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He rubbed the pads of his fingers over the keys. “We are rather like modern gods, aren’t we? Meddling in the lives of humans. Changing their course.”
“You’re a vampire, Mr. Visconti, not a god. There’s a difference.”
“Is there?” The question was clearly meant to be rhetorical.
“I won’t get involved with your ex,” I said calmly. “If that’s the only way you’re willing to help, then I’ll leave now. Thank you for your time.”
I turned toward the door, making sure my footsteps were loud enough to hear. I made it three steps before I got the result I wanted.
“Wait,” Otto said. “I may be able to help you.”
I turned back slowly. “And what would you like in return?”
“To learn the reason for your move to Fairhaven. I love a good scandal, even better when it’s someone else’s.”
“There’s no scandal, Mr. Visconti.”
“Very well then. Visit me once a week for a month and come bearing gossip. I’d like to hear it from a newcomer’s perspective. That’s my price.”
It came as no surprise that Otto Visconti was painfully lonely.
“Fine,” I said, sinking as much reluctance into the word as I could muster. “But only if you play the piano when I visit. Nothing overly dramatic.”
“Like Rachmaninoff,” we said in unison.
Otto’s fangs gleamed in the dim light. “Oh, I like you, Miss Clay. I very much hope you stay.”
CHAPTER5
Ididn’t need a ward to tell me something was wrong. I sensed it as soon as I crossed the bridge over the moat. The fact that my front door was now hanging off its hinges was another fat clue.
Nana Pratt wasted no time in intercepting me; her hands fluttered nervously. “I tried to stop them, but they ignored me.”
I squeezed through the narrow gap left by the crooked door and crossed the threshold to see beams of wood strewn across the floor. “You’re a ghost, Nana. They don’t know you’re there.
“They found out the hard way,” Ray chimed in. “We followed your advice on convincing ourselves we’re still solid and went full poltergeist.”
Ah. “So, this mess is actually from you, not the intruder?”
“The door was their handiwork,” Nana Pratt sniffed. “I don’t have that kind of power.”
“Not yet,” Ray corrected her. “I think if we practice, we could get there in no time.” He seemed pleased with this development.
“How many were there?”
“One,” Nana replied. “I used ‘they’ because I couldn’t tell if they were male or female. They wore a hood.”
A sharp cry from outside interrupted the conversation.
Nana Pratt raised a finger. “Oh, I forgot to mention, there’s some sort of kerfuffle happening in the cemetery.”
“Describe the kerfuffle.”
“A disagreement,” Nana said. “Possibly a violent one.”
“Can kerfuffles be violent in nature?” It was more of a rhetorical question. “Is it related to the break-in?”
“I don’t think so,” Ray said. “The intruder left alone about an hour ago, and these two showed up about ten minutes ago.”
