Page 15 of Secrets in the Dark
He nodded. “And I’m comparatively young, strong and fast—and he eluded me.”
“All right, let’s think about this. It could have been worse if we’d stopped him. Then, if we had something to go on and had a chance of getting to him, he could have started screaming about police harassment, he could have brought in lawyers...and walked away.”
He nodded, taking her hand, and offering her a grin. “I’m going to be okay. I can’t help but feel that... Never mind. I’m going to be okay. I promise.”
“Of course. Because we will get him,” she said determinedly.
The pilot announced that they were about to land at Heathrow and Edmund Taylor came from the back to take one of the seats across from them.
“I hope I prove useful and become the permanent British bloke in this alliance thing we’ve been working. This is the most amazing travel I’ve ever had.”
Mason laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing. I was feeling guilty at first. I thought we were taking the plane from the US agents. But we’re not. I’m not sure if you know about Krewe history, but—”
“Ghostbusters,” Edmund said.
“We often get the weird,” Mason said.
“You know, weird cases, occult cases—vampire cases,” Della explained dryly.
Edmund waved a hand in the air. “A team versed in the unusual and ready to deal with ghosts, goblins, whatever—I read up about them.Krewebecause the first case the American unit worked was in New Orleans and they have all their Mardi Gras krewes there,krewebeing an organization that stages parades or floats for carnival. And Adam Harrison had been putting some of the right people together for different strange cases before he talked to friends in the government and the FBI to form his unit. He also happens to be an incredibly rich guy who would rather help the world than play golf. Heard he lost his son—some people would have gotten bitter. I hope to meet the man one day.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Mason glanced at Della, smiling. Adam Harrisonwasan amazing man. His son had been “gifted” and when he’d died, he’d passed his special senses through to a friend. And working a strange death with that friend, he’d learned that there were more “gifted” people in the world.
Adam hadn’t been able to see or speak with the dead himself—until several years after his son’s death. Knowing that the man had then come to be able to see his teenaged son was something that gave Mason a lot of faith. There was more—he already knew that. But he felt as well that Adam’s amazing gift for charity and caring for others had been the thing that had allowed him to see his only child, even in death. But now they were a new section of that team. One that could prove to be a little bit...hmm.
Awkward.
Because if Edmund or Jeanne Lapierre—the French detective they’d worked with on the vampire case, or François Bisset—their Interpol liaison—saw or spoke with the dead, they hadn’t shared that information with Mason or Della.
Philip, with his medical degree, had explained it the best he could. Like all things with human beings—the good, the bad and the ugly—heredity appeared to be the main factor. One percent of one percent of all people had a predisposition for the connection. Oddly enough, one percent of one percent on the world stage wasn’t that small a number.
“Adam is just a wonderful, kind and giving person. He’s spent his life giving,” Mason said. “In all honesty, I haven’t known him that long, but the people who have love and admire the man. And the first agent he recruited was Jackson Crow, an unbelievable field supervisor and between them—and the rest of the Krewe—you couldn’t ask for better coworkers. So, well, yes. Good travel. And—”
“As always,” Della said, “we get to hit the ground running!”
“We don’t have to run,” Edmund said dryly. “I left my car at the airport. We’ve been set up at New Scotland Yard with offices and we’ll head there. François was home, but he’s taking the Chunnel over and he’ll be with us by tonight. Wilhelm is tying things up in Norway and will join us as well, and Jeanne Lapierre plans on arriving by this evening. Or whatever it is—morning here, right? Still getting accustomed to the puddle-jumping!”
“Hey, yeah, it’s a trick, but a fun doable one, in a way!” Della said. “And...well, you, Wilhelm, Jeanne and François are great to work with and...hmm. And, England is easy enough for us—nice that our cohorts speak our language.”
“You blokes kind of speak English!” Edmund teased.
“Or,” Della teased in return, “you might say that we perfected English.”
Edmund groaned.
“Hey, you know a smattering of several languages,” Mason reminded Della.
She nodded. “A smattering! Hey, I can buy coffee in several languages! And, of course, find the restrooms.”
“Why do you think they call them restrooms?” Edmund asked, grinning. “I mean you don’t go there to rest.”
They all laughed. Mason suggested, “Well, let’s see, in lots of countries, say France, they are much more specific!Toilets!”
“Then we have men’s room and ladies’ room,” Della reminded them.
“And facilities,” Mason said. “Hmm, but facilities...that could mean many things!”
