by Lou Harper
“Tell me about Christine. How did you meet?” Gabe started. He made a mental reminder to carry a notebook in the future.
Mel gripped her own cup. “Chrissy and I used to work at the same place. We were both with a temp agency, and one time they sent us to the same company. Office jobs, that sort of stuff. Chrissy is…was an actor, but needed a day job to pay the bills. You know how it is. I was taking a year off college. Sharing an apartment made sense.”
“Were you good friends?”
Mel stared into nothing while she considered the question. “We’ve lived together for years now, but we didn’t have much in common. I mean, we got along fine but didn’t spend a lot of time together outside of these walls.”
“Where did Chrissy spend her time?”
“Auditions, acting classes, temp jobs. She also liked partying. I joined her once or twice, but after I went back to school I didn’t have the time or energy. Those clubs aren’t my thing anyway. I feel out of place.” She sounded almost embarrassed admitting it.
She was a mouse, small and plain. She and Christine couldn’t have been less alike.
“Did she go out last night?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Do you know where?”
“No, sorry.”
“What time did she come back?”
“I was asleep.” Her eyelids fluttered, and she hid behind her cup.
Gabe had a strong impression she wasn’t quite forthcoming. “Mel, it’s important I know what happened exactly. Remember, I’m not the police. You can tell me anything.”
She lowered her cup but didn’t look up. Gabe waited.
“I…I’d smoked some weed earlier, I was zonked out,” she said in a whisper. She seemed on the edge of tears. “I keep thinking…if I hadn’t, I would’ve known something was wrong, I could’ve done something.”
Gabe reached out to touch her hand.
“You don’t know that. You don’t think she killed herself?”
She shook her head with fierce conviction. “No way. Especially not like that. She couldn’t stand the sight of blood. She nearly fainted the time I got a nosebleed.”
“Did Chrissy take drugs?”
“She smoked some pot and took X a few times, but nothing serious.”
“Do you know anyone who’d want to hurt her?”
“I don’t think so.”
“A jealous boyfriend?”
“No, she hasn’t gone steady with anyone since I’ve known her. She said she’d settle down when she got old.”
“Did she bring guys back here?”
“Sometimes.”
Mel sagged under the rapid-fire questions. Her hand, still lying under Gabe’s, trembled. Gabe softly squeezed her fingers and brushed his thumb over her knuckles. She gazed up at him, eyes shining with unshed tears.
“Could she have brought someone back last night?” Gabe asked in a low, coaxing voice.
“I guess. I don’t know.”
“Did she have any strange acquaintances?”
She looked at him uncomprehending. “Strange how?”
“Anyone who made you feel uncomfortable?”
She frowned. “No…I can’t think of any, but I only saw them in passing.”
The discreet sound of coughing came from the doorway. Denton was done. Gabe was out of questions as well.
“Thanks, Mel, that’ll be all. Take care of yourself,” he said, and they left her there, sitting behind the table, worn and crumpled.
Gabe and Denton remained silent until they were in the car.
“She didn’t kill herself,” Denton stated.
“Did you see the killer?”
Denton shook his head. “No. She was drugged. Even the pain didn’t quite wake her up. I’m glad we came this fast—she didn’t leave much of a trace. It’ll fade quickly.”
“So you don’t know if the killer was vampire or not?”
“Not a clue, but I think I smelled the same scent as last time.”
That was big news. “Are you sure?”
“Well, she was pretty out of it, but I’m fairly certain.”
Gabe dropped Denton off and then headed home. He debated whether to report back to Augustine and decided against it. First, he wanted to sort through the whole thing on his own. Chrissy having been drugged troubled him. The killer had overpowered Paul Mayer easy enough. Why would he need to sedate a woman? Maybe Denton was wrong about the smell, and they had a different perp on their hands. Or maybe, Chrissy took something like X herself.
Gabe found the apartment dark and empty. A sticky note on the fridge informed him that Harvey had gone out with Dill, and would be back later. Gabe had no reason to feel annoyed, but he did anyway. Benefits or not, he wasn’t Harvey’s number-one friend. Big deal.
He found the notebook with his earlier notes and wrote down everything from the interview with Melinda before he forgot the details. Next he spread the pages of the police report around on the kitchen table. He was busy poring over every small detail when the front door opened and Harvey strolled in.
“Honey, I’m home!” he called out.
A bulging canvas shopping bag hung from his shoulder. He carefully placed it on the kitchen counter and unpacked it. Jars and bottles of substances unknown to Gabe joined the already numerous jars and bottles there. Soon there wouldn’t be enough room to make a sandwich.
Gabe, feeling irrationally grouchy, grumbled, “You and Dill are as thick as thieves. I can’t tell which one of you is a bad influence on the other.”
“We both are. Anyway, you took my car, and I needed transportation,” Harvey retorted. He took the other chair and dug his laptop out from under Gabe’s papers.
“Where to?” Gabe snapped back, as he slammed his hand on a couple of pages about to tumble off the table.
“I saw Syl and did some shopping.” Harvey didn’t volunteer any more information.
Times like this it was as if they lived two separate lives that touched only at a narrow margin. Gabe arranged his files in a pile and began writing down what he thought were relevant details in his notebook. Harvey booted up his laptop and clicked away doing who knows what. For a while they did their own things in mutual silence. When Gabe got to Chrissy Lane’s crime scene photos, he laid them out, hoping something might jump out at him from them.
Harvey looked away from his screen and down at the photos. The initial repulsion on his face merged into recognition.
“Hey, I saw her!” he exclaimed, to Gabe’s surprise.
“You did?”
“Yeah, she was at the club last night. I remember her because of the hair, and she was sucking face with a hunky vamp when we went to the bathroom. It looked like she was about to become a happy meal.”
Gabe stared at Harvey befuddled. “Happy meal?”
“Yeah, you know, the vamp has a meal and leaves her happy. A quick fuck-and-bite.”
“Unbelievable.” If Gabe’s curiosity about vamp bites and their effects was growing, he wasn’t about to admit it.
“Don’t look at me like that; I didn’t make the name up.”
Gabe shook his head and turned back to the photos. He picked up one where the hickey on Chrissy’s neck was easy to see, and held it out to Harvey. “Could that be a vampire bite?”
Harvey studied the picture. “It’s possible.”
A thought struck Gabe. “It’s not only the neck where vampires bite, is it?”
“No, of course not.”
“Where else?”
“Generally the pulse points are the most popular—neck, wrist, inside of elbow, knees, etcetera.”
“Groin?”
“Yes, the femoral artery is excellent.”
Gabe dug up Paul Mayer’s file and pulled out the autopsy photos. He handed the one showing the bruise at the groin area to Harvey.
“Could this be a bite?”
Harvey scrutinized the picture. “Absolutely.” Under his scrunched-up brows, his eyes filled with apprehension. “You
think it’s a vampire killing people?”
Gabe thought about it for a moment. “Both victims were bitten not long before they died. It could be a coincidence, but my hunch is, the killer is either a vampire or someone who knows about vampires.”
“Hmm. I’ll call Ray and tell him not to let Dill out of the house.”
By the time Harvey finished the phone call, Gabe had a plan.
“C’mon, we’re going out,” he told Harvey.
“Now? Where?”
“To Club 9, of course.”
Chapter Five
Neither of the bartenders was of much use. They both recognized Christine from the picture—Gabe took the least disturbing crime scene photo with him—but couldn’t say much more beyond that. Neither of them could recall Paul Mayer. As far as Gabe could tell, all the staff were garden variety humans, and that limited the lines of questioning open to him. He was about to approach the bouncers when he spotted Jade in the crowd.
“Let’s ask her,” he said, striding forth.
Jade was on the dance floor surrounded by a throng of overstimulated men. The testosterone in the air was thick enough to choke a horse. Before Gabe could decide how to approach her, Harvey cut through the mass, straight up to the vampire and, leaning close, whispered something to her. He had to go on his tiptoes to do so.
Jade regarded Harvey with indifference. However, turning to Gabe her eyes lit up. Gesturing him to follow her, she spun around and sashayed off the floor, leaving a wave of frustrated men in her wake. Gabe and Harvey followed her to the back of the club, past a bouncer who only nodded at them, through an “employees only” door, down a hallway, and out through the emergency exit. Alarms did not sound. They were in a poorly lit courtyard surrounded by high walls. Hushed noises of sex came from the farthest reaches of the shadows.
“So you work for Victor Augustine?” Jade began, aiming her dark gaze on Gabe.
“I do. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Okay, honey. But make it quick.”
“Do you know her?” Gabe handed Jade the photo of Chrissy.
She took a good look. “I do. Is she dead?”
“Yes. How well did you know her?”
She batted her long and probably fake eyelashes. “Hardly at all. I’ve seen her around. Here and other places.”
“With vamps?” Gabe lowered his voice.
“Yeah, she was a regular late-night snack.” Jade sounded bored.
“Did she know what those men were?”
“Not likely.”
Jade’s gaze wandered all over Gabe. Without realizing it, Gabe pulled himself up straighter. A muffled snort from behind showed it wasn’t lost on Harvey.
“Did she see anyone regularly?” Gabe asked.
“Not that I could tell. She was fast food.”
“Did you ever—”
“Not my type. I like a real meal, and I like it slow. I come here to see the menu, but the feast happens at my place.”
“A takeout?” Gabe went with the most obvious food analogy.
“Now you get it.” She smiled and lowered her lashes with practiced seductiveness. “I know without tasting you’d be delectable.” She brushed an elegant long finger along Gabe’s jawline.
“He’s not on the menu,” Harvey snapped, stepping between them.
The forcefulness of Harvey’s assertion surprised Gabe, and a warm feeling spread in its wake.
In her stilettos, Jade towered over even Gabe, and despite the dress, she looked like she could’ve snapped Harvey in half. She returned Harvey’s narrow-eyed glare with a mocking smile.
“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, honey. I won’t touch your man.”
Seeing Harvey’s jaw muscles tense, Gabe put a hand on his arm, hoping he could keep the two from going at each other. He still had a few questions.
“Do you know who snacked on her last night?” he asked.
Jade shrugged. “I didn’t keep tabs on her.”
“I saw her with a man—good looking, a bit like a young Antonio Banderas,” Harvey said, still glaring.
Jade nodded, but her gaze didn’t stray from Gabe. “Rico Marin.”
“Do you know where we can find him?” Gabe asked.
“No idea. He’s not here tonight for sure.”
Harvey fumed all the way to the car. “The nerve!” he said, slamming the door.
Gabe found it rather funny. “I’m sure she was putting on an act. I must admit, she puts the vamp into vampire.” Gabe grinned, proud of his pun.
Harvey let out a pained groan. “That was horrible. Even for you.”
“Thank you. I try to do my worst.” Gabe put the keys in the ignition but didn’t start the car.
“You succeeded. So anyway, how did you know she’d have information?”
“It’s easy, Watson. Thanks to you and your friends, I know vampires are territorial, but so are beautiful women. Chrissy was very pretty. Even if they were after different men, no way Jade didn’t keep an eye on her.”
“Technically, Jade is not a woman.”
“Oh, but drag queens are twice the women,” Gabe pointed out.
Harvey regarded at him incredulously. “Where did that come from?”
“I’ve been watching RuPaul’s Drag Race. I have five years of American pop culture to catch up on.”
“Well, you knew just where to start. What now?”
“I need to make a call.”
Gabe dialed Ellie, and a few minutes later, he had an address for Rico Marin. He started the car and pulled out into the traffic.
“One more question,” Harvey said as they sped through the dark Chicago streets.
“Yes?”
“Where did you become so knowledgeable about women? Let me guess, Real Housewives?”
“High school. I used to date the head cheerleader.”
“You’re full of surprises.”
From the way Harvey glared at him, Gabe deduced Harvey didn’t mean it in a good way. Could Harvey be truly jealous? Surely not. It made no sense.
Stifling silence settled over them for the rest of the drive.
Rico Marin wasn’t at home. They knocked on his door and rang the bell for form’s sake, but Gabe’s senses told him the only vampire close by was Harvey.
“All right, what the hell do we do now? He could be anywhere,” Harvey asked.
“We’ll come back later.”
“And till then?”
“I have an idea.”
Gabe drove down to the Lakefront Trail. The path traced the shore of Lake Michigan, winding along for several miles and past a number of neighborhoods. It had been one of his favorite places back in the day, before he’d left for Europe and his life took an unexpected turn. The water was black as ink and so was the sky. Between the two the Chicago skyline sparkled like a haphazard scattering of jewels.
Gabe simply enjoyed the quiet and the breeze blowing from the lake. Its peacefulness took him back to his younger years. He found a bench facing the water and settled down. Harvey joined him, giving Gabe a sideways stare.
“What?” Gabe asked.
“If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you’re being romantic.”
Gabe assumed Harvey was joking. “We have time to kill, and I like this place at night. Good for thinking.”
“Thinking about what?”
“This case, what else?” Gabe said truthfully.
“Ah, of course.” Harvey sounded disappointed.
Did he seriously expect Gabe to do something amorous? Gabe didn’t know how to do romantic. Even Julie had said so. “There might be a rogue vampire killing people,” he said, in a way of explanation.
“You can take the boy out of the catacombs, but can’t take the slayer out of him.” The barbs in Harvey’s tone were hard to miss.
“This is what Augustine’s paying me for.” Gabe didn’t like the defensiveness of his own words and clamped his mouth shut.
The night was heading to hell in a hand bask
et. What on earth did he do wrong? Maybe if he just stopped talking, they’d be fine.
Too late. Harvey had a bug up his ass. “Tell me something. When you look at me or Stan or Ray, do you see us as targets? Something to slay?”
The question shocked Gabe. “No, of course not! I see you as people.” He didn’t say that he hadn’t always. He did now. “Friends,” he added.
Harvey made a throaty sound of derision.
His sudden testiness befuddled Gabe. “Wait a minute, you’re the one always going on how you can taste who I really am.”
“I can taste who you are beneath, but it’s up to you how much of yourself you share, and let me tell you, you’re a hard nut to crack. I know less about you than a stranger I might bump into at Nightcrawler. For example, I had no idea you used to date women.”
“One girl, in high school. I haven’t dated anyone since. Man or woman.”
Harvey studied Gabe coolly. “Strictly sex ever since?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that explains things.” His tone hadn’t lost its edge.
Gabe had enough. “Hey! It takes two to tango. You keep to yourself just the same. I haven’t even met any of your vampire friends.”
“You met Stan and Ray.”
“After Dill’s kidnapping, it would’ve been hard not to. They don’t count. Neither does Gustav.”
Harvey pressed his lips together and stared out at the water. “Okay, you have a point,” he said in a calmer tone when he turned back. “It’s not simple. Some vamps frown at involvement with regular people, and I’m not even sure we’re involved. How am I supposed to introduce you? ‘Hey, this is the guy I share my bed with. He used to be a slayer, but he only staked one vamp recently, and he had it coming’?”
“It’s a mouthful,” Gabe admitted. “How about boyfriend?” Gabe felt as surprised as Harvey looked as the words rolled off his lips. It was too late to take them back now.
“Are you sure you’re ready for that level of commitment?” Harvey asked, mocking.
A wave of stubbornness came over Gabe. “I’m willing to give it a go if you are.”
“You might have to talk. About yourself, and stuff, you know.”
“I’ll try.”
Harvey straddled the bench sideways. “Okay. Something’s really bothering you about these murders. Am I right?”
