We left the burning house behind us. The neighbors were too busy gawking at the blaze to worry about three random tourists. They had even forgotten Haakon's bizarre behavior in the wake of this new excitement. I heard the wail of a fire engine in the distance. The three of us picked up our pace, trotting downhill toward the center of town and the harbor.
"Are you sure it was my… I mean Alister?" Kabita asked. A frown marred her usually placid face. It took a lot to rattle Kabita.
"Definitely. No doubt about it. He even taunted me about the, uh…about stuff." I didn't want Haakon knowing too much about the book. He might be a Sunwalker, but he was an unknown factor in this…whatever this was. War, maybe?
Haakon shot us a glance. "You saw Alister Jones? Here? On the island?"
"Yeah. And we need to get a move on. He's way ahead of us." We picked up the pace, moving almost at a jog. I turned to Kabita. "He left this behind. Thought maybe you would want it." I pulled out the letter opener.
She stared at it in distaste. "Vampire blood?"
I gave a slight shrug. "I needed a weapon. It was handy."
"No, thanks," she said. "I don't want anything of that man's."
I couldn't say I blamed her. Since I was low on weaponry, I tucked the letter opener away. Never knew when something like that would come in handy. "You find anything in the house?"
"No sign of the soul vamp tech anywhere and nothing that would point us to where it is. You?"
I shook my head. "No tech downstairs, either. Just Alister and a whole lot of vamps."
"He wouldn't have it here," Haakon said, falling into step beside us.
"Excuse me?" We both turned to stare at Haakon.
"This soul vamp technology you keep talking about. Jones wouldn't have brought it here. He would keep it in a safe place." He said it slowly as if he was talking to a couple of idiots.
"But then how could he create soul vamps?" I asked archly. "He's got to have the tech to do that."
"Sure. But he probably turned these on the mainland and brought them here. It's not that far. He could easily fly them over at night or bring them in the cargo hold of a ship. Like the ones on-board my cruise ship."
"Okay, good point," I agreed. "But why?"
"That," Haakon said grimly as we arrived at the marina, "is the question."
While Hakkon and Kabita made inquiries at the marina, I hot-footed it to the largest, snazziest hotel on the bay. It was the sort of place that catered to the "discerning traveler." In other words, rich people. Everything was immaculate and fresh, and the employees wore perfectly pressed uniforms. Giant urns filled with tropical flowers perfumed the lobby, but underneath I could smell barbeque wafting over from somewhere nearby. My stomach gave an unladylike rumble, reminding me I hadn't eaten in far too long.
The desk clerk gave me a startled look. I'd swum through the ocean, tromped through the jungle, been flooded out of a dirt tunnel, and fought a bunch of vampires. Oh, and I'd lit a house on fire. I must have looked a sight.
He cleared his throat, straightened his shoulders, and gave me a wide, professional smile. "How may I help you?" His tone was carefully neutral.
"Is there an airport on this island?"
His eyes widened. "Of course not, Madame. The island is too small for a runway."
"Then how do people get here other than by boat?"
"Sometimes a float plane lands in the harbor. Occasionally guests arrive by helicopter." His tone was calm, unflappable, but I could see it was a struggle. He was trying hard not to stare at my singed clothing or the dirty footprints I'd left on the white marble floor.
"Okay, let's say they want to leave. Where would they grab one of these helicopters?"
He licked his lips. "Well, Madame, they would either need to have their own helicopter, or they'd need to hire one. In either case, there is only one place a helicopter can safely put down."
"And that is?"
"The helipad just outside town."
"Where exactly?"
He pulled a glossy trifold brochure from beneath the counter, unfolded it, and laid it flat on the counter. There was a small map of the island with various points of interest marked with large black dots. "We are here." He drew a big X over the spot on the map where the hotel was. "The helipad is here." He drew another mark about a mile or so out of town. "The only way to get there is by taxi. Or walking."
"How about a phone number?"
"Certainly, Madame."
I was getting heartily sick of him calling me "Madame," but at least we were getting somewhere, so I held my tongue. He tapped a few keys on his computer, then scrawled a number on the map. "This is the phone number. If anyone is in the office. They don't keep regular hours."