“To a degree,” I replied, jaw tight. I had the entirety of the parking lot behind me, and somehow Forester still made me feel like I was backed against a wall.
“True or false: your mother told you the truth of the so-called ‘Firestarter Murders.’”
I looked to Bach for any hint if this was a trap, but he stared at the ground, unmoving. “True,” I said.
“I long suspected she spent a lot of her time searching for Bach’s entrance. This, as you can probably guess, was not ideal for us, but we didn’t worry that she would find it, and as long as she didn’t try to out me to the town, I didn’t mind what she did. Besides, she cleaned up others of our kind who came through here looking for a meal—firestarters, you call them?—and kept them from revealing us. This town is like a beacon for them, because of the mark my mother left, so there were always more that threatened us.
“I don’t consider myself a dangerous person. I think it’s important for you to know that. I love this town. It’s the only home I know. I don’t leave because my mother will come back one day, and I have to be here for her. I’m sure you understand that.”
“If Ludwig is such a threat to you,” I said, “why don’t you just have Bach get rid of him? His entrance is in the mines; Bach can swing an axe probably better than I can.”
“I would,” Bach replied quietly, lifting his head, “but it’s easier for you to find him.”
His head yanked down again, as if there was a collar around his throat. My fingers brushed the handle of the door behind me.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“We know you find firestarters by communicating with the ghosts of the people they kill,” Forester said. “Unfortunately, as you’ve noticed, the dead don’t come near us. And Ludwig is at least smart enough to keep his distance while we’re around.”
I swallowed. “So I find Ludwig and you help me get rid of him. What about your mother? Hildegard? I knew she had disappeared, but I didn’t know you expected her back.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. If Hildegard does return,” Forester said, “she won’t be any trouble to you.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she’s my mother,” he said simply. “And Bach’s. And as long as nothing threatens us, she’ll pay no attention to you. But if she does come back and this mess is still going on, I can’t promise we can protect Addamsville.”
I was smart enough to catch the warning in that. The murderers wanted me to find another murderer so a third murderer wouldn’t show up and murder everyone, including me. Cool.
“What happens between us after I get rid of Ludwig?”
“We all go back to our lives,” said Sam Forester, unruffled, “just as they were.”
With him feeding on Addamsville’s dead, and me trying to look at lit matches without panicking.
A spark of flame flashed behind Bach’s sunglasses. He winced and said softly, “Sammy...”
My hands had balled into fists and my gloves were squeaking. “Fine.”
Forester smiled. “Great. Bach.” He nodded toward me.
Bach pulled a folded slip of notebook paper from his coat pocket and gave it to me. A phone number.
“Yours?”
Bach cleared his throat. “You’re the only one who has it now, besides Sammy.”
Forester had receded into the shadows, though I hadn’t seen him move his feet.
“And, if I help, and Hildegard comes back...”
“Sammy’s right,” Bach said. “She’ll only come back for him. If something threatens him, that’s what she’ll go after. You don’t have to worry.”
Coming from Bach, it didn’t sound so dangerous.
“Fine,” I said again. “I’ll let you know when I have something.” I glanced at Forester. “And uh, thanks.” I didn’t know for what. Not killing me?
Forester nodded. A small smile. Dark eyes. “Anytime, Zora Novak.”
