“Right?” I giggled, partly from relief. “I didn’t even know they were real, and now I’ve talked to three.”
Six
Stone had bagged Gia’s earrings, and handed those and Ramon’s signet ring over when he rejoined us. I let Derrick see them, but told him, “I’m keeping hold of this evidence for now.”
“Of course.” His easy agreement surprised me.
“Thanks.” I hesitated, looking around. His team appeared to be finishing up, the hum of a small vacuum filling the air as one of them took care of the ashes. “Who was that one?”
“If Ramon and Gia were downstairs, then that victim was Deborah.”
“Noted. I think we’ll head back to the office. I want to organize the information we have before taking a look at the other scenes.”
“Sensible. I’ll send photos and information sheets about these three.” Derrick held up one of our business cards. “Do I use this email address?”
“Yes, thanks. We’ll be back Monday night, to view the other scenes. I’ll let you know if anything pops up before then.”
Derrick inclined his head, a small smile on his face. “I appreciate your professionalism, Miss Jones.”
I nodded back, pleased I’d been able to maintain said professionalism surrounded by so many vampires. Turning away, I waved the guys and Leglin over. “Let’s head back to the office.”
I let the boss know we were there before leading the guys to what Kate liked to call the War Room. It was a conference room at the opposite end of the building from Mr. Whitehaven’s office, roughly the same size, but completely windowless. Custom-made whiteboards were mounted on each wall, stark against the café au lait colored paint as they formed a solid strip around the room, broken only by the door. Even their frames were white.
Between those and the long, mahogany table surrounded by matching chairs with dark chocolate leather seats and backrests, I felt slightly intimidated. I’d never used the room before, none of my previous cases being particularly complicated by loads of information. Not that I’d let a silly feeling like that stop me, especially after Derrick’s little remarks. Nope, I marshaled my troops, all two of them that possessed thumbs. “We need tape and dry erase markers. We’ll file one folder, keep one on hand, and use the third for our case wall.”
Soames dropped his folder onto the table. Nick tapped his against his leg. “I’ll file mine and get the other stuff from the supply closet.”
“Thanks.” I opened my folder and lay it on the table to begin sorting the contents as Nick left the room. “I’ll put the head shots and info sheets in order of death. Will you separate out the photos for me?”
“Sure.” Soames took the stack of photos, each of which had a victim’s name at top. Nick returned, bearing the tape and markers, a few minutes before we’d finished.
About an hour passed before everything was arranged to my satisfaction. I wrote the names of the three new victims under those of Lady Esme and her two “favorites”, in order of discovery.
We lined up to lean against the table and look over our handiwork. I crossed my arms. “Nine murders, six of them from a single family.”
“Which, if Stone knows what he was talking about, means Esme’s bloodline is completely wiped out.” Nick rubbed his chin.
“How? Someone had to turn her into a vampire.”
“Yeah, but she was a master vamp. When a vampire becomes a master, he or she also becomes the beginning of a new bloodline.”
“Oh.” I learned something new every day. Or in this case, every night. “Don’t all vampires eventually become masters?”
“No, not even most of them do. The majority stay minions to their masters forever.”
“Bet that sucks.” My gaze dropped to Ramon’s name. “They do have to be masters to hold council seats, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then if Ramon was her heir apparent, he was a master. Why was he still with her?”
Soames jumped in to answer. “There’s levels of mastery too, but even if he was as powerful as Esme, he may have stayed out of loyalty, or even love, if she’d never treated him badly.”
“Okay.” Love? Not a word I’d use in regard to vampires, because it didn’t sit well with me. It wasn’t worth wasting time on discussing though. “Back to the bloodline wiped out thing. That sounds personal rather than political to me.”
“It could be both.” Nick shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter since both masters of her line are dead. She wasn’t the only council member killed, just the first one.”
“Right.” I dropped my arms. “Well, I’m going to check email, download and print the pictures we took, and then head home. Why don’t you drive Soames home? I’ll be ready at ten tomorrow.”
“Sure.” He kissed my cheek. “Tomorrow will be fun. I promise.”
I was finally going to meet his parents, which didn’t really fall under “fun” in my thinking, but I smiled anyway. “Yeah. We’ll pick you up Monday, Soames. I’ll call and let you know when.”
“All right. Good night.”
After waving them out, I went to my office and logged onto my computer. No email yet. I plugged in my phone after digging it out of my purse, and started the picture file transfer. Next step was hunting down photo paper for my printer.
By the time I had the tray loaded, all the images had transferred to the computer. Unplugging my phone, I dropped it back into my purse and began setting up the printing process. It wasn’t until I’d carried the photos to the War Room and began taping them in place that I noticed a defect in one. “Crap.”
There was a horizontal blur to the left of the first victim’s ashes. I checked the others, wondering if I’d touched the tiny lens on my phone, but they were all fine. Squinting at the blur, I decided it could be Stone’s shadow. He’d been standing in the right place when I snapped the first picture.
Minor mystery solved. I rolled my eyes at myself and finished the task before stepping back. I hoped the results looked professional as a thrill of excitement coursed through me. Vampires or not, this was a big case. One closer to those I’d helped the police with, instead of those that typically strolled through the doors of Arcane Solutions.
The excitement faded as I looked at Merriven’s section. Regardless of what Derrick thought, Merriven stuck out like a sore thumb to me.
I believed what Ginger had told me about the vamp, that he’d killed humans. Maybe he’d been able to keep that a secret from Derrick and his no-kill buddies, but other vampires with no problem eating people had known his secret. So why would he end up on the hit list, if he was really on the “kill humans” side?
No answer came to mind. I looked at the sections that also only had one victim, wondering if they had the same secret. Maybe, maybe not. It was definitely something to find out. If they did, it would certainly change who the possible suspects were.
Hey, maybe Esme found out Merriven’s secret, and told Ramon. Only she’d been killed before they could do anything, and then Ramon went vengeful, killed Merriven and the other two.
I snorted. Holes, there were many in that theory. After all, Lira had been killed after Esme, but before Dalton, and the last three of Esme’s bloodline were now kaput too.
They didn’t kill themselves just to give me something to do.
Though beginning to feel the effect of my long day, I walked down the wall, double-checking how each had been killed. That was actually pretty easy to determine, something I’d been surprised to learn in the early days of my career.
All of Esme’s family had been beheaded, Merriven too, but the other two victims had been staked.
At about a hundred years of age, vampires turned to ash when killed. What kind of ash told you how they’d died. If you burned a vamp, either with fire or sunlight, the ashes were a fine, light gray powder. Quite similar to the ashes you got if you burned a sheet of notebook paper.
Stake one through the heart, and the results looked like fireplace ashes. Some fine powd
er mixed with heavier gray and black grit, and small charred chunks. Only the chunks were bone, not wood. Lastly, beheading one left behind a sandy black grit that felt greasy.
I glanced at the table and realized no one had carried the sword in from Nick’s truck. “Argh.”
The jewelry was in my purse. I dug out the two baggies and put them on the table, intending to try psychometry on them come Monday.
We had one murder weapon, but something else had taken off the heads of the last three victims, which meant a total of three different types of weapons were used. That could mean one killer who liked to mix things up, or multiple killers.
The killers could be anyone. Vampires weren’t the only supes who favored old-school weaponry. I’d seen both Logan and Nick use swords, as well as Thorandryll and my boss.
The occasional pile of vamp ash would be discovered around the city, leading to rumors of a vigilante group on the prowl. If there really was such a group, they could be humans.
Or psychics.
A few of those piles might’ve been caused by me, except I tended to use my pyrokinetic ability, leaving the finer, light gray ash behind any vamps who decided to jump me. That stuff seldom ended up in a neat pile, what with the death gyrations. Any that did pile up could be scattered by the lightest of breezes.
Of course, I wasn’t the only psychic in town. Just the only one with more than one or two abilities. I grabbed a dry erase marker and moved to a clean white board to make a list of potential suspects.
My job was the find the real killer or killers, not to point fingers at Derrick’s political opponents to make things easier for him.
I hesitated before adding “psychics” to the list. Turning vampires over to vampires was one thing, but humans? Shifters or elves?
That would be a problem, since I felt certain vamps didn’t have a prison system offering three squares a day, exercise time, and a work program. “I’ll cross that bridge if I come to it.”
Decided, I capped the marker and stepped back to check my list. Vamps of either party, shifters, elves, the rumored vigilante group, and psychics. After a second, I added one more to the list: humans. Some teen’s family could’ve gone proactive or on a revenge bender.
Fully satisfied I’d covered all potential suspect bases, I left the marker on the table, grabbed my purse, and left the War Room, locking the door behind me. Once in the hall, I called Leglin out of my office, and off the giant doggy bed I kept in there for him. “Let’s go home.”
Seven
Thanks to a muddled nightmare that included a rotting Ginger, Henry Wilkins’ flashing straight razor, and a zombified Dalsarin riding Apep, Eater of Souls, as they chased me through tunnels spewing blood from fanged mouths, my sleep wasn’t particularly restful.
They cornered me, and my eyes popped open as Apep began to strike. I barely managed to swallow the scream burning in my throat while focusing on the four dog noses inches from my face. My voice was hoarse. “Guys, come on. We’ve talked about dog breath first thing in the morning.”
“Were you chasing rabbits?” Bone tilted his head more. The other three drew their muzzles back and jumped off the bed. “You sure were running and whimpering.”
“No, I was being chased.” I turned my head to check the time, only to sit upright in a panic. “Crap! I overslept. Move, move!”
I had forty-two minutes before Nick was supposed to arrive, and spent seven of them apologizing and soothing Speck after dumping him off the bed with the covers when I threw them off. He’d tucked in between the top sheet and comforter, and was so light, I hadn’t realized he was in them.
Even so, I slid on a pair of red deck shoes at the same time the doorbell rang.
“Nick’s here!” Tonya yelled over the thunder of tiny paws—how such small dogs made so much noise running was a mystery to me—and the shrilling chorus of their welcome-slash-warning.
“Thanks! I’ll be out in a minute!” I yelled back, giving myself a final once-over in the full-length mirror mounted on the back of my bedroom door. My choice for the day was dark denim capris, the red deck shoes, and a red, short-sleeved polo. Cute, but suitable for light hiking. Nick had told me we’d have to do some walking to reach the village. I hoped the village didn’t prove to be of the primitive type. Grabbing my purse and a dark blue, zip-up hoodie, I rushed to the living room. “Hi.”
Nick wore a baby blue tee, jeans, and black running shoes. Plus a big smile that made his chocolaty brown eyes appear to twinkle. “Hi. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” Not that we were allowed to leave right away. Mom came to tell him hello, and she shoved a large, Halloween-themed tin into my arms.
“There’s four dozen peanut butter cookies in there. Nick’s favorites.” She beamed at him.
“Thanks, Sunny. That was nice of you.”
“No problem. You two have a nice day.” She waved us out, but not before I pecked her on the cheek.
Outside, Nick helped me into his truck. “How did the pictures come out?”
“Pretty good.” I was smiling. He was in a great mood, a combination of happiness and pleasure flowing heavily from him. I soaked it in, letting it flush the dregs of my freaky nightmare away, and we were off.
The entrance to his pack’s territory looked a lot like the drive to leading to the house I wanted, just five miles past it and on the opposite side of the highway. The turn-off was nearly hidden by mesquite trees and overgrown brush, but the drive itself was graveled and well-maintained.
It was also an S curve, blocking the view of a small parking area where two neat lines of vehicles sat. The only two openings to the rectangular space were the drive and a dark gray, moss-encrusted stone arch. The day was a lot darker through the arch, because it opened onto a forest. “Not sure I’m ever going to get used to pocket realms.”
“They made things a lot easier after the Melding, since most of us weren’t displacing human property.” Nick guided his truck into the first line of vehicles. “You’re going to like this. Our territory’s beautiful.”
“I bet.” Actually, I thought the forest looked spooky. All those trees...anything could be hiding in there. Like a huge pack of wolves.
I followed Nick out, almost forgetting the tin of cookies, and wished Leglin could’ve come with me. It would’ve been rude to ask, considering the general dislike and fear most shifters felt toward elf hounds. Plus, probably uncomfortable for Leglin and possibly a sign of distrust, which wouldn’t make this visit any more auspicious.
Not that I was expecting it to be easy. This was not a normal “meet the parents” deal. It couldn’t be when the parents were shifters and my boyfriend had a ring in waiting.
“Well, come on.” Nick took the cookie tin and led the way to the stone arch. The temperature dropped a good ten degrees when I followed him through it. The smell of sun-baked dirt, mesquite, and dryness became cool, pine freshness. I drew in a deep breath, even as a shiver tickled down my back. “Mm.”
“Pretty neat, huh?”
“Yeah.” Also cooler than I’d expected, so I put on my hoodie as we set off down a rather broad dirt path. It only took a few steps before the feeling of being watched raised the fine hairs on the back of my neck. I didn’t see anyone upon casually looking around.
It’d make sense there’d be guards, keeping an eye on the way in, so I did my best to ignore the sensation. I had permission to be here. Now that I was, I could probably teleport in whenever I wanted to. I’d been able to teleport into Thorandryll’s fairy mound. No, Logan had told me it was called a sidhe. Anyway, I could teleport into the Barrows too, but tended to use conventional entry methods because appearing smack dab in the middle of vampires made my stomach clench.
We only walked for about five minutes before a trio of people appeared further down the path. One was carrying a toddler. The man in the lead waved at us, and Nick waved back. “That’s my dad and mom.”
“Oh. Cool.” We met halfway between our respective points, and his dad
took immediate charge.
“Keith Maxwell, Alpha of the Three Rocks Pack. Call me Keith.” He didn’t offer his hand. “My mate, Annie.”
“Discord Jones. Pleased to meet you both.” I wondered who the woman holding the toddler was.
Keith half-turned. “Our grandson, Jake. He’s Patrick’s first born.”
I gave the kid a little wave and smile before meeting the woman’s eyes, even though my assessment of Patrick had just taken another deep plunge. “I bet you’re his mom.”
“Susan,” she responded, her tone rather subdued. Keith moved, blocking my view of her.
“I thought we’d take a short walk before lunch, show you around a little.”
“Sure.” Patrick appeared on the path several feet behind them. He ambled up, took Jake from Susan, and apparently dismissed her since she turned and walked away.
“Psychic Girl finally made it.” He nuzzled his son’s cheek. “Look, Jake, that’s a human.” He grinned. “He’s never seen one before.”
“Cordi’s a supe too,” Nick said, catching hold of my hand.
“Yeah, but I bet she thinks of herself as human. Don’t you?”
“I’m fond of ‘person’.”
“All over the dog thing?”
“I can still talk to them.”
“Pity. Did you keep those yappy little fur balls?”
“One. My mom’s keeping the others since they haven’t been claimed.” I smiled, wondering why he was asking. “And the three ex-fighters are still with me.”
He snorted. “The ugly trio.”
“That’s my pack you’re talking about.”
“Told you,” Patrick said, apparently to his father.
“Accommodations can be made.”
What the hell did he mean by that? I glanced at Nick, but Keith turned to walk away and everyone followed him. Nick’s mom and brother stepped aside to let us pass, closing ranks behind us.
“We have a large territory. It’d be impossible to cover it all in one day, but I’d like to show you a few spots. We have a lake near the main village.”
Save the Last Vamp for Me (Discord Jones Book 3) Page 5
