by Rena Leith
“Hollywood.”
“Then how do you become a vampire?”
Again, she leaned forward as if we were sharing secret spy stuff. “You can be born a vampire child—the product of two vampires. Often the mother dies in childbirth, so this is not a popular option.”
“I can understand that.” Sure wouldn’t be my choice.
She went on as if I hadn’t said a thing. “Then you can be bitten on the neck. This is uncertain because some never rise again. If you are completely drained of blood, there can be no seed to transmogrify your blood.”
Yeah, well, we wouldn’t want that to happen. “So you can only become a vampire if you’re partially drained?” Drained or not, depending on who you believed, I was pretty sure that Alan wasn’t going to be rising from the dead any time soon.
Samantha nodded. “The third way is to go through an initiation.”
You’d better hope the vampire had a lot of self-control and wasn’t an overeater. “That’s what Mia was going through?”
“Yes. A mature vampire, preferably a born vampire, has to drain most of her blood and then let her drink from his veins. A victim must be tethered close by so that, when she arises with preternatural hunger, she can be sated with the victim’s blood. The victim: that’s Alan.” She leaned back, looking pleased with her dramatic presentation and certain that her explanation was the correct solution to explain the murder.
“So that would make Mia Jamison a vampire?”
She nodded.
“What about Ricardo?”
“Hasn’t been initiated yet.”
“Doesn’t it make you nervous having him working in your store? Having the others buy their stuff here?” I had to ask since she seemed so into this.
“They need us. Humans often do vampires’ bidding. They think I’m under their control,” she said conspiratorially.
“So how can Mia go around in the daylight?”
“It’ll get harder and harder for her until she finally has to become a creature of the night.”
“Uh huh. Okay. So you told the police that Mia is a vampire and the murderer?”
“I told them that the entire group must be held accountable.” She partially closed her eyes and looked away from me.
“But you just told me that the vampires leave you alone because they need you, yet it sounds to me as though you just betrayed them.”
She held a finger up to her lips. “Don’t tell anyone I told you. If we don’t stop them, they’ll turn the entire town into vampires. They’ve done it before. Have you been in some of the towns further south along the coast?”
“I won’t say a word.”
“I do happen to have some garlic here if you need…protection.”
I shook my head. “Nope. I’ve got plenty of garlic at home. But thanks. What I really need is a pair of the earrings you were wearing the other night.”
She reached behind a counter and whipped out a pair, laying them on a black velvet square.
“Exquisite.” I inhaled deeply. “I’ll take them.” I had a twinge, knowing I shouldn’t be recklessly spending my money.
She ran my card, put them in a cute little box and then in a bag. “Here you go.”
“Take care.”
I left the shop. If it were true that Samantha had told all of her friends and customers what she’d just told me, then she would be the next body on the beach.
Chapter 13
Back at the cottage, I showed off my earrings to Gillian and Doris while Jack unloaded the supplies from the car. Doris immediately materialized a pair for herself.
“That’s very handy,” Gillian said.
“It’s no substitute for being alive.” Doris’ form wavered.
“Before I finish your shelving, I’d like a break. Maybe see a little more of your new town. How about we go to the upper point and see the college?” Jack asked.
“Works for me.” I put my earrings in a drawer. “That’s an area I’m dying to explore.”
We piled into the car and headed to the campus of Clouston College.
We were talking and laughing as we walked up the sidewalk to the quad and the fountain when Jack stopped suddenly. “Isn’t that what’s-his-name?”
Gillian said, “Really helpful, Jack.”
“George Ho. Again.”
Jack snapped his fingers. “That’s his name.”
I gave him what I hoped was a disgusted look.
Jack coughed. “Wonder what he’s doing here?”
“Who’s the woman with him?” Gillian added.
“She looks familiar,” I said.
“Beach. Cop,” Jack said.
Gillian nodded. “When Alan died, Cass. She was the officer on the beach taking pictures.”
I nodded. “I remember. How the heck did those two get together?” I felt a sharp pang of jealousy. I hadn’t talked to George in years. He hadn’t changed. Still the gorgeous Hawaiian I remember.
They hadn’t seen us yet as they came out of one of the buildings laughing and talking together.
Then George turned, saw us, and stopped dead. “Cass!”
This time he was the one who looked surprised. “George! What are you doing here?” The woman’s arm linked with his.
“What are you doing here? Are you and Phil through moving in?” He looked around as if Phil would spring out of a bush at any moment.
“I’m divorced.”
“Sorry to hear that. We’re in an amateur production of Chicago here at Clouston and you?”
That didn’t explain the look on her face as she gazed up at George.
“I moved here after the divorce. Bought a place down on the other point of the moon bay. I was showing my brother and his wife around. They’re helping me move in. You remember Jack, don’t you?”
The two men nodded at each other and shook hands.
George said, “So you bought the haunted beach house.”
I was only too well aware of George’s superstitions from his childhood in Hawaii. Then I had a flashback of him carrying some wrapped green onions in his pocket at his uncle’s funeral to keep his dead uncle’s ghost from following him home. Doris would have a field day playing with him. Damn. Now I’d never be able to persuade him to come by my place. “Do you still believe in ghosts, George?”
He smiled at the woman with him. “No. Of course not. I’ve heard the stories all my life, of course. I was born on the haunted isles full of sentient animals and spirits. Monkey King. Menehunes.”
“For some reason, I thought you might have gone back.”
“I got a job offer here and have been working my way up the ladder. This is a great place to live.”
“I’ve seen a production of Chicago. What parts are you playing in the performance?” Jack asked.
“George plays tympani in the orchestra,” the woman said. Then she executed a few sensuous modern dance moves. “I’m one of the prisoners.” She sidled up to him. “We got to know each other better during rehearsals.”
I ground my teeth. I had to remind myself that I was the one who’d left George to marry Phil. Boy, did he look good. Then I had a thought. It was a bit mean, but I was feeling jealous. After all, all is fair in love. “How would the two of you like to come back to my place for dinner? I’ll show you around. I’m here to stay.” I smiled.
“We have dinner plans, but thanks,” George said. “I hope you do stay and fix the place up. It’s a cute bungalow, but it always ends up abandoned.”
“Not this time,” I said, hands on hips, smile still firmly in place.
The woman looked me up and down. “Have you come in to the station to give us a statement yet?”
I nearly got whiplash from the change of subject. “No, I haven’t. No need. I didn’t see anything.”
“Well, we’ve got to get going,” George said. “Great to see you again, Cass. And you, too, Jack.”
“Cass? What the heck was that all about?” Jack asked.
“No idea.”
>
But I found out when we got home.
A phone message awaited me when we got back to my place, asking me to come by the police station in town at ten o’clock the next morning to assist the police in their investigation concerning events that had transpired on the beach near my house.
I deleted the message and turned to Jack and Gillian. “Really?”
“C’mon, Cass. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.”
“You saw the look she gave me. She has the power to get rid of the competition.”
“She’s a cop. She wouldn’t do that. George is the detective. He might be the one calling you in. Besides, if questioning you were out of line, her superiors would question it.”
“And are you the competition?” Gillian asked.
I let it drop. There was no point in pursuing the argument, but I would be on my guard tomorrow. I checked my watch. My appliances should be arriving any time now. I was sorry that we could only sightsee for half a day, but I was so totally thrilled to have a dishwasher that I almost forgot about George. Almost.
****
When I arrived at the station promptly at ten the next morning, an officer I didn’t know took my name and checked a list.
“Follow me.”
I followed him back to a claustrophobic little room with a small table and several chairs.
“Please have a seat. Someone will be with you shortly.” He smiled and left me alone.
I sat.
A middle-aged officer came in and introduced himself as Detective Daniels and then introduced another officer as Detective Ho. I restrained myself from saying “Hi, George.” George sat down across from me.
Detective Daniels sat in another chair off to the side and smiled at me. Not in a nice way.
The table was so small I thought our knees might touch. The room felt hot, and the air was still. This was the perfect room for wringing confessions out of the guilty. I tried to contain my emotions and breathe deeply. I didn’t want to give off signals that either detective might misinterpret.
George looked down at a messy file folder full of papers of varying sizes, shuffled them a moment, and then started to ask questions without looking up at me. He started with name, address, what I’d seen on the day in question, and what I usually saw on the beach. “Are you familiar with vampire gaming?”
“I’ve heard of it. I wouldn’t say I’m familiar with it.” What was that all about? He was obviously reading the question from a list. “Why? Do you suspect the gamers?”
“Do you engage in this gaming?”
“No.”
“Are you familiar with the people who do?” He shoved a list toward me.
I scanned it as though it were a timed test. “Some of the names are familiar.”
“Which ones?” he asked in a monotone.
“Ricardo Santiago. Mia Jamison.” I didn’t know most of the names.
Then he looked up at me with a completely straight face. “Are you aware that there is a statistical link between gaming and violence?”
That was an odd question. I had heard about the link on the news recently regarding a mentally ill young man and a gun attack, but there was no gun used in Alan’s death unless there was something I didn’t know. What answer did he want from me? “My understanding is that some studies show a link between those who play ultra-violent games and those who commit violent crimes, but that so far no one has established whether violent people like to play violent games or whether violent games teach people to be violent.”
This time when he looked up he studied me for a few moments, giving nothing away. Detective Daniels leaned forward, reducing the tabletop space by half.
I leaned back away from both of them, raising my hands. “In any case, I don’t endorse violent games.”
He shuffled a few more papers, pulled one out, and set it on top of the others. “Do you know Sara Howland?”
He already knows, I thought. “I met her recently. I just moved here. I don’t know any locals well.”
“Do you like her?”
“So far.”
“Are you aware that the victim…” He shuffled more papers. “Alan Howland sustained two wounds in his neck in close proximity, imitating the bite of a vampire?”
For a moment I thought I was going to be sick. “Yes.” It didn’t come out well, so I cleared my throat. “Yes.” That explained his vampire gaming questions.
He stared at me for what seemed like several minutes. “Do you run a web site for a local vampire gaming group?”
I’m sure he saw my body jerk. Ricardo had a list of potential clients, and there were several gaming groups on the list, including his own. “My partners and I are in early negotiations to develop a web site for them. It’s my business. I’m doing the same for several shop owners in Las Lunas.”
“Do you know the law around liability in the case of cigarette manufacturers versus lung cancer patients?”
“Why does that matter?”
“Just answer the question.”
“No.”
George closed the folder and stood up. Detective Daniels straightened up. They both looked down at me, still sitting at that tiny table and feeling very small. Then they silently walked out of the room.
Well, that was rude. But I didn’t move.
A few minutes later the officer who had shown me to the room came back and led me out.
I walked to my car, got inside, and just sat for a few minutes. The questions hadn’t been tough, but I had difficulty trying to figure out what they’d been getting at. I felt bullied, and that pissed me off a bit. I took out my cell and called Jack.
“George had a list of questions. I got the impression that he was asking everyone the same set. He seemed to want to tie Alan’s murder to the gamers.” I frowned. “He did ask some questions that implied some sort of liability. I’m not quite sure what he was getting at.”
“We’ll get lunch started. There’s still some ham, right?”
“I think so, but anything’s okay. I’ll be home in a few minutes.”
****
I went into the bathroom when I got home and splashed cold water on my face.
When I joined them in the kitchen, Jack asked, “You didn’t let Thor out this morning, did you?”
That surprised me. “No. In fact, I haven’t even seen him this morning.” Which was true, but I hadn’t paid attention. “He may be hiding. He could be sleeping behind a box or maybe he went walkabout with Doris.”
“Thor,” Jack called out.
Nothing.
“He can’t be inside. He’d come to me. Thor!” He snapped his fingers.
Maybe I didn’t know Thor as well as Jack did, but I’d learned a thing or two over the last week. Feeling as though I could finally do something right, I took a can of tuna out of the cupboard and popped the top. Ten seconds later, Thor was at my feet, looking up expectantly.
I poured the juice into a bowl and set it in front of him, putting the meat in a container for later. He purred as he lapped.
Jack stared at the cat. “Traitor!”
“Thor seems to be governed largely by his stomach,” I said.
Jack looked disgusted, but that little ploy had returned life to normal.
“Sit down, you two. I can tell you about it now.” I sat, took a deep breath, and picked up half of my ham sandwich. “It didn’t last long, but it seemed like forever.”
“What did they ask you?” Gillian asked gently.
I shook my head. “Nothing important. I think George was stirring the pot at that woman’s instigation, but I have no idea why other than her warning me off George. He kept talking about gaming and violent gaming and the link to violence. He seemed to be trying to tie me in with the vampire gamers.”
Jack stopped chewing and took a swig of beer. “They probably suspect anyone in the vicinity of a crime. Clearly, this house has a rep as we found out when Marcy told us we had to convince Clem’s Clam Shack that we were alive not ghosts and
would pay them if they delivered. I’d almost forgotten how superstitious George is.”
Gillian shook her head. “I think you’re misreading it, Cass. It sounds more like the cops were trying to establish a connection. He was probably fishing. You live near where the gamers meet and the scene of the crime. He might have been trying to see if you remembered something you’d seen if he made the connection for you.”
“I think he’s out to get me.”
“Cops are people, too. You had a pretty intense look on your face when we ran into them.”
“I did not. I was warm and welcoming.”
Jack snorted.
Gillian shushed him. “I think George felt very uncomfortable. It must have been a shock to find out you’re living here.”
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It was a shock seeing him. We used to be so close, planning a life together. When George and I met, he was pre-law, so I assumed he’d go to law school but he dreamed of becoming a cop.” I shivered, remembering my fears back then. “You know the story, Jack. He wouldn’t give up on his dream. I broke it off. Told him I couldn’t live with the fear.”
“I remember,” Jack said. “We were so sure you two would marry.”
“He told me that if I loved him, I’d share in his dream instead of trying to kill it. We both did love each other, but neither of us realized how valuable that was at the time.” I paused.
“And so you married Phil,” Jack said.
Gillian looked sympathetic. “It sounds as though you’re feeling some regret.”
“Maybe.”
Jack got up without a word and headed for the kitchen. I watched him go.
“I guess I shouldn’t be talking about this in front of Jack. He and Phil were close. I think he also felt betrayed by Phil’s philandering.” I cast a worried look at the kitchen. “I don’t think George ever married, but what if…”
Jack reentered the room with a steaming cup of tea. He set it down in front of me. I could smell the peppermint.
“Relax. It’s all coincidence. George has his own life now.” Jack sat back down and reached for the plate with his half-finished ham sandwich.
