SurfAngel_1031

  Uo the level of detail from someohout training caught Ellie a little off-guard. “How did you get the information on the van?”

  Pleased with himself, Noah smiled widely at Ellie. “el Fourteen News isn’t private broadcasting, so everything they do is subject to public record.” He shrugged, “I just put in a request to see the travel logs and they sent it to me.” Sing pages, he dispyed the current wanted picture for Wendy, “I double-checked too, that was her van. No one looked into the news van after they took fingerprints in Virginia Beach, where they found her crew washed up on shore.” Watg as Terry dropped off their dinner, Noah waited until Terry refilled her drink ahe table before he pointed out a final detail. “I am a little nosey a down there saying I was trying to help locate Wendy Richards, and asked who dropped off the van.” He paused, “They told me a guy with patchy skin dropped it off, and happeo be picked up by a rge guy in a powder blue Chevy Bel Aire.”

  “That is a very specific car, Noah. What made the person recall it, did you happen to ask?” Ellie asked between bites of pasta.

  Shuffling the pages once more, Noah tilted the grainy picture so Ellie could see it. “I did. It was also on video.” He poio the tail-fins, “A 1955 Chevy? Most people would recall an older car like that.” He flipped out another piece of paper. “That happeo be the only Bel Air with the same color and year still registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles, belonging to Denise Crow.” He pced the pile of paperwork beside Ellie and took a bite of his cheeseburger. “I would call that a e.”

  Pushing her wide bowl to the side, Ellie went over the stace again and followed the trail presented. “How do the six prior murders line up with the subsequent twelve?” Leaning over to grab another bite of chi, Ellie covered her mouth briefly as she tried to chew fast. “Are there any behaviors that match what the police collected in Virginia Beach?”

  “Unfortunately not that I tell, Agent Miller.” Noah sipped on his rum and co, “That doesn’t mean there isn’t a e, It is more likely that the information is fidential and hasn’t been released.” Taking a couple potato wedges, Noah bit into them and wiggled his finger a moment. Digging into his bag again, He pulled out a yout pn to Phantasmagoria. “This is the floor pn, a generie that they handed out to ers so they wouldn’t get lost.” Noah poio a room ohird floor, “That was where they found the skull, covered in water.”

  “Salt water?” Ellie probed.

  Excitement washed over Noah’s face. “That’s right, but here is the iing part. It’s not o water.” Noah’s fingers found what he needed almost immediately. “The ratio is way off. O water is a little over three pert.” Noah handed Ellie the sheet and took a bite of his burger.

  “Is this right? About one pert?” Ellie looked up moderately fused. “I found o saying it was salt water, but nothing beyond that. I assumed the trucks carried it from the beach or something.” She ughed and took more of her pasta down. “I just hadn’t figured out the finer details.”

  “Are you a religious person, Agent Miller?” Waiting until Ellie shook her head, Noah lowered his void quickly expined his question. “I was when I was younger. I learned all sorts of things as an altar boy.” He poio the paper. “I suspect that is holy water. We used salt to purify normal water with a blessing.”

  Ellie sat ba her chair and crossed her arms, “Holy water? Why use that?” She asked herself and Noah while rubbing her bottom lip lightly. “This is getting strange, Noah. Holy water is effectively useless.” She paused, “Harmless.”

  Finishing off his mixed drink, Noah nodded in agreement with Ellie. “You are right. Harmless to us, Agent Miller.” Once again looking at the quickly filling diner, Noah pulled out a small junk news article. “I know this is hardly evidend they make up things all for shock value, but this seemed to clibsp; Especially when you add the trucks.” He hahe tabloid to Ellie and shrugged, “When you look at the water lines, you see these trucks were where they o be in order to set off the sprinkler system.”

  Puzzle pieces locked in pce for Ellie and she closed her eyes in disbelief. “I ’t believe I didn’t suspect the sprinkler system. That is how it got in there, huh?” Twirling food onto her fork, Ellie looked down at the shady paper. “Really? Noah, this is a bit much.” Turning the image up to Noah, she ughed. “You see the actors' pstigs falling out in the picture.”

  “I said it gave me the idea, not that the image was real.” Reag over and taking back his fake news, Noah tucked it aoio the yout of Phantasmagoria again. “Now they found bones all over, but none of them were as old as the skull upstairs.” Noah quickly finished off his sandwich, “Let me give you this card.” He reached into his bag and handed Ellie a small card. “Professor Charles Sheppard. He’s a forensithropologist.” Taking down a couple more potatoes, Noah lightly spped the salt from his hands and handed Ellie another small dot. “I know you won’t believe it, but the skull is about eight hundred years old.” Noah smiled and added, “There are three listed owners of Phantasmagoria. Two ’t be found, the st owns a bar in ial Heights.”

  “I know this name, Sylvie Miakoda. She artly interviewed after the attack.” Agent Miller studied the dot and then stared bnkly at Noah. “This ’t be true, I mean…” Ellie stopped while looking at a set of dates that went back beyond 1900. “The same name?”

  Holding his fio his lips, Noah waved his other hand so Ellie would lower her voice. “This is where all my friends think I am crazy.” Gng around once more, he whispered. “I have seen the headstones myself. I mean it is possible that the mother’s all passed down the same name.” He shrugged, “But when you add it all together, it seems very peculiar, doesn’t it?”

  Lost in thought, Ellie stared at the little card Noah handed her. “If this thing about the skull pans out, then I will agree that it is strange.” Ellie finished her dinner and thanked Noah for his hospitality while one word echoed in her head.

  -Vampires?-