Crave

by Karen E. Taylor

  I went over to it and counted. There were, indeed, only eight red ones left and they were starting to look bedraggled and dry. The black rose bud had still not opened. Mitch sat down at the short end of the table away from the door and motioned for me to take the place to his right. As I did so, he pulled the tape recorder from his pocket and set it on the table. He sorted through the sheaf of papers he’d brought with him and only looked up from them when the other members began to file in.

  Vivienne came first and she threw a kiss to me as she sat down to Mitch’s left. I had never learned the names of the other members, but since none of them looked at me when they entered, it did not seem to be an issue. Mitch could tell me who and what they were at a later date. They were a gray and lifeless group at best, no less bedraggled than the roses in the vase. They took their places around the table without a word to each other. That the seat next to me was left vacant came as no surprise.

  Victor was the last to arrive. He sat at the opposite end of the table nearest the door. I tried to catch his eye, but he avoided all direct contact with everyone. He kept glancing at his watch and then at the door, mumbling to himself the whole time. I noticed that the others kept their distance and wondered why Mitch had even invited him. He couldn’t possibly follow the discussion, much less have anything to add or suggest.

  But to my surprise he opened the meeting. “Call to order,” he said and his voice was strong. “Are all houses present?”

  Mitch spoke up. “All houses present.”

  “Good,” Victor said. “As soon as Ron gets here we can start.” At the mention of the name, a muted whisper rose from the others for one brief second.

  “Victor?” Vivienne’s voice sounded soft and concerned. “Ron can’t be here tonight, he asks that we go on without him.”

  “Fine,” he said, his voice quavering a bit. He put his hands on top of the table and leaned in toward us. “Where are my notes? I can’t run this meeting without my notes. Ron knows that.”

  This time Mitch interrupted him. “Ron left the notes with me, Victor. Now with your permission we will start.”

  Victor nodded regally in Mitch’s direction. “If you would read them for me, young man, I’d be very grateful. My eyes are not what they used to be.”

  Then, as if the meeting were over, he got up from the table, pushed his chair back underneath and left the room.

  They all watched him leave and then turned their attention back to Mitch. He cleared his throat and began.

  “Three sunrise deaths have occurred. Does anyone still believe that these deaths were suicides?”

  The woman sitting next to Vivienne spoke. “Since I was the one who fought most adamantly against you, Mitch, I have to admit that the third death has convinced me. Two suicides, two mornings in a row could be coincidence. But three? No, I will now agree that these are murders and should be punishable as such.”

  Mitch glanced around the table. “Anyone else want to make a case for these deaths being suicides?” He paused and searched the faces of the others. “Okay, then, we’re all agreed.”

  The man two seats down from me spoke next. “So we’ve agreed that the deaths are murder, that doesn’t prove who is responsible. It could just as easily be any of us as this Larry Martin person.”

  “I have a witness of sorts to one of the deaths.” Mitch turned to me. “Deirdre, can you relate what happened to you the past three mornings?”

  I stood up from the table, feeling at more of an advantage that way, and told them of the visions I had seen. These actually proved nothing but my sensitivity to the events. And prepared the way for the recording that Sam had made that morning.

  “Mitch will play the tape from the session this morning after Jean’s death. I will come back when it is through and answer any questions you might have.”

  “Deirdre, you’re not staying to hear the tape?” Vivienne asked the question we had set up ahead of time.

  “No,” I said and walked to the door, “once was quite enough, thank you.”

  I had at least three-quarters of an hour before the tape ran all the way through. Although I had prompted Vivienne to ask that question, it was absolutely true that I never wanted to hear the tape again. So I took the elevator upstairs into the Imperial and sat down in the near-empty bar.

  The bartender smiled. “Red wine, right?”

  “Yes, thank you. Slow night, tonight?”

  “About par for a Sunday.”

  “I guess it is Sunday, isn’t it?”

  “All day,” he laughed and handed me my glass. “You’re from downstairs, aren’t you?”

  I took a long sip of the wine. “Yes, my husband and I are staying here for a while, as Victor’s guests. Why do you ask?”

  “Well, I know it’s none of my business, but there’s been some talk today. About Victor and how he’s sick and might be closing the place. This is a good job with great tips and I’d hate to have to go somewhere else.”

  “Victor is very upset about the death of a close friend. But I haven’t heard a word from him or anyone else about the Imperial closing. I think your job is safe for now.”

  “Thanks.”

  He started to wash glasses, but I was aware of his curious glances in my direction.

  “Big goings-on down there this weekend.”

  “Really? I can’t say that I’ve noticed. I’ve not been in that much. You know how it is when you’re from out of town, lots of people and places to visit.”

  “Yeah, sure, that’s how it always goes. So where are you from?”

  “Here actually, but I’ve spent most of the past two years in England.”

  “And you came back for business?”

  I shrugged and finished my wine in one drink. All of his questions made me nervous. “Half business, I suppose,” I said, sliding from the stool and laying a bill on the bar. “And the other half is none of yours. Good night.” I smiled pleasantly at him, but I knew he got the hint.

  “Night, Miss Griffin,” he said, as I walked away.

  I didn’t notice that he’d used my name until I was already on the elevator.

  The tape was very close to the end when I arrived back at the council room. I could hear the uncomfortable blend of Jean’s voice and my voice in the hallway.

  “Dr. Samuels, don’t you recognize me? It’s me, Jean, you know, the night nurse. But you knew that, you just wanted me to say it on the tape.”

  “Yes, Jean, I know you. Jean? Can you tell me what happened next?”

  “The sun came up and I died.”

  Our scream echoed down the hallway until Mitch pushed the button to cut it off. I heard him clear his throat. “How about if we take about a fifteen-minute break and then reconvene?”

  The leaders filed out of the room even more solemnly than they entered. But each one who came through the doorway made a special point of noticing me. Some nodded or said hello, some actually came over to me and shook my hand or patted my shoulder. Obviously the tape had affected their opinion of me, favorably.

  I went back into the room. Mitch and Vivienne were still sitting at the table, staring at the tape recorder. When they looked up at me, their faces were bleak and unbelieving. And I could tell that Vivienne had been crying. But she smiled at me, then got up without a word and left the room.

  “Jesus, Deirdre.”

  I moved behind him and rubbed his shoulders. “That was my reaction, too. Horrifying, wasn’t it?”

  “Yeah. The whole experience was a shock. And I know Larry Martin, know what he’s capable of. And still . . . poor Jean.”

  “Yes. But it seems to have served its purpose. I think the Cadre will listen to anything you have to say now, Mitch.”

  “I think you’re right, Deirdre. I just wish it hadn’t been necessary.”

  Chapter 26

  The Cadre had surprisingly few questions when they sat back down. Mitch mentioned the drug experiment to them and how I had volunteered. The project received their unanimous ap
proval. Not that I felt that I needed their okay, having already committed to the endeavor in my mind and heart, but I appreciated their support. And said so.

  The woman next to Vivienne spoke up again. “What else can we do to protect ourselves and our house members?”

  “Just what we’ve already discussed. Stay indoors as much as possible and when you do go out to hunt, do it in pairs if you can. Report any stranger found in Cadre territory to security immediately. I think that it’s possible that Jean might not have been the only plant Larry had here, so screen your people carefully. And as ridiculous as it might seem, don’t accept a drink from anyone you don’t know. If he can’t get the drug into your system, he can’t kill you.”

  “Can’t kill us that way, you mean. There are still many other ways to skin a cat.”

  Mitch looked at the man who spoke. “True, John, very true. So watch your backs. And trust no one but your closest and oldest friends.”

  “Mitch?” I felt uncomfortable speaking up in this group, but I wanted to mention what had just occurred with the bartender.

  “Yes, Deirdre?”

  “Does anyone know the status of the Imperial employees? How much of Victor’s life they’re privy to? And how much do they know or should they know about this setup down here?”

  “Good question. Does anyone have any answers?”

  “I’ve often wondered about that myself, Mitch,” Vivienne said and was met with agreement all around the table. “Unfortunately, the Imperial was always Victor’s business and he preferred to keep it that way. As Max did with the Ballroom of Romance. Why do you ask, Deirdre?”

  “When you were playing the tape I went upstairs for a drink and the bartender was too curious for my tastes. And as I left he called me by name. I hadn’t given him my name, nor had I ever seen him before.”

  “Do you know his name?” Mitch’s voice sounded more worried and less in control than it had before.

  “No. Now that I think about it, he wasn’t wearing a name tag.”

  “What did he look like?”

  I thought for a minute. “Young, good-looking, nothing remarkable or out of the ordinary.” I found to my surprise that I couldn’t pull his face to mind. “Light hair, I think, but dark eyes.”

  “Ah, well, I’ll have security look into it.” He pushed back his chair. “If there are no further questions, I think we should adjourn.” He yawned and stretched. “I haven’t had a chance to shave, shower or welcome my wife back home properly.” His statement drew a few chuckles from the leaders before they sobered again. “Just remember the basic security methods and you should be fine. We’ll meet again tomorrow night, same place, same time.”

  It took another half hour for the meeting to die down completely. The leaders all had individual questions they wanted to ask of Mitch or of each other, questions that had not seemed important enough for a council meeting venue, but were important enough to delay our departure. Finally the last of them were gone.

  Vivienne stayed by Mitch’s side the entire time, but for once I found her presence comforting. I knew that he admired her and he’d be less than a man if he didn’t find her desirable. If something should happen to me, it was good to know that he wouldn’t have to be entirely alone.

  Mitch came over to me, as if he’d been able to read that last thought in my mind. “Now that Cadre business is taken care of, I believe that you and I have some catching up to do. Let’s get out of here.” He pulled me to my feet and we started out the door.

  “Have fun you two,” Vivienne called after us, “and try to be a little quieter this time. Some of us need our beauty sleep.”

  Mitch turned in the doorway. “Ear plugs are hardly a new invention, Ms. Courbet. I suggest you invest in a few pairs.”

  Her delicate, metallic-sounding laughter followed us down the hall.

  “You like her, don’t you?”

  “Yeah,” Mitch replied. “I like Viv a lot. She’s really pretty different than she seems at first. When you get to know her better, you’ll understand what I mean. And she thinks the world of you.”

  “Of me? Why on earth?”

  He smiled a little sadly. “She takes this blood ties thing very seriously. As ridiculous as it might seem to us, she really does consider you her long-lost sister.”

  “So, can I assume she’s the one who taught you the clothes trick?”

  He opened the door to our room, held it for me to enter. “Clothes trick?” He blinked his eyes for a minute, then a smile crossed his face and he laughed. “Oh, the clothes trick. Yes, she’s the one who taught me.”

  “Did you take off your clothes in front of her?”

  “Well, it was either that or allow the ones I was wearing to get shredded to bits. But it was nothing sexual, I swear.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his chin. “Mitch, you’ll disappoint me if you say you aren’t attracted to her. How could you not be? But you can find a woman desirable without having to make love to her, can’t you?”

  “Of course I can. That particular situation has only been a problem one time in my life—the night I took you back to my apartment for the first time. Do you remember? I was so nervous and you were so jumpy.”

  “Well, of course I was jumpy. I was trying to keep you from discovering my deepest, darkest secrets.”

  “Secrets? There was another secret besides your being a vampire?”

  “Naturally. I didn’t want you to know that I was falling in love with you.”

  “That soon?”

  I reached up, and cupping his face in my hands, pulled his lips to mine. “Oh, yes, my love,” I murmured between kisses, “that soon.”

  “You never did get to shave, did you?”

  We were both lying on our sides, his chest pressed up against my back, our legs curled together. He rubbed his chin against my shoulder, and I feigned a wince of pain. “What makes you think I need a shave?”

  “The fact that I don’t have a square inch of skin on my body without beard burn is a pretty good indicator.”

  “Poor baby,” he continued, rubbing his chin on me. I giggled, then sighed.

  “What’s wrong, Deirdre?”

  “Nothing, really. What time is it?”

  “Why? Do you have a hot date lined up or something?”

  I pushed myself up on one elbow and looked at the clock. “As a matter of fact, I have to be with Sam at the hospital in about an hour. I’ll have to leave soon to avoid getting caught in the sunrise.”

  “Bloody hell.” He sat up abruptly. “I’d forgotten all about that. Do you have to go today?”

  “The sooner I go, Mitch, the sooner we’ll be done. And I promised Sam I’d be there.”

  “What kind of security arrangements have you made for yourself?”

  “Security arrangements? None, of course. Why would I be making security arrangements?”

  He grabbed my shoulders and rolled me to my back. “You can’t go out by yourself, especially at this time of the night.”

  “Why not?”

  “Why not?” He pushed me back into the mattress. “What do you mean, ‘why not?’ You were at the meeting, you heard the rules. Stay in as much as possible and if you must go out, only do it with an escort.”

  “But the black rose is still in the vase. I should be safe for at least the next eight days.”

  “Fuck the black rose. You don’t really think that Larry would miss the opportunity to kill you earlier than planned just because a black rose is still around, do you?”

  “No, I suppose not.”

  “Then I’ll ask you again, Mrs. Greer, have you made security arrangements for this little trip of yours.”

  “No, sir, I haven’t. Can you help me?”

  “Well, it just so happens that I know this ex–police detective who’s absolutely crazy about redheaded vampires.”

  “He sounds nice, tell me more.”

  “I think if you asked him very nicely, maybe with a kiss and a declaratio
n of love, that he might be interested in providing you with an escort to your destination.”

  I smiled up at him and kissed him. “I love you, Mitch.”

  “That’s pretty good, but not perfect. I think you’re going to need a little more practice.”

  I glanced over at the clock again. “Some other time, Mitch. If you’re going to get back here before dawn we’ll need to leave here fairly soon.”

  “Damn. You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Let’s just make sure you have enough time to get back here.”

  As it turned out Vivienne was waiting for us at the elevators. “I knew you’d be leaving soon,” she said, kissing me lightly on the cheek, “and I figured you were like me and would completely forget about our new security measures. So I thought I might go with you. Perhaps your doctor would like to experiment on me, too.”

  I looked at Mitch and he nodded. “That would be wonderful, Vivienne. With two of us, the whole thing should go much quicker.”

  “Thanks, Viv.” Mitch ruffled the top of her hair. “I was going to take Deirdre over and then come back here, but this is much better for everybody, I think.”

  Vivienne laughed. “Of course it is. You should never be in such flagrant violation of your own rules, Mitch.”

  “I wasn’t violating the rules.”

  “Oh, but you were, mon cher. You seem to have forgotten that if you took her there you would either have to stay there until she is done or come back by yourself. And traveling alone is not permitted.”

  “But that doesn’t apply to me.” He was growing angry and I shot Vivienne a warning glance. Teasing was fun, but did have its limits.

  “Mitch,” I placed my hand on his arm, “you need to be as cautious as everyone else. Maybe even more so because we’re all relying on you. But it doesn’t matter now, I have my escort and Sam will have two of us to work on. It couldn’t have worked out better if we’d planned it this way.”

  “If you’re both happy, then I have no complaints. Let’s see if we can get you two guinea pigs into a taxi and into the laboratory before the sun comes up.”