The Frenzy War (32 page)

“… and two more Class Ls jumped off the fire escape and landed right in front of me. They stood there, snarling and showing me their gums. Then they both took off over the wall. I guess they wanted the Torquemadans more than they wanted me.”

“Good thing,” Candice said.

“Probable cause or no, you had no business going in there alone,” Mace said. “No unnecessary risks, remember? Everyone comes out of this alive.”

“I know. You're right. It was a bad call on my part. I fired that shot …”

“No reports.”

Willy nodded, a look of relief on his face. Mace realized Willy hadn't looked at Karol once since his arrival.

“Raphael and his boys were in there. I didn't see them when they went in, and we never saw them come out.”

“You were awake the whole time?”

Willy frowned. “I told Karol to catch some Z's, and I nodded off by accident. I'm sorry. But the front door's still unlocked, and the alarm is off. There were five of them in there at one point, and there were five Class Ls.”

A police cruiser pulled over, and Mace saw Landry park behind it.

“I called Hector and Suzie,” Candice said.

The cruiser's passenger window slid down, and a female PO looked out. “Everything okay here?”

Candice flashed her shield. “Everything's fine.”

The woman nodded. “Have a good night.”

The cruiser drove off, and Landry joined the quartet. “What did I miss? I heard the APB.”

“Willy and Karol will fill you in. Candice, call Gabriel Domini and get him over here. Tell him there appears to have been a breakin and an altercation and the alarm is off. I want him to answer questions.”

“What about Raphael?”

“Tell Gabriel we think it would be prudent for him to come alone.”

An SUV pulled over, and Shelly and Norton got out.

“What happened?” Shelly said.

“Diega and Williams were just about to run the incident down for Landry,” Mace said. “I don't want anyone going inside until Gabriel Domini arrives.”

“This way for the ten-cent tour,” Willy said, leading the group into the passageway.

Mace watched another SUV park down the block.
Hector and Suzie,
he thought.

Candice got off her cell phone. “Gabriel's on his way.”

Hector and Suzie walked up the sidewalk.

“Yo, these task force hours are crazy,” Hector said. “We got a stiff?”

“Just some blood samples,” Mace said. “Maybe some fur too. If we're lucky, fingerprints. You can start in the back courtyard, but don't go inside until the owner gets here.”

“Got it. Let's gear up, Suzie Q.”

The CSU detectives returned to their SUV.

“There's nothing like conducting a secret investigation in public,” Candice said.

Ten minutes after Hector and Suzie disappeared down the passageway with their equipment, a yellow taxi arrived. Mace watched Gabriel Domini pay the driver and get out.

Gabriel wore a long camel hair coat. As he approached Mace and Candice, a look of recognition spread across his features, and he motioned with one gloved hand. “Captain Mace.”

He remembers me two years later.
Mace gestured to Candice. “This is Detective Sergeant Smalls.”

“I called you, Mr. Domini,” Candice said. “The front door was left unlocked, and the alarm wasn't set.”

“That's impossible. My brother and I left here together earlier. I'm positive we locked up.”

“Yes, but your brother returned a short while later with some other men,” Mace said.

Gabriel raised his eyebrows. “How do you know that?”

“We have your business under surveillance.”

“Why? Am I suspect in some crime? Surely you don't think me or my brother had something to do with Jason's murder and Rhonda's abduction?”

“Quite the opposite: we believe that whoever killed Jason and kidnapped Rhonda wanted to get at you.”

“But why? I'm of no importance.”

“Nevertheless, we believe the breakin here tonight and the attack on Synful Reading are connected.”

“Why did you ask me to come here alone?”

“Because when your brother returned, he left the door open. He practically invited someone to go into your establishment
after hours. And our detectives never saw him and his friends leave.”

“Did the intruders go in through the front door?”

“No, they broke in through the courtyard door. Maybe they saw him leave the door open and sensed a trap.”

“Or maybe they
didn't
see him leave the door open and believed the back door was the best way in.”

“Either way, the building's still open, and your brother is long gone. There's blood in the alley and inside.”

“You suspect my brother was harmed?”

Mace gave Gabriel a long look. How much could he reveal without revealing too much? “No. One of the intruders lost an arm in the melé.”

“My God.” Gabriel gestured at the door. “Can I see if anything's been stolen?”

“Sure, but let's go this way.” Mace gestured at the passageway.

“It's dark,” Gabriel said.

He sees perfectly well in the dark,
Mace thought. “We'll use my flashlight. I never leave home without it. Candice, do you mind holding down the fort here?”

“I don't mind, Captain.”

Mace took out his flashlight and entered the narrow passageway, followed by Gabriel. It stretched perhaps sixty feet, and their footsteps echoed in the darkness, the flash beam bouncing off the walls. They emerged into the courtyard, where Hector and Suzie scraped blood samples off the ground and wall. The CSU detectives wore bright yellow latex gloves. Willy, Landry, Shelly, and Norton stared at Gabriel, but Karol barely glanced at him.

“Familiar faces,” Gabriel said. “Hello.”

“Mr. Domini,” Landry said.

“How's it going?” Willy said.

Mace gestured to Shelly and Norton. “This is Special Agent Shelly and Special Agent Norton.”

“Hello,” Norton said.

“Federal agents?” Gabriel said.

“It's not unusual in kidnapping cases,” Shelly said.

Karol pointed at the open door. “You can see where they broke the door, probably with a crowbar. The blood is self-evident. It leads over the wall to where Willy saw their SUV.”

Mace turned to Willy. “Why don't you walk us through what happened?”

“You got it,” Willy said.

“Stay off our blood,” Hector said without looking up.

Willy motioned to the open door. “I climbed over the wall and found the door ajar. It was obvious someone had forced it open, so I entered the premises.” He stepped inside the corridor, illuminated by fluorescent lights.

Mace gestured for Gabriel to follow Willy, then followed him. He heard Landry, Norton and Shelly, and Williams behind him. The group followed Willy down the corridor, stepping around the blood spatters on the floor.

“I made my way down the hall and turned here …”

The blood continued, smeared with footprints. Switching on lights, Willy led them through the crematorium, down another hall, and into the funeral parlor, where great pools of blood had soaked into the carpet, which had also been torn by what appeared to be long claw marks. The party of seven stared at the blood.

“The lights were off when I came in here,” Willy said. “I only had my flashlight to see. There was a struggle going on, and I counted eight figures involved.”

“What did they look like?” Gabriel said.

“That's classified at the moment,” Mace said. “I notice you don't have any cameras back here.”

“Only on the front doors. We've never had any need for additional security before.”

“I'd like to see the footage for tonight,” Mace said.

“Of course. Whatever you say, Captain.”

Mace faced his team. “Willy, Karol, Ken—go home. Norton, Shelly—hang tight until I'm finished with Mr. Domini. Ken, tell Candice I want her to stick around until Hector and Suzie finish.”

Circumventing the blood, Gabriel turned on the wall sconces for the long corridor ahead. “This way.”

S
abriel switched on the office lights and admitted Mace, who glanced at three desks. A monitor and digital recording desk rested upon a filing cabinet. The monitor showed the front foyer.

“The recorder is off,” Mace said.

Gabriel glanced at the recorder, his body stiffening. “That's odd.”

Gabriel switched on the machine and pressed a button. The monitor turned black, then sped through images in reverse: four men left the building, and two entered it. Gabriel pressed another button, and the footage played at regular speed in proper sequence: Gabriel and Raphael exited the building, locked up, and parted company. “See? There we go.”

The screen turned black, and Gabriel adjusted the controls. “It must be malfunctioning.”

“Detective Diega and Detective Williams saw your brother return right after you left. He didn't turn the alarm back on. He must have shut off the recorder, but first he erased the footage of him and his crew coming back.”

Gabriel faced Mace. “For what possible reason?”

“Because he set a trap for the Brotherhood of Torquemada.”

Was there a flicker of recognition in Gabriel's eyes?

“The Brotherhood of what?”

“Let's not play games. You know exactly what I'm talking about, and I know you're the leader of the pack. Why don't we go someplace quiet to talk, where we won't be distracted by all this police procedure?”

Gabriel's face showed little emotion. “I don't think it's in my best interest to go anywhere with you.”

“Why not? I'm sure you have people watching you. There's a diner a few blocks away. We can go there.”

“Shouldn't I have a lawyer with me or something?”

“A werewolf with a vampire?”

“This conversation is beginning to make me uncomfortable.”

“Not so uncomfortable that you'll do anything drastic, I hope. I only want to help you.”

Gabriel's nostrils flared. “All right. Let's go. How many chances will I get to eat dinner with a police captain?”

How many chances will I have to eat dinner with a werewolf?
Mace thought.

Mace and Gabriel exited through the front of the funeral
home, where Candice stood waiting on the sidewalk.

Using his remote control, Mace unlocked the doors to his SUV. “Hop in,” he said to Gabriel. “I'll be right with you.”

Gabriel circled the SUV and climbed into the passenger side.

Mace joined Candice and spoke in a low voice. “Have Patrol conduct visible surveillance here the rest of the night. Shelly and Norton can go home.”

“Aye, aye.”

Mace slid behind the wheel of his SUV, keyed the ignition, and pulled into the street. “How's Angela?”

“My sister's in Canada.”

“That doesn't answer my question.”

Gabriel turned to him. “Is your interest personal?”

“In a manner of speaking: she saved my life. I guess I saved hers too. And then I killed Janus Farel.”

Gabriel was silent.

“Angela told me where to find him. She said she wanted a human to kill him. She told me all about your people. I broke into Janus's brownstone—the one he owned under his real name, Julian Fortier—and he almost tore me to pieces. That's when Angela showed up. After I drove the broken Blade of Salvation into his heart, she fixed me up. I was with her when she called you and told you to come get the carcass. Then she took me to the ER, and I took her to the car rental agency. I knew she was going to Canada before you did.”

“I don't know what my sister told you—”

“I saw Janus in Wolf Form when he killed John Stalk
and when he tried to kill me. Angela was a Wolf when she came to my rescue. She turned into a human before my very eyes. I know this city is crawling with werewolves and you're their leader.”