Blood of the Innocent

by Cheryel Hutton

  “She’s using some kind of trick.”

  “No, there’s no way it could be a trick. Trust me. it was a very strange experience.”

  “So you and a woman shared a psychic moment. Hard to swallow, but maybe not as crazy as the rest of that stuff.”

  “Mike, Veronica is a vampire.”

  His friend froze for a second, his expression blank. Then he shook his head. “You’re being conned.”

  “No. I don’t know what the truth is about these people, but I haven’t seen any evidence of a con.”

  Mike stared toward the road, his eyes unfocused for a long few minutes. “Odd stuff, that’s for sure.”

  “I don’t think the police will find Justin’s killer.”

  Mike’s gaze shot to catch Joe’s. “Why? Because of this conspiracy and vampire stuff? That probably has nothing to do with what happened to Justin. Much more likely it was a random event.” His hand gripped Joe’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, buddy, but driving yourself crazy like this isn’t helping. Not you, and not your mom.”

  “I don’t want to hurt Mom, but the guy who killed my brother has to be brought to justice.”

  “Joe, you’re a professor, not a cop.”

  “I know that.”

  “But you’re going back anyway.”

  “I have to. I owe it to Justin.”

  “I don’t know what you think you can accomplish that the cops can’t. Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

  “Yes. I’ve already made arrangements for somebody else to cover my classes for the next few weeks.”

  Surprise crossed his friend’s face. “Next few weeks?”

  “I don’t know how long this thing will take.”

  Mike looked at the ground, poking at a stick with the toe of his sneaker. Joe figured his buddy was gearing up to lecture him on reality.

  Then Mike met his gaze. “I’m going with you.”

  Joe wouldn’t have been more surprised if his friend had told him he could fly. “You can’t do that. You’re a doctor with a family. You can’t just take off, you have responsibilities.”

  “I’m not letting one of my best friends get himself involved in a crazy conspiracy vampire thing without anybody to watch his back.”

  “You have a wife and kids. I don’t know what’s going on, but it could be dangerous.”

  “Exactly why you need backup.”

  “Mike…”

  “When are you leaving?”

  “Tomorrow morning.”

  “Does your mom know?”

  “Yeah. She’s not happy about it, but she understands.”

  “I’ll be on that plane with you.”

  Joe nodded, and they walked back toward his mother’s house. He was glad for the support, but he’d just buried his brother. Putting his friend in danger seemed wrong. If it had been Nate—single, with a crazy job that had him on the road constantly—it might not have been so bad. But Mike?

  He was determined, though, and Joe needed help. If nothing else, Mike could offer a fresh perspective. Lord knew he needed one.

  Could this thing get more complicated?

  ****

  Veronica had a lot on her mind as she hurried along the southwest edge of the town on her way home. She registered the banners and posters announcing the Harvest of the Sea festival without really seeing any of it. The only human business she was interested in was Justin Sullivan’s murder.

  Not that most vampires would call his death murder. Humans were looked upon as animals by her people. Vampires considered themselves to be superior in every way to humans, to be the ruling class of the planet. Even her own colleagues, who had seen the same DNA studies she had, considered the tiny genetic difference enough to make them a totally different species. A more evolved species, of course.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the feel of another vampire behind her. She turned and the man stepped out of the shadows.

  “I would like to speak with you,” the red-headed, medium height vampire said.

  “About what?”

  “About the death of the human named Justin.”

  Curiosity flared, along with a good dose of distrust. “Why come to me?”

  “Because you work with the Guardians.”

  She fought to maintain a neutral expression. “Why would you think that?”

  He shot a glance around them and lowered his voice. “Because I saw you with a Guardian.”

  Anger flared inside her and tightened her jaw. “You’ve been watching me?”

  “Actually, I saw you at the shore where Justin lay dead.” He closed his eyes for a moment while an expression of anguish crossed his features. “Then I saw his brother talking to you. I was looking for Joe when the Guardian went into your building.” He shrugged. “I only knew that he came to talk to you by your reaction just now.”

  She groaned. Stealthy she wasn’t. “Okay, so what do you want from me?”

  “I want your help finding Justin’s killer.”

  She studied him for a moment, edged at his mental barriers but quickly discovered she wouldn’t be able to breach them without force. “Why do you care what happened to this human?”

  “I was his lover.”

  Surprise pulled at her. “You’re admitting to a sexual relationship with a human?”

  “Not just sexual. We were Linked.”

  Veronica’s mouth dropped open and she snapped it shut. Forcing a neutral expression, she slammed the door on her errant thoughts. “That’s impossible.”

  “That’s what I always thought too. Until it happened to me.” He took a small step toward Veronica. “Look, believe me or not, I don’t care which. All I’m interested in is making sure his murderer doesn’t go unpunished.”

  “Murderer?”

  Conner’s expression went dark. “Why not use that word? If we are alike enough to be Linked, we are alike enough to have respect for each other. To use the same terminology for loss.”

  “So you really cared for this human?”

  His chin shot up. “Yes, I did. And I want to see the vampire who killed him pay.”

  “You think I can help you with that?”

  “I think you are in a position to discover facts that could lead to the identity of the killer.”

  The pain and anger slipped from beneath Conner’s shields, and she realized what he was planning. “If you take revenge for a human, your life could be forfeit.”

  “Not just a human, Justin was my Beloved. I have the right to avenge my Beloved.”

  Veronica put a hand on Conner’s shoulder. “A human—and a male. The Guardians will not recognize your right.”

  Anger blew hard from him as he shoved her hand away. “I don’t give a damn what the Guardians think. The right to avenge a Beloved stretches back into the dark reaches of our history.”

  She watched the mix of anger and grief play out in the man’s eyes. Her heart hurt for him, but reality was reality. “What you do or don’t do is your business. I just don’t see how I can help you find this killer.”

  He visibly pulled back the emotion until his shields were once again blocking her prod and his face was dispassionate. He looked into her eyes. “As I said, I believe you can find facts that are not generally available. Facts that the Guardians choose to keep to themselves.”

  A little piece of Veronica believed him, wanted to help him. “I don’t know what you think my relationship with the Guardians is, but I don’t have access to any secrets.”

  “I think you do, or could if you were motivated to look for them.” With that, Conner turned and moved away with a speed a human would see as a blur.

  She just couldn’t get away from this human’s murder.

  “Damn,” she muttered as she headed toward her apartment.

  ****

  Joe’s fingers shook as he dialed Veronica, but he ignored the reaction. He had to hear her voice. He was irritated because she hadn’t answered her phone three days ago, when he had called to tell her he was
taking Justin’s body home. But he was worried too. What if the reason she hadn’t answered was she was hurt or sick?

  Or didn’t want to talk to that crazy human who somehow could share thoughts with her. Maybe he should just hang up before she answered. Save himself the embarrassment.

  “Joe, hi! How are you?”

  Her voice sent thrills through his body straight to his lower regions. “I’ve been better. It’s good to hear your voice.”

  “I’m so sorry I didn’t answer when you called. We had a problem at the lab and I was tied up.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “No, it isn’t. I thought you’d call again, or we’d run into each other. It wasn’t until yesterday that I found out your brother’s body had been released for burial. I thought of calling you, but I’m unsure of human rituals and expectations. I didn’t want to bother you. Are you okay?”

  Why did he feel so glad that she’d thought about him? “I’ve been better, but the funeral is over now. Thank God.”

  “I…um…I suppose you’ll be staying in Tennessee?”

  He heard the sadness in her voice, and it had him smiling. Man he was screwed up. This was hardly the time to be strung out on a woman. “Actually, I’m coming back to Lobster Cove. I have to see this through.”

  “You mean find your brother’s killer.”

  “Yeah.”

  A long sigh came from the phone. “Oh, Joe. Please let the authorities handle the investigation.”

  Irritation blew through him. “What investigation? Seems to me nothing is being done.”

  “They aren’t going to tell you everything.”

  Something about her voice, or was it that he was still tapping into her thoughts? “You don’t believe they’ll find the guy any more than I do.”

  “I don’t want you to get hurt.” Her voice caught, and his heart twisted.

  “I’ll be fine. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Be careful, Joe.”

  “I will.” They hung up, and he wondered how he could be so taken with this odd woman.

  And what it was she was not telling him.

  ****

  Kevin lay sprawled in his bed reading the latest Stephen King novel. It had been days since he’d told Vincent what he’d learned about the dead reporter having a twin brother. He’d been sure Vincent would be glad to have the information, but little had been said, and Kevin all but itched with irritation. He’d found out something important, damn it!

  Voices rumbled from the living room, and he focused on tuning it out. Then he heard somebody say something about a reporter, and he slid off the bed and edged into the hall where he could hear.

  “So that nosy reporter has a brother, a twin, actually,” Vincent said. “So we’re gonna need to keep an eye on him.”

  “Do you think he’ll be a problem?” Luke asked.

  “Probably not, but his brother could have told him something to make him suspicious. He’s a biology professor at some little college, not a reporter or anything.”

  “Good you found all that out, Vince,” Luke said. “You’re so smart about things like that.”

  “Knowing what’s going on and dealing with it is just part of being a leader.”

  Kevin ground his teeth as he went back to his room, hid the book, pulled on his hoodie, and slipped out into the cold night air. He would never get any respect here. Not from Vincent or the other guys. Maybe he should go somewhere else, do something else.

  Maybe the crazy lady was right.

  ****

  By two the next afternoon, Joe had listened to the Bar Harbor sheriff spend an hour explaining why he had no suspects in Justin’s murder. The police force was doing everything in their power to find the culprit, the man kept saying. In truth, Joe believed they were trying. Several things about his brother’s death didn’t add up. Things the Bar Harbor police probably wouldn’t take seriously. Hell, he wasn’t sure how much of the emerging story he could accept.

  After leaving the sheriff’s office, they went to the morgue. Joe vaguely remembered the coroner from the night Justin died, but most of that awful experience was blurry in his mind. He’d remembered a woman, but hadn’t remembered she was tall, slim, and looked nothing like any coroner he could have imagined.

  Mike, on the other hand, wasn’t stressed, so he noticed immediately how she looked. To give his married friend credit, if the conversation was any indication, he was much more interested in the woman’s brain than her body.

  Joe wasn’t interested in either one, and after almost an hour of listening to Mike and the coroner trade medical words, he was ready to walk out. They might enjoy getting nowhere on a four-syllable trip, but he just didn’t frigging care. Unable to handle the frustration, Joe got to his feet and went to stand at the single window in the coroner’s office.

  “Mr. Sullivan?” the coroner came toward him. “I understand that this must be hard for you.”

  Irritation bit at him like fire ants. “I understand that nobody has any damn idea of what happened to my brother. You and the sheriff want me to believe you’ll find the bastard who killed him, but we both know you won’t.”

  Mike stood. “You do realize it isn’t Dr. Hutchins’s job to find the bad guy. She just—”

  “It’s all right.” The woman’s voice wasn’t loud, just commanding. Mike sat down.

  The coroner put a hand on Joe’s shoulder. “I know you’re upset, you have every right to be. I wish I could tell you that I have the magic clue that will solve the case, but I don’t. I do have materials still in the testing process. Maybe something will come of that.”

  Joe met her gaze. “But you don’t think it will?”

  She smiled. “I’ve done this job long enough that I know better than to guess. I promise you that if I do find something, I’ll keep you in the loop.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Hutchens.”

  “Call me Pat, please.”

  Joe smiled in spite of himself. “Thank you, Pat.”

  “You take care.” She turned. “It was nice meeting you, Dr. Silver.”

  “Please call me Mike. Nice meeting you too.”

  Pat and Mike shook hands before the two men headed out the door.

  “She’s a very knowledgeable woman,” Mike said. “I was impressed.”

  “What did you expect?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. it’s not like I meet a lot of coroners. But whatever I might have imagined, she wasn’t it.”

  Wait until you meet Veronica.

  “I guess we might as well get back to Lobster Cove. I think we’ve done everything we can here.”

  “Are you sure it wouldn’t be better to just go home and let the authorities handle this?”

  Joe’s last nerve snapped and he spun to face his friend. “Did you hear the same thing I did? Because I didn’t hear a whole lot of anything except excuses.”

  “You have to know they aren’t going to share everything with us.”

  “Everything? “They didn’t share shit. Mostly because they don’t know shit.”

  Passers-by turned to look at him, but Joe was too raw to care. “Justin’s dead. Gone. Buried. His throat cut and his blood all over the ground. You really want to tell me that I should just go home like a good little boy and let the clueless authorities handle things?”

  Mike got right in his face. “Do you really think you can do better? You’re a biologist turned professor, what the hell do you know about solving a murder?”

  “I have Justin’s research. He was convinced something strange was going on and he did a damn good job of documenting his theory.”

  Mike blinked, then leaned closer to Joe. “You have papers that could help the police and you haven’t handed them over? What is your issue?”

  Joe pulled his friend to the side of a building where they’d be out of earshot. “Do you really think the cops would be interested in a conspiracy theory involving creatures that he calls vampires? What would they think of Justin? That he was crazy maybe
? That he was killed by another crazy?”

  “Have you ever considered that maybe he was?”

  Joe clenched his fists. “Was what?

  “That maybe, just maybe, your brother was a little unconventional?”

  White hot anger blew through him, and he acted on it before he thought. His fist and Mike’s face intersected. Hard.

  The other man stumbled back and held up both hands in surrender. “Chill, buddy. I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Then how the hell did you mean it?”

  “I just meant that Justin might have been a good target for a con. He was always a little, well, different.”

  Joe took a step toward Mike, who still held up his hands. “You’d better not be going where I think you are.”

  “No, not because he was gay. Because he always had an amazing imagination and wanted to believe in spaceships and aliens and stuff.”

  “That’s when we were kids.” He took a step toward Mike, and Mike backed off again. “You know what? I think you don’t want to fight because you’re afraid of hurting your delicate surgeon’s hands.”

  “Well, honestly, that is a consideration.”

  Joe shook his head. “You always were a wuss.”

  Mike grinned. “A wuss who makes more in a week than you do in a year.”

  “Smartass.”

  “Better a smartass than a dumbass.”

  “Let’s go back to Lobster Cove.” Joe turned and headed down the sidewalk.

  “Fine with me. I want one of those lobster rolls I keep hearing are so good.”

  “They are yummy.” He grinned. “But you don’t pronounce the r’s. More like lobsta.”

  Laughing, they headed toward Joe’s rental car. Still, deep in Joe’s thoughts, a tiny doubt lay. Had Mike really come with him to help, or to make sure he hadn’t followed his brother over the edge?

  ****

  If she did this it could get her into trouble. Big trouble.

  Veronica stared at the papers fanned out over her kitchen table—the report she had done for the Guardians. She always kept both an electronic and hard copy, just in case. The scientist in her insisted.

  Her carefully composed report lay before her. She’d included her careful observations and listed every sample she’d taken, every test she’d performed. Including the DNA samples. One from the victim. One foreign—taken from the area of the small cut on the victim’s neck. The one where a male vampire had put his mouth to drink blood. The DNA profile of Justin Sullivan’s killer.