Page 6 of Caretaker

“Please sit,” Michele said. “May I offer you some refreshments?”

“Nothing, thanks, Michele,” Frank said.

“Mr. Bennett will be right in,” she said, then left the room.

Judge Bennett walked in two minutes later. He completely ignored me as he shook Frank’s hand and exchanged innocuous pleasantries that I barely heard.

Frank sat down on the sofa beside me, and the judge took the uncomfortable looking chair across from us. And finally, he looked at me.

I stared calmly back at him, though I was anything but calm. My insides quivered and twisted into painful knots, and it was all I could do not to jump to my feet and pace the floor.

“Your Honor,” I said, instead.

“Ms. Sinclair.” He was a tall, thin, clean-cut man, unremarkably plain, brown eyes, thin lips, not handsome, not ugly. Power swirled around him. Not supernatural power, but power that came from commanding the lives of others—both human and nonhuman.

I believed it had gone to his head.

The captain cleared his throat in the ensuing silence. “I let Trinity know about Madalyn.”

When Crawford said the missing woman’s name, emotion whirled suddenly and vividly in the judge’s eyes, and his face came to life. For a few seconds, until he controlled himself, his face was transformed into something interesting and attractive.

Hmmm…

Lewis Bennett was crazy about his wife.

I smiled, and finally, I relaxed. I sat back and crossed my legs. Lewis Bennett was just a man in love with a woman. I could handle that. “Let’s not waste time, Judge. The longer she’s missing, the harder it’ll be to find her alive.”

Again emotion blazed in his eyes, but that time, it was from anger.

“Trinity,” the captain barked. “You don’t need to—”

“What? I don’t need to be honest? I’m sure the judge has people tiptoeing around him all day long. I don’t have time for games or ego stroking.” I lifted my chin and stared Bennett down. “Tell me what I need to know.”

He curled his lip. “I have not decided to hire you.” He leaned forward, as though he thought I might be intimidated. “You aren’t the type of person with whom I normally associate.”

I swallowed hard and hoped he couldn’t read the doubt in my eyes. I could not blow this. I could not. “I don’t care for you, either. But you’ll give me the job anyway, and I’ll take it.”

“Why should I give you the job, Ms. Sinclair?”

“Because you love your wife more than you hate me.” I let him consider that for a moment, then it was my turn to lean forward. “But I’m curious. Why do you dislike me, Judge?” I knew why, but I wanted to hear him say it.

I didn’t have to twist his arm. “Because you’re a traitor to your own kind.”

Frank climbed to his feet. “Lewis, she’s not a traitor to anybody. She hunts vampires, for God’s sake. You know what she’s done.”

I only smiled. “Come on, Captain. You can’t be surprised. You had to know the good judge was a—”

“Careful.” Bennett left his chair to stand beside Crawford and both of them stared down at me as though not quite sure what to do.

“Look,” I said. “You want your wife. I’m nearly certain I can give her to you. And I’m also nearly certain you know what I want in return.”

He pointed his finger at me and jabbed the air. “I will not release Angus Stark! If it’d been up to me he’d have stayed there until he rotted.”

At last, I stood. “Here’s my offer. I’m going to look for her, and for that, I want visitation rights to the Byrdcage. If I find her alive, I want Angus Stark released. If I find her dead…” I hesitated, then continued. “Then that’s your fault for being a bigoted fool and wasting precious time.”

I thought he might hit me. Frank must have believed it was a possibility too, because he took a step toward me, his hand up. “Lewis. Give her what she wants and let her bring Madalyn home.”

The judge sank down into his chair and buried his head in his hands. Finally, he looked up at us, his eyes watering and the lines on his face a little deeper. “Michele!”

She entered at once, as though she’d been hovering outside the door. She strode to us, then dropped a small bag into the judge’s waiting hand.

He opened it slowly and pulled out a thin, silky pillowcase. He held it to his own nose, briefly, before handing it to me. “She slept on this before she disappeared.” His voice roughened. “I can still smell her on it.”

I took the item, then gave him a nod. “I’ll find her.”

“You’d better,” he snarled, and he didn’t care that there were witnesses, that a cop stood right beside him. “If you don’t bring her home, I’ll make sure you suffer for the rest of your pathetic life.”

I flinched beneath all his rage, but I understood it. He was terrified, and I was there. “I’ll bring her home.” I clenched the pillowcase in my hand. “Judge…”

“Yes, yes.” His voice was suddenly tired, and it didn’t hold a lot of hope. He wanted to believe I could do what the police could not. He wanted to believe I could give him back his love. But there in his voice was the truth. He didn’t believe it. “I will have visitor passes created for you and two of your guards. You wouldn’t come back out if you went into the Byrdcage alone.”

“And if I bring her back alive,” I said, “you’ll give me Angus Stark.”

He rested his head on the back of the chair and stared up at me. “If you don’t bring her back alive, Ms. Sinclair, I will make sure Stark suffers before I have him put down like the dangerous, rabid animal he is.”