Page 62 of Immortal By Morning
Crispin winced, his mind immediately going to the conversation he’d had with Abril. He wondered now how long the poor immortal’s head had survived knowing she had been decapitated and was dying. Had she watched her grave being dug? Had she hoped the woman would place her head near the neck when she tossed her in, so her body could heal itself? Only to lose that hope when she found herself thrown down by her feet? Was she aware when the dirt started to cover her?
“That doesn’t guarantee they were not buried a day apart or something though,” Bricker argued. “I mean the immortal could have died first, and then a mortal was lured to the house for feeding and the garden dug up again to put him in it.”
Crispin shook his head with certainty. “Human corpses start to stink pretty quickly. I think it only takes something like a day or two if they are not refrigerated, so I doubt the immortal was buried and then the garden was dug up again to bury someone else. The smell would have been unbearable, especially for a newly turned immortal unused to the increase in their olfactory senses.” He paused briefly, but then added judicially, “Although, the mortal in there could have arrived with the immortal and may not be the husband.”
“Or,” Bricker said now, “maybe two immortals came to the house for some reason. Something happened to kill the female immortal that was in the indoor garden, and possibly the husband, and the other immortaltook control of Mrs. Foley for some reason, or turned her because she was a possible life mate.”
Lucian shook his head. “I suspect Crispin is right and it was a lone female immortal here, and that she and the husband died while the wife was turned.”
“I think so too,” Abril agreed. “But my decision is based mostly on a hunch. I suspect you don’t do hunches, Lucian, so what makesyouthink that?”
When Lucian merely scowled at Abril, Crispin answered for him. “Because one hundred and four to one hundred and thirty pints of blood in a week for one immortal, even a newly turned immortal, is excessive. It can cause terrible pain and sickness. If an immortal had been present after the mortal was turned, they would have known that and prevented the new immortal from consuming so much. That immortal would also know better than to feed off mortals and risk being labeled rogue and suffering the punishment. While a newly turned immortal with no one to train them would have no idea of our laws and the punishment for them.”
When Lucian grunted an agreement, Abril glanced to Crispin and asked, “So if it is Mrs. Foley and she had no idea of your laws—”
“As with the mortal legal system here in Canada,” Lucian said, interrupting her, “ignorance of the law is not an excuse for committing an offense.”
“It could still be just an immortal who lost his mind, went rogue and is now on an endless blood orgy,” Bricker argued.
Abril looked at him with interest. “So, you’ve had a lot of mortals going missing or other signs of rogueactivity in the area over the last twenty years and are only now doing something about it?”
“No,” Crispin said quickly, scowling at Bricker for saying anything that might make Abril think they’d allow something like that to happen without doing anything about it. Turning to Abril he assured her, “It has been pretty quiet here. In fact, this is the only sign of rogue activity we have had since I joined the London police force seven years ago.”
“There was that business with Armand and Eshe some time back,” Bricker pointed out. “I think it was before you and Roberts started in London though.”
“That was not in London,” Lucian snapped. “It was in a small town farther out, and that rogue was dealt with.”
“Abril brings up a good point though,” Crispin said. “Whoever killed the people here could not have been active in the area since or we would have a very high number of missing people on the books. Either they have moved elsewhere, which makes it doubtful that they would have heard that the house had sold and renovations were being made that would include digging up the bodies. Or they learned how to feed without killing their meals.”
There were grunts of agreement around the island, and then slowly everyone began to eat again.
Twenty-Six
“How long am I going to be restricted to the house and away from the windows?”
Crispin glanced over at that question from Abril. She’d spoken in a near whisper, probably in the hopes that Lucian wouldn’t hear. He wasn’t surprised it failed and his uncle answered.
“Until our rogue is found. Or until we are certain the rogue has left the area and will not return here.”
Abril did not look pleased at this news. Crispin couldn’t blame her. He didn’t much care for that answer himself. It would be hard to woo her while she was confined to the house, and not even the entire house, but rooms that did not have windows.
The thought made him frown and wonder how many rooms there were in the house like that. The only one he could think of was the laundry room. That thought made him glance toward the kitchen windows facingthe front yard and driveway. His eyes widened when he saw that the blinds were closed.
“While you were in the office with Abril, I had the men close all the blinds there are in the house,” Lucian announced. “That includes her bedroom. Although I suspect she will not wish to sleep in there after her earlier experience.”
“Crispin closed the blinds in my office earlier, and the couch in there is a pullout bed,” Abril announced. “I can just sleep in there tonight. One of the men can have my room.”
His uncle grunted what might have been an acknowledgement, and then said, “Crispin will remain with you to ensure your safety.”
Crispin glanced quickly to Abril to see irritation flash across her face. Lucian had not suggested, he had announced it as if she had no choice in the matter. He wasn’t at all surprised that she was annoyed by that. It seemed obvious to him that the only person she generally took orders from was her boss. Otherwise, Abril was used to making her own decisions and depending on her own counsel on issues. It had no doubt been that way since she was sixteen and had run away. Although, he was sure that the Barb and her husband Abril had mentioned to him might have been wise counsel on occasion, the ultimate decisions had always only ever been Abril’s in the end since leaving her family.
Much to his surprise, despite her obvious irritation, Abril didn’t protest Lucian’s order, but simply finished rinsing off her plate, and carried it over to put it in the dishwasher.
“Crispin, go fetch your woman’s things from the guest room she was using, and take them to her office,” Lucian ordered.
“I can fetch my own things,” Abril protested.
“You would need to go through the living room to get to your room,” Crispin pointed out solemnly. “There are no blinds on any of the windows in there.”
