Why Lorie? Part I

Chapter 38: Cleaning Up Drogo's Mess

Nicolae left Drogo alone on the park bench with one final piece of advice:

"Go back to your little girlfriend. Stay there until I return! I will try to smooth things over with Father. And for God's sake... don't do anything else! Even if you think it's helpful!"

Nicolae then took off. He rapidly flew through the dark night to the spot where Drogo had hidden Lawrence's body. To his immense relief, the shallow grave still looked intact. Nicolae removed the remains, which were well preserved due to the freezing cold. He winced upon seeing Lord Danville's blank eyes staring back at him.

"Here we go, old boy," Nicolae grimaced disgusted. Nonetheless, he picked up the body and flew with it to Bartholy Manor.

Nicolae landed in the garden. He quickly dug a hole under an oak tree in the very back, and placed the body in it. He knew he didn't have to worry about any animals tampering with it. After all, the garden was fully fenced in. When he finished his gruesome task, Nicolae quietly entered the manor and cleaned up. He then descended the stairs to the den and sat alone in the dark, waiting for Viktor's return.

A couple of hours went by. Nicolae was worried that his father wouldn't be back before daylight. It was a quarter 'till three in the morning. To his immense relief, he heard the front door open. Viktor was home!

"In here," Nicolae whispered.

Viktor walked into the study. His countenance was grim as he plopped down heavily into an armchair.

"I hope you had more luck than me," he growled when he spotted Nicolae.

"As a matter of fact... I did," Nicolae replied. "I found Lawrence's remains."

Viktor raised his eyebrows. "Really? How on earth did you manage?"

"Sheer luck, I suppose," Nicolae lied straight-faced. "I remembered a spot in the woods where Drogo had buried some of his victims in the past. I knew of it because I had followed him there without his knowledge... while you were away and I was in charge of him," Nicolae explained. "At some point, he must have realized I was on his tail, because he stopped using it for quite a while. For that reason, I initially overlooked it and went to other places that Drogo's been using more recently."

Viktor sat down and listened closely, furrowing his brow.

"Luckily, after spending a couple of hours with no luck, it suddenly came back to me," Nicolae continued. "It turns out, I was right. Drogo had placed Lawrence there, in a shallow grave. I caught scent of it straight away," Nicolae finished his elaborate tale. He hoped Viktor was too preoccupied with the situation to detect he was lying.

"So where's the body now?" Viktor asked without batting an eyelash.

"I buried it in the back of the garden," Nicolae answered. "I thought I'd wait for you before doing anything else with it."

"That was a good plan, Nicolae," Viktor said as he stood up. "Show me."

Nicolae led Viktor to the place where he had buried Lawrence. Viktor poked the ground with the tip of his shoe, revealing a cold, stiff hand. He grimaced at the sight, before turning toward his eldest son.

"Good job, Nicolae," Viktor placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "You saved me from a lot of trouble. I won't forget it."

"What are you two talking about?" Peter suddenly appeared behind them.

He glanced at the ground and spotted the hand.

"I take it that's Lord Danville," Peter muttered.