“Agreed,” Tenzin said. “But why are they here instead of in the mountains? It has to be for some special purpose.”
“Like these papers?” Giovanni asked. He spread them out across the table, setting the bloodstained book to the side. “August kept files for his own safety. Some would consider them blackmail files, but he only ever used them for personal security. He was too smart not to have leverage.”
“So these contain information about vampires in power?”
“Yes. It wasn’t a secret that he had them, but he didn’t broadcast it either.”
“But the politically well-connected would know? Like Los Tres?”
“Most likely.”
“If there are rivalries going on—”
“Someone might have wanted them for the same reason August had them,” Giovanni said. “Leverage.”
“Interesting.” Ben picked up a thick file marked C. O’Brien.
Giovanni snatched it back. “Not your business.”
“Is it yours?”
“I’ll be returning anything related to Cormac’s people as soon as I return to New York. I don’t expect you to look at any of them. August gathered his own intelligence over the years. It doesn’t belong to you.”
It was a twisted kind of honor, but it made enough sense for Ben not to push it. If Ben found something to hold over the O’Briens on his own, Giovanni would respect that. But stealing the confidential files of a dead man was another thing.
But there were other files in that safe. Things that didn’t relate to Cormac O’Brien. Things that might relate to whoever killed him.
Tenzin had picked up the bloody book. “What is this?”
“He was holding it when I found the body.”
“Hmmm.” Tenzin paged through it. “It’s a book of folk tales in Spanish. It’s old.”
Giovanni frowned. “He must have been reading it when someone came to the door. Odd that he would—”
“No.” Ben couldn’t believe there was something his uncle hadn’t caught that he did. “No, he crawled to it, Gio. Didn’t you see the blood? He was killed near the safe, but he crawled to the bookshelves. Are you saying he had this book in his hands?”
“Yes.”
“Then… he was crawling to it. He grabbed it for a reason.”
“You’re right.” Giovanni blinked and some of the grief fell from his eyes. “He was dying, but he managed to get this book and hold it. What was so important, August?” He reached for it, and Tenzin handed it over. “We need to read this and read it carefully.”
A pair of sandwiched files caught Ben’s eye. “And any of these files not related to the O’Briens, we need to examine too.”
Giovanni opened his mouth, but Ben cut him off before he could protest. “I’m not looking for gossip, Gio. These papers might answer some very important questions about who killed Camino.” He reached for the folder. “For instance, why did he have a file on a pirate who’s been dead for three centuries?” He opened the cover. “And why is a there folder with Jadzia’s name stuck inside?”
19
They took a break from sorting through Camino’s files a few hours before dawn. Ben heated some soup he found in the pantry while Tenzin and Giovanni had a whiskey and plotted their next move. Ben watched them in silence. It was always interesting to see their dynamic, see how Tenzin worked differently with Ben’s uncle than with Ben.
“There’s no way I’m going to get away without presenting myself,” Giovanni said. “Especially not now.”
“You showed up in San Juan and then a human winds up dead because of a vampire. And it was a human you were known to consult with,” Tenzin said. “So yes, unless you want rumors to start, you need to make yourself known.”
“August and I were friends, not rivals.”
“We know that.” Ben sat down at the table with his food. “Did they? And is it safe? With the information in that file, Jadzia is the likely killer.”
“Or Valeria,” Tenzin said. “She could have wanted to keep the information for herself as leverage.”
“If Vasco was the other scent,” Ben said. “Then Valeria is the more likely killer. Vasco is her lover, not Jadzia’s.”
“Are we sure about that?” Tenzin asked. “You know things can get interesting in vampire courts.”
Old vampires—at least those who tended to be in power—generally fell into two camps that Ben had seen. Either they were paired with a very long-term mate who was nearly symbiotic, or they didn’t approach anything close to monogamy.
In the former, immortals tended to view anything relating to sexual relationships as a near sacred covenant. Human partners—if they existed—were guarded zealously. Vampire mates were blood-bound and loyal to death.
In the latter, political matings were common and often transitory. As were lovers or harems for both men and women. Open relationships were the norm, as were casual affairs. Sex was traded freely; blood was not, as sharing elemental energy created vulnerability.
“Ben, what is your impression?” Giovanni asked. “Would the cacique care if his wives took lovers?”
“I’m going to say yes. He seemed like the possessive type. And his sister was too. She saw her brother’s claim on the throne as the rightful one. The wives were tokens as far as she was concerned. I think both of them believe Macuya is the rightful ruler. Jadzia and Valeria are his nods to sharing power with other groups on the island. I don’t think he’d be okay with them having other relationships.”
“Interesting.”
Tenzin asked, “Why didn’t you ask me?”
“Because you’re not as good at reading human motivation as Ben is,” Giovanni said. “Know your limitations, Tenzin.”
“But they’re not human. They’re vampire.”
Giovanni smiled. “We’re still human, Tenzin. Every single one of us, whether we want to admit it or not.”
Tenzin huffed. “I still say Vasco could be a lover to one or both of them. Macuya might not care.”
“And I’m saying that Vasco might be a lover to one or both of them,” Ben said. “But Macuya would definitely care.”
“So we tread carefully. Valeria, Jadzia, and Vasco all saw us at the restaurant, and they know we saw them. Whoever killed August doesn’t necessarily know we found his body, and they have no way of knowing that we have the contents of his safe.” Giovanni wiped a hand over eyes that looked weary. Since he was little affected by the dawn, Ben knew his uncle was feeling loss, not physical exhaustion. “Only we know what was in there.”
“And possibly Jadzia.”
Tenzin said, “She probably suspects. She doesn’t know.”
“The letters between the priest and Enríquez,” Giovanni said. “Did August show them to you before?”
Ben said, “No. It’s pretty obvious that Enríquez thought he was going to manage to escape Abadía, even at the end.”
“Why wouldn’t he?” Giovanni asked. “He’d escaped before. Many times.”
“Tomás was his backup plan,” Tenzin said. “Of course, it’s obvious he did feel some fondness for the young man. He left him the map.”
Ben looked at Giovanni. “But you didn’t know anything about the Enríquez letters?”
Giovanni shook his head. “Not even a rumor. I knew August had Enríquez’s journal, but I’d never heard of any letters. When I was hired to look for the map, the client told me a Dominican priest was the likely place to start, which led me to ask for August’s help, but he never…”
“And who is this client?” Ben asked. “Still can’t tell us? How do we know he’s not the one who killed Camino?”
“He wouldn’t step on this island,” Giovanni said. “And he wouldn’t kill August. That’s all you need to know about the client right now.”
How about later? Ben ate his soup. He knew better than to push his uncle when Giovanni was in a mood. “The letters were new to all of us. So why did August keep them secret?”
“Leverage?” Giovanni
guessed. “But against whom? Enríquez is dead. Could Tomás still be living?”
“If he is, he’s created a new identity.”
Giovanni shrugged. “Vampires do it all the time.”
“So Tomás could be living,” Ben said. “And in all this time, he’s never gone after the treasure? I don’t buy it.”
Tenzin said, “We need to go back to the cavern. We need to search the last tunnel.”
Ben tried not to gape. He’d thought he was going to have to finesse the mule down the road, but she seemed to be trotting down the path on her own.
Better put up a token resistance before she got suspicious. “I thought you said it was a dead end?”
Giovanni glanced at him, clearly trying not to smile. “Didn’t you tell me it wasn’t worth the time, Ben?”
“I don’t think it is. If a vampire was using it—”
“A young vampire might not have smelled anything,” Tenzin said. “Especially if it was in the throes of bloodlust. We definitely need to check the third tunnel.”
“If you think so,” Ben said. “But I don’t know if we’re going to find anything.”
“If nothing else, we might find bones,” Tenzin said. “It definitely smelled like death. But old death.”
Ben tried not to grimace. “Oh goody.”
“Or we might find treasure.”
“My client was fairly sure the map was accurate and the treasure hadn’t been disturbed,” Giovanni said. “For whatever that’s worth.”
“Not much when we don’t know who your client is,” Tenzin said.
Giovanni shrugged. “Oh well. Ben, have you managed to work out how you’re going to transport the gold to New York?”
“Yes.” Ben glanced at Tenzin. “Why do you ask?”
“How? Air? Water?”
“Water,” Ben said. “I have a boat.”
“Yes, it’s a good thing I brought the plane,” Giovanni muttered. “Water was never going to work.”
Ben frowned. “I had it set up, Gio. I’m not an amateur. I’d already contacted a private yacht company and—”
“I’m not saying your plan was bad,” Giovanni said. “I’m just saying it wouldn’t work for this particular job.”
“Let me guess,” Ben said. “Because of the mysterious client?”
“Let me worry about the client.” Giovanni pointed at Ben. “You have something far more important to figure out.”
“What?”
“What the hell are we going to do with those birds?”
Ben went to bed before the vampires did. Tenzin watched him walk inside, waited for his door to close, for the locks to engage. She turned to Giovanni.
“You didn’t tell him.”
“Tell him what?”
“Why you really came down here.”
Giovanni looked perturbed. “You called me and confessed to biting my son. You left him with a strange human—”
“I left him with his cousin.”
“She doesn’t know that,” Giovanni hissed, his fangs down. “She doesn’t know who he is. She’s not a doctor. She could have seen him as a threat and left him out in the cold. He could have died, so don’t”—Giovanni was nearly shaking with anger—“don’t tell me he was safe. You risk yourself and him when you’re reckless like this. And if he dies—”
“He’s not going to die.”
“And you’re willing to guarantee that?” Giovanni said, his voice a low threat. “You personally?”
Tenzin refused to meet his eyes.
“Don’t think I don’t see how things are changing. Don’t imagine for a minute Beatrice and I aren’t aware.”
“And what?” Tenzin looked up at the moon riding high in the grey predawn sky. “You don’t approve of something you’re imagining in your head?”
He didn’t answer her. Annoyed, she looked at him, but far from the anger or disapproval she was expecting, Giovanni’s face was open. Loving. His strange blue-green eyes had kept her from killing him once. They’d reminded her of the child she’d lost. They continued to disarm her, even hundreds of years later.
“We love you both,” he said, “but you have to realize that in this game, you hold all the cards.”
She gave him a slight laugh. “Do you really think that?”
“Are you saying it’s not true?”
Because it was Giovanni—and only because it was him—she allowed herself to speak the truth. “Only three living people have the ability to undo me, my boy. And only one has ever made this dead heart feel even a little bit human. You say we’re all human, but you forget how long I’ve been a monster.”
“You’re not a monster.”
“But I am,” she said. “Far more than you’ve ever been willing to admit. The odd thing is, even with all your years and all your wisdom, I think he sees me more clearly than you do.”
“I see you.”
“But not like he does. You see, it’s still a mystery to you, but I know why he didn’t tell you about his family here. I know why he went with you when he was young. And I know why he will stay with me in the end.”
“Are you going to share or keep me guessing about my own son?”
“He is more at home with monsters than with humanity.”
Giovanni said nothing.
“All this is only preparation for the life he’s meant to have. For the life you know he’s been training for, whether he’ll admit it or not. He’ll choose this—choose us—in the end.”
“You’re overconfident,” Giovanni said. “And it may doom you both.”
“Are you going to tell him why you’re here?”
Giovanni looked away. “You’re tapping on a hornets’ nest, and Ben doesn’t know it.”
“You were already in New York. You were on the way here as a favor to Cormac.”
“How do you know that?”
“I have my own sources. So as Ben would say, stop bullshitting me.”
Giovanni was silent for a long while. “Someone in the court has made overtures to Novia. Overtures that have been met with approval.”
“Are you saying New York wants to back a coup in Puerto Rico?”
Giovanni’s voice dropped to barely over a whisper. “I’m saying that many in the broader world have noticed how unresponsive the immortal leaders of this place have been to the needs of the people here.”
“We’re vampires. We don’t involve ourselves in human politics. Disasters happen. Human tragedy happens. We’re not here to solve that. It’s not our business, and it’s not in our nature.”
“Some agree with you. Some don’t. But it’s not only the humans who are suffering.”
So Cormac was backing a coup in Puerto Rico. Hmmm. It was interesting. And possibly messy.
“Can’t it wait until we finish our project?” Tenzin asked.
“Not if you want my help moving all that gold.”
She tried not to pout. “You know, if coups keep happening in places I visit, I’m not going to be very welcome in much of the world.”
“I think it’s really odd you think you’re welcome now.”
“What are you talking about? I’m delightful.”
“You’re dangerous.” He smiled a little. “And sometimes you’re delightful.”
The two lovebirds were huddled close together the next morning, but they were making happy cooing sounds instead of angry whistles or shrieks. One seemed to be feeding the other one, and water and seed were scattered on the floor of their cage.
Ben had found some spare newspaper under the sink in the kitchen, and he was changing the cage liner when he heard Tenzin speak from the shadows.
“Cara showed me bird videos on YouTube.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Is that so?”
“Yes, lovebird videos. I know everything about them now.”
“Everything?”
“Admittedly, it was not a full ornithology lesson, but I do feel adequately prepared to care for them should the need arise.”
“Then why did you take them?”
“Because he was a nice old man and he loved these birds. He didn’t have any family. The police would probably have taken them to an animal shelter. I didn’t think a stranger should have them.”
“Do you think Giovanni is going to want them?”
Ben gave her a look. “I’m not stupid. He’s a cat person.”
“You don’t want them. He won’t take them. So who is going to care for them? Are you going to set them loose?”
“I don’t think they have it in them to be wild,” Ben said. “And they’re not native to the island. I have an idea, okay?”
“Fine.” She paused near the doorway down the hall. “But should the need arise, I can care for them. I’ve watched YouTube.”
The resentment he’d been feeling for a few days softened. “Thanks, Tenzin.”
“You’re welcome.”
They were driving back to the cavern in Camuy tonight. Ben had already tried to call the ranger station there, but he’d been informed that Liza Ochoa Rios was back to her regular assignment that morning.
Which means she’s close.
Ben put the birds in the back of the Jeep and covered them. They were agitated again, but they didn’t nip at him. He buckled the cage in so it wouldn’t slide around, then he started on the road toward El Yunque National Forest.
It was a little over an hour to get from San Juan to the area where Ben thought he’d be able to contact Liza. He knew she worked in computer systems, so he was guessing she’d be in the main visitor center. Of course, a quick search online told him the main center was still closed, but a temporary hub had been opened in the town of Palmer nearby. Ben headed there, hoping he’d be able to find his cousin or someone else who could help.
As he left the city and drove deeper into the country, the landscape changed dramatically. Lush forests had recovered from the storm. Though he could still see debris in many places, the heavy rain had led to wild and abundant growth in the trees and undergrowth.
Bright shopfronts were buzzing with activity. Ben checked his phone and was surprised to realize it was Saturday. He’d lost track of time days ago, but the island hadn’t. The sun was shining and families were out and about. Shopping, eating, and enjoying the beautiful weather.
Blood Apprentice: An Elemental Legacy Novel Page 19
