Vampire Dating Agency III (8 page)

CHAPTER
THIRTY

“– ANNE!”

Jason woke up
in the middle of the night screaming her name.

He put a hand
to the place beside him in bed, and his wife Amelia stirred.

“What did you
say honey…?” she mumbled.

Jason found
himself unable to answer her.

He got stuck
choking on air.

“Was it
another nightmare? Or was it…”

“Go … go back
to sleep,” Jason finally muttered. He kissed her on the forehead, and then
shifted his feet over the side of the bed. He felt around blindly for his
walking stick.

“Goddamn it,”
he whispered.

“What are you
after?” Amelia said switching on the bed-light.

“My stick. I need
it.”

“Oh. I hung
it up in the closet. So no one trips over it.”

“But … But…”

“Do you want
me to get it for you?”

“No thank
you. I’ll … I’ll manage…”

Jason
strained his muscles and forced himself to stand upright. He began taking tiny
steps across the carpet. Sweat dripped across his forehead. He clutched onto
the edge of the bed for support.

“Are you sure
I can’t get it for you? It’s no trouble.”

“Thanks,
dear. I’m almost there.”

Jason let go
of the bed. He hobbled towards the cupboard.

When he
reached it he was panting. Out of breath.

He pulled
back one of the doors and felt around the racks.

“To your
left,” Amelia offered.

“Thank you.”

He had the
stick.

He closed the
door and made his way out of the room.

He staggered
out into the darkness of the lounge room, and switched on the air conditioner.
He collapsed into his recliner and pushed the lever back so to elevate his
feet.

Then he just
stared.

Into nothing.

“I’m sorry,
Roxanne,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”

He closed his
eyes but the tears still ran.

“Why can’t
you just leave me alone? There’s nothing I can do. I can’t bring you back. And
whoever did this to you … They’re … untouchable…”

He put a hand
to his mouth.

Ashamed of
himself.

Ashamed he
uttered the words.

But, how he
had tried. He had done everything he could to piece together the puzzle, but he
always came up short in the end.

He still
believed Brock did it.

But the
monster was gone now. Never seen again after that night.

Same for
Julian.

For Haley…

“I’m sorry,
okay,” Jason mumbled. “I don’t know where she is. I don’t know where to look.”

“Daddy…?” a
girl’s voice called behind him. “Who are you talking to?”

Jason glanced
behind him.

He forced his
bravest smile. “No one. I mean, I was talking to myself.”

His daughter
moved round the chair to stand in front of him.

“What’s the
matter?” he asked. “Can’t sleep either?”

“Talking to
yourself means you’re crazy.”

“What?” Jason
protested. “No, it doesn’t. You talk to yourself don’t you?”

“Sometimes.”

“Exactly. I
was just … I wasn’t even talking to myself actually.”

“Well, who
were you talking to?”

“An old
friend of mine who isn’t here anymore.”

“Well if she
isn’t here, how can you be talking to her?”

“Well. I
guess she is here with me. In spirit that is.”

Silence.

“I don’t like
it when you’re unhappy, Daddy.”

“It’s … okay
… really. I’m not that unhappy. I have you and Mommy remember?”

“But what
about your friend? When will she go away?”

Jason leaned
back in his chair. “I don’t know, honey,” he said. “I just don’t know.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

“Hands on the wall, inmate.”

It wasn’t a
request. Even as she moved to comply, she just wasn’t fast enough.

The guard
shoved her against the bare concrete exterior, feeling up underneath her shirt.
Grasping her breasts. Pinching her nipples. Moving down below…

She said
nothing in response.

She didn’t
even make eye contact when he forced her back round to face him.

“Alright. In
you go. Don’t keep the man waiting.”

She slunk out
of the guard’s reach and opened the door adjacent. She was now in a small
office occupied by a man she didn’t recognize. He was on the phone with
someone.

“Alright,
I’ll tell him. Yes. No more delays. You have my word. Yes … Yes, she just
walked in. I’ll call you back when it’s processed. Thanks. Bye.”

He put the
phone down.

“Have a
seat.”

She walked
slowly to his desk and took the chair opposite.

“You look
rather pale,” the man remarked. “Did you get breakfast this morning?”

“No,” she
replied. “I went without.”

“Well, I’m
sorry to hear that. But uh… Let’s see now…”

He opened up
the desk.

“Can I offer
you an apple? I also have an orange.”

“No, thank
you.”

“Are you
sure?”

“I don’t
accept gifts.”

“Oh.
Alright.” The man closed the desk. “Anyway, I’ve been reading your file. I’ve
seen your mugshots taken before you came in. You seem … a shadow of your former
self. Physically, I mean.”

“Is this
going anywhere?”

“Yes, it is.
I have a couple of questions for you. Your sentence was how long? Fifteen
years?”

She nodded.

“Uh-huh. And
you’ve served less than half of that? In fact it says –”

“Four years,
ten months, eight days.”

“Great. Now,
you were categorized as highly dangerous when you put in here. But your record
is clean. You’ve been a model prisoner. Not so model that you deserve ten years
cut from your sentence, yet I’ve been fielding calls this week from people
urging your immediate release.”

Her posture
tilted back in the chair.

“That doesn’t
surprise you?”

“I don’t
know.”

“Well, it’s
left me curious. What’s interesting is while I can see everything you’ve been
involved with during your stay here, your actions on the outside that led to
your incarceration are bizarrely worded to say the least. In fact if I didn’t
know any better, I’d say you were put in here to keep you quiet about
something. Of course, it can’t be as simple as that, can it?”

“I used to
work for an outfit known as the Paranormal Police. I was involved in an
undercover operation when the team was compromised. There was a traitor on the
inside.”

“I see.”

“They pinned
on me.”

“But you were
set up?”

“There was
evidence to suggest I was the traitor. Computer traces and so forth. However, I
was also fingered by someone. Their testimony is what put me in here.”

“Interesting.”

“Of course, I
was innocent.”

“Well, I’m
sorry if that is the case. Anyhow I’ve got to make a decision based on the
information in front of me, as well as what I’ve been told by certain people.”

“You alone?
This doesn’t seem like the typical parole meeting.”

“It’s not
parole. It’s ‘special circumstances’. Make of that as you will. In any case, I
can’t let you out if I think you pose a harm to society. There are things here
to suggest you’re something of a killing machine. That you have a character of
violence. Though, you haven’t been violent in here…”

“Do I look
like a violent person to you?”

The man
hesitated. “I’m not sure. I never met you before.”

“Since my
stay in your facility, I’ve been forced to take orders. I’ve been starved.
Deprived of sleep. Demeaned and humiliated. I’ve been assaulted hundreds of
times. Your guards have molested me on a weekly basis. I was even raped a few
times. And in all of that, I have done nothing but obey. Keep silent. Keep
still. I am the opposite of violence. Your mission is complete, my spirit is
broken…”

“Alright,
you’ve made your point,” the man said. “I’ll set you up for release later this
afternoon. But I have this warning for you – if you are picked up again for
anything – and I mean anything – you’ll be back here so fast you won’t believe
it. You will serve the remainder of your sentence.”

She stood up
from her seat.

Placed her
hands on his desk.

“I can assure
you if you let me set foot outside these walls, you’ll never see my face
again.”

“Well, I’m
not exactly sure what that means,” the man replied. “But let’s just say … I
believe you…”

CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO

Brrring, brrring.

Brrring,
brrring…

The phone out
the back of the store was ringing. Jason could hear it from where he was at the
front desk, but his hands were full. A line of people covered the side of the
counter.

“Thank you,”
Jason said accepting the items of clothing. He folded each of them neatly,
placed them into giant bags, and ran the amounts up the register. Customers
swiped their cards, and he handed them back their receipts, usually with a
voucher attached.

Big smile.

“Have a great
day.”

His coworker
Nora leaned in close to him. “Answer the phone, Jason.”

“I have
customers,” he replied.

“So do I.”

“Alright …
alright…” he murmured.

He grabbed hold
of his walking stick and steadied himself away from the counter, leaving Nora
to fend for herself. The clothing store’s manager who was usually here to take
the calls was out somewhere at the moment.

Jason went
round to the back office and picked up the phone.

“Freshridge
Clothing and Accessories. Jason speaking.”

“Hello. Do
you accept a call from an inmate in Grover Correctional Facility?”

“What?”

“We have an
inmate here trying to reach Jason Freelaw. Do you accept the call?”

Jason
swallowed. “Alright. I accept.”

“Please
hold.”

Only a second
passed.

“Hello?
Jason? Do you know who this is?”

He felt the
top of his cane. “Nadine?”

“So you do
remember me.”

“Yeah.” He
picked up the cane and pushed the door to the office closed. “We haven’t
spoken. Since…”

“That night.”

“So why are
you calling me?”

“I need you
to come and get me later. Between three and four, I think.”

“Get you?
From where? Prison?”

“I’m getting
out.”

“How is that
even –”

“I don’t
know. I think there’s people after me. Which is why I need a fast escape.”

“You’re
escaping?”

“No, it’s not
like that. I think the people who organized my release are after me. It doesn’t
matter anyway. I need to see you regardless.”

Jason
clutched the phone. “Why – why me? How am I supposed to be able to –?”

“I hope I
don’t have to convince you too hard. You know it wasn’t me who betrayed the
team, don’t you?”

Jason shook
his head.

“Hello?”

“I – I don’t
know anything. Whether you had your own agenda with the vampires isn’t really
relevant now –”

“Of course
it’s relevant.”

“But why?”

“Because I
need you trust me.”

“I don’t know
if I’m able to.” Jason paused. “What about the others? Dino? Riley? Have you
reached out to anyone else?”

“Not yet. I
chose to come to you first. Please don’t let me down.”

Jason didn’t
know what to say.

He was
flabbergasted.

“Come on,
Jason. You know we have unfinished business.”

“You mean …
Haley…”

“Yes,” Nadine
said softly. “And catching the man who killed her.”

CHAPTER
THIRTY-THREE

When Jason thought back to his memory
of Nadine, he recalled features that were interchangeable. The robustness of
her stature, the size of her shoulders and overall height – who would have
thought the right pair of boots and a man’s coat would have such an impact.
Jason also remembered her hair – long and black. It contrasted against her
powdered skin.

Lastly, he
remembered her sunglasses.

None of which
were present now.

He watched
her from the windows of his car, moving about the front of the prison. Looking.
Searching. Back and forth.

He could see
she was small. Weak and fragile.

She didn’t
have any hair. Someone had shaved it off.

She wore
ordinary glasses so she could see.

Jason
reluctantly reached down and pressed the horn.

Nadine looked
up and scampered across the road.

Once in the
backseat she quickly closed the door and indicated for him to start driving.
“Let’s get out of here. Before anyone else shows up.”

Jason
obliged.

A short time
later when they were on the road, he told himself he hadn’t made his mind up
about her. He hadn’t decided what he was going to do.

Except of
course.

He had.

“It’s so good
to see you,” Nadine said putting her face between the front chairs. “Not you,
specifically – but a familiar face I mean. Someone I can trust.”

“You look
different,” was all Jason could say.

“I’m aware.
You look different too.”

“Really?”

“You’re much
older now.”

“Okay.”

“You’ve grown
up.”

Jason
swallowed. “Not really. I’m still…”

“What?”

“I’m still
figuring things out.”

Immediately
as he said it, he felt as though he’d made an omission of betrayal. The faces
of his wife and daughter surfaced in his mind, and then he tried to push them
away.

He wondered
if his own words were true.

“Where do you
want to go?” Jason asked. “I can’t see that anyone’s following us.”

“Anywhere we
can talk.”

“Alright.”

He kept his
eyes on the road. Tall trees with thickened leaves waved gently in the sky
above them. The area was unfamiliar and there was no accounting for what would
come next.