“I keep telling him we’re going to find her.” Bootsie yawned. “Hate to leave you, my friend, but I am old.”
“I’m fine,” Dirk told him.
“I can stay a bit longer,” Aldous said. “Hell, twenty years ago, I could’ve sat up all night.”
“Good, you have another drink with him, Aldous. I need to get some sleep. Good night, all.” Bootsie left, his peg leg making a little thump with every other step.
Dirk should have been bleary-eyed, considering the amount of time he’d spent in the bar that day, but he seemed to be all right. Abby cast a glance at Sullivan and raised her brows. Sullivan inclined his head with a secretive smile; that was his way of telling her that he’d promised Dirk the Dragonslayer would be picking up his drinks that day—and then Sullivan had watered them down to keep Dirk from keeling off his bar stool.
She smiled her thanks, then patted Aldous and Dirk on the back. “Take it easy, you two.”
“We’re okay. We’ll stumble home together soon,” Aldous assured her.
She nodded. Aldous sipped his drinks slowly and looked after his friends. He and Dirk both lived nearby, a few blocks from the Dragonslayer.
She turned, but Malachi was no longer there. Grant Green was giving directions to a couple who wanted to see the Colonial Park Cemetery, in the heart of the old town. They wanted to visit it the following day. She smiled and thanked them for coming to the Dragonslayer as they left, then asked Grant, “Where did Malachi go?”
Grant pointed to the dining room, where a group sat at one of the large round tables near the grate to the tunnel and the image of Blue Anderson. Malachi had taken a seat with them. There was an empty chair beside him.
As if he sensed her watching him, Malachi rose and beckoned her over.
She approached the table. All four of the people there—two men and two women—stood, too. The women were blonde, one petite and one tall. The men were both dark-haired, slim, handsome. They looked like a who’s who of beautiful people.
Malachi smiled broadly as she reached the group. “I told you I had a surprise for you. One I thought you’d like. And these lovely people are it. The blonde across from you is Katya Sokolov. To your left is Angela Hawkins. Next to her, we have our illusionist and magician extraordinaire, Will Chan, and here, by me, Jackson Crow.”
She was startled and told herself she should have recognized him from the pictures she’d seen of him, and now, of course, she did. Crow.
A surprise.
And she was surprised. Jackson Crow himself, now a legend in the agency, had arrived.
He was a striking man with his evident mixture of heritage. She shook his hand, and then met Angela, Will and Kat. She sat down in the chair held for her between Malachi and Jackson Crow, and the others sat, as well.
“You came,” she said, staring at Jackson Crow. She’d never met him. She just knew his name, had seen his picture. Everyone at Quantico knew who he was. They whispered about him, sometimes in a teasing fashion, and sometimes with awe. Either way, his record spoke for itself.
“Malachi said this is a situation that warrants some extra help,” Crow told her. “I figured we’d put Will to work with the pirates, since he’s an excellent actor and magician. Kat is a pathologist. She’ll see if anything’s missing as far as the autopsies are concerned. Angela and I will work the computer angles and interview those who were last seen with the victims, leaving you and Malachi free to delve into the city. You’re the expert on Savannah. I’ve got a meeting first thing tomorrow with Detective Caswell and the task force to give them some idea of what we think we’re looking at—and who we might be looking for. And then we’ll all buckle down to try to locate the missing girl.”
Abby nodded. “I’m glad. So glad. Her life has got to be the priority right now.”
“Of course.” Angela spoke quietly.
“I’m grateful that you came in force!” Abby said.
“Agent Anderson, there have been a number of bodies found. Only a fool wouldn’t think that warranted serious attention,” Jackson Crow told her.
“But do you believe what I was trying to explain—that my grandfather was murdered?” Abby asked.
Crow nodded. “With the message he sent you, and his death right before your arrival? Yes, I do. Something is going on here. We’ll do everything in our power to find out what. And I don’t expect our hands to be tied. Two of the victims were from other states, which gives us jurisdiction—although I hate to step in uninvited. But because Malachi has a good relationship with the detective in charge, I believe an invite is in the works.”
Across the table, Angela Hawkins leaned in. “The Dragonslayer is incredible. What a wonderful place—and what a fascinating history.”
“The food is excellent, too,” Kat Sokolov added.