by Jamie Ott
Chapter 5
Starr didn’t tell Peter and Dylan about Marla and Shane going missing. She didn’t completely trust Peter, and she flat out hated Dylan. “Hold on,” she told him in the car on their way to the Regal Hyatt, “I’m going to squeeze your neck until your head pops off.”
He tried to laugh off her threat, but couldn’t because Starr froze his body. Dylan fought her but wasn’t strong enough. Starr leaned forward and placed her hand around his neck and squeezed hard, and then laughed when he cried in his mind. She sat back and looked out of the window. Angrily and unable to move or even blink, he sat for a full fifteen minutes until Peter begged her to let him go.
After that, he didn’t look or speak to Starr, thankfully.
Peter wanted to leave for Bangkok right away, but Starr had something to take care of first.
After checking into the Regal Hyatt, Starr called her lawyer. He managed to get her temporary custody of Nia’s kids. Several days later, she went to the house where they stayed.
Sadly, there was no funeral for Nia. Since she hadn’t any family or friends, there was no one to claim her ashes even. Starr had them buried in the plot just outside of Sighisoara.
She pulled into the parking lot of a large brown facility that looked like several houses attached into one. In the back, there were half a dozen more houses all bridged together with walkways that were lined with trees and lanterns.
A buzzing noise sounded out when she pressed the button next to the door. After identifying herself, a lady let her in.
At the front desk, she handed over her identification and let them take her fingerprints. Some moments later, they brought all four of the kids down.
Nicholas, Santos, Aria and Cayla were their names. They were healthy, though they looked tired. Nicholas had circles under his eyes and looked stressed out.
“Hi, I’m Starr. I’ll be taking you to your Grandfather’s house today.”
“All of our family is dead,” said Nicholas. “Who is this Grandfather? Mom would have mentioned him.”
She didn’t know why Nia wouldn’t have mentioned him. They could have had a rift, like any normal family, or he could be an abusive jerk.
“You have to give it a shot,” said Starr. “If it doesn’t work out, I’ll bring you back, okay?”
The staff helped put their luggage in the back of her rented SUV. Once they were all buckled in their seats, Starr drove them to the freeway.
They remained silent the entire way.
Twenty minutes later, Starr pulled onto an off ramp that took them into a large grassy area.
“Where are we?” asked Nicholas.
“We’re going to say goodbye to your mom.”
Along a winding road lined by a white stone wall they drove.
Finally, they found a parking lot, got out of the car and followed a sidewalk to the other side of the cemetery. There, in a wall laid to the ground, was a panel of names to identify the ashes within.
“Who put all these flowers down?” asked Aria.
“I had them delivered,” said Starr.
“How come Mom never mentioned you before?” asked Santos.
“We just met.”
Cayla sniffed loudly. Starr handed her a packet of tissues from her pocket.
Santos put his arm around Cayla and said, “It’s okay. She’s gone on to a better place.”
“Starr, how did Mom die?” Nicholas asked with an angry look on his face.
“Didn’t the police tell you?”
“Yes, but I don’t understand.”
“Well, she just disappeared. When they found her, she was dead.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
Starr considered him a moment, and then decided to tell him the truth.
“The police think she went to her car, likely to get something, and someone must have apprehended her. That’s all I know, but the police are looking into it. When you’re older, you can look at all the details of their investigation. For now, that’s all we know. If I find out anything, you’ll be the first to know.”
When the kids were ready, Starr took them for lunch at a café. They ordered a round of sarmale and stew, and as they waited for the food, the kids sat across from Starr and stared.
“It’s rude to stare.”
“What’s our Grandfather’s name?” asked aria.
“Romano. He’s a retired shoe factory worker.”
“Is he married?”
“No, but he used to be.”
“So our grandmother is dead?” asked Cayla.
“Yes.”
“What about our father?” asked Nicholas.
Starr visited their father the day before. He was married with another grouping of children. The wife made it clear that they hadn’t room for more.
“You have no one else,” Starr told them. “It’s either your grandfather or you guys go back to the boarding house, which is supposed to be a temporary place until you find a home. That means you could each be sent to separate families.”
“We have to try to stay together!” said Cayla.
After lunch, in uncomfortable silence, Starr drove them to their Grandfather’s house. Located some miles from the cemetery where Nia was buried, Starr told them she’d take them to visit her whenever they wanted.
When she turned onto a dirt road, sour-sweat scented hormone filled the car.
“Don’t be nervous, guys. It’ll be alright.”
The road led them through a plain of overgrown brush that scratched and dinged the car.
Some moments later, they faced a sad looking property. Paint was peeling off the latticed walls of the house; shingles were missing from the roof and the lawn looked like it hadn’t been mown in months.
They sat for a moment. Starr wondered if she should take them back to the boarding house when the door opened.
Out came an old man in tattered, stained overalls.
“Hi,” he spoke in a gravelly voice. His eyes were shifty and his hands shook lightly.
“Don’t be shy. Come on up.”
Silently, they walked onto the porch. The kids’ eyes continued to rove about the place.
“Whoa, stop,” said Romano. “Right there is fine. I don’t let strangers in my home.”
Starr was stumped for a moment, wondering if he had something to hide.
“Sorry, but I need to look at your place before I leave. If you don’t agree, that’s fine.”
“I don’t agree.”
“Okay, everyone, get back in the car.”
“Wait,” he said. “Alright, come in.”
He held the door open.
Inside was messy. Dishes reeked from the sink and the living room was smelly and dusty.
“It’s hard being old. I don’t move like I used to. That’s why I need help.”
They walked up the stairs to find a disaster. The hall was dark, dusty and mold tinged the air.
“You need to air this place out,” said Starr.
The old man didn’t reply.
He led her to two rooms.
“The girls can stay in one, and the boys in the other.”
The floors were solid but bare and cold, as were the rooms.
“You don’t have beds for them?”
“They can sleep on the floor for a bit.”
“I’m gonna call a cleaning crew to help you out,” said Starr.
“Okay, that would be great. What about my money?”
Starr looked at him and sighed. Against her better judgment, she pulled out her checkbook.
“Listen,” said Starr before releasing the check into his hand. “This is for the kids. If that means you need to fix up your house, fine, but this is not your money. Are we clear?”
“Miss, I don’t let anyone tell me what to do in my own home. Now, they’re my grandkids, but I’m putting a roof over their heads. It’s more than I’m obligated to do.”
“As long as I’m paying you, your obligations are to me. If y
ou don’t understand that, then this won’t work.”
His eyes became steady as he looked at her.
“Fine.”
Nicholas grabbed her sleeve and said, “I don’t like it here. I want to go back.”
Starr pulled him to the side and whispered, “You have my number. Call me if anything goes wrong. Either way, I’ll be back in two weeks to check on you all, but don’t tell him or anyone else this. It’ll be a surprise, and if you’re still unhappy, I’ll take you back. Okay?”
He sighed and said, “Okay. Two weeks, you promise?”
“Yes, but don’t tell anyone. A surprise visit to make sure he’s acting alright.”
Nicholas’ face relaxed a little.
Once downstairs again, she said, “Well, I must be going. I have a plane to catch. Aria, Cayla, Santos: you listen to Nicholas and do as Mr. Romano tells you okay?”
Starr had a bad feeling about leaving them, but she didn’t have time to linger. She needed to be in Bangkok by nightfall. All she could do was hope that it worked out, and if not, she’d fix it later.
Then as she pulled back onto the road, she realized she didn’t know if the place even had a working phone. The man didn’t look like he’d have a cell phone. Nicholas and the kids needed a way to communicate.
She called her cell phone company and ordered that one be delivered to Nicholas.
The airport was practically empty, which was nice. She hated being surrounded by so many germ ridden people at once. Since spring had longer light hours and clearer skies at that time of year, she hadn’t any other choice.
At 8 pm, her plane landed. She got her bag almost immediately and found that someone sent a car to pick her up.
“Starr?” asked a man in Thai.
“Carl! How did you know I was coming?”
“I heard the lady at the Hyatt calling for a car to pick you up. I happened to be dropping folks off and didn’t have another schedule, so I took the job.”
Carl, sick of Starr and other westerners screwing up his name, adopted the easy alias. Starr liked him because he was a vampire without association, and he preferred it that way. He had a family and put what was best for them first. Starr was his only connection to the vampire world.
One night, he witnessed an attack on a young man. A vamped out vampire turned and attempted to eat him. Starr happened by and caught them in the alley. Having already met and liked Carl, she rescued him and taught him about the life.
“I heard you quit.”
“From whom?”
“I picked up two of your friends, or I should say, they picked me up. Tall, dark, light eyes and reads minds.”
“You gave Shane and Marla a ride?”
“Yeah, I guess that was their names.”
“Listen, Carl,” she said and leaned forward in her seat. “Where exactly did you take them? When did you see them last?”
“That was months ago, I don’t know. I took them to the Hyatt, as usual with you guys from the Council. I gave them my card; they called me two nights later and I dropped them off in a field late at night. I asked them not to call me to return, because I don’t like mixing with vampires. You guys are alright, civilized, but there are others here that aren’t.”
Starr tried to read his mind.
“Don’t do that!” he yelled. “I hate that. Just ask me: I’ll tell you.”
They pulled up in front of the Hyatt and he got a pad and pencil from his glove compartment. He scribbled a bit and said, “Here’s the address.”
“Thanks,” said Starr. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that; it’s just habit in my line of work. We expect that everyone will lie to us. Still friends, yes?”
“Yeah, that depends on the tip.”
Starr laughed and handed him a wad of cash.
“Sorry, I didn’t have time to visit the currency counter.”
“Alright, goodnight.”
Carl drove back into the busy street.
As she walked through the hotel lobby, several people nodded their heads to her. There was a new desk clerk, though. Starr sensed immediately that she was a vampire, too.
When she walked up to the desk, the clerk’s eyes glazed with recognition. Her hands trembled a little as she looked up her reservation.
“Thanks,” said Starr.
The woman handed over her card keys. Starr went straight to her room.
Once inside, she realized that the woman had upgraded her to a suite. Normally, she requested a regular room.
She pulled back the curtains and saw an amazing view of the city alight.
Her cell phone rang. She pulled it out and pressed the green icon.
“Hello Peter.”
“Glad to see you made it alright. I don’t know why you wasted time flying by plane.”
“I wanted to get in before dark.”
“Well, let’s have dinner. I have some ideas about where we should dig for information.”
“I can’t. I have something I must do first. I’ll tell you about it later. If I’m lucky, it’ll help us find your sister. But these people don’t take to strangers. You’ll have to wait for me.”
“Starr, I don’t like it. I feel like you are keeping things from me. This is my investigation, too.”
“I know it’s hard to stand by, idle, but I have to do it this way. We have to see if we can do this the easy way first, and if we can’t, then we go in breaking the rules and upsetting people’s lives.”
“Fine, we’ll talk as soon as you get back from whatever it is you plan to do. Will you be back tonight?”
“I should be back by morning. Let’s just plan on having breakfast together. I gotta go. Bye.”
Starr disconnected the call.
On the bed, she unzipped her suitcase and pulled out several knives. In her jackets, Starr liked to sew special pockets, with bits of magnets, for them. Then when she reached for a knife in a hurry, it’d rip right out and the pocket would close again.
She slipped her ruby studded sickles in two of the pockets, one under her left arm and the other under her right; the magnets made clicking noises as they snapped into place. Behind the sickle under her left side, she clicked a wide serrated machete.
Sickles were great for fighting and quick beheading. Machetes were great for gutting and throat cutting, or in other words, hunting.
She took the elevator down to the lobby, left the hotel and walked the streets, calling with her mind for Anchali.
Whenever you walk into another vampire’s territory with the intent of conducting official business, it’s best to pay your respects to the highest vamp. Not to do so was a sign of disrespect.
Starr didn’t have to worry about matters of respect, but she found that people were more cooperative, in her investigations, if she obliged their customs.
It didn’t take long to find Anchali. Once more, someone had been expecting her. What was going on? Was someone watching her?
There was the car, the hotel she didn’t book and now this man appears before her almost instantly.
“I’m Mali. I’ll take you to Anchali.”
She followed him through the streets, at a vampire pace, further into Sukhumvit, where many tourists like to spend their evenings. Thousands of people lined the streets even at that time of night.
Mali led her into a building just past Sowi Cowboy. They took the elevator up to the top floor.
When the elevator doors opened, they revealed a large board room. At the head of a long table sat a woman with guards on both her sides. On the right side of the room was another table with a laptop and projector that faced the opposite blank wall.
Moving with the grace of a queen, Anchali stood up. She wore a flowing white dress, and her makeup was immaculate. And like a queen, she stood very erect while holding her head high.
“Finally, we meet,” she said in English.
Starr almost responded, but was distracted by a familiar face that hung on a hook in the corner behind Anchali. A large
spike ripped through its left eye socket, pushing its nose and right eye over by an inch.
“It’s Dylan. Do you like it?”
Anchali’s glossed lips were shiny in the low light of the room.
“It’s not bad, not bad at all. I’m not sure how my friend will take it.”
“You mean Peter?”
“How did you know that?”
Anchali shouted out an order in Thai.
The next moment, a man in a suit brought Peter out. His face was red and angry.
“I saved him for you. He wasn’t as annoying as that other fellow. Although you told them not to, they followed you anyway.”
Starr looked at Peter and whispered, Idiot, into his mind.
The man let Peter go. Silently, he walked over and stood beside Starr.
“Where’s Marla and Shane?”
“Yes, I’m aware that you’re looking for your friends. They came to see me; they asked questions about some missing women. I can’t tell you anything because I must remain neutral. However, Mali will help you find them, but you must do it on your own. You can trust him. He will neither encourage nor discourage your search, but his presence will make your investigation smoother.”
“Can you tell me anything at all? I have no leads.”
“Perhaps you need to start with square one,” she said and turned her back on Starr.
The gray wall behind her suddenly opened, revealing a long lit hallway, down which Anchali walked.
When the wall closed again, Starr turned to Mali and said, “I don’t need you to help me. We’ll be fine on our own, but thank you.”
Mali bowed to her.
Outside, Peter asked, “Why did you just leave like that? Aren’t you going to pressure them for more?”
“Peter, I’ve been at this awhile. Don’t question my methods.”
“You’re supposed to be helping my investigation. So far, you’ve let the only person with knowledge go. She admitted to knowing about the missing women, and she killed my best friend. Are you just okay with that?”
She stopped walking, turned to him and said, “I told you to wait for me at the hotel. You didn’t listen, so Dylan is your fault, not mine. What makes you think you can walk into another person’s territory and do whatever you want? And what would you have me do? Just start killing and torturing people for information?”
“I’d expect you to push harder for answers.”
“You don’t push heads of territories, who can have you killed on the spot. She’s cooperated in as much as letting us conduct an investigation, but we must respect her conditions. To just go in and use force would be to start a war between them and the Council. Look, I can’t work with you. You’re too emotional and you don’t seem to think things through.”
“What?” he shouted. “What am I supposed to do?”
“If you want to go in there, break down their doors and make demands, then go ahead. It’s your funeral. But this time, I seriously recommend not following me. If you don’t think Anchali and her men have heard this conversation, well, you’re wrong. You saw what they did to your friend, so tread lightly because, not to sound arrogant, but you’re no longer with me. They don’t have to let you remain here for the sake of the Council and our relations. Goodbye.”
She turned and walked on down the street. Past the food carts and late night vendors she went until she reached the taxi line where Carl picked up fares.
Then it occurred to her that she’d just backed out on a deal that gave her considerable funding for her castle.
“Crap,” she muttered to herself, rubbing her scalp.
Carrrl… she whispered through the air.
Twenty minutes later, he showed up.
“I need you to take me to where you took my friends.”
“I can’t. Why do you think I wrote you that address? I don’t want to get involved.”
“I don’t want to take another cab. I need as much privacy as possible.”
“Why don’t you fly?”
“Because I can’t read street signs from the sky, silly.”
Carl pulled out a pad of paper and drew a map.
“Carl, you suck,” she said as she got out.
“What’s that?”
“Nevermind.”
On her way to the field, she passed clubs and promoters who tried to lure her inside.
Down she went until she met a park. It was dark and without lights. She walked around, sniffing and immediately picked up their scent.
Over by a pile of rocks there was some disturbed dirt.
She knelt and ran it through her fingers and looked around. The scent of something feminine, like from a shampoo, wafted on the air.
“What do you want?” she asked.
Although no one responded, she knew someone was there; it was a woman but not Anchali.
“Just stay out of my way. I’m warning you.”
She continued to walk the field.
The place smelled of death, but it wasn’t recent.
Over on the north end, something white gleamed at her. It was a piece of cement sticking out of the ground.
Old foundation, she thought to herself.
So why were Marla and Shane here?
The only answer that came to her was something must have happened there: something that could be connected to the missing women.
She pulled out her phone and pressed Carl’s number.
A moment later, he said, “Look, Starr, I’m busy.”
“Sorry, but I don’t have the support I usually have when conducting an investigation. I won’t bother you again, but I need to know what this empty lot used to be. Can you help me?”
“There was a house there, nearly a decade ago. Some wealthy couple raised orphan kids, and then, one night, it burned down to the ground. That’s all I know.”
“Okay, thanks,” said Starr.
That meant the next step was to find out who owned the old house.
She headed back to the Hyatt, but the information desk was closed until morning.
Starr went to the hotel’s bar and ordered a drink. The bartender was a vampire.
When he returned the drink, it was red with a few red beating chunks on a tooth pick. In other parts of the world, eating a still beating frog heart was quite common.
The bartender winked and said, “Compliments of madam.”
He nodded his head, indicating who ‘comped’ her drink. Starr turned to see that it was the desk clerk. She stood on the opposite side of the room, chatting with a housekeeper.
Then someone tapped her shoulder, distracting her.
“Ma’am,” said a man in a suit.
She turned the other way.
He handed her a folder and walked off without a word.
Annoyed and frustrated, she sighed aloud and turned back in her seat. Often, when people wanted to help, but were afraid to do so openly, they’d send things to her anonymously.
“Bartender,” she said.
He turned around, but it was someone else, and he was not a vampire.
“I’m looking for the other bartender,” she said, hoping to get another bloody martini.
He screwed up his face and said, “There is no other bartender. I’m the only one working tonight.”
Shaking her head in understanding, she said, “Yeah, okay, thanks,” and ordered another martini.
She got up and made her way back to her room.
These were the worst signs of any investigation. They indicated that whatever was going on was the result of a larger network of criminal or cult activities. And it meant that she had to decide whether to keep going on her own, or call the council for backup.
Once back in her room, she opened the folder and found a police report. The lot she’d visited was, indeed, a house of orphan kids. It was run by two ladies, but that was all the information there was – except for the insurance claim which was listed in the back.
Starr threw the folder on the desk and fel
l down on the bed. Cults were the worst sort, and Bangkok had all the signs.
She had to call for backup. There was no other choice. As of now, this was a full scale investigation.
“What crappy luck,” she said aloud.
Then she showered and went to bed.
More about the series:
Originally a monthly short with the Black Press Online, Vampin is now available as a monthly series.
Follow the girls as they go from being protectors of the innocent, to punishers of the dark. Vampin is the story of four girls who, in order to survive, have left home to deal with their vampire affliction.
Now, ten years later, the girls are grown up and moved on. Starr is resentful and angry because it seems like life has been the same for her. But every time she tries to change, something happens that brings her back into the old vampire world.
Vampin Box sets are now available at all major retail sites.
Up and coming:
Krasue
Champagne Confines (10/2013)
No information (12/2013)
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