Blood and Guitars

by Heather Jensen

  “Looks like we’re getting an escort,” I stated apologetically.

  “Might as well have just taken the free ride.” Trey gazed at the news chopper that was now hovering in the sky in clear view from his window.

  “We’ll get through this,” I added, glancing at him. He gazed at me for a long moment before nodding. It wouldn’t be easy. In fact, I knew it was going to get worse again real soon. Trey was going to have to retell the story of Wes’s death to the rest of the men he called brothers. He’d already been to hell and back today, but he put on a brave face as we made our way across town with our police escort.

  Chapter 55

  Trey was silent as we pulled into the parking lot of the police station. O’Shea and Chase were already there, leaning against O’Shea’s car in one of the front parking spots. I parked in an empty spot next to them and cut the engine, turning to look at Trey.

  “Do you know what you’re going to say?”

  “As much of the truth as I can.” Trey took a deep breath. “The celebrity angle is a good one. We have to make it work.”

  I knew that facing the police questioning wasn’t what Trey was dreading, but he obviously didn’t want to talk about the fact that he was going to have to explain to his brothers how Wes had died in his yard. He took a deep breath and then opened his door, climbing out. I followed suit but stayed a ways behind as he approached O’Shea and Chase. Another car turned into the parking lot and all three of the guys watched and waited while Jonas parked and then sauntered over to them.

  “Are you okay?” O’Shea asked Trey.

  “I told you I’m fine,” Trey assured him.

  “It’s true then?” Chase asked tentatively. “Wes is really gone?”

  Trey managed to nod his head in response. He was quiet for a second and then added, “I tried to save him, guys. But I was just too late. He … he was dead before I got there.” Trey’s voice cracked and O’Shea laid a supportive hand on his shoulder.

  “How about you?” O’Shea studied me with concern in his eyes. “Are you okay?”

  I gave him a small nod. I probably should have been playing the part of hysterical girlfriend. Most humans would be losing it after what we’d just seen, but Trey needed the real me just then. Officer Murray came to my side, but he didn’t speak, like he was trying to give Trey a minute to collect himself. I heard another car approaching and turned to see a white car creeping down the street past us. A man’s head was stuck out of the passenger side window, a camera in his hands. The paparazzi had apparently followed us to the station.

  Officer Murray followed my gaze. “Hey guys,” he said softly. “Maybe we should move this inside. We’ve got company.”

  O’Shea answered for the group. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go inside.”

  Trey reached back for me and I stepped forward, taking his hand. Once inside, Officer Murray led us all down a hallway to a private room. There was a table in the center and a mirror on one wall, which meant it was usually used as an interrogation room, but there was enough room for all of us to fit inside. Officer Murray and the cop who had taken a statement from Trey’s neighbor on the scene came inside with us.

  “I think maybe it would be best if you just started from the beginning,” Murray suggested.

  The look on Trey’s face made it pretty clear that he’d rather crawl into a hole and disappear than have to relive the incident, but he nodded once and started into the story. He was describing how we found Wes sprawled out on the lawn when the other cop, Officer Brenner (according to his badge), interrupted.

  “You’re absolutely certain Mr. Leavy was dead when you arrived?” He looked at me and then back to Trey.

  “I’m sure.” Trey swallowed with effort. “He wasn’t breathing and he didn’t have a heartbeat. We … we tried CPR but he was already gone.”

  I studied Officer Brenner, trying to decipher his angle. I couldn’t tell if the cop thought Trey was lying, which he wasn’t, or if he just wanted to seem important. Either way, I decided he was lucky the moon wasn’t out. I’d have been inside his head so fast it would have spun.

  “Please continue Mr. Decker,” Officer Murray encouraged.

  “Just call me Trey.” Trey glanced at me for encouragement and I squeezed his hand under the table. Then he recounted the rest of the details, trying his best to ignore the fact that all of the guys had silent tears streaming down their faces before he finished.

  “How could anyone do that?” Chase asked to no one in particular. “Crash into someone and just leave them to die?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Murray turned to face Trey. “It’s true that someone might easily mistake Mr. Leavy for you?”

  “Yeah, I guess it’s possible.”

  “You drive the same car.”

  Trey nodded. “His is just a year older than mine.”

  “Your appearances are alike enough that you might be mistaken for each other,” Officer Brenner added.

  “I’d say there are a hundred girls within five miles of this place who would beg to differ with you on that,” O’Shea stated, sliding his cell phone across the table toward Brenner. Brenner looked at O’Shea but didn’t respond.

  “You are about the same height, same build. Without a clear view it might be possible. From a distance, say?” Murray offered.

  “Both our cars have tinted windows,” Trey stated. “I can’t deny that it would be possible to for someone to think I was in that car.”

  “You’re a big music hot shot,” Brenner added. “Surely you’ve made some enemies on the road to stardom.”

  “So many enemies that we don’t even have hired security,” Jonas said dryly. It was the first he’d spoken since we’d come in the room.

  “If I were you, I might consider it,” Brenner stated. Officer Murray rolled his eyes and waited for a response.

  “The truth is, you can’t make everybody happy,” O’Shea said. “I haven’t heard of any crazy threats or disgruntled fans lately, especially since we’ve been practically living in the studio and haven’t been out and about much. But if anything fishy were going on, Wes would have been the one to know about it.”

  “He wouldn’t have mentioned something like that to you all?” Murray asked.

  “Not if he didn’t feel it was a viable threat,” O’Shea said in Wes’s defense. “That was part of his job, and he was good at it.”

  “We’re pretty honest with our fans,” Trey added. “In return, they’re pretty honest with us. As far as I know, they’re all anxiously awaiting our new album.” I understood instantly why Trey wouldn’t want the police to be investigating the disgruntled fan angle. It was one thing to mislead an investigation to prevent putting more people in danger, but giving the police a reason to investigate fans for Wes’s murder? That was too much.

  Officer Murray passed around a piece of paper for all of us to write our full names and phone numbers on in case he had any further questions. Once that was done, he gave each of us his card and dismissed us.

  Trey and I followed O’Shea, Jonas and Chase out into the hall. We were nearing the front doors when from behind us, a woman called out Trey’s name. Trey paused and turned around, causing the rest of us to do the same. It was Lisa, Wes’s girlfriend. I’d only met her twice. First when she and Wes had come to The Waking Moon, and then again briefly at the VMA’s, but she’d been really nice to me. I released Trey’s hand so he could go to her.

  Trey gave Lisa a hug and I heard him mutter, “I’m so sorry.”

  Lisa nodded and stepped back, sniffling. She studied Trey for a moment. “I … I just can’t believe he’s actually gone.”

  “Neither can I,” Trey said. Then Jonas and O’Shea and Chase all stepped up to give her their condolences.

  “You boys should know that Wes just thought the world of you.” Lisa sniffled again. “He just wanted to make sure you were all taken care of.”

  “I don’t know what we’re going to do without him,” Jonas sa
id.

  “Yeah, he was sort of like a dad who looked after us.” Chase wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

  “Wes would want you to know that he was planning on spending the rest of his life with you,” Trey said. Lisa looked at him with questioning eyes. “He was going to propose,” Trey continued. “He uh … he had a ring.” Lisa’s hand went to her mouth and fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. “He was just waiting for the right moment.”

  “He really told you that?” she asked.

  Trey nodded, smiling at her through his sadness. “He said he was keeping it in the top of his closet … something about you being too short to find it up there.”

  Lisa laughed then, which made everyone smile. “Thank you,” she said to Trey. “It means a lot to me.”

  “Just promise you’ll call us if you need anything,” O’Shea said.

  “Yeah,” Trey added. “And we’ll all be in touch. Just don’t hesitate to call. Okay?” Lisa nodded and I stepped forward.

  “I’m really sorry,” I said to her. “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love.”

  “Thank you,” she said, forcing a smile. Then she turned to look at Trey and the guys again. “Wes wouldn’t want you guys to lose momentum on the album over him,” she said, trying to be strong. “He was really excited to see the record finished. Promise me you’ll stay focused, for Wes.” They all nodded agreeably. Then Lisa put on a pair of sunglasses and let an officer I didn’t recognize walk her out to the parking lot.

  Trey sighed and put an arm around my shoulders. “You ready to go?”

  But I’d just smelled something on Lisa that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Another vampire. “Just a second,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”

  He looked at me curiously but didn’t argue as I stepped back toward the hallway. I followed my nose until it led me to a small office not far from the interrogation room we’d just been in. The officer sitting behind the desk looked up in surprise as I stepped in the doorway.

  “I’m going to assume that you know who I am,” I said slowly.

  He gave me an amused smile, looking me over. “I’d have to be a complete idiot not to recognize you. You and your human are quite notorious now. Please come in.” I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. “It’s Aurora, isn’t it? I’m Mike. I admit I’m a little surprised you came here. Our kind usually avoids the police.”

  “Apparently not all of us,” I said. “You know just as well as I do that vampires are responsible for killing Weston Leavy,” I stated.

  “You’re right, of course,” he said with a heavy sigh. “But if you’ve come to me looking for information, I’m sorry but I’ll have to disappoint you. I overheard a phone call from the Medical Examiner citing the man’s cause of death as a broken neck, but that does little to narrow the gap. There are a lot of vampires out there right now who would like to remove the human threat, as they’re calling your boyfriend.”

  “Then you can help me spread the word,” I stated. “The Synod has been informed that he’ll be one of us on the next full moon.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You’re changing him?”

  “Yes, and he is under my protection. Our kind would do well to leave his friends alone unless they mean to incriminate themselves. Attacks on humans like this will do more to risk exposing our kind than anything I might have done by dating a human. I’m sure you can see how we’d all benefit if the vampires responsible were caught and brought before the Synod.”

  “That is true,” he answered.

  “I will be keeping a close eye on the investigation, as the Synod will expect of me. I’ve already reported the situation to the Emissary.”

  “Then we have an understanding,” I said. He nodded and I opened the door and went to find Trey.

  Trey was waiting alone for me in the lobby of the police station. He gave me a curious look as I approached.

  “What was that about?” he asked.

  “I’ll tell you in the car. Where did everyone go?”

  “They took off. Everyone needs time to deal with this.” Trey led me out into the parking lot. Several policemen were trying to ward off photographers who wanted a shot of Catalyst’s front man and his girlfriend leaving the police station. Trey attempted to shield me from the cameras, but I doubted it was possible to hide completely. I didn’t care at that point. The damage had been done days ago.

  Chapter 56

  “There’s a vampire in the police,” I said once we were back in Trey’s car. “But he doesn’t know any more about who did this than we do.”

  Trey sighed. “A vamp in the police? Really?”

  “The Synod strategically places vamps all over in order to keep an eye on things. It makes sense that the police force would be one of those places.”

  “Did he know anything else?”

  “The medical examiner determined the official cause of death.” I hated being the one to break the news to him, but he deserved to know the truth.

  “What? What did he say?”

  “Wes’s neck was broken,” I said, hoping he could see in my eyes how sorry I was.

  “My neighbor said Wes was fighting the guys who pulled him from his car,” Trey said. “Do you think they realized he wasn’t me and panicked?”

  “It stands to reason,” I admitted. “Maybe they’d shown themselves to him. They wouldn’t have been able to wipe his memory of them if the sun was up, unless they’re really old. Doing stuff like that during the day only comes with the power of age. The thing is, older vamps don’t usually do things like this.” I’d already considered abandoned fledglings as a possibility, but since it wasn’t likely there was a group of them running around together, it didn’t quite fit.

  Trey didn’t comment, but he pulled out into the road and two different vehicles containing photogs pulled out behind us.

  “Can we lose them?” I asked. Being followed made me more than a little uncomfortable, even if it was by a bunch of harmless humans.

  “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.”

  Trey was looking for a distraction. The last thing he wanted to do was to go back home to watch the ongoing investigation into Wes’s murder. I would have suggested my place, but I had a feeling that Trey needed something a little more therapeutic than a vampire dwelling.

  “How about we take a little ride?”

  “You got it.” Trey took a sharp left, cutting off another car and nearly causing an accident. He checked to make sure I was okay, but he wasn’t exactly apologetic. He took another left at the next road. I was starting to think he was getting that I wasn’t nearly as fragile as he’d always believed.

  “Careful Andretti,” I said, seeing that the photogs were no longer following.

  “What? You scared?” he looked at me then, with the first glimpse of a smile I’d seen for most of the morning.

  “I drive like this every night, but I have the reflexes to back it up.”

  A reckless grin spread across Trey’s lips and he turned his attention back to the road. If this was his way of dealing with Wes’s murder, who was I to tell him different? “Just do me a favor and don’t get yourself killed. I’m sort of getting used to the idea of keeping you around for a while.”

  He laughed then and I couldn’t decide whether to be relieved by the familiar sound or worried. Trey turned the car stereo on and we drove for quite a while. I smelled the sea salt long before we pulled into a parking lot near the beach. Trey parked but didn’t get out. Instead he sat there, watching the waves with a vacant look behind his eyes that both scared and saddened me. It was like the fight was going out of him. I climbed out of the car, determined not to let that happen. Trey just watched me for a moment as I went around to the driver’s side and opened his door.

  “Come on, the fresh air will do you good.”

  He took my hand and let me pull him to his feet. I led him down to the water where I kicked off my shoes. I looked at him expectantly and he only hesita
ted briefly before he did the same. We wandered along the shore, hand in hand, like you see people do in the movies. There was a comfortable silence between us, joined only by the squawking of seagulls and the crashing of the rolling waves.

  “Lisa’s right, you know,” I said after a while. “Wes would have wanted you guys to keep working. I don’t mean today, but after you’ve had time to deal with everything.”

  “I know.” Trey’s footsteps paused. He pulled me around to face him, sighing as he gazed over my head at the vast ocean. He wanted to ask me something, but I got the feeling he was afraid of the answer. He pulled my hand to his lips and kissed it before holding it against his chest. His heart hammered in my ears and against my palm.

  “Hey,” I said, cupping his face with my free hand. He closed his eyes and leaned into my touch, lowering his chin. “You know you can tell me anything, right? Things are going to be hard enough if we’re not keeping stuff from each other.”

  He furrowed his brow, studying me intently. “Am I going to have to quit the band?” he asked.

  I considered his question for a moment before I answered. “Actually, the best thing for the other guys will be to have you nearby,” I said. “Once you’re a vampire, you’ll be better able to protect them, and now that our worlds are colliding they’ll probably need it. I’m sorry all of this is happening because I wasn’t strong enough to walk away from you in the beginning, but I’m going to do everything in my power to help you keep things as normal as possible.” Trey nodded, and I wondered if he was thinking that our definitions of normal might not match up exactly. If he was thinking it, he didn’t say it. “You would not be the man I know and love if you weren’t making music,” I said, forcing him to meet my gaze. “It’s what you were born to do. You wouldn’t even be yourself without the band.”