by Gayla Twist
“I usually spend Christmas Eve at Blossom’s house,” I told him. “For the past couple of years, she’s had a party. But I could probably go over early to help her set up, then head over to your place once the party gets started.”
“That’s sounds like it will work.”
“Or,” I added, suddenly feeling shy. “Maybe you could come with me to the party.”
“Um … That could be problematic,” he said. “I really don’t think I should start going into your friend’s homes. The fact that I’m here is bad enough.”
“Sure. I understand,” I told him. I just didn’t know if Blossom would. Now that the cat was out of the bag that I had a boyfriend, she would expect me to bring him around.
Thinking about Blossom reminded me of our conversation at the mall. “Do you know about Liz Thurman?” I asked.
“The girl who’s missing?”
“Yeah, that’s her,” I said. Jessie wasn’t as out of touch with the town as I’d expected. “This is going to sound weird, but what do you think happened to her?”
“What do you mean?” Jessie asked, looking up at me.
“It’s just this thing Blossom said at the mall today. She said it was strange that the day Tiburon’s only missing person was discovered, another girl disappeared.” I immediately regretted bringing the whole thing up because I suddenly realized what I said sounded a little bit like an accusation.
Jessie sat up and gave me a concerned look. “Do you think a vampire took her?” he asked.
“No,” I said, reaching for his hand. “I didn’t mean it like that. But it’s definitely weird. Don’t you think? I mean, where the hell did she go? Her family is totally freaked.”
Jessie nodded, his face very solemn. “What’s her address? I’ll look around, see if I can pick up on anything.”
“Would you?” I said, giving him a squeeze. “That would be great. I’m really worried for her.”
“I’d do anything for you,” he said with a smile, his gray eyes twinkling.
There was a loud thump, like someone had taken a kick at our front door. “What’s that?” I said, a bit startled.
“Let’s go see,” Jessie said, quickly getting to his feet but keeping hold of my hand.
My mom showed up at the front door the same time we did. “I guess you heard it, too,” she said, pulling back the curtain to peek out the front window. “It sounded like something hit the house.” Mom had taught me that you never go charging outside when you hear a weird noise. You check things out from the safety of your home to make sure no one is trying to lure you outside with the sound of a crying baby or something like that. Being a social worker had made her pretty wise to a lot of the tricks creepy guys use. She didn’t raise me to be paranoid, but she did raise me to be smart. And part of being smart is using common sense caution. “There’s something on the porch,” she said. Then wrinkling her nose, she added, “It’s furry.”
“I’ll check on it,” Jessie said. He moved so quickly out the door, pulling it closed behind him, that my mom didn’t have time to protest.
Mom and I stood there looking at each other for a couple of seconds, and then Mom opened the door. There were three of us, after all. It wasn’t like just one of us was home alone or anything. “What is it?” Mom asked as she swung the door open.
Jessie hid the thing slightly behind his back. “It’s a rabbit,” he said. When both of us gasped and made to help the poor creature, he quickly added, “It’s dead. I think maybe it got hit by a car.”
“But why is it on our porch?” Mom wanted to know. We didn’t have a huge front lawn, but even if the poor bunny had somehow gotten tangled under a wheel and thrown, it’s unlikely that it would have made it all the way to our porch.
“I think maybe someone tossed it up here,” he said. “Probably just some kids being jerks or something. I bet they don’t even know who lives here, just tossed it at the closest house.” Jessie still wouldn’t show us the rabbit. “I’ll take care of burying it. We have a little pet cemetery to the side of our yard. It’ll be much nicer than having the street cleaner get him.”
“That’s so nice of you, Jessie,” my mom said. “Do you want a bag or something?”
“Um, sure,” was his reply. “A plastic bag would be appreciated.”
“I’ll get it for you,” Mom said, hurrying to the kitchen.
“Aurora,” Jessie said in a harsh whisper as soon as Mom was out of earshot. “Once I’m gone, you need to lock all the doors and windows. Don’t invite anybody in no matter what.”
“Why?” I asked. Throwing a dead rabbit at someone’s house was a crappy thing to do, but it wasn’t exactly life threatening.
“This rabbit’s been drained,” Jessie said, his voice tight with anger. “There’s no blood left. It’s like a deflated balloon.”
My own blood froze in my veins. Either we were the victims of a practical joke by a demented taxidermist or we’d just received a calling card from a vampire.
Chapter 10
There are things most teenage girls really need to hear. Obvious things like don’t text while driving. Or don’t blow off your friends just because you’re dating some guy. Or, advice that I could have benefited from, don’t date a vampire. Because even though Jessie had never even come close to hurting me, and even though he was one of the nicest and most generous people on the planet, and even though he wasn’t one of those jealous control-freak vampires that you’re always reading about in romance novels, he was still a vampire. Which meant he had vampire friends. And vampire enemies. So I was constantly under threat from this or that member of the undead whom I wasn’t even dating.
I knew this wasn’t Jessie’s fault. None of it was his fault. But still, the dehydrated bunny made it pretty clear that there was a new vampire in town looking to drain me, and I was freaked. I stood there for a second after he’d explained to me about the rabbit and then just slammed the door.
Mom appeared a few moments later proffering a plastic bag. “Doesn’t he need this?” she asked, a little confused.
“He remembered he had one in his car,” I managed to choke out in a short little hyperventilating type breath.
“Are you all right?” she asked, instantly going into mom mode.
I shook my head. “No,” I told her.
“Oh, sweetie,” she said, putting arms around me. “It was just some sick practical joke. I’m sure it has nothing to do with us personally.”
I nodded this time, desperately wanting to believe her. If only the rabbit had been struck by a car. No fun for the poor bunny, either way, but it would have been a little less terrifying for me. As soon as I regained my composure, I went and checked every window and door in the house. We were snug as a bug, but I still felt vulnerable. “Mom,” I said, seeking her out in the living room. “I know that this whole rabbit thing was probably random, but let’s just try to be a little extra careful for a while. Just in case.”
“Aren’t you always careful?” Mom asked, giving me a thoughtful frown.
“Of course,” I insisted. “But who knows? Maybe it’s like the weird, angry ex-boyfriend of one of your clients. Or maybe it’s just some random stalker that’s mad because one of us didn’t give him the time of day.” I laid my hand to my cheek as a new thought occurred to me. “Or maybe it’s Dad trying to win you back.”
“What?” Mom tried to get a look at my pupils. “Did you hit your head recently?”
“Sorry.” I broke out into a laugh. “I was suddenly feeling really melodramatic.” We both chuckled a little. “But seriously, let’s be extra, extra careful for a while. No inviting strangers into the house to use the phone. Nothing like that.”
Mom laughed some more. “Sweetie, I wouldn’t do that anyway.”
I had a horrible night’s sleep. Obviously. I doubt I drifted off for more than ten minutes at a time. I had thought since being found not guilty by the Bishops when we were in Budapest that I was safe from attack from other bloodsuckers. At
least until I was twenty-four. The Bishops had ruled that I was to be accorded the same respect and benefits as if I had already been turned. I didn’t exactly know what those benefits were, but I was pretty sure it entailed not throwing dead rabbits at my front door. The vampires had a pretty strong social network. You’d think that everyone with fangs would know I wasn’t to be touched.
I decided to focus on other things so I didn’t drive myself crazy. Like the fact that there were only six shopping days left until Christmas. I was starting to panic about Jessie. He was simply impossible to shop for. If I waited much longer, I was going to end up just getting him a sweater or something lame. It was almost like I had stage fright about buying him a gift. I didn’t even want to think about what he would give me. I was glad he’d suggested the price cap for presents. Otherwise, he’d probably give me something ridiculously expensive that I could never wear in a million years for fear that my mom would discover its true value and ask me what the heck was going on. He’d already given me enough jewelry to pay for my college education. I had a giant diamond engagement ring that we used as a prop for our trip to Budapest and he refused to take back when I tried to return it. And also a gorgeous Lalique moonstone necklace that probably belonged in a museum. Plus my Pools of Light crystal pendant, of course, but there was no way I was taking that off my neck. Thinking about Jessie’s gifts made me feel even more insecure about buying him something. I had to get my creative shopping juices flowing.
*****
School was buzzing with an update about Liz. Mrs. Thurman was orchestrating a door-to-door hunt for her daughter, and she was asking for volunteers. It sounded kind of nuts because there were close to ten thousand houses in Tiburon, not including the surrounding countryside, but she was determined to do it. After all, it wasn’t that long ago when it was discovered that three women were being held prisoner in a house in Cleveland. All of them lived in the same neighborhood as their captor. I guess Mrs. Thurman figured that whoever took her daughter might be nearby.
“Let’s volunteer for the Liz search,” Blossom said, finding me at my locker before first period. “They’re going to need a lot of people.”
“Sure,” I said with a shrug. I was all for helping any way that I could.
“Okay, good. Because I already signed you up,” Blossom told me. When I started to protest with something about wanting to make my own decisions in life, she cut me off saying, “Well, I knew you’d want to help, and there was a bunch of kids lined up to volunteer, so I thought I’d save you the hassle of standing in line.”
“Gee, thanks,” I grumbled.
“You’re welcome,” she said, giving me a smug smirk. “I know you too well.”
I had to admit, she really did.
“Do you think Dreamboat will want to help?” she wanted to know. “I almost put his name down, too, but figured maybe I should ask first.”
“I don’t know,” I told her. “I’ll ask him later.” It occurred to me that I hadn’t given Jessie Liz’s address the previous night so that he could look around for clues as to what happened to her. Vampires have an incredible sense of smell. Maybe he could pick up her trail or something. If he was a normal seventeen-year-old, I could have just texted it to him.
And then inspiration struck. I knew what I was going to get Jessie for Christmas. It was going to cost me an arm and a leg, but I knew for a fact he didn’t have one. Then I paused for a moment with my hand to my cheek. Obviously, I was getting Jessie a cell phone. But was getting him a phone kind of like when a man gets a woman lingerie? As far as she’s concerned, it’s not comfortable; it has limited use outside the bedroom; and she doesn’t particularly want it. Or if she does, it’s only to please her man. I wasn’t sure how comfortable Jessie would be with a cell phone, and it only had limited use for him because there was no reception in the Vanderlind Castle. If I got him a cell, would it be solely because I wanted him to have it? Was it really something for him? I took another moment to give it some good, hard thought and then decided the hell with it; I was going to get him one anyway. Isn’t that what men usually did with lingerie?
During lunch, I told Blossom my brilliant gift idea. “Dreamboat doesn’t have a cell phone?” she asked, making a face. “What century is he living in?”
I choked a little on my sandwich. “It’s just there’s no cell reception at his house, so he never bothered,” I told her after I’d stopped coughing.
“It’s still a little weird,” she informed me. “Even if he can’t get reception in that big bunker where he lives.” A thought occurred to her, and her eyes widened for a second before becoming sly. “Hey, when you do the search of the castle, can I come with you?”
“What?” I stammered, coughing a little. If Blossom was going to keep surprising me while I was eating, I hoped she was familiar with the Heimlich maneuver.
“Well, if we’re going to be searching every house, that includes the crazy castle down by the river, doesn’t it?” she asked. “I mean, I know that’s the first place I’d want to look if someone I loved disappeared.”
“Oh, come on,” I said, rolling my eyes even though my stomach was suddenly in knots. “Don’t you think that’s a little Vincent-Price-late-night-movie obvious? Hey, let’s all grab our pitchforks and head over to the castle.”
Blossom shrugged as she dragged a soggy cafeteria french fry through a splash of ketchup. “I guess.” After she popped the fry in her mouth, she added, “But seriously. If they’re going to search the castle, then I want in.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked. I could feel my face scrunching with anger and a bit of alarm for Jessie and his family. I tried to fight it. There was no reason to overreact. The villagers weren’t hammering on the castle door. At least, not yet. “Why would they search the castle?”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing?” she said, raising her well-groomed eyebrows. “Going door-to-door, making sure no one has a secret dungeon or anything.”
The Vanderlinds did have a dungeon. I knew that for a fact because I had to spend the night there once, for my own protection. Of course, I had the key locked inside with me. Which was a good thing because at least one vampire had wanted to get into my cell for a snack. Blossom had been there, too. Fortunately, she didn’t remember because she was passed out for our whole stay.
“Blossom, you know that nobody is searching anybody’s house, right?” I said before she got too excited. “They’re probably just going to have us hand out flyers and maybe ask people if they know anything. You can’t search someone’s home to make sure they’re not a criminal. You have to have a warrant and just cause and all that stuff. People have a right to privacy.”
“I guess,” she said, sounding a little disappointed. “So …” she said, giving me a penetrating look. “Do the Vanderlinds have a secret dungeon?”
“A secret one?” I said, squinting a little and putting a hand to my cheek as if I was thinking about it. “No, not a secret one.”
“Do they really have a dungeon?” Blossom asked, leaning forward, eager for some dirt. She was obviously terribly intrigued.
“Sure.” I nodded a few times. “There’s a dungeon and a moat and a few of those, whatcha’ call ‘em? The big hole where they throw people and then the bars go over the top.” It was obvious Blossom had no idea what I was talking about, but the word was on the tip of my tongue. There was one in the movie Labyrinth, after all. I became obsessed with that movie right at the tail end of my unicorn phase. “Um … oubliette. That’s it. They’ve also got an oubliette.”
She gave me a flat look. “Be serious.”
“Blossom. You’ve been in the castle, too, you know. You’ve seen it. Everything’s been all modernized with electricity and running water and all that good stuff. If they had something that used to be a dungeon then it’s been converted into a rec room or a wine cellar or whatever.”
“That’s too bad.” Blossom was disappointed. “If there was still a dungeon, then you c
ould play the captive and the princess. Or maybe prisoner and prison matron.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.
“What, like blast him with a hose and throw delousing powder at him or something?” I made a face. “Yeah, that is so not sexy.”
There was a meeting after school for the Liz search party volunteers. A ton of kids showed up. Including a bunch of people I wouldn’t have expected, like most of the football team and Don Updike. I was almost starting to think he had a heart.
It turned out I was right about the door-to-door. It was just handing out flyers and talking to people, asking if they’d seen or heard anything, telling them to call the police department if they thought of anything or heard anything, and pointing out that there was a ten-thousand-dollar reward for any information that led to Liz’s recovery.
Liz’s older sister, Brenda, was there. I guess she’d taken some time off from college, but what was she supposed to do? I doubt she could have concentrated on her classes. She had been a cheerleader and a member of the student council when she was at Tiburon two years ago, so she still knew a few of the kids. The Thurmans had divided Tiburon into sections. All volunteers were assigned a section and given a map, plus a form to fill out for each person they talked to, etc…. “Stay in groups of two or more,” Mrs. Thurman instructed us. “And do not stay out past eight o’clock at night.” She was very adamant that we should take our safety seriously. There was a good chance there was a psychopath out there, after all.
“Yeah, I’d like to see some psycho try to take me down,” Jimmy Stevens said, thumping his beefy chest. A lot of guys grunted in agreement and jostled each other in what they must have assumed was a manly way.
