Marcus had been getting nowhere in his search for information regarding Jacqueline Dubois, and it was frustrating him. There was strong evidence to suggest that she had died in a house fire in 1863, however he’d uncovered rumors of a woman fitting her description popping up several years later.
In frustration, he laid out what information he had gathered on her across his dining room table, however failure to see a connection he sensed was there frustrated him only further. He gathered things up and placed them back in the manila envelope he’d been storing them in, and decided to head out to the park and ponder the situation. Perhaps a different environment would help shed some light.
He’d been wandering the park for a little over an hour when he realized that as he through, New Orleans frequently came to mind/ It occurred to him then, that he knew someone who had come from New Orleans proper recently, and it was possible she had been there during Jacqueline’s time and could shed some light on the matter. The matter settled in his mind, he headed to his car, and soon made his way to Petra’s.
A confused Nikolai answered the door when he arrived – Marcus simply asked to see Petra and was let inside. He took small note of his surroundings, including Nikolai’s cast and the puppy, though he was uninterested in either. No – what he wanted was to know if Petra knew anything about Jacqueline.
“Marcus. To what do I owe this surprise?”
“I wanted to ask you a few things about your time in New Orleans, if I may.”
“Of course.” she gestured for him to have a seat.
“How long were you in New Orleans?”
“Off and on since 1856….why?”
“A personal matter. I was hoping you could tell me about a woman named Jacqueline Dubois. I have a small picture of her, if that would help.”
“It might. The name seems vaguely familiar.” Marcus pulled out his phone and looked through his cloud storage to find the photo he’d been able to dig up of her, and showed it to Petra.
“Oh her. Yes, I knew her.”
“You did? What can you tell me about her?”
“Well, Nikolai brought her into my home one day in 1863. She was injured and alone, and had requested his help, so he brought her into my home, knowing I wouldn’t turn her away.”
“Tell me more, please.”
“Well, what kind of information are you looking for?”
“I want to know what happened to her, if you know.”
“Well, she’d stayed with me for quite a while. She had been with child, and I had promised to protect her and her unborn, so she stayed with me, and was a companion to Nikolai for a time. Over time she came to suspect what I was and confronted me about it, and I came to learn she had minor knowledge of our kind. Just enough to be aware that we existed and created ghouls, and nothing beyond that. In an effort to protect her, I offered to ghoul her but she declined, citing that she wanted to carry her pregnancy to term and nurse the child. It was all she had left of the man she loved.”
“After the child was born?”
“After I continued to let her stay with me. Nikolai helped her when I could not, and I again offered to ghoul her once the child was old enough to walk and talk; again, she declined. She stayed with me until her daughter had married, and then asked to be released for a time, to experience the world. She had no ties to me, so I let her wander as she pleased, though she wrote me, from time to time. Last I heard from her, she had been ghouled by one of my clan in New York. This was back in 1882, though I last heard from her in 1987. I imagine she’s still with that vampire, though I could be mistaken.”
“Do you know this vampire’s name?”
“Why does it matter so much to you? Is she a descendant or something?”
“I told you, it’s a personal matter.” he said, somewhat coldly; perhaps a bit more than he meant.
“You don’t mean her any harm, do you?”
“Not at all.”
“Thomas Penhallow III.” she replied flatly, uncertain if she should have given him the information.
“New York, you said?”
“Last I knew.”
“Thank you, Petra. You’ve been most helpful.”
Marcus left then, and headed for home. He had ties in New York and was aware of Penhallow, and was able to easily obtain the contact information for him. He sat down, and thought about whether to email, or just call directly. Email might take time for him to look at, while a call would be most polite and direct, he decided. He made sure the phone had an ample enough charge before placing the call.
“Yes?”
“Mr Penhallow?”
“Yes…”
“You may or may not remember me. This is Marcus Astor.”
“Oh. Yes sir, I remember you. How can I help you?”
“It has recently come to my attention that, at least at one point in time, you owned something I quite wish to acquire.”
“And what might that be, pray tell?”
“A woman. She’d be a servant, though possibly more by this point. A ghoul of yours.”
“I have several. You’ll have to be more specific.”
“Jacqueline Dubois.”
“Why her?”
“That’s a matter of a personal nature. I’d like to state again that I wish to acquire her.”
“Generally speaking, handing over one’s servant’s isn’t the norm.”
“No – but neither are your regular dealing with the Sabbat.” Marcus smiled at the stifled sound of startlement coming from the other end of the phone. “Surprised? Of course I know – why wouldn’t I? Don’t worry, I don’t plan on making the knowledge public.” a breath of relief. “Provided you don’t refuse me.”
“Sir, this is really – ”
“I’m prepared to pay handsomely for her, with an added bonus if you can get her to me quickly.”
“What kind of handsome are we looking at?” Marcus named a generous figure – really, it was pocket change for him, but for a vampire of Penhallow’s age it was far more than he’d made in the last two years.
“I believe I can make this happen. Where should I send her, and how quickly?”
“By all means let her pack her belongings. Send her to Willow Creek, Montana.”
“Very well then. Shall I give her your contact information?”
“Yes, please.”
“It’s settled then. Good evening, Mr. Astor.”
“Good evening to you as well, Mr. Penhallow.” Marcus hung up, delighted with how things had turned out. He’d acquired a ghoul to replace Jett, should he so desire. Moreover, it was someone Jett had been deeply in love with at one point. While he couldn’t predict the future, he figured this would either put him back in Jett’s good graces, or be used to manipulate Jett. At worst, he’d gained a servant. No matter how he looked at the situation, there was a positive in it somewhere for him, and he smiled.