“I was unaware that your stubble had any bearing on how much you stink.”
“It’s a rule somewhere, I swear it. The balance of the entire universe hinges on me shaving.”
“They keep telling me that you’re terrible at sarcasm. I think they lied to me.”
I chuckled. “They tell me it’s your fault. I met you. You must have gifted me with sarcasm and a sense of humor.”
“I can live with that. I like you just as you are. You’re funny.” Picking up her watch from the nightstand, she put it on. “Thirty minutes, Mr. Jackson. I’m timing you.”
“Why thirty?”
“I just want to see if you can do it.”
I stood. “Challenge accepted.” Grabbing a change of clothes, I retreated to the bathroom. When I emerged, Richard and Nicole were sitting on the bed talking with Evelyn.
My mate checked the time. “Eight minutes over. At least you don’t look like you electrocuted yourself this time.”
“Challenge failed. I take forever, sorry.”
“You look tired,” Nicole said, scowling at me. “Didn’t sleep well?”
I widened my eyes. “I was supposed to sleep?”
“Yes, you were,” Richard grumbled.
“I had to work. I lost track of time. What’s the plan?” I asked, sprawling onto the chair, grabbing my watch and putting it on. “My vote is breakfast. If I don’t feed Evelyn, I’ll be lunch.”
Richard chuckled. “I think you’re safe on that score. We’re going to get a feel for the city today. Our first stop is a lake on Mount Royal. It’s a popular place with the college kids in the area.”
Shrugging into my suit jacket, I buttoned the cuffs and grabbed my wallet and phone. “Why this lake first?”
“It’s one of the better leads we have. Gerald’s people got a few hits from missing persons reports that some of the victims had last been seen near the lake. Between you, me, and Nicole, we might get lucky.”
I turned to Nicole and asked, “What will you be doing?”
Nicole pulled out a moonstone sphere, holding it up. Colors shifted in its depths. “Looking for unnatural things.”
There was something eerie about the stone. While there wasn’t an imprint of death, it had a sense of presence, as though it were somehow alive. “That includes all of us, I hope you’re aware.”
“Jackson, do not make me kick your ass,” she warned.
I widened my eyes. “Is that a promise? I can think of a lot worse things than being put in my place by a beautiful woman.”
“Jackson!” Evelyn and Nicole chorused.
Richard turned to Evelyn, pointing at her. “This is all your fault, I hope you know. You’re a bad influence on him. Before you came around, all that ever came out of his mouth was honest sincerity. I hope you’re happy.”
Evelyn’s smile warmed me. “Very, thank you. What are we doing after we see this lake?”
Sighing and shaking his head, Richard replied, “We’ll be checking out some of the local universities. Most of the missing kids went to the schools nearest to the park. Tomorrow is when we’ll be making a few friendly visits to some people.”
Something about his tone warned me of trouble. “How friendly are we talking about here?”
Richard smiled. “If you aren’t wearing a vest, you aren’t invited.”
~~*~~
After breakfast, we hiked up Mount Royal. By Georgian standards, it was a hill with a great view of the city skirting it. Most of the mountain was a park with roads and hiking trails traversing it. Wearing black sneakers with a suit fringed on the ridiculous, but I doubted anyone would notice my feet. I should have worn a t-shirt and jeans like the others.
I’d never learn.
When we passed a cemetery on our way up, something about it sent chills down my spine. It took us an hour to circle our way up the slopes.
Beaver Lake wasn’t very large, but too many people had died on its shores.
It had been Richard’s idea to bring the notepad, and pulling it out of my pocket, I wrote down their names. I made it halfway around the lake before I found someone I recognized. The woman had died in the water. As I stared at the silty bottom, I had the disconcerting doubled vision of two deaths. Like the others, she had died in a sterile, white room.
I heard her screams.
All I could tell of her second death was that she had been seeking something beneath the surface, and had dug her way into the silt. Her body was still there, waiting to be found.
Pulling out my phone, I called Gerald.
“Leclerc.”
“Tip off the Montreal police. There’s at least one body in Beaver Lake,” I said, swallowing several times to control my churning stomach.
“Are you serious?”
“Deathly so. She’s maybe eight to ten feet from shore under the silt.” I turned, judging the distance between us and the building near the road. “I’d say we’re about fifty feet from the building, if that. I can’t tell you how long she’s been here.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Gerald promised.
Everyone stared at me. Amber frowned, looking out over the water. “She’s really out there?”
“She is,” I confirmed, returning my cell to my pocket. Continuing my path around the lake, I found several more bodies within twenty feet.
All of them had been seeking something.
“That’s really creepy, Jackson,” Alex said. “Your eyes have turned a washed-out gray.”
“That’s funny, coming from someone who can turn into an oversized dog. Your eyes turn yellow when you’re cranky,” I retorted. Turning to Nicole, I asked, “Can you tell anything with that stone of yours?” I pointed at the water. “There’s six women right there.”
“You mean they died there?” Richard’s wife asked, pulling out the crystal sphere.
“No, I mean that they’re still there.”
“Gross. They left them there? Those poor women.”
I shook my head. “No, they weren’t left there. They went there on their own. They were looking for something.”
“Any idea what?” Richard asked.
“It doesn’t work that way. I don’t usually pick up anything more than their names—sometimes a glimpse of how they died. They’re different. They want me to find who killed them. They’re—it’s like part of them is still alive.” I shuddered.
Evelyn took hold of my hand. “Why don’t we keep walking while Nicole has a look?”
“I won’t be long,” Richard’s wife replied, tossing the sphere into the lake. She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. “This works better with a silver mirror, but water will have to do.”
Crouching at the lake’s edge, she opened her eyes and stared into the water. Within moments, her eyes widened. “That’s not possible. It’s just not possible.”
I kept still, squeezing my mate’s hand.
Richard knelt beside Nicole. “What’s not possible?”
“They were already dead when they entered the water, Richard. They—they came here to return to the earth.” Shaking, she reached out her hand. The moonstone rolled out of the water to halt beside her. Picking it up, she pressed it to her chest. “There are more of them.”
“Where?” I asked.
“They’re all in the lake, deep in the water, deep in the ground. They wanted to go down.” Nicole turned to her husband, burying her face in his shirt. “There’s so many of them.”
I clenched my teeth and stared into the heart of Beaver Lake.
~~*~~
Ten feet of water was the limit of my witchcraft. Any deeper than that, and the names of the dead eluded me. Despite that, I was aware of something lurking within the center of the lake. My skin crawled.
The first of the cop cars arrived as we were leaving. Nicole was pale, and there was a greenish hue to her skin.
“You deal with that all of the time?” she whispered to me, linking her arm with mine.
“Unfortunately. All I need to see is a photograph, usually.”
Those who lurked within the blood diamond were the exception, and I didn’t know why. Could I learn how to control what I learned of the dead? I wondered what it would be like to look through a photo album like everyone else could.
“That’s terrible.”
“So is what happened to them,” I replied, wondering what the police would dredge out of the depths of Beaver Lake. Why had the living dead gone there?
Worst of all, I wondered if my daughter numbered among them. The uncertainty made me want to turn around and wade into the water so I might learn the truth.
Evelyn captured my other arm, resting her cheek against my shoulder. I kissed her forehead.
“Maybe we should call it quits,” Alex suggested, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Nicole’s gray, and you’re not looking much better, Jackson. Even Amber looks queasy.”
“There’s definitely something wrong with that lake,” Amber muttered.
Richard grunted. “Maybe we should split up. Nicole, Amber, and Jackson can return to the hotel while the rest of us take a look at the universities. We’ll find out what paths those kids may have taken to get to the lake.”
Wrinkling her nose and shaking her head, Amber replied, “No. I’ll be fine in a few minutes. Jackson should, for certain. You really don’t look very good either, Nicole. We can’t send all of the sensors back to the hotel.”
“I’m fine, but I agree about you, Jackson.”
“Not on his own,” Evelyn snapped.
“I’d really like you with me, Evelyn. Your nose is as good as mine. Nicole’s more likely to see something. Amber, you’re more than capable of keeping an eye on him on your own,” Richard said, staring at me with a frown. “You could use some sleep. You look exhausted. You can go catch a nap until we’re back.”
Amber patted her lightweight jacket. “I have my carry permit. But, that said, Nicole’s far more tired than I am. She’s carrying, and she’s almost as good of a shot as me.”
“Enough,” I cut in, glaring at them. “While it was unpleasant, I’m not hurt—and neither is Nicole. You’re not, right?”
“I’m fine. It was startling and unpleasant, but I’ll be good in a few minutes.”
“I’m fine as well.”
“You’re tired,” Richard growled at me.
“It’s true. I was an idiot and stayed up all night working. I wouldn’t say no to getting some sleep. That said, it’s what, maybe five blocks to get back to the hotel once we’re down the hill? I think I can handle that on my own.”
“On your own?” the Alpha Fenerec demanded, glaring at me.
I started counting. “ First, the reports put all of the disappearances at night. Second, I don’t need a babysitter.”
“No fighting,” Evelyn warned, tugging on my arm. “While I’d rather if he didn’t, I’m okay with him going back to our room on his own if he wants. If we take that second trail we saw earlier, it puts us about a block from the hotel, doesn’t it? It’s a longer walk for us, but who cares? I don’t. No working if you do go back, Jackson.”
“I solemnly swear I will not work,” I promised, kissing her cheek.
“That sounds like a plan. You’ll go back to the hotel. We’ll check out the university, and I’ll come wake you for dinner.” My mate smiled at me, tweaking my nose. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson, sir.”
“I can’t believe you’re okay with this,” Richard grumbled.
“You’re a control freak,” Evelyn retorted. “What could possibly happen on a busy street on a nice day like this?”
Lisa shrugged. “She’s got a point, Richard. It’s as low risk as it gets.”
“So was sending him into the cargo bay of his own cruise ship,” Richard snarled at his brother’s wife.
“He just cares,” Nicole told me, flashing a smile. “He growls, worries, and makes a pest out of himself when he thinks he doesn’t have perfect control over his precious people. You should have seen him when Amber and I went on a field trip to a power plant in Cali.”
“Nicole.”
“Yes, darling?”
Richard sighed. “Fine. No trouble, no detours, no anything. Go straight to your room.”
I laughed. “Okay, Mom.”
“I mean it!”
Chapter Twenty-One
I was less than half a block from the hotel when a black Mercedes pulled up alongside me. The back window rolled down.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Anderson. You don’t leave America often. Why don’t you get into the car so we can have a talk? The front seat, if you please.”
I didn’t please, but while I couldn’t get a good look at the man’s face, I did have an excellent view down the barrel of his Glock. It wasn’t equipped with a suppressor, but I doubted he would care if anyone heard the gunfire. My corpse on the sidewalk would be obvious enough.
When I hesitated, he said, “I don’t recommend refusing my invitation. It would have adverse consequences to your health.”
“Bullets tend to.” Sighing, I stepped onto the street and opened the door. The driver wore a suit similar to mine, with oversized sunglasses and a ball cap obscuring his features. “What can I do for you gentlemen?”
“We’d just like to have a few words with you regarding your Inquisition. You must understand, it is very difficult to hunt you down, Your Eminence. Please, do put on your seatbelt. It’d be a shame if you avoided a bullet in your chest only to die in a wreck.”
While I buckled in, a myriad of statistics rattled around in my head, most of which referred to the high mortality rate of kidnapped adults. My cooperation would buy me time, but there were no guarantees they would leave me alive—especially once they realized that they had the wrong Anderson.
Until I figured out a better plan, pretending to be my brother might keep me alive, at least temporarily. “I’m listening.”
“First, I’d like to extend our sincerest regrets for your brother’s death. We were taken by surprise and quite alarmed to learn he was onboard the plane that crashed in Ontario instead of you.”
He didn’t sound very apologetic to me.
“Thank you,” I replied, my tone turning cold. It was easy for me to imagine my brother’s reaction. “Should I take that to mean that you were involved with the sabotage?”
“We wanted you and your brother alive. Fortunately, his death has created an opportunity for us. We have a business proposition we would like to make. Originally, we were going to demonstrate our offer using your brother, but his death has bereaved us of that chance. It is a shame, as he was an influential man.”
I shoved my hands into my pockets, wiggling my ring off my finger. My brother didn’t wear one; he was notorious for never dating anyone. I doubted the driver had noticed its presence, and all I could do was hope that the man in the back hadn’t either. “I see. Go on.”