The Vampire Jerome

by Ann B. Morris

  AFTER ALL THE back and forth about her leaving or staying, it was apparent to Dottie that Jerome had finally decided she would be better off away from San Francisco. She had her suitcase packed and her flight to Mobile booked before noon. Unfortunately, due to a last minute rescheduling of her appointment with Dr. Stephens from that afternoon to the following day, she wouldn’t be able to leave until Wednesday morning. The change in plans left the entire day with nothing to do and she didn’t look forward to spending it alone in her room. The only thing she could think of to kill some time was to read.

  Thumbing through a local magazine she was struck with a sudden idea. She could spend her last day in San Francisco outdoors. The weather was a cool fifty-eight degrees, and with no rain in the forecast she couldn’t ask for a better last day to play tourist. A destination immediately came to mind. She would visit Fisherman’s Wharf.

  She had a moment’s hesitation remembering all of Jerome’s warnings about going out alone, but she quickly cast them aside. She had gone out twice before with no threat of harm to herself. There was no reason to think she would be any less safe today. She would spend this last day here trying to relax.

  She recalled a San Francisco travel video she’d watched that featured the Wharf and she remembered how windy it had been near the water. She would need a jacket of some sort. She had seen some light sports jackets in the store where she bought the sports bras; she could pick one up there. She was certain she had also seen pre-loaded cameras for sale in the same store. She would buy a camera and take pictures to bring home to Casey and Angela. And her father; she couldn’t forget her father. With a little luck, it would be one of his better days and he’d appreciate the San Francisco scenery.

  The shopping center would be her first stop. And since she had no idea how to get to Fisherman’s Wharf, she would ask directions from the sales clerk at the sports store.

  The decision to ask for directions from someone outside the house solved another problem. She would not have to ask Ella for directions which meant Jerome would never know that she had once more gone out against his wishes. Not that it mattered much now since she’d probably never see him again.

  That realization hit her full force. Once she left San Francisco, there would be no chance for a relationship between her and Jerome to develop. What had barely begun would end before it had been tested. It was too soon to know how she would handle that fact in the days to come. She was just now admitting to herself that Jerome had become very important to her.

  The first few bars of Greensleeves broke into her musings. She picked up her cell from the top of the dresser. It was Simone.

  “Did you see Jerome last night?” In all the years she had known her stepsister she had never heard such panic in her voice.

  Dottie saw no reason to lie. “Yes.”

  “Did he mention coming to New Orleans anytime soon?”

  She held back telling Simone how upset Jerome had been at her mention of his trip there. “Why do you ask?”

  The level of panic in Simone’s voice increased. “Because Julian is beside himself with worry that Jerome will not get here in time. Julian’s fever keeps rising and pretty soon it will be too late for them to perform the ritual.”

  “Ritual? You mean what will take place when Jerome is transformed?”

  “Yes. The ritual of transferring some of Julian’s blood to Jerome. It has to be done when Julian’s fever is at its peak.”

  Dottie was confused. “Why are you calling me instead of Jerome?”

  “We haven’t been able to contact him. He hasn’t returned Julian’s or Michael’s calls. They’ve even tried to reach him through his business manager.”

  “Gordon?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you want me to see if I can get in touch with Gordon? I’m not sure that I can, but I’ll try.”

  “Yes. Please try, Dottie. It’s very important. I know Julian will be eternally grateful if you do.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” Now was not the time to let her stepsister know of her own fractured relationship with Jerome. Or that she was getting ready to leave San Francisco for Mobile. As soon as she realized how upset Simone was she decided not to add to her stepsister’s worries. She’d call Simone from Mobile as soon as she got home. By then maybe this other situation would have been resolved.

  Dottie was relieved when the conversation ended. That Simone made no mention about the state of Dottie’s health was another sign of just how worried Simone was about Julian. And how important this ritual was to them all. She slipped the cell phone in her pocket and went in search of Ella.

  She found the housekeeper on the back deck watering some potted plants. The woman looked at her suspiciously when she asked for Gordon’s phone number. Nevertheless, she invited Dottie into the kitchen where she retrieved a small address book from a kitchen drawer.

  “Is there a problem, Miss Dottie?” Ella asked as she handed Dottie a piece of paper on which she’d written the phone number.

  Dottie pocketed the note. “Nothing for you to worry about, Ella.” She left the kitchen quickly, before the woman could continue with her questioning.

  Back in her room, Dottie dug the piece of paper and the cell phone out of her pocket. She entered Gordon’s number in the contact list and dialed the number. Gordon’s phone rang six times before his voice mail answered. Frustrated she drummed her fingers on the dresser while she left a message for Gordon to call her as soon as possible. She left her own cell number before she disconnected.

  She considered delaying her outing until she heard from Gordon, but decided she could talk to both him and Simone from her cell phone no matter where she was. Finally ready to leave, she gave her leather backpack a moment of consideration before deciding against taking it with her. Instead, she slipped the phone in one pants pocket and her wallet in the other. As she turned to leave, she spied the bracelet Jerome had given her on the bedside table. She had decided to leave it for him when she left, but she saw no harm in taking it with her now. It would give her something of Jerome’s to hold close during these last few hours in San Francisco.

  Dottie slipped the bracelet into the pocket with her phone and left the house by the front door. No sense putting herself in Ella’s path and risk another question she couldn’t answer.

  After a brief warm-up Dottie started her jog to the shopping center with a quick look over her shoulder. As on her previous outings she saw nothing out of the ordinary. This unfounded feeling that someone was watching her every time she left the house was not one of the things she would miss when she went home.

  The sense of being watched was still with her after she made her purchases and left the sports store. Following the directions the clerk had given her, she caught a bus to Fisherman’s Wharf. She walked along Pier 39 and stopped in a few of the stores for souvenirs to take home. She took some pictures and considered going over to Hyde Street Pier to see the old boats the clerk in the store had told her about. Having skipped breakfast, however, she decided to put off the rest of her sightseeing until after lunch.

  There was no shortage of restaurants from which to choose, and she found one with a menu that appealed to her Southern palate and went inside. She ate heartily despite the feeling of despair that hovered over her like a cloud. She could do everything in the world to keep occupied until the time came to leave, but it wouldn’t erase the longing she already felt. She couldn’t wait to get home to see her family, yet she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Jerome.

  She was settling her bill when a man across the room caught her eye. A stranger that seemed familiar. Probably someone she had seen during her walk along the Pier. Oddly, he reminded her of her father. Had she been at home in Mobile she might have considered that he had somehow managed to leave the healthcare facility.

  A moment of undeserved guilt took hold and sh
e began to berate herself again for accepting the job that had taken her to New Orleans and ultimately to the gates of hell. But common sense took over and she knew there was nothing for which she should blame herself. She had been doing her job. A job she loved. A job which allowed her to take good care of herself and her daughter.

  She shook the gloom away, left the restaurant and headed in the direction of Hyde Street Pier to continue her sightseeing. That was when she saw the man from the restaurant hurrying toward her. Only it wasn’t the stranger who had reminded her of her father she realized almost instantly; it was Gordon. What in the world was he doing here?

  Gordon waved and she waved back. She was getting ready to ask what had brought him here to the Wharf when he was suddenly close enough for her to notice an unusual brightness in his eyes. He slipped his arm around her waist. Before she could object, she felt a sting in her neck and her thoughts grew fuzzy. Her knees went weak and someone was helping her walk. A hand pressed down on the top of her head and shoved her forward. A car door slammed shut. Her stomach roiled. The world began to spin, and when the darkness came she welcomed it.

  EVERY TIME DOTTIE tried to stand her head spun and she fell to her knees. She had no idea where she was except she sensed from the dank smell it was probably somewhere deep in the bowels of the earth. The darkness that surrounded her was so dense she could almost touch it.

  She sank down on the damp earth and rested her head on her knees, fear and despair a heavy weight on her shoulders. She fought the bile that rose in her throat and clawed her way through the haze that lifted intermittently from her clouded thoughts. If there was any chance to find her way out of this dark abyss she had to make good use of the few moments of clarity that came to her in sporadic waves.

  Her last few seconds at Fisherman’s Wharf flashed across her mind in bits and pieces. She remembered a man coming toward her. A man she knew. It was Gordon. He must have followed her when she left the house that morning. He had come upon her suddenly and injected something into her neck. But why would Gordon do such a thing? He was Jerome’s right-hand man, his friend.

  Her thoughts grew fuzzy again. An overwhelming need for sleep tugged at her, but she knew she had to stay awake and plan an escape. She wondered what time it was. She figured it had to be night because she had been here a very long time.

  A terrifying thought struck her. She might never get out of this dark, foul smelling prison. She might never see her child again. Or her father or Simone and Angela. She might never see Jerome again. The thought brought with it a new reality. Until this moment she hadn’t consciously admitted that she loved him. She knew now that she had loved him almost from the moment they met, from the instant their hands had first touched.

  Her head throbbed and the overwhelming desire to allow the darkness to claim her grew stronger. With all her strength she fought to recall the faces of the ones she loved and longed to see again. She had to stay awake.

  Finally, she focused on one face—Jerome’s. She loved him with all her heart, body and soul. She could not die before she had the chance to tell him how much he meant to her.

  JEROME RELIVED HIS entire life while he slept, and it was still fresh in his mind Monday night when he opened his eyes to the darkness of another day.

  The delicious smells from his mother’s kitchen surrounded him and his arms ached to embrace her with a child’s innocent love. They were a family then; he, Julian and Jonah. That was before Michael appeared and the world as he knew it changed.

  He stepped out of the coffin, his body adjusting to the atmosphere around him, his mind still dealing with the events of more than a century past.

  It had taken a long time for his innocence to die. During the early years of his transformation there would be days when the vampire never surfaced. But as the years increased, the vampire appeared with more and more frequency, until finally one day it was his one true nature. The vampire was who he was, what he had become, what he embraced.

  How could he give up his vampire nature after living for more than a century at the edge of the darkness to which he had become both master and slave? How could he give up the unending supply of beautiful warm bodies that were always available to sate his lust and feed his modest need for blood? Almost immediately Thea’s face appeared before him and he knew the answer to his questions. He could give up everything and everyone but her.

  But Thea wasn’t his to keep or to set free. She had a mind of her own and an independent nature he both admired and envied. Hadn’t she accepted his vampire nature with its extreme sexuality without so much as the blink of an eye? She had even come to accept his insufferable behavior and his equally nasty temper with laudable aplomb.

  Well, most of the time she did. When it was necessary, she stood up to him with courage and strength. But through all their disagreements and conflicts he always felt deep down that she truly cared about him.

  But he wasn’t a fool. He couldn’t close his eyes to the truth. Thea had made the best of a difficult situation. A situation that had finally come to an end. She was going home.

  Relieved that the extreme effects of the magnetic shift has passed, he dressed quickly and rushed upstairs. An ache spread across his chest when Thea wasn’t at her usual place in the living room. He hadn’t really expected she would be. They had, for all intents and purposes, said their goodbyes last night. He closed his mind to thoughts of Thea and opened his office door. Gordon was waiting for him inside. Jerome knew instantly something was wrong.

  “I have bad news,” Gordon volunteered.

  Already agitated from the lingering memories of his dream and Thea’s absence, Jerome threw up his hands. “Whatever it is, get it over with. I have work to do.”

  Gordon squared his shoulders and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “The earthquake is imminent, and you’re needed in New Orleans—like yesterday.” He took in a deep breath, let it out slowly and added, “On top of that, your houseguest has disappeared.”

  “AH, SO YOU’RE finally awake.”

  Dottie knew that voice. A cold fear started in the pit of her stomach and raced through her entire body.

  “Open your eyes, Dottie Crawford. Don’t you want to see where you are?”

  Dottie squeezed her eyes shut tight. Where had she heard that voice before? Why did it strike terror in her heart? Her thoughts drifted and she felt groggy and heavy-headed. Had the narcolepsy returned? She banished the thought immediately. This awakening was much different than it was after the forced sleep of the past several weeks.

  “Why are you so resistant, my dear? It will do you no good, you know. You may have escaped me once, but there is no Julian Whitcombe or a sister to help you now.”

  That voice. She knew that voice. Her head began to clear. She remembered Gordon, the prick in her neck, the swift slip into unconsciousness. The putrid smell of the earth that enveloped her bombarded her senses. Her heart slammed against her ribs and the icy chills that had gripped her earlier, returned. She wound her arms around herself for warmth.

  “Open your eyes,” the wicked voice urged again.

  What did this evil man want with her? Why had he kidnapped her?

  “Keeping your eyes closed will not change the future, my dear. As long as you’re here, The Whitcombe Legacy will not be fulfilled.”

  The Whitcombe Legacy? What did that have to do with her?

  “As long as I have you,” the fiendish voice mocked, “as long as you’re here with me, Jerome Whitcombe will not leave this city.”

  Jerome? Jerome wouldn’t leave? The Whitcombe Legacy would not be fulfilled? Her mind finally grasped the meaning of this sadistic man’s words, and she felt terror and pain in her heart like never before.

  Rough hands took hold of her shoulders and shook her savagely until her eyes flew open. The evil face had not changed. Nor had the foul breath or the eyes
that spat fire.

  It was Zurik.

  He had found her.

  And he was holding her hostage. Again.

  Chapter Fifteen

  IT TOOK A FEW seconds for Gordon’s words to make sense to Jerome. He had been expecting the possibility of an earthquake. He had expected inner turmoil over the trip to New Orleans. He had also expected Thea to leave. But he had not expected her to leave this way. He had not expected her to disappear without a word.

  His insides began to tremble. “What do you mean she disappeared? When? How do you know?”

  “Ella went to check on her when she didn’t show up for dinner. She hadn’t appeared for lunch either.”

  “Are her things gone?”

  “No. Her suitcase is on the bed, packed, but open. And the room has obviously been put in order.”

  Jerome struck his palm with his fist, his voice rising with every strike to his flesh. “You should have kept an eye on her.”

  Gordon didn’t flinch. “I know you’re upset, Jerome, but shouting isn’t going to get us anywhere.”

  Jerome closed his eyes and pursed his lips, a silent admission that he agreed with his friend. When he spoke again, his voice was controlled. “Do you have any idea where she might be?”

  “The word is Zurik has her.”

  Jerome’s eyes grew fiery and the vein at his temple bulged. He scoured the room like a caged tiger looking for a means of escape. But there was no escape from his love for Thea. His gaze fell to his desk and, with one swift action, he scooped up a glass paperweight and hurled it viciously across the room. The window it broke was a vivid reminder of how his life had shattered. He spun to face Gordon, eyes still blazing, fists clenched. “Why didn’t you tell me this the instant you walked into the room?”

  “Because I knew how you’re react and I thought it best to break the news to you slowly.”

  Jerome clenched and unclenched his fists in rhythm with the rapid beat of his heart. It took every ounce of control he could muster to keep his voice level. “Where are they?”