"Now how the hell does he know that?" Deryn asked, frowning at Paul. "And who are you, anyway?"
"Paul Winthrop," Paul held his hand out over the table. Deryn took it. Deryn was afraid the local Packmaster had come to find the werewolf that invaded his territory without checking in. "Member of the Newtown Pack," Paul added. "Wales."
"You're the one who helped catch that killer—the one who was taking those children," Tony turned his attention to Paul.
"I try to keep that quiet," Paul said. "And I'm sure you know that the man we brought in was only half the story. Lissa helped catch the other half, from the states."
"Didn't hear about that," Tony lied. He was now examining Paul closely. "Do you know where she is? Where we might find her? I really need to talk to her."
"Send her email," Paul suggested.
"I don’t think she's answering my brother's emails," Deryn sighed.
"So, what did you do, then?" Paul frowned at Tony.
Deryn looked at Tony, too. Tony refused to talk about it the whole time they'd been searching for Lissa. "Can't say. Top secret," Tony insisted.
That caused Paul to snort a little. "So, you mess up a little and it's top secret, is it?"
"That pretty much covers it," Tony nodded. "I don't suppose we could get your help?"
"I'll not be giving Lissa grief over the likes of you, I'm thinking." Paul drained the last of his pint. The barmaid, who'd come on duty in the last fifteen minutes, walked over to take Deryn and Tony's order. Paul asked for another pint.
"So, are you going home, then, like the Grand Master wants?" Paul asked, watching Tony and Deryn finish off their second pints of the evening.
"Probably not," Tony said, thumping his mug on the table. His cell phone rang. He thumbed the call. "Hancock, here," he said.
"Xenides has been sighted again in London," Ken White said without a greeting.
"Fuck," Tony muttered. "Where in London?"
Agent Kenneth White, one of the few vampire agents in the Special Paranormal Division of the FBI, gave the name of an old hotel on the outskirts of the city. "Be careful, Mr. Hancock. That one is dirty business."
"I'm certainly not going home now," Tony snapped, ending the call. Of course, his brother and Paul heard every word of the phone conversation. Paul and Deryn were hearing the name Xenides for the first time, however. Tony looked at both werewolves. "Who wants to drive to London?"
* * *
"Yes, I saw that one," the hotel maid nodded, pointing to the taller man in the photographs Tony presented. The cleaning staff was invisible to most people who came to stay. Xenides hadn't bothered with compulsion on her as he had with the staff at the front desk—he hadn't seen her. "He was here a little over a week ago," the woman went on. "Stayed for one entire day and night, then checked out the following evening. I got to clean his room, first thing the next morning."
"Did he meet with anyone?" Tony asked, tucking the photographs in his jacket pocket.
"A woman came in. Pretty. Long, dark hair. Looked Asian."
"I don't suppose you got any names?" Tony asked hopefully. "Or any other information?"
"No. They shut themselves up in the room around eight, for about an hour. I don't think she was here for the usual, if you get my meaning."
Tony got her meaning. They didn't have sex. That meant an accomplice to him.
"Was he driving anything? Did you notice?"
"Didn't see that. Sorry." The woman shook her head.
"Thank you for the information. Don't let anyone else know that you told us anything." Tony passed the woman a hundred pound note and he, Deryn and Paul left.
"Did you get anything?" The desk clerk asked as Tony and the others passed his desk on the way out.
"She didn't remember the man," Tony lied smoothly and kept walking. As soon as Tony, Deryn and Paul drove away, the desk clerk placed a call to a cell phone.
"Three men were here asking questions. None of my staff remembered anything," the desk clerk said after the initial greeting. He hung up when the voice on the other end expressed his pleasure at that information.
* * *
"I know I'm not the most desirable person to hear from," Tony informed Charles as soon as he could punch Wlodek's number on his cell from inside the rental. "But we have a report that Xenides was seen at the Hobart Hotel. It was also reported that he met there with a woman with long dark hair that appeared to be of Asian heritage. We don't have information on what the meeting entailed. This happened more than a week ago."
The hair was rising on the back of Charles's neck when Tony gave the description of the woman. "I'll get this information to Wlodek," he said, breaking the connection.
"Honored One, I know we're about to interview the girl, but this is important," Charles spoke before coming to a complete halt inside the holding facility's office. "Anthony Hancock called. He says that Xenides was seen at the Hobart Hotel a little over a week ago and he met a woman there with long, dark hair that appeared to be Asian." Charles hadn't paused for breath, getting the whole thing out as quickly as he could. Wlodek showed no emotion—neither did Gavin or Merrill.
"We will check into this immediately," Wlodek replied. "Have Flavio and Susila arrived?"
"Not yet, Honored One. Wait, I think I hear them now." Charles went to check, leading both vampires in a few moments later. Susila smiled slightly at Merrill, who nodded. Susila had been Scandinavian by birth and was nearly as old as Merrill. She and Flavio both took seats on either side of Wlodek. Merrill and Gavin sat behind them, in opposite corners.
"Have them bring the girl," Wlodek nodded to Charles, who trotted down the hall to let Radomir know to bring the girl out.
Chapter 8
The girl was bound with handcuffs for the interview. Compulsion had already been laid for her to be respectful. That didn't keep her from leveling a threat, however.
"You are all dead," she giggled hysterically. "You have no idea what Xenides is." The girl was Spanish but spoke in English, with an accent. It didn't matter; all presiding over her questioning spoke fluent Spanish.
Wlodek barely lifted an eyebrow. "And what is Xenides?" he asked. "You will tell the truth."
"I went looking for vampires. Thought it would be fun. Used to dress up, you know, in the costumes? Xenides doesn't allow that. I found vampires," she repeated.