Caitlin murmured, “I’m sorry.”
A shrug. “It’s partly my own fault. But anyway, I don’t know where Matías went. I do know that Tomas and Jorge hung around for a while after their ringleader was gone, but they disappeared about a month ago, too. If they’re working together now, then I have a feeling Matías put out the call to have them come meet him wherever he was hiding.”
While that was an interesting tidbit, it didn’t exactly help solve the issue at hand, namely, Matías’ whereabouts. Caitlin repressed a sigh and wondered if they’d ever be able to get a piece of information that would actually help them.
Alex must have been thinking roughly the same thing, because he said, “Does anyone know where he might have gone? Does he have any relatives except his mother?”
“He has a sister, Olivia. She lives in Temecula.”
Caitlin’s pulse speeded up a fraction. “Do you have her address?”
“Thought you might ask.” Lucinda paused and pulled a small folded-up piece of paper from the pocket of the button-down blouse she wore. “She’s a nunca, but she might help you.”
“Nunca?” Caitlin repeated, wishing she’d taken Spanish in high school instead of French, which at the time she’d thought was far more romantic.
“It means ‘never,’” Alex said, looking uncomfortable. “It’s slang for someone who’s born to a witch family but never develops their one singular talent, and instead can only manage the usual fire-starting and door-unlocking stuff.”
“Oh.” It did sound kind of rude when you thought about it. After all, it was just an accident of nature that some people’s talents never manifested at all. It wasn’t their fault.
“Anyway,” Lucinda went on, “I’m not saying she’d sell out her own brother, but they never did get along very well. Probably because his talents were so strong and hers…weren’t. She moved out to Temecula to get away from him, I think. Her husband’s a contractor or something. A civilian.”
She said the word so dismissively that she might as well have said he was an ex-convict or something. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that they now had the one piece of evidence that might lead them to Matías’ lair, wherever that might be.
“Thank you,” Caitlin said, and hoped some of the gratitude she felt was reflected in her voice, if not in those simple words.
“It’s fine. Matías is….” Lucinda let the words trail off, her dark eyes haunted. “He has no limits. He wants what he wants, and that’s it. So I hope you can catch up with him.” Her tone changed abruptly as she addressed Alex. “If you turn right here, and then right again, we’ll be back on my street. You can drop me off at the corner. I’m sure eventually my father will figure out what I’ve done, but no point in rushing the moment of truth.”
“Uh…sure.” Following her instructions, Alex maneuvered through the residential area and then came to a stop a few feet from the corner she’d indicated. As she was lifting the handle to let herself out, he added, “We really do appreciate your help.”
“No problem.” She got out of the Pathfinder, and for a second, her pretty face twisted into a mask of hate. “I hope you catch that motherfucker.”
And she slammed the door shut and strode off in the direction of her parents’ house.
For a second, Alex and Caitlin just stared at one another. Then she said, “You heard Lucinda. Let’s catch that motherfucker.”
16
Alex set up the route on his iPhone, and he and Caitlin headed out immediately. The drive to Temecula would take around an hour and a half, depending on traffic, but since it was the middle of the day, he had to hope that wouldn’t be too much of a factor. In the seat next to him, Caitlin was keyed up, tense. He couldn’t blame her — this information about Matías’ sister could be the break they’d so desperately needed.
Or she could shut them down just as heinously as Simón Santiago had. Alex supposed it depended on how close she was to her brother, how much familial loyalty she possessed. Once upon a time, he might have said that no one would cover up for a family member who’d done such terrible things, but after he’d heard about some of the things Damon Wilcox had pulled, Alex wasn’t so sure about that particular point of faith in human nature anymore.
“You okay over there?” he asked Caitlin, and she startled before sending him a tentative smile.
“I think so.” Her head tilted to one side, and she continued, “That is, there are some things I’m very okay about. But I’m worried Matías’ sister is going to tell us to drop dead when we ask for her help.”