I stopped the big-top music playing in my head. “Then why is this one causing such a mess?”
“Because it’s not properly trained.”
Doc sighed. “Where’s its owner?”
“She met her demise some time ago.”
She? Was it a human? One of Dominick’s many wives over the years? “Was her demise due to the imp?”
“No.” His jaw tightened. “It was due to me. I don’t abide traitors.”
What did he do to this “she”?
Did I really want to know that?
Probably not.
“You need to catch the imp before it really starts causing problems,” he told me.
I did a double take. “Why me?”
I wasn’t going to be his damned Scharfrichter-for-hire anymore.
“Because you are the one who let it loose.”
Okay, so maybe it was a tiny bit my fault.
“Fine. I’ll catch the little shit.”
Dominick scoffed. “One does not simply catch an imp, Violet.”
One didn’t simply catch a lidérc, either, but I was going to have to do that, too.
“What do you mean?” Doc asked. “Why not?”
“Imps are renowned escape artists. That is why I had it doubly caged and sealed in the first place.” He turned to me. “Until you let it out.”
“I told you that was an accident.” At his doubting look, I added, “Besides, you should have let me know it was in the Sugarloaf Building when I called to tell you I was going there to see if I could find any clues to help me catch your freaking lidérc.”
“You have been in that building several times before without dismantling any of my other traps.”
Other traps, huh? As in more than two? “What else do you have caged in there?”
“That is none of your concern.”
Not yet, anyway, but if I had to keep catching his wayward pets, I was going to make it my concern.
“What is not imprisoned in there yet and should be,” he said with an air of impatience, “is my lidérc. You are running out of time, Scharfrichter. Tell me, how is your aunt doing these days?”
I was really getting tired of his games when it came to Aunt Zoe. “She is none of your concern,” I said, throwing his words back at him.
“Oh, but she soon will be.”
My fists tightened yet again tonight. “Tread carefully, Masterson. You are not immortal.” At least that was my understanding.
His chin lifted, nostrils flaring. “Is that a threat?”
“Only a reminder for now.” I decided changing the subject might be a good idea. “Your lidérc tried to kill me earlier today.”
“What?” Judging from his suddenly wide eyes, that was not at all what he’d expected to hear from me. “How did this happen?”
“The how is not important right now.”
“I beg to differ.”
“Why is that?” Doc asked.
“In my experience, the worry is always in the how.”
In my experience, it was in the who, what, where, when, and how. “I need more time to catch it,” I told him.
“You don’t have any more time.” He sounded resolute.
“Don’t give me that. You can wait another week or two on getting your pet devil back.”
“You are not listening to what I’m saying, Scharfrichter.” He stared at me with an unsettling expression that I hadn’t seen on his face before.
“Why are you looking at Violet like that?” Doc asked the question for me.
He turned to Doc. “If the lidérc came for Violet, that means it has set its sights on her.”
“Yeah, so?” I asked.
“Hungarian devils are as vengeful as they are single-minded.”
“So, you’re saying that the lidérc is hunting Violet now?”
“Exactly.” Dominick focused back on me. “It will stop at nothing to destroy you.”
“Fuck!” I wanted to kick something. Detective Hawke’s shin would do for starters.
“This is a good thing, Scharfrichter,” Dominick consoled. “Very good if you look at it from another angle.”
I could look at it upside-down and inside-out, and it would still make me want to board up my doors and windows.
Doc harrumphed. “How can this possibly be good?”
“Well, for one thing, Violet will not need to search for the lidérc any longer. It will come to her.”
“I don’t see how that’s good,” I griped.
“You will need to set a trap,” he told me, as if it were as simple as putting out some cheese to lure the critter.
“A trap, he says.” I smacked my forehead when I really wanted to wallop his. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Actually, Prudence had mentioned using bait to catch the lidérc. She and Dominick must be in cahoots.
Dominick frowned at Doc. “She’s not very good at sarcasm, is she?”
I didn’t wait for Doc to answer him. “Do you have any idea how tricky this son of a bitch is?”
“Of course.” Dominick’s smile was downright crafty. “That’s why I want you to find it. A lidérc is notoriously deadly.”
Muttering under my breath, I looked toward the glass doors where Cooper was talking to one of the Lead police officers while Hawke held a cell phone to his ear. If only my problems were as simple as being a witch who could sense ghosts.
Back to Dominick, I asked, “Why is this sucker choosing me instead of you? You’re the one who locked it away for decades.”
He steepled his hands in front of him, like the guy selling reverse mortgages on the Old West TV network that Harvey liked to watch. “Apparently, the lidérc sees you as a more entertaining challenge than me.”
“That’s just fucking wonderful,” I said.
Doc caught my hand, squeezing it.
“Needless to say,” Dominick continued, “I want it back in its cage. We made a deal and I delivered on my part. Now it’s your turn.”
“Why?” I asked. “What are you going to do with it if you get it back?”
“Again, that is not your concern.”
The bastard was starting to sound like Cooper with his constant “that’s police business” mantra.
“All you need to know is that I want it returned to the Sugarloaf Building promptly. I have fixed the window you broke and established wards that will hold it if you can manage to
