Stephano too, but he wouldn't allow it."
"Stephano grew up the only mortal in a family of immortals," Jackie realized.
"In instances like this, the mortal often learns to block some of our abilities," Marguerite said. "Like you have. It's simple self-defense."
"So, the saboteur couldn't completely control him?" "It's possible. Or perhaps, couldn't wipe his memory fully," Marguerite suggested. "And rather than take the chance he'd remember, killed him. Or thought he did."
Nodding, Jackie reached forward to grab the letter sticking out of Stephano's breast pocket, only to pause as she saw the knife still clutched in her hand. It was actually a letter opener, not a knife. Grimacing, she set it on the carpet beside her, then snatched the letter from his pocket and opened it. All it said was:
A friend of yours? I'm afraid he got in the way.
The next one will be someone you chose.
"What does it say?" Vincent asked.
Jackie silently handed the letter over, her thoughts occupied with what the words meant. The first part was obvious. Stephano must have interrupted the saboteur while he was in here doing something and only been killed because he got in the way. The last sentence was the one that troubled her.
"The next one will be someone you chose," Vincent read aloud. "What the hell does that mean?"
"I'm guessing it means that now that he's moved on to murder, he intends to continue in that vein," Jackie murmured, her gaze dropping to the man on the floor. Stephano Notte might still die, and even if he didn't, it would only be because he'd been turned. The saboteur had intended for him to die and was working on the premise that he had.
"Yes, but what does he mean by it will be someone I choose?" Vincent asked with distress.
"Chose. Past tense," Jackie corrected with a frown and shook her head. "I'm not sure what he means by that."
Although she had some ideas, Jackie acknowledged to herself. None of them were good though and she really would rather they didn't come to pass.
"How long until we know if he's going to survive the turning?" she asked.
"He'll survive," Marguerite assured her. "I've seen people in worse shape survive it."
"Okay," she said slowly, her gaze sliding back to the man on the floor. He was pale and unmoving and she wouldn't have found it hard to believe he was already dead, except that the wound on his chest appeared smaller to her than it had been when she'd first pulled the letter opener free.
"How long does a turning take?" she asked. That was one thing there was very little information on in the agency files.
"The worst of it is usually done in the first twenty-four to forty-eight hours, though it can take a little longer depending on the extent of the injuries or illnesses they have," Marguerite answered. "He'll wake up after that, but the turning won't be completely finished for weeks afterward."
Jackie nodded. It was the waking up part she was interested in. The moment Stephano woke up, they could get the name of the saboteur from him, round the man up, and prevent anyone else from getting hurt or dying. She frowned. A lot could happen in twenty-four to forty-eight hours.
"All right." Vincent stood abruptly. "We need to get him out of here and back to the house to start giving him blood."
"And we need to do it without anyone knowing he survived," Jackie added, standing as well.
"An ambulance is the best bet," Marguerite announced. When Jackie and Vincent glanced her way, she shrugged. "Stephano was mortal. An ambulance would be called in. And the police. They would take the body away."
Jackie nodded. If they just snuck him out of the building, the saboteur might suspect he didn't die. But... "How do we handle the EMTs?"
"Either Aunt Marguerite or myself could control the ambulance attendants," Vincent suggested. "Travel with them and have Stephano delivered to my house, and then wipe the memories of the EMTs."
"I'll do that," Marguerite offered. "That way, you can stay here and handle the police when they come, then see if the saboteur managed to get the information we were looking for or not."
"Thank you, Aunt Marguerite," Vincent murmured as Jackie moved to the phone to place the call to emergency services. She kept her call vague, saying only that they needed an ambulance and the police at V.A. Productions. She didn't want to say anything that might be questioned later. Marguerite could put the idea in the attendant's