Murder in Vein

by Sue Ann Jaffarian

  "How do you know I'm not a real vampire?"

  "Vampires are dead. Do the dead drink beer?"

  "Guess we'll never know until we die, will we?"

  But Madison already knew the answer. The dead, or undead, didn't eat or drink.

  "You didn't answer my question, Ethan. Do you believe that vampires exist or just that some people have a thirst for blood?"

  He leaned in, his breath warm and damp against her ear. More the latter, but if you repeat that, I'll deny it." He winked at her, gave her a spin, and brought her back close. "I'm a businessman, Madison. I've followed vampirism for years-long before it became the rage. But I'm a businessman first. I simply found a way to turn a passion into a gold mine."

  When the song ended, a young man approached them and whispered something to Ethan, then melted back into the crowd.

  "Seems someone is here to see me," Ethan explained to Madison.

  "Go ahead. I'll find my way back upstairs."

  "Not at all," he told her. "Come with me. Shouldn't take but a minute or two. Then I can show you the office and coven meeting room-give you the grand tour."

  Taking her hand, Ethan directed her through the crowd as Colin had done earlier, but instead of heading upstairs, they went through a door to the right of the bar, marked Private. This led down a long corridor with other doors along both sides, all closed. They stopped in front of a door marked Office. Ethan opened this one and directed Madison inside.

  Inside the room, pacing impatiently, was the man Madison had seen at Dark Tidings.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  xcept for his clothing, the man looked exactly the same as he had in the hallway outside the bathroom at Lady Harriet's. He'd worn jeans and a dark turtleneck jersey that night. Tonight he had on nice slacks and a V-neck sweater, both in black. His brown hair was nearly to his shoulders, with one side caught behind an ear. When he saw Madison come through the door, his thin-lipped mouth dropped open slightly and his eyebrows shot up above the upper rim of his sunglasses. It was the only way Madison could tell he was surprised to see her.

  "Madison, this is Ben," Ethan said once they were inside the office with the door shut.

  Before Ben could say anything, Madison approached him. "We sort of met last night at Dark Tidings, but not officially." She held out her right hand to him and he took it, giving it a quick shake and a short grunt.

  Madison was going to ask him where they might have met before, but Ben cut off any further pleasantries by jerking a thumb in her direction. "What's she doing here? This is a private meeting."

  "And so it will be," Ethan assured him. "So stop being rude to my guest"

  He turned to Madison with a smile and held out both hands to her, palms up. "This won't take long; please wait." Madison placed her hands in Ethan's. As he gave them a warm squeeze, he turned her hands over and released her right one, still holding her left. He took it in both hands and caressed it gently.

  Madison glanced up at Ben. His mouth was still open slightly in surprise, but his brows had relaxed. In seconds, his mouth did, too, changing from a look of annoyance to a small, tight smile. Ethan was showing Ben her bloodline, she was sure of it.

  Madison was on guard yet curious at the same time. Ethan had shown no interest in her hand before, but he'd obviously noticed it. And the bloodline meant something to both him and Ben. It occurred to Madison that Ethan had manipulated her down to his office for the purpose of meeting Ben. No, not to meet him, but to be seen by him. She had the strange sense of being on display, like a pork chop under plastic wrap at the supermarket.

  "I have some business to attend to," Ethan told her as he squeezed her hand one last time and released it. "Why don't you go back upstairs and relax with the rest of them. When I'm done here, we can continue our dance. Shouldn't take too long."

  Not wanting to show alarm, Madison smiled. Taking a step closer to Ethan, she placed a hand on his chest, over his heart, and poured on the charm. "Sounds good to me. Besides, you promised me the full personal tour."

  Ethan flashed her a wide smile. Ben just stared at her from behind his sunglasses. As Madison headed out the door, the two men disappeared through an internal door marked with another Private sign and closed it behind them.

  Madison wondered what to do. She wanted to hear what Ben and Ethan were discussing. She knew they saw her bloodline, and from their behavior, she was pretty sure they both knew what it meant, or thought they knew. She wanted to tell Colin about it, but if she left and went back upstairs now, she might not get the chance to eavesdrop.

  The two men had been so sure she'd follow orders that they hadn't waited for her to leave and shut the outer office door before they went into the inner office. Madison waited a few moments before tiptoeing carefully back into the office and toward the closed private door.

  Madison strained to hear something, wishing she had the vampires' keen hearing. It was then she realized she could hear a lot of what the men were saying. Snatches of conversation were finding their way under the wide gap at the bottom of the old door. The space between the door and the floor had probably been allowed for clearance over carpet. Now the floors were bare, but the door hadn't been replaced. Madison scooted closer and almost stopped breathing.

  "How do you like your present?" she heard Ethan ask.

  Ben chuckled. "She was right under my nose last night, but I never saw the bloodline. How'd you know?"

  "Lilith told me when she saw the two of them walk in the door tonight. I called you immediately. One less you and your paid goons will have to find." Ethan paused. "You're sure it will work this time?"

  "No, I'm not. All we know is that people with those bloodlines are key to turning vampires. Drinking the blood does it, but you need to drink a lot to turn yourself without an actual vampire doing it."

  The hair on Madison's arms rose like spikes as she glanced down at the fake bloodline in her hand. That was it. These creeps thought that you could become a vampire by drinking the blood from a bloodline carrier. They had no idea that only those with bloodlines could become vampires. If she didn't get out of there, they would do to her what they'd done to Evie and Geoff. She swallowed back the memory of the photos.

  "And if it doesn't work again?" asked Ethan. "Nothing happened after those first few."

  "Then we'll keep trying till it does." Ben's voice was tinged with amusement. "The bloodline is the key. That we know for sure.

  There was some mumbling that Madison couldn't hear, then she heard Ethan say, "Should be easy enough. She's a lightweight, and the music should cover any sounds of struggle. You have your van outside?" There was a slight pause and more mumbling before Ethan continued. "Good. I'll bring her down here for the tour." He laughed. "You be waiting with the chloroform."

  "What about her boyfriend?" she heard Ben ask.

  "There's a girl upstairs hot to trot for him. I slipped her some money and told her to keep him busy so I could put the moves on Madison. She was only too happy to do it, thinking I'm removing her competition. He's also a bloodsucker. Something tells me the offer of a piece of tail and a piece of neck will do the trick." This time both men laughed. "Miriam's one of Wilhelm's girls," Ethan continued. "Believe me, her talents are totally going to waste under the tutelage of that old fart." More chuckles.

  Madison heard a drawer open, then close.

  "Here's my share of the money for your people," Ethan said. "Between the last couple and this one, we might have enough blood for another try. Lilith's money is there, too. You might want to count that to be sure it's not light."

  Careful her boots didn't make noise on the bare floor, Madison tiptoed back to the door. She had to be quiet but fast, not knowing how long before the two men would finish their business and Ethan would come looking for her. Once out the door, she gently closed it, but not all the way, fearing the latch would make too much noise. She ran toward the end of the corridor and entered the club, slowing down so she wouldn't cause any notice. Moving fast, she headed
for the stairs, taking them two at a time to the loft.

  Upstairs, things had changed. Colin was gone. So were Lilith and Isabella. Madison located her leather jacket and slipped it on.

  "Do you know where Colin went?" she asked a man she'd seen at Bat Beauty the night before. He shrugged. She asked a couple more people, but no one knew.

  Madison was about to descend the stairs when a young waitress balancing a tray of drinks stopped her. "You looking for that tall, dark-haired guy? The really good-looking one?"

  "Yeah. Know where he is?"

  The waitress made a face. "He left with that skank Miriam. She was throwing herself at him all night. Guess he finally gave in.

  "Left? As in gone?" Madison couldn't believe Colin would go off and leave her behind.

  "Not sure if they left the building or not, but they went downstairs and haven't come back." The waitress delivered drinks to a nearby table and returned to Madison. "You might try the catacombs," she said, signaling to another table that she'd be right there.

  "What's the catacombs? Is that another club?"

  The waitress leaned close to Madison. "Behind the bar, there's some stairs going down to some rooms the coven uses. Sometimes people go down there to suck blood on the sly or to fuck. Miriam might have taken him there."

  Madison dug a few bills out of her pocket and dumped them on the waitress's tray. "Thanks" After a thought, she pulled out a ten and left that as well. "If anyone comes looking for me, you know nothing. And I mean anyone."

  The waitress winked and moved on. Madison flew down the staircase. She had to find Colin and get them both the hell out of Bloodlust, hopefully before Miriam made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

  Madison found the door leading to the lower level. It was located in a dark corner behind a heavy velvet drape. After making sure no one was watching, she slipped through the door and down a short flight of metal stairs. At the bottom was a good-size room with its lights on. At one end was a black altar. In front of it were an ornate table and lots of folding chairs set up in raggedy aisles. It was the Bloodlust coven's meeting room. Along one wall were a couple of drape-covered alcoves. From one of them came the unmistakable moans and grunts of sex in progress.

  Madison wasn't sure what to do. She wasn't in the habit of breaking in on a couple, but she and Colin needed to get out of there. She listened just outside the drape but couldn't tell if it was Miriam and Colin. Finally, more worried about Ethan than delicacy, she peeked behind the drape.

  The alcove was larger than she'd expected but still small. It held a small built-in bench with a pad and a chair. The space was dimly lit by a sconce. Inside were a couple in the throes of passion, but they were not the two she was looking for. Before they saw her, she discreetly let the drape drop and moved to the next alcove, which was empty. It was then her ears caught more moans. They sounded distant, like they were close but not in the immediate area.

  Madison followed the sounds past the altar to a door that was ajar. Gently opening the door, she discovered a large storage room with boxes of supplies and unused furniture. A dirty overhead fixture cast a dull yellow glow over the room. Entering, Madison tread softly toward the sounds. She found the couple behind a tall stack of boxes containing paper goods. It was Miriam and Colin. As her eyes grew wide at the sight, Madison stepped behind the boxes, unsure of what to do.

  Colin was seated in an old, beat-up chair, his pants around his ankles. Miriam, her dress hiked up to her waist, was impaled on his lap, her back to Colin. Moaning in jagged sobs, Miriam gyrated on top of Colin while he sucked on the back of her neck and made low growling sounds.

  Unable to take her eyes off of them but unwilling to stay, Madison backed away. She'd retreated a couple of steps when she tripped and fell on her butt to the floor. In a trance, Miriam didn't notice, but Colin did. He turned toward Madison, fangs bared and bloody, his eyes glowing like embers.

  Madison slowly got to her feet, her eyes riveted on Colin. While she watched, Colin raised his face toward the dim light and let out a low, guttural cry of primeval triumph. The girl in his arms joined him in his howl, then slumped against him with a whimper. Colin licked Miriam's neck clean while she released a chain of soft, satisfied moans.

  Madison ran.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  hen she reached the metal stairs leading back up to the club, Madison took two steps up, then paused. Ethan should be looking for her by now, so going through the club toward the main door could be dangerous. She contemplated going back to Colin, but that didn't seem appetizing either. She was deciding on the lesser of two evils when her eyes spotted a red light behind the stairs. It was an exit sign. It winked at her through the openings in the metal steps like an illuminated escape hatch.

  Hopping off the steps, she ran to the exit. With her hand on the push bar, she hesitated again, worried that it was attached to an alarm. Above, the door to the stairwell opened a crack. Music drifted down into the bowels of the building.

  "No one saw her leave," Madison heard someone say. It was Ethan's voice. "I'll check down here."

  "Madison" It was a different voice speaking to her-one with an English accent. Standing at the threshold to the coven meeting room was Colin. The fangs were gone, his eyes back to their usual deep black. He was alone.

  Madison didn't know if Ethan heard Colin above the loud music, but she wasn't taking any chances. With one last look at Colin, she gave the exit door a big push. No alarm sounded. On the other side was a short flight of dirty steps leading up to an alley. She flew up the steps and ran down the alley toward the busy boulevard at the end, hoping to lose herself in the crowds on the street.

  She'd almost reached Hollywood Boulevard when Colin appeared beside her. He stopped her short with a strong grip on her upper arm.

  "Madison, stop." He pulled her into the darkness of a doorway.

  Madison jerked her arm away. "Go back to Miriam. I have more important things to do, like saving my skin."

  "I'm sorry, Madison. I got carried away."

  "Save it, Reddy."

  She started running again. When she reached Hollywood Boulevard, she slowed down. Again, Colin was beside her in the blink of an eye.

  "You have no way to get home," he pointed out. "Let's go back to Bloodlust and get the bike."

  No!

  After quickly looking around, Madison pulled Colin into another alley, away from the crowds. "This isn't about you, Colin" She grabbed both lapels of his jacket and shook him as she squeezed her words through clenched teeth. "Or about ... about ... what happened back there with Miriam. Ethan's going to turn me over to the killer. I heard him. Ethan and this guy Ben, the guy I saw at Dark Tidings, they're the ones killing people with bloodlines."

  Colin stared at her for a second, then steered her behind a dumpster. "Wait here," he ordered.

  "Not on your life." Madison kicked the dumpster with her booted foot. "I'm not staying in any dark alley alone, waiting for a psycho with a chloroform rag. Better I stay with lots of people. You know, safety in numbers."

  With a nod of agreement, Colin escorted Madison out of the alley and walked her down the street away from Bloodlust. They stopped in front of a crowded Starbucks.

  "Go inside," Colin told her. "But stay by the window and watch for me. I'll be back with the bike in just a minute." He took one last look at Madison, then vanished.

  It seemed like an eternity before Madison spotted the motorcycle, but in truth it was just a few minutes. The bike came to a stop in a loading zone in front of the coffee shop. She ran out and hopped on the back, fastening her helmet as Colin took off.

  They rode along for quite a while. Occasionally, Colin would weave in and out of side streets in case anyone was following them, but all the time they headed west, toward the ocean. Shortly after they hit Pacific Coast Highway, Colin turned into the underground garage of a high-rise condo. Pulling into a space near the back of the garage, he stopped the bike and motioned for Madison to dismount and follow h
im. They entered an elevator, where he used a key card to gain access to one of the top floors.

  After what she'd seen, Madison wasn't sure she wanted to follow Colin anywhere, but she knew she didn't have many options. She'd tipped the waitress using most of her pocket cash and didn't have her cell phone. And even if she did, who would she call? She'd never bothered getting the telephone number for the Dedhams. The only one she might be able to reach would be Mike Notchey. She could call his station and ask them to patch her through, telling them it was an emergency. She'd said back at the Dedhams that she trusted everyone seated at the table. Colin was one of those people. It was time for Madison to put her money where her mouth was.

  "Who lives here?" Madison asked as they got off the elevator.

  "I do."

  Madison stopped in her tracks as Colin continued down the hallway lined with plush carpet and expensive wall sconces. He stopped in front of one of the doors and put a key in the lock.

  "You coming?" he asked, opening the door.

  Madison took a deep breath and trotted down the hallway toward him.

  The door opened into a huge living room. The outside wall was a bank of windows. Madison walked to the windows and looked out. They were very high up. Below, she could see cars moving along Pacific Coast Highway like late-night beetles scurrying home. Looking forward, she saw black, some stars, and the moon high in the sky. Every now and then, moonlight would shimmer across the ocean like ribbons of liquid silver.

  "Looking out makes me feel like I'm drifting in outer space," she said, not turning around. "Bet it's awesome in the daytime."

  "It is," Colin replied, coming behind her to look out. "Though I've seldom seen it. But I love the night view. And you're right, it does feel like being in space."

  He took her helmet from her and walked away, heading for the kitchen area, which was separated from the living room by a long stone counter, at which were positioned four tall stools. The apartment was incredible and sleek, but it was also stark and cold, with no personal touches whatsoever. The only color came from a large crystal bowl filled with oranges, tangerines, and lemons.