Dragon Gate Read online

  Rayna shrugged. “He has sixteen daughters too.”

  “Jesus! That’s twenty-eight kids. His wife must have had litters.”

  She shook her head. “Vanessa was his main wife. His lesser wives provided most of the children.”

  “A polyamory cult?”

  “Are you going to keep interrupting me, or can I tell you about the situation?”

  “To be honest, I’ll probably keep interrupting because I want to make sure I understand the situation.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “So is it strange that Thomas has more than one wife?”

  She shook her head. “No, where I’m from, the women outnumber the men, so men take multiple wives.”

  “Sounds like a place I’d like to visit.”

  “I don’t think so. There’s something to be said for indoor plumbing.”

  “There is that.”

  “As a point of honor, Thomas and his sons have come after us to make us pay for what they consider to be treason and sacrilege.”

  “Pay with your lives.”

  “That’s right. You may need to know that for my family, it’s a point of honor to submit to the executions.”

  “Run that past me again?”

  “Thomas is right based on the laws of our land. As such, we are not permitted to fight back. When they catch up to us, we must kneel and accept death. My parents have already done so.”

  “It’s still murder.”

  “By your laws, yes.”

  “You’re in our world now. Our laws apply to you too.”

  “I understand that. I believe Graham understands that too.”

  “So my instinct about the crime scene is accurate. Your mother simply knelt of her own volition and let someone kill her.”

  “Yes.”

  “That explains the lack of a struggle in there. But they still had to get into the building. Will you be all right here for a few minutes?” I asked.

  She nodded.

  “Good. I have something I want to check out.”

  She climbed into the car, and I closed the door.

  “What do you want me to do?” Esther asked.

  “Keep an eye on Rayna.”

  She nodded. I kept a typewriter key in the glove box, so Esther could always go to my car.

  “Want me to pop over and pass along the news to Kelly?”

  “Sure.”

  Esther popped away. A moment later, she reappeared.

  “That was fast,” I said.

  “Kelly left her key at the Nobles’ place.”

  “Okay, I’ll text her,” I said and reached for my phone.

  “She left her phone too.”

  “That’s all right. She’s fine and we don’t need to mess up Graham’s night at the moment. You stay here. Come get me if anyone shows up. I’ll be right back.”

  I returned to the building and approached the receptionist’s counter. She turned toward me and held up a finger then pointed at the phone she had cradled between her ear and shoulder. “I’m on hold with the police. They’re on their way.”

  “Excellent. I don’t mean to bother you. I just want a look at the guest book.”

  She gave me a suspicious look.

  “It’s all right. I’m a professional.” I showed her a license, and like most people, she barely glanced at it. Private investigators don’t need to be licensed in Colorado, but I kept a laminated poetic license card I picked up on eBay one night when I couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t quite as good as Doctor Who’s psychic paper, but it worked well enough for my purposes.

  “Yes, I’m still here,” she said into the phone and turned away.

  I pulled the book over and looked down the names on the register. I didn’t see anyone named Marshall. I would have been surprised if they’d stopped by the desk to sign in. That meant they used a different entrance.

  I pushed the book back into place. The receptionist turned toward me again. I gave her a nod and left.

  A glance across the parking lot and I spotted Esther standing on top of my car. She did a slow turn, watching for anyone or anything approaching. When she spotted me, I motioned for her to come over.

  “No torpedoes in sight,” she said as she appeared in front of me.

  “Good to know. I’m going to take a quick look around the building. Does she seem all right to you?”

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “I suspect that emotionally, she’s a wreck. She lost both her parents today. Drop down into the car to keep an eye on her too. Okay?”

  “I can do that.”

  “Good. You know the drill, let me know if anyone shows up or if she seems like she might be a danger to herself.”

  “It’s all berries,” she said and popped back to the roof of my car. I watched her for a moment. She gave me a nod and dropped through the roof into the vehicle. I didn’t want to invade her privacy, but at the same time, I wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to hurt herself. It was unlikely but you just never know how people will react to things.

  I walked around the building, looking for other ways inside. It wouldn’t be that difficult to go in through a window, but I doubted that was the method used. It would be a little too obvious in the daytime. There were three other entrances to the building through doors, but two of those only opened from the inside and the other required a keycard. I couldn’t rule those out. Someone taking a smoke break could have let one or more people enter. That sort of thing happens all the time.

  Another way in could be on the roof, but there wasn’t an easy access point, so if they went in that way, they’d need some sort of climbing gear. The landscaping didn’t include any nearby trees. If the killers showed up disguised as workmen and used a ladder, that could work. Otherwise, they’d need someone like Jackie Chan who could bounce up window to window to the top.

  I tested a storm drainage pipe. It wasn’t strong enough to support a grown man. I finished my walk around then went back to the car.

  Without an obvious entry point, what Mike Endar said echoed in my mind. They may or may not have magical abilities.

  Survey says: probably.

  Of course, it was also possible Thomas went in alone through the front door when Ann took a restroom break. Or he could have signed in under a different name. That would have been the easiest way. With normal people, that’s what I’d assume.

  With someone who might have magical abilities, it was better to overestimate an enemy until more data was collected. So my standing hypothesis was armed with magic, approach with caution.

  KELLY CHAN

  I saw them as soon as we stepped outside. Thirteen men of varying ages clad in old-fashioned tunics stood in a line on the sidewalk blocking the path to the Rolls. They looked like extras from a Lord of the Rings movie. They had weapons but at the moment, they were all strapped to their backs or hanging in scabbards at their waists. I swept my eyes over them, determining whom I should kill first. I figured I could take half of them out before they knew they’d been attacked.

  “Stay behind me,” I said.

  “It’s all right,” Graham said. “They aren’t here to kill me.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Graham ignored the question. He strode toward the eldest man, but I grabbed him and pulled him back.

  “Ms. Chan, please. I told you they aren’t here to kill me. Unhand me.”

  “Stay behind me or I’ll just kill them all right now.”

  “There are thirteen of them.”

  “Your point?”

  The eldest stepped forward. “Are you hiding behind the skirt of a fair maiden, Graham?”

  “Not by choice, Thomas.”

  He nodded and turned his eyes to mine. “Fair maiden, I would like a word with your charge.”

  “Fair maiden? Not sure if I like that. You can speak from there. One move toward any of your weapons, and I’ll kill every last one of you.”

  Thomas laughed. “You say that with such assurance.�
�

  I held his gaze. “Try me.”

  “Another time,” he said. He stood still and motioned to his men. They all took a step back and crossed their arms across their chests, hands away from their weapons.

  “Why are you here, Thomas?” Graham asked. He remained slightly behind me so, like a dog; at least he could be trained.

  “I’m here to tell you your parents are dead.”

  Graham sighed. “It didn’t have to come to this.”

  “You know full well it did. As soon as your family passed through the gate, you were all dead. I promised your father I’d give you the opportunity for a quick and painless death. We’ll come for you soon. In the meantime, prove your honor and tell me where she is.”

  Graham stepped forward so perhaps I was too quick to give him credit. He bowed his head and in a low voice, he said, “Clara didn’t make it.”

  “You brought her through.”

  “Yes, and the journey was too much for her. I’m very sorry, Thomas. She’s dead.”

  Thomas stared at the ground. He had the look Jonathan sometimes gets when he’s trying to determine whether someone’s lying to him. Finally he raised his head. “I warned you this could happen.”

  “You did.”

  “You didn’t listen.”

  “It wasn’t my choice.”

  “Yes, your uncle Lucas can be quite persuasive. Your father wanted me to tell you he loved you.”

  “And I him.”

  “One question before we go. Where is her body?”

  Graham shrugged. “It’s gone. The legends were true. Clara couldn’t pass through the gate. Her screams will live in my heart until the day I die. I hope you never hear such a thing.”

  “So she never set foot on the soil here?”

  Graham shook his head. “Some of her ashes littered the ground beneath the gate. Other than that, no.”

  Thomas nodded. “Grieve for your parents. We shall return.”

  Thomas turned and led his men across the parking lot into the darkness.

  “Who was Clara?” I asked.

  “None of your concern,” Graham said.

  Bitterman stepped out of the driver’s seat and opened the door for us. As Graham climbed into the car, Bitterman said, “I’m sorry, sir. They seemed to come out of nowhere.”

  “It’s all right, Bitterman. As they say, no harm, no foul.”

  I slid into the car. Bitterman closed the door and left me alone with Graham.

  “I don’t think he believed you,” I said.

  “I don’t care.”

  “You’re not going to tell us what’s going on.”

  I said it as a statement of fact, not as a question.

  He spread his hands. “It’s none of your business.”

  I nodded. I didn’t need to know what happened in order to protect him, so I let it go. After all, Jonathan was the detective. I was just here because I knew sooner or later, I’d get to kill someone.

  CHAPTER SIX

  RAYNA NOBLE

  Rayna sat in Jonathan’s car and waited. She was glad to have the time to herself. Inside of twelve hours, she’d seen her mother and father dead. She needed the time alone to arrange her thoughts.

  Graham seemed certain the Marshall Clan would come for everyone who had even limited involvement in what Thomas must have seen as a grand betrayal and murder. Be honest, she thought, he had to see it as the destruction of everything he’d ever believed or done. Betrayal that deep would require action.

  Her father had certainly been involved. Graham too. The men usually handled things. However, Lucas was the mastermind. Rayna knew her mother went along because she wanted to be with her husband, and Rayna had come along because she had nothing else. After all, she was just a little girl.

  She couldn’t stay behind. All that waited for her there was a marriage to a cold man who cared for little beyond his duty. At least here she could have a life. Here she could help people. Staying behind would change nothing.

  Almost nothing.

  She would either be married and living alone in a castle with no one for company, save the servants, or she’d already be dead.

  Like Mother.

  Like Father.

  She bowed her head. Tears threatened to flow. At first she fought them, but then she looked out at the parking lot. Jonathan was nowhere to be seen. She was alone so she let the tears go. Soon she found herself with her face buried in her hands. Her body shook as she sobbed. Everything would change now. How could it not? She didn’t want to die. Especially now that she’d found a place for herself.

  She cried until she could cry no more. She sniffed and opened the glove box, hoping to find a package of tissues. The glove box held only a car registration, proof of insurance, a little stick of metal with the letter X at the end of it, and an owner’s manual about the Firebird. She closed the box then opened the center console between the seats.

  Altoids and some CDs.

  Men never seemed to have tissues, and she’d used the last one in her purse this afternoon.

  She let the console lid drop into place and wiped the tears from her cheeks with her palms.

  Mother and Father were gone. The Marshall Clan would go after Graham next. Then Rayna. Then they’d finally close in on Lucas and his family. Move in, clear a circle, move to the center, clear that circle. Don’t stop until everyone is dead.

  Rayna considered what would be expected of her. Could she bring herself to drop to her knees and bow her head? It wasn’t proper to even consider going against tradition. Family and honor. Nothing else mattered.

  Right?

  She looked out the window and saw Jonathan approaching the car. He was here to protect her. Was that even permitted?

  Looking at it from old-world eyes, that would be a no. But she wasn’t in the old world. The rules for this world should apply.

  She knew Graham still held on to the old ways, so he would send Jonathan and Kelly away tonight. Then she and Graham would face whatever came their way as brother and sister, the last survivors of Stephen Noble’s lineage. It would all end there unless she could get him to see things her way. That would be a first.

  JONATHAN SHADE

  When I slid into the driver’s seat, Esther let herself drop through the ceiling.

  “All clear,” she said, “but the Sheba’s been crying. If I had tear ducts, I’d be a mess right now too. I wanted to comfort her, but well, you know. Sometimes I hate being dead.”

  I gave Esther a nod then glanced at Rayna. Her mascara was smeared, and the tracks of her tears were still visible on her cheeks. I felt bad for her. I knew only too well what it was like to lose parents.

  “I’m sorry about your mother,” I said. “I wish we could have been here to save her.”

  “She was dead before you came to our house,” Rayna said, her head down.

  She was right, of course. Elizabeth Noble was probably already dead when Mike Endar came to see me.

  “I’ll take you home.”

  As we left, several police cars turned in to the parking lot.

  “What more can you tell me about the Marshall Clan?” I asked.

  “Not much. You should probably talk to Graham about it.”

  “I will.”

  She sighed. “Just so you know, I fully expect my brother to tell you to go back to Denver. He’s going to see this as a family matter, and you are not family. The odds of him listening to me are slim to none. Oh well. It will all be over soon anyway.”

  Her tone of voice told me more than she realized. It was the tone of someone who had given up. I’d had plenty of personal experience with that. She was resigned to the fact that she was going to die and there was nothing anyone could do to change the outcome.

  “We’ll see about that,” I said.

  oOo

  Back at the mansion, I sat with Rayna in the drawing room. I didn’t try to convince her to let us help. She made it clear that she wanted us there, but in her view, it was up to Grah
am. I hoped Kelly had talked some sense into him. We could help. I knew we could.

  Esther moved about the room, running her ghostly hands over expensive furnishings. From the look on her face, I knew she wished she could actually touch them, but without that sensory input, she quickly grew bored.

  “Would you like something to drink?” Rayna asked. “I can have Jenkins bring some tea.”

  “I’m good,” I said. I don’t wear a watch, so I pulled out my cell phone to check the time: 10:35.

  “I’d like some tea,” Rayna said. She reached over and pulled on a fabric rope, and deep in the house, I could hear a bell chime.

  A few moments later, the butler entered the room. “What can I do for you, Miss Noble?”

  “Please bring us a pitcher of green tea. Perhaps some crackers too.”

  “Yes, Miss Noble.”

  Esther drifted over to me. “She’s single and attractive, Jonathan.”

  I met Esther’s eyes.

  “And she’s rich,” Esther said. “You could marry her, and I could have a big mansion to haunt.”

  I knew Esther was trying to bring some levity to the room. She had a thing for me but was trying to keep it on the down low since she was dead and there was no future there. Back when the typewriter had been complete, she’d been bound to it, so if I went on a date, I could leave the typewriter at the office and Esther wouldn’t have to see anything. Now that the typewriter was in pieces and she could pop to any of them, she tended to show up when I was with a woman, and I knew it hurt her. So I knew she wasn’t being serious about Rayna.

  Besides, Rayna was a client.

  The front door opened. Graham and Kelly entered and found us in the drawing room.

  “How did it go?” Rayna asked.

  “Mother’s dead,” Graham said.

  “We know. We found her body. You forgot your phone again. I tried to call you.”

  Graham crossed the room, sat down beside his sister, and took her hands in his. “I’m sorry.”

  “We knew it was likely,” she said, and I knew she was speaking about her mother, not the phone.

  Kelly stood next to my chair and touched my shoulder. “We met some people I’d like to kill,” she said. “They looked like refugees from a Renaissance festival.”

  Graham turned around. “You won’t be killing anyone.”