One Foot in the Grave

Don sighed and pushed his chair back to stare at the wall for a minute. When he turned around, he’d given up on that line of questioning.

“You shot Danny Milton. Is that a new hostage negotiation tactic I’m not aware of?”

He sounded faintly approving. Danny didn’t have many fans, especially after nearly blowing my cover and Dave’s subsequent death.

“I wanted to distract the vampires. It worked.”

“Yes it did. We have him in witness protection. I don’t think he’ll be stupid enough to brag about you anymore. Not that there’s anything he could tell now. The cleaners have been busy with him.”

Cleaners. A nice term for the brainwashers. I wished I’d shot him in the head instead of the side. Then I could have staked Lazarus, and Dave would have been alive. Now I owed Danny for three things-my virginity, ratting me to the police years ago, and Dave.

“Cat.” Don stood and I followed suit. “I know you blame yourself. Everyone liked Dave. After reading the reports, it’s been determined that it was his own error which led to his death. He should have remained at attention instead of lowering his gun. It was a mistake that cost him his life. I’m giving you the next two weeks off. No training, no recruiting, no checking in. Clear your mind and shake off the guilt. There’s something to be said for living instead of just existing.”

I gave a humorless laugh. “Living? What a neat idea. I’ll try that.”

EIGHT

CAT, NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.”

Don’s words were pleasant, but his expression told me he was about to piss me off. It was my first day back from a two-week forced vacation, and I was actually glad to get back to work. I spent the time either condemning myself over Dave’s death, or brooding over the knowledge that Bones was truly lost to me. Somehow, I’d pictured him still in that cave, waiting should I ever decide to return. Illogical, irrational, and incorrect, as it turned out. The scent of him to my improved nose was so faint as to be almost nonexistent. Bones hadn’t been there for years.

So, back to the grind where my life was regularly in peril? Sounded good to me.

“There’s something you’re not aware of,” Don went on. “It was a judgment call not to tell you immediately, but it’s time to inform you.”

“What?” Ice edged the single word. “What did you in your cleverness decide to hide from me?”

He frowned. “Don’t be snide. I made my decision based on the information that was pertinent at the time. Since you’re recovering from a poor call yourself, you shouldn’t be so quick to cast blame.”

Uh oh, he was defensive. That wasn’t a good sign. “Okay, lay it out. What don’t I know?”

“After Dave died, you were understandably distraught. That’s why I gave you time off. Four days into your vacation, I received a phone call from witness protection. Danny Milton had disappeared.”

“He what?!” I jumped up and pounded my fist against the top of his desk. All his papers and equipment jumped. “How could you not have told me that? I didn’t kill Lazarus because of that sniveling shit, and Dave died because of my decision!”

Don regarded me calmly. “I didn’t tell you because of how you’re reacting now. Dave was a soldier before he met you, Cat. He knew the risks. Don’t take that away from him. It would make him a lesser man than he was.”

“Save the sermon for Sunday, preacher,” I snapped. “Has there been any word of Danny? A body, anything? How the fuck did he vanish four days after we left Ohio? Wasn’t he moved to a safe location like I instructed?”

“We flew him to Chicago and had him in the hospital under guard. Frankly we don’t know what happened. Tate went to the scene himself after it happened. He saw nothing. Danny Milton hasn’t been seen or heard from since.”

“It was a vampire.” My reply was immediate. “Only a vampire could move in and out that easily without being noticed or alarming the guards. Probably mind-fucked them into forgetting they even saw him. Something had to be left at the scene. Vampires always leave a clue-it’s like their calling card! I’m going to that hospital.”

“No you’re not. The scene was checked and photographed, but that isn’t the issue now. The issue is whether Danny is still alive, and if so, whether he’s a security risk. Is there anything you said in front of him that could be used against you? Even though he had his memory altered, is there any risk you can think of?”

My mind was too fixated on the sly way Danny was taken. There had to be a clue. Tate just hadn’t found it.

“Let me see the pictures. Then I’ll think about your issue.”

He grunted in annoyance. “I’ll give you the pictures. I’ll even do you one better. We have all of the items here at the compound, down to the last piece of lint. I’ll have them delivered to your office and you can waste your time, but when you’re done, you tell me if there’s anything Danny could repeat that should worry us.”

I snorted rudely. “I’ll do that, Don.”

Thirty minutes later I flipped through the photos of the hospital room. Don was correct. Everything looked as tidy as could be. Even the IV needle that had been pulled from Danny’s arm rested innocently on the bed, as if waiting for its next vein. No footprints, no fingerprints, no blood, no bodily fluid, not even a frigging sheet out of place. Molecular transportation couldn’t have been neater. Maybe that was it. Maybe Danny had been beamed right the fuck out of there. It would almost be worth telling that to Don just to see the look on his face.

After I examined the pictures for an hour, I moved on to the personal and medical paraphernalia that were tucked in another medium-sized box. A pair of shoes, the tread not even worn. Clothes, underwear, socks, shaving cream (I poured some onto my desk. Yep, plain old shaving cream), cotton swabs, bandages, hypodermic needles carefully capped, wadded-up paper towels, a watch…

Spots danced in front of my vision. The hand I extended to pick up the watch shook so, I missed it twice. My heart pounded, and I felt like I was going to faint. I knew that watch. After all-it used to be mine.

To anyone else, it was a plain old watch. Nothing fancy, no pricey brand, just an ordinary watch that could be a man’s or a woman’s. The lack of flash had been deliberate so as not to draw attention, but it had an extra feature that didn’t come standard. Push a button barely visible on its side and a page went off. A page that was short-range and only connected to one beeper. That button had saved my life once, and the last time I’d seen this watch was when I took it off my wrist and left it on top of the goodbye note I’d written Bones.

If I’d been the one to go to Chicago, I would have found the watch. Had Don not kept me out of the loop this one time, it would have been me who went there. Me, not Tate, and Bones had all but left me his goddamn phone number. The pager was only good for a radius of five miles. He would have been that close, waiting to see if I came and pressed that button.

I held the watch so hard, it cut into my skin. How Bones had heard about Danny or what happened I had no idea, but he’d been quick. After all these years, he’d reached out to me. I just hadn’t gotten the message in time.

The sheer irony of it all made me laugh. That’s how Don found me, on the floor and chortling in mirthless laughter. He eyed me with caution but stayed near the door.

“Do you mind telling me what’s so funny?”

“Oh, you were right,” I gasped. “There’s nothing here. No clues whatsoever. But you can rest your mind about Danny Milton. Believe me when I tell you, that man is dead.”

“What kind of vampire are we talking about?” I asked while climbing in the van. Normally the guys didn’t pick me up at home unless one was still at the scene. When Tate called to say he was on his way, I apologized to Noah, who I’d had dinner plans with, and left. Another night interrupted. Why Noah was still around, I had no idea.

“Probably a young one, maybe two,” Tate answered.

He’d been stiff with me ever since my relationship with Noah began. I had no idea what prompted his attitude, but two could play cold shoulder.