Jane Goes Batty (17 page)

“Yes,” said Byron. “She’s sitting on the sofa with the dog. She appears to be speaking to it.”

“What is she saying?”

Byron sighed. “I don’t
know,
” he said testily. “In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re
outside.
”

“I realize that,” said Jane. “But aren’t you—aren’t
we
—supposed to have extraordinarily acute hearing?” She paused. “You know—if we
try
.”

“It would be much easier if the window were open,” Byron replied.

“Or if we could levitate,” Jane repeated. “Can’t we do that?”

“Do you know how?” asked Byron.

“No,” said Jane. “That’s why I asked you.”

Byron frowned. “Then it doesn’t really matter whether we can or not, does it?”

Jane, annoyed, sighed deeply. “I wonder where Walter is,” she
said. “That’s a rhetorical question,” she added as she saw Byron open his mouth to speak. “I know you don’t know.”

“Actually, I do,” said Byron. “He’s just come into the room.”

Jane turned and again tried to see through the window. She jumped as high as she could, and for just a moment she caught a glimpse of the parlor. As Byron had reported, Miriam sat on the sofa opposite the window. Lilith sat beside her. Walter stood to one side, his back to Jane.

“Stop that,” Byron ordered as Jane prepared to jump again. “You look ridiculous.”

“This is maddening,” said Jane, leaning against the side of the house. “We need to get inside.” She looked at Byron, who caught her eye and immediately began shaking his head. “No,” he said.

“I’ve gotten
much
better at it,” Jane said. “Last time I stayed invisible for what, fifteen minutes?”

“More like six,” said Byron.

“Fine. Six,” Jane said. “That’s long enough to get in, have a listen, and get out again.”

“And what if you lose your concentration and appear?” said Byron. “How are you going to explain that?”

“We’ll stay in the hall,” Jane said. “We won’t even go into the parlor. There’s no way they’ll see us.”

“You mean you,” said Byron. “I know they won’t see me.” He hesitated. “Fine. We’ll go in. But if I see so much as a
flicker
, we’re leaving.”

“Absolutely,” Jane agreed. “Now how do we get in?”

“Most people go through the front door,” Byron said. “Let’s start there.”

“The front door?” said Jane. “Shouldn’t we go through the cellar, or the back, or … I don’t know, the chimney?”

Byron turned to her. “Do you
enjoy
making things as difficult as possible?”

“To the contrary,” Jane replied. “But it just seems to me that if we’re going to go sneaking around and using our powers, we
might as well have some fun at it.” She thought for a moment about what she’d just said. “Goodness. That’s not like me at all.”

“It’s because you turned Chloe,” said Byron, continuing around to the front of the house. “It makes you a bit giddy.”

“Really?” said Jane. “Now that you mention it, I do feel slightly tipsy. Do you think Chloe will be all right?”

They had left Chloe sleeping in Byron’s guest bedroom. Byron had assured Jane that the girl would sleep for several hours at least. What would happen after that was something they hadn’t discussed.

“She’ll be fine,” Byron said, coming to a halt behind one of the large lilac bushes that screened the side of the house from the street. “Just concentrate on disappearing.”

Jane nodded. She closed her eyes, cleared her throat, and filled her mind with the image of herself made out of glass.

“Excellent,” she heard Byron say. “That was very quick.”

“I told you I could do it,” said Jane, feeling quite proud of herself.

A second later Byron blinked out. “All right,” Jane heard him say. “Here we go.”

“How will I know where you are?” asked Jane.

Byron reached out and took her hand. His fingers gripped hers firmly but pleasantly. “Don’t let go,” he said.

Jane allowed him to lead her around the corner of the house and up the front steps. When a boy went riding by on his bike, startling her with the sound of playing cards tucked into the spokes of his wheels,
whap-whap-whap
, she felt her invisibility waver. A ghostly image of her hand appeared for a second before she focused her mind and regained control.

“You’re certain you can do this?” Byron whispered.

Jane nodded, forgetting that Byron couldn’t see her. “Yes,” she added quickly. “Just get inside.”

She watched as the front door opened slowly. The foyer was empty, and the faint sound of voices came from the parlor. Jane
felt Byron pull her inside. Then the door shut again. Jane breathed deeply, steadying her nerves.

Again she felt Byron tug at her hand, and she crept behind him down the hallway to the parlor. They stopped outside the door. Inside, Walter and his mother were talking.

“You did the right thing,” Miriam said.

“I don’t know about that,” said Walter. He sounded weary, almost sad.

“Walter, she told you she wouldn’t marry you,” his mother said.

“No, she said she
couldn’t
marry me,” Walter countered.

His mother snorted. “It’s the same thing,” she said. “Anyway, she wasn’t right for you.”

“Why do you say that?” asked Walter. “Because she’s not Jewish? Mother, I think you should know that apart from the few holidays I’ve spent with you, I haven’t set foot in a synagogue in twenty years.”

“It has nothing to do with her being a
shiksa,
” Miriam said. “And shame on you for not going to temple. That’s not how I raised you.”

Walter groaned. “I don’t want to talk about this,” he said.

“Who said we had to talk about it?” said Miriam. “I’m just saying you can do better. You should come stay with me for a while. Ruth Solomon has a lovely daughter you should meet. She lost her spouse, like you.”

“Mother, I don’t need you to set me up with anyone,” Walter barked. Suddenly he groaned loudly, as if he were in pain.

“What?” Miriam said. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re giving me a headache,” Walter told her. “I need some aspirin.”

He came toward the door. Jane flattened herself against the wall, in the process losing connection with Byron as he stepped in the opposite direction. She held her breath as Walter passed between them. A moment later a breath tickled her ear. “Stay here,” Byron whispered. Then he was gone.

Jane looked into the parlor. Miriam still sat on the sofa. Lilith was on her lap, and Miriam stroked the little dog’s ears.

“I’m tempted to tell him what she is,” she heard Miriam say in a low voice. “Of course, he would never believe it. Not unless we provoked her into revealing her true form.”

She’s talking about me
, Jane realized.
So she does know. But how?

“And I would have to explain about myself as well,” Miriam continued. “That would be inconvenient. Also, it would put everything in jeopardy, and she’s hardly worth it.”

There was a long pause during which Miriam continued to pet Lilith. Jane wondered what Miriam meant by telling Walter about herself.
Surely she isn’t a vampire herself
, Jane thought.
But how else would she know about me?

“Who would have thought he would take up with one of them?” said Miriam, a new edge in her voice. “They’re everywhere these days, like cockroaches. It’s a good thing we arrived when we did. This one isn’t getting my son. I’m going to see to that.”

Jane gasped. She saw Miriam’s head turn. A moment later Lilith leapt off the couch and came trotting toward the door in her peculiar hop-step manner. Her ears were alert, and her eyes were fixed on Jane. A low growl rumbled in her throat.

Jane didn’t know whether to run or stay put. Could Lilith see her? She didn’t know if the invisibility trick worked on all living things or just humans. But the way Lilith was looking at her, she feared she was about to find out.

Suddenly she felt herself jerked backward. “Quickly,” Byron hissed.

That answers that question
, Jane thought as she hurried after Byron. Lilith had reached the doorway and was looking down the hall in their direction. She bared her teeth, barked once, and scampered toward Jane and Byron.

Byron reached for the door, but just as he did there came a knocking from the other side. Walter, responding to it, emerged
into the hallway, and he and Lilith advanced toward the door—and Jane and Byron.

Jane once again felt herself jerked sideways, this time toward the staircase leading to the second floor. They reached it just as Lilith came sliding to a stop, her feet slipping on the bare wood of the floor. She collided with the bottom step and gave a bark of frustration, looking up at the retreating figures of Jane and Byron.

“What’s gotten into you?” Walter asked the little dog, picking her up as he went to open the door.

Lilith whined and growled, but Walter held her tightly. Jane and Byron continued up the stairs, pausing on the second-floor landing and looking over the banister.

“You might have told me that dogs can see us,” Jane said to Byron.

“It slipped my mind,” Byron said.

“Lovely,” said Jane. “And who—or what—else can see us?”

“Cats, of course,” Byron answered. “Most birds. Mice. Actually, rodents of all kinds. Goats.”

“Goats?” said Jane. “How odd.”

“I didn’t make the rules,” Byron replied.

Their conversation ceased as Walter opened the door and they looked to see who had thwarted their escape. Jane was expecting to see a UPS delivery person, or perhaps a neighbor. She was unprepared for the sight of Beverly Shrop.

“Good morning!” Beverly said brightly. “Is Miriam in?”

Walter, also seemingly taken aback, replied, “Yes, she is. One moment please.”

Walter returned to the parlor, and a moment later Miriam came out. Lilith was at her heels and immediately began sniffing the steps and growling.

“Quiet,” Miriam said to the dog. “You know this one.” She looked at Beverly. “Why are you standing out there?”

“He didn’t invite me in,” Beverly replied. “You know I can’t enter unless—”

“Of course,” said Miriam. “I’d forgotten that your abilities are diminished.”

Beverly smiled nervously. “It’s part of the arrangement,” she said.

“I am aware of the arrangement,” said Miriam. “Not that I approve of it.”

Beverly glanced down at Lilith, who had not turned her attention away from the stairs. “She seems to have found something,” she remarked.

Miriam looked back at the dog. “It’s probably the stench of that woman,” she said. “She did spend a great deal of time here. The scent lingers.”

Beverly, ignoring the insult, said, “I just came by to ask what you would like done with Tavish Osborn.”

“Nothing at present,” said Miriam. “Are you still in his favor?”

Beverly nodded. “He suspects nothing,” she said. “He’s so vain, I don’t think he notices anyone but himself anyway.”

Jane felt Byron stiffen beside her. She felt for his hand and held it tightly, afraid he might bolt down the stairs and throttle the Shrop woman.
Not that it would be a bad thing
, she thought. Who
was
Beverly Shrop, and how had she come to be acquainted with Walter’s mother? Equally important, who was Walter’s mother? Nothing was making any sense.

“He may still be useful to us,” Miriam said. “He can’t be allowed to go on, of course, but none of their kind can.”

Beverly looked as if she’d been struck, but said nothing.

“I’m sorry, my dear,” Miriam said with a tone of false apology. “I wasn’t referring to you.”

Beverly nodded. “I should be going,” she said. “Give my regards to your son.”

Miriam said nothing, shutting the door and turning to go back to the parlor. She noticed Lilith still pawing at the steps, and picked the dog up. Lilith’s ears perked up and she barked loudly, her nose sniffing the air.

“Calm down,” Miriam said. “You’re just excited from sniffing out the Fairfax woman this morning. I only wish I could have gone with you to see what exactly she was up to.”

Miriam disappeared, still talking to Lilith. Byron tugged at Jane’s hand and the two of them descended the stairs. This time no one interrupted their exit from the house, and minutes later they were sitting in Byron’s car, which they had parked one street over to lessen the chance of Walter or someone else who might recognize it seeing it. Both Jane and Byron had rematerialized, and they looked at each other with a mixture of relief and puzzlement.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Jane said carefully. “But from that conversation I gather that Walter’s mother wants to do us harm.”

Byron nodded. “It would appear so,” he said.

“And Beverly Shrop is aiding her in some manner,” Jane continued.

“Miriam Ellenberg is a hunter,” said Byron. “And Beverly Shrop is her eyes and ears. She also happens to be a vampire.”

“What?” Jane said, surprised.

“Weren’t you listening?” asked Byron. “Didn’t you see that she couldn’t enter the house because Walter hadn’t invited her in?”

“I thought she was just being unusually polite,” Jane said.

“And didn’t you hear her talk about her diminished powers and an arrangement?”

“I was preoccupied with trying to stay invisible,” Jane admitted.

“Which you did rather well, by the way,” said Byron. “Congratulations. Turning Chloe does seem to have upped your powers. At any rate, yes, Beverly Shrop is a vampire.”

“Did you know this before?”

“No,” Byron replied. “But if she’s been diminished, then I wouldn’t have sensed her, as her powers are likely very weak.”

“I still don’t understand,” Jane told him.

“Miriam is a hunter,” Byron said, his voice filled with barely concealed disgust. “Surely you know about the hunters.”

“I’ve heard of them, of course,” said Jane. “But I always assumed they were a legend, or that they’d died out long ago.”

“They’re not a legend, and they haven’t died out,” Byron told her. “Their ranks have thinned, but they still seek us out.” He sighed deeply. “I haven’t encountered one since I toured with ABBA in the seventies.”

“ABBA?” said Jane. “What were you doing touring with ABBA?”