by Margaret Carter, Crystal Green, Erica Orloff, Patricia Rosemor
I stooped to give Sarge and Cadet the attention they seemed to want at my presence, but the moment I touched them, they both sauntered off, tails straight in the air. They were obviously annoyed with me for being gone so much the past few days, and they were taking this opportunity to show it.
I left the kitchen and joined her. “Thanks for bringing the gear, Silke, but you didn’t have to wait.”
“I didn’t just bring the things you asked for.”
Nerves were evident in her voice, which meant she didn’t think I was going to like whatever it was she’d added to the list. “Out with it.”
“I respect your thinking like a cop, Shelley, but in this case, I think you’re being incredibly naive.”
“Me…naive?” Wasn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? I loosened the ties on my boots and kicked them off.
“You’re living in this world where things are normal, just the way you think they should be. Only maybe they aren’t.”
“So you say.”
“You might, too, if you hadn’t closed off yourself from other possibilities just because you roughed up the wrong guy half a lifetime ago.”
“Silke, just because you and I have this twin connection doesn’t mean the whole world is abnormal.”
“There’s nothing abnormal about it. Not our sort of connection, anyway. More people could do it if they tried,” she said earnestly. “I’ve been doing a lot of research on the powers of the developed mind…and that’s what scientists think.”
“Some scientists.” Kooks.
“I’ve been doing research for you, too,” Silke announced. “That’s what I brought you in the second bag. Books and videos.”
I approached the cloth bags with apprehension and opened the research one with the caution of someone afraid a snake would slither out. And so it did, in the form of a heavy tome called Reality Bites: Vampyres among Us.
“Um, and what am I supposed to do with this?”
“Read it, of course.”
“I don’t have time for fiction,” I insisted, dropping the book on the table. I thought of the stack of folders on my desk that awaited me.
“You don’t have enough time not to consider every possibility! You don’t know when the next person might be turned.”
“What do you mean, turned?”
“I was thinking about your being attacked. What if there is a real vampire and the woman who attacked you was recently turned? Then she would need blood.”
Remembering feeling a nip at my neck, I shook off the memory. “Silke, there’s got to be a more rational explanation for—”
“Open up your mind, Shelley. The world isn’t all nice and neat. It’s messy and full of nasty surprises.”
“I know that! I’m a cop, remember.”
“You may be a cop, but you don’t know all the possibilities, because you won’t even consider anything out of the norm.”
“Because I’m a rational human being.”
“That’s your trouble. I just hope it won’t be your undoing.”
This wasn’t getting us anywhere, and I desperately needed sleep, so I caved. “All right. Just leave the stuff here. I’ll try to keep an open mind when I look at it.” I didn’t promise when that might be.
Pacified, Silke calmed down, gave me an extra-long hug and left.
I started for the bedroom, but slowed as I passed the table and glanced at the paranormal research materials. Skeptic that I was, I knew I wouldn’t believe in any of this nonsense, but I guessed it wouldn’t hurt to take a look. After all, I had researched vampire cults myself, and I’d just spent the morning wading through the information Commander Aniceto had gathered. If nothing else, this might give me additional insight into Elvin Mowry’s mind.
I grabbed a couple of the books and dragged them into the other room with me, where I tossed them on the bed. I was simply going to do my homework.
After stripping into my underwear, I slid onto the bed with a sigh. Before I could open the first book, a thump on the mattress told me I had company.
“Hey, Sarge, come on here, boy.”
But he stayed at the foot of the bed and stared at me out of accusing kitty eyes. I lifted my foot and ran my toes along his side as I opened the cover. He couldn’t help himself from purring, but he settled down right where he was. His idea of a compromise.
I started to skim the material.
That vampires—male and female—were generally beautiful didn’t surprise me. I’d gotten that out of the books that analyzed vampire cults. Looks were always a major issue. Even with purple hair, Mowry himself was a pretty boy.
According to this book, however, “Becoming a vampire makes one even more attractive and hard to resist.”
I raised my eyebrows at that one. Somehow, I was sure seeing someone with jaws dripping fresh blood would pretty much be a turn off to me. I flipped a few pages.
The author wrote, “Vampires can move around with surety in the dark because they operate using a kind of radar.”
What, like bats? Ha-ha.
“And all their senses are heightened—sight, smell, hearing, touch.”
That must mean they worked on overload most of the time, I thought with a smirk.
“They’re faster and stronger than any human, and their healing power is legendary.”
So Superman was a vamp?
“Anyone with psychic powers is too tempting to resist.”
I guess that made me a prime candidate to a vampire stalker.
“Drinking blood isn’t just a way for a vampire to stay undead but to boost sexual energy. Although vampires are unable to conceive a child, they have more than enough sexual energy to spare in any circumstance.”
They might shoot blanks but they were expert at sex? Well, that was interesting, anyway.
And in a roundabout way, the sex reference reminded me of Jake.
I slammed the cover down on the book and pushed it away from me just as Cadet jumped onto the middle of the bed with a loud meow. I scooped her to my middle and hugged her there despite her mewling protest. She quickly settled down. Good. Then I slid my toes into Sarge’s fur. His side was vibrating with purr.
No more nonsense. Sleep was calling.
And sweet dreams of Jake DeAtley, the man who didn’t exist….
She sobs and her eye tears and rolls along her cheekbone. “You’re missing it, you’re missing it.”
Missing what?
“I’m working on your case. I promise I’m going to find the person who did this to you.” Even as I say it, I fear I won’t really be able to do so.
“Naive,” she croaks, for a moment sounding like Silke. “You have to look beyond what you think you know.”
I shake my head. “Then who will I be?”
“Yourself.”
Maybe that is what scares me most.
Chapter 12
Jake started every time a set of footsteps approached Heart of Darkness, disappointed when it wasn’t Shelley.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the woman.
He’d awakened to find she’d stolen away while he was sleeping. He’d felt alone, suddenly not a good feeling.
Something about Shelley wouldn’t let him be. She was fearless and stronger than most people. That she might be his match in every way was something he hadn’t been able to say about any other woman. And she was a straight arrow and true to herself. Sappy stuff, but in the end it all got to him.
Blaise Allcock slid onto a stool at the head of the bar. “The usual.”
Jake poured him the house’s finest red, which went for more than twenty bucks a glass. Blaise didn’t mind the expense.
He set the glass of red on the bar. “Who’s watching the store?”
“I haven’t opened.” Blaise picked up the glass, his hand smooth, fingers manicured, long nails painted a deep blue to match his silky midnight-blue shirt. “No people, no business, no sense in sitting around waiting for my next victim to come in.”
Considering what h
ad been going on in the area, Jake didn’t think that was particularly funny, but he smiled anyway, just to appease the shop owner, who normally had a thriving business. Most of the bar regulars were victims, but fashion victims rather than the violent kind. Many of them not only wore odd clothing and odder makeup, but they also mutilated their bodies with myriad piercings and multiple tattoos. As far as Jake was concerned, the one ear he’d had pierced was plenty. Blaise was either a damn fine salesman or he had a way of mesmerizing his customers to come back again and again and again.
Mesmerizing…hmm…
Jake stared at Blaise and attempted to read him, but try as he might, he couldn’t manage it. He was blocked, stopped cold.
Maybe that should tell him something, but he couldn’t be certain. Some people were simply more resistant than others. And Blaise was definitely an odd duck, an effeminate semi-cross-dresser, who—while he didn’t pretend to be a woman—certainly played on those pretty looks of his. For some reason, young women were attracted to him. Maybe guys, too.
Not that Blaise did a thing for him.
Which was in itself unusual. Not the sex part. The unreadability factor. He could nearly always get an accurate take on a person’s nature. That he couldn’t on Blaise made the man suspect.
But before Jake could attempt to sort out his thoughts in the matter, Shelley entered the bar and his attention shifted.
There was something different about her tonight. She was toned down a bit, more natural-looking. More attractive, if that was possible. But she was also more tense than normal. He didn’t miss the once-over she gave the place, as if looking for someone. Mowry?
Just seeing her made his blood rush.
Shelley looked every way but at him.
Amused, Jake wondered if she really thought she could resist him. Of course she must. She didn’t know who or what he was.
Not yet.
I so didn’t want to be disappointed in Jake after last night, but after talking to Mom and reading the report, I was concerned. If he wasn’t who he said he was, then who? Why was he tracking down some criminal? Could I believe the story that the person had been responsible for his mother’s death? What if he knew more about my investigation than he was saying?
I suspected I might not like whatever was going on with him.
Still, I had to face him sometime.
I chose to do it while he was occupied with Blaise. That way, I wouldn’t have to take the heat of his full attention.
I stopped at the head of the bar and opened with “They’re not exactly banging down the doors tonight, are they?”
“Blame the perfect weather,” Jake said, his eyelids drooping, as if that could hide his thoughts from me. “Every outdoor beer garden in the city probably has a waiting line.”
“Of Goths?” I couldn’t see it. They seemed to be happiest in a room thick with smoke.
Blaise said, “You’re not wearing any jewelry tonight.”
Uh-oh. I hadn’t properly finished my first do-it-myself makeover. That’s what I got for refusing my sister’s help. Now Blaise made me wonder what else I might have missed. Had I put on the violet eye shadow or not?
I shrugged nervously. “I was in a hurry to be on time.”
Blaise sipped at his wine, his eyes never leaving mine. “Those red crystal chandelier earrings I told you about have your name on them.”
Right. The ones that would look like splashes of blood against my throat. “No customers, no tips, no cash.”
“I take credit.”
But of course my credit card was assigned to me—Shelley—not to Silke Caldwell.
“I’ve taken a hiatus from using my card. I got a bit carried away last month.” I could feel Jake’s eyes on me again, and my pulse rushed to the blood in my throat. “I don’t even have it with me.”
“You can pay me later,” Blaise said. “Or I’ll take it out in blood.” He laughed at his own joke and added, “I’ll even give you a professional discount. Now, that’s an offer even you can’t refuse.”
Take it out in blood? “You’re right.”
If I continued to refuse, it would simply bring attention to me, which I didn’t want. Besides, this was an opportunity to check out Blaise Allcock, one of the key players in this Goth miniempire.
So the next thing I knew, I was following Blaise through the hall door, all the while feeling Jake’s gaze boring into the spot between my shoulders.
I glanced back and said, “If Desiree asks, tell her I’ll be just a few minutes.”
We crossed the hall to the minimall of stores up front along the street. Expecting to see Hung Chung back on duty, I was a little on edge. But the security guard working the building was tall and wiry.
“No Hung Chung tonight?”
“It seems to me you might be relieved that our Asian friend has been removed from the premises.”
A reference to the fight, I supposed. No doubt, everyone had heard about it.
“Removed?” I echoed him. “As in fired?”
Blaise shrugged. “You could say that.”
“I haven’t seen Raven tonight, either,” I said, testing the waters by using the dead girl’s name. No reaction. “Chung scared her to death.”
“Bad technique,” Blaise said. “There are better ways to get what you want.”
A comment that disturbed me. It was almost as if Blaise thought Chung should have gotten what he wanted….
Inside Taboo Tattoo, I was avoiding looking at the needles laid out in the tattooing and piercing area and was following Blaise forward to the jewelry counter, when I saw a gargoyle among the tattoo designs. Not the same as LaTonya’s tattoo, but a gargoyle nonetheless. And on the jewelry counter lay several other gargoyles in the form of pendants.
“Neat gargoyles,” I said in Silke’s enthusiastic voice. “Everyone seems to be into them.”
“Some are. Mowry’s group mostly.”
Mowry’s group. Thora qualified. And I guess LaTonya did, too, from what Raven had told me. But Raven herself? I hadn’t yet been able to make that connection. An image came to me—Mowry lifting the glass of wine in a ring-heavy hand. One of those rings had been a pewter gargoyle.
Blaise had gone straight for the dark red crystal earrings, which he snagged from a display. “Here you are.”
When he held them out to me, his shirtsleeve opened slightly and I caught a glimpse of the tattoo beneath. Every inch of his skin was covered with beautiful inks. I thought I caught a glimpse of a wing, but the gap in the material closed before I could get a better look.
I focused on the earrings. “They are beautiful.” They really were. I took them from him and, looking in the mirror set on the counter, held them up next to my ear. The crystals spilled from tiny carved faces, full and practically long enough to brush my shoulders. Not my taste, not normally—too wild—but an impulse I couldn’t quite name made me say “Okay, you convinced me. So you said something about a discount?”
“Keep them as a gift from me.”
“I couldn’t.”
“Of course you can. But here, let me put them on you.”
I was about to tell Blaise that wasn’t necessary, but the words froze in my throat when I met his gaze. Nodding, I gave the earrings back to him, and the next thing I knew, I was enjoying the feel of his hands brushing against the side of my neck and my earlobes as he fastened the crystals in place.
Enjoying…actually, I was loving it.
I recognized how odd that was even as I looked deep into Blaise’s eyes. I couldn’t turn away from him, couldn’t move. For the moment, I was mesmerized. He broke the connection and set a mirror in front of me. I checked out my reflection as he watched me. I got a good look at those carved faces at my ears, which were tiny gargoyles.
And then, so lightly that I might have imagined it, Blaise stroked the length of my throat. Sensations rippled down where his fingers touched my flesh and kept going to my breasts. My nipples hardened, and sensations lit me from the inside o
ut.
“You really are a beautiful woman, Silke.”
I fought the flush of warmth threatening to overtake me. “And you really are some salesman.” Disturbed by my reaction to him, I blinked and took a step back.
“Yes, look at all the profit I’m making with my many customers.” He didn’t bother to keep the irony from his tone as he took hold of me again with his eyes. “I might as well lock up and leave for the night. I could do that. You could accompany me. I can promise you a whole menu of earthly delights.”
“Menu?” I asked breathlessly, my imagination already at work. “That’s a big promise.”
“And a sincere one.”
He hadn’t broken his gaze. And though I desperately tried, I couldn’t look away. The thought that I might want to accompany him, might want to see what his earthly delights might entail, seemed for a moment irresistible. Then I somehow managed to tear my gaze from his and reality came flooding back to me.
What the heck was happening to me? First Jake, now Blaise…
“Hey, listen, I need to get back to work before Desiree notices I’m gone,” I said, turning to leave.
“Leave Desiree to me. If she becomes agitated over your absence, I’ll calm her.”
“Oh. Thanks, but I really must go.” I wondered how he might manage that. Did Blaise have some kind of relationship with the bar owner? “I’ll pay you for the earrings at the end of the night.”
“If you insist.”
I was looking down at my hands as I headed for the door—anything to keep from looking at Blaise—and almost ran into a customer entering the shop. I blinked and went on as if I’d never met the blond cop who ignored me, too.
“Can I help you?” I heard Blaise ask, his tone sounding more interested in her than in making a sale.
I raised my eyebrows and fled back to the bar. Jake spotted me the moment I walked in the door. Or maybe it was that I spotted him.
Unsettled by my strange encounter with the tattoo artist, I was glad to see the place was filling up. Our Goth customers weren’t lining up for those beer gardens, after all, though maybe the neighborhood regulars and the tourists were seeking summer digs since they were in short supply.
