Page 56 of Damian’s Conquest

“Thank you, Mrs. Zhang,” Naomi added, before they both left the flat.

Once outside the building, Naomi turned to him. “Who was the man she recognized?”

“Mick Solvang.”

“The missing bartender? So there is something to her story. Do you think Mick was trading vampire blood?”

“It looks like it. I never thought that Mick would sink so low, and put us all at risk.” Damian shook his head. “But then I didn’t think he was cheating on Angelica either.”

“What? How do you know that?”

“Patrick called me last night, remember? Just when we got to my place? He said that one of the other bartenders, Andrew, thought that Mick was seeing somebody else other than Angelica.”

“Then maybe that woman knows where he is. Perhaps he’s staying with her,” Naomi suggested.

“It’s possible, but we don’t know who she is, or if she even exists. It was just a suspicion Andrew has, though he’s often right. Apparently, he overheard Mick speaking on the phone to her.”

“Then maybe your IT guy can find something on Mick’s cell phone.”

“I already called Eddie last night, right after I spoke to Patrick. He’s looking for any recent calls Mick made to a woman other than Angelica. If he used his cell phone, we’ll find out who she is.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket once more. “Let me call him to see if he was able to get anything done after the housewarming party, or if he and Thomas went straight home to sleep.”

Naomi put her hand on his forearm. “Eddie sleeps during the day, right? Isn’t he gonna be pissed off if you wake him?”

“Don’t worry, when there’s a crisis at Scanguards that affects us all, nobody sleeps much until it’s all taken care of.”

Damian dialed Eddie’s cell phone, and his uncle picked up the call instantly. Judging by his voice, he was fully awake.

“Hey, Damian, I was about to call you.”

“Hey, Eddie, did you get anything interesting from Mick’s cell phone?”

“Actually, yeah. You were right that Mick was seeing somebody besides Angelica. He’s been talking to another girl for the last three months or so, and they seem pretty lovey-dovey in their text messages. The phone number is registered to a Tracy Horng. I was just about to log into the DMV to see where she lives. Give me a sec.”

While he heard Eddie tapping away on his keyboard, Damian addressed Naomi, “Mick’s been texting with another woman. Eddie is getting me the address.”

“Good, that’s a lead,” Naomi said.

“Who are you with?” Eddie asked through the phone.

“Naomi.”

“So I take it she took it well? Or did you chicken out and not tell her?”

“I told her, and she’s good with it.” Better than good. He locked eyes with her, and a smile formed on his lips. “Right, chérie?”

“Good for you,” Eddie said. “Got Tracy Horng’s info. She has a license. I’ll text it to you so you have a photo too. She’s Asian, and… wow, only twenty-one. Mick’s definitely been robbing the cradle.”

“Thanks for that, Eddie. We’ll go check her out. Maybe she knows something, or maybe Mick’s holed up at her place.”

“Oh, before I forget it: the last call Mick got was from Tracy. She called him the night before Halloween.”

“Thanks, Eddie.”

“Talk later.”

Damian disconnected the call. A moment later, his cell phone pinged, and he looked at the display. Eddie had sent him a photo of Tracy’s driver’s license. “This is her.”

Naomi looked at the picture on the license. “She’s young, and pretty too.”