Hi!

Okay, this is Chapter 61 and I have no idea how we got there so fast. Anyway, we're coming to the final chapters of the book. :-)

Any idea where this is headed to? What about Anna and Alexander? Where do they stand after their intimate encounter in Italy and their awkward return to New York? Let me know!

Lara

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Chapter 61

Larry leaned back and took another long swig from his beer. The gesture reminded me of my last unhappy stay in a bar, the one with winking Travis. I made a silent promise to myself. I was going to leave Larry there, high and dry, if he so much as tried to flirt once.

"I told you it's gonna cost you," he said.

"And I already told you that you'll only get the money if you deliver, fully," I said, leaning forward. "So, why don't we drop the small-talk and get down to business? Did you or did you not find out what he did at that time eight months ago?"

"Of course I did. He was busy. Very busy." He looked at me as if he was expecting me to give him a dog biscuit the size of a Frisbee. If he thought he was going see one cent for that kind of information, he had another think coming. I crossed my arms in front of me and leaned back.

"Is that all you got? Ale... I mean, he's always busy," I said. "Is there anything else your mysterious sources told you, or do you want me to leave straight away?"

"Hang on!" He raised his hands, palms facing me. "I got more."

He leaned forward. "I told ya that this was one piece of hot info you were askin for, Anna. The dude is one of the biggest bad boys walkin' around here. You think people just run about and shadow him? I had to tour clubs and ask around, talk to sources you wouldn't even dare get close to, Anna."

You go on daily meetings with the head vampire of New York, then we'll talk. I suppressed the urge to get up and leave and took a sip from my coke.

I sighed. "Fine. So, what have you got?"

Larry crossed his arms in front of him. "You wanna know somethin, you pay first, Anna."

"Fifty now. The other fifty if I'm satisfied with what you're telling me. Take it or leave it, Larry."

"Done."

I reached into my purse and handed the bill to him. I watched him stuff the money into his jeans pocket carelessly, wondering whether fifty dollars just went out of the window and where I could have spent the money instead.

"His schedule is pretty full most of the time." Larry's low voice tore me back to the shabby bar and my coke.

Tell me about it.

"Wasn't any different that week you been askin' for. My sources said he spent most of the time in Ryon Club and out in some other Clubs in the Crimson District in the first part of the week. All standard procedure, from what I'm told. He had meetings with two coven leaders on Thursday and Friday of that week. Victor Crawford, alias Pale Vic, and Lloyd Thyler, going also by the name of Oily Sycophant Number Seven." He leaned forward, grinning. "You know, there's this rumor going round. He raked them over the coals because their vamps were blood-mugging humans."

I stared at him. What am I doing here? This was bound to be a failure from the start. One month with full servant-duty had made me familiar with the head vampire's usual schedule. Thursday and Friday were those days Alexander spent 'checking in' on his non-breathing subjects, a duty he performed most diligently. There would always be one day of the earlier part of the week that he'd save to barricade himself in the Blood Line Hotel. I highly suspected that he was doing paperwork then, signing contracts that would doom willing fang-fanatics for eternity, meaning: he gave his coven leaders the permission to turn them.

Judging from the smug smile, Larry was oblivious to my sinking opinion on his snooping skills.

"He had another meeting with Leonhard Goshanger the following night," he said. "Guess what, our undead dude stood Leo up. No one saw the undead dude in any of the clubs that night, or, well, pretty much for the rest of the week. There was one source I talked to that claimed a few addictive bleeders swore they saw him somewhere near the Red Zone that very night, but I wouldn't set much store by that. Those kids see a lot once they've had enough stuff goin' crazy in their systems."

I gave him a blank look, waiting for him to say more. This was a waste of time and resources. I should have known better, but now that Larry served me nothing but glossy claptrap, I found that I was indeed disappointed.

"Now here's where it gets interesting. One of my sources told me that he went to Washington and his bosom buddy Heron. And this was not on schedule." The words were thrown against my face like the harsh beating of rain on naked skin.

I stared at him, trying to let that sink in. Washington.

A head vampire didn't leave his territory just like that. He simply didn't. I didn't know if it was against some sort of unwritten undead law, or if it was due to practical matters, but the fact remained: Alexander wouldn't have left New York out of the blue just to pay a friendly visit to his best undead mate. Something happened. Something important.

I licked my lips. "When was that?"

He set down his beer, staring at me. "Sunday."

I blinked. That mean it was six days after the resolution of the dueling ring case. Only one day after the teen-kidnapping-case was solved.

Larry leaned back and performed another one of those full mouthed beer-swipes.

"I don't know what you're lookin for, Anna, but whatever it is, it's some serious shit. And it looks like it happened sometime in the middle of that week. I don't know when he came back to New York or what he did in Washington, but he didn't make an appearance at Ryon Club until Sunday late night. 'S all I know, honest."

I palmed my glass of coke, doing some more staring. Since I didn't know what I was really looking for, things were complicated. Or at least they were before Larry delivered. Because that one week I requested was the one in which the two big cases the Circle was dealing with were solved.

The information I just got reshuffled cards, big time, because it might connect the cases with the information on the drive. The information Chris Hayes was still guarding. The mysterious transactions from the Circle went to Washington. Alexander went to Washington around the time the cases were closed. That made the suspicion that Alexander was involved in this a very real possibility. Only, how?

I ended up handing over another fifty dollar note before I left, although Larry didn't really impress me with what he had come up with. I'd expected more.

"Gifts and horses," I muttered, gazing back to the bar as I walked away from it.

Sunlight blazed along the entrance's edges, baring cracks and grime to the human eye. Not long and the shadows would elongate – enough to hide everything we were not supposed to see. Their time would come.

I was standing in broad daylight but the shiver still worked its way down my spine. After what I heard I wasn't ready to face the vamps, or Alexander for that matter. Too many questions were popping up in my head. I had to think and analyze, or I'd never be able to make sense of the mess.

No matter what, I had to look into the kidnapping case closely. If all three puzzle pieces – the information on the drive, the beginnings of Alexander and Brown's mysterious relationship, and Alexander's unusual visit to Washington – belonged to one and the same puzzle ...

What were the odds, what would be the outcome?

Someone bumped into me from behind. I looked up, sidestepping. The streets were busy, humans mingling in a playground void of vamps. Or at least it would have been, hadn't I been followed by Alexander's finest. They were human, but they were Alexander's as much as his vampires were.

Parka Dude was shadowing me, and I had to admit, he did a pretty neat job of staying in the background. Subtlety was vital, if we wanted the Raven to think I was vulnerable and an easy target. I'd made it clear to him when I left the apartment. He'd given me a look that made my blood run cold. One look was enough. At this point in time I knew that me spotting him that time in the shopping mall was sheer dumb luck. Parka Dude was a professional. And I was pretty sure he wasn't working alone.

Was it the mere knowledge that made the back of my neck crawl? Was I imagining things? Or did I really feel eyes on me, a watchful gaze I'd been aware of since I stepped out of the bar. I went into second sight, intent on spotting Parka Dude's crew.

Dots of translucence – humans moving up and down the street and in stasis inside and around the bar. Orbs of red somewhere in the distance, and... The red flared up and vanished as fast as it had appeared on my radar. I blinked and looked back to where I'd come from. A powerful witch either just exited or passed the bar. I reached out again, sifted through auras. Nothing.

I shook my head. Paranoia had me in a death grip. If I wasn't careful it was going to distract me from the important things. As it was I had more than enough problems to go around and share. Maybe I could-

Someone bumped into me. I staggered, felt a rough hand descend on my arm, steading me.

"Stop the daydreaming." The gruff voice was familiar. Close to my ear. Parka Dude was standing before me, sunglasses and black baseball cap hiding most of his face. "We're out in the open and you're a sitting duck here," he said.

I shrugged. "Doing what I can to entertain."

He jerked his head to the side. The motion was minimalistic, would have been lost to anyone else but me.

"Back to the car. Now."

He didn't even wait for my consent, but walked away with the air of a pissed-off stranger.

Subtlety. I guess I got what I wanted.

My shoulders slumped in defeat. Back to the car. Back home for a few hours. And finally back to the head vampire. Another night with Alexander it would be.

I followed Parka Dude's order silently and without protest, but not before glancing back to the bar one more time. There were too many problems for me to understand this mess.

* * *

Talking to Larry added to my worst fears. Alexander was involved, somehow. He went to Washington, the place the transactions went to, and he went there one night after a major case was closed. The kidnapping case involving a former witch of the Circle.

Was this the common denominator? The link to the transactions and the Circle?

I switched on my laptop and opened the file Blaze gave me.

If I wanted answers I had to look into the case again – thoroughly. The culprit's name was Nathanial Norson. At some point he went rogue and lost his mind. According to the Circle it was the all-encompassing motive. An irrational act brought forth by black magic induced madness.

I frowned. Madness. Black magic.

Something about that wasn't right. Using black magic was illegal, but my recent brush with the Inri-Brotherhood made me do some research on the topic. Hell, I'd used it before. At least I think I did.

Don't go there.

Whatever repercussions the use of Spirit, the fifth and most dangerous element, had, I knew it wasn't something that made you go mental within a fortnight, or from one use alone. It was the repeated use, the craving that built stealthily over time that did the damage. So why would the Circle use that as explanation for the killing spree?