Rhiannon wasn’t sure whether to be angry that they had missed an opportunity to gain information—assuming that there really had been any information to be gained, and that the offer hadn’t simply been the bait to get Sailor alone—or just grateful that her cousin was all right. She was also forced to acknowledge the possibility that Sailor had been the real target the other night, just as she might well have been tonight.
“There’s no one here,” she called back to her cousin. “Let’s get back in. Sailor, I don’t care how safe you think the Snake Pit is—please don’t answer a summons like that again. Not alone.” She turned to Adam. All she needed was a young geeky cop who knew nothing of the Otherworld following them around.
“Adam, thanks, and I don’t mean to insult you, but please don’t follow us. We’re pretty tough, and we could wind up kicking your ass before we realized you were one of the good guys.”
He laughed. “Okay, backing off right now.”
“Rhiannon?”
At the sound of her name, she swung around to see Declan standing just outside the door and looking at her curiously.
“Everything okay?” he asked. “The audience is getting restless.”
Rhiannon turned back to her sister. “I’ve got to get back in there. Sailor, please?”
“I’m coming. And I won’t leave again, I promise.”
“You should give me that napkin,” Adam said. “I can get it to the forensic experts.”
Rhiannon had the napkin and she wasn’t letting it go. “I want to show it to Brodie first, Adam, and then he can get it to you. Now let’s go,” she said. “I’d like to keep working here.”
Sailor nodded and headed back toward the entrance. Adam followed her, and Rhiannon brought up the rear. Declan was waiting for her at the door. “Everything all right?” he asked.
“Of course. I just ran out for some air—and to see Sailor for a minute.”
Declan seemed to sense that something was wrong, because when she started to follow the others he caught her arm. “Look—I know you’re worried, so let me watch Sailor,” he said. “I promise, I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Thanks,” she said, feeling backed into a corner. Declan might not be in the play himself, but the Snake Pit was involved with the film, which meant he was involved, too.
And Declan had been there the night she and her cousins saw the show.
Declan was a Keeper for the shifters. And that meant he could be anything he wanted to be.
She prayed that Brodie would arrive soon.
Everyone was looking like a suspect to her.
Back at her piano, she no longer saw the room as being filled with charming people who loved music.
They’d all suddenly become evil.
Chapter 11
“Audrey!” Brodie called.
She paused just before sliding into the driver’s seat and looked back at him. “Hey!” she called in return. “You going to the Snake Pit?”
“Yes, I heard you were going, too,” he said. He walked over and bent down to check out the young woman in the passenger seat.
“This is Penny Abelard,” Audrey said. “Penny, Mac Brodie. He joined the cast when we were in production, after someone had to drop out. Brodie, Penny tried out for the role of Lucy, which is when we met. She made the callbacks, and Darius Simonides has talked to her about a role in one of the touring companies.”
“Penny, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Brodie said.
“Likewise,” she said. She looked like so many Hollywood hopefuls: reed thin, blond and very pretty, with huge dark eyes.
He focused his mind on her. It didn’t take much effort—her thoughts were wide open and easy to read. She was a little bit jealous of Audrey, but mostly she was just anxious, hopeful, focusing all her dreams on getting that role. There was nothing evil to be found in her thoughts, not that he’d expected there to be.
“I thought it would be good for her career to be seen with us at the club,” Audrey said as Penny continued to stare at him, wide-eyed. Audrey gave her a little punch in the arm. “That boy is taken,” she said teasingly. “He’s got a girlfriend. But he’s fun to hang around with anyway. Mac, we’re going to get going, okay?”
“I’ll follow you,” Brodie said.
“Think you can keep up with me? I drive pretty fast, you know,” she teased.
He tried to zero in on Audrey’s thoughts. It was hard, even painful. But all she was thinking about was the strong desire to beat his driving skills.
He stepped away from her quickly, acutely aware that he needed to preserve his strength in case something dangerous happened later.
“No drag racing,” he told her. “The cops will be on us like...like flies on a corpse.”
Audrey grinned. “I’ll drive safely. Let’s get going.”
He wished he could take Penny Abelard in his car, but that would be obvious. Audrey knew the cops were looking for a killer—a vampire killer—and he didn’t want her to start wondering whether he was who he said he was.
At least she wouldn’t act if she knew he was right behind her. If she was even the killer. Penny’s presence in her car was strongly circumstantial, but it wasn’t exactly proof.
He hurried to his car. Audrey was already pulling out onto the street as he slipped his key into the ignition.
She drove fast, but safely. She even used her blinker.
She drove straight to the Snake Pit and pulled up by the valet stand.
Both women got out of the car safely.
He gave his own keys to the valet and joined the women, who had waited for him. Before they even made it to the door another car pulled up.
“Look, there’s Hunter,” Audrey said with a smile. “And he’s got Lena and Kate with him. We’re all going upstairs, I take it?” She turned to Penny. “His girlfriend is a singer here.”
“Well, I’m heading upstairs,” Brodie said. “I don’t mean to tell the rest of the crowd where to go.”
The newcomers joined them, and Brodie led the way upstairs. The room was filled, not an empty table in sight. Rhiannon was at the piano, running her fingers over the keys and singing. He took a moment just to look at her, his body responding to the mere sight of her in a way that could quickly turn embarrassing if he weren’t careful.
He was startled out of his fantasy when Sailor came up behind him, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek before turning to the others. “I’ve got a table we can squash into,” she said. “Darius is the only one with me at the moment, and I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you all.”
“Thanks,” Brodie said.
“Hey, I met one of your coworkers tonight,” Sailor said as she led the way to the table. “Adam Lansky. I think he’s trying to be you—he was trying to keep an eye on us. Sweet, huh?”
Brodie frowned, uncomfortable with what she’d just told him. Adam had always been a desk jockey, and he was excellent at what he did. Today he’d come out to a crime scene. He’d gone to the Mystic Café. And now he was watching the Gryffalds at the Snake Pit.
No one knew more about the murders than himself, Tony Brandt—and Adam.
He looked around and saw Adam flirting with a couple of twentysomethings at another table. So long as he was leaving Rhiannon and her cousins alone... And then he felt guilty, because what if the guy’s motives were totally on the up-and-up?
He slipped in next to Audrey and thought, Hail, hail, the gang’s all here. And for some gut-level reason he was certain that, though he still didn’t know the rhyme or the reason for what was going on, the killer was in the room.
Declan and Hugh were at a nearby table, and he saw Jerry Oglethorpe across the room. The other man looked at Brodie gravely and lifted his glass.
He left the table and walked toward the stage, catching Rhiannon’s eye and nodding toward the side of the room. She didn’t miss a note as she smiled and nodded back. Confident that she’d read his intent, he headed back to the others.
As soo
n as she announced that she was taking a break, he stood and went over to the stage to meet her. She caught his hand, and for a long moment they just stood there, staring into each other’s eyes. He could sense that the audience was whispering about them.
As she drew him out of the room, she slipped something into his hand. As soon as they were outside, he frowned and looked at it.
“Sailor received this tonight. I saw her leave the room and ran after her,” Rhiannon said. “I asked her what was going on, and she gave it to me.”
“Who wrote it?” Brodie asked.
“I don’t know. I called out to her because someone was following her—which turned out to be Adam—and by the time I reached the smokers’ corner no one was there.”
“Who gave her the napkin?”
“She didn’t know. One of the servers.”
“Then I’ll talk to them all,” he said grimly.
He held her arm as they returned upstairs, then watched as she made her way back to the piano. Instead of joining the others, he walked over to the bar, where Declan was standing.
Declan lifted a glass to him. “I hear you’re a hit as an actor.”
Brodie shrugged. “I’ve had worse undercover work, that’s for sure.”
“How many of your cast know who and what you really are?” Declan asked him.
“Well, any Other knows that I’m an Other, too, but I’m hoping no one knows that I’m a cop and I’m there investigating them. All.” He stared at Declan. “Why were you at the show the same night the Gryffald girls were there?” he asked point-blank.
Declan stared back at him in surprise, then offered him a bitter smile. “You think I’m the murderer?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Read my mind, Elven. You’ll see that my actions are pure.”
Brodie gave him a dry grin. “If I tried to read your mind, you’d do your best to block me, so I’d be wasting my energy. I was just asking.”
Declan let out a sigh. “I wanted to keep an eye on Barrie, find a way to get to know her better. She’s a brand-new Keeper, responsible for the shifters, just like I am. When you came to the Snake Pit with Hunter Jackson, I recognized you right away—I’ve seen you in the papers a few times—and I realized you were working undercover. I already knew something serious was going on in the Otherworld. Rumors fly—no matter how people try to contain social media these days, someone is always posting or emailing something. I figured you were on to the same thing. I knew you were in the show, so I figured there must be a reason for that—that it had to be connected to your investigation in some way—and when I heard that the Gryffald girls were going it seemed like a good chance to kill two birds with one stone. That’s all there is to it.”
Was he telling the truth? Brodie decided to chance a probe into Declan’s mind, and he had to admit he was surprised to find out that the Keeper was being sincere.
Brodie nodded. “In that case, I need your help.”
“How?” Declan asked. “I’ll do anything.”
“Someone sent Sailor a note on a cocktail napkin, asking to meet her outside. Rhiannon went after her, but she never saw who was waiting. The note referred to the Gryffald family, so it could have been intended for any one of them. I have to talk to your servers and find out where that note came from.”
Behind him, someone cleared his throat. Brodie turned to face Jerry Oglethorpe, owner of the House of Illusion.
Vampire.
“You don’t need to question people,” Jerry said quietly. “I sent the note, and the server messed up. It was intended for Rhiannon.”
* * *
Two hours later, after the club had closed, Rhiannon sat at a table with her cousins, Declan, Brodie and Jerry.
“I think I know the vampire killed at the House of the Rising Sun,” Jerry told them. “It was Celeste Monahue. Do you remember her?”
They all looked at him blankly.
Jerry sighed. “She was the Gloria Swanson of the vampire set—an actress who was huge in the forties and fifties. We don’t age, not much, anyway, but this is Hollywood. There’s always someone younger coming up. She stopped getting the roles she wanted. Darius told her that she had to accept the motherly parts when they came along, and that didn’t sit well with her. She wanted work in my shows, but...magicians’ assistants tend to be young and leggy, as well as beautiful. Then one day she told me she was going to make a comeback. A big comeback. And now...well, now I haven’t seen her in a few days. She wasn’t at the council meeting the other night. I wanted to tell you my suspicions, Rhiannon, but I didn’t want to be obvious, so I wrote that note and asked you to meet me.” He looked at Rhiannon apologetically, and then at Sailor. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to create a problem.”
Rhiannon set a hand on his. “It’s all right, Jerry. No harm done.”
“Jerry,” Brodie said. “Did Celeste say anything specific about her big comeback? What the part was or who was offering it to her?”
Jerry shook his head. “Nothing, sorry. All I know is she hasn’t been seen since. I don’t think she would have planned anything evil herself, but she longed to be famous again—known for her talent and her beauty. I can see how she might have been easily led astray by someone promising her that if she carried out a ‘mission’ she’d get everything her heart desired. I think she was your vampire and now she’s ash.”
“Did she ever say anything—even in casual conversation—that might have indicated that she had an in anywhere?” Brodie pressed.
Jerry was thoughtful for a minute. “Well, I don’t know if it means anything, but...she seemed fond of humans lately—not in a bad way, not as a food source,” he amended quickly. “She said she enjoyed discovering their talents.”
“Thank you, Jerry,” Brodie said, and looked at Rhiannon. He was convinced now that more than one person was involved. Someone—someone human, he suspected—was pulling strings and getting vampires to work for them.
“Come to the House of Illusion on Sunday night,” Jerry said. “Brodie, your show will be dark, and Rhiannon doesn’t work at the Mystic Café or here on Sunday nights. We get a real variety of Others and humans in the audience. Someone is bound to talk about Celeste going missing, maybe even make the connection that she was the one who was killed at the House of the Rising Sun.” He looked at each of the three Gryffald cousins in turn. “I’d like to help. You girls were just tossed into the fray. We owe your fathers, and we owe you.”
“Thank you, Jerry,” Rhiannon said, and her cousins echoed her words.
Declan rose, impatient. “Like it or not, you three are in it now. You’re in it up to your teeth.”
He was staring at Barrie as he spoke, which made sense, Brodie though. They were both shifter Keepers, Declan the Coastal Keeper and Barrie the Canyon Keeper. The Snake Pit actually fell under her jurisdiction.
Then Declan turned to Sailor. “Honestly,” he said. “There’s been a string of murders—possibly committed by a vampire—and you leave your window open?”
Startled, she stared at him, then shoved her chair back angrily and stood up. “I think we’ve done what we can do here tonight,” she said. “Could we go home now, please?”
The others rose.
“My article will be in tomorrow’s paper,” Barrie said. “Which means a whole lot of evil may come crawling out of the woodwork.”
“Good. Maybe that will help us solve this thing soon,” Declan said. “All of you, out now. I need to lock this place up for the night.”
* * *
When they left the Snake Pit, it was in silence. Everyone was exhausted.
Barrie drove with Brodie, and Sailor went with Rhiannon. Caught up in her own thoughts, Rhiannon didn’t realize until they reached the estate that Sailor seemed to be seething.
She slammed the door when she got out of the car.
“Sailor?” Rhiannon asked.
“Sorry—I’m fine. I’m not angry with you.”
“What’s the ma
tter?”
“That man is an ass!” Sailor said.
“What man?”
“Declan Wainwright.”
“Ignore him,” Rhiannon said. “He thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips. Half the time he treats me like a servant, too, but I have to be decent to him. I made more money tonight than all week at the Mystic Café. And I think he really is trying to help Brodie and me.”
Sailor shook her head. “He makes me so mad! He’s not an Elven Keeper, he’s a shapeshifter Keeper—and he lives in Malibu, for God’s sake. I’m an Elven Keeper—if someone wants to be a jerk to me, it should be Brodie. But he’s not, and do you know why? Because he’s Elven. He’s decent, intelligent. He doesn’t prejudge people. And it’s not like I can just avoid the damned Snake Pit! It’s a hot spot for everyone in the industry...everyone I need to know.”
“Ignore him, Sailor. Just ignore him.”
Sailor nodded. “Yeah, all right.” She gave Rhiannon a hug. “Thanks,” she said softly. “Good night, and don’t worry—I won’t leave any windows open.”
Rhiannon saw Brodie watching them as Barrie waved and went off toward Gwydion’s Cave. Rhiannon was touched when Brodie came over to join them and gave Sailor a fierce hug. “Get in your house and lock up,” he told her. “You’ll be fine.”
“I will. And if you see our ghost-pa, Merlin, send him over to me, okay? He’s a great watchdog.” Her brows rose. “Hey, that’s what we need. A watchdog.”
“I’d like a dog,” Rhiannon agreed.
“Well, good night,” Sailor said.
Rhiannon and Brodie watched until she was safely inside the main house. Then he slipped his arm around Rhiannon. “Night. Time to rest,” he murmured.
“Rest,” she echoed. “And wind down...”
“Wind down,” he repeated, grinning. “Nice euphemism.”
Rhiannon laughed, fitting her key into the door lock. Brodie was leaning against her, and she started to laugh, ready to swing into his arms the minute they got inside. Then she saw that they weren’t alone.
Merlin was standing there looking impatient, as if he’d been waiting for them forever. “Well?” he demanded.
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