Paradox

by Jeanne C. Stein

  I shrug. “I can’t answer that. I wish I could.”

  I wait for Culebra to tell me I need to come up with a contingency plan and to take the situation more seriously. Instead, he shakes his head resignedly.

  “Well,” he comes out from behind the bar, “we’ll give it a shot. When do you want to bring her down? Adelita is on a school trip to Washington DC and won’t be back until the end of the week. This might be the right time.”

  He walks me to the door and we hug once more.

  “I’ll call Janet tonight. She’s anxious to get started on this new adventure. Her word. David and I are going to be tied up with a job so I may let Chael bring her. I know you haven’t met him yet. He’s a piece of work but nothing you can’t handle.”

  Culebra snorts. “If he tries anything, I’ll shapeshift and bite his ass.”

  Culebra is Spanish for snake. I laugh. “That I’d love to see!”

  When I get back to San Diego and drive by the office, it’s dark and David’s car is gone. I don't stop. I have some preparations to make. At home, I pour a glass of wine and head upstairs.

  Janet answers on the first ring. “Here’s what you’re going to do,” I tell her without preamble. “Be here tomorrow at ten. Bring clothes for a week. Chael will take you to Mexico, so have your passport with you, too.”

  “Passport? Why are we going to Mexico? Why is Chael taking me and not you?”

  “I didn’t say you could ask questions,” I snap. “So shut up and listen. You’re going to learn firsthand what it means to be a vampire. You’re going to do everything you’re told. You’ll be used as a host. If you want to become a blood sucker, you’re going to experience what it feels like to be a blood bag. Maybe when you understand what drinking from a human host does to you, we’ll talk about the next step.”

  Janet is quiet for a long moment. “You won’t be with me.”

  “No. I have a life. I’m not going to babysit you.”

  “I don’t trust Chael.”

  “That’s your problem.”

  Another long pause. “Okay.”

  I cut the call. Dial Chael.

  “You want me to take her to Beso de la Muerte?”

  “I can’t.”

  “You trust me with her?”

  “I trust you’ll do what I ask. She’s afraid of you. Show her she has a right to be.”

  I can practically hear Chael grinning on the other end.

  “Don’t get carried away. I told Culebra the same thing. If she gets roughed up a little, that’s okay.”

  This time Chael actually chuckles. “I may just need to feed myself.”

  “No.” My voice is sharp. “You stick around and see no one gets carried away.”

  “You never let me have any fun.”

  “I mean it, Chael.” I let the threat hang in the air between us.

  He sighs. “I understand. See you tomorrow.”

  “No,” I reply. “You won’t. I’ll be gone by the time Janet gets here. You just be here by ten to meet her. I’ll be in contact with you. You know how to get to Beso de la Muerte?”

  “I’ll find it, don’t worry.”

  “Fine. We’ll talk soon.”

  I disconnect, sink down on the bed and close my eyes.

  Well, I’ve set things in motion. I just hope I haven’t made a mistake by trusting Chael with Janet.

  Or vice versa.

  Chapter Eleven

  Day Six

  I drain my glass and decide more wine is in order. The bottle is almost empty and I finish it off. I seem to be enjoying it more lately. Too much going on that I have no control over. Janet. Duke’s crazy hunt.

  Things don’t get much better when I call Frey. John-John’s grandmother isn’t recovering as quickly as anyone hoped. She’s still in ICU. I hear the frustration in Frey’s voice as he tells me he doesn’t know when they’ll be back to San Diego.

  I try to sound cheerful. “I understand. David and I are doing a special job for Duke. I may need to go out of town, too.”

  “Want to tell me about it? Is it going to be dangerous?”

  I sigh. “No. It’s a trace. A lost relative.” I leave it at that. No sense in complicating matters by telling him that the relative was murdered.

  “Duke’s paying you to find a lost relative? Why? No. Don’t tell me. Has to be money involved, right?”

  I laugh. “Of course. I’ll call you every night. If John-John’s grandmother gets better and you two can come home, I’ll be back in a flash.”

  We chat for a few minutes and hang up. My phone chimes again almost immediately. Duke’s face and office number pops up on the screen.

  “Duke? What’s up?”

  There’s a long pause. “Is this Anna Strong?”

  An unfamiliar voice.

  “Yes. Who’s this?”

  “You don’t know me. I’m a friend of Duke’s. He wants me to give you a message. You can stop looking for his nephew.”

  My shoulders start to bunch. “Why isn’t Duke telling me this?”

  A pause the length of a heartbeat this time. “Duke can’t talk right now. He says you and your partner can take the day off tomorrow. Don’t bother trying to reach him for a day or two. He’ll be in touch with you when he’s ready.”

  The call drops. I glance at my watch. Almost ten.

  I’ve got my car keys in my hand and David on the line in the time it takes to get out to the garage. His cell rings through to voicemail. “David. Meet me at Duke’s. Something’s wrong. He’s in trouble.”

  Duke’s office is on Broadway in downtown San Diego, across from the Federal building. I pull into the parking garage and head to the lobby. There’s a security guard behind a desk but his presence is more for show than protection. The twelve story building houses about two hundred offices for small businesses and law firms catering to the clientele of nearby city and federal lockups; the ground floor is a restaurant, a convenience store and a coffee shop. The coffee shop is closed but the restaurant looks to be doing good business.

  The security guard nods a greeting.

  I pause by the desk. “Seen Duke today?” I ask.

  “Not since I came on duty about an hour ago. Want me to call and see if he’s in?”

  I shake my head. “No. I’ll just go up.”

  Duke is on the eighth floor. The hallway is empty. When I listen, I don’t detect voices or movement inside any of the offices on the floor. Outside Duke’s office, I press my ear against the door. Vampire hearing would enable me to pick up the softest conversation inside, but I hear nothing. The smell of fresh-spilled blood oozes like smoke from under the door. The watery queasiness in my stomach hardens into ice.

  I try the knob. The door is locked. No great obstacle for me. I put my shoulder against it and shove. The wood splinters around the lock and I’m propelled into the room. The small reception area in front is empty. Duke’s office door is open.

  “Duke?” I realize how stupid it is to speak. If anyone’s inside, the door exploding would have brought them running.

  My vampire springs into alert. I cross the reception area, hoping the smell of blood isn’t Duke’s.

  It isn’t. Duke is sitting at his desk, staring at a body stretched on the floor at his feet. He looks up at me, eyes glazed, expressionless. In his hand, a knife, dripping blood.

  I stoop to examine the body, listen for a heartbeat. The blood smell is strong and it awakens the lust in me, but the blood is no longer pooling. The man is dead. He’s lying face down. From what I can see, he’s a white male in his thirties, dark hair.

  The Duke I know, usually boisterous and irreverent, is a ghost. His pale, sharp-featured face has gone slack, lips and eyes drawn down as if the muscles in his face dissolved.

  “Duke.” I shake his shoulders, trying to break through to him. Shock has rendered him deaf and dumb. His eyes are on mine, but lifeless.

  Shit. I grab a tissue from his desk and pry the knife out of his hands. I lay it on the windo
w sill out of reach. I take Duke’s face in my hands and lean close. “Duke, listen to me. What happened here? Were you attacked? Are you hurt?”

  He shifts in his chair, recognizing my voice. His eyes clear and he pulls out of my grip.

  “Anna. What are you doing here?”

  I step back and gesture to the body.

  Duke follows my gaze. “Christ.” He passes a hand over his face. “Did I do that?”

  I perch on the corner of his desk. “Looks like it. The knife was in your hand. Who is that?”

  Duke is slow to respond. So slow, I figure I’d better spell out what we’re facing. “I have to call the police. I found you with the knife in your hand. Do you want me to call your lawyer? Jesus, Duke. What do you want me to do?”

  “What in holy hell is going on here?” says a sharp voice from the door.

  Duke and I both jump.

  David is at the door, a gun in his hand. He looks from the body on the floor to Duke and me.

  I look at Duke. “You’d better tell us, and quick. If anyone on the floor heard me breaking in, the police may be on the way.”

  David holsters his gun. “You did that to the door?”

  “Cheap wood,” I say.

  Duke stands, finally looking ready to rejoin the land of the living. He squares his shoulders and pulls on his suit jacket to straighten it. He crosses from behind the desk, careful to avoid tracking through the blood. He’s not a tall man, barely comes to David’s shoulders, but he meets his eyes. “You’re not going to like this.”

  David’s look of surprise must be mirrored by my own. “What does David have to do with this?” I ask.

  Instead of answering, Duke points to the corpse. “That’s Taylor Talbott,” he says.

  David’s eyebrows shoot up. “The financial advisor?”

  “Our financial advisor.” Duke shakes his head. “I should have told you sooner. I thought if we found my nephew, I’d be able to track the money. Now that he’s dead…”

  Something sparks in David’s eyes. “What did your nephew have to do with Talbott?”

  “I think you’ve guessed.” Duke lifts a shaky hand to rake over his balding head. “He and Talbott were working together. I didn’t have you tracking Howard because he stole from me. I had you tracking Howard because he and Talbott stole from us.”

  “How much?”

  The tone of David’s question makes it clear he understands the implication of what Duke said.

  “All our money,” Duke replies. “The entire eight million dollars.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I’ve never seen David so still. “All of it?”

  Duke nods. “Our entire portfolio, which, as it turns out, was invested in a Ponzi scheme.”

  David sinks into a chair. “How can that be? We got statements every month. We read the business plan. It was sound.”

  “The monthly statements were fake. And since we insisted on reinvesting our profits…”

  “They never had to produce any of those profits.”

  I’m listening but we have a more pressing problem. I step between David and Duke. “I don’t know what you two are talking about, but I do know we’ve got a body on the floor and a bloody knife with your prints on it, Duke. What happened?”

  David interrupts before Duke can answer. “Anna’s right. I’m surprised her Superwoman act busting down that door hasn’t brought anybody running yet. We should get you out of here until we can sort it out.”

  Duke shakes his head. “No. I’ll stay here and call the police. You two are the only chance I have to figure this thing out.”

  “Duke, who was with you besides Taylor?” I ask. “Or was it Taylor who called me and said you wanted us to stop looking for your nephew? He obviously didn’t know Howard was dead.”

  “No. It wasn’t Taylor who called you. I’d never seen the guy before, but he came in with Taylor. From the way he was acting I could tell Taylor was afraid of him.”

  “Did he kill him?”

  “He must have. One minute I was talking to Taylor, and the next…” He rubs the back of his head. “I was out. When I came to, Taylor was dead on the floor and you were leaning over the desk. The knife was…”

  “In your hand. Jesus, Duke. Can you tell us anything about the guy?”

  “Only that he must have been in on it. He knew Howard’s name and that he was related to me.”

  I look around the office. “Did he touch anything? Maybe we can get prints.”

  “From the knife?” Duke asks hopefully.

  David’s expression is grim. “If he was thorough enough to put it in your hand, it’s a good bet he wiped his own prints off first.”

  “What did he look like?”

  “Tall. 6’2”, I’d guess. 225 pounds. Blonde hair, brown eyes. No distinguishing marks that I could see. Jesus, he looked normal.” He passes a hand over his face. “Listen. You two have to get out of here. I’ll give you a ten minute head start before I call the police.” Duke looks around the office. Several files have been pulled out of open drawers and scattered on the floor.

  I follow his gaze. “What were they looking for?”

  Duke picks up an empty folder. “A list of our investments, our contracts, and the bogus monthly statements.” He turns back to the file cabinet and bends to open the bottom drawer. He takes out a folder. “At least I still have this.”

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “Names of the other ‘investors’ Taylor roped into his scheme. I did some checking when we first got involved.” He presses it into my hands. “Take it. It’ll be an eye-opener. David and I weren’t the only ones lured in by the low risk, high yield bullshit Taylor was selling. Maybe some of the others don’t know what’s happened yet. Maybe Taylor’s killer thinks he’s plugged a leak by getting rid of him and my nephew.”

  “And not you?”

  “I don’t know anything that could hurt them,” Duke answers. “Even if I did, making me the fall guy for killing Taylor effectively takes me out of the game. No one’s going to believe a word I say when I’m charged with killing the guy who roped me into this scheme.”

  Duke starts pacing. “Whoever is behind this is smart. I’ll bet everyone on that list dealt with someone different.”

  I shoot David a look to signal we should get out of here. I know most businesses are closed for the day, and the other offices on the floor are empty, but I still can’t believe no one heard the racket I made breaking in.

  A siren sounds from somewhere up Broadway. We are close to the station, and if it’s coming our way we don’t have much time.

  “Go,” he says, pushing David toward the door. “Take the stairs.”

  David takes the folder from my hand. “We’ll get to the bottom of this as quickly as we can,” he says.

  He heads for the door and I’m right behind.

  “David?” Duke releases a breath. “I’m sorry I got you into this.”

  David pauses and looks back. “Yeah. Me too.”

  I follow David in my car back toward the office. It’s hard for me to imagine David taken in by a Ponzi scheme. As long as I’ve known him he’s been an astute businessman, our partnership profitable. I’ve let him handle the managerial side because he has a head for figures and much better organizational skills than I. If left up to me, our electricity or phones would have been shut off long ago, not to mention taxes unfiled.

  What happened? I’ve always felt people taken in by a Ponzi scheme were either greedy or naive. David is neither.

  When we get back to the office, I question if I should ask David if his lost “investment” is really going to wipe him out. He made a bundle while he played professional football. He has a couple of real estate holdings in addition to his condo in the Gas Lamp District, one being a cabin in the nearby mountains that’s as luxurious as it is remote. He lives well—he has to with Gloria as a girlfriend. Whether or not he has a lot of liquid assets, I have no idea.

  We pull into the parking lot to
gether. Before I have a chance to get out, he’s at my window. “You go on home,” he says. “There’s nothing we can do tonight. I’ll go over this list. See who I know. We’ll start making contact tomorrow. By then, we’ll know whether the police believe Duke’s story.

  “Are you sure there’s nothing I can help you with?”

  “Just be ready to travel. Maybe that jet of yours will come in handy.”

  “I’ll tell the pilot to be on standby.”

  David walks toward the office. His shoulders aren’t slumped and his head is high. I wonder if I’d be that calm if someone told me I’d lost everything.

  Of course, as a vampire, I have plenty of time to recoup investments.

  I dig my cell out of my purse. Might as well see how Janet is doing with Culebra. I dial the number and listen as it rings. When the phone is answered it’s with an abrupt, “Anna. What did you get me into?”

  Culebra’s voice is sharp with frustration.

  “Janet giving you trouble?” I ask quietly.

  “Trouble? She’s a nightmare. Chael didn’t even come in when he dropped her off. He couldn't get away fast enough. Now I’m stuck with her and she’s the biggest pain in the —”

  He’s cut off before he can finish. Another voice takes over.

  “Anna? Is that you? You didn’t tell me this place was out in the middle of fucking nowhere. It’s a dive. This friend of yours showed me where to sleep—on the ground, in a cave. No way. This isn’t what I signed on for. I want to go home, and I want you to come pick me up right now.”

  Her indignant tirade runs down. I find myself smiling, but I let her stew for a long minute before I speak.

  “Let’s get this straight,” I say at last. “You said you’d do anything to become vampire. Have you come to your senses? I’ll come get you right now if you’re ready to drop this stupid fantasy of yours.”

  A sharp intake of breath. “You have to come up with something else. Your friend won’t even let me around any vampires. He’s got me in the back doing dishes like slave labor. How can I find out what being a vampire is about if I can’t talk to them? I thought you said I’d be a host and experience feeding from a human perspective. All I’ve experienced is dishwater hands.”