“It’s going to be a long night, isn’t it?”
Zav chomped down on another chicken strip.
8
The root-cellar door behind the carriage house was open. Zav, Sindari, and I walked down into Zoltan’s lair and encountered Dimitri in the hallway outside the lab door, a couple of camp lanterns illuminating the area. He was kneeling in front of the mechanical guard spider that he’d helped Zoltan assemble and animate. A toolbox rested at his side, and a long pole arm lay in the middle of the hall. A big hole in the spider’s mechanical skull looked like it had been made by the weapon.
“Did it short out?” I waved for Sindari to pass us. Will you go in and sniff around to see if you can identify the blood?
Certainly.
Zav also passed us, though I didn’t know if he meant to sniff around or look for more food. He’d consumed all except three chicken strips, which he’d politely set in my hand as we’d gotten out of the Jeep. Thoughtfully, he’d removed and incinerated the breading for me. There’d been no sign of honey mustard anywhere.
“I think so,” Dimitri said, “and there’s damage to its CPU. I’m going to have to order replacement parts.”
“Where does one order parts for a giant robotic guard spider?”
“You can find anything on the internet.” Dimitri rose to his feet. “Whatever happened, it couldn’t have been too long ago.” He led me into the lab and pointed at boxes of bottles and jars that had been carefully packed and set next to the door. “Around eight, the guy who does Zoltan’s pick-ups called and let me know the shipment wasn’t out by the mailbox in the usual spot.”
“When was the last time you talked to Zoltan?”
“I called earlier this evening to let him know about the inventory the ogres damaged, and he answered then and didn’t say anything was wrong.”
Even though the packed boxes hadn’t been disturbed, a lot of other things had been. Zoltan’s alchemy equipment had been swept off the counters, and broken glass littered the floor. Numerous substances were spilled, noxious odors wafting up from some of them, and I had the urge to rush outside and breathe fresh air.
Sindari and Zav were examining a few blood spatters on the cement floor near a drain. It was too small an amount for me to tell if there was any magic in the blood. Leaving the scent-work for them, I went to Zoltan’s computer and video equipment.
“Did you already check this stuff, Dimitri?”
“No. He’s never given me permission to look at any of that.”
“Well, he’s not here, so I’m giving myself permission.”
When I prodded the mouse and all three flat-screen displays came to life, I expected to be blocked by a password prompt, but I wasn’t. Maybe Zoltan considered his guard spider sufficient for security purposes.
I scanned through recent emails and comments on his YouTube channel that were asking why his daily alchemy video wasn’t up yet. One person was requesting a recipe she could use to poison her boss.
An email with the subject “You’re the bestest!!!” popped up a giant image of a young woman taking a selfie of her bare chest. She might have been of legal age, but I didn’t spend a lot of time trying to guess. The majority of his emails were from what seemed to be raving fans of his channel. A lot of them hadn’t been opened. It didn’t look like he replied to any of them or had correspondence with anyone at all. The handful that had been opened were requests for potions and academic discourse on alchemical ingredients.
“No death threats that I can see,” I said. “Though I suppose it’s possible that jealous boyfriends of some of these girls found out about their obsession with Zoltan and decided to hunt him down.”
“The blood belongs to an orc,” Zav said. “And orc that smells freshly of Daknok-tor.”
“Probably not a jealous boyfriend then.”
“What’s Daknok-tor?” Dimitri asked.
“The orc home world,” Zav said.
“So, someone who came recently to Earth?” I asked.
“Very recently.”
There were three or four of them in here. I’ll track the trail as far as I can and let you know if I reach the edge of my range. Sindari trotted into the hallway.
“Thank you,” I called after him.
Zav moved to the counters and poked into a glass cabinet full of books that emanated magic. He pulled out a few journals, flipped through them, and returned them to the shelves.
Dimitri watched the investigation with his hands in his pockets, a glum expression on his face. I wasn’t sure what else to do to help either. It wasn’t as if we could call in a forensics team, not without creating a lot of questions from the people who’d moved into the main house. We’d used magical stealth to sneak into the back yard, but police cars full of investigators would be harder to hide.
“It looks like someone made a deliberate mess,” Zav said, “but his journals and the more valuable items in his collection are all here.”
“I don’t think anything was taken. Except Zoltan. Why would orcs want a vampire?” Dimitri gave me a puzzled look.
“There are a lot of orc thugs for hire,” I said. “Someone may have paid them to kidnap Zoltan.”
“But to what end?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“What should I do?” Dimitri pushed a hand through his hair.
“Get some sleep. I’ll go to Willard’s office in the morning and see if she—or her prime informant Gondo—has heard anything.” I wanted to ask her about Weber and his app project too.
“It seems wrong to go to sleep when your business partner is missing.”
“Maybe you’ll get a ransom note in the morning that gives you some hints.”
“That’s not funny,” Dimitri said.
“I was being serious.”
His expression grew bleaker.
“I would suggest going to Rupert’s and asking around if it was still open,” I said. “I’m not sure where magical beings are congregating now. Unless your coffee shop is the new hangout.”
“It’s a housewares and lotion store,” he mumbled, though none of his usual indignation was in the objection. “But… maybe I should let it become the new hangout. And listen as the customers gossip. Maybe someone will reveal something over coffee.”
“Get that liquor license we were talking about. People would be even more likely to reveal secrets over booze.”
The orcs went to the street, Sindari informed me, where they were picked up in a vehicle. I am unable to track them further.
I was afraid of that.
What next? I cannot stay much longer in this realm today.
Go home and rest. I’ll figure something out. What exactly, I didn’t know. I glowered down at the floor.
Zav walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulders.
The gesture startled me, since he’d never done it before. “What are you doing?”
“I am comforting you.”
Dimitri was across the lab, but he raised his eyebrows.
“Oh. Thank you. I didn’t know dragons did that.” I leaned against his side.
“Dragons are not emotionally fragile and do not engage in physical gestures of commiseration. But as I have learned in the past, elves often touch each other to convey feelings and comfort each other. And you are half elven.”
“I appreciate your gesture, but I think Dimitri is in more need of comforting right now than I am.”
Zav looked at Dimitri. “I am uninterested in touching a human male.”
Dimitri backed up until his back bumped a counter. “And I’m uninterested in being touched by a dragon male.”
“Are you sure?” I smiled, hoping to lighten his mood. “I thought you were into guys.”
“Not that guy, no.”
“Is it the sandals?”
Zav looked down and studied his bare toes.
“No.” Dimitri shook his head without humor. “I just need to find Zoltan.”
“I don’t think there’s anything else we can do tonight.” I patted Zav’s stomach and headed out, crossing my fingers that Willard would have some intel for me in the morning.
9
The next morning, my phone buzzed as I pulled into the parking lot outside of Willard’s building. It was Mary. I debated whether or not to answer it. When I’d gotten home the night before, I’d left a message to cancel my therapy appointment. Between Zoltan being missing and preparing for my new gig, I doubted I would have time for it.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hi, Val. I got your message about canceling last night—at 12:03 am.” Was that judgment in her calm and usually neutral tone? For the late hour or for the cancellation? “I wanted to make sure you’re okay and see if you want to reschedule.”
“Things got busy yesterday.” I climbed out of the Jeep. “And the next couple of weeks may be busy too.”
“Wasn’t yesterday your day off?”
“Yes. I don’t think I did it right.”
“Did you get a massage?”
“No. I took a new job and a friend was kidnapped.”
“That’s awful, Val.”
“The kidnapping, I assume.”
“Well, yes, but neither are acceptable activities for a day off. As soon as you’re able, you need to take some real time to relax and work on your relationships.”
“I know. I will. I’m still looking at things I can do to relax that won’t put other people at risk.” I imagined somebody giving me a massage in one of those little rooms as a grenade sailed through the door.
“Have you looked into meditation yet? I know I’ve mentioned it a few times. You can meditate from the safety of your own home.”
“Not yet, but I will.” I nodded to one of Willard’s soldiers as we crossed paths—he was heading for the coffee shop on the corner. “Thanks for checking up on me. I need to go. Meeting with my boss.”