I glanced at Saber. “Is the place supposed to look like a retirement home for old fanged folks?”
“Maybe it’s a Donita touch.”
“Maybe, but I can’t see Ike kicking back out here.”
“We can. We’ll be able to hear Ray and the gang when they first wake.”
Since we arrived before sunset, we didn’t expect anyone to be stirring yet. That’s why I jumped a foot when the door opened as Saber and I stepped onto the porch.
Ray stood in the shadow of the doorway, lips twitching.
“Forgive me if I startled you, Princess.”
I waved a hand. “I’m just surprised to see you up. Are you a day-walker?”
“Not as you are. I wake half an hour before full dark.”
“Ahh,” I said, my heart still tripping over itself. Startle factor aside, Ray’s looks alone cranked a woman’s heart rate. Ray smiled, as if he knew what I was thinking, but turned to Saber. “You are here to question us?”
“Thought I’d catch you all before you left for the club.”
“The club is temporarily closed,” he said as we entered the house. “It is a time for mourning.”
“It’s a time,” Saber drawled, “to figure out who’s loyal to you and who isn’t.”
Ray inclined his head. “That, too. Come into the parlor.”
Said the spider to the fly? Maybe not, because the place didn’t look creepy. In fact, with all the black leather furniture and cow horns mounted on the wall, it looked like a cross between a kinky bachelor pad and a roundup. Cow horns in a vampire nest? Geez.
“Please, sit,” Ray invited. “We can talk until my nestmates have awakened.”
He dropped into a wide chair with the boneless grace that reminded me of Pandora. Which made me wonder where Pandora was, and if she was all right.
“Now,” Ray said, elbows propped on the armchair and fingers tented, “what do you need to know?”
“Why did you move from the South Beach nest to Ike’s?”
“Because Ike invited me.” A flicker of emotion I couldn’t define crossed his face, and he leaned forward. “The truth is that Ike noticed a change in Laurel in the spring. He wanted to know why she was behaving so secretively, so he hired me to investigate.”
“Like a private detective?” I blurted.
Ray smiled. “I have done many kinds of work, and, yes, I have been an investigator. I moved into the nest as a cover.”
“Did you find out what Laurel was up to?” Saber asked.
“Not entirely.” He paused as if considering what—or how much—to tell us. “She began going to Atlanta as Ike’s emissary but began staying longer each time. We assumed she was having an affair. However, when she returned, she was always more on edge, more—”
“Bitchy?” I supplied.
Ray gave an expressive shrug. “Good sex should have had a more positive effect.”
“Did you follow her?” Saber asked.
“I attempted to. She must have sensed me, because I never confirmed who she was meeting.”
“We’re fairly certain we know who she met, but when was the last time you remember Laurel going to Atlanta?”
“The end of July or first of August.”
Saber and I exchanged a glance. Yeah, that fit.
“Did Ike have Laurel or anyone else spying on Cesca?”
“Not that I knew of, and I knew everything of importance.”
“What about Laurel’s punishment? Was she really shackled?”
“For four nights, with silver cuffs and chains. Ike wrapped her wrists and ankles in gauze so he didn’t damage her too severely, but she was secured in the shackles.”
“Can we see them?” Saber pressed.
Ray gave us each a long stare. “Why is this important to investigating Ike’s murder?”
“A number of reasons,” Saber sidestepped. “Can we see the shackles Ike used on Laurel?”
Ray cocked his head as if listening, then rose. “I will show you, but you must finish your inspection before the others are fully awake.”
From the parlor he led us down a hall with two half flights of stairs at the end. One flight led up, the other down. I caught the scent of oranges from the space below.
“What’s down there?” I asked Ray.
“Laurel’s quarters, but the shackles are in Ike’s rooms. Up here.”
He preceded us to the landing at the top of the stairs, hit a light switch, and opened the door to a huge suite done in black and white. The furnishings weren’t remarkable other than they were sleek black, edgily modern, and expensive. The bed sat in the middle of the room and was draped in black satin. The bathroom I peeked in was small, more mainstream in decor, but with black towels. When I wandered to the sitting area near a stone fireplace, my nose started itching.
“Are the silver chains stored here?” I asked.