Zoe smirked at her. “You really aren’t a techie, are you? A flash drive? You know, to transfer data back and forth between computers.”
“Oh.” Since Ari had one laptop, used for writing and printing reports, transferring had never been an issue for her. So no thumb drives. She shrugged. “Can you fix it?”
“Not a chance. An IT tech might pull off some data.” Zoe sounded doubtful. “But I wouldn’t count on it. I’ll keep it, just in case.” She stuck it in her pocket. “Ready to go?”
* * *
It was close to 2:00 p.m. by the time they finished the search of the guesthouse and the shed, where they found the wizard’s herbs and potions. While Zoe continued to work on the computer, Ari walked the property. It smelled weedy, too dry. The area needed rain. Heavy brambles and drought-resistant weeds barred some areas, leaving her picking burrs from her jeans. The only evidence of interest was a set of partial shoeprints near the back door of the guesthouse. If this was the killer or one of the killers, he’d been in human form. Still consistent with a vampire. She left the prints undisturbed for the police.
“Anything?” Ari asked, returning to the guesthouse.
Zoe looked up from the computer and sighed. “A bunch of meaningless formulas. No notes. But I’ve got a long way to go.”
“So leave it for now. Let’s get to those packing boxes.”
Zoe and Ari tackled the dismantled lab with renewed energy, glad to be away from the guesthouse and the oppressive presence of the wizard’s body. They sat on the floor with boxes and contents scattered around them. For the first hour they worked in assembly; one person opened and sorted, the other repacked. So far, they’d found nothing more exciting than petri dishes, glass slides, small bottles of liquid chemicals, and sterile gloves, which they started using immediately. It would be awkward if they had to explain to local cops how their fingerprints got inside the boxes. Other containers held microscopes, vials for blood, and an assortment of measuring equipment and stirrers.
Ari’s hands were hot and sticky. She ripped off the gloves and reached for a fresh pair.
“How many more boxes?” Zoe asked wearily.
Ari glanced over her shoulder. “Looks like eight. It’s taken longer than I thought. Unpacking and repacking. But we’re almost done. Let’s divide the rest.”
Zoe brushed a sweaty lock of hair to one side of her forehead. “I’m ready to get out of here.” She sneezed. “Don’t you wish we could snap our fingers and be done? The boxes would unpack and repack themselves?”
Ari shot her a quick smile and wiggled her nose. Myths and movies.
Zoe regarded the boxes with a dubious eye. “We still need to wipe down any evidence of our search. And get you out of here before I can call the police.”
Ari was grateful Zoe had suggested over lunch that Ari’s visit remain secret. It would save her a lot of time and questions. “I’ve tried to be careful, so they shouldn’t find any unexplained prints.”
“Not sure they’d care you were here, but it would complicate things. I’ll just say you called from the States and asked me to interview Dubrey.”
Their hands bumped as they reached for the next box. Ari grinned, handed it over, and took the next in line. Six more to go.
“Ari, look!” Zoe’s voice was excited. “Notebooks. At last. Here, take some.” She shoved two black journals at Ari.
Ari flipped the first one open. A small, spidery scrawl, sometimes drifting into uneven printing, filled the pages. Many words were technical; other cryptic entries appeared to be in a form of speed-writing, but enough was in standard English that Ari picked out the general meaning. The references to herbs and potions confirmed her conclusion. Dubrey’s work notes. But the book she held was dated more than ten years earlier.
“See if there are more recent dates. This is too old.”
“Nothing here.” Zoe’s voice had lost enthusiasm, and she dropped the journals back in the box. “Don’t see anything from recent years.”
Ari ripped open the box she had just set aside and dumped the contents. More journals. Two years ago. That was better. Last year. May and June of this year. Aha! They were in business.
Heart pounding, Ari scanned the wizard’s notes. After a moment, she scrunched her forehead and passed the book to Zoe.
“Can you read this? Why couldn’t he use simple English?” Ari complained.
Dubrey’s abbreviated writing and technical language made