Blood in the Marsh (22 page)

He looked over at her. “Listen, before I tell you there’s something else I want to say. I told Michael what I remember from what I read in Lucius’ diary and we both agree that there are too many similarities to what was written in it and what’s been going on around here to be coincidence.”

“I’m not sure I follow you,” Lyra admitted. “I know there are some parallels, but it could be a bizarre coincidence.”

“Not when you add up all the disappearances and the weird shit I saw in the woods,” Michael said as he reentered the room. “And the body we found.”

“What disappearances and weird shit?” Chelsey asked. “What body?”

Michael took a seat beside Lyra. She listened patiently as Michael told about the circles and mutilated animals. He finished by telling about the missing girls and the body the fishermen had discovered that turned out to be one of the girls. The cause of death had been determined as blood loss and the coroner said it was the wound to the throat that did it.

When he finished, Lyra looked at Nick. “And you think that whoever is responsible for those things is also responsible for what happened to me.”

Nick opened his mouth but she kept on talking. “And you think that all that is somehow connected to what Lucius wrote as well as what happened on that ship back in 1998.”

“That’s pretty much it, yes.”

“But there’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?” She looked from him to Michael.

Michael nodded. “Yes. There is something else. It’s about Cari.”

“I don’t really want to hear this, do I?”

Michael took her hand and squeezed it. “Probably no more than either one of us wants to remember it. But I think it’s necessary. We have to discover the truth.”

“Okay.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “Tell me.”

“I…” Michael’s voice faded and he shook his head.

“I’ll tell them,” Nick volunteered.

“It was about a year after I got transferred. Michael was still in Washington. He and Cari had a little girl. They named her Melinda Nicole. She was about four months old. I got some time off in between assignments and came to stay with them for a week.

“I noticed that Cari seemed a little tense as soon as I got there. I asked her what was wrong, thinking that maybe she and Michael were having problems. But she said things were fine between them. What was bothering her was a couple of calls she had gotten over the last month. Some man who would whisper in the phone, telling her he was coming to collect for his child.

“I told her she had to tell Michael about it. Naturally, when she did, he went nuts. I didn’t blame him. It worried me, too. Anyway, we decided that the first thing we had to do was get Cari somewhere safe. So we took her to his uncle’s house in Brunswick, and then went back to Washington to try to find out who was making the calls.

“About three or four days later we get a call from the hospital in Brunswick. Michael’s uncle was in real bad shape. No one would say what was wrong, they just said he should get there as quick as possible.

“We left Washington that same afternoon, hopping a military flight out. When we got to Brunswick, no one knew anything about his uncle being at the hospital. We left and went to his uncle’s and there he was, sitting on the porch. He was surprised to see Michael and asked what he was doing there. Cari had received a call from him early the previous morning telling her to come back to Washington and had left. “We raced back to the airport and headed for Washington. We had gone about halfway when Michael started having a bad feeling. He told me that this one was really bad, and his whole body was shaking and sweat was pouring off him.

“As soon as we landed we rushed to his house. That’s when we found Cari and Melinda. They were both dead. Cari had been badly abused, her throat cut and her body drained of blood. The baby…”

Nick’s voice failed for a moment and he shook his head. Lyra put her hand on his arm. “You don’t have to say any more. I’m so sorry, for both of you. I know that sounds trite and meaningless but I really don’t know what to say. I just wish it had never happened.”

She looked at Michael and saw tears running down his face. After a moment, he brushed them away and cleared his throat. “What Nick didn’t tell you was that there was a message left for us. It said, ‘this is for the child you took from me on the dark sea. Remember the old rule—an eye for an eye. Stay away from my children. Do not interfere or more will die’.“

A chill ran down Lyra’s spine. “And you think that it’s the same people who are doing all these things now?”

Nick turned to her. “What we think is that this vampire or demon or whatever it is, is after you, Lyra. Think about it. It changes bodies every hundred years or so and according to the dates Lucius gave, it’s time for another transfer. And, to make the transfer it needs the blood of a virgin. I don’t want to embarrass you, but there aren’t many of those around anymore and I think this thing has fixed its sights on you.”

Lyra felt as if someone had just pronounced her death sentence. She swallowed hard, trying to stem the swiftly rising panic. “So what do we do?”

Nick squeezed her hand then looked at Michael. “We find him and deal with him once and for all.”

“By whose book?” Lyra asked.

Nick turned to her and the look in his eyes made her cringe. “Mine.”

Monday—Sea Island

Michael was already up when Lyra went downstairs. He turned and looked at her as she walked into the kitchen. “Lyra, I really wish you’d reconsider this trip to North Carolina.”

Lyra shook her head. “I need those files and my books, Michael. That’s the only way I’m going to figure this out.”

“Well, couldn’t you just get someone to send the stuff to you?”

She poured a cup of coffee and sat down. “I don’t know. Is it really so vital that I stay here?”

“Let’s just say it is for my peace of mind.”

Lyra sighed and stared at him for a moment. “Okay, tell you what. I’ll call and ask my roommate to have the stuff Fed Ex-ed to me. But I’ll still need access to a major library which means I’ll have to go to Atlanta and use the facility at Emory or Georgia Tech.”

“Let’s just wait and see if you can find anything in what you already have. If you need more maybe we can work something out.”

“Okay.” She got up and called to cancel her reservations. “I’ll call Cathy later and have her box everything up.”

“Thanks.” He smiled at her as she walked by.

She patted his shoulder and sat down. “Michael, why didn’t you tell me about Cari and the baby?”

He looked down. “It’s not an easy thing to talk about.”

“I know and I wish there was something I could say, but there isn’t. It does make me have questions, though. Does your Uncle Miquel not like Nick? When his name came up the other day, Miguel got a very strange look on his face.”

Michael looked up at her. “Uncle Miguel thinks Nick went over the edge after Cari and the baby died. He kind of lost himself in his work and he’s not really the same man he used to be.”

“Everyone handles loss differently. Some people withdraw inside themselves and build this safe little shell where they can hide and not deal with it. Other people can’t do anything but feel angry and they let that rage control them. And others learn to accept the things they can’t change and try to go on with their lives and deal with the pain.”

Michael nodded. “And some go through all of it and end up pretty much numb and empty.”

“Is that how you feel?”

“I did, for a long time. It’s not as bad as it was, but it still hurts like hell. I won’t get the chance to grow old with Cari and watch our grandchildren playing in the yard, and I’ll never see my daughter take her first step or start kindergarten or learn to drive—or anything. It was all taken away.”

Lyra reached over and took his hand. “I wish I could take all your hurt away, Michael. I don’t understand why it happened and I wish so much it hadn’t. Since I can’t, all I can offer is me. If there’s anything I can do, all you have to do is say so. I owe you a lot and I’d like to repay some of your kindness.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“Yes. I do,” she said softly.

Nick walked in and saw them sitting at the table. After pouring a cup of coffee Nick leaned over to kiss Lyra on the cheek then sat down and looked at Michael.

“What time you think you’ll get back?”

Michael gulped down the rest of his coffee and stood up. “Hopefully around six.”

Lyra looked over at Nick. “I canceled the trip. Michael convinced me to get my roommate to ship my things to me. If I need more information, I’ll try one of the state colleges.”

Nick nodded. “Okay, maybe I better call Mac and tell him I’ll be around.”

He went into the den and returned a few minutes later. “I called Mac and told him I still needed the day off but he’s kind of backed up and needs me to get caught up in the dark room. All the wedding stuff’s starting to pile up. I’m going to try to get out of there around four, but Dick wants me to help him out at the restaurant tonight. He’s kind of short-handed.”

Michael looked over at Lyra. “Do you remember how to set the alarm?”

She nodded. “Yes, you’ve explained it three times and I’ve got it. Don’t worry. No one even knows we’re here and I promise Chelsey and I won’t stick our head out unless a bomb falls on the house.”

Michael smiled and pulled on his jacket. “Okay, I’ll see you guys later.”

Lyra got up and walked with him to the garage door. “Michael?”

He turned and she looked up at him. “I just wanted you to know that I do think of you as my friend and I am aware how hard it was for you to talk about what happened. I’m sorry I’m the cause of you having to relive all that and I appreciate everything you’re doing for me, more than I can say.”

“That’s okay. It’s my job,” he replied then shook his head. “Well, I guess it’s really more than that.”

“You mean Chelsey?”

Michael looked away from her. “Yeah, Chelsey’s great.”

Lyra smiled and reached out to squeeze his hand. “She’s very lucky. . You’re not only handsome but you’re a good person inside.”

“You know, Lyra, if you didn’t have all those stars in your eyes for Nick I just might be tempted to give him some competition.”

Lyra looked away and released his hand. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Detective Santera. Now, go to work so you won’t be late. I’d hate it if you had to be late getting home and miss the fantastic dinner we’re going to have fixed.”

Michael smiled and walked out. Lyra returned to the kitchen to find Nick standing at the door watching Michael’s car pull out of the garage. “Maybe I should call Mac and tell him I can’t make it.”

“Nick, you can’t do that. He’s depending on you. And we’ll be fine. My gosh, we’ve got an electric fence and enough security to protect Fort Knox!”

“Well, okay. But I’ll call when I get there and check on you. You remember what we decided about answering the phone?”

“Yes. Let the machine answer then pick up if it’s you or Michael. I’ve got it.”

“All right, then I guess I’ll go.”

She walked him to the door and he stopped and pulled her to him to kiss her. Lyra closed her eyes and tried to summon up the emotion she knew he hoped to elicit. Sadly, it wasn’t there. Nick pulled back from the kiss and looked down into her eyes. “You make it hard on a man to leave.”

Lyra smiled up at him, relieved he hadn’t clued in on her real feelings. “Then hurry up and get your work done so you can come back for a while before you have to go to the restaurant. I’m fixing dinner.”

“You can cook?”

Lyra pretended to be insulted and tossed her hair. “I’ll have you know that I’m a—well, I’m a halfway decent cook.”

“I can hardly wait. Lock the deadbolt and set the alarm.”

“Yes sir. See you later.”

After locking the door and reactivating the alarm, Lyra cleaned up the kitchen then walked into the den, flopping down on the couch and staring across the room. She wasn’t used to being idle all day, and not being able to get out and run made her edgy. But she had promised Nick and Michael she would not leave the house, and after the incident at the beach she wasn’t about to tempt fate.

She got up to get the remote for the television and the phone rang. Walking over to where it sat on the desk, she listened to Nick’s voice asking the caller to leave a message. A beep sounded then the connection was severed. Thinking that it was probably a wrong number she paid it no more attention and went down the hall into the room she had set up as an exercise room. Without equipment, there wasn’t much she could do but jog in place and do aerobics, so she put some music on and started her workout.

An hour later, she was hot, sweaty, and bored. Turning off the music, she started upstairs and met Chelsey on way down. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

“Where’s Michael?”

“He already left for work. So did Nick. And we’re under strict orders not to leave the house.”

“I know, I know,” Chelsey grumbled.

“Chels, listen. I know this is a pain but remember what happened the last time we ignored what Michael told us. I think this time we should do like he said.”