"They have their own office. They keep out of our business." Howard pushed a pastry box in her direction. "Want a doughnut?"
"Sure." She selected a plain one. "So what happened while I was sleeping?"
"Connor took Roman and his family and Radinka into hiding about three in the morning. No one knows where. It's better that way when jerks like Jedrek can pick through your brain."
"Jedrek's the guy who attacked Gregori?"
"Yep." Howard finished his doughnut and licked his fingers.
And Jedrek had been the one who'd tried to capture Ian. Toni sighed. She doubted they'd seen the last of him.
Howard slid a paper across the desk. "This is the list of stuff to do for the Christmas Ball. Shanna and Radinka were kinda upset that they wouldn't be here to help, but I told them not to worry."
Toni gulped down the last of her doughnut. The list was a mile long. "And all this has to be done before tomorrow night?"
"Don't worry. It's covered. I gave a copy to Todd Spencer, the VP of production during the day. He knows what to do. Shanna gives a Christmas party every year, and then there's the Vamp conference and Gala Ball every spring."
"Todd must be a mortal. Does he know about Vamps?"
Howard shifted in his chair. "Todd knows a lot of things. He's already got some workers setting up chairs and tables."
"Number one is decorate the big Christmas tree," Toni read aloud from the list. "I don't recall seeing a tree."
"It'll be delivered around noon." Howard drank from his coffee cup.
Toni glanced down the list. Item number ten was confirm the band. A phone number was listed. "I'll go ahead and call this band."
Howard chuckled. "Wait till tonight. The High Voltage Vamps couldn't light a lightbulb right now."
"It's a vampire band?"
"Yeah, they play all the big Vamp parties and weddings." Howard stood and limped toward the door. "Come on. I'll show you the ballroom."
Just to the right of the main foyer, there were a number of meeting rooms with partitions that could be folded back like giant accordions. Toni was surprised by how large the ballroom was. The back wall was mostly windows that overlooked a garden. In front of the windows, Todd Spencer was overseeing a group of workmen who were erecting a stage. Howard introduced her.
"Glad to meet you," Todd yelled over the noise as he shook her hand. "It's about time MacKay hired a woman."
Toni looked around the huge room, bustling with workers. "How many people work here during the day?"
"Over two hundred now, divided into four departments," Todd explained. "Research, production, packaging, and shipping."
"Can I do anything to help?" Toni asked.
"You can help decorate, if you like." Todd showed her the plastic bins filled with ornaments and greenery.
Howard limped back to the security office to watch the monitors, and Toni spent a few hours spreading tablecloths and draping garland. She grabbed a quick lunch in the Romatech cafeteria and called Shady Oaks.
"I'd like to talk to Sabrina Vanderwerth in Ward Three." She recited the ID number.
"I'm afraid we can't allow that," the receptionist answered. "Her doctor has left strict instructions that she's not to receive any visitors or outside calls."
Toni winced. Uncle Joe had discovered their visit. "Can't we get a second opinion on that? Surely it helps the patient to know there are people who care about them."
"The decision is final." The receptionist hung up.
"Damn." She went back to the ballroom and discovered the fifteen-foot Christmas tree had arrived. She helped decorate for a few hours, then wandered down to the MacKay office. "How's it going?"
Howard motioned toward the monitors. "They're still dead, but they should be up in about twenty minutes."
The phone on the desk buzzed, and Howard picked it up. "Yes?" He listened, then covered the receiver with his big, beefy hand. "It's the guard at the entrance gate. Someone's come to see you. Drives a black Jaguar."
"That must be Carlos." Toni headed toward the door.
"Carlos who?" Howard asked her.
"Carlos Panterra."
"She confirmed his name," Howard told the guard on the phone. "Let him in."
Toni hurried to the front door and stepped outside just as Carlos was parking his car. It was chilly with the sun going down, so she rubbed her arms as she walked to his parking place.