Immortal (11 page)

The killer could have been anyone in the town. It could have been Fia.

With that disheartening thought, Fin stepped back. “When you’re done here, I want photos of the back door that was found unlocked.” He turned to another cop. “I want the perimeter of the arcade taped off. He wasn’t killed here. He was brought here after he was dead, which means there ought to be blood somewhere.”
Not even a greedy vampire could drink that much blood
. He looked down at the sandy cement floor, where he could make out the barest outline of drag marks.

“How far around the building you want the tape?” It was Johnny K., who’d been called back to work after the Meding murder while on vacation with his family.

“Johnny, he was killed somewhere else.” Fin gestured with an open palm, his frustration building. “I need to figure out where.”

“Could have been anywhere, Fin. What? We’re going to rope off the whole town?”

“If we have to,” Fin snapped. “And get shoe covers on. You’re standing on evidence.”

Johnny looked down at his shiny black shoes. “I don’t have any—”

Before Fin realized what he was doing, without moving a muscle, he made a fistful of shoe covers fly out of a box left on top of a video game and showered Johnny K. with them.

“
Jezus
, Fin.”

Fin looked up to see Regan walking toward him. He was wearing shorts and flip-flops and one of Fin’s favorite T-shirts. “What the hell are you doing here?” Fin demanded. “You’re not allowed—”

“Jezus, Mary, and Joseph,” Regan swore again, seeing Richie. He stopped short in front of the video game.

“You’re not supposed to be in here, Regan,” Fin repeated, feeling like he had no control whatsoever over his crime scene. “Who the hell let him in here?” His last question wasn’t directed toward anyone in particular. Most of the police force was there.

“He’s your brother, Fin,” Johnny K. muttered as he slipped a blue paper cover over his left foot. He was standing in a sea of shoe covers. Fin must have thrown half a box at him.

“Regan.” Fin grabbed his brother’s arm. “You can’t be here. This is a crime scene.”

“I’d say this is a crime, all right. Someone killed Richie. Why would anyone kill Richie?” Regan stood there and stared at the dead body. “He was, like, the nicest human on earth. And why is he playing NASCAR? He was way more a classic old-school pinball guy.”

“You knew Richie?”

“Of course.” Regan looked at Fin. “Anyone who hung around here knew Richie. He’s been working here since he was, like, fourteen. Mary McCathal made him the manager.”

“Wait a minute.” Fin closed his eyes. He could feel a headache coming on. A bad one. “Mary McCathal owns the arcade? I thought it was Mary Hill.”

“Mary and Bobby owned it, bro. Mary his wife, not Mary his girlfriend. You better get that one straight. What are you thinking?”

“What am I thinking?” he exploded, his eyes flying open. “I’m thinking that if we don’t find out who’s doing this, Regan, this could be the end of us.”

“It won’t be the end of us.” Regan laid his hand on Fin’s arm. “Worse comes to worst, we move. We’ve done it before. We can do it again.”

Fin was surprised by his brother’s physical contact and the emotional response he felt. Taken aback. It had been a long time since he had felt that kind of connection with his twin.

“It won’t be the end of us because you’ll figure it out, Fin,” Regan said quietly. “You’ll find out who’s doing this.”

Fin watched Regan walk away. “Where are you going?”

“You said I couldn’t be here,” he hollered, weaving his way between the video games, cops, and EMTs. “I’m going to Mom’s to get something to eat.”

“Get a job!” Fin called after him.

Without looking back, Regan gave a thumbs-up on his way out the door.

“U
m, you wanted to talk to me?”

Fin glanced up to see Rob Hill standing beside the video game, sunburned face apprehensive. He was a nice-looking kid, but still at that awkward age, all legs and arms. He had a quiet confidence that Fin knew in time would develop, making him one of the stronger, steadier males in the sept.

It was late afternoon. Fin had been at the arcade all day. Richie Palmer’s body had been removed and eventually Fin had ordered that the garage doors that opened the arcade onto the boardwalk be lifted. He just couldn’t stand the stench of the dead body and the blood still left in his body. Human blood went bad fast. Vampires didn’t partake of the blood of dead humans. It repulsed them. Or at least it repulsed most vampires.

Fin had been sitting at the NASCAR game for well over an hour. Just thinking. Trying to get a vibe. He’d actually considered bringing Kaleigh in to get her impression of the murder, but he hated to drag her into the investigation. She was still so young and the responsibility of being the sept’s wisewoman lay heavy on her youthful shoulders.

“Thanks for coming, Rob.”

He stood there, gangly teen-male arms at his sides. He stared at the game like it was some kind of apparition. “You found him here, huh?” he said softly.

“Yeah, but he wasn’t killed here.” Fin placed his hands on the steering wheel. There was still dusky print dust on it and it smudged his fingertips. “The body was left here after he was dead.”

“Makes sense.”

Surprised by Rob’s response, Fin glanced up. Having nothing to wipe his hands on, he wiped them on his uniform pants. “What does?”

He shrugged. “Why he’s here. I doubt Richie would have sat down here on his own. He didn’t play this game.”

Regan had suggested the same thing. Fin climbed out of the seat. He was taller than Rob but not by much. “What did he play?”

Rob hesitated. “He was real conscientious about work. I swear. He didn’t play much when he was on the clock.”

“Look, I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble, Rob.” His gaze strayed to the boardwalk. There was still yellow tape keeping patrons and gawkers from entering the arcade, but they had lined up along the tape, humans and vampires alike. A few cameras flashed and there was a local news crew just wrapping up a piece that would, no doubt, show on the evening news.

Fin felt like he was in a fishbowl. He turned his back to the crowd so he was facing Rob. “Honestly, I don’t give a crap if you guys screw around all day and give free game play to every cute chick who steps through the door. I’m trying to figure out who did this.”

“And you need me?” Rob sounded half incredulous, half scared.

“You worked with Richie since the beginning of the summer, right?”

Rob nodded. “Last summer, too. But not the year before.” He grimaced. “I was kinda…too old for arcade games.”

Fin offered a wry grin. Rob was referring to the fact that he had only been reborn last year. Before that, he had been a wrinkled old man. “Right. So what was Richie like? Who did he hang out with?”

“He was a good guy.” Rob shrugged. “You know, for a human. He didn’t steal money and he didn’t let anyone else steal, either. And he was always at work on time,” he added.

“Friends?”

“Umm. He was dating this girl, Brittany Patterson, but she didn’t come in that much. He had this one HM friend who used to come around once in a while with the girlfriend. I think his name is…Todd. That was it.”

Fin lowered his voice. “What about us?”

Rob looked at him in obvious confusion. “Us?”

“Who did he hang around with from Clare Point?”

“Oh,
us
. I don’t know that he hung around with any of us.” Rob’s eyes suddenly widened. “You don’t think—”

The cat would soon be out of the bag. Vampire out of the closet—however you wanted to say it. But Fin hadn’t yet told anyone that a vampire had been responsible for Colin Meding’s death. Now with a second death, he would have to address the General Council again and tell them. But he didn’t have to tell anyone yet. Not today and not Rob. “Come on, Rob. All our teens come here, too. See anyone flirting with him? Talking to him?”

“Everyone talked to him.”

“But anyone
in particular?
” Fin fought his impatience. Rob was trying. He really was.

“Katy?” Rob finally blurted. It was a question.

Fin exhaled through his mouth.

Katy was an unlikely candidate. Everyone knew she was a big flirt. She flirted with every male between the ages of fifteen and thirty, human or vampire, but he knew her pretty well. She wasn’t a killer. “What about someone…older?”

As he said it, a couple possibilities flitted through his head. Eva was a lesbian, but she’d been known to sleep with men and she had a mean streak in her. And then there was Tara. She’d killed that pirate back a few centuries ago just for trying to cop a feel. And it had been with a knife…a butcher knife she’d been carving a roast with.

“Like who?” Rob asked. He was beginning to squirm now.

“I don’t know. Just think. What Kahills do you remember him being friendly with?”

“He was really just friendly with Regan.”

Rob seemed hopeful
that
would be the right answer. Like he was on some quiz show. Kids today, they were
way
too influenced by television and movies.

“Regan?” Fin repeated.

Rob nodded. “They were pretty good friends, I think. When Richie would take his dinner break, sometimes he and Regan would get fries and sit on the beach and talk.”

Fin wondered why his brother hadn’t brought up that fact when he’d been here, but Fin had learned long ago there was no sense racking his brain trying to figure out why Regan did anything. “Okay.” Fin squeezed Rob’s arm. “I need you to make a list of everyone who was in the arcade in the last day or so. I really need you to think about this, buddy.”

Rob appeared to be looking beyond Fin, at someone in the crowd. “Everyone?” he asked.

“Anyone and everyone.” Fin patted him on the back. “Can you do that?”

“This minute? I…I was supposed to meet Kaleigh.”

Fin watched Rob’s gaze stray past him again. “Kaleigh can wait. Find some paper and a pen in the office.” He started to turn around, now as distracted as Rob. “Who are you looking at?”

“Elena. She’s trying to get my attention.” Rob pointed.

Fin saw her at once. She was wearing a lavender sundress and her hair was pulled back chicly in a slick ponytail. He looked at Rob again. “You know Elena?”

“Sure. She’s here all the time.”

Somehow, Fin didn’t see her as the arcade type. “She is?”

“Yeah. Usually looking for her nephew. She knew Richie. Talked to him whenever she came in.” His brow furrowed. “I think she was here yesterday. Yeah, definitely.”

“Just see what you can do about that list of names.” Fin patted Rob on the back and walked away.

Elena smiled when Fin made eye contact.

“Hey,” he said quietly as he approached the yellow tape.

“Hey.”

“You trying to get Rob’s attention?” He pointed to the teen.

She laughed. “I was trying to get him to get
your
attention.”

“Ah.” He nodded. It was good to see her. He’d talked to her on the phone a couple of times in the last week, but they hadn’t gotten together since the night at her cottage.

She tucked her hands behind her, looking utterly seductive. “So, you trying to avoid me, Officer Kahill?” She reached out and smoothed his tie.

Fin glanced around to see who was watching. He ran his hand over the tie where her hand had just been. He could feel the heat of her hand on the fabric. “No, of course not. Like I said on the phone, I’ve just been—”

“Busy,” she finished for him. “Is that what nice American men say when they do not want to see a woman again after they have made love to her? They just say they’re
busy?”
She seemed more amused than upset.

“Elena.” He ducked under the tape and grabbed her hand. “I’ll be back,” he called to the nearest officer. Her hand in his, he led her away from the crowd.

Beyond the confining walls of the arcade, Fin was able to catch his breath. Despite the heat of the June day, the air was refreshing. Out here, he felt as if he could think more clearly. “I told you things were complicated right now.” He let go of her hand. If he was going to do this, he knew it would only be a matter of time before someone saw him, but he preferred it would be later rather than sooner. Especially with another dead body lying in Dr. Caldwell’s office.

“You want to grab a drink? I only have a few minutes.” He gestured to a burger place two shops down from the arcade.

“I would love to.” She smiled as if he had invited her to the Queen’s Jubilee birthday bash.

He opened the door for her and a blast of cold air hit him.

“Ahhh,” she breathed, caressing her bare neck with her fingertips. “That feels great. It is so hot out. I had forgotten how hot it could be in America.”

“Iced tea?” He tried not to watch her fingers as they brushed over her skin.

“Yes, thank you.”

He collected two iced teas at the lunch counter and they walked to the booth farthest from the door. The shop was narrow, only wide enough for one row of booths and a walkway, which made the back table discreet. She slid in on one of the benches and he sat across from her. He fiddled with the paper on his straw. She was still stroking her neck. It was all he could do not to lean across the table and—

“I’m sorry about the death of the young man,” she said.

“You knew him?”

“No.”

Fin met her gaze. There was something…
odd
about her tone of voice.

“Not really,” she continued. “But I have spoken to him several times. My nephew loses track of the time sometimes.” She hadn’t touched her tea. She was no longer stroking her neck, but her manicured hand rested at the base of her throat. “He was a nice young man, Richie. Very handsome.”

Fin lifted an eyebrow.

She shrugged theatrically. “What can I say, Fin? I am a woman who appreciates a handsome man.”

“He was twenty years old, Elena.”

“I have not tried to hide the fact that I find young men attractive. Good news for you, no?”

He took a sip of the sweet iced tea. She was a complicated woman. More complicated than he had first anticipated. He liked complicated. He liked the challenge. “Were you looking for me for a reason?”

“I assumed you would be there. Call it girlish, but I just wanted to see you.”

He reached across the narrow Formica tabletop and took her hand that still rested on her throat. “It’s not that I didn’t want to see you.”

“It is that you are busy. With the murder. Murders,” she corrected herself.

“I wanted to see you. I just—”

“You just what, Fin?” She leaned against the table, capturing his hand between hers. “It is just sex between two consenting adults. I didn’t ask you to marry me.”

She smiled a smile so beautiful that he wanted to take her here. Now. So what if it was taboo. Sex with humans and sex on a Formica lunch table in front of half the town.

“Come tonight,” she whispered.

“I…I don’t know if I can.”

Fin sensed his brother approaching before he heard the jingle of the bell above the luncheonette door. He sat back on the bench, pulling away from Elena.
Walk away
, he telepathed.

No way
, his brother answered.
This is too good. Caught red-handed with an oh-so-hot HF. What are we to do with you, big brother?

I’ll kill you if you speak a word out of line,
Fin warned, thinking he was probably telepathing so hard that he was grimacing.

Too bad I can’t die, eh, bro?
“Hello,” Regan said, sliding into the booth next to Elena. He offered his hand. “Regan Kahill, black sheep of the family and brother to this white sheep.”

“I see the resemblance,” she teased, recovering quickly from the obvious surprise that Fin had an identical twin. “Elena Ruffino.”

He shook her hand. “You have a niece and a nephew.” He clicked his fingers. “Beppe and Lia, right? Hang out around the arcade.”

“I have two nieces. There is also Alessa. Would you care to join us for a cool drink?”

Absolutely not
, Fin telepathed.

No way I’m missing this
, Regan flipped back. “I’d love to. I can grab my own. Be right back.” He bounced off the bench and walked to the lunch counter.

“I should get back to the arcade,” Fin said. “We still have some things to wrap up there. Can I walk you somewhere?”

“We have not been here five minutes. You need to rest. How can you solve the murder if you do not rest your mind and your body?” she plied, a calming hand over his.