Blood Wyne (35 page)
Roman laughed again. “Soon. Would you like to be there?”
My fingers itched to see Terrance get his just due. “If possible, yes.”
“I’ll remember that. Now, in terms of your vampire serial killer, what did Ivana find out for you?”
“Nothing about him, but she helped with the ghosts.” I leaned over the railing, staring out into the city. “We have to find him. If he hasn’t killed again, he’s bound to soon. I don’t want to see another woman lose her life to him.”
At that moment, my cell phone rang. I pulled it out and gave Roman an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I have to answer. Could be . . . Hello?”
“Menolly, there’s been another murder. Get down to the Greenbelt Park District. A back alley near the diner. Follow the lights of the patrol cars.” Chase’s voice was abrupt, and he sounded tired.
“Fuck! Damn it to hell. Another one.” I shoved my cell back in my pocket. “I have to get back to the bar. I need my Jag. What’s the quickest way back?”
“Can’t you fly?” Roman’s brow narrowed. He looked confused.
“Fly? Oh babe, sorry. And I’m no good at doing the bat thing, either. I am vampirically challenged.”
He snorted. “Very well. Come here.”
Enfolding me in his arms, he pulled me up to stand beside him on the walkway. Before I had the chance to say a word, he had tipped us sideways and we were plunging toward the ground. I was about to scream when we caught up short on the breeze and, like a rocket, blurring through the streets, we flew.
We passed through the blur of concrete and lights faster than I’d thought possible. Within a couple of minutes, we were standing beside the bar, and I was leaning against my Jag.
“You have to teach me that,” I said, a faint smile on my face. “You want to come with?”
Roman shook his head. “No, this is not my affair. But go and good hunting. Stop him. I will be in touch.” And like a dark shadow, he was gone and within a moment, a dark limo pulled away from the curb up ahead and sped into the night.
I took a moment to recoup and then climbed into my Jag and slammed the door. As I fastened my seat belt and started the car, I couldn’t help but wonder where everything was leading me. I’d killed Sassy and reclaimed a friendship I’d thought long gone. My daughter, Erin, was set to work with a group I approved of. Nerissa and I were in love and engaged. Roman had claimed me for his consort. And over everything, Shadow Wing still loomed, dark and ominous.
And here, tonight, murder reigned. Bodies here, bodies there, corpses, bodies, everywhere, and not a killer in sight to catch.
I parked near the first patrol car I found and headed toward the sounds emerging from the alleyway ahead. This time, the girl was still warm. A fresh kill meant that our vampire was probably still in the area. I was looking for Chase when I got a call from Wade.
“Menolly, I think I’ve got something for you. I was trying to remember what seemed wrong about that one vampire I told you about. Tonight, I was watching TV and it hit me.”
“Talk to me, babe. We just found another victim and he might still be in the area.” I caught sight of Chase, over by a prone body, and waved to him. Pressing my phone closer to my ear to block out the low buzz of voices coming from the cops, I said, “What have you got?”
“He was wearing a clerical collar.”
“Say what?” I leaned against my car, wondering if I’d heard him right.
“I said, he was wearing a clerical collar. That’s what struck me as so odd.”
“You think he may be a priest?”
“No—I’m thinking he may have
been
one. Or a minister. Or some other member of the clergy.” He paused. “If so, being turned into a vampire could very well have messed with his belief system and mind bad enough to make him kill. Remember, I was a psychologist before I was killed. This would be the classic setup for a serial killer of the undead set.”
been
one. Or a minister. Or some other member of the clergy.” He paused. “If so, being turned into a vampire could very well have messed with his belief system and mind bad enough to make him kill. Remember, I was a psychologist before I was killed. This would be the classic setup for a serial killer of the undead set.”
“But why would he kill one type of woman, over and over?”
“Think about it for a minute.” Wade let me figure it out for myself.
“Oh, Great Mother.” And I knew. I knew exactly why our killer had turned into a serial killer. “He’s attacking his sire, over and over.”
“There you have it.” I couldn’t see him through the phone, but I could hear Wade smiling.
“I’ve got to go. I need to tell Chase what we’re dealing with.”
“Do you want me down there? Maybe I can help.”
I thought. Camille and Trillian were spent. Morio was out of commission. Vanzir was at home protecting Iris and Maggie. Smoky and Roz were gone. Delilah was still recovering from her injury. It was either wait for Shade to get here or . . .
“Yeah.” I gave him the address. “Hurry.”
“Chase!” I slapped my phone shut and hurried over to the detective. “I know why he’s killing them. I know who we’re looking for.”
“Who is he?” Chase whirled, a look of relief on his face.
“I don’t have a name, but I’ve got his profile. Wade remembered that the guy who seemed odd—that he was wearing a clerical collar.”
Chase shook his head. “And?”
“Ten to one our suspect was a priest or other clergy member while alive. We think his sire was posing as a prostitute. This would explain why he’s targeting hookers with similar looks. His sire probably has long brown hair and was around that age when she was turned.”
Illumination washed over Chase’s face. “Crap. And when he was turned . . .”
“Right—he had a psychotic break. His conscience couldn’t reconcile his old beliefs with his new state of being. Wade’s on his way to help. Now that we know what his motives are, maybe we can track him.”
Chase nodded. “Got your drift.” He put in a call to Yugi. “Listen, check on any priests or clergy members that have gone missing over the past six months for me, would you?” He glanced at me and added, “Also, any who have died in that time period. I need the info ASAP. Find out the locations of where they died or went missing, too.”
As he hung up, we came to the girl. She was splayed out like the others, her skirt ripped away from her, her private areas bloody and maimed. He was getting worse, that much was apparent. I averted my eyes, wanting to give her privacy, though I knew she would never have privacy again until she was in the grave, and then she’d have an eternity of it.
Chase hung his head and let out a long sigh. “He sure hates hookers. Probably women in general.”
“I’m so tired of this shit,” I whispered, turned away.
“So am I.” Chase slid a hand on my shoulder. I glanced at it, considering shaking him off—I really wasn’t in the mood to be comforted—but realized he meant well.
“I can tell by the smell, even from here, that we’re dealing with the same vampire. The scent of death and mold and . . . mold . . .”
Wait a minute.
“I smell mold.”
Wait a minute.
“I smell mold.”
I hurried to her side and knelt down, sniffing near her neck. “Chase, there’s only a residue of the scent, but she’s been around viro-mortis slime. And I guarantee you that she hasn’t been prowling around in the tunnels. This verifies it, he’s using Underground Seattle—the hidden part—as his base. He must have brushed up against a wall. This smells like green viro-mortis slime, so it wouldn’t be too dangerous to him.”
“You mean we have to go back down there? With those ghosts?” Chase paled.
“No. I mean
I
have to go back down there. You stay topside. I’ll wait for Wade, though. Maybe together, he and I can trace our vamp. At least Ivana Krask ate up a lot of the ghosts . . . at that one particular juncture.”
I
have to go back down there. You stay topside. I’ll wait for Wade, though. Maybe together, he and I can trace our vamp. At least Ivana Krask ate up a lot of the ghosts . . . at that one particular juncture.”
Chase’s phone rang and he flipped it open. “Yes? What?” He shifted to pull out his pen and notebook, jotting something down as he listened. “Right. Where was he last seen? . . . Good work.”
After he hung up, Chase scribbled on another sheet and tore it off, handing it to me. “We have our man. A priest named Charles Shalimar disappeared two months ago. Guess where he disappeared from?”
“The Greenbelt Park District?”
“Bingo. There’s a Catholic church near the park—Our Lady of Mercy—and several priests live at the rectory. Charles didn’t come home from a late-night visit to the hospital where one of his parishioners had asked for him. From what Yugi said, someone looked into the disappearance but nothing was found, and for some reason, nothing more was ever done or said.”
“Where was he last seen?”
“He said good-bye to the night nurse after his charge died and mentioned something about walking home. The hospital is about ten blocks from the church and the quickest route would have taken him right through the park.”
Chase held up his phone. Yugi had e-mailed him a picture of the priest. He looked to be in good shape for his age and physically fit. But not fit enough to fight off a vampire.
“The park . . . where we’ve found most of the victims.”
“Yeah. Apparently he’s returning to the scene of his own murder.”
I pulled out my cell. “Can you e-mail me that picture, so I know who I’m looking for?”
“Sure thing.” He punched in my number. “One other thing, Menolly.”
“What?”
“Be careful. Yugi mentioned that we’ve been getting reports tonight of vampires around the city being attacked. It looks like the Earthborn brotherhood’s up in arms and taking action. Two members of the cult have shown up dead with vampire punctures. I’m going to have to go on TV with a press conference here in a bit.”
Great, one more thing to worry about. I nodded, and as soon as Yugi beamed me a picture of the good priest, I jogged back to the manhole cover to wait for Wade. I was tempted to head down without him, to rampage through every tunnel and opening, but I knew better. Dealing with a psychotic vampire wasn’t going to be easy, even with my strength. Psychosis made for strength.
While I waited, I thought over the situation. There were far-reaching consequences that I really didn’t want to see happen. The fallout onto the vampire rights movement was going to be deadly. For one thing, the church was not going to be forgiving of a vampire turning one of their priests.
They’d been relatively quiet on the whole issue, only issuing a statement that once a mortal died, his or her soul moved on so whatever was left could not be considered the same person as they were before. Thank heavens, the law ignored their moral imperative, because they were wrong. All vampires retained their souls—we were stuck in our bodies, unable to break free until the sun, a stake through the heart, or in some cases extreme fire put an end to us.
But although the church had not been our friend, neither had it been our enemy. No, it had been the fringe cults that had sprung up. When the portals opened and we came over from Otherworld, the cults had taken root. They’d grown when the Earthside Supes came out of the closet. The fringe faction were reactionary. They didn’t have much to lose, unlike the government and religious institutions, so they could afford to become extremists.
But with this, would the truly religious take up the crusade against vampires? Would they join the ranks of the Earthborn Brethren? And what would they do once they found out about the demons?
All of this was running through my head as I waited for Wade. Half a block away, Chase and his men worked over the crime scene. To pass the time, I pulled out my phone and punched speed dial for home. Iris answered.
“Iris, hey . . .” I stopped. How the fuck could I tell her everything that had passed so far this evening? Luckily, she’d already heard some of it.
“Menolly! Where are you? Camille called, so worried about you. She told me what happened at the hospital.”
I could hear the question behind her words. “I’m all right. I had to get out of there. The pull to Morio was too strong. I spent some time with Roman to take the edge off. But I’ve got news about our vampire serial killer—he was a priest, and he’s targeting women who remind him of his sire, who posed as a hooker. I’m waiting for Wade. We’re going back in the tunnels to find him.”
“What about the ghosts?” Her voice was soft, a tremor of fear behind it.
“Ivana dealt with most of them. And hey, two vampires are better than one, right?”
“Just you be careful, missy. Maggie needs you. We all need you.” She hesitated, then added, “You know none of this is your fault, right?”
“Morio is. I know people are saying no, he just was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the fact is he pushed me out of the way to save my life, and he almost died for it. I’ll never forget it. I’ll never look at him without remembering that.”
“Menolly, do you think Chase feels that way about Zachary? Zach did the same thing, and Karvanak paralyzed him. He’s forever maimed for performing a selfless act. But Chase doesn’t blame himself, does he?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he should. Maybe not, but
I
can’t forget it. The look on Camille’s face, and what happened to her afterward—”
I
can’t forget it. The look on Camille’s face, and what happened to her afterward—”
“What are you talking about?”
Crap.
I almost blurted out Camille and Vanzir’s secret. “Nothing. Never mind and please, don’t ask.” With relief, I saw Wade pull up in his black Beamer. “Wade’s here. I have to go. I’ll call you as soon as I’m able. But please, don’t worry. We’ll be okay. We should be fine, especially now that we know who we’re looking for.”
I almost blurted out Camille and Vanzir’s secret. “Nothing. Never mind and please, don’t ask.” With relief, I saw Wade pull up in his black Beamer. “Wade’s here. I have to go. I’ll call you as soon as I’m able. But please, don’t worry. We’ll be okay. We should be fine, especially now that we know who we’re looking for.”
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