Vlad Jovanovic stood only an inch or two taller than Eleanor. He'd shorn his dark brown hair to mere fuzz, but let his beard grow halfway down his chest. When he spoke, his words unfurled in a low growl that tainted even his benign greeting with a menacing edge. He invited them into the single room cottage and pointed at the two simple wooden chairs on either side of a tiny dining table. "You can sit."

Eleanor thanked him and sat across from Lydia. They both opted to leave their coats and hats on. No fire burned in the iron woodstove and, though surly the place had some form of modern heating, the temperature remained uncomfortably cool. Sasha stayed close to the front door with his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt.

"So what's your take on all this ghost business?" Eleanor asked. 

"Hogwash," Vlad answered.

"You don't believe in ghosts?"

He leaned against the kitchen counter and folded his arms across his chest. "Firstly, Gruber's been dead longer'n mosta the people'n this castle've been alive. Why'd he wait so long to haunt the place?

"Secondly, they say he's lookin' for the treasure. What's a ghost need a treasure for?"

"Hmm," said Eleanor. "I see your point. Who do you think it might be then?"

The man grunted, sounding like nothing so much as an angry bear. "Reckon somebody's tryin' t' scare folk off so they'll have fewer witnesses."

"Witnesses?" Eleanor echoed.

"If'n somebody's try'n to steal somethin', they won't be wantin' no witnesses."

Eleanor tucked her scarf around her half-frozen fingers again. She ignored the ache of arthritic joints and silently cursed the afflictions of age. "Forgive my saying so, Mr. Jovanovic, but your accent sounds more Eastern American than Eastern European."

His heavy brow furrowed. "Your point?"

"Well, your name is Eastern European, and here we are in Eastern Europe." She raised one shoulder and grinned. "One of these things is not like the others, if you know what I mean."

He glared at her long enough to make her wonder if he was going to answer, but in the end, he relented. "I'm named after my pa, and his pa, goin' back to Methuselah. Every one of 'em mean as snakes an' workin' these grounds as gamekeeper.

"My ma thought livin' in a castle'd be an adventure. A few black eyes later, she'd adventure'd enough. Went back t' her folks in West Virginia. Lived there my whole life 'til the ol' bastard died."

Eleanor leaned forward. "What a fascinating story. Whatever made you return here?"

"'s my birthright, in't? This job an' my stupid name's the only thing the old man ever gave me."

"What kind of work did you do in West Virginia?" she asked.

"Whatever kind the prison guards told me to, mostly. In between, I cooked meth and bounty hunted the big cats." He raised his chin, daring her to comment on any of that information.

Lydia pointed to a desktop piled with electronic equipment. "That your stuff?"

"It's here'n my house, ain't it?"

"Looks like remote camera stuff to me. Are you running surveillance on someone?"

"Yup."

They all sat in silence, waiting for more. Sasha shuffled in his position by the door.

Eleanor raised her brows. "I can't stand the suspense, Mr. Jovanovic. As the kids say, come on and spill the tea. Who are you watching?"

"Him, for one." He used his chin to point at Sasha. "Diggin' up every which where with his tractors, and doin' some maintenance on 'em, too, if you catch my drift."

"Just doing my job, friend," Sasha said with a deep-dimpled grin. "I hope you've been enjoying the show. I hear those who can't do, watch on TV."

Vlad sneered at the younger man.

Eleanor rushed to intervene. The last thing she wanted to deal with at that moment was a couple of posturing roosters. "Whom else, dear? That equipment seems quite advanced."

He dragged his gaze from Sasha to Eleanor and gave a slow nod. "Took a computer class in prison. Learnt all sorta things. This land and the woods 'round here'r fulla predators. The kind with four legs and a few with two. It's protected, see? No huntin. Nothin' attracts a poacher like bein' told there's a place they can't kill nothin'.

"I can see 'em all, day or night, with that stuff. Track 'em. Record it all on the computer. Had a few arrested just last week. Killin' big cats in the mountains."

"Really? You had them arrested for doing what you've done yourself?"

He grinned. It was an unsettling expression on his hardened features. "In 'merica they paid me t' kill 'em. Here, the pay me t' keep 'em alive. Long as I get paid."

"Hmm," said Eleanor. "What about the inside of the castle?"

"What about it?" he asked.

"Do you have cameras set up in there?"

He tugged on his beard. "Not me."

"But someone?" she prompted.

"I would, if'n it were my castle. Wouldn't you?"

"It does seem to be the modern way." She rose to her feet and pushed her chair in under the table. "I know you must be busy. I'll leave you to your work. Thank you for your time."

Lydia stood and they headed toward the door. "Hey, lady?"

Eleanor stopped and faced him with a smile. "Yes, dear?"

"I hope you catch 'im. I don't want no trouble here. Livin' in a castle ain't as excitin' as my ma thought, but it's a right bit better 'an livin' in a jail cell. If I can help, you tell me how."

Eleanor found herself rarely surprised by people anymore, but Vlad Jovanovic had astounded her. She thanked him with a promise that she would do just that if the need arose and then she headed out of the chilly cottage into the chillier late-morning air and climbed into the meager shelter of the golf cart. Her bones ached and her eyes itched. The gruff gamekeeper, with all his talk of prison, brought to mind the young man who'd died under her watch and the questions she'd faced afterward. Frankly, she was old and she was exhausted.

"Where to next?" Sasha asked.

"I'd like to go back to my room for a bit of refreshment, dear. I believe I have time for a lovely nap before my appointment with Mr. Teodoro. Perhaps after that I can speak with your lady friend as well."

He turned the key and the little electric motor hummed to life. "She usually works until dark and then kicks off for the night. I can let her know you want to talk to her then."

"That would be lovely. I will look forward to meeting her," she told him.