t tell
me the vampires didn’t resent having to show up in Massachusetts
for what was essentially a trial for, at worst, murder, and at
best, negligence. We parted on general good terms, but for a while
it looked like we wouldn’t. And it doesn’t take but one spark to
rekindle a blaze.”
“I see what you’re
saying,” she said slowly, her expression thoughtful. “Still. Very
dangerous, I think.”
“I agree. But
nevertheless.” She shrugged. If she hadn’t been willing to get
dirty, she never would have gotten on the plane. “Onward and
upward, rah-rah-rah.”
“No.” Cain shook her
head, her expression doubtful. “No, I think the risks are too high,
Rachael. I think you’d better steer clear for now.”
Rachael looked at the
woman, whose fatigue was evident in every line on her broad, sad
face. When had she last slept? Poor lady;
she’s carrying weight that by rights is for others to tow.
So when she answered, she tried to do so as tactfully as
possible.
“You misunderstand
me, Mrs. Cain. I didn’t come for permission. I came as a courtesy
to your office . . . your true office,
not the chamber.”
Cain opened her
mouth, but when Rachael held up a hand, she said
nothing.
“I have acknowledged
this as your territory, and I would never dream of trying for
anything that’s yours. But I also have permission from Michael, my
cousin and our Pack leader, to proceed
however I see fit. He did not tell me to avoid the queen; he did
not tell me to engage the queen. He left the specifics entirely up
to me. Seeing her, not seeing her, telling you or not telling you .
. . all are my prerogative.
“Perhaps I wasn’t
clear. Perhaps it’s my fault that you mistook courtesy for
subservience. If that’s so, I apologize and will try to be more
clear in the future. Do you understand?”
Anger. Frustration. Shame. Fear. “I . . . see. Yes.
I apologize; I only tried to convey concern for your safety. How
could I face Michael if anything happened to you
here?”
“We grew up
together,” she replied, smiling a little. She was relieved there
wouldn’t be an escalation. She supposed she wasn’t very brave.
There were plenty of females who would have loved to get bloody
over something so minor. “He would know my grisly demise came
through no fault of yours.”
The older woman
snorted. “Excellent point. And, if I may, if you’re wondering about
coincidences, have you considered the timing?”
She had. “The full
moon.”
“Two days away,” Cain
agreed. “Perhaps our killer is trying to spook the vampires into
going after a Pack member during the full moon.”
“Lovely. Well, I’d
better get going.”
“How are you . . . I
mean, if you don’t mind, what are you going to say?”
“I have no idea, but
I still think it’s worth the risk. It’s almost a win-win: if she’s
in on it, she’ll at least know she’s not operating in a vacuum,
that people have noticed. If she’s not in on it, she’ll appreciate
the warning and we’ll maybe cement a little goodwill. The gain
outweighs the risks.” A little.
Probably. But it was no time to show uncertainty. “Trust me.
It will be fine.”
Cain arched dark
brows. “You hope.”
“Yeah.” Rachael
sighed. “I hope.” Then: “You really
don’t validate parking?”