I found myself staring blankly at her. Had she just circled back to the beginning of the conversation? The wind had long since numbed me and yet I couldn’t help but feel a slight chill travel down my spine at her words.
“We’ve been talking,” I said. “I’ve asked you a couple of questions and you were telling me about the eyes you saw on the man on the beach.”
She stared blankly into my face, just a hint of a nervous smile beginning to play around her lips as she twisted Jasper’s leash around and around in her fingers.
“I’m sure I’d remember something like that,” she said, “but I’m afraid I don’t recall a man on the beach…”
“You said you weren’t entirely sure if it was male or female but that the eyes were odd, flat and shiny.”
Ms. Rowanberry shook her head vehemently. “I’m not sure what I remember. I’ve been over it so many times now. I’m sorry if I gave you the impression I’d seen something. I think it’s just the strain talking,” she said finally.
“You seemed pretty certain a moment ago,” I said, remembering the way her face had gone entirely blank.
“Well, now I’m not,” she snapped. Her voice sounded a little too brittle. “Can I go now? All this is beginning to give me one of my migraines.”
I nodded, giving her the friendliest smile I could muster. “If you don’t mind one of the officer’s accompanying you home.”
She gave a sharp absent nod as she turned the leash around her fingers. “Yes, of course.”
I let her walk away, noting the slightly bewildered expression that graced her features for a moment before once more she tried to mask it.
I’d always tried to keep my dealings with vampires to an absolute minimum. I despised the blood-suckers and after everything that had happened with Adrian in his shop, I definitely wasn’t feeling particularly charitable toward the species. However, there was one thing I was utterly certain about. Ms. Rowanberry had definitely seen something, something she wasn’t supposed to see. Not only that, but whatever she’d witnessed had been wiped from her mind when she’d been rolled by the vamp on the beach. The only thing that aroused a hint of the memory was the dog Jasper. He’d been there, no doubt. When the vamp had rolled her, he’d started to bark and that was what kept the memory from disappearing entirely in her mind.
I stared at the golden retriever as Ms. Rowanberry dragged him away and shuddered. If I was her, I’d have cooked him the biggest juiciest steak I could find, he’d more than earned it. Because while I couldn’t be completely certain of it, the nagging little feeling in my gut told me Jasper was the only reason Ms. Rowanberry was still alive. Without him, the vamp would simply have dispatched of her without a thought.
Chapter 16
Alex was standing to one side of the truck as the coroner and the assistant loaded the body into the back when I joined him on the side of the road. Beyond the police tape, I could see the usual gaggle of reporters and onlookers who’d braved the weather.
“She know anything?” Alex said, never taking his eyes from the scene before us.
“I think she was rolled by a vampire,” I said. “She’s confused, remembers something but can’t be sure of anything.” I sucked in a deep breath. “And then right in the middle of the interview she spaced out entirely. When I managed to snap her out of it, she had no memory of our conversation up to that point.”
He swung around to face me. “Seriously?”
I pulled a face at him. “Of course, seriously,” I said, “I wouldn’t joke about something like that.”
He nodded, his expression grave. “I don’t get why the vamp would just roll her though, why not kill her?” He shoved his hands into his pockets.
“I think the dog must have frightened him off somehow,” I said with a grimace. It was a stretch and we both knew it. Typically, vampires weren’t scared of animals, especially not cuddly bloody golden retrievers. “She says the dog started barking and—”
“There was someone else nearby,” Alex said suddenly. “There had to be, otherwise he’d have offed her and the dog.”
“I don’t know…” I couldn’t keep the scepticism from my voice. Of course he could be right. Ms. Rowanberry wouldn’t necessarily remember another person at the beach, especially if she truly was rolled by a vampire, and with each second that ticked by, I was more convinced of the truth.
“You and I both know how those kinds of mind tricks screw with the long- and short-term memory,” Alex said. “She’ll be forgetting all sorts of things for the next few days, weeks, maybe even months, depending on how big of a job the vamp had to do.”
“Unless,” I said with a sinking feeling.
Alex glanced over at me. “Unless what?” I didn’t answer him straight away, I was too busy turning around and signalling to one of the uniforms nearby. “Jenna, spit it out, unless what? I’m not a bloody mind-reader.”
“Unless he doesn’t plan on letting her live long enough for there to be lasting side-effects,” I said. “This place is open, it’s a pretty big risk. Anything could have happened, especially if there was someone else nearby to see the struggle. He couldn’t be certain of keeping the situation contained.”
“You don’t think he’d attack her at her home?” For once Alex seemed genuinely concerned.
“I think that’s exactly what he might be planning,” I said. “Look at it logically, easier to cover up something at her house.”
“It’s going to look suspicious as hell no matter what he does,” Alex said, but he was moving, too.
“He doesn’t care about how suspicious it looks, he cares about covering his tracks. And anyway, who says this prick is smart?”
Alex’s lips were clamped in a thin line as he followed me down the path. The uniform I’d managed to flag down jogged up the steps from the beach, his hat barely staying on his head.
“Has Ms. Rowanberry left already?” He looked from my face and then glanced at Alex standing a couple of paces behind.
“Yeah, Bhatt gave her a lift just like you said.” The guy was rail thin and his already gaunt face took on even more of a pinched expression, his slate grey eyes darkening with concern. “Something the matter?”
An image formed in my head. Officer Bhatt, fastidious about fulfilling her duties to the highest standard, would insist on searching Ms. Rowanberry’s house for potential threats. And then, her determined brown eyes would widen as the vampire lunged from his hiding place, all fangs and claws.
Perhaps there would be more than one. Not that one couldn’t do enough damage but two or more would get the job done faster.
The flat glassy eyes would meet hers, luminous in the darkened house. It would be the last thing she saw. We’d be lucky if there was anything left of them to identify by the time they were through.
Vampires were little more than animals, at least the grunts that did this kind of work were. The powerful ones didn’t like to get their hands dirty, unless there was a damn good reason.
“Can you get her on the radio?”
He didn’t need to be told twice, and for that I was grateful. My muscles hummed with energy as I watched him grab the radio and speak rapidly into it, his voice hushed. Nothing but static greeted us. He glanced up at me, concern really taking hold in his eyes at this point.
“Keep trying.” I thrust a card against his chest. “If they answer, call me,” I said, “we’re going over there…” I hesitated and Alex beat me to the punch, his voice firm as he barked orders.
“Send back-up, no civilians. Contact Division 6 and tell them we’ll need full tactical support.”
“What do I say you’re going up against?” Despite there being a slight shake in the officer’s voice as he spoke, I knew this wasn’t his first encounter with our lot. Any other officer would have panicked by now, all the questions they’d been trained to ask fleeing their minds as images of monsters loomed in their heads.
“Possible vampire attack,” I said, “potentially more than one.”
His eyes were like saucers in his head and I left him to his radio work as I started for the car, my pace picking up with each step that brought me to the passenger side.
The lock clicked open, the lights flashing in the gloom.
“Address?” Alex asked as he hopped smoothly into the driver’s seat and started the car in one fluid movement.
“38 Wilcox.”
He didn’t say anything, just nodded. The car was already in motion before I managed to get my door shut and for that I was grateful. Ms. Rowanberry had been more than a little strange, her concern over wanting to get home nagged at me. Perhaps, the vampire had done more than wipe her memories.
“It’s not your fault,” Alex said quietly.
“That’s not how it feels,” I said sharply.
It was the truth. It was my job to always stay one step ahead of the monsters and yet in this case, I was stumbling blindly around in the dark, greedily snapping up any crumbs Carmine happened to toss my way. This wasn’t how it was meant to be. And I had the sinking feeling that Ms. Rowanberry and Officer Bhatt would pay the price for my lack of forethought.
I’m not psychic. Alex’s words came back to swirl in my head. Neither of us were psychic but that didn’t change the fact that if anything happened to them, it would be on my head.
Chapter 17
Alex killed the headlights and let the car roll to a stop. Across the road, number 38 sat in darkness. The only sign we had that Officer Bhatt and Ms. Rowanberry had beaten us here was the panda car that sat out front. Jasper the golden retriever sat in the front seat, his gaze trained on the house. The porch light was on, a small puddle of yellow light fighting back the darkness that closed in on all sides.
With the engine dead, silence drifted in around us.
“This doesn’t look good,” Alex said, unfastening his seatbelt silently.
Mine was already off, I’d unclipped it before the car had come to a complete halt. I stared up at the house, a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“We’re too late,” I said.
“You can’t be sure.” It was a futile attempt to make me feel better, and while I was grateful for it, we both knew the truth.
I’d learned long ago to listen to my gut and right now it was screaming the truth at me. Not that it would change what would happen next. If there was even the smallest chance that I could save them, then I would do everything in my power to do so… But if my gut was right and they were already dead, then I would ensure those responsible met a similar fate.
Sliding a blade from my belt, I slipped silently from the car, careful to shut the door behind me as gently as I could. I moved rapidly across the tarmac, light on the balls of my feet so that my boots didn’t make a sound. I stayed low to the ground. If someone looked out the window, I would have been little more than a shadow sliding over the dark street. Of course, if one the vamps did look out the window, then we were done for, but something told me he was going to have his hands full with Officer Bhatt. She’d been petite but I’d seen the steely determination in her eyes as she’d met mine. Whatever happened, she’d put up the kind of fight that would make the vampire regret ever underestimating her.
And underestimate her he would. As preternaturals went, they were the most egotistical of the bunch, always believing in their own hype as the superior predators.
Alex crept past me, heading toward the side of the house.
I waited until he disappeared from sight before I moved again, heading directly for the front door of the house and the puddle of yellow light that seemed utterly alien against the backdrop of the darkened home. The others on the street were all lit up, the occupants within moving about, safe and completely oblivious to everything that was going on right under their noses.
At the end of the path, I surveyed my surroundings and the front door that stood ajar. From the looks of things, they hadn’t even made it inside before the vamp had chosen to attack. I recognised the handbag Ms. Rowanberry had carried, it lay in the open doorway, the contents spilled across the floor, like a trail of breadcrumbs that disappeared into the darkness of the house.
Twisting the blade around in my grip, I crept forward, placing my feet carefully on the terracotta and black tiles of the entrance hall so as not to disturb the lipsticks and pens scattered on the floor.
Pausing, I closed my eyes and listened. There was a stillness to the air that felt unnatural. I waited, and a slight hitch of breath hit my ears like a wave of sound.
Without waiting for another sound, I was down the hall before the thoughts in my head had fully formed. A small white door under the stairs stood open. The mildewed air from within curled around me, the scent of old pennies and moth-balls invaded my senses. Considering the situation I found myself in, it wasn’t the scent I wanted to smell.
Eyeing the stares, I swore inwardly. There was no way I’d get down them noiselessly, and despite my ability to see in the dark, from my vantage point at the top of the stairs, I still had no idea what I was going to stumble into.
Drawing a breath in, I leapt into the darkness. If there was something waiting for me at the bottom of the wooden stairs, I wasn’t going to give it the chance to get the upper hand. Not if I could help it, anyway.
The floor of the basement was made from compacted dirt, and when I landed, a small plume of dust rose up around me, reminding me of the special effects from a B rated horror movie I’d watched months ago with Adrian. Rolling into my landing, I kept going, only coming back onto my feet when I knew the wall was at my back. I’d pulled the other blade from its position at my belt as I’d jumped, but I knew it wouldn’t do much to stop a vampire, well, not unless I could manage to pin him down long enough to saw his head off.
The creak of a floorboard from above my head told me Alex was in the house. Sloppy to make so much noise, especially when hunting something with hearing the equivalent of bat sonar.
Alex yelped, his pain palpable as two bodies crashed to the floor above my head. Definitely more than one vampire in the house.
Something shifted in the basement and I peered into the darkness, willing my eyes to adjust faster. Something heavy slammed into me, taking me to the dirt, and I found myself staring up into the wide staring eyes of Ms. Rowanberry. I had only a moment to notice the blueish tinge around her lips and the unnatural pallor of her skin before I rolled her weight from my chest.
Flipping onto my feet, a booted foot connected with my midsection, stealing the air from my lungs and doubling me over with a surprised grunt. The vampire moved, swinging around me in the darkness.
I straightened, catching the roundhouse kick that would have slammed my head into the wall with enough force to make me see stars for a week. I jerked the foot forward, drawing the vamp into what little light filtered through from the upstairs.
Her face, which under different circumstances might have made her attractive, was stretched in a snarl. She was more animal than human and I found it difficult to imagine she’d once been human.
Slicing upwards with the blades, I felt the serrated edges bite into the flesh of the vampires inner thigh. A growl of pain and the feel of her cold blood slicked my hands as she jerked awa.
Before I could track her movements she was back on top of me, driving me into the wall. She slashed at my face with nails that wouldn’t have seemed out of place on a large cat. Her olive skin was ashen as I kicked her in the stomach, driving her into the moonlight that poured in through a cracked window in the basement wall.
“Bitch.” She spat the word at me before attacking once more. This time, I saw her coming and side-stepped her lunge, swinging around her body so that I was behind her. I hooked her shoulders with my blades, digging them into her flesh, anchoring her in place. I drove my knee up into her spine, bending her practically in half, the crack of bone echoed in the confined space.
She screamed, a high keening wail that tore at my ears and brought tears to my eyes. The cry of a dying creature. She knew
she was beaten but it didn’t stop her from fighting on. Despite the blades in her shoulders, she clawed and twisted against my hold, like a wild animal cornered and injured. One mistake would see me ripped to pieces beneath her snapping jaws and her mouth full of fangs.
Shoving her forward, I ripped my blades free of her body. Without wasting time, or giving her the chance to recover, I wrapped an arm around her throat and rode her to the ground. Flipping the other blade over, I placed it against the base of her neck, pressing the serrated edge in against her spine, the other pressed to her throat. I jerked the blades across her flesh, cutting off her squeal of pained surprise as they simultaneously severed her vocal chords and spine in one quick precise movement.
I watched as she battled to survive, her body writhing uselessly in a fight to heal the wounds, the small amount of blood left coursing through her veins moved sluggishly, struggling to coagulate as it spilled onto the floor. With one knee between her shoulder blades I got to work. The darkness covered up the worst of the mess, and within moments her body had ceased all movement.
Stakes were so much easier and I regretted not carrying them.
Climbing to my feet, I moved over to Rowanberry’s body. She was dead, there was no doubt about it, but I still had to check. Her skin was cooling rapidly in the damp air of the basement and one side of her neck had been ripped and torn, as though the vamp had chewed on her.
Scanning the space, there was no sight of Officer Bhatt. A crash and the sound of splintered wood greeted my ears and without waiting I took the stairs two at a time. I ducked as I came out of the basement, narrowly avoiding the stake that embedded into the wall just above my head.
Alex’s eyes glowed, sweat dappling his skin as he lunged at the vamp in the middle of the room. He tackled him hard, driving him to the floor and they crashed through the middle of a glass coffee table in the centre of the room.
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