“Jud Jenkins.”
“Doesn’t ring a bell,” Megan said. All she could see in her mind was the slack jaw, terrified eyes, and ghostly-white complexion from the photo.
“He was an employee at the Gas ’n’ Eats. Worked the weekend shift. Officer Brent told me if the town had a drunk, he’d be it. Single guy in his sixties, liked his sauce. He’s had a few DUIs in his time and a drunk and disorderly. Other than that, I come up empty. Why would anyone want to kill this man?” Nolan asked, finally closing the folder and pulling it back toward himself.
She was able to place him once Nolan identified him, even if the memory was hazy. “How would I know that?” Megan was starting to get anxious again. Did they really think she killed this guy? Not only the shooter from that terrible night, but Jud Jenkins? So now she was a serial killer?
“I don’t know, Megan. But there’s something real interesting about the way this guy was killed.”
“Okay?”
“You want to see the photo again?”
“No!”
“Well, he appears to have bled to death. He has two puncture holes right in his left internal jugular vein. But there’s not a drop of blood on the ground beneath him. Doesn’t that sound odd to you?” Nolan tented his fingers beneath his chin.
The last time they had been together, Nolan had been much kinder. This time, he seemed sarcastic and agitated. Megan didn’t like it.
“Yes, it does sound odd.”
“Vampiric, almost?”
Megan sighed. Of course. “Sure, if vampires existed, it sounds exactly like something they would do.”
“So now you’re saying they don’t exist? Everything you said to me when I was here last was all a lie?”
“No! I still can’t explain it. I know what I saw and what she told me, but the more I thought about it, the less sense it made. You can’t make me the bad guy because I told you exactly what someone else said, even if what they said was weird. I even gave a description to the artist person. I’ve done what you asked and told you everything.” Megan shifted uncomfortably.
“Maybe. Or maybe you’re hiding something.”
“I didn’t kill him!” Hot tears filled her eyes, more out of frustration than anything else. A vampire killing. Had Angeline killed someone and dumped them that way? She couldn’t believe it. “When did it happen? I was working last night!”
“I’m not saying you killed him, Megan. But I think you know something.”
Megan just shook her head weakly. She was afraid the more she said, the more she’d contradict herself. She couldn’t unravel. Not now. She stood up to leave, and Nolan didn’t stop her.
* * *
Megan sat in the parking lot, fumbling in her purse for her cell phone. There was a missed call from Angeline. She hadn’t left a message.
Are you still at work? Megan texted.
No. I’m parked across the street from you.
Megan looked up and saw the faint outline of Angeline’s Mustang. She squinted to see if she could make out any of her features, but it was too dark.
Sorry to drag you out. I tried to keep my emotions in check, but I obviously didn’t do a very good job.
It’s fine. What’s wrong?
Meet me at Burger Whiz.
Was she being tailed? Megan didn’t know very much about real-life police procedure, but there were no other cars around. She decided meeting Angeline anywhere other than the police station parking lot was a good idea.
She watched as Angeline’s headlights came to life and she pulled out onto the main road. Just seeing her car drive away stirred the butterflies in Megan’s stomach, though she told herself it was just uneasiness of her meeting with the detective. She needed to put those feelings aside.
Burger Whiz was predictably deserted, as there weren’t enough people craving a mushroom supreme before the morning commute for them to justify opening. Angeline was parked in a spot underneath a tree, her lights already off.
Megan pulled up next to her and jumped out of the front seat. She didn’t see any cars nearby or any driving toward them. She heard the click of Angeline’s doors as they unlocked for her.
“Hi,” she said softly, sliding into the passenger seat.
“Hi.” Angeline gave her a tight smile and played with the nail on her right thumb.
Being so close to Angeline gave Megan a rush of excitement mixed with sadness. She looked amazing, as she always did, in dark blue jeans and a form-fitting leather jacket. Her hair was down around her shoulders, and she wanted to reach out and touch her. Just for a second. Just to feel her again.
“So,” Megan said, clearing away the sudden constriction in her throat, “I got a call from the detective a little while ago. He wanted me to come down and answer some questions about another murder.”
Angeline’s head snapped up. “Another murder?”
“Yes. Another employee at the gas station was killed. He had, um, two holes in his neck and his blood was drained. Like, all of it, I guess,” Megan told her, watching as Angeline’s eyes grew in horror.
She gripped her steering wheel, her expression going from horror to contemplative. “Who did it? Do they have any suspects?”
Unless she was a hell of an actress, it hadn’t been her. Relief flooded her and she relaxed into her seat. “Sort of. They suspect me, I think, and you. But I told him that I must have been delusional to ever believe your crazy story and that I haven’t heard from you since. I don’t know if it worked.”
Angeline shook her head. She reached over, took Megan’s hand, and squeezed it. Megan squeezed back harder. She found herself desperate for Angeline’s touch and she didn’t want to let go. “You know I didn’t do this, right?” Angeline asked, looking into Megan’s eyes.
“Of course. I know you’re not a killer. At least not in the usual sense of the word,” Megan said. She still held on to Angeline’s hand. Her skin was soft and receptive.
“It’s a setup. Who else knows about me?” Angeline’s phone chimed with a notification, and she removed her hand from Megan’s to silence it. Megan’s hand hung stupidly in the air when Angeline broke their contact, and she tried to brush it off by running her hand through her hair.
“Just Stacey and Kristen. I haven’t told anyone else. Have you? Has there been anyone else since you moved here besides me?”
“No one.”
Megan swallowed. “Is there the remotest possibility that it’s a coincidence? Is there an animal that could have done this? Or some serial killer who thinks they’re a vampire?” Megan knew how ridiculous that sounded before the words were even out of her mouth.
“I highly doubt it. In all my years, I’ve never heard of an animal that carefully removed the blood of its victim but left the flesh intact. That just doesn’t happen. As for a serial killer, not only would that be insanely coincidental, but draining a human is a lot harder than you may think. And time consuming.” Angeline looked out her window. “Unless the detective was bluffing. Maybe he was just trying to get you to confess to something? Or give me up?”
Megan shrugged. “I don’t think so. But in all honesty, I didn’t look at the photo very closely. I hid my eyes. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I probably would have turned away too,” Angeline said, touching Megan’s leg absentmindedly. “But the fact that there’s a photo makes me think he wasn’t bluffing. When did the killing take place?”
“Just last night, as far as I know.”
Angeline creased her brow. “The medical examiner will perform the autopsy today, I would assume, so I don’t have much time beyond that. I’ll have to go to the ME’s office tonight. Impromptu vacation day, I guess. Thankfully, the clinic shouldn’t be too busy tonight.”
“Wait, what do you mean? Why are you going to the medical examiner’s office? To look at the body?” Megan asked, incredulous.
Angeline nodded. “I’ll know by inspecting the victim whether or not it was a vampire bite. If it isn’t, and Nolan’s try
ing to draw me out, I may have to think about leaving town. There’s just no way having someone on my scent could end well. It’s easier to move on. And if it is a vampire bite, then we have a whole other problem on our hands.”
“I’m coming with you,” Megan said, watching Angeline for her reaction. It was just as she expected.
She shook her head. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?”
“It’s too dangerous. If we get caught, it’s over. I’ll have to kill whoever finds us, and neither of us want that.”
Megan sat back and pursed her lips. “I can be stealthy.”
Angeline smiled. “I’m sure you can. But the answer is still no.”
“I’ll just meet you there then.” She wasn’t about to back down.
“You don’t know when I’m going. So no,” Angeline said.
Megan could tell she was trying to sound authoritative, but her twitching lips betrayed her. “I’ll just camp out there for the night then. I assume the morgue has to have a back entrance, right?”
Angeline dropped her head to the steering wheel. “Again. I really, really appreciate you wanting to help, and wanting to look out for me. But honestly, Megan, there’s too much risk and too much at stake. I promise I’ll call you when it’s over.”
Megan touched her shoulder lightly. “Okay. You win. I’ll stay home and watch The Lost Boys and wonder why you don’t hang upside down in a cave like those vampires do.”
Angeline closed her eyes for the briefest of seconds and then pressed the unlock button on her door panel. “Get out,” she said, laughing.
Megan obliged, closing the door behind her. She waved, and Angeline held her hand up in return. She shivered as she turned the key in her ignition, and Angeline drove off as her car thundered to life. The feelings were still there, and they were blossoming instead of withering.
Why did everything have to be so damn dramatic in her life? She couldn’t just find a nice girl to maybe go see a play and have a late dessert with? No, she had to find herself infatuated with one she was going to surprise at the medical examiner’s office. Even if she just stayed in the shadows, Megan didn’t feel right leaving Angeline completely alone when there might be someone, or something, out there hunting her. Yes, she was nearly a hundred years old, and yes, she could snap the spine of just about anyone like a toothpick, but even she couldn’t possibly account for the element of surprise one hundred percent of the time. As she pulled out onto the road, Megan knew she was going for her own peace of mind even as she justified needing to be there for Angeline. Angeline wouldn’t even have to know she was there.
Chapter Fourteen
The ceiling fan hummed a comforting tune as Angeline stared at it, her body splayed like a rag doll on her plush sofa. She couldn’t stop thinking about her. She’d done exactly what her head had told her to do. Push Megan away. Make sure she was perfectly clear that nothing could ever possibly progress between the two of them. Megan was vibrant, spirited, alive. Most importantly, human. And Angeline, she told herself, was basically a walking corpse. What kind of a future could they have? One where Angeline was constantly on edge because the weakness of humanity would leave her devastated and alone? Again? No, she wouldn’t do it to herself. She refused to feel that deep anguish of loss that she’d felt all those years ago.
But something was tugging at her. Nagging her from the inside out. She could hear the tiny voice inside her head insisting, it’ll be different this time. She was pretty sure she hadn’t drunk that much coffee or eaten that much diner food in at least three decades. But those stolen moments and quick meetings were becoming the best parts of Angeline’s days. Seeing Megan light up at the sight of a lemon poppy seed muffin in the wee hours of the morning was like feeling the sunlight on her face again. Hyperbolic, maybe, but she felt it in her bones. She was falling in love with her, damn it.
She could talk herself out of it. It wouldn’t be so hard. She just needed to be rational about it. Love was just an illusion. The idea that one person was different from another, that one person could fill an imaginary void. That same rationale also told her that the surest way to turn Megan into a pleasant memory was to stay away from her. Put physical distance between them as well as emotional distance. But she was failing. Miserably. As much as she told herself that was what she needed to do, Angeline couldn’t seem to manifest it.
Angeline jumped off the couch in a panic as a loud knock filled her living room. She stood still, seeing if whoever it was would just go away. Thirty seconds or so passed, and she calmed slightly as the threat seemed to have passed. Maybe it was a motorist or someone who’d gotten lost on their way to Lake Quinsigamond. Cell phones had all but eradicated the need for person-to-person contact in those situations, but there were still one or two reasons that someone would need hands-on help.
As she was about to turn toward the kitchen, another bang on the door set her on edge. Whoever it was, wasn’t going away. Angeline walked slowly toward the door, her muscles tensing. Her eyes widened at the flashing blue strobing in her driveway. What do they know? Ignoring them wasn’t really an option, since the soft glow of her lamp could be seen from the front porch. She took a deep breath and unchained the lock.
A young officer stood on her stoop, looking impatient. Angeline said nothing, just looked at him expectantly. She was ready to pounce on him if necessary.
“Good evening, miss,” he said, nodding in her direction. His demeanor seemed to change as he addressed her. His impatience dissipated immediately. “We’re just alerting everyone in the neighborhood to a possible gas leak. The construction crew over at the Hole-in-One Donut Shop hit a gas line. It’s a good distance from here, so you should be fine, but I still wanted you to be on alert. If you smell any natural gas, you need to evacuate immediately.”
Angeline nodded cautiously. Was that really it? Or was he hoping to get her to drop her guard so he could lunge? “Will that be all?” she asked, half of her still hidden behind the door.
“Yes, that was it. If you need anything at all, we’ll be over at the dig site.”
“Okay. Thank you for the heads-up.” Angeline smiled slightly and closed the door. The officer stood there for an extra few seconds before walking back to his car. He looked back at her house before getting into his car and driving away.
“Weird,” Angeline said out loud to her empty house. She checked the time and decided to go get dressed for her busy night ahead.
Ever since she’d found out that Stacey and Kristen knew about her, she’d been waiting for the shoe to drop on her existence. Everyone would know, the whole town would show up at her door demanding answers and ready to burn her at the stake. She still couldn’t explain what had made her tell Megan so much that night. It was a hasty, irresponsible decision that she somehow didn’t regret. Megan wasn’t the first person she’d saved from the brink of death. But she was the only person Angeline had stuck around for. It had been her protocol to do what she could without being seen and disappear into the shadows without confirmation of the person’s condition. She didn’t believe in fate, but something had made her stay. And now the loneliness that she’d become so accustomed to seemed at bay, parked in the recesses of her recent past. But not a part of her present. She found that she’d been happier in the last month or so than she’d been for a very, very long time. But happiness was fleeting, and Angeline was more than aware of that. So, she had to rein it in, suck it up, and distance herself from the very thing that was making her feel so alive. She just needed to force herself to actually go through with it.
Chapter Fifteen
“Ew,” Megan said, stepping over a foul-smelling pile in the backyard of the house she was appraising. She checked the clock on her phone for the thirty-seventh or so time. Six thirty-three. She’d made all of her appointments late in the day so she could sleep in as late as possible. It was going to be a long night.
She took the last of the necessary photos and crammed all of her paperwork into the
brown leather bag hanging at her waist. The leaves crunched beneath her feet, providing the perfect soundtrack to her heightened nerves. She wondered if there would be some kind of battle between good and evil, if there was a rogue vampire that Angeline would have to set on fire in the parking lot of the morgue. She felt guilty for being a little excited about the adventure aspect of the plan.
Once she was back in her car, Megan dialed Angeline’s number. The lights were off in the large colonial she was appraising, so she assumed the family was out for the evening. Otherwise, making phone calls from their driveway would have seemed kind of odd.
“Hey,” Angeline answered. She sounded like she was outside.
“Hey. What are you doing?”
“Drinking.”
“Are you at a bar?” Megan asked. Angeline had never seemed all that interested in alcohol.
“Um…no. It’s not really the best time to talk right now. Can I call you back?”
“Okay. You sure everything is all right? You’re not drunk, are you?”
Angeline sighed. “Not that kind of drinking, Megan.”
“Oh. Oh. Yeah, call me back.” Megan quickly hit the end button on the call. Angeline must have been with someone satisfying her hunger or whatever it was that she did. She tried not to dwell too much on what that would look like. Knowing Angeline, Megan doubted that she would leave any lasting imprint on the…victim. She’d rather not think of them like that, but that’s what they were. No sense in sugarcoating it. It would have been a lot easier for Angeline to just ignore Megan’s call. Megan could lie to herself and say that she didn’t glean a little satisfaction from the fact that she answered her call during…that, but really there was no point.
When she walked through her front door, Merlin greeted her like always. She gave him a quick pat and went into her bedroom to find the right criminal-activity-type outfit. Even if she ended up staying in the car, she still needed to be prepared. She decided on black jeans and a black sweater. Predictable, but smart. She assumed it would make sense to blend in as much as possible.
In the Shadow of Darkness Page 12
