Chapter Seven

A Nice, Long Talk

The Cleaner stepped into Mick's freezer chamber as Guillermo changed out another bag filled with plasma. "How is he?"

Guillermo straightened from his position beside Mick's freezer and crossed his arms as he looked down at his friend. "Still unconscious, but his wounds are finally healing. The cuts and bruises around his wrists and on his face are nearly gone, and the wound in his chest should be closed in a few more hours."

He carefully closed the lid shut on the container and turned to the Cleaner with an air of satisfaction. "Whatever they were pumping him with, it will take much more to keep my boy down."

The Cleaner was not convinced. "That's just it. We have no idea what they were pumping him with. I personally never heard of any type of experiments done on vampires to make them … change. Have you?"

Guillermo paused, glancing over his shoulder at Mick's freezer. The Cleaner regarded him closely. "Guillermo? You know something?"

He sighed and nodded slowly in defeat. "A couple of months ago, Mick … became human."

The Cleaner stepped back in shock. "Impossible! There's no way!"

"I have no reason to lie. He had color in his face. A tan. No powers. He ate solid, human food. He was human. You can ask Kostan, ask Logan, you can even ask Beth."

She stepped forward to look down at the glass. "What happened? How did he change back?"

"You remember Pierre Anders?"

She nodded. "The cosmetic surgeon. Someone called a clean up for him." The Cleaner's eyes widened as realization dawned on her and she whirled to face Guillermo. "Mick killed him?"

"It was justified. He had Beth and the D.A. who died not too long ago captive. Talbot was his name. But before that, Anders worked Mick over something awful. He barely made it down to the morgue where I had to do some crafty but quick ass surgery on him. After that, you know as much as I do."

The Cleaner nodded. "Do you know how he did it?"

"His ex-wife had some compound that she injected into his bloodstream. Next thing you know, he's walking around tanned like he tried out for an episode of 'Baywatch.'"

She continued to look down at Mick's encased form. The glass had frosted over, making his visage barely visible. "I need to talk to that doctor we had picked up last night," she decided, stepping past him to the exit. "He works for Rehnquist. He has to know what's going on."

Guillermo followed her downstairs to Mick's living room. "Oh no. There's no need for you to do that. The humans should have him locked up tight by now, so Beth called me leaving Kostan's crib last night saying that she was going to contact her friend this morning about him."

She stopped at the door, fighting the urge to ignore Guillermo and leaving. "Fine," she growled, turning back around. "Probably will be a good idea to stay with Mick in case he wakes up anyway. And plus one other thing."

"What's that?"

"I'm very interested in what you can tell me about his ex-wife's compound."

#

Hayley opened her eyes in the hospital room as the aroma of steaming coffee attacked her nostrils. She rubbed the sleep away and her vision focused on the cup held mere inches away from her face. Her eyes diverted from the cup to Allison standing in front of her.

"I figured you would have stayed here instead of heading back to work or home, so I stopped and got you a cup. Two sugars?"

Hayley reached for it, smiling her thanks. "Just what I need to, well, not start my day, but continue it."

She looked away from Allison over to where Alexandra Sanders rested peacefully in a bed facing them, her face half covered with gauze and bandages. A camouflage cast covered her right wrist. Equipment monitoring her vitals beeped at regular intervals.

Allison sat down on the couch beside Hayley. "How is she?"

"Her cornea was scratched from a share of glass, so her eye will be back to normal in a few days. Other than that, broken wrist, and bruised larynx, just cuts and bruises." Hayley paused to take a swallow of coffee from her cup. "She should be walking around in a couple of days. A week at the most."

Allison nodded. "We need to interrogate this doctor soon, Hayley. He's been locked up in the security wing all night."

Hayley's eyes did not leave her boss. "No one knows we have him, right?"

"Just us. Oh, and Beth and her friend."

Hayley slowly rose from her seat and walked over to the side of Sanders' bed. She grasped the railing as she looked down at her injured friend.

"Good," she said grimly. "Because when I get to the house, we're gonna have a nice, long talk."

#

Toothbrush in mouth, Beth exited her bedroom and headed for the kitchen. Giving the freshly brewed pot of coffee a nod of approval, she began to reach in her cabinet for a mug but was stopped by a knock at her door.

She grunted at the disruption and bent over to spit toothpaste into the kitchen sink. Grabbing a napkin from her Chinese takeout she had purchased last night after leaving Josef's mansion, she hurriedly wiped the corners of her mouth as she made her way to the door.

Beth tossed the napkin into a nearby trash can before peering into her peephole. She pulled back in surprise and started to back away from the door, but curiosity won her over. She disengaged the locks and pulled the door open.

"Coraline."

Coraline Duvall smiled nervously at Beth. "I know this is early, but I must speak with you concerning Mick. May I come in?"

Beth considered closing the door in the vampire's face, but thought that more damage would have been done to her door and her pride than anything else. She stepped back and gestured for Coraline to enter.

Coraline took in the decor of the apartment as Beth closed the door. "Very quaint," she said. "This reminds me of a small apartment I owned in Paris. Before the first world war."

Beth stepped past her and into her kitchen. She grabbed a mug and began to pour herself some coffee, but stopped and held the pot up. "Would you like some? Or did you decide to maintain your blood diet for the next few decades? I can't tell nowadays."

Coraline gave her a sardonic smile. "I'll pass, thank you."

Beth finished pouring and took a sip. "As much as I would like to discuss decorating tips with you, Coraline, I have a busy day ahead of me. What are you doing here?"

Coraline reached into a pocket and unfolded a piece of paper. "I have access to a database my family uses to order supplies and have them shipped to anywhere across the world. I found this list of ingredients ordered and requested by Malcolm to be sent here."

Beth took the paper and scrutinized the items. A sense of dread began growing in her every second she held the sheet in her hand. "Do you know what they're for?"

Coraline shrugged. "I can only speculate. My only focus over the past few decades has been the cure. But Malcolm has experimented for decades trying to find ways to rid vampires of our weaknesses. Sunlight. Heat. Fire. Lead. Even the thirst for blood. There have been some success. Some failure."

She took the sheet from Beth's hand. "But I have heard that his research recently turned into a study of how a vampire's blood works. What he has discovered ... Beth, he has found ways to make any vampire submit to his will."

Beth slowly sat down on her couch, looking up at the vampire. "It goes along with what we've found out already," she said. "We believe we may have the doctor who revived Sarah Whitley. Along with Mick."

Coraline gasped. "You found Mick?! Where is he?!"

"He's at his apartment recovering. Guillermo is looking after him." Beth forced a smile. "He's going to be okay."

Coraline returned the smile. "Well, I don't know how you did it, but I know you were heavily involved." Her gaze returned to the paper in her hand.

"This is an enhanced version of sodium pentothal. A version strong enough to break the will of any vampire." Coraline turned and walked over to the bookcase against the far wall. "Malcolm has experimented for the better part of a century in finding ways to make us immune to things that can harm or kill us. Some were successful. Others were not."

"I imagine fire was one of the things you somehow protected yourself against," said Beth. She reclaimed her coffee mug and took another sip. "It was the only thing that had us convinced that it couldn't have been you when you reappeared in Mick's life last year. We both saw you in flames."

"It's one of our most guarded secrets, yes." Coraline turned back around to face Beth. "But we're getting off subject. Malcolm never conducts any experiments outside of our lab in Paris. He requested for these items to be sent here from a reason. A specific reason."

Beth stared hard at Coraline, looking for any visible sign to tell her not to believe anything she said. Instead, she noticed something that she have seen in humans all the time. Never in a vampire.

Fear.

Beth decided to change the subject. "We found Mick last night at an abandoned hotel about an hour northwest of L.A. There was this doctor with him, and he had a bunch of vials in a medicine bag. We think he may have been the one who somehow revived Sarah Whitley from her sixty-year long coma."

"Doctor Ian Ellis." Coraline walked over and held the paper out. "He was the one who had requested some of the other items on the list."

Beth's eyes darted to where Coraline's finger indicated. Ellis' name was noted on the manifest as the requester. "You're right."

Coraline pulled her phone out. "Where is he?"

"That is the answer to the million dollar question." Beth finished her coffee. "But I have a friend who works for the people who have him in custody. Why?"

"Because if he's been out of Malcolm's grasp for this long, it's not going to bode well for him."

She dialed a number on her phone. "Or the ones watching him."

#

Malcolm paced the hotel bedroom floor with his hands clasped behind his back. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, sir." David Oxford nodded. He sat at a table drinking blood from a champagne flute. "There's no mistake. You asked me to familiarize myself with the scents of St. John's friends and acquaintances. Turner was there."

Malcolm gazed outside the window at the morning sky. "Losing St. John this soon is somewhat dangerous, but it was expected. Losing the doctor, however, was not. Do you have an idea of who took him?"

"Not yet, but I have Lucas keeping an eye on Turner's place. Wherever she goes, he will follow."

As if on cue, David's cell phone vibrated on the table. He reached for it and peered at the screen. "It's him now. He sent a picture."

David pulled the picture message up and gazed at the screen in an long, uneasy silence. Malcolm turned around to look at his associate. "David? What's wrong?"

David held the phone out to him. The grim look he gave Malcolm made him pause in taking it from his hand. "Is it that bad?"

"Depends on your definition of bad." David held the phone out again. "I'm just glad you and I get along so well."

Malcolm finally took the phone and opened the message. His expression gave away nothing other than one raised eyebrow. He stared long and hard at the screen for nearly a minute before sighing and passed the phone back to David.

"It seems that Coraline no longer has any appreciation for the life I have provided her and her brothers all these centuries," he said sadly, turning to gaze out of the window once again. No anger in his tone could be detected.

"I received another message a hour ago," said David. "Our New York associates should be here by this afternoon."

"Excellent. Have Lucas follow Coraline and Beth Turner. Wherever they stop, he is to report back with the location."

#

Coraline and Beth stepped off the elevator onto the main floor for Sanders Securities. Beth glanced around and quickly found the door leading into the reception area. "If it wasn't for the fact that the owner was attacked by Rehnquist last night, I certainly wouldn't be here," she said.

Coraline stopped her. "Why?"

Beth carefully considered her answer. "I don't like her motivation. She seems like a good person. Beautiful. Smart. Resourceful. But her mind works at a higher RPM than others. She's hard to keep up with."

They stepped through the doors to the front desk where Beth asked to speak with Allison. Coraline stood several feet away, admiring a magazine blow up of Alexandra Sanders in her Marine Corps uniform.

A side door opened, and Allison stepped out into the reception area. A manila folder was tucked under her arm. "Beth. I wished you had called."

Beth gestured for Coraline to come over. "How's Alex?"

"She'll be okay. Broken wrist and scratched cornea is about the extent of it, but she'll be out of action for a while." Allison paused as Coraline stepped close. "Beth, I know why you're here. I'm sorry. I can't let you see him."

"But it's important," Coraline insisted. "We believe he may know where Rehnquist is."

Allison fully turned to Coraline. "I'm sorry. Who are you?"

"I'm Coraline Duvall, Mick's ex-wife!" Coraline's tone and expression took on that of a jilted, foreign lover on the verge of losing all sense of reality. "I want to know what that bastard did to our Mick!"

Allison looked at Coraline for several seconds in bemusement. Finally she turned to Beth. "You came here. With the ex."

Beth slowly nodded, glaring at the vampire. "She … has a thing for Mick still. It's sick. I keep telling her that. But she won't listen."

Allison slowly looked from Beth to Coraline and back again, finally shaking her head. "Los Angeles. Should I even be surprised?" She shook her head again and walked over to the front desk.

Beth stared at Coraline. "What is the matter with you?" she whispered. "Why do you sound like a crazy girlfriend from a Dr. Phil episode?"

"One of the things I did to modernize myself before returning to L.A. was watch a bunch of his shows." She grinned. "Is the accent okay?"

"No."

Allison came back over and crossed her arms. "I'll probably get fired for this, but we owe you one for last night, Beth. And he puts us closer to Rehnquist.

"You have five minutes."

#

Beth and Coraline followed Allison off the elevator down a dimly lit corridor. "This was part of a parking garage when Alex bought the building," she said. "She had part of it converted into our security wing. Our armory, shooting range, and interrogation rooms are down here."

She stopped at one door and opened it. "Miss Duvall, you can watch from in here. I'm sorry, but I know Beth. I don't know you."

Coraline started to protest, but Beth quickly responded. "That will be fine, Allison. Thank you." She gave Coraline a cautionary look.

Coraline relented and stepped into the darkened room. Beth and Allison followed her inside. Several computer were situated on a desk along with a small handheld video camera mounted on a tripod. The camera was pointed in the direction of the adjacent room, separated by one-way directional glass.

The three women watched a handcuffed Ian Ellis pace nervously around the small room. "I had just got his background check back before you showed up," said Allison, tossing the manila folder she was carrying on the desk. "It's pretty thin. One speeding ticket. Everything else is more job-related than criminal."

Beth continued to watch the doctor. "What do you plan on doing with him?"

Allison shrugged. "Well, I have to break Big Brother's playbook out and say we technically can hold him, but not for long. We caught him as part of a crime, but we don't know what part he played in said crime. Not until we get Rehnquist."

Beth considered this. "So, that was Josh's answer. What is your answer?"

"My answer is whatever answer my boss gives me." Allison glanced at her watch. "Remember. Five minutes."

#

Lucas tugged at his collar for the fifth time since parking his car in front of a seven-story building near the business district of the city. He watched as his quarry, Beth Turner walked purposely up inside, followed by Coraline Duvall.

When he had sent the picture of the women to David, he expected Malcolm to launch into one of his tirades whenever an unexpected implication arises. The arrival of Coraline would definitely count as an unexpected implication.

So he was surprised when David texted back to simply follow and send back their location. He started to ask if he should confront Coraline, but decided that would have been requested if an enraged Malcolm texted him and not David.

He decided to do an address search on his tablet. Punching in the names of the intersection closest to the building, he accessed a database listing all of the business in the immediate area.

The first two, a bridal store and a law firm did not catch Lucas' eye.

The third one did.

He picked up his cell phone and texted two words to David Oxford.

Sanders Securities

#

Beth entered the room as Ellis began his twentieth circuit around the room. He turned to face her. "It's about time. I've been cooped up in here for hours! I don't even know where I am."

Beth gestured for Ellis to take a seat. "It's not my place to tell you, but trust me. You cooperate, and it will be as if you were never even taken. I just have a few questions for you."

Ellis squinted through his glasses. "Wait a minute. You were at the hotel last night. You arrested me."

"No, I didn't, Dr. Ellis. Would you sit down, please? I don't have much time."

Ellis slowly took his seat at the table. Beth slid hers out and did the same. "I know all about you, Doctor. Your work in hematology. Your suspension. The patents you had denied."

Ellis dismissed everything with as close a wave as his manacled hands would allow. "That's common knowledge. A third grader could Google that."

Beth leaned forward across the table, locking eyes with him. "I also know about Sarah Whitley," she said in a very low voice.

The surprise was evident on Ellis' face. He started to speak, but Beth cut him off. "The vials that you have in your bag, they were given to you by Malcolm Rehnquist," she said, shooting to her feet. She used the motion to kick her chair, causing it to crash against the wall behind her.

She slapped her hands on the table hard, leaning across it again. "What were those vials for? Why were you using them on Mick?!"

Ellis held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "I'll tell you! Just don't … kill me, okay? I should have known I was getting in over my head."

Beth reclaimed her seat as Ellis spoke. "Malcolm ordered those drugs through some source he uses for God knows what. He had them sent to the hotel where he and his people are staying."

Beth felt a flush of excitement. "Where is he staying?"

"The Hardwick Hotel."

Beth glanced briefly over her shoulder at the reflective glass. "And the vials? What were you using them for?"

"We gave him several drugs. I administered my selection that kept him weak. Docile. He couldn't do anything. There were times when he sat unrestrained for hours. Because of the combination of the drugs, lack of food and sleep, he had no energy to even lift a finger.

"I primed him in the daytime for Malcolm when he arrived at night. The drugs he had, he mostly administered himself when I wasn't there. He didn't really tell me what they were for. The only thing he told me was that the time he and St. John shared was very informative."

Informative? What did he and Mick talked about? wondered Beth to herself. She glanced over her shoulder for a brief second before bracing herself.

"In your … professional opinion, is Mick a danger to himself and others right now?"

Ellis shrugged. "I honestly can't tell you what effect the drugs have had on St. John, but after working with Rehnquist going in a month now, there's no telling what is going through his head right now. He could be thinking of making love to you, or killing you, for all I know."

Those words erringly echoed within Beth as she and the others headed upstairs to the lobby. They walked outside, stopping underneath the shade of an umbrella perched in the center of a small granite table.

"What do you think he meant? That Rehnquist set Mick up to be some type of hit man?" Allison sipped from a water bottle in her hand. "Between the truth serum and whatever the hell else he cooked up, it can't be good."

"I don't know, but whatever it is, maybe we do need to get Mick checked out as soon as possible." Beth gestured to where her car rested on the street. "That's our next stop."

Allison finished the contents of her bottle and tossed it in a nearby trash receptacle. "Hayley won't be interested in any of this except the Hardwick Hotel. I have to call and let her know. Let me know if there's anything I can do?"

She nodded once to both ladies before reentering the building. Beth began to make her way to the car, but noted Coraline remained where she stood, her eyes darting up and down the busy street.

"Coraline? What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I think I detect vampire residue, but being it's outside and diluted with the heat from today, it's … it's hard to tell." Her eyes closed and she leaned back to inhale deeply.

Beth took a cautionary look up and down the street, especially at the vehicles parked on both sides. She did not see anything out of the ordinary, though she knew she would not be able to detect anything with her limited senses.

"Come on," she said, turning back to her car and opening the door. "I need to go over to Mick's and see how he's doing."

Coraline finally headed over to the passenger side of Beth's vehicle. Seconds later, the car pulled out from its parking spot into the street, turning left at the first intersection.

Lucas stepped into view from a nearby alleyway, watching the vehicle's departure. He turned back to the Sanders Securities building. His phone was in his hand as he said, "They're heading to St. John's apartment. Chances are he's there."

"It would be so easy to reclaim my prize," mused Malcolm through the speakerphone. "If I were so inclined."

"Coraline knows about the Hardwick, sir. The doctor is singing inside."

"We are already heading to another location. I anticipated he would have given up the hotel. When we get settled, David will call you, but I have another task for you. You believe the doctor is still inside?"

"Yes."

Lucas listened as Malcolm outlined his plan. A smile gradually grew on his face.

#

Beth stopped at the light around the corner from Sanders Securities and looked over at her passenger. "Glad we had that conversation before we arrived. You sure?"

"Yes." Coraline slid her phone in her jacket pocket. "At least one. He or she was at your apartment when I arrived there. The decay was tainted, but still distinguishable when we came back outside."

"Okay. So what are you going to do?"

Coraline smiled as she opened the door.

"I'm going to see what he's up to."

#