The Book Waitress (Book 1, The Book Waitress Series) (11 page)

She toweled off and hoped to find an outfit suitable for such an event that hadn’t been
too badly crushed by the move
. If she made a good impression, maybe he could get the witches to back off and she could stay as previously planned. A
few
hours until the lunch meeting
gave
her plenty of time to prepare and get a good case of the nerves.

Chapter Seven

Nancy fluffed her
bleached blonde
hair in the reflection of the kitchen cabinet
, checked her teeth for lipstick, and winked at herself
. “Go to work on your own today. I’ll meet you there later.” She took a sip of coffee.

“Oh really? Why?”
Susan crunched on her buttered rye toast.

“
Victor
has asked me to a breakfast meeting at his home.”

“Whoa, I’ve never been
asked
there.
Any cult or library meetings I’ve been to happen at the library.
Have you
been to his house
?”

“Susan, of course I’ve been there. He’s had parties there for
important people on
Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
”
She scoffed, took another sip, and then smiled wickedly. “
And he’
s had parties for smaller, more intimate gatherings.
”
She giggled like a wicked schoolgirl.

Susan rolled her eyes.
“
Have
a nice time.
Hmm.
Wonder what he wants.”

“Probably wants to discuss Mission business. I am High Priestess. I should be involved.”

“Of course, of course. Do you want me to drop you off there on my way?”

“No, he’s sending a car for me. I’ll have him take me directly to the library after our meeting and you can drive me home.”

A knocking at the door silenced any more discussion. “It’s probably the driver. See you later. Don’t do anything disastrous at the library
while I’m away
, okay?” She smirked, opened the door and smiled at the driver waiting at the bottom of the stoop. “To the Manor, James.” She laughed as she slammed the door and sashayed past him to the awaiting car.

***

Victor
watche
d as Nancy stood on the terrace
tapping the toe of her
left
shoe on the slate tile
and
resting
her manicured nails on folded arms
. He loved to irritate her. She succumbed so easily.
No patience at all, that one.
Rather than enjoying the exquisite view, she chose to spend the last moments of her life stewing about his late appearance.
What a waste.

“Enjoying the view, Nancy?” Flashing a toothy grin, h
e stepped onto the patio and leaned against the full-service bar counter.

“I was beginning to think I misunderstood your invitation.” Her response dripped with annoyance.
“My word,
Victor
! What on earth happened to your face
and neck
?”

“
Don’t let it worry you. I’m just one step closer to o
ur Lord and Master’s side. A
s you know, I’m an important
man
and my time is
in
big demand. I
was delayed by
an important call
from overseas
. Please, come and sit down. Maritha has prepared quite a lovely breakfast banquet for us.”
He walked over to the glass table beautifully appointed with silverware, crystal, and Royal Doulton china. Showcasing his suave
manners
, he pulled a chair out for her to sit on.

“Only the two of us for this meeting? I thought maybe there would be others.” She raised an eyebrow and nodded her approval as she sat down.

“Just us this morning.” He sat down, too, whisked a napkin into the air
,
and laid it across his lap. She did the same. “I thought we’d go over ritual proceedings that involve only the two of us.”

“What more do we need to review? Everything is in order for the boy. I know my part of the ceremony by heart
as well as
yours. What else is there?”

“Try a strawberry. Maritha says they’re unusually sweet today.” He took one from his fruit cup and groaned his pleasure. “She’s right. These are sensational. Anyway, that part of the ceremony, you’re right. We’re ready. But we have the secondary ritual that we must conduct regarding the Marked One. It is an extraordinary convergence of events this year. We must make sure that we are ready for her sacrifice, as well.
Master is expecting it. As Overlord, I must be sure you, my High Priestess, are prepared for your part in the ritual.”

“
Victor
, this idea of yours about the Marked One, I wonder if it’s really necessary to go ahead with
it
. I mean, I’ve looked all through the old manuscripts and tablets, handbooks and liturgy, and I’ve found a scant line or two about it
at most
.”

“Its obscurity doesn’t make it any less important than the other rituals.
Just all the more intriguing to carry out and see what happens.”

“It’s just one more person to go missing and bring old suspicions back when we’d laid them to rest years ago.”

“I shall take that under
advisement
, my d
ear. Do try the fruit, my love.” He stood up and crouched beside her. Plucking a strawberry from her bowl, he teased her mouth with the tip. “And if you have some extra comp time saved up, maybe you could linger here and I can have you with my fruit.”

She blushed and opened her mouth to accept his offering. He rubbed the strawberry around the edge of her lips before plunging it into her mouth. She bit down, clos
ed
her eyes
,
and
moaned.
Mere moments later, her
eyes flew open
and her moan turned into gasps
. She grabbed the edge of the table with one hand and his shirt collar with the other
, piercing him with the puzzled look he’d been anticipating all morning
.

“Whatever’s the matter, Nancy? You look like you’ve eaten poison. These are the best strawberries in town. Maybe you should spit it out if you don’t like it. You don’t need
t
o be dramatic about it.”

Convulsing in her chair, she foamed at the mouth, the whites of her e
yes turned yellow, and her skin,
ashen gray.
Victor
struggled but
removed her hand from his shirt and
stepped back
to watch
the
ensuing
deterioration
of her body. She fell to the ground as her body continued to shake uncontrollably
while
burbling
sounds escaped her blistered lips
.

He knelt down beside her, and with as much menace as
a servant of Satan could contain in his voice
, he spoke his own version of her last rites. “There can be only one Overlord and that would be me. Now you know what happens to those who try to usurp my reign. Your soul is not good enough for Heaven and not loyal enough for Hell. May your soul remain forever restless with nowhere to go and no one to hear your complaints.”

Blood oozed out of her nose and ears as her eyes rolled back in her head
.
A b
lackening of her skin
stole
up and
around her neck and face. And then
,
all was still.

“Damn,” he muttered.
“
That wasn’t long and slow at all. I
must’ve mislabeled the bottle. A s
hort and sweet
affair
rather than
an
epic
death. Oh well, w
hat’s done is done. Maritha!”

A short, gray-haired woman came scampering out and approached him. “Yes, Mr.
Victor
?”

“Ah, here you are.
” He
stood up to regain his mammoth height
, arms opened wide
.
“My dear, p
henomenal breakfast this morning. You really outdid yourself. Those strawberries were divine!”

She smiled proudly. “Thank you, Mr.
Victor
.”

“You
may
clean up now. We’re finished here. Ask Bart to help with the
, uh,
heavier items. I don’t want you hurting yourself. A good c
hef is hard to find, you know. Remember, lunch today is scheduled for one o’clock. I trust you’ll make something equally delectable.”

“Oh, Mr.
Victor
,
of course. Only my best creations for you.” He grinned and grabbed her hand to kiss the back of it. “Now, now, y
ou know I’m a married woman
, sir
.” She giggled.

He sighed.
“Alas,
yes
. But it doesn’t hurt to flirt.” He w
inked, gave a last look at the unfortunate, misguided former High Priestess and shook his head. Susan should be able to fill her shoes well
enough
. At least she understood loyalty.

***

Derek stood on the
front porch of Zachary
Michael
’
s house
,
having finished the interview with his parents, and
regard
ed
the lake
across the street.
Every few moments, something from below broke through its glassy surface, creating gentle, unfettered ripples
.
He sighed. Who could be trusted to stop the rippling effect created by the cult here?
At this point, he’d spoken to most of the parents either by phone or in person, and they all confirmed their missing children had a birthmark like the one mentioned in
The
Devil’s Handbook
.

When he visited t
he police department on the island, a whopping force of two,
they
gave him access to their records, but curiously, a “flood” in recent years
destroyed
those
he needed.
He’d asked to see the computer backup files and they looked at him like he had two heads. Backup files were paper, too, and had been damaged beyond keeping as well. A closer scan of the small office area and he saw typewriters on desks rather than computers. How convenient for the cult to keep the police force here in the dark ages with antiquated tools.

Evil people stole
those
children
for satanic ritual
s and now t
hey were all dead.
He knew it in his heart.
The M
ission
Satanic Cult never folded
as once thought
.
Rage and frustration swirled in his heart at the corruption that allowed these children to be exploited and murdered for the sake of evil.
Hopefully, Zachary remained alive and could be found before any harm came to him.

Bounding down the steps, h
is thoughts drifted to Camille and it did nothing to soothe him.
When
she
first showed him the
hand
book,
it piqued
his
interest
and wound up being a great lead
. But when she opened her shirt and showed him the very same mark above her breast, warning flags waved before his eyes.
She could be in danger, too.
He needed to
read more in
that volume and see if anything indicated what role
, if any,
a person like her played in the cult
s’
rituals.
And he needed names. Newspaper
articles
should have given
him names of the Mission’s cult
members who’d been prosecuted,
but
the ones he’d read through yest
erday made no mention of them. The i
nternet may wind up saving
t
his investigation
in the end
.

At least
he didn’t have to worry about
his book waitress
for today.
S
he had the day off to unpack boxes.
Hopef
ully he wouldn’t need her help
. And even if he did, would she acquiesce and give it?
She threw a mass of mixed signals to him last night. Or had he read those messages
wrong in the first place? He hadn’t a clue. The last
relationship he’d had
wound up disastrous. She clung and needed and possessed. All three qualities he never wanted
in
a
woman
.