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“I haven’t seen any evidence of it. The vampires here tend to behave themselves.”
“Would you do anything about it if you did know?”
Gunther considered the question. “Only if I had a connection to the girl.” His eyes skimmed me. “Not all of us can be Good Samaritans.”
“This is a peaceful cemetery,” I said. “In future, I ask that you carry out your empty threats elsewhere.”
He gave me an appraising look. “Wait a minute. You’re notthatgood. You’re the lady who bought that mountain of rubble.” He flicked a dainty plum fingernail behind me.
“It isn’t rubble. It’s actually in decent shape.” I eyed him closely. “You didn’t happen to venture inside before your buddy got here, did you?”
His whole face brightened. “No, but I’d love a tour. I haven’t been inside since…” He puckered his lips, seeming to think better of his statement. “Never mind. It was years ago. I’m sure the bloodstains have washed away by now.”
“I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I’m in the middle of multiple projects, so a tour isn’t in the cards. No pun intended.”
Gunther bowed. “It was nice to meet you, Lorelei Clay. I’m sure we’ll see each other again, hopefully, under more pleasant circumstances next time.”
I had no doubt. Gunther Saxon would be hard to miss.
I returned inside the house to deal with the second disruption of the day.
“I’m glad he didn’t try to hurt you,” Nana Pratt said, trailing behind me.
“He would’ve been sorry if he had.” I was focused on the break-in now, all thoughts of Gunther Saxon pushed to the back of my mind. “Did the intruder take anything?”
“Not that I noticed,” Nana said. “They seemed to be looking for something. They went straight to your computer.”
I laughed. “They won’t find anything there.”
“They quickly drew the same conclusion. After that, they didn’t seem to know where to look. They scanned the countertops and then went upstairs to your bedroom.”
I shivered. My bedroom was my innermost sanctuary. Knowing it had been violated by a stranger unsettled me.
“They didn’t stay long. I think once the intruder realized you didn’t have what they wanted, they left,” Nana said.
I really didn’t want to ward the property. I disliked dealing with witches, not to mention the fact that I was short on cash at the moment. The witches I’d crossed paths with in the past had been partial to hefty monetary incentives.
“Thanks for looking out for me,” I told the ghosts.
“That’s what neighbors do for each other,” she said simply.
“That hasn’t been my experience, but I appreciate the sentiment.” In London, my upstairs neighbors blared loud music at all hours, and my downstairs neighbors let their pet iguana, Buster, loose at least once a week. Buster seemed determined to take up residence in my flat because that’s where he inevitably ended up.
I retraced the intruder’s steps based on Nana and Ray’s account, but I didn’t see anything amiss.
“Could’ve been looking for drugs,” Ray said.
“Or something they stashed here before you bought the place,” Nana added.
“I thought the Castle had been empty for years,” I said, although I knew that wasn’t strictly true from others’ comments.
“Oh, it was, but people crashed here off and on. If I wanted to hide something, I would’ve chosen this place too,” Ray said.
“Why come back six months later?”
“Maybe they wanted to come sooner, but they couldn’t,” Nana offered. “Could be a convict coming back for their booty.”
Ray looked at her. “The convict is a pirate?”
