Chapter 11 The hunt begins.

(Lucia POV)

The town was nice, I had to admit. Everything in Hertford felt homely, quiet, and warm, it was the kind of place that welcomed everyone with open arms. A place to build a home, a family. At least it was, but something had changed, otherwise I wouldn't be here.

"So what changed?" I muttered, although I knew it was a bad habit, expressing my thoughts out loud always helped me gather my ideas, think about my next move, and sometimes point out the obvious. "Or who changed?"

On any other occasion, the first suspect would probably have been the cute but strange redhead who sneaks into an old cemetery in the middle of the night, but after what I had observed in my time with her, I could already rule her out. "I think it's safe to rule out the girl who lives on consecrated ground in a damned church with doors made of iron and mountain ash."

Sure, there was something off about the girl, but I doubted it was anything bad, and that had nothing to do with me liking the redhead. "I'm definitely not defending her because she's one hundred percent my type." I didn't feel any more sincere saying it out loud, but I decided to let the topic rest for the moment since that church was still occupying my thoughts.

"On the one hand, a lot of it could be explained if whoever built the church in the first place knew what they were doing and the renovations were done taking into account the original plans out of tradition. I've seen that before." Even in America, there were places where people were that traditional and attentive to the little details, it was only to be expected that such cases would be more common in a place like England.

But there was still that last little detail that kept bothering me. "On the other hand, someone has been purifying the place with salt often enough that it's permeated into the stone structure."

The salt couldn't be explained by simple tradition, someone there knew things. It wasn't necessarily what I was looking for, but it could be a clue. Something to investigate tomorrow, after a hot shower and a nice nap.

I reached the crossroads Katherine had mentioned, from here it should only take me a minute or two to get to the inn. A part of me wondered if they were still serving dinner since I was still hungry after the little incident at the pub, but that didn't distract me enough to pass by anything interesting as I turned around on my motorcycle.

What I did notice was a small herbalist's shop that came into my field of vision shortly after turning around, just two buildings away from the corner. The place was probably the smallest commercial establishment on the street, and it was already closed given the hour, but it was still worth taking note of, you never know, I might need to buy some things depending on what I find in this town.

After all, I can't carry everything I need with me all the time, some things go bad or are useless if they're not fresh. After making a mental note of the location of the botanical garden and the opening hours that I noticed in the window, I continued driving towards the inn.

Katherine didn't lie, the inn was hard to miss with that huge illuminated wooden sign I could see from where I was. I would probably get there in a minute or two even if I drive at the painfully slow pace I have to keep when driving in rural areas.

I have to say that I was a little surprised that I was able to get to the inn without anything else happening. It's not that I wanted anything to happen, but I've had bad luck for as long as I can remember and it was these kinds of quiet, seemingly safe moments where something always came out to bite me in the ass.

My expectations of the inn were greatly exceeded. In less than five minutes the kind and mature innkeeper Cassidy had already given me a comfortable room, barely asking any questions about me and charging so little that I frankly found it suspicious.

It was so suspicious, that I asked about it, but the answer was both disconcerting and unexpected. "Katherine recommended you. So you can have the room for that price." Cassidy had been pretty casual and straightforward about it like it was a matter of course.

"Besides, you'll be coming to give me your money later on your own, so I don't lose out." That part confused me even more, but I wisely decided not to question the woman who had just given me a huge discount. Especially after she agreed to give me dinner even though the kitchen was already closed.

"Don't make a habit of it." The older woman said as she handed me a sandwich after disappearing for a few minutes while I unloaded my bags from the bike and emptied its saddlebags.

"I won't. Thank you." God, I already loved this place. The atmosphere, the friendly innkeeper, and the good price certainly helped, but that sandwich with a sunny-side-up egg inside and glorious amounts of bacon sealed the deal. It was a bit of a hassle to get my stuff in the room with one hand, but it was worth every bite of happiness and cholesterol that lasted my late-night snack.

The room was worth more than they were charging me, a lot more. The bed was big, at least enough for three people to sleep comfortably, very very comfortably, God it's so soft. Everything looked freshly laundered and you could tell they didn't skimp on fabric softeners. It smelled like lavender.

There was a tasteful desk that didn't look like it had seen much use. A carved wooden wardrobe that didn't look like it came out of a generic furniture store. A small table with two chairs by the window, probably for lounging, reading, or having your breakfast in private.

"Most importantly, a private bathroom with hot water twenty-four hours a day." As soon as I finished arranging the bare minimum, I grabbed a towel and entered the bathroom. Jacket off, blouse off, pants off, underwear off, and I was almost ready when steam started coming out of the tub.

I had to look carefully in the mirror to be able to remove the necklace, which took a while, but I didn't mind, I preferred to do it slowly than end up hurting myself with the damn thing again. And with that out of the way, I dove in.

"Aaah." I could feel the tension and exhaustion melting away from me, seeping out of my muscles like the dirt clinging to my skin was now doing, and I thought that justified the little sigh/moan that escaped me, but I was still thankful that no one had heard it as it still sounded embarrassing.

Beside the tub were soaps, bath salts, and shower gels, and I decided I deserved to take my time. The gel felt like God's caress on my skin, leaving me as clean as I wanted to be, and soft and scented with a rose fragrance that I found addictive. There was clearly a theme here, as the shampoo shared the same scent, and I couldn't be more pleased with it.

When I got out of the tub the water was already warm but I didn't care. I walked out of the bathroom refreshed and more relaxed than I had been in a while. I even took a moment to look at myself in the full-length mirror next to the closet.

The persistent layer of moisture on my olive skin made me look as sexy as I felt. I felt a little sorry for the poor towel that looked like it was about to give its life to contain my breasts and ass, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love what I saw. The satisfied gleam in those amber eyes staring back at me gave me away.

The little moonlight that came through the window only served to frame the image, and with it my vanity was satisfied. Although a part of me still wondered what the point of it all was if I was destined to always be alone, but I drowned that part of me with the confident smile that characterized me.

With that same smile, I pulled a bottle of pills from my suitcase and swallowed two of them with some water. I still hated them, both their poisonously bitter taste and their toxic pale blue color, not to mention that they felt like acid going down my throat, but I needed them.

"Speaking of which, it's a little strange that I haven't felt sick until now considering the full moon is up." Actually, it was more than a little strange.

On nights like this I could barely stand not taking a couple of pills as soon as the moon rose, but today I didn't feel the need. I still took them, not wanting to risk having another episode, but it was still strange. I made a mental note about it, but nothing more. I was too tired and still had one thing left to do so I decided not to distract myself anymore.

As much as I was enjoying Hertford's hospitality, its food, and its redheads; I had come for a reason. The distractions, while pleasant, were just that, and were meant to be forgotten as soon as I left town, which wouldn't be for more than a week or two. But first came work, first came the hunt and I still had to track my prey, so it was time to focus.

Armed with underwear and a soft pair of pajamas, I lay down under the covers with what I pulled from the false bottom of my suitcase in hand. Honestly, I just wanted to sleep, but I still spent my time reading the file that had been sent to me.

I would say that I was surprised to see a picture of Katherine in the file, but I would be lying. From the little I had seen and heard, it was obvious that the redhead would be in the file, it didn't matter anyway; I had already ruled her out.

"Although it is a good excuse to spend time with her." Even though I had ruled her out, it didn't hurt to make sure everything was in order with her, right? Besides, no one could blame me for enjoying a little bit of such a cute distraction; what's the worst that could happen?