Tears of No Return (15 page)

Karen let go of his sleeve. “Okay, let’s do this.” Morgan turned to walk away. “What’s with the blackboard?”

He laughed. “To keep my thoughts private. Neat trick, huh?”

Karen shook her head. She grinned, watching Morgan disappear into the foliage. A minute later she saw him enter the parking lot. He looked in her direction and began pointing to his head. Karen took the signal and connected with his thoughts.

He told her to enjoy reading his mind, because it wasn’t going to happen often. Even with his superior vision, he was unable to see her. With that, he again told her not to worry and that she would be fine, then the blackboard went up and she disconnected from him.

Crouching in the woods, looking upon the place where her best friend died only a night ago, Karen began to feel nauseous. A sense of loneliness crept into her heart like an ominous storm cloud, threatening to overwhelm her. She couldn’t let that happen. She needed to be in top form. This was life or death. Even if she managed to escape, she might possibly get Morgan captured or killed. For herself and for him she had to remain calm and focused. Still, she’d never felt so lost in all her life.

Chapter 23

Karen took a seat, the earth damp and cool beneath her. She imagined what she must look like. A couple of days ago she would never have imagined herself sitting here, so far from the familiar. It was eye-opening,
terrifying
, to think how a person’s perspective on life could change so quickly.

An hour later, and still no action. She felt partially relieved, glad that no one had shown yet, but at the same time she knew the agents would.

She viewed the lot with boredom, her anxiety having dwindled. Morgan was out there somewhere and she looked for him, but with the foliage in her way she knew it would be impossible. She figured even without the forest obscuring her view, she probably wouldn’t see him anyway. Like a chameleon, he would blend in.

Doubt challenged Karen’s resolve with a horrifying thought: what if Morgan had decided he wanted no part of helping her and took off? Panic rippled through her body. Her breathing grew shallow, drawing air into her lungs a challenge.

She took deep breaths; in through her nose and out through her mouth. She repeated the practice ten times before settling down. Shaking her head, she felt like a fool. She’d only known Morgan one day, but that didn’t matter. She knew him. More importantly, she trusted him, as if she’d known him her whole life. People were like that sometimes. They just clicked, knowing everything was going to be okay. Morgan was out there, watching. He would never abandon her. And she would never abandon him. Deep down, she felt it in her bones.

Morgan had the whole blackboard thing going on, but she’d managed to sneak into his mind a few times before he got it up. She saw how he genuinely worried about her. Even without the mind reading it was obvious how much he cared. He didn’t want to lose her. Karen felt a little guilty for prying, but was relieved to have seen his intentions.

Another hour passed. As Karen began to stretch, a black town car pulled into the lot. It was followed by two identical looking sedans and a large black Dodge Sprinter van. The agents had returned. Morgan’s theory was correct. Karen felt her pulse quicken as fresh sweat pooled at her hairline. She began her breathing exercises again, quickly getting herself under control.

A pair of agents exited from each sedan. They were dressed in identical black suits and had short, cropped hair, as if they had all come off the same assembly line. Two men guarded the back entrance while two more circled to the front of the bar and out of Karen’s view. The remaining pair stood at the back of the black van.

The Sprinter’s rear doors opened and Agent McKlintock jumped out. He wore a black suit like the other agents and a pair of dark sunglasses. Karen’s stomach churned when she saw him, remembering how easily he had killed Melanie.

Taking in the whole picture, Karen saw dark splotches, like old oil-stains, on the pavement. Realizing what they were, she stiffened. They were the only evidence of the previous night’s crime.

Three men exited the van, each dressed in white Hazmat suits, only their faces visible.

“I want every inch of this place covered,” McKlintock barked. “Start here.” He pointed to a stain. “Take samples. Hair, blood, skin, whatever. If it looks like it’s from a living creature, I want it.” He began walking back to the truck, then paused. “You’ve got two hours and then I want this place scrubbed clean. Make it look like nothing ever happened here.”

Karen dove into his head and began reading his thoughts as the man continued toward the truck. McKlintock was angry, hoping a blood sample could be found from Karen. If not, he would have to switch his priority to finding the spaceship, which was something he didn’t want to do. Icy climates were not his thing. Karen lost the connection when the agent disappeared into the van. Damn. Forgetting about McKlintock, she connected with one of the men combing the lot for forensic evidence.

The agent held a scanning device, something resembling a handheld vacuum. She heard the man thinking about hair, that he had found one. He took out a pair of tweezers from a pouch slung over his shoulder, picked up the hair and placed it into a tube.

As Karen continued to watch, she heard numerous words come across the agent’s mind: blood, bile, glass, chicken, semen, bird shit, and flesh. Each time the man thought a word he stopped and carefully collected a sample.

Connecting to another agent, Karen noticed he was performing a different task. Producing a small bottle filled with some kind of liquid substance, he placed a drop onto what looked like a giant Q-tip and then proceeded to dab at the blood stains. Like the man collecting samples, the agent placed the Q-tip into a small vial. He continued with his task, thinking very little to himself. Before long, the man had collected blood and small pieces of flesh and bone. Morgan had said he’d cleaned up the place, but guessed that the things left behind were something only a forensic specialist would find.

The men were clearly looking for traces of Karen. She hadn’t been injured, nor cried in the parking lot. The agents would find nothing from her, leaving McKlintock frustrated. Karen smiled, feeling a small but important flicker of satisfaction in the victory.

She linked with the different forensic people as they all performed the same task, collecting anything human in origin. As time went by, she grew more and more confident that she’d be fine. No one had even glanced in her direction, and she was beginning to feel truly invisible. Occasionally, McKlintock would show, ask for status reports, and then return to the vehicle. Karen received nothing of importance from him.

Her back tightened. Needing to stretch, she sat, taking her eyes from the scene. Pins and needles raced through her legs, making her want to cry out. Damn, she should’ve shifted her weight around more. Staying statuesque had its price. She began gently prodding her legs, trying to get the feeling back into them.

“Over here,” someone yelled. “I’ve got something.”

“Shit,” she whispered. She was missing the action. She began massaging her legs forcefully, the sensation agonizing, but she gritted through.

“What is it?” asked McKlintock.

The agents had found something important, and Karen was temporarily out of commission. They continued speaking, but their voices were lower now and she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She got up again, kneeling this time, grabbing the tree next to her for balance. Focusing in, she saw McKlintock. He was holding a piece of white paper. The man began glancing around, nervously. Karen immediately linked up with him.

The letter was threatening in nature. It warned the agents to leave the area quickly before it was too late. Vampire Nation agents would be returning to the scene to clean up the mess one of their own had made. The vampire that attacked the agents was a loner and dealt with by the sun’s rays.

McKlintock pulled his eyes from the note. Karen could almost see the gears working in his head. He and his men would have to gather up the equipment and leave. A glance at his watch—it was only half past one. Still plenty of time to continue with the task at hand. Looking at the note again, McKlintock read on.

The agent found the next part of the letter confusing and odd; the handwritten letter asking the reader if they knew where the main headquarters for the Vampire Nation was located. New York City was the answer that came to agent McKlintock, although where he didn’t know. Then the letter became stranger, asking if the reader knew where he was going, followed by the question: where is your base located? And, what roads do you travel to get there? Do you like country or city life better? In closing, the letter informed McKlintock that a multitude of weaponry was pointing at him and his agents as he was reading. Again the man glanced around. He was nervous and pissed off, looking to see if he noticed any figures with guns pointing in his direction. He saw none, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true.

“We’re leaving,” he told the other agents.

Karen watched as the crew gathered their things, packed them into the truck, and drove away. Letting out a breath, she sat back, stretching her arms and legs. A minute later Morgan was standing by her side.

“Did you get anything?” he asked.

“I’m fine, thanks.” She held out her arm and Morgan grabbed it, helping her to her feet.

“I know you are,” he told her, his tone serious. “Did you read anything from them?”

“Something about a letter. It was really strange.”

Morgan smiled.

“I know,” he said. “I planted it there. I wanted them to believe the Vampire Nation was involved, throw them off our trail and at the same time find out where they’re heading; where The Murphy Unit base is located.”

“You what? Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

“I’ll explain everything when we’re in the car, okay?”

Karen held up a hand in protest. “I’m not going anywhere until you explain yourself.”

“I’m sorry. I thought it was for the best. But the important thing is, did you get any names or places when he read the letter?”

“Yeah, lots.
Names
and
places
.”

“Good,” Morgan told her, reaching for her arms and trying to unfold them. “I promise to explain in the car, but we need to move. They’ll be back with a sweep team, more prepared and armed to the hilt. They weren’t ready to deal with vampires, but when they come back, they will be.”

Karen remained steadfast for a moment. She was pissed that he hadn’t let her in on everything. She’d trusted him, thought they were a team on equal ground. Knowing they needed to leave, she decided to drop it for now.

“Fine,” she said, “I’ll leave with you, but I’m mad.” She sounded like a child, but that was all right with her, because her inner kid was angry.

“Can you at least let me know where we’re heading?” she asked as they stepped from the woods.

Karen dusted herself off as she walked to the car. “We need to find a library with Internet access.”

Starting the engine, Morgan said, “Now, tell me everything you heard.”

Chapter 24

Karen and Morgan drove to the Washingtonville Town Library, a small antique building built in 1888, with green ivy crawling up gray stone walls. Inside, the place was like any other library, with computers toward the back. Only one of the half dozen was in use by a young boy. Morgan sat in front of the computer that was farthest from him. Karen took the chair from the terminal next to Morgan’s.

“Can you tell me why you felt it necessary to lie to me?” She spoke calmly even though her insides burned with anger.

“I will, but first let’s take care of business.” Morgan called up the Google search screen. “What names did you hear when McKlintock read the question about the base’s location?”

Karen knew this wasn’t the time, but she needed to know why Morgan decided not to tell her about the note. She’d completely trusted him and now she no longer could. “I’m not talking until you answer me.” She leaned back in her chair.

Morgan turned to her and, in a serious tone, said, “Give me the names and I’ll show you what we’re doing.”

“No.”

“We don’t have time for this. We need to move fast.” He looked Karen in the eyes and she felt spellbound again, like when she was in the bar. Confused, she could only stare at him. Then she began focusing her thoughts, realizing Morgan was using his vampiric powers to entrance her. Shaking her head, she fought back, staring into his eyes. She saw a fire there now, an anger, but also a longing. Morgan was onto something and he didn’t want to explain himself. He just wanted things done his way. But still, why the deception?

“Without me you have nothing,” Karen said. She didn’t want to waste time, especially if each passing moment was as important as Morgan stressed. But she demanded that he look at her as an equal; to respect her and fill her in on all the details, relevant or not. And if he wouldn’t give that to her, then she would have to force his hand.

Morgan closed his eyes, clearly frustrated. “I almost always work alone. I’m not used to trusting anyone and I figured the less you knew the better.”

“I’m not some little girl. And don’t give me that crap about me not being able to handle myself, because I can. Do you know what I’ve been through in the last forty-eight hours?”

“I know you’ve been through a lot,” Morgan said. “But I’ve got a few years on you in that department. When I do something, it’s for a good reason.”

“Fair enough, but this is a partnership, and I’m here to do whatever I have to. I’m not some prissy little thing that needs tenderness. I want to be included in everything from now on or I’ll do this on my own.” As if slapped, she was startled by her own words, and not totally sure she believed in them herself; because she needed Morgan’s help. But she had to be strong-willed, let this man think she’d leave him in a second if she had to. It was a bluff, but one that needed to be played.