It was the sheriff's two blonde relatives.
This man was not afraid of vampires, but a knock at the door nearly gave him a heart attack.
Callum opened it. "Everything okay?"
Jessica had a bag in her hands. "I didn't know if you'd be home."
"You should have called," Callum said awkwardly.
"No, no," Jessica said quickly. "It's fine."
Then she dropped the news. Guild agents were in town. They had come to investigate the incident.
Callum was surprised, though he had thought the possibility was there.
Clara explained. "I asked Jessica to bring me along. To see if you're okay."
Then, suddenly, Clara hugged him. "Thank you."
Callum actually said, "Okay. But I haven't said anything officially. It was never here."
Jessica assured him. "Understood. But it isn't possible to forget it."
The girls explained the bag. The coffee shop was not going to open for a while yet, so they had brought something to eat.
The timing was perfect. Callum's stomach let out a growl that would put a motorcycle without a muffler to shame.
He sat down to eat. While eating, he asked, "Tell me more about these Guild agents."
Jessica explained. They had met with Papa in the morning. One of the agents can talk to the dead. But they got no relevant information out of the vampires' spirits.
Callum felt a small wave of relief. No vampire had understood what was happening to them in their final moments.
Clara added to it. The agents had searched the motel for a whole day. But the fire destroyed all the evidence. They will get nothing.
Callum thanked them for the heads-up.
Then Jessica mentioned the name Chester. An Alpha was worried that the wizard's help was going to come with a price he could not handle.
Callum asked, confused, "Chester?"
Clara explained. The sheriff is Vignette's Alpha, but he answers to Chester. Chester is Alpha of the West.
Callum simply said, "I don't want any reward."
Clara was genuinely surprised. "Really? You won't charge anything?"
Callum said no. It was odd, and he knew it. "And honestly, don't pick this topic up again."
The girls smiled and promised they would stay quiet.
At the motel, Agent Ray had asked something interesting.
An agent reported. One magical signature had been found, but it did not seem useful.
Ray asked whether there had been a mage with the vampires. Confirmed, yes. But no other signature in the area.
Ray asked again, and some agents showed him the list. Everything of the vampires' that had been anywhere nearby had been taken from the location.
He speculated. "The Vampire Council of Minneapolis is not going to like this at all."
Felicia said to keep an eye on stolen items. She made a silent note of it.
Ray, kneeling down, noted something else. "The fire is a little sensitive. Normally the pack would already have cleaned this site. Why did the mundanes arrive first?"
The partner reminded him that the shapeshifters swore they were not involved.
Ray was unconvinced. "They're hiding everything. The shapeshifters are just playing dumb."
Felicia suggested, "You listen to gossip. You can hear it from a kilometre away."
Ray activated the power. Green energy released. A moment of concentration. "I can hear a lot, but nothing relevant to the case. There's very little gossip about the incident at all."
Smoke came out of Felicia's mouth. "I can get it done forcefully."
Ray refused. "Keep it friendly for now. Don't provoke Alpha Langley."
They decided to finish the quick interviews. The partner asked, "Who's next?"
Ray looked at his phone. "Chase Hall. Thirty years old."
Some time later the shadows of both agents fell across a house. There was a knock at the door.
Callum opened it casually, forgetting himself, and then two members of the Guild were standing in front of him.
Felicia had gills on her neck. There were scales on her skin. She looked like an aquatic being.
"Can I help you?" Callum asked.
Both of them introduced themselves. Ray Danforth and Felicia Black. FBI.
Immediately Callum felt the powerful magic coming off them. Their magic is stronger than the vampires'.
Ray explained. "We're investigating the motel fire. Can we come in and ask a few questions?"
Callum said, "Sounds like it would be better with a lawyer."
The fish-like woman exhaled smoke. "You don't need a lawyer."
Callum raised an eyebrow. It felt like a threat.
Both agents exchanged suspicious glances.
Ray crouched down and asked whether the sheriff had told him anything about Vignette's vampires.
Callum was visibly nervous. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Felicia declared it flatly. "The people who know about the fire — yes. You'll tell me everything."
Callum swerved. "I don't know much beyond what was in the news."
For a moment Ray's eyes flashed with a green glow. But then he got tired of it. "Let's go. This one doesn't know anything."
Both of them turned their backs.
Callum thought to himself that he had narrowly escaped. Some magic had been about to be activated.
But on his way out Ray suddenly said, "Don't leave the city. You are officially a person of interest in this case."
Despite that warning, Callum decided to leave right now.
He did not know what magic the agent had been about to use. But he looked more suspicious now, and it would not take long for more Guild agents to arrive.
He closed his eyes and silently apologised to Jessica. About her and about Clara, he thought: I wish I could stay longer. But survival was the priority.