Page 168 of Death is Familiar

Which is why I had to make some plans of my own. With Jezebel. Away from prying eyes and ears.

“Lenore will have a fit.” Jezebel was stationed at the entrance, ready to receive the guests, even though they weren’t set to arrive for the next thirty minutes. She worried her bottom lip, shadowed-eyes darting to her boss who was mid-conversation with one of the event staff twenty yards away. “But I’ll make sure it’s done.”

“Thanks.” I kept an eye on Lenore’s conversation as we stood in the covered entryway, a couple of mockingbirds chirruping on the autumn air.

“I really hope we catch these guys, D.” She shifted, skirts ruffling. “It may be odd, but this is a place of belonging for so many. Aside from the…” Murders. “…things have really changed since we worked the Daemonica case. There’s so much less drama. There’s so much more…community.”

“I can see that.” All of rules of engagement established a way for people to consent or stop any unwanted behavior, which was steps above our first experience with the vamps. “In no small part because of you, I imagine.”

Jez smirked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of white—an envelope changing hands from Lenore to the man she was speaking with. “Does Lenore always pay in cash?”

“Only to Hank.” I made note of the man’s stocky, strong, figure and tight-knit brows, as Jezebel explained, “But it’s all above board. I check the bank account and statements against the invoices, they align.”

Of course, they aligned. Lenore’s books were clean, even the FBI saw to that. But I was more concerned with cash that had the habit of staying cash, and never made it onto the ledger. “But have you counted the cash in the envelopes?”

Jezebel’s expression dropped. “Not recently.”

“And what does Hank do?”

“Hank’s wife runs the apothecary in Huntington.” Sensing we were getting into confidential territory, Jez lowered her voice to match mine. “Lenore likes to get what she can from suppliers in Huntington, so they run all of the candles, soaps, crystals, salts, anything bulky or consumable that needs a vampy ‘vibe’. They help with set up and tear down.” In other words, they stayed the length of the event, would have had ample opportunity, and access to backrooms. Noted.

“How many event staff do they bring?”

“Four or five.”

“Any chance any of them are ex-familiars?”

“…all of them. They all are. Except for Hank.”

“And do they always drive a white paneled van?”

Jezebel’s gaze shot over my shoulder to where the apothecary van was parked. White panel vans were like villains 101. “You know, you are making all this seem incredibly shady.”

I let my expression do all the talking.

“The cash changing hands, the van, the fact that the apothecary team are at all our events, is super fishy, I’ll give you that, but why what would Lenore’s payments have to do with anything? And if she was involved, why would she pay the guy right in front of us?”

I raised my brows. She was going to figure it out in three… two…

“Her routine would have changed.” Equal parts horror and knowing, Jezebel sucked in a sudden lungful of air. “I would have sensed something was off. And then I’d tell you. And you’d tell the agents. But why would she be paying extra money under the table?”

“Nothing brings people together like having a common enemy.”

“Wait, you think Lenore is paying Hank to… kill people?”

“Oh god, no!” I whisper-yelled. “I think your boss is paying Hank and his team to undertake anti-vamp activity. To mail in garlic, set up crosses, to give the vamps something to fight against.”

Jezebel released her breath. “Oh.”

“And then they took the anti-vamp activity too far.”

She looked like she was going to be sick. I didn’t blame her. If I’d been in her place, and this was happening right under my nose, I would have been equally appalled. “With everything you and the FBI know, how sure are you?”

In all the digging between me and the agents, there was always one gaping hole in the middle. A piece missing to tie all of the loose ends together. Now in its place, one word came to mind.

Apothecary.