La Vida Vampire (13 page)

“Maybe you should’ve had a double,” Saber drawled.

I jerked around to find him closer than he should’ve been.
Super Hearing Fails Vampire Again.
Millie sniffed. “Maybe you’re the problem, Mr.—”

“Are you the vampire?” a new voice on my left demanded.

I glanced over my shoulder to see four women dressed in more leather than an entire herd of cows. Black leather bustiers, second-skin pants, ankle boots with three-inch heels, and long coats. Their acrylic nails—and exposed midriffs—were stark white in contrast. So were the fake fangs flashing behind bright red lips. None of them more than twenty -five or-six, they made the goth gang look mature and well-dressed by comparison. Worse, faint bite marks dotted their necks and exposed arms. I was thinking,
Yikes,
but must’ve nodded.

The tallest of the foursome, long-legged and black-haired, looked me up and down. “We’re going on your tour.”

“To check you out for the Daytona vampirth,” a blonde added, lisping the
s.
Pointing to the tallest girl first, she introduced them as Claire, Barb, and Tetha. “And I’m Thithi.”

I almost said, “I’m Thethca,” but caught myself when Barb and Tessa, both redheads, waggled their fingers and flashed big fangy smiles at Saber.

“Hi, Deke.”

“We’ve missed seeing you at the club,” Tessa pouted.

Yeesh. Wasn’t this just peachy. Gun-toting seniors, a reporter, Saber, and now blood bunnies. That’s what they had to be. Human women who wore fake fangs and got their jollies hanging out with vampires. I ’d read an article about blood bunnies, but seeing them was another plane of weird. If Stony
did
show, it’d be the highlight of the evening. Saber had mentioned Ike this afternoon. Now the blood bunnies showed up. Coincidence? I thought not. I wanted to bang my head on the nearest coquina wall.

I plastered on a smile instead. “Welcome to the Old Coast Ghost Walk. We’re a bit late getting started, so hand me your tickets, and let’s get right along, shall we?”

NINE

The biting ghost didn’t manifest at the oldest drugstore, but the angry spirit of Fay ’s House made up for it. When Fay’s wrathful face loomed in the window, her mouth moving in silent curses, a fierce wind gust rose to sound as if she were calling the hell-hounds on us. The other tourists didn’t seem shaken, but the blood bunnies screamed like preschoolers. A bigger person might’ve been sympathetic. I wasn’t. I gave Fay a thumbs-up. Probably shouldn’t encourage the cranky spirit, but who did these bimbos think they were, coming to check me out? More important, had this little field trip been their idea, or had the head honcho, Ike, put them up to it? If so, why? VPA Dave had told me Ike ruled his illegal but overlooked nest with an iron fang, but he’d never so much as acknowledged my existence. Until now.

The bride Yolette and Ike’s second-in-command vampire were both dead. What did they have in common, other than Stony and the Covenant? I wished Saber was off investigating that angle instead of trailing me, though it
had
been fun to watch him try to avoid the blood bunnies all night. Without success.

Of course, I’d quickly and quietly reassured Millie, Kay, and Grace that the blood bunnies ’ fangs were as fake as their nails. Probably their boobs, too. Reporter Paul didn’t seem to care, judging by the drooling way he watched the women. They batted their eyes at Paul and Mick, but they darn near draped themselves on Saber. He scowled through the tour. I smiled.

Mick abandoned me after the drugstore visit, heartless wretch. But it was our last stop and only two short blocks from our starting point. I rattled off my closing spiel at close to eleven o’clock and waved a figurative, not-fond farewell to the blood bunnies. Reporter Paul trailed after them, poor deluded guy. Someone ought to warn him, though it wasn’t gonna be me. I thanked Millie, Kay, and Grace for coming and was enfolded in another Shalimar hug before they walked jauntily off. Geez, they had more energy than I did.

Saber didn’t wait five seconds after the ladies left to annoy me. More than he already had, that is. Truth is, seeing him again tonight made me breathless. Could be that his faint musky smell was giving me some vampire version of asthma. Or it could be just plain nerves.

“How many of those women carry concealed?”

I contained my start, just barely. “The blood bunnies? You’d know better than I would.”

He shook his head, a small smile playing on his sensuous—yes, sensuous—mouth. He bugs me, but I’m not immune to his attributes.

“Come on. I overheard that ‘Ixnay on the gun-ay talk-ay’ business. You suck at pig Latin.”

I shrugged, wrapped my cloak tighter, and started hoofing it south on St. George. “Tour’s over. Good-bye, Saber.”

He stuck his hands in his pockets and fell into step on my right. I thought about turning on the vampire speed, but nervous as I was, I might fall on my face. I walked energetically instead. Saber kept pace.

“I’m not planning to run the senior citizens in, you know. You can talk to me.”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Because I’m interested in you.”

“You are?” My heartbeat jumped. The only man who’d intrigued me in centuries was interested in me?

“Sure. I may be a preternatural expert, but I can always learn something. You’re a new breed of vampire to me.”

Feeling more sexless than ever, I kicked myself for thinking he meant anything personal. “So I’m, what, some kind of science experiment?”

“Your smart brain might want to remind your smart mouth that I ’m also investigating a case you’re connected to.” He paused a beat. “Like it or not.”

I stopped short, planted my fists on my hips. “In other words, you want to continue the interrogation.”

“If you’re willing.”

“You think I fell off the dumb wagon? My attorney will have a fit if I talk to you without her present.”

“You held your own this afternoon.”

“And, surprise! I’m doing it now.” I stomped off again, nursing a bruised ego.

“Tell you what. I won’t ask you about the murder. We’ll just chat.”

“Chat? Who are you, and what have you done with the jerk from the sheriff’s office?”

He flashed a smile, and laugh lines crinkled around his amazing blue eyes. Who knew he had laugh lines? Who knew he laughed?

“You like being a vampire?”

“Since I don’t have a choice, I like it a lot better now than I used to.”

“Because of the whole villagers-uprising-to-burn-you-out thing?”

I blinked at him. Nah, he couldn’t know about that unless he’d read the newspaper article. “Actually, because I don’t have to live with vampires and play their politics.”

“I wouldn’t think a princess vampire had to play politics.”

I groaned. “You did see that article, huh?”

“Looked it up online. Seems like you had it pretty good.”

“Oh, sure, I did. The ranking vampires in Normand’s court just loved it when the king made me his princess and second-incommand. Yeah, they partied for days over that.”

“Aw, did the poor vampire princess not have any friends?”

Triton flashed in my mind’s eye, but that’s not what made me stop again. Dark of the moon, iffy psychic senses and all, the hair on my nape stiffened. Magick scraped against my skin.

I scanned my surroundings. We stood at the intersection of St. George and Hypolita. In the iron-gated park to my left—

nothing. At the pub up the block, three men smoked in the doorway. A tour train idled at the stop sign. In the Columbia Restaurant courtyard to my right, a man with dreadlocks played the flute. Late for a street performer to be out, but not unheard of. Wait. The tour train didn’t fit. Both companies quit running by five every evening, unless perhaps it was a special tour. But only the driver was on board.

I peered at his fiftyish, careworn face and the shaggy gray hair peppered with blue black strands. He met my gaze with an intensity that gave me goose bumps, then shifted gears and drove on through the intersection. When the last car passed, Cat—giant Cat—sat by a bollard on the other side of St. George Street as if it had hopped off the train.

“Oh, so it’s you,” I muttered.

“Rrryyyow,”
Cat answered, tail whipping side to side.

“Shit,” Saber swore. “That’s the biggest damn cat I’ve ever seen. Must need a hell of a litter box.”

Cat gave Saber a long, unfriendly look, snorted, and rose to trot south on St. George as if leading the way home. I rubbed my temples and followed.

“You act like you have a headache,” Saber commented.

“I think I do.”

“Vampires don’t get diseases, they don’t get sick, and they sure as hell don’t get headaches.”

“See, that’s your problem, Saber. You see me only as a vampire. I’m also female, and we can get headaches any time we darn well please.”

Did I screech the end of that statement
juuust
a little? Tough. He was jumping on my last frayed nerve. I glanced at my Timex with the illuminated dial feature I didn ’t need. Four more blocks to walk. If I hurried, I could catch
Night Court.
I’d feel
much
better then.

“Why do you wear a nightglow watch? You can’t have bad eyesight.”

“My sponsor gave it to me,” I said and picked up my pace.

“Right, Maggie.” He strode beside me in blessed silence for a minute. “I read Detective March’s interview with Neil Benson.”

“Uh-huh.”

“He calls you Fresca?”

“Sometimes.”

At Treasury Street, Cat veered left, and so did Saber. Since I was on his left, he plowed smack into me. He reached to steady himself or me, I wasn’t sure which. His arms tightened around me, his body brushed mine, and, big,
big
, uh-oh. Besides feeling his gun pressing into my hip, a lower part of him stirred. Damn it. I
soooo
didn’t need this. A distant, vague attraction I could deal with. My erogenous zones doing the happy dance? No. Oh, definitely no. Not when I was a science experiment to the guy.

“What are you doing?” I said, aiming for haughty instead of hot-to-trot.

“Following your cat.”

“She’s not mine. If she were, I’d have sicced her on you. You wanna let go now?”

He gave me a wicked grin but stepped away. I continued down St. George Street without another word.

“Wait. You’re walking past the cathedral?” he asked with a smidgen of concern as he leapt to catch up again. Cat did, too, prancing out in front of us.

“Why not? You think I’ll burst into flames?” I heaved a purposely dramatic sigh. “For a preternatural crimes expert, you have an awfully narrow view of preternatural people.”

“You’re not a typical vampire.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“By Mick?”

“No, by Neil.”

“You have a thing going with him?”

“Yuck, no. He’s Maggie’s man.” I turned left on Cathedral Place into a face full of wind and the tangy smell of the bay. Only a half block to home.

“What
is
your relationship with Neil?”

“We surf sometimes, and we get along for Maggie’s sake.”

“You surfing tomorrow morning?”

“Duh. No. Detective March has my board.
And
I have to work with the sketch artist at eight.”

“What are you doing the rest of tonight?”

“Taking my design course online, reading, maybe watching a movie.” I needed to chill out, for sure.

“What about tomorrow night?”

“I’m taking dance lessons. The salsa, since I know you’re going to ask.”

“You sound like you plan every second of your life.”

I shrugged. “I like knowing what to expect every day.”

“What else do you do on your nights off?”

“Play bridge. Take classes. Shop at Wal-Mart.”

“Wal-Mart?” From the corner of my eye, I saw him shake his head. “Like I said, you’re
not
a typical vampire.”

Cat trotted right past my door tonight. I stopped, and she let out a low
rrryyyow.
I paid no attention because, yippyskippy, I could ditch Saber now.

“Fun as this has not been,” I said, pulling my key from my pocket, “twenty questions time is up. I hope you find Stony or whoever killed Yolette.”

“Rrryyyow,”
Cat growled louder and leapt back to pounce on the hem of my cloak.

“Is this a kiss-off?”

“You’re the investigator. Draw your own conclusions.”

Still growling, Cat bit my cloak and pulled hard. Off balance, I stumbled a few steps. Fortunately, not into Saber. Cat spat the material out, turned toward the bay again, stopped, and looked over her shoulder. I had the insane urge to say, “What is it, Lassie?”

Saber more or less did. “I’d swear that animal wants you to follow her.”

“Maybe,” I said, poking my key in the lock, “but it’s not happening.”

I was tired, stressed and, where Saber was concerned, too interested for my own good. Plus, maybe I’d watched one too many mysteries, but Cat was spooking me out more than she had on Monday. I couldn’t stop her from showing up, but I sure as heck didn’t have to follow her.

Cat stalked back and
rrryyyow
ed pitifully as she sat near the stoop.

“Come on, Princess, where’s your sense of adventure?”

“It’s Cesca and, hello, finding a dead body is enough adventure for one day.”

He glanced down at Cat. “Is she always this prickly?”

I swear Cat shrugged her shoulders.
“Rrryyyow.”

As the door shut, I heard him say, “See you tomorrow.” Oddly, it sounded more like a promise than a threat, but that would be civil bordering on mannerly. Saber was only setting a trap. He had to be, after the way he’d acted at the sheriff’s office. That or he had one hell of a Jekyll-Hyde complex.

“I talked to Sandy tonight,” Maggie said, after giving me an exuberant hug as soon as I walked in the penthouse. Ever supportive, that’s my friend. Dressed in mint green sweats, she pulled me to the couch with Neil looking on from the kitchen.

“She said you were brilliant in the interview. Composed and thorough in your answers.”

I shrugged out of my cloak and toed off damp slippers before sitting beside her. “Did she say anything else? Like when things would get back to normal?”