Always the Vampire

Bottom line, we were floundering like mullet on the beach. Time to find facts and formulate a plan.

In cop shows and mystery novels, the good guys investigate suspects by looking at phone, financial, and employment records. They look at family and known associates. They visit locations where suspects hang out. I doubted there was a wizard’s bar and grill that Starrack haunted, and maybe he didn’t leave a paper trail of bills or bank statements or income tax payments. But had anyone looked?

I jotted questions to ask Saber and Cosmil, and Lia, too. The COA had to keep records, however archaic they might be. Presuming that Starrack was behind the magical bomb that had hit their headquarters, it was in their best interest to help us, and perhaps Lia could use her clout. For that matter, we hadn’t grilled Cosmil about Starrack’s younger years when the brothers had been in touch, and we hadn’t pinned Lia down about her dealings with the mad wizard. Any little tidbit of information, any old habit they remembered might lead to a real clue.

Next on my list was the question of where to stash Lynn. My little voice offered the same suggestion it had last night, so I turned it over in my head. There were gaps in the plan, hulking whale-sized holes, to be honest. Then again, nothing ventured. It just might work.

I rummaged in my closet to find a certain business card then snagged the phone book off my desk. The first call ended up being easy. The second? Let’s just say I’d done some heavy hinting and abject begging to get a meeting. Closing the deal might be riskier than playing tag with a shark, but I was pretty sure I knew what buttons to push.

Selling the idea to Saber and Triton, and to Lynn herself, would be another hurdle, but one challenge at a time.





Saber came in the cottage door at two forty-five, just as I’d finished putting my laundry away. He didn’t sneak in, but obviously made the effort to be quiet. So he wouldn’t wake me, I supposed.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw me at the bedroom door.

“Hey, you’re up.”

Don’t you love it when men have a good grasp of the obvious?

“Yes, dear, I’ve been awake for a while, and I heard you had some excitement this morning.”

Guilt flashed across his face, deepening worry lines I hadn’t noticed yesterday.

“You know about the bodies dumped at the Alligator Farm?”

“In the parking lot. I do. Detective Jim Balch was here.”

“To verify my alibi?”

“No, to interview me about the bodies dumped on my porch.”

“What?” He had me in his arms in an instant. “Are you all right?”

I held him tightly, took comfort in his warmth, and breathed his unique Saber scent. And my heart broke all over again.

“They were barely more than teens, Saber, and they’re dead.”

“Who, honey?”

“The homeless couple I met last night.”

“The ones you fed?”

I nodded against his chest. “I couldn’t tell Jim their names, so I don’t know if they’ll be identified.”

“I’m so sorry, Cesca. When did this happen?”

“The alarm went off about noon.”

“Balch didn’t say a word to me.”

“I asked Jim not to tell you. He said you were at the station.”

“Yeah, but Triton and I left at one thirty. I would’ve come right home if I’d known.”

“Jim said the department will see the murders as the work of a serial killer.”

“What did you say when he questioned you?”

“I confirmed what you told him. That the murders are connected to a case you’re working, and that the killer is a supernatural being. I didn’t say what kind. It was just too hard to explain.”

We stood there, clinging to each other for long minutes. Saber sent waves of sympathy to me, and I sent them on to the spirits of the dead.

When Snowball interrupted our moment with a plaintive meow, I eased out of Saber’s arms.

“Go get her a treat. We’ll talk in the kitchen.”

He shot me a wary glance but went for the treat box, then took a new catnip toy from the cabinet. I folded my hands over my notepad and waited for him to sit.

“First, have you pumped Cosmil for information about Starrack?”

“Asked, yes. Pumped, no. Did their spell pick up Starrack here?”

“No, just at the Alligator Farm, but these murders have upped the stakes. It’s one thing if Starrack used those criminals to attack Triton, then tied up the lose ends by killing them. It’s plain pathological to kill those homeless people for no reason.”

“You were with them, which means he was watching you.”

“I’ve already tumbled to that, but I don’t think he’s constantly tailing us.”

“Why not?”

“Partly a gut feeling, partly because shadowing all of us would be work. The man Lia and Cosmil have described is basically lazy. He could’ve learned I was on the tour schedule with a simple phone call and decided to check me out.”

“And then decided to kill those kids?”