“The family has never gone on record as being harmed.” Linus didn’t touch Kylie’s things, but he examined them closely. “Perhaps the creatures are bound not to hurt her.” He glanced back at me. “Human perception of the paranormal is thin. She might not be able to see the shadow cats. It would make sense if she blamed any noises on mice.”
“It would clear her name as the arsonist too.” I rubbed my arms. “If she can’t see the cats, then she can’t have seen Cletus.”
“It appears as though you have chosen our method of testing the Oliphants.”
Assuming they were human, they wouldn’t be scarred for life by a visit from Cletus since he could drift right up to them and plant a kiss on their cheek without them noticing. Magic in the blood was required for that. However thin, however distant, it had to be there.
A distant thumping pounded out above us. “Do you hear that?”
“Too heavy to be footsteps.” He straightened. “We should go.” He took one final glance around the cluttered space. “The Oliphants might have returned to check on us, or to search for Kylie.”
After last night, I got the feeling they kept a close eye on the inn during the anniversary week. It begged the question of why, if they were concerned for our safety, they kept it open. They must be confident of their debunking skills if more incidents came to light on their watch.
“Good call.” I snapped a few shots, continuing our documentation of the phenomenon. “I get the impression they wouldn’t be thrilled with us for breaking into their basement, let alone if they realized why we’re really here.”
There was also the risk they would find the basement door open and lock us in, but unless they had magic on their side, I wasn’t too worried about them trapping us.
“The family has no official stance on the haunting or the attacks on guests.” Linus gripped my hips and lifted me with preternatural strength, allowing me to haul myself one level higher with ease. “I doubt they would appreciate us poking into their family history.”
Though he didn’t need it, I still reached down for him. He clasped forearms with me and leapt, grasping the wood under my knees with his free hand. There was a time when he would have held his weight back from me and done it all himself, but I was slowly breaking him of his old habits.
Never again would he face an obstacle alone. That’s what marriage meant to me, a partnership where burdens were distributed equally.
“They don’t know what they’re missing.” I grunted when I helped tug him beside me. “The right promo can do a world of good for your business. To borrow from Kylie, morbids love this kind of stuff. There are plenty of folks who don’t go for the hardcore hauntings but love to stay in a place where there’s documented activity.”
The documents, being witnessed by humans, were totally unreliable, but still. More bang for your advertising buck.
“Unless the family is involved.” He stood and offered me his hand, pulling me to my feet. “Or was involved, originally. They might wish the inn’s notoriety would fade.”
“Nah.” I shrugged when he glanced back at me. “At the very least, they’re not discouraging the rumors. The family could have closed up shop this week, but they chose not to turn us away. We’re talking generations who haven’t had a moral problem with booking potential victims. They’re cashing in whether they want to acknowledge it or not.”
“I hadn’t considered it in that light,” he allowed. “I assumed they preferred to ignore the otherworldly aspect, as humans often do.”
“Ignore it and maybe it will go away?”
“Precisely.”
“There’s the financial aspect too.” I tended to remember that better than him. “It must cost a small fortune to keep a place this size running. Without capitalizing on its infamy, it might be hard keeping it booked in such a remote location.”
The family, however unwitting they might be, were enabling the cycle just by keeping their doors open. One week every thirty years was hardly a crippling blow…unless you were already in financial straits. That might explain how they agreed to take Linus’s money without losing sleep over possibly condemning guests to a mauling.
The noise amplified as we climbed higher, but it took me a second to grasp I wasn’t hearing it through the walls. Cletus had gone to inspect on his own and was broadcasting the sound to Linus and me.
Whoever had come calling for us—I was still betting on a search party for Kylie—gave up halfway into our return trip to the surface. That suited me fine. I preferred a hot shower to entertaining hysterical relatives. But as I was imagining what Linus and I could get up to during said shower, we exited the subbasement into the basement, and the knocking resumed.
The ignore it and maybe it will go away school of thought definitely did not work for me.
We exited the pantry and shut it behind us, careful not to leave behind grimy handprints. There was no time to wash up first, so whoever out there was refusing to take the hint no one was home would have to suck it up and deal with the smell and the stains on us.
Linus beat me to the front door and opened it on a middle-aged couple dressed for square dancing. That was alarming enough, arriving in costume in the middle of the night, but their presence shot familiar tingles up my spine. The recognition was mutual, and their bright eyes goggled.
Vampires.
“You’re L-L-Linus Lawson,” the male stammered. “The Grande Dame’s son.”
“Actually,” I chimed in, peeking over Linus’s shoulder. “It’s Linus Woolworth now.”
“Grier Woolworth.” The female dropped her jaw then elbowed her…mate? “That’s Grier Woolworth.” She dug in the purse hung on the crook of her arm. “Can we take a photo with you? Both of you?” She beamed up at us. “No one back home will ever believe us otherwise. What are you doing way out here?”
“We’re on our honeymoon,” Linus said smoothly, turning his head to kiss my cheek.
The vampires laughed and whooped at the joke, until they realized it wasn’t one.
“Really?” The female deflated. “You could have gone anywhere in the world, and you ended up here?”
Before she injured Linus’s feelings, I wedged myself in front of him. “Why don’t you tell us more about why you’re here?”
“Oh. Shoot.” She clutched her phone to her chest. “I must have left my manners on the dance floor.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Barbara Rogoff, and this is my husband, Benny.” She beamed as we shook. “Benny and Barb. That’s what everyone calls us. You can too.”
“Thanks.” I retrieved my hand before she stuck it in her purse as a souvenir. “What did you say you’re doing here?”
“We drop in every thirty years. The haunting, you know. That’s why you’re here, right? It must be.” The glitter-flecked tassels on her skirt quivered with excitement. “I can’t believe you’re joining us.”
Return trips to family-owned properties spaced thirty years apart were risky ventures. Humans aged plenty in that time. Vampires…not so much. Maybe that explained the wild getup. They must adopt a different persona each time and use a touch of vampire glamour to sell the fake identities.
“Barb.” Benny placed a hand on her arm, cleared his throat, then addressed me. “We called to reserve a room and were told the inn was booked. We had a competition near here, so we figured it wouldn’t hurt to drop by before we left the area.”
Unless they were kicking up their heels in the local Food Saver parking lot, I had trouble believing that.
“Yours is the only car in the lot,” she added, “so we thought we would knock and see if anything had changed.”
“You’re really here on your honeymoon?” He chuckled manfully. “She let you get away with that?”
“Benny.” Barb paled, a neat trick for a vampire. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to, hon.”
“Apologies,” he said quickly. “We can wait for the next cycle.” He shrugged. “We’ve got the time.”
Square dancing vampire ghost hunters.
Now I had seen it all.
“Give us a minute.” I shut the door and drew a privacy sigil on the frame with my pen. “What do you think?”
Linus furrowed his brow. “You’re actually considering this?”
“Two potential suspects for our arsonist just fell into our lap, so yes.”
“Bold move,” he murmured, eyeing the door like he wanted to nail it shut.
“Desperate move,” I countered. “Especially if they’re worried that we’ll solve the mystery and break the cycle.”
Amusement looked good on him. “You think so?”
“I know so.” I slid my hands around his hips and squeezed his butt because it was there, and it was mine, and why not? “Just think of the parades the locals will throw in our honor for ending the reign of terror.”
“I would settle for sparing more human lives.” His lips twitched. “Though a parade would be nice.”
One of the things I loved most about Linus was the fact he was willing to play with me. He was rusty at first, and I stumped him on the regular even after years together, but he was getting better. More importantly, he was having fun too. I don’t think he’d had nearly enough of that in his life until now.
“Remember you said that.” I gave his buns a farewell pat. “I’ll eat your half of the candy when they invite us to ride on the Local Saviors float.”
“You’re sure you want to do this?” He searched my face. “Can I be honest?”
Flattening my palm over his heart, I waited. “I prefer that, yes.”
“I don’t want to share you.” He braced his forehead against mine. “This is one time I would rather look the other way.”