by Rose Pressey
Chapter 49
“Everything okay? Where are you going?” His expression was concerned.
I froze. “Sure.” I smiled. “Why wouldn’t it be? You just scared me, that’s all.” I chortled. Did I sound nervous? “Um, just stepping out for some fresh air? You shouldn’t sneak up on people.”
“Why didn’t you use the front door?” He pointed.
I swallowed hard. “I thought I’d check on the bar owner.” I pointed toward the office door. “No one’s back there. I guess they left together.”
“See, you were worried for nothing.” He gave a wicked grin and his eyes sparkled.
Thunder cracked again, lightning flickered, and I jumped.
“The blood has been cleaned up.” I turned to face him. I felt like a mouse cornered by a cat.
“I’ll just take a look,” he said.
Did he not believe me? I wasn’t making this story up. I stepped further into the hall, but not enough so that I couldn’t run if I needed to. He stopped at the office door and poked his head in, just as I had.
“See, no one’s there.” I brushed a loose hair from my forehead.
“And you say there was blood on the phone?”
I walked back down the hall to the office and pointed at the now spotless phone.
“Yeah, the receiver.”
He stepped inside and I stood at the doorway. Buzz walked over to the desk and peered down for a couple of seconds, then moved to the side and picked up the wastebasket. “I don’t see any towels or anything.”
I shrugged. “Maybe they threw them in the Dumpster.”
“So how much blood was there?”
“The thing was almost covered in it. What’s weird is there was no blood on the desk or anywhere else. Nothing on the floor.”
“Hmm. Well, I guess everyone’s okay then. No more dead—” He stopped before he finished, but I knew what he’d almost said.
A couple of steps and I was at the back door again. “I’m leaving. I don’t like being in here without the owner. I don’t know if they want to leave the place open, but heck, it’s not my problem. I have enough to worry about.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” My heart raced. Soon I’d be in the hospital hooked up to a monitor if my anxiety didn’t slow down. What was he about to confess to? Killing vampires? Following me and planning to kill me?
“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with Frank. Your voices echoed.”
“What conversation?” Of course, I played innocent.
“About the visions.”
This was it. The air was sucked out of me. My cheeks burned. My stomach turned. “So you think I’m crazy?”
“No, I don’t think that. Do you want to talk about it? You look as if you need to talk.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know Frank. Hell, I don’t know you, but he doesn’t seem like the type you can confide in.”
“And you are?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
“Well there’s not much to tell. When I found the bodies, I had visions of the murders, but I can’t see the killer. Just the victim.”
“And this is a recent occurrence?”
“Yes, the first time was when I found Johnny. But I’ve had dreams, too. I think they’re related.” Before he asked more questions, I had to know why Pierce Tyler was in the other room, sitting in the dark like some bat-shit crazy serial killer. He was probably picking out my coffin as I spoke. “What is the undertaker doing here?”
“Yeah, about that…I need you to talk with him.”
“Why do I need to talk with him? I’m not planning a funeral.” Gulp. And I hoped Buzz wasn’t, either. “Why is he so weird? Hell, I didn’t know he was sitting in the corner until I felt his beady little eyes staring at me. I looked over and there he was.”
“Just come talk with him, okay?”
Not sure I liked this situation. Thank goodness I had that pepper spray. I wished I had the spell book back. Maybe there was something in there that would work for me in this situation. Something to take away deranged undertakers?
I let out a deep breath. “Okay, but no funny business.”
He grinned and held his hands up in surrender. “No, no funny business.”
When we entered the room, Pierce was still in the same spot. With the same bizarre smirk on his face. His hands were clasped together on the table in front of him.
“Sorry if I startled you.”
“I think anyone would be startled to see you staring at them from a dark corner. No offense.”
He nodded. “None taken.”
Not sure what this was all about, but it couldn’t be good. Buzz said Pierce was a rockabilly fan. Please don’t let him want to join the band. He probably played the ukulele. I’d need a coffin after hearing that. At least he could supply it.
“So what’s this all about?”
“Have a seat.” Buzz pulled out a chair.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll stand, if it’s all the same to you.” Sitting next to Buzz made my emotions go haywire. His looks made my lady gears shift overtime. But his dark mystique made me want to run.
“Pierce wants your help.”
“Um, help with what?” Just because I’d seen a couple dead vampires didn’t mean I wanted to become his apprentice.
“The vampire killed at Ruby’s Blues Club a few weeks ago was his brother.”
“I’m so sorry.” I paused. The wheels turned in my head. The car had been Pierce’s brother’s? Did he know? “But how can I help you?”
“Buzz told me about your visions. I figure with your help we can find the killer.”
“Like I said, I didn’t mean to overhear.”
Likely story. He’d probably been all ears.
“Mr. Tyler—”
“Call me Pierce.”
“Pierce. I don’t know what Buzz told you, but my visions aren’t exactly the best. I can’t see the killer’s face. I don’t know who he is.”
“But maybe if we work together…maybe something in your visions will lead us to him. There may be a clue you’re overlooking.”
We sat in silence.
“Please, Ms. Mason, I’m desperate.”
“Veronica. Call me Veronica.
How could I help find the killer? My visions were skewed. If I thought I could figure this out, I would. But I couldn’t offer him a guarantee. Whatever. I’d go along with their game if it meant they’d leave me be. I still didn’t trust Buzz.
“I’ll help if I can.”
He sighed. “Thank you.”
“I do have one question for you. Do you know who bought your brother’s car? Apparently he sold it before he was killed. It was a dull gray ’57 Cadillac.”
“As far as I know, he never had a car like that.”
“Were you close to your brother?”
“Of course, we talked all the time.”
Lightning flickered again, casting a glow across the room for a split second, and I flinched. I looked closely at Pierce. This was the first time I’d seen him in more light. The tips of his fangs poked out touching his bottom lip. Why hadn’t I noticed he was a vampire before? A vampire mortician. Wasn’t there a law against that? Guess it was convenient for him. He could draw their blood and he’d be set. I bet he never paid for a drink. Hell, he probably sold the blood.
“So your brother didn’t own a car?”
“No, he did. He had a beat-up Toyota.”
“No Cadillac?”
“Nope.”
“That’s weird.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Huh?” I stalled. The lies weren’t slipping out of my mouth now. I needed to say something quickly. “I heard he had a Cadillac. Must have heard wrong.”
Not a very convincing lie.
“Have people been talking about him?” Pierce asked.
“Not really. I just heard the guy at the tattoo shop remark that the other vampire who had been killed drove a Cadill
ac. I’m sure he just had his facts wrong.”
Now that was better. Much smoother with the fibbing. The last thing I needed was to be caught in a lie. Pierce frowned, but I thought he bought it.
“Are you looking to get another tattoo?”
I knew what Buzz was getting at. He wondered why I was in the tattoo parlor. Something was odd about these two. I was not giving him the info he wanted. Take that, sexy Buzz Vaughn.
“I’m thinking about it, yes.”
“What are you going to get?”
He thought he was so clever.
“A pinup, singing into a microphone.”
“Oh, a tattoo of yourself.”
“A likeness of me, maybe.”
“Where at?”
“Where at what?”
I could play his game.
“Where on your body?”
“On my thigh.” He glanced down at my leg and I blushed.
I thought for sure Pierce would have information about the car. No wonder he needed help with finding his brother’s killer. If I had a chance, as much as I didn’t like the guy, I’d go back to the tattoo shop and ask again. Maybe the tattoo artist been yanking my chain.
“I’ll let Buzz know if I remember anything else from the visions.”
“That would be great, but in the meantime, I wrote down some questions. If you could just fill out the answers.” He pushed the white folded sheet of paper across the table. “You know, it would give me an idea of what exactly you saw. Then I can study them for clues.” He gave that creepy lopsided half smirk/half-grin again.
What the hell? The guy had me doing homework now. I grabbed the paper and stuffed it into my purse. Whatever he wanted to hear was fine. I wanted out of there. “Sure. I’ll do it as soon as I can.”
My exit couldn’t come fast enough.
Chapter 50
I moved past the stage, and on to the main entrance. When I reached the door, Buzz called out from behind.
I spun around. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry about the kiss last night. If I offended you.”
Did he have to yell it across the room like that? I’m glad no one else heard him. Well, except for Pierce. My stomach danced again. I was so confused I didn’t know up from down. Now was my opportunity to ask if he had been in the park. But I didn’t want to do it in front of Pierce.
“Walk me to my car,” I said.
“Sure.” He nodded, then looked down as if avoiding my gaze.
I opened the door before he had a chance to open it for me—none of the romantic stuff now, this was serious. More cars had arrived in the parking lot, but it was still practically empty. Leaves rustled in the wind and a car horn honked in the distance. I hardly noticed the sun peer out from behind the clouds. The storm had passed.
When I reached my car, I turned to look at him, then leaned against the door. “I have a question to ask.
He grinned. “Sure, hit me with it.”
“This morning, were you at the park next to my house?” My heart raced. I couldn’t believe I’d had the nerve to ask.
He stared at me. I couldn’t read his expression. Was he mad? Was he ready to attack me? I couldn’t help but think of how gorgeous he was. What a shame if he really was a bad guy. What a waste. It seemed as if an eternity passed with no words spoken.
“No, why do you ask?”
No? He was lying to me! Not cool. “I saw you.”
“Nope, wasn’t me, sorry. Must have been someone who looked like me.”
I found that hard to believe. Not a lot of guys walking around town with Fifties style hair and clothes to match. I searched his eyes, trying to detect his lie. But I’d never been good at reading people. Maybe if I stared long enough, he’d cave in and tell the truth. It didn’t work though, because he attempted to change the subject.
“Do you want to go to the diner and grab a bite?”
“Um, no. I have a few errands to run before tonight. I think I’d better head out.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
As I turned to open the door, he grabbed the handle and pulled. He stood so close my gaze traveled to his lips. Like last night, they were full and smooth, and just waiting for me to kiss them. I had to resist. I hurried behind the wheel.
He shut the door and I asked, “You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”
“I wouldn’t lie to you.” He met my stare.
He was either a good liar, or telling the truth. But I knew in my heart he was fibbing. Even though we’d just met, it hurt. I had hoped I could trust him. That somehow he’d be different. Different from all the other cheating snakes I’d known. It didn’t matter—as soon as the gig was up tonight, I’d tell him he was no longer a member of the band. And until then, I’d spend all day trying to prove he’d been at the park and catch him in the act of his lie. It would be so much easier when I told him to take a hike.
“Thanks again, Veronica,” Pierce called from across the parking lot.
I’d been so engrossed in Buzz that I hadn’t noticed him exit the bar. But since he did creep around, it wasn’t hard to miss him.
“Hey, I’ll call you soon, buddy.” Buzz waved as Pierce drove off. No hearse. Thank goodness. But a black Lincoln Town Car, nonetheless. It kind of resembled a hearse.
Buzz patted my door, letting me know it was securely closed, and I turned the ignition. He stepped back, but didn’t walk away. I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street. He didn’t know it, but I wasn’t going far. I’d circle around and, as soon as he was gone, I’d come back and leave a note on Monty’s truck. He didn’t need to see me—this was my business.
A couple of blocks down the road I pulled into a shopping center and parked between a truck and a car, backing into the spot and watching for Buzz to pass. I fidgeted with my hands. I always did when I was nervous. It was quite embarrassing, but I couldn’t help my anxiety. I leaned back on the leather seat and took in a deep breath. I reached up and swatted the fuzzy dice hanging from my rear-view mirror, then watched them sway back and forth. As much as I tried, I still couldn’t understand why any of this had happened. But understanding a madman was impossible. All that could be done was to locate him and stop him from doing anything further. As far as I knew, the vampires who were killed had led normal lives. Sure Johnny liked to scare people, but I’d never heard of him physically hurting anyone. I felt numb.
After about five minutes, with no sign of him, I navigated back onto the road and headed back to the bar. When I glanced in the rear-view mirror, I could have sworn I saw that old car. Was my mind playing tricks on me? Or was it back? When I returned to the parking lot, Buzz wasn’t there…but his motorcycle was. It had been about five minutes. Plenty of time for him to leave, I’d thought. If his bike was there, then where the heck was he? Pierce had already gone. Had he come back for him? What was with everyone disappearing from there? Was it some sort of bizarre Bermuda Triangle thing?
I pulled back into the spot I’d just left. If Buzz came around, I’d tell him I forgot something in the club. I didn’t know if I should get out and look for him, too. But what he did was none of my business. I grabbed a pad of paper from my bag and scribbled a note for Monty to call me as soon as he got it. Surely he’d be back around in an hour or two. As for Buzz, well, as long as he showed up for the show, that’s all I cared about. Well, not all, but all I was willing to allow myself to care about. I left the car running as I jumped out and placed the paper under the windshield wiper.
I looked around, but still no one was in the parking lot. It was like a ghost town. As I jumped back in the car, ready to get the heck out of there before I was sucked into the weird black hole, my cell phone rang. I flinched. My nerves were wound tighter than Daddy’s cheap flea market watch. I groped around in my bag until I finally pulled it out.
“Hello,” I said, still glancing over my shoulder with a paranoid gaze.
“Hey, where are you?”
I could tell by Kitty’s voice that she was ups
et. It wavered and sounded as if she’d been crying.
“I just finished with practice. What’s going on?”
She let out a deep breath. “Danny and I had a fight.”
“Oh, no.” I had to comfort her, but I wanted to do a happy dance in the parking lot. Would they break up for good? Would this be the end? “What happened?” I tried to sound seriously shocked by the news.
“He said I didn’t support him with his music career.” She snorted. “Can you believe that?”
I wanted to ask what music career, but that would just be mean and Kitty was my best friend. I was there to support her. When I knew they were honest to goodness broken up, I wasn’t beyond saying I told you so.
“What does he want you to do?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I told him I had to help you today and he said I spent way more time helping you with your career.”
“Kitty, you don’t have to help me. I already know what I’m going to wear. I don’t want to come between you and Danny.”
I’d like to drive a permanent wedge between them, but whatever. If she really loved him, who was I to stop her?
“But I wanted to do your hair real special for tonight.”
“I can handle it. The place is dark anyway, no one will even notice if I look bad.”
“Ha. As if. They would notice, but you never look bad anyway.”
I laughed. “Right.” I paused, considering my words carefully. “Why don’t you work things out with him? Maybe you’re just not spending enough time together.”
Hmm. After that came out, I realized that wasn’t the case. They did spend a lot of time together.