Page 27 of Fangs, Frost, and Folios
Nick was starting to realize the gravity of the situation because his voice rose slightly. “Oh dear.”
Beatrice dragged the man and the vampire into the mudroom, releasing Nick and shutting the heavy oak door as quietly as possible before she turned on her “accomplice.”
“Okay, René.” She kept her voice low. “Time to give me your knife and tell me what you’rereallydoing in this library.”
Eight
“The former Lord Mortimer was an amateur geologist,” René said. “The kind the British government loved to use for secret expeditions because they didn’t have to pay them and they could rarely be bribed.”
“Debatable,” Nick muttered. “But in the case of my great-uncle, probably correct.”
René held Beatrice’s gaze. “We spoke of an expedition earlier this week. A notable one that led through the Khyber Pass before the Partition of Pakistan. Mortimer was on that trip and happened to be with a small company when they stumbled upon something unexpected.”
Knowing René’s true line of work, Beatrice made the logical leap. “Treasure of some kind?”
“A cache of valuables that belonged…hadbelonged to some ancient prince.” He cast Beatrice a loaded look. “The others in the company spoke of gold and idols, ceremonial weapons, and jewels of countless color and enormous value.”
Certainly not an unusual cache for a vampire, and certainly something he or she would be very annoyed to lose, particularly if that vampire reallywasan ancient prince.
Princes of any age tended to be entitled, whether they were immortal vampires or humans.
“Oh my,” Nick said. “Uncle Charles never talked about that. He was very vague about his time in Asia.”
Beatrice turned to Nick. “Didn’t you say your uncle funded various schools in Pakistan?”
“Yes.” Nick’s eyes went wide. “You think it was guilt money. These men stole these treasures.”
“It’s certainly the most likely explanation,” René said, “because when my client hired me to find Mortimer’s journal—”
“Wait, what journal?” Nick frowned. “I thought you worked for Beatrice and—”
“Nick.” Beatrice cut him off. “For now, please hold your questions so I can determine who has broken into your house and how dangerous they are.” She heard a creak on the stairs. Not wind vampires, but they could be vampires of other elements. “René, did they hire anyone besides you?”
“It’s entirely possible. I was sent to look for information. Others may have been sent to look for the treasure itself.”
“You think the treasure from Pakistan is in the house?” Nick leaned in.
Beatrice shot him a look.
“Sorry.” He looked up. “Wait, so you think treasurehuntersare in this house? Right now? Because they think Uncle Charles and Aunt Penny had some sort of treasure hidden here?” His eyes turned from curious to panicked. “Elise! Mrs. Dawson. Dear God, we need to call the p—”
Beatrice reached up, put a hand on the man’s neck, and sent him to sleep.
“I can’t deal with his questions right now,” she said. “You take Nick and find someplace to hide. I’ll find whoever is in the house and take care of them.”
“You need my help,” René hissed. “There is only one of you, and we both heard multiple footsteps. There are at least two other—”
“You think I trust you?” Beatrice hissed. “If I see you behind me, René du Pont, I’m going to assume you’re in league with whoever dropped those lockpicks. Lockpicks that you recognized. I will not be understanding, and I willnotwait for an explanation.”
His face went blank.
“I know you know who’s here. At least one of them.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “She’s not the type to—”
“Human or vampire?”
He sighed. “Human. But she works for vampires.”
