Love In Death

by Elizabeth Stokes

  Allison looked down at her phone to see what actually woke her up. It was a text from Georgia Bennett, the private investigator who helped her do some not-quite-legal research from time to time. A few days back, Allison had given Georgia the information in several police files for missing persons, and Georgia was still looking up connections. It was the original connection that Georgia found that led Allison to Ed Saunders, the suspect that the mysterious junkie had killed last night at the station.

  Georgia’s text read: “Can you meet?”

  Allison rubbed her eyes and replied to the text: “sure. where?”

  A moment later, a new text from Georgia rang in: “Master Pizza.”

  Allison sighed. That wasn’t terribly close, but then again she was already awake, and Xander wouldn’t be back for hours. Plus, she could do with a good pizza. She quickly texted back: “k. c u soon.”

  Allison then got out of bed and headed to the shower.

  † † †

  Allison walked into the narrow door of Master Pizza, a home-grown Cleveland pizzeria squeezed in a strip mall just off of I-271. This was near where Georgia lived, though quite a distance from Allison’s downtown apartment, and it was one of her favorite restaurants. It was also a place she liked to meet because of its size. With a dining room and kitchen more the size of what you’d see in New York City than in Ohio, it was impossible for anyone to sneak in and eavesdrop on conversations without being seen. No matter where you sat, you were just a few feet from everyone else. Some would consider that hard to have a private, marginally illegal meeting, but Georgia once explained to Allison that in a room this small, people try not to overhear, and it was unlikely anyone would follow her here and be able to covertly spy on her.

  Allison walked past the order window which housed the tiny kitchen. She saw Georgia sitting at one of the tables, sipping on a soda. Allison waved slightly, and Georgia nodded. Allison got to the table and sat down.

  “What have you got for me?” Allison asked.

  “Pepperoni and pineapple,” Georgia said.

  “That’s not what I meant,” Allison replied. Then her mind flashed back quickly to the events at the police station the night before, and she frowned slightly. “And I don’t think I have much of an appetite anyway.”

  Georgia shrugged, then pulled a manila envelope out of her large purse. She handed it to Allison, who took it without looking at it. There would be plenty of time to open it later while she was in the privacy of her car. As expected, Georgia provided an explanation:

  “There was another connection, though it wasn’t as immediately evident as the one I already gave you,” Georgia said.

  “How so?”

  “Well, Ed Saunders had direct contact with many of the victims of the files you had given me. He pretty much popped up on the first search I did. But I like to dig deeper if I can; you know how I can get. This guy I uncovered didn’t have any direct contact with any of these victims. However, he had plenty of contact with Ed Saunders, and I found secondary contacts for many of the victims.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You ever play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon?” Georgia asked, answering Allison’s question with a question of her own.

  “Kevin who?”

  Georgia rolled her eyes. “Your knowledge of popular culture is frightening sometimes, Allison,” she said. “Kevin Bacon’s an actor who’s been around since the 80s.”

  Allison returned her explanation with a blank stare.

  “Ever see Footloose?” Georgia asked.

  Allison shrugged. “Maybe.”

  Georgia sighed, “Anyway, Kevin Bacon has been in tons of movies with lots of people over the years. And supposedly every actor in Hollywood can be connected to him by six movies or less.”

  Allison looked at Georgia, confused.

  “Okay, I’ll demonstrate,” Georgia said. “Give me an actor.”

  Allison shrugged and frowned, “Oh, I don’t know. Taylor Lautner?”

  “Okay... wait. Taylor Lautner? That’s an... interesting choice.”

  Allison looked sheepishly at Georgia. “That’s the first name that came to my mind.”

  “Him or Robert Pattinson, right?” Georgia shook her head. “Okay, Taylor Lautner was in Valentine’s Day with Julia Roberts who was in Flatliners with Kevin Bacon. Two connections means two degrees of separation.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “Anyway, this is the kind of connection this guy I found has with most of the victims. He didn’t know them, or at least he didn’t know them in any way that could be tracked. But all of them knew someone who knew him.”

  “That’s odd.”

  “Yeah, you don’t actually see that sort of thing happen to a lot outside of people who are either public figures or just happen to interact with lots of people, like a politician or a public speaker. But this guy is neither of those things.”

  “Who is he?” Allison asked.

  “I’m not sure, but his background is obviously fake.”

  “How do you know?”

  “He goes by the name Anton Leigh,” Georgia said. “He’s lived here since the late 1960s when he literally appeared overnight. I’m assuming Anton Leigh isn’t his real name because there’s no record of an Anton Leigh anywhere before he showed up in Ohio... at least not anywhere that keeps any form of modern record.”

  “Old guy?”

  “You’d think, right? But no. He bought property in 1968, a house where he currently resides in Cleveland Heights. Even if he were only 18 when he bought it, he’d be in his mid-60s now. But everything I found on him indicates he’s in his 30s or 40s at the oldest.”

  Allison immediately thought he might be a vampire himself. That would certainly explain the aging discrepancy between now and when Anton Leigh first showed up in Cleveland. Of course, if he were a vampire who just appeared in town one day more than forty years ago, Allison wondered where he’d been before that... and for how long.

  “Do you think it’s the same guy? Maybe he had a son or someone else who assumed his identity,” she asked.

  Georgia shrugged. “Maybe. But if he did, they overlapped perfectly, and he managed to transfer his name ad identity without drawing any attention to himself.”

  “What does he do?”

  “Here’s where it gets weird. He apparently owns a slew of occult stores around the city. Most of the stuff they sell is touristy nonsense, but he does deal in some serious stuff, like Wiccan supplies, witchcraft paraphernalia, and items used in voodoo and hoodoo. A couple of the stores were actually busted in the 90s for selling human remains.”

  “Yikes,” Allison said.

  “Since then, they’ve been squeaky clean, but that’s enough to make you a bit cautious.”

  Allison grinned. “You have an address for this Anton Leigh?”

  Georgia nodded. “In the envelope.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Allison didn’t waste any time. After saying good-bye to Georgia and leaving a ten dollar bill with her for a pizza she never even ate, Allison hopped in her car and drove up to Berkeley Road in Cleveland Heights. It didn’t take her too long to find Anton Leigh’s house. This was one of the older areas of the city, complete with some beautiful vintage houses. Unfortunately, urban decay had taken hold of some of the neighborhoods, making them less than desirable. It was a sad state that happened to many older neighborhoods of large cities. The beautiful architecture wasn’t enough to keep the area from falling into crime and general disrepair.

  However, Anton Leigh’s place still looked fresh and well-kept, as it probably was when he acquired it in the 60s. It was one of those narrow, tall houses that just don’t get made any more. Sandwiched between some houses with bizarre design choices (including one house painted bright pink and another painted sky blue), Leigh’s home retained its dark, earthy tones from its original design. The lawn was manicured, and the flower beds were lush. As Allison’s car rolled to a stop in front of the lawn, she
found it hard to believe that this was the likely home of a century-old (or perhaps much older) vampire.

  Allison parked two doors down and walked up the sidewalk to the Leigh house. A wrought-iron fence led her up the path to the front porch. The sun was setting behind Allison, casting a long shadow of herself upon the front door. All the curtains to the house were drawn, with no sense of activity anywhere.

  Allison knocked on the heavy wooden door. The old window with rippled glass rattled in its pane near the top of the jamb.

  A moment later, the door opened enough for a young woman to poke her face out.

  “Yes?” the woman said, sounding annoyed. Her face was pale, and she wore goth clothing. Dark circles surrounded her eyes, only partly a result of heavy black eye make-up. She looked anemic, but Allison knew the truth, especially when she saw two raw punctures on the woman’s neck.

  “Anton Leigh?” Allison asked.

  The woman glowered at her. “He’s not here.”

  Allison raised her eyebrow. She expected to be told as much. For a moment, she pondered whether or not to play the police card. However, while that can sometimes loosen doors and lips, it also could have the opposite effect. Plus, she wasn’t exactly here on official business. Sure, Leigh was a lead in the murder of Ed Saunders (and likely the murder of the junkie as well), but Allison could hardly tie all this together legally.

  After a moment of Allison not replying, the woman rolled her eyes and started to close the door.

  “Can I leave my card?” Allison asked. It was another trick she used, which was more subtle but often got the same response as telling someone she was with the police. She didn’t have to say it, but when people looked at the card, they were often persuaded to talk.

  The woman paused for a moment, then said, “Sure.”

  Allison handed her a business card, which the woman didn’t look at before slinking her hand back inside and closing the door.

  So much for that little trick, Allison thought. It didn’t work so well if the person never looks at the card.

  A second later, Allison heard the lock to the door engage and the security chain sliding closed.

  She turned around and watched the sun disappear behind the houses across the street. A sudden chill came over her, and she realized that it probably wasn’t the best idea to be standing in a vampire’s front lawn at the moment of sunset.

  For the first time since she and Xander had vanquished The Sieve, Allison felt like she might be in over her head. She walked briskly back to her car, resisting the urge to run.

  CHAPTER 17

  Allison entered her apartment and immediately sensed Xander’s presence. Before she could shut the door behind her, she heard him say, “What are you doing?”

  Allison walked into the kitchen to see Xander standing farther into the apartment, shrouded in shadows in the middle of her sitting room.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t play coy, Allison. It’s unbecoming of you.”

  Allison strode confidently across the room to stand face-to-face with Xander. He was several inches taller than her, but she didn’t care. Even when he was a human, she was not intimidated by him. Long ago, she had made a vow to not be intimidated by men, no matter how much advantage they had on her physically.

  “I was following up on a lead,” Allison said, staring him dead in the eyes, which seemed to glow dark orange. She continued to stare at him. Xander obviously recognized this little game, in which she occasionally engaged when he was still alive. And he obviously remembered that she never backed down first.

  Xander broke the stare and stepped back, sitting in Allison’s easy chair by the window. He sighed and shook his head.

  Allison nodded, confident she had let him knew she was still boss. Then she turned back to the front door to take off her coat and hang it on the coat rack.

  “It’s not Anton,” Xander said.

  Allison froze for a moment, then turned away from the coat rack. She glared at Xander.

  “Were you following me?” she asked.

  Xander shook his head. “The sun just set, Allison. I came straight here.”

  She pondered this and knew he was right. There simply wasn’t time for him to have tracked her to Anton Leigh’s place, and he certainly didn’t know about her meeting with Georgia.

  “It’s not Anton,” Xander said again.

  “Hold on a second,” Allison said, walking back to confront Xander. “How did you know I was over there?” She walked over to the chair and stood over him, giving herself a height advantage now. Allison’s mind flashed back to when she was held captive by The Sieve months ago: Didn’t your boyfriend tell you that we can get inside your head?

  Xander grinned and held up his hands as if to say, “I give up.” Then he smiled, not in a cocky way, but in the endearing way that he did when she would get worked up over little things.

  “Relax, honey,” Xander said. “Let’s not get paranoid.” He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He held it up and wiggled it in front of her. “He called me.”

  Allison took a deep breath. She just now realized how tense she was. She let her body relax a bit, and pulled back from Xander, feeling her joints ease a bit. She took a step back, then backed up into the kitchen and collapsed into a chair.

  Xander stood, a look of concern on his face. He walked over to her, knelt in front of her, and took her hand. He kissed it gently, and she felt the comfort of his cold lips upon her skin. He then stroked the back of her hand gently.

  “I know,” Xander said. “Everything that has happened over the past few months has been a lot to digest. And you’re handling it like a trooper. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need to let off some steam now and then.”

  Allison finally looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t even know why she was starting to cry. Maybe it was her mind’s way of coming to terms with this new, unconventional life. Maybe it was a result of the sudden panic she felt at Anton Leigh’s place when she realized how alone she was at that moment. Maybe she was still grieving for the normal, human Xander Reese she had fallen in love with so long ago.

  Xander rose and kissed her gently. “I love you, Allison Pratt,” he said. “And I always will. I know things have changed for me, and that means things have changed for us. But you have to know that I am the same person you loved before I died.”

  Allison blinked, feeling her eyes burn, and two large tears broke loose from her lids. Xander wiped them away.

  “I don’t want to lose myself,” Allison said. “I don’t want to become one of those people that your kind just control.”

  “Never,” Xander said, cupping her cheeks. “I would never do that to you. Yes, I have the ability to influence people and get in their heads. But not you. Never you.”

  “Promise?” she asked.

  Xander nodded. “Promise.” He then embraced her, and she buried her face in his shoulder, letting his arms engulf her and his scent surround her. She had never felt more secure.

  † † †

  Allison and Xander lay naked next to each other, him on his back and her stretched over his chest. They had not made love, but rather just held each other, skin to skin. Sometimes they didn’t need carnal pleasure. Sometimes they just needed to be close.

  They had been that way for less than an hour, but it had calmed Allison down considerably. Xander stroked her hair gently, letting his long fingers linger on her lower back.

  “How do you know?” Allison said quietly.

  “How do I know what?” Xander asked.

  “How do you know it’s not Anton Leigh? How do you know he’s not behind the new colony?”

  Xander’s hand stopped stroking her hair for a moment, then continued.

  “Because I know him, Allison,” Xander said. “He’s not like that. He’s never been like that.”

  Allison leaned off of Xander and laid on her side so she could see his face.

  “You k
now him?” Allison asked.

  Xander nodded.

  “How do you know him?” she asked.

  Xander paused for a moment, then said, “Because he is the one who helped me become a vampire.”

  CHAPTER 18

  Allison held on tightly to Xander’s coat at he bucked and soared over the streets of Cleveland. She knew she could have easily driven back out to Cleveland Heights, but she had no interest in retaining any sort of normalcy at this point. This entire visit would be far from normal, and both she and Xander knew this.

  From the moment Xander confessed to her that Anton Leigh was part of his past, Allison knew she needed the full truth. As Xander used his manipulative power to buoy himself and her in the air, Allison replayed the conversation they’d had in the bedroom back in her mind:

  “But you said The Sieve changed you,” Allison had said.

  “Yes,” Xander replied. “He is the one who killed me, and he is the one whose blood was in my system when I died. That’s what makes you a vampire.”

  “And this Anton Leigh was part of it?”

  “No. Like I said, Anton’s not like that. He’s not interested in amassing an army. He’s interested in amassing information.”

  “And how does that relate to you?”

  “He knew I was a cop. And he knew I was tracking down The Sieve. Anton had been keeping track of The Sieve for years, probably for decades. And he was following The Sieve’s plan since he first showed up in Cleveland.”

  “Why did he care?”

  “Because this is all about power. Some, like The Sieve, exert power through intimidation, violence, and manipulation. Anton exerts power with information. He knows dirty little secrets about everyone, especially those in the vampire community. The Sieve was making a power grab, and that bothered Anton.”

  “So where do you come in?”