by Megan Hawke
Dane looked me in the eye. He was grim. I was not sure I've ever seen him look that bleak.
"Crime scene photos," he said. "From all four murders."
No one moved. They were barely breathing. I thought Sabrina would and should leave, but she wasn't moving. She wanted to be a full member of the team, and was about to find out if she had the stomach for it. Hunting vampires was not for the faint of heart.
"Th-There's no blood, right?" Roger said. He was already averting his eyes. "I-I'm not sure I...I may not be able to help."
"We're here for you, Roger," I said, stroking his back. "No one will think less of you if you can't look."
He looked all around. Everyone had grim expressions. The festivities were over. Dammit. In so many ways it was the best few hours of my life since dying. I felt normal again.
"Let's see them," I said.
"First victim. Angela Earnest," Dane said. "Of all of them, she was killed the earliest in the night. Around midnight on October ninth. A Wednesday."
First photo was Angela bound and suspended. She was in the middle of her living room. Her killer had hogtied her, then hung her by her knees to a ring in the ceiling. She was ball-gagged, and a rope was wrapped around her head, across her eyes, and ran back up to the ring in the ceiling, viciously pulling her head back and leaving her neck bent and lower.
Dane spread out all of the pictures on the coffee table. It was a big coffee table, and he covered it up.
"All red rope, just like at the club," Sabrina said. "It almost looks like a scene at the club."
She barely croaked it out. My throat was tight, too. It was hard to look at. No one did more than glance at them now and then, just to see specific details.
"She had been raped repeated," Dane said. "Including anal and oral. The only evidence listed are seminal fluids, pubic hairs, and scrapes up the chimney flue."
"No finger prints?" I said.
"Lots of fingerprints. But all four sites have the exact same finger prints," Dane said. "They were not able to match up any finger prints found, but we have to assume they are of her friends, as well as the killer."
Dane collected up all the photos, stacked them and set them aside. Then he pulled out another set of pictures, and spread them out on the coffee table.
"Second victim. Denise Chamberlain," he said. "She was killed around three in the morning, Halloween night. Tuesday night, or Wednesday morning if you prefer."
The pictures showed Denise bound and hung from the ceiling. Red rope was used. Her ankles were tightly bound to her thighs, with her wrists tied to the back of her head. She was also gagged, with rope wrapped around and covering most of her face. The killer had run ropes up from her ankles to the ring in the ceiling. Another connected her wrists and head to the same ring, again keeping her neck as low as possible to drain her blood.
Sabrina jumped up and ran into the bathroom. A few seconds later, when we heard her starting to heave up her dinner, Roger ran out the front door and started throwing up. Dane had a "what the heck?" look, while Kale and Desiree had looks of pity on their faces. Boney barely paid Roger any heed, and Heidi was clearly disgusted by his weakness.
"Give the man a break," I said.
"I didn't say anything," Dane said.
"Denise was raped like the first girl?" Boney said.
"Yep. The seminal fluids and pubic hair DNA all match in all four killings," Dane said. "It is definitely the same man. DNA proves he is a vampire."
He gathered up Denise's pictures and then spread out Whitney's crime scene photos. I'd been to the apartment, but it was the first time I saw Whitney herself, all tied up and dead. She was also tied up and suspended above the tub, as opposed to the previous victims being hung up in their living rooms.
Whitney's suspension was more insidious than the others. Was he really after her, and using the other killings to hide the fact? Her body was bent over double backwards, her ankles tied to her neck, just below her chin. It made me wonder if she died of blood loss of strangulation. Her knees were bound together, and tied to the ring in the ceiling. The killer tied her wrists to the opposite arm's elbow.
"Each one the same, but a little bit different," I said, remembering what Detective Morris said.
"Whitney Washam. The third victim," Dane said. "She was murdered November nineteenth, a Sunday night, Monday morning, around four or five in the morning."
"What about the young man?" Boney said. "Was his blood drained?"
He was referring to Billy Prescott, who was murdered with Denise.
"No. The killer snapped his neck, and tossed him aside," Dane said. "As best the Police can determine, his body was not touched afterwards."
"Oh, this is very personal," Boney said.
When Dane gathered up those pictures, and started to spread Penny Degge's crime scene photos, I went to check on Sabrina. I'd seen Penny's crime scene in person. Didn't want to see it again if I didn't have to.
"Are you going to be okay?" I said, pulling her hair back.
"I'll never be all right again," she said.
"They are pretty bad pictures," I said.
"Not any worse than scenes I see at the club," Sabrina said. "Except they are my friends, right after they were murdered like that."
I heard Roger return to the living room. Heidi made a rude remark, questioning his manhood. All I could do was roll my eyes. She could be so callus to any man she considered weak. Becoming a vampire made it worse.
Sabrina was cleaned up and we rejoined the group. Roger was clearly distressed and ready to leave. I gave Heidi a withering look, and she shut up and began to sulk. Some men might like such childish behavior in a beautiful woman, but I didn't.
"Roger, don't go," I said.
"I've overstayed my welcome," he said.
"But you are my expert on bondage," I said. "You know all the players, and can evaluate the skill level used to bind them up. I need you."
"I can't look at those pictures again," Roger said. "No. No, I can't. He's the best. All the knots were great."
With that, Roger strode out of the house. I turned and glared at Heidi. She looked at me, at the others, and back at me, acting all insulted.
"What? What did I do? He's a pussy," she said. "Just a weak, pathetic pussy."
"God, have some compassion," Sabrina said.
"I'm a vampire. Compassion is not in the equation," Heidi said. "Two plus two doesn't mean four anymore when you're a vampire."
"What does it mean?" I asked.
She smiled sultrily. "It means I have two fangs, so two pretty boys are going to fuck me stupid, at the same time."
"Ah, she's using that new math I've heard about," Boney said, and laughed. "I like your friend."
"Want to go into my room and fuck?" Heidi said.
"Yes."
The air filled with vamp pheromones as they gazed into each other's eyes over the coffee table. My loins began to tingle and ache, and I so wanted to join them. Boney was the best of the best in bed. As he liked to say, Boney "boned you until he owned you."
The rest of us watched dumbstruck as Heidi stood up, removed her top and jumped over the coffee table. He caught her, with her legs wrapping around his waist and his face dropping straight into her naked boobs.
"Not in here," I said, eyes narrowing.
Anger bubbled up, killing my libido. Boney carried Heidi to her bedroom, and they vanished behind closed doors. I scowled at the door.
"Calm down, Sable," Kale said. "They're just being vampires."
"Yeah, but they ruined my Thanksgiving party."
Which reminded me. There was something going down to get out of the house so I didn't have to listen to those two go at it.
At midnight STOP began. The Crimson Knot's annual Something to be Thankful for Orgy and Party. Or STOP. I thought there should be more letters in that acronym, but it was their party so who was I to rain on it? STBTFOAP just didn't cut it.
According to Sabrina and Roger, STOP was the se
cond biggest orgy of the year. The Halloween Ball was the biggest. Biggest as in best attended by the membership. There was no Christmas Ball or orgy, so it was the last big event until New Years. Apparently they celebrated most of the holidays by tying each other up and having wanton sex, while the rest of the year actual sexual contact was frowned upon outside of a private room.
I wanted to see if Gustav and Philip showed. If they weren't there I could pretty much assume they ran away. I wouldn't blame them. And there was still Nessa. Beside Sabrina, she was the last of that circle of friends. She might have some insight into Gustav and Philip, and she needed to be warned.
Decision made. I was going to a party.
So I walked into my closet and considered all of my fetish wear. What did a happening young vamp girl of the new millennia wear to a BDSM orgy?
Chapter 13
I drove Desiree's red Charger, since it was raining and my bike was at Dane's across town. I liked the Charger. Not as much as a Mustang, but it was a sweet ride with a lot of power.
I'll be honest. I know about as much about cars as I do about guns. Next to nothing. The salesmen tell me all about torque and gear ratio, and all that crap. I hear yada yada yada, la la la, and then I ask what colors does it come in. I want a big engine, with a quick zero to lightspeed time, and I want it to be cute. Mustangs are the cutest of the cute, in my opinion. And I was a SMU alumni, so...
Guns were worst for me. Gun people are snobs. Total snobs. I get a little more respect since going from a Beretta Px4 Storm to a Glock 31. Not much. Dane loves the Glocks. Gabe poo-poos them. They could argue for hours about guns and trajectory and velocity, and all that crap. I am all about how it feels in my hand, how hard does it kick, and does it jam too much. I find all pistols jam, I don't care what anyone tells you. They all jam, some worse than others.
I've had good luck with Mustangs, Beretta's, and now Glocks. So I was sticking with what I like, and that included AOL. Roger actually laughed when he heard I was on AOL. After that, I got a pitying look every time I made the mistake and mentioned I was on AOL. He called it AOHell.
Which meant as much as I liked Desiree's Charger, I was sticking with my Mustangs. I planned to buy one right after figuring out who the Crimson Knot Killer was, and putting him out of business forever. I just hadn't decided what color to get. Midnight blue or black.
I arrived at The Crimson Knot at 12:30 AM. The parking lot was packed. I could feel countless warm bodies upstairs having a very good time. There was a whole lot of loving going on up there. More than usual.
"I may go visit Gabe after this," I said. "He needs some good ole Sable loving."
I didn't want to go back to Kale's house. Not with Boney and Heidi banging.
My luck held, and the rain was coming down in buckets when I arrived. Fortunately, I had an umbrella. That didn't help my legs and feet. The wind was pretty bad. So I was just trying to save my hair.
I did one of those little high heel runs through the rain. You know, tiny steps and bouncing boobs. I could do better than that, but people were watching. Okay, I like to put on a show, too. They were all smiles when I reached the club's entry, so they must've enjoyed watching me.
"Is it wet enough for you?" a young blonde said.
She was wearing a black leather corset and hobble skirt. Someone would have to carry her up and down the stairs. She had lots of tattoos and piercings. Someone had plucked her eyebrows completely off, and she didn't bother drawing on new ones. It was a look.
"Almost," I said. "When I see Noah buying lumber, then I'll say enough already."
"You're the vampire girl, right?" a thirty something man in a diaper said. Yeah, he wore nothing but a cloth diaper. "Black Heart?"
"I prefer everyone just call me Sable," I said. "But yes. I am."
There was no fear of me there. Five men and three women. No fear. I loved it. One gets tired of everyone suddenly exploding with fear and dread when they figure out you're a vampire. Of course, some people become instantly aroused.
They were looking me over, the women measuring me against their own self-images. I looked pretty hot, I think, in a snug latex mini dress. It was red and black stripped, horizontally, with long sleeves and a high collar. Okay, the collar was a real collar, buckled closely around my neck. There was a large round cut-out over my cleavage, exposing a nice amount of boob. More naughty than nice, really. I matched it with a pair of Desiree's shoes, red patent Mary Jane platforms with a seven inch stiletto heel. Yeah, I was towering tall, and felt so powerful.
Amazing what a couple extra inches can do to your psyche.
"See you boys and girls upstairs," I said, and went on up.
I handed my purse and umbrella over to the coat-check girl. Vampires don't need coats, but the mortal members definitely did so there were a lot hanging behind her.
"Are any of my friends here tonight?" I asked.
I didn't want to rouse suspicion and speculation by asking for certain people. Most of the members understood I was really looking for the killer.
"Who are your friends?"
She didn't know? I would think that knowledge would be well known. Surely I was the main subject of club gossip.
"Nessa?"
"Yes, she just got here five minutes ago."
"Good. What about Mistress Mandy?"
"Yes."
I went down the list of people I'd met. Mistress Mandy and Alex. Mistress Isabella, the owner. Master T and Big Joe. They were all there.
"Gustav?"
"Yes. He's here."
I was surprised. I didn't expect to see him again. Don't killers make a run for it once they realize the cavalry was about to arrive?
"Philip?"
"I don't know which Philip, but all three Philips are here tonight," she said.
I would've asked about a few more, but we were interrupted. A familiar young man crawled out from the main parlor.
"Forgive me, Mistress Sable, but may I serve you?" Alex said.
"How so?"
"Your shoes, Mistress. I fear they are wet and dirty," he said, acting all sad about that. "My tongue and lips are eager to serve, and you have such pretty shoes, too. I would hate for the rain to ruin them."
I understood what he wanted to do. I didn't know why he wanted to do it. The idea kinda creeped me out, but it was his flavor of kink. Who was I to judge him? So I scooted my left foot forward and felt exquisite pleasure wash through him.
Alex spent five minutes meticulously licking and nuzzling my shoes, and cleaning and drying them in the process. He also took a small dish towel and slowly, lovingly dried my legs.
"If Mistress Sable desires anything else of this poor slave boy, just ask Mistress Mandy," he said. "My mistress is very generous with her little pet."
"I'll keep that in mind," I said, bent over and kissed him on the corner of the mouth.
Going into the main parlor, I found a lot of my club friends. I chatted up Domina Donna and Master T at the bar. Discussed fetish wear with Mistress Isabella for half an hour, then assisted Mistress Mandy in a scene where she tied Alex up at one of the play stations. After assisting in another scene with Mistress Isabella and Big Joe, I managed to slip out of the main parlor and into the suspension room.
Philip and Gustav were both in there, at opposite ends and deep into tying pretty young things up. Tying them up in very elaborate manners, too. Once the subs were bound to perfection, they would be quickly suspended while their admirers stood around and oohed and awed appreciatively.
I considered who to harass first, then spotted Nessa in the crowd. She was a tiny thing, petite and only about five foot three. Sabrina said she was the youngest of their circle of friends at eighteen. She had short brown hair cut in a sassy bob, and wore a leather halter, matching skirt and thigh boots. She finished out her kinky outfit with latex opera gloves and a slave collar.
Making my way to her side, I paused beside her to admire how a woman I'd never seen before had just tied a man and w
oman, intertwined, and suspended them.
"Wow, some people are so creative," I said.
Nessa looked at me like she didn't know I was there. She knew. My presence rather excited her. Until that moment, I was unaware she liked other women. But bi-sexuality, especially among the female membership, appeared to be the rule rather than the exception.
"Can we go somewhere private and talk?" I said.
That really got her heart to racing. But, not her libido. So my first impression was wrong. Maybe she was more afraid of me than aroused. A little aroused, though.
"Sure," she said. She turned and headed for the private rooms. "Pick one."
Only one of the private rooms had anyone inside. Apparently they took their orgy seriously, and everyone had their sex in the open. Not that there really was that much sex going on out there.
I waved her into a room and closed the door.
"Kneel," she said.
"What?"
"Kneel. You know, when you get on your knees before me," she said. She managed, barely, to not say, "Duh."
"I'm not a sub," I said.
"You are if you want to speak with me," she countered, starting to dig in her purse.
"You don't understand, I just want to warn – "
"Kneel! I mean it," she said, baby blues flashing. "If you speak a single word while still on your feet, I will leave."
My first thought was it wasn't worth humiliating myself to save her, but she was a good friend of Sabrina and Roger. And we were in a kink club, a bondage club.
Lowering myself to my knees, I looked up at her smiling face. When I started to speak, she placed her index finger across my lips. Then she kissed me rather passionately.
"You will address me as Mistress Vanessa," she said. He picked up a pair of thick leather and steel manacles, and stepped behind me. I let her secure my wrists in them. Then she surprised me by buckling a similar pair around my arms just above the elbows. Very annoying. "Better. You are almost ready to speak. Thank me now."
"Thank you, Mistress Vanessa," I said, unable to keep the tone of exasperation out of my voice.
"You're welcome," she said. "Chin up."
