The good thing is, if we were and someone called it in, 911 would just chalk it up to a movie being filmed or an overdose of something at a Hollywood party, Mark told him. Why? Any wacky calls to the station?
No, except for the one Im about to get towhich wasnt wacky, just preemptive, Edwards said. He slid over a piece of paper. Alan Hildegard calledhes representing his kin. Naturally he was extremely disturbed to hear that his familys vault was used by such maniacs for their evil purposes. He wants to cooperate with the police in any and every way possible in regard to shutting down this occult group dedicated to raising his great-grandfather from the grave.
Alan Hildegard, Mark mused. Hes running the family interests now? Arent there several brothers, sisters and cousins?
Edwards shrugged. Alan is the self-professed head of the family. The oldest son of the oldest son or whatever. He owns the estate. I think one of the sisters lives there, too, and maybe their cousin. I thanked him for his cooperation and told him you were on your way or would be soon. Hes expecting you.
Lieutenant, Mark said, we found a screenplay on one of the old soundstagesa new screenplay. Were going to go and see the author, Greg Swayzebecause who knows what it was doing there. He could be involved. At the very least, maybe he has some insight. Additionally, now that its been confirmed that Others are involved, wed like to take over as lead detectives on the murders of Leesa Adair and Judith Belgrave. He leaned forward. The media has speculated about a serial killer, of course, but wethe policehavent made an official statement. However, with what we know now...it seems that these deaths were at the hand of the same killer or killers. Theres a young Elven woman missing still, and were racing against time, hoping to find her before its too late. Were Adair and Belgrave here for the Hollywood dream? Would they have been actively auditioning? We need to know this stuff, and it will be a lot easier if theyre our cases.
Way ahead of you. Edwards picked up two files from his desk and opened one. Leesa Adair, twenty-nine, graduate of Carnegie Mellons theater school. He flipped open the other folder. Judith Belgrave was a waitress in Ramsay, New Jersey, before picking up and heading out here. Hang on, let me check the family interviews.... He skimmed through the file and then looked up at them. She told her sister she planned on being discovered. Said that in acting, a degree was a bunch of bullyou could act or not, and if you got the break, you could learn while doing. The camera would like you or it wouldnt. So, yes, it seems that both girls were here following the age-old Hollywood dream.
And, Brodie said, Regina and Alessande met on a film set, so
So someone seems to be targeting actresses, Edwards said. But things arent always what they seem, he warned them. The percentages of actresses out here is sky-high. Every waitress you meet is an actressalong with every female bartender and half the hotel clerks.
Yes, but the womens descriptions... Mark said, remembering the briefing theyd all received on the cases. Tall, blonde and blue- or green-eyed.
Elven or Elven-looking actresses.
All right, well...Ill speak with Harvey Olstein and Myra McQueen, and get both cases transferred over to you. I dont think theyll mind. Theyve got plenty of other cases on their plates. Then Ill call over to Missing Persons and tell them youre pretty sure that the murders and the disappearance need to be seen as a serial event. Homicide feels theyre at a dead end as far as clues go, and Missing Persons has followed every lead, as well. No one knew about the old Hildegard Studio until you two walked in.
We didnt know about it until we took Alessande to the House of the Rising Sun and got to talking, Brodie explained.
Edwards shook his head. And that girl was in herebeing interviewedhalf the night and morning!
In her defense, Lieutenant, I dont think she knew the head of Robbery Homicide is an old werewolf, Brodie said. She wouldnt have known to ask to speak with you.
Old werewolf? Edwards demanded.
Experienced werewolf, Mark said quickly.
Humph, Edwards said. Get going, then. Oh, and, Mark, you can pick up another car tomorrow. Ive asked the auction guys to scrounge around for something youll likecant guarantee another vintage Mustang, though.
Mark nodded. Yeah, well...hey. Its just a car, right? He knew that Brodie was laughing at him. Too bad. He really did like vintage Mustangs.
Well go to the Hildegard estate, Brodie said.
Youd better get this one solved quickly, Edwards told them. He shook his head. I hate it when Others cause trouble. So messy. Damn. He pointed a finger at them. Move it!
* * *
By the time the Gryffald cousins, accompanied by Declan Wainwright and Mick Townsend, made it up to the guest room in response to Alessandes summons, the change that had taken place had already diminished.
Im completely confused, Barrie said. You changed? Into what?
A giant! An angry giant! Merlin exclaimed.
Elven dont shift, Sailor said flatly.
You are Elven, right? Rhiannon demanded.
You know Im Elven! Alessande said. And I didnt change into an angry giant.
Okay, so Barrie continued.
Angry giant, Merlin insisted.
All right, Im worriedobviously, or I wouldnt have called you up here. I...got bigger, Alessande admitted.
Fat? Sailor asked.
Noall of me. I was about seven feet tall...and I did look a little peeved, Alessande said.
Declan spoke softly. Baby shapeshifters and occasionally even shapeshifter Keepers do it sometimes, he said softly. When theyre hungry, scared...they suddenly appear bigger. Not giant, but...bigger, he repeated. As infants, they cant control their shifting.
They were all staring at her. Im not a shifter! I remember my mother, and she was Elven.
But your father died when you were very young, Barrie said. Are you just as sure about him?
Stop staring at me, all of you. I feel like a sideshow at the circus, Alessande said.
If we have children, Sailor said, looking at Declan, theyll be...mixed.
Mixed Keeperfairly common, Declan said.
Who was your father? Rhiannon asked speculatively. If he were a shifter Keeper, that might explain why you never showed the ability until now. Think about it. Every living creaturehuman, Other, animalgets a quarter of his or her DNA from each grandparent. Sometimes a brown-eyed parent and a blue-eyed parent have a blue-eyed baby, and sometimes they have a brown-eyed one. And sometimes our Otherworldly powers come out later in life, Rhiannon said.
She cant be half Keeper, Barrie said. Shes Elvenwe all know Elven when we see one. Besides, if shed been born to be a Keeper, shed have the birthmark, Barrie said. Were all born with the mark of the race well grow up to manage and whose talents well share.
There! I have no birthmark! Alessande said. And Im not stripping to prove it.
Declan laughed. Mick, a shapeshifter himself, studied Alessande. Half-breed, he told her. You must have the mark somewhere. Somewhere you dont see.
They all stared at her as she insisted, Hey, I meant it. No pat downs, no body inspections.
Where do people never see themselves? Rhiannon asked, looking at Barrie.
Um, the butt? Barrie suggested.
Stop! Alessande protested.
Rhiannon laughed. I wasnt thinking of anything quite sowell, quite so whatever. I was thinking the bottoms of the feet.
It wouldnt be too intimate or personal a question if we were to ask to see the bottoms of your feet, would it? Declan teased.
Knock yourselves out, Alessande said, sitting at the foot of the bed and lifting her legs.
They all stared.
And then they looked into her eyes.
What? Alessande cried.
Shapeshifter, Barrie said softly. You may be Elven, but you were also born to be a Keeper for the shapeshifter community.
Shes right. Its faint, but the mark is there, Declan said.
They all backed away, still staring at her. Your mother never told you that your father was a shapeshifter Keeper? Sailor asked her.
No! I thought it wasnt even acceptable for Others to...well, you know, have relationships with different races of Others until just recently, Alessande said.
Acceptable or not, Im sure its happened throughout time, Rhiannon told them. People have always intermingledwhether it was socially acceptable or not.
And, Sailor added thoughtfully, while we may all want to believe weve magically become open-minded, the play Avenue Q has it right. Everyone is a little bit racist.
Alessande winced, her lashes veiling her eyes. Yes, she admitted to herself, it was true. She herself had been down on Mark Valiente for being a vampire.
Do you think they hid their relationship, afraid of what other...Others might think? Barrie asked.
My mother died when I was seven. Maybe she meant to tell me when I was older, Alessande said. Maybe she didnt want me knowingafraid of how Id be accepted in the Elven world if I let it slip.
If you think about it, this is really a great thing, Barrie said. You have the power of the Elven and the power of shifting, too.
I cant shape-shift. Whatever happened was a total accident. And thats badreally bad, Alessande said.
No, well work on it. You need to practice, learn to concentrate, Mick told her.
You have Mick, Declan and me. Well help you, Barrie assured her.
Alessande looked at them. And then the magnitude of what was happening slowly swept over her. She hadnt known how to mind read or teleport as a small child; shed learned from her mother and then from her stepparents. It was like learning to walk, to talk....
You wont be a shapeshifter, Mick said.
Youll still be Elven, Sailor assured her.
Youre just destined to be a Keeper, as well, Rhiannon said.
Which means that you can master the ability to shift, Barrie assured her.
And if she could do that, Alessande thought, how much more effective would she be to enter the world of illusionistsand the bizarre cult that had grown up around Sebastian Hildegard?
* * *
The Hildegard estate was a relic of old Hollywood, set on a hill and guarded by heavy iron gatesmuch like the House of the Rising Sun.