Page 32 of The Silence of Hell

Refusing to consider what that meant, I frowned as a large building came into focus. “What’s that?”

“The second garage, Ma’am. The boss, Andy, didn’t think you knew this existed,” the guy commented.

“No, I’d no clue,” I murmured and got off the cart as we pulled up to a stop. “There isn’t a dead body inside?”

“No. But there’s a nice surprise,” he replied.

I sent him a dubious glare. What others called a nice surprise, I didn’t. And, oh shit, was I right. In horror, I closed my eyes. Stacked three high on strongly built platforms was a load of antique cars.

“That’s a nineteen-twenty-four Rolls Royce Silver Ghost,” the driver said.

“Mark is right. And that is anineteen-fifty-two Mercedes Benz 300 S Coupe. You’ve a nineteen-thirty-six Packard 1407 Coupe, and a nineteen-fifty-six Chevrolet Corvette C1 Convertible,” Andy exclaimed excitedly.

“And that’s a nineteen-thirty-one Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine. That is a Bugatti Type 41 Royale. Only three were ever in private hands,” Mark informed me, drooling over the car.

“And you’ve got a nineteen-thirty-eight Alfa Romeo 8c 2900b Lungo Spider, nineteen-fifty-five Jaguar d-type, and a nineteen-fifty-six Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti. There is a damn fortune sitting here in vehicles!” Andy explained at my befuddled look. “Lady, these vehicles are exceptionally rare and valuable. The Bugatti? Lady, fifty million bucks and over for that one alone.”

“Anything freaking else?” I muttered. Now I had another problem. I couldn’t leave these cars here unprotected. The Bloodsworth ancestors must have struck a deal with the devil for this to survive intact.

“There are even replacement parts for some of them, lady,” Andy announced apologetically. “And they look original.”

“Of course they do,” I complained. “Would someone mind going back and collecting the guy called Jinx, please?”

“I’ll go,” Mark offered.

“How many know about this?” I asked as soon as he disappeared.

“Currently, the three of us. We’re aware discretion is key. But you can’t leave these here,” Andy replied.

“No. Obviously not,” I said, gazing at them.

My family were bloody hoarders. Couldn’t blame Aunt Aggie for this surprise, not judging by the dates. A bad headache starting, I sighed and massaged my temples. The Bloodsworths were eccentric, I was convinced of it.

“Oh fuck! I’ll phone Fanatic,” Jinx exclaimed from behind me as I stood in silence and stared at the cars.

“Call someone!” I replied finally.

“Don’t worry, Lavender, we’ll sort this out,” Jinx soothed as he rubbed my back. “She’s in shock.”

Andy and Mark nodded. “So were we when we found this.”

The guys began wandering around the cars, making comments, when a Harley roared up.

“Jinx! I know I’m in charge of you, but don’t call me making deman—fuck me!” Fanatic stated, storming into the garage.

Fanatic took one look and continued speaking. “These aren’t safe here. We’re going to need to move them. The safest place I can think of is the Hellfire compound outside the clubhouse. There’re always people there, and it’s heavily guarded. Do we have keys for them?”

“How the hell would I know?” I muttered.

“Hate to say it, but they’re here,” Andy called, and I peered over at a wall.

“Could you bust it open?” Fanatic demanded.

“Fanatic, ain’t you glad I phoned now?” Jinx asked, coming forward.

Fanatic looked horrified. “Go elsewhere with your bad juju!”

“Nah, it’s fine, I been here a while—”

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