La Vida Vampire

“What?” I mouthed.

She blew her blonde bangs in exasperation and marched up to Saber. I stepped behind him, out of her way. Maggie eyed him up and down. “I want a straight answer. Do you think Cesca killed that woman?”

I sucked in a breath. Saber ran a hand through his hair and spoke directly to Maggie.

“Officially, she’s still a suspect. Unofficially, I can’t buy it.”

“Why not?” I asked, surprised. Had he planned to let me know this anytime soon?

He gave me an over-the-shoulder glance. “I don’t think you have a motive, but I do have more questions.”

Lips pursed, Maggie nodded as if she’d made up her mind about something.

Boy, had she.

“It’s too cold to do this outside,” she said. “Come up to the condo with us.”

From my point behind Saber’s left shoulder, I shook my head hard enough to rattle my brains. Maggie —and Neil— ignored me, but Saber turned to face me. I stilled so fast, I darn near concussed myself.

“Do you mind if I come up?”

All right, I had to admit I liked him for asking. But there I was in a manners dilemma again. I ’d had a hell of a day, my precious, freshly painted truck was trashed, and Saber was coming up for, what? Tea?

Cornered and resigned, I said, “Let’s go.”

We trooped into the building, stood silent in the elevator. In the penthouse, Maggie ushered Saber to the dining table and put water in the electric kettle. Tea. I was right. Geez.

Saber was mannerly enough to compliment Maggie on her home and make conversation with Neil about the state archaeology department. Neil’s face lost some of its tension as he talked about the digs he ’d been part of. Maggie appeared to relax, too, as she set out mugs and tea bags, sugar, and milk.

I wasn’t calm at all. Saber’s unbuttoned jacket gave me an occasional flash of his weapon, and my body tingled in memory of our accidental hug. Yet there he sat, nonchalantly chatting while my day went from bad to worse. I smoothed the victim’s rights pamphlet on the table, picked at the bent corner, and gritted my teeth to keep from jumping out of my skin. By the time the teakettle shut off, I couldn’t keep quiet a minute longer.

“What do you want to ask us, Saber?”

He cut his gaze from Neil to me. “First, I need to tell you it’s doubtful we’ll get any prints. There was no trail of paint to follow. No apparent footprints. If it’d been me, I’d have had a garbage bag handy to toss the paint cans in, and I’m guessing that’s what happened here. The city police and county deputies can check around, alert sanitation workers to keep an eye out, but the guy could have ditched the stuff anywhere.”

I’d figured the same thing. Still, it sucked. “Peachy. Guess I can toss the victim rights booklet.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but you strike me as the type to want the truth.”

“Yeah, and I hate that about myself,” I muttered as Maggie served the tea with a plate of Fig Newtons. Yum. Comfort food.

When she handed me a steaming cup and I snagged a Newton, Saber looked surprised.

“You, uh, ingest food?”

“Saber,” I said, deliberately taking a small bite of cookie and talking around it, “if you’re gonna call yourself a vampire expert, you really have to catch up to the times.”

His mouth quirked in that too-attractive way. “I’m trying.”

Neil chuckled, and Maggie hid a grin behind her mug. I had three sips of tea and another bite of cookie —mostly to show Saber I could—before Neil caught my eye.

“You realize,” he said, looking steadily at me, “no matter who did this—Stony or someone else—he knew you drove an SSR, and he knew where you parked.”

“Which means he knows where Maggie and I live.”

Neil pushed his mug away. “I don’t think you and Maggie are safe here.”

Maggie snorted. “Neil, the guy doesn’t have a key to the building, he doesn’t have the code to the elevator, and I have my dad’s army service revolver. Just let him try anything.”

I blinked at her across the table. “You have a gun, too?”

“Yes, and I’m teaching you to shoot this weekend.”

Saber choked on a sip of tea. Neil groaned softly.

“It won’t do any good to learn,” I said. “The Vampire Protection Agency frowns on me having a weapon.”

“Screw the VPA. You have the right to protect yourself.”

“I agree with you, in theory, Mags,” Neil said, “but this sicko can come after either of you anywhere, anytime, and it won’t be with a can of paint. He’s erratic, and that makes him even more dangerous.”

Maggie took his hand. “Honey, I understand your concern, but I need to start the design for my new client, and Cesca has work and activities. We can’t put our lives on hold until the cops lock this guy up.”

Neil shot Saber a measuring glance. “No, and I don’t guess Mr. Special Investigator here can move Cesca into protective custody, can you?”