Her skull-like face dove toward Jaime’s. “Do you want to know the secret, Molly’s girl?”

“No,” Zoe said, leaping between them. “I…I don’t think she’s ready, Tee. Better wait until she-”

Tee swung an arm at Zoe, who ducked and darted to the side. Then she advanced another step toward Jaime, the smell of her so strong I gagged again.

“I will tell you, sister, but I don’t think you’re strong enough to do it.”

Jaime stiffened, eyes blazing, mouth opening.

Tee cut her short with a cackle. “Don’t like that, do you? Maybe there is some of your grandmother in you. Tell me, sister, if you wanted the key to long life, where would you look?”

“I…” Jaime paused, obviously thinking, not wanting to appear the fool in front of this woman. “In the ancient texts-”

Tee’s laugh roared out on a blast of breath so foul even Jaime blanched.

“Closer, sister. Look closer.” She waved an arm around. “In this very room we see long life-two kinds of it-do we not?”

“Vampires and werewolves,” Jaime said.

“What do they have in common?”

Jaime looked from Zoe to me. “Um, they both…” Her eyes widened as she made a connection. “They hunt. Hunt their prey.”

“And what do they hunt?”

I could see where this was going, and I took hold of Jaime’s arm. “I think-”

“Vampires hunt people,” Jaime said. “But werewolves only hunt…well, I guess some of them hunt-” Her face paled. “People.”

“That, sister, is the key. Imbibe the flesh of the living, and ye shall live.” She stretched her neck out, voice lowering to a whisper. “It’s quite simple. You take a knife, and slice off a strip of-”

I coughed. In hindsight, a silly and useless thing to do. No sudden noise would drown out Tee’s meaning. But I had to do something.

Tee only cackled and reached out her hand, her bony fingers caressing my arm. I fought to keep from pulling away, and lifted my head. My gaze met hers and I saw something there, something human and almost tender. Her bloodless lips twisted into a smile.

“Momma wolf’s tummy is a bit sensitive, isn’t it? We’ll speak no more on that, then.” She looked at Jaime and lowered her voice. “Come to me later, and I’ll tell you the rest.”

With that, she retreated, scuttling backward to the safety of her corner.

“About the…what we came here for?” Jaime managed. “This killer. The one who came through the portal. You said you know something about that?”

“Something?” Tee sounded offended. “Everything. My friends tell me everything.”

“Then we’d like to know-”

“Smoke,” she spat. “Smoke and mirrors. Sound and fury. Signifies nothing. Do not waste your time.”

We looked at one another.

“Perhaps,” I said. “But still we’d like to catch-”

“The killer?” Tee made a rude noise. “Foolishness. Another spirit crosses over? It happens every second. Happening now, all around you. Will you catch all their killers too? Cancer and rage and loneliness? Catch those and lock them up?” She turned her head and spat into the darkness. “Foolishness, and you have no time for it.” Her eyes peered at mine. “Your babies have no time for it.”

“If it’s connected, though-”

“Smoke and mirrors. Sound and fury,” she grumbled. “You want to stop him? Why bother me? Ask her.” Tee waved one arm at Jaime. “Or do you tell me Molly O’Casey’s granddaughter doesn’t know how to call a zombie?”

“Call?” Jaime said. “Summon a zombie, you mean? Sure, if I raised a zombie, I’d know how to call it to me, but these aren’t my-”

“Oh, so it’s beyond you, then, sister, is it? Not so simple as chatting with ghosts.” She flapped her arms, mumbling to herself. “No, no, you’re right. Wouldn’t help. They aren’t the problem. Smoke and mirrors. Sound and fury.”

My cell phone vibrated, spooking me enough to jump. I pulled it out, thinking-hoping-it was Jeremy.

“Elena? It’s me. Rita.”

“Oh. Um, Rita. Right. Can I call you back?”

“If you do, you’ll regret it. There’s been another murder.”

That stopped me. “You mean from last night? They found another-?”

“Body. And this just happened. Broad daylight. Downtown, a few blocks from the last one. Near Regent Park.”

For a second, I couldn’t speak. Then I thanked her and hung up.

“Another one,” Clay said before I could speak. “Right here. Right now.”

“Maybe it’s a coincidence-”

“It isn’t. It’s a message.”

Tee had completely retreated, pulling herself into her cocoon and going silent.

“We should check it out right away,” I said after telling Jaime and Zoe about the call. “While it’s still fresh. Maybe see if we can pick up a scent this time.”

Jaime nodded. “I’ll stay here-” A quick look over her shoulder, into Tee’s corner. “See if I can get her talking…”

“We’ll need you there,” I said. “In case the victim’s ghost is still around.”

Relief flooded her face. “Yes, of course. I’ll come.”

“I’ll work on Tee,” Zoe said. “I still need to-” Her gaze flicked to the crate with the penknife. “-give her what I promised. If I get anything from her, I’ll call you.”

Negotiation

CLAY HAD INSISTED ON MEETING THE OTHERS HALFWAY, mumbling something about being careful with his arm. In other words, if it was a setup, he didn’t feel comfortable protecting me alone.

I took Jeremy aside and told him what happened with Jaime.

“I’m really sorry,” I said. “If I’d known this woman was a necromancer-”

“You couldn’t have. Even if you had, I doubt we could have dissuaded Jaime. She’s-” He brushed back his hair. “She wants to help, and the uglier it gets, the more insistent she becomes. I’ll speak to her. The rest of you continue on to the crime scene.”

Fifteen minutes later, we were huddled a half block from the crime scene, waiting for Jeremy, having seen and heard all we needed.

“I’m sorry,” Hull said as we huddled to the side of the scene. “I’ve tried to keep quiet, but I cannot. This-” He waved an agitated hand toward the taped-off alley. “Surely, I can’t be the only one who sees this for what it is. The girl in there, the pregnancy, the physical resemblance-”

“We saw,” Clay said.

“Then you understand the significance-”

“I said-”

“We understand that it’s a message,” Antonio said slowly.

“Could it not be more than that? The resemblance, the location, the timing.” He looked at Clay. “If Shanahan sent this beast here, on orders, knowing your wife was near, and he saw that young woman, is it not possible that he mistook-”

My knees buckled, and only my grip on Clay’s hand kept me steady. What if that woman died-her baby died-because I’d been near, only a block away?

“Enough,” Antonio said, voice hard.

“I’m only saying she should be kept safe. If Shanahan gets hold of her-”

“No one needs to remind me of that,” Clay snarled. “I’m taking care of my wife and-”

“But you’re injured, are you not? If you can’t protect her-”

Antonio caught Hull ’s arm and propelled him backward, out of Clay’s reach. Clay didn’t move, though, just fixed Hull with a look that said he wouldn’t waste the energy on him.

“I think-” I began, then noticed a familiar face bobbing through the crowd. “Oh, here comes-”

I didn’t even get Jeremy’s name out before Hull had wriggled out of Antonio’s grasp and was scampering across the road to his protector.

“Where’s Jaime?” I asked as Jeremy reached us.

“She went back to the hotel. She insisted on coming to the end of the road, but when she found the victim was-” A quick glance at Hull, as he realized he had to be careful what he said. “-gone, I persuaded her to head back for a rest.”

My cell phone went off. I glanced at it and saw a hospital name flash across the screen.

“Hold on,” I said. “It could be Tolliver.”