Bad Blood

by Ren Hamilton

  The blood had to be administered all at once, and words had to be spoken, so slipping it into Joey’s coffee was out of the question. It also had to be administered by a blood relative, puns aside, so giving the blood to Patrick to administer would be futile. As far as Robin going back out to Forest Bluffs, she’d rather chew on broken glass. She’d have to think on it.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Agent Litner listened intently as Robin described the unexpected phone call she received from Shep the night before, after returning from Aunt Betsy’s. She was shocked he’d called, having not heard from him for so long—and based on what she now knew of every other damn thing going on in his weird, scary world.

  Shep claimed that he could sense something had changed, and he wanted to know why she’d stopped calling and pursuing him. His tone was suspicious, and she had trouble hiding her fear. Shep ended the conversation by saying wanted her to move to Forest Bluffs where he could ‘keep an eye on her.’

  The conversation left her sleepless, in a state of panic. “He wants me to move out to Forest Bluffs. Can you believe it? He knows I have a job in the city. He said I should quit and ‘he’ll take care of me’. What the fuck? This is completely out of character for him. Do you think he suspects something? I mean beyond suspecting I’m just not that into him anymore?”

  “Unlikely. Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out.”

  Just hearing Litner say the words made her feel better. He had that deep authoritative tone. She felt safe when Litner was around, as though everything would ultimately be all right. It was probably a comfortable illusion, but after hearing Shep’s angry voice, she’d take it. Litner tapped his pen on Robin’s glass coffee table. She was tempted to ask him to stop, but he had that distant look he got when he was in deep thought.

  He slipped the pen behind his ear and leaned forward. “You said it was out of character for Shep to demand to see you. Is it also out of character for you to refuse to see him?”

  Robin looked at him carefully. Her brow creased. “Perhaps it is a bit out of character, but a lot of things have changed.”

  “Would you have gone out there if you knew nothing of this investigation?”

  “Yes, I suppose I would have. I did love him.”

  “Have you ever refused him before, Robin? Ever?”

  “No, Agent Litner. I’ve never refused Shep before, and thanks for embarrassing me by making me admit it.” She pointed at him. “But I hope you’re not about to suggest that I go out there! I won’t do it.”

  “Patrick will be getting those samples this week if all goes well. If he doesn’t get them, we may have to contend with Shep a while longer. I don’t want to rouse any of his suspicions before we get what we need.”

  Robin shook her head. “Do you know what it would mean if I went out there? Shep would expect me to sleep with him. Aside from the fact that I’m with Patrick now, I don’t want Shep touching me! I know what he is now. I’d give that away. He can read me, Litner. He’d know. I’m better off at a safe distance, limiting my contact to the phone. Trust me.”

  Litner rubbed his forehead. “If you’ve never rejected him before, we have no way of knowing how he will react to your rejection.”

  “Well, we’re just going to have to find out. I watched Shep kill somebody last week. You can’t ask this of me, Litner. It’s too much.”

  Litner studied her face, and she thought she saw a flicker of compassion. Finally, he nodded. “You’re right. I have no right to ask that. But speaking of watching Shep kill somebody, I found Dr. Lichtenstein, the old doctor from the cave. The one you said served as a human sacrifice.”

  Robin perked up. “You did?”

  Agent Litner pulled a folder out of his briefcase and opened it. “A Dr. Simon Lichtenstein was reported missing by his wife last week. His age and photograph match the description of the old man you saw killed in the cave. He was a retired orthopedic surgeon. Experienced with…amputations.”

  Robin shook her head. “Why would he ever have agreed to become involved with Shep?”

  Litner remained placid, but she could see by the almost-smile that he had it all figured out. “I don’t believe the doctor’s involvement was voluntary. There is a record of disciplinary action against him, which somehow never panned out. There were allegations that he had inappropriate contact with his patients. He was charged, but then suddenly the charges were dropped.”

  “Inappropriate how?” Robin asked.

  “They were unconscious.”

  “Eww! Yeesh. That is disgusting.” Robin got a disturbing mental image of the old doctor pawing at some poor unconscious lump of flesh on a sterile table. “Why wasn’t he ever convicted?”

  “All allegations were dismissed due to lack of evidence, according to police files. The evidence they’d obtained mysteriously disappeared. There was a video tape, you see. A camera had been set up in one of the operating rooms by a class of medical students for educational purposes. Dr. Lichtenstein was unaware of the camera and was caught on tape doing whatever it was he did to his unconscious patients. Then, the video tape simply disappeared out of the police evidence room. This happened decades ago, mind you.”

  Robin looked into Litner’s eyes. “So what happened to the evidence?”

  “After what you heard from the doctor’s mouth out at Pearl Chasm, I’d say someone was blackmailing him with it.”

  “Shepherd,” she said with conviction. “But how many years ago was this? Shep would have been a child at the time.”

  “Assuming Shep ever was a child.”

  Robin waved her hands in front of her face. “Let’s not go there, okay?” She wasn’t sure if the knowledge that Dr. Lichtenstein was a criminal pervert made her feel better about his death or not. “What was Shep blackmailing him to do?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? He needed someone who knew how to do amputations. Clearly he chose someone who had a great deal to lose. I’m sure the amputation was a grizzly task, even for a professional. Not to mention what it would do to a sane person’s mind.”

  “I suppose it would take such a desperate person. After all, if some freak wanted to hire you to cut wings off of…oh Christ. It all sounds so crazy.”

  “It’s actually sounding less and less crazy to me,” Litner said.

  Robin studied him with interest. He was an odd duck, Litner. He was clearly thrilled that the pieces of this puzzle were beginning to fit together, yet he paid no heed to the fact that there were otherworldly elements at work. She didn’t want to test her imagination and guess about the things Litner had seen in his line of work. If he viewed beings with wings as small potatoes, then she probably didn’t want to know.

  Another thought came to her then, and she perked up. “Hey, what about Wesley J. Shepherd? Did you find him yet?”

  Litner frowned, looking disappointed. “Ah. The elusive name in the dirt. I’ve been doing a search. The problem isn’t finding a match to the name Wesley J. Shepherd. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of them. I’m still in the process of narrowing it down. I’m cross-referencing the name with anything and everything that might have a connection to this investigation. I hope to turn up something by this evening.”

  “So what do we do about Shep?”

  “We have to come up with a damn good reason as to why you are suddenly so disenchanted with him.”

  “Why not tell him the truth?”

  Litner looked surprised. “The truth?”

  “I don’t mean to tell him that I’ve discovered he used to resemble a seagull. I’ll tell him the partial truth, that I’m sick of his shit. He doesn’t call me for weeks at a time. Won’t say he loves me after six goddamn years. I’m tired of the games. I’ll tell him that I’m finally ready to move on. I’ve grown. I’m not about to go running back to him just so he can break my heart again. How does that sound?”

  Litner smiled. “Very convincing.”

  “Yeah, well I’ve wanted to say those things to him for a long time. I was j
ust too much of a pansy to do it before.”

  Agent Litner lifted her cell phone off the coffee table and handed it to her. “Do it.”

  She grimaced at the phone. “What? Now? But he gave me three days.”

  “I don’t want to wait three days to see what Shepherd’s reaction is going to be. If this is going to cause us a problem, I want to know about it now.”

  Robin hesitated, but finally took the phone from him. She swallowed hard, and dialed Shep.

  * * * *

  Russell stopped in the doorway when he spotted Shep. Morning sun streamed in through the enormous sky light, casting an ethereal glow on him where he stood cradling the phone to his ear. He was a vision of sexy sweetness in the sunlight, a phenomenon marred only by the stream of raging obscenities that spewed from his perfect mouth like a prayer. “God damned stupid bitch! What do you mean no? You can’t tell me no, you fucking bitch, whore mother-fucking…”

  Russell seethed as he listened to the one-sided conversation. It was the skanky blonde Duvaine bitch. From the sounds of it, she was dumping Shep. Shep was shouting at her one moment, and emphatically begging the next. He was actually begging her to come out to the Bluffs! It was pathetic, a trait Russell had never seen Shep exhibit before. Shep was supposed to be the one in control all the time. It was one of the things that made him Shep. Russell felt his anger and jealousy rise to new heights as he listened to the words Shep spoke.

  “Robin, please. Just come out for a week and give me a chance to change your mind.” He paused, listening to the response, then his face tightened again. “What the fuck is your problem, Robin? I swear to God, you’d better reconsider this!”

  Russell shook his head. The stupid bitch was actually rejecting Shep. Didn’t she know how lucky she was that Shep wanted her? Russell would have given anything to hear Shep speak to him like that. On a whim, Russell walked over, reached out, and touched Shep’s shoulder. “Hey, just hang up the phone, man. If she doesn’t want to come out, then to hell with her.”

  Shep turned to Russell, his cheeks flushed with fury. He put the phone to his chest, eyes like cold green steel. “Get away from me you fucking parasite!” Shep turned his back to him and brought the phone to his ear. “Sorry Robin. I just had to pull Russell out of my ass. Now what were you saying?”

  Rejection swam through Russell’s veins, turning to a cold hatred that sucked the very breath out of him. For a moment he couldn’t move. He simply stared at the back of Shep’s head, at his lovely sand-colored curls, and wanted to rip them out one by one. He wanted to choke him. He wanted to kill him.

  Instead, he stormed out of the room before Shep could see the tears of rage stinging his eyes. Shep would only take pleasure in seeing him cry, and Russell did not want to give him any today.

  His body trembled as he trailed up the spiral staircase to the second floor. He needed to calm down. If he flared off at Shep now, Shep might send him away. As much as he wanted to hurt Shep, he didn’t want to be sent away. He stormed down the hallway toward his room, determined to lock himself in and play a few hours of Doom. The violent video game was a quiet therapy. He’d pretend that every well-armed monster that jumped out was Shep and would blow its animated brains out accordingly.

  Something caught his eye as he passed the Jacuzzi room, something that made him stop in his tracks. He turned his head slowly, and his eyes fell upon such a vision that he had to adjust his glasses to make sure it was real. Klee stood before the Jacuzzi wearing nothing but a pair of white briefs, his back to the door, so he didn’t see Russell watching him. Russell gazed at the platinum blond brother who’d only recently arrived. He was built so similar to Shep, right down to the brutal scar that marred his perfect back. Like Shep, his body was thin, yet perfectly sculpted, narrowing at the waist with rounded buttocks.

  Klee’s scar was a darker color than Shep’s. It looked fresh. Shep offered little explanations about the brothers. Russell pretended to accept Shep’s explanation that a Norwegian family had adopted them all as children, though he knew this was probably bullshit. He’d heard Shep tell four different versions of that same story to other people.

  Russell watched Klee test the bubbling water with his fingers. He told himself to move on, to go to his room and commence his video murder rampage. He wasn’t some pervert who spied on half naked men, regardless of how hot they were. Shep had accused him of trying to peek at him in the shower, which pissed him off. He’d simply knocked lightly and pushed the door open to ask Shep a question. He’d never have done so if it wasn’t urgent. Joey was trying to get Russell to take him out to the pub while Shep was otherwise occupied, and there was no way he’d do so without Shep’s permission. He knew Joey was just trying to break the rules and using Russell as a scapegoat.

  It hurt his feelings when Shep accused him of spying, then refused to listen to his explanation. Is that what Shep really thought of him? That he was some peeping Tom?

  But you are. You’re peeping at Klee right now.

  This wasn’t like him, and he knew the only reason he remained frozen there, staring, was the resemblance to Shep. Looking at Klee in this moment of quiet pleasure was like a stolen moment with Shep, if he were a softer, gentler man. But it wasn’t Shep. And Russell had stared long enough.

  He was about to move on, his heart heavy and wounded. Then Klee stepped out of his briefs, and Russell was grounded where he stood. The skylight lit his pale blond curls as he lowered himself into the steaming water, his magnificent body disappearing into the bubbles. Klee sighed and leaned his head back, an arm resting on either side of the tub.

  Russell drifted into the room as if in a dream. Klee’s eyes were closed, making him nonetheless beautiful with his long lashes. A light mist of water was forming above his pink lips, and Russell felt a stirring deep within him. Klee was like a sweet, golden version of Shep, only he was pure and untouched by Shep’s rage and cynicism. His mouth was even more sensual than Shep’s. Russell had seen Klee’s eyes, and they were as wide and beautiful, more aquamarine than Shep’s emerald orbs. He wondered what it would be like to press his mouth against those lips, to look into those eyes, as he’d always longed to do with Shep. Of course, this was not Shep; it was Klee.

  Russell realized that Shep’s cynicism and nastiness was part of what attracted him, but Klee had an inherent kindness that he also found appealing. It had been so long since someone had treated him with kindness; the very thought of it made him want to weep. Like a man in a trance, Russell moved toward the tub. Klee’s eyes opened and he smiled. “Russell!” he said cheerily. “Won’t you join me?”

  Russell swallowed hard. He looked back at the open door, knowing he should go walk through it, and move on down the hall. Instead, he walked over and shut it.

  “Yes. I believe I will join you,” he said. To hell with Shep. He’d consistently treated Russell like dog shit. Now, to make matters worse, he was trying to get that whore to come live with them. Well, two could play at that game. Russell placed his glasses on one of the plant tables, and stripped out of his clothes.

  He stepped into the tub and felt the gooseflesh rise as he lowered himself into the steaming bubbles. Klee had his arms resting back behind his head. Russell stared, and thought for the first time that Klee was perhaps more beautiful than Shep. He was, quite possibly, the most beautiful creature Russell had ever seen. He wasn’t surprised to find himself fully erect. What he was going to do about it was another matter. He studied Klee, wondering how old he was. He certainly looked legal. “You know, you have really beautiful eyes,” Russell said.

  Klee’s eyes fluttered open, and he smiled at Russell. “Thank you for say so. You also have beautiful eyes, Russell. Very bright and golden brown, like volcano.”

  Russell chuckled and moved closer. “That’s a first. Klee, if you don’t mind my asking, how old are you?”

  “I am older than recorded time,” Klee answered quite seriously. Russell broke into laughter at the comment, and Klee laughed in resp
onse. His smile was so open and friendly, so unlike Shep’s.

  “Good answer, Klee. How about another question.” Russell moved in closer until he was right beside him. Klee did not move away. Either he didn’t mind or was completely unaware of the come-on. “Have you ever been with a woman?”

  First thing’s first. If Klee wasn’t at least bisexual, well, he’d learned from Shep that conversion was futile. Of course, Russell wouldn’t have wasted so much time and lust if Shep hadn’t hinted he was bisexual. Many times, Russell asked if he was interested in men, and Shep would give him that sly smile, and say, “I rule nothing out in this world, Russell.” But now, years later, Russell realized that Shep had probably lied about that. Or more likely, Shep simply had no interest in Russell himself. That hurt more. He could accept that Shep wasn’t actually bisexual as he claimed, but the thought of Shep being interested in another man one day left him shattered, so he chose to believe he was a liar, and was in fact completely heterosexual.

  Klee’s perfect brow furrowed in confusion at Russell’s question. Then he relaxed and nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I’ve been with a woman. I ate cereal with Kelinda this morning.”

  Russell smiled. “No, Klee. I’m not talking about eating cereal. What I meant was have you ever had sex with a woman?”

  A flicker of understanding passed over Klee’s expression. “Oh. The sex. No. I don’t do the sex. Margol said chocolate is better. Shepherd does the sex. Shepherd is more human than we are.”

  Russell slid his hand onto Klee’s thigh. “Oh, I don’t know, Klee. You can be as human as you want to be.”

  Klee seemed unfazed by the hand on his thigh. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Shep wants me to become more human,” he said, as though it was some big secret. He leaned in close to Russell’s ear. “He says I have to learn, but I don’t think I know how to yet.”

  Russell slid closer to Klee and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “I can teach you to be more human,” he said. He expected Klee to pull away. Klee did not, but he did not seem at all impassioned by the kiss either. Instead, he looked quizzically at Russell.