Band of Demons (The Sanheim Chronicles, Book Two) by Rob Blackwell Read Free Book Online Page B

was plenty angry about your stories on Thompson,” he said. “But even he recognizes they were accurate. We would prefer that your version of events be the official one. If we thought there was some merit to Ms. Mandaville’s claims, the situation would be different. But we don’t.”
    “And the best way to bury it…”
    “Is to let the reporters with credibility do it for us,” Redacker said. “No one will believe us anymore, not after Holober. They will, however, believe you.”
    “Anything else you can tell us about the Prince of Sanheim?” Kate asked.
    She wanted to ask about the name’s origins, wondered if they had dived into the ramblings of Robert Crowley. But she couldn’t possibly bring that up without simultaneously admitting she already knew a lot more about the legend than she wanted to acknowledge.
    “Not much,” Redacker said. “We’ve found some historical references to it, but mostly we think it was a play on words. S-a-m-h-a-i-n technically is the celebration of Halloween. Some scholars argue the spelling S-a-n-h-e-i-m is the correct translation. Instead of Lord Halloween, we have the Prince of Halloween.”
    Quinn knew he should push further. If he hadn’t known exactly who the killer was, he would have. But this wasn’t a subject he wanted drawn out. He asked the question he had been waiting to ask.
    “Do you have any leads on the Prince’s identity?”
    “No,” Redacker said. “But again, we’d like you to play up the vigilante action. We don’t think this person is a threat to the citizens of Loudoun County. He thinks of himself as a protector. People don’t need to be scared. It’s possible, even likely, we’ll never hear from this person again. If we do, we’ll catch him. But we don’t think people are in danger.”
    “Unless you’re a murderer or something,” Kate said, and Quinn did not like the hint of a smile on her face.
    Redacker shrugged.
    “What matters is that people understand they’re safe. Loudoun County’s days of murder and mayhem are behind it.”
    Much later, Redacker would remember these words and regret them. He would tell his wife he shivered as he said it. But as with most false prophecies, at the time he had no idea just how wrong he was.
     
    *****
    Kate and Quinn turned in their story at 9 p.m. that evening. Tim Anderson, with the approval of Ethan, held the print edition until it was ready. Both men wanted to make sure that this was on doorsteps across the county the next morning.
    Quinn was pleased with the end result. For one, the story was legitimately reported and none of it could be tied back to their own involvement. They had a copy of the letter, which they printed in its entirety. Quinn sat in his chair imagining the look on Summer’s face when she saw it. He knew she was going to go crazy.
    She would try and insist that the “Prince of Sanheim” was connected with Lord Halloween. But the Chronicle story quoted extensively from police sources insisting it was the work of a vigilante, one unlikely to strike again. Lord Halloween was dead. And they did their level best to bury the Prince of Sanheim in their story as well.
    There were hints of the truth. Kate had finally tracked down two teenagers who insisted they saw a horseman in black riding on Halloween night near where Lord Halloween’s body was later found. There was no mention of the fact that he might be headless. Better, Quinn thought, for there to be some surprise when fall rolled around this year.
    It was the story of someone who had taken it upon himself to protect Loudoun County—and terrorize it. When it hit the streets the next day, it was an instant success. Every newspaper box in town sold out. For Ethan, Tim, Rebecca and Quinn, it was a triumph.
    Only Kate remained worried. A sour feeling nagged at her, that instead of heeding Janus’ warning, they had done precisely the opposite. They had saved their careers, but in defusing that problem, they may have opened the