Page 61 of Hextreme Measures

“She was always a banshee,” Ofelia replied, her tone lifeless and uneven. She recognized now she wasn’t going to get anywhere here. Not with Jack being so far behind. Plus, Jack was loyal. He would give Biff the benefit of the doubt. “It runs in their family.”

“Can you tell me how?” Jack prodded. “How it runs in the family, I mean.”

“I’m not sure how they managed it. I just know that one of Biff’s ancestors talked about a wailing woman who had her wits about her,” Ofelia replied. “She approached the women, learned some tricks of the trade, and introduced it to the family. That first ancestor was turned into a banshee. The rest were born into it.”

Jack turned his expectant gaze to Biff. “Is that true?”

“No,” Biff replied. “I know what book she’s talking about — and you’d better give that back because it’s a family heirloom — but there’s nothing about being banshees in there. Ask her to bring it in and show it to everybody if she believes that.”

Ofelia had no intention of doing that. She recognized what Biff was doing. He wanted the book out of her hands. He was afraid of what she would find in it. He likely figured they would need to get a translator in, and that would buy him enough time to steal it back.

Jack sent Ofelia a hopeful look. “May I see the book?”

“No, you may not,” Ofelia replied.

Biff threw up his hands in triumph. “See!”

“I’m not giving that book back,” Ofelia replied. She’d warded Sully’s truck when she left Shirley’s house. Nobody was getting that book. “It’s my bargaining chip for Zach.”

“I just want to see it,” Jack prodded.

“I said no.” Ofelia respected Jack. She knew Sully not only respected his boss but liked him as a person. She wasn’t going to risk Sully’s fate in the hands of this man, however. Especially if Biff could somehow bamboozle him.

“Okay.” Jack used his most reasonable voice, as if she were a bomb about to go off. “What do you want to do here? What do you want me to do? Do you want me to send a unit to the house to look for Zach?”

Ofelia’s initial reaction was to tell him it was a waste of time. Then she thought better of it. “Yes.” She turned her full attention to Jack. “Search the house. He’s not there. You’ll find a few interesting things, though, and you’re no good to me as long as you’re trying to play peacemaker.”

“That’s not what I’m doing,” Jack insisted. “I’m just trying to understand.”

“Let Biff explain it to you.” Ofelia moved toward the door, then stopped herself. “When you talk to your mother, tell her I’ve got her book, and I know what I’m dealing with.”

“You’re being an idiot,” Biff fired back.

Ofelia merely smiled. “Also tell her that if one hair on his head is out of place when I get him back — and I will get him back — that I’ll kill you and burn her precious book, and that’s after I unleash unholy hell on every banshee in this town, whether cognizant of their surroundings or not.”

It was in that moment that Ofelia saw Biff’s reaction for what it was. He looked at her, and she saw hate. He had always looked at her that way. He might have tried to pretend otherwise at times, but that wasn’t the case today. No, he was ready to show her the hate.

That was good. She was prepared to show it right back.

“Do we have an understanding?” Ofelia prodded when the silence had continued to stretch for too long.

“You’re crazy,” Biff said, sticking to his story. “I don’t know what happened to you, but you’ve lost your mind. Mental illness runs in families. I’m sorry this happened to you.”

Ofelia refused to let the statement get to her. “Your mother better return my fiancé. If she doesn’t, I’ll burn her whole world to the ground.” With that, Ofelia swept out of the room.

She knew exactly where she was going.

15

FIFTEEN

Ofelia couldn’t bank her rage. Given the fact that banshees were looking for people with internal volcanoes of fury, she hoped she could work it to her advantage. Once leaving the paranormal division, she drove straight to Pascal’s store. He had designated parking for himself even though he didn’t have a vehicle, so Ofelia took that spot. Then she let herself in through the back door.

For a change, Pascal was not sitting on his throne. He was on his feet waiting for her. “What happened?” He knew Ofelia better than almost anybody, and he’d been feeling her distress for almost two hours at this point. Since it was daylight, and he had no idea where she was, he couldn’t go to her. “What’s wrong?”

Ofelia thought she would vomit the information out on him in a big ball of lava. Instead, she burst into tears.

Pascal pulled her to him, held tight, and rubbed his hands over her back to soothe her. When she’d cried for almost five minutes straight, unable to get the story out, he moved her to the chair and poured her a glass of tea. Then he hunkered down in front of her.