Murder in Vein

by Sue Ann Jaffarian

  "A vampire. A very new one." Pauline paused, trying to remember. "I don't know exactly what happened, but Julie was tried and convicted by the council. Stacie and Colin blame each other for it."

  "What happened to Julie?"

  Pauline shrugged. "Not sure. Suddenly, she was gone-like she never existed."

  "What did she do to get into so much trouble?"

  Pauline gave another shrug. "No one talks about it."

  A buzzer sounded, and Pauline went to the laundry room off the kitchen and returned with a basket of freshly washed and dried towels. She put the basket down on the table and started folding the towels. Madison started to help, but Pauline stopped her. "Your hand," she reminded her.

  Frustrated, Madison put the warm towel down. "How boring is it going to be to sit here and do nothing all day?"

  Pauline smiled. "When I think of a one-handed job, I'll give you a holler"

  After folding a couple of towels, Pauline continued telling Madison about the council. "The Dedhams are thick as thieves with Kate Thornton and her husband. The four of them do a lot together-bridge, opera, stuff like that. Colin does a good impression of an English James Dean-sullen, brooding, and angry-but he must be solid or Samuel wouldn't have him on the council. Eddie Gonzales is a small, paunchy man with a big brain for business."

  "I didn't meet him," Madison said. "Samuel said two of the members weren't there, but he didn't give names."

  Pauline again paused to think. "Stacie handles most of the domestic legal work for vampires in this area. When people live for hundreds of years, things like estates, taxes, and property can get pretty complicated, not to mention people start to notice when someone doesn't age over twenty or thirty years. She makes sure no red flags are flying. She and Eddie work together a lot to protect the assets of their vampire clients."

  "Colin called her a'puritanical do-gooder.' What did he mean by that?"

  "Stacie also runs a weekly legal-aid clinic for the homeless."

  "There are vampire homeless?"

  "No," Pauline laughed. "She does it for the living, for beaters. She believes in giving back to the community, as does Mrs. D. Stacie brings her old clothing she collects, and Mrs. D mends and fixes them so they can be redistributed to the needy."

  "That's a far cry from the vampires on TV."

  "There are some out there like that-selfish and brutal-but Samuel La Croix keeps a tight rein on them." Pauline paused to think, counting the council members on her fingers. "Oh yeah, there's also Isabella Claussen. Did you meet her?"

  Madison shook her head.

  "I'm not sure what Isabella does," Pauline continued, "but I've heard she runs a lot of errands for Samuel all over the worldsort of like an ambassador for the council with other vampire groups. Can't miss her. She looks like a high-class runway model."

  Madison looked up at Pauline with rapt interest. "Tell me about Samuel."

  Pauline stopped folding towels. "Child, that man's a puzzle-both dangerous and kind in one handsome, elegant box. He can charm the pants off you, as well as scare them off, simultaneously."

  "So I noticed." Madison fingered the edge of the plastic clothes basket. "Is he really blind?"

  "You saw his eyes?"

  Madison nodded, leaving out the part where she had stupidly snatched Samuel's sunglasses from his face.

  "Physically," Pauline continued, "his eyes are as useless as Stevie Wonder's, but he can see as good as the two of us, maybe better." Pauline started back on the towels. "Strange things happen to people when they turn, physical things. A lot of their senses increase, like hearing, strength, speed. Other times they are returned to better health. Mr. D tells it that he was bent from arthritis. But look at him now, tall and straight as a pine tree. Well, Samuel's eyesight was returned, even though his eyes still appear blind." She put the folded towel aside. "Some people say Samuel La Croix can see right through to a person's soul."

  At this, Madison shuddered, remembering how Samuel's blind eyes had pierced her own, digging for the foundation of her existence, as if he could read her life story like a paperback novel.

  "He's not African-American," Madison said. "Where is he from?"

  "The way I hear it, he was sold into slavery as a young boy in Africa, eventually ending up in Egypt. It was during the time Rome ruled Egypt."

  "Rome? You mean like during the time of Cleopatra?"

  "No, after that. It was in Egypt that his master blinded him. Never heard why, but he was a young man by then. He was turned into a vampire several years later." Pauline stopped folding and looked around, then bent toward Madison. "I heard," she whispered, "that Samuel tracked down the man who blinded him and drank the blood of each of his three daughters until they died, forcing the man to watch"

  Again, Madison shuddered. "Then he killed the man?"

  Pauline shook her head. "Samuel spared his life, forcing him to live with the horror. The man ended up taking his own life." She paused. "At least that's what I've heard."

  FOURTEEN

  olin Reddy came by to pick Madison up around nine thirty. He was dressed all in black again, with a black leather jacket. Madison was wearing jeans and boots, with a long-sleeved cardigan sweater over a tee shirt. When she came down the stairs, he and the Dedhams were waiting for her.

  Colin looked her over with a critical eye. "Is that what you're wearing?"

  "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

  "You look straight off a farm in Iowa"

  "Well, excuuuuuse me," Madison snarled.

  "I'm afraid that's my fault, Colin," Dodie told him. "I didn't bring many of Madison's things over."

  Madison looked at Dodie. "You could have brought my entire closet and it wouldn't have mattered." She turned to Colin. "I'm a little too busy in my life to worry about club fashion, let alone have the money to buy it."

  "I anticipated that." Colin held out a bag he was holding in one hand. "Go back up and put these on. I think I got the sizes right." He studied her again. "The boots and hair are perfect, but put on a lot more makeup."

  Madison snatched the bag from his hands, gave him a salute, and started back up the stairs.

  Dodie followed her up. "I'll help you, Madison."

  When she came back down the stairs thirty minutes later, Madison was dressed in a short black leather skirt, her boots, and a tight black sleeveless tee shirt with a skull printed on the front. The skull had a tiny pink bow jauntily stuck to the side of its head. With Dodie's help, Madison had applied thick eyeliner, dark eye shadow, and extra mascara. She topped it off with lipstick borrowed from Dodie. She wore her long hair loose.

  This time when Madison came downstairs, Colin gave her a thumbs up.

  Doug looked at Colin and Madison, then said to Dodie, "Don't you feel like we're sending them off to their prom?"

  "A prom with a Halloween hooker theme, maybe," Madison quipped. Looking at Colin, she pointed to the skull on her shirt. "Nice touch with the bow," she told him.

  He gave her a half grin. "I thought so." He held out a hand to her. "Let's see your hand." Madison put her left hand in his, palm up, for inspection. "Looks real," he said, then dropped it.

  Madison donned her jacket and slung her bag over her shoulder. Colin reached out and took the bag away. "Leave this," he told her, handing the bag to Dodie.

  "But I might need it."

  "Stick some emergency money in your skirt pocket if it makes you feel better," he told her. "But I don't want you carrying anything that might identify you."

  "What if I'm carded at the door?"

  "You won't be. You're with me."

  Outside in the Dedham driveway stood a Harley. Colin handed her a helmet.

  "We're going on that?" she asked.

  Without answering, Colin straddled the bike. "Get on," he ordered as he started it up.

  "Why in the hell did you get me a skirt if you knew I would be on a motorcycle?"

  Again, a slight grin. "I thought it would be interesting. Now put y
our helmet on." As he put on his, Madison followed suit with her own.

  "Now hold on," he called over his shoulder.

  As the bike took off, Madison wrapped her arms around Colin Reddy, noticing against her will the muscles of his back against her. She also noted that as the cool wind whipped by them, Colin gave off no body heat.

  Their first stop was in a seedy area of Sherman Oaks. Colin pulled into a lot near an alley. He got off the bike and helped Madison dismount.

  She took off her helmet and looked around, confused. "There's a nightclub around here?"

  "Yes. But since it's Tuesday night, it will be low-key."

  "Maybe we should come back on Friday or Saturday."

  Colin took off his helmet and shook his head, running a hand through his thick hair. "During the weekend, places like this get packed with kids from the suburbs playing dress-up. The weekends bring in enough money to keep the doors open the rest of the time. Tonight, the real members of the coven will be here. They're the ones we're interested in."

  "Coven? As in witches?" Madison remembered Samuel referring to the vampire clubs as covens and wasn't sure she liked the idea of witches mixing in with the vampires.

  "Similar meaning, in this case. Stands for a group of people organized for a common purpose. The physical clubs, or locations where they meet, are called havens." He started off for the alley. "Come on," he called over his shoulder, "and bring your helmet. Don't want it stolen."

  They walked halfway down the alley until they came to a door painted red, with shiny black trim. It reminded Madison of the entrance to the restaurant called Scarlet. There was a light above the door, shining on a sign. Madison read the sign and rolled her eyes.

  "This place is called Fang Me?" she said to Colin. "Give me a break."

  Colin took her by the upper arm and hissed into her ear, "Keep smart-ass remarks like that to yourself in these places. These people are serious about their beliefs."

  "Any other orders?"

  "Only give them your first name, nothing else."

  "Should I give my real first name or a fake one?"

  Colin gave it quick thought. "Your real one. We don't want them to sniff out a lie the first time they meet you, not even a small one. But just give your first name. They aren't big on last names anyway. I'll do most of the talking. But make sure you don't hide that bloodline."

  Colin knocked at the door. It was opened by an averagelooking guy in his twenties, dressed in black. When he saw Colin, he nodded to him and let them in.

  Inside, the walls were painted black. Dim track lighting cast shadows throughout the place. As soon as Madison's eyes adjusted, she saw clusters of chairs around small wooden tables scattered across the floor, and tall tables without chairs along the walls. Toward the far end was a riser holding sound equipment, and in front of the riser was a dance floor. Against the right wall was a short bar with stools. The place wasn't large, and tonight there were only a few people seated at the bar and two occupied tables. Everyone was dressed in black. Haunting rock music played over the sound system.

  Madison followed Colin as he walked over to the bar and addressed the bartender, a scrawny, tall guy in a black tee shirt with Fang Me printed in bright red across the front. "Kind of quiet in here tonight, huh, Bernard?"

  The bartender shrugged. "Been like this a lot lately, except on weekends."

  "Where are the regular members? They used to be here all during the week."

  The bartender leaned in close. "A lot of the coven have defected. Gone over to Bloodlust."

  "That's the new place in Hollywood, isn't it?"

  "Yeah, over on Gower, near Hollywood Boulevard."

  "I was there once," Colin told him. "Didn't look like much. Just an old warehouse turned into a club."

  "It's become the rage all of a sudden. The leader of the Bloodlust coven isn't shy about marketing. Heard they redid the place and even bought celebrity endorsements."

  "Where's Lilith?" Colin asked the bartender.

  "Right behind you, handsome."

  Colin and Madison both turned at the sound of the voice. Standing just behind them was a tall, slender woman with severely short, dyed black hair and ice blue eyes made more prominent by the heavy black eye makeup she wore. She had on skin-tight leather pants and a leather halter top. Her skin was pale, her cheeks high and sculpted above full lips stained dark red.

  Colin leaned over and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. "Nice to see you, Lilith"

  "It'd be nicer if you came around more." Lilith wrapped her arms around Colin's waist and let one hand drop down to cup his ass.

  Madison cleared her throat.

  Lilith turned slowly toward Madison. "What's this, Colin, you dating your little brother's babysitter?" She laughed, turning her attention back to Colin.

  Colin disentangled himself from Lilith's clutches and held out a hand to Madison. She took it and moved in close to him.

  "Well," Colin said to Lilith, "if I did have a little brother, she'd make a damn cute nanny, wouldn't she?" Before anyone said anything more, Colin introduced the two women. "Lilith," he said, dropping Madison's hand and putting an arm protectively around her shoulders, "this is Madison. Madison, this is Lilith, the high priestess of this coven."

  Madison was stunned by Colin's lightness. She didn't know he had it in him. As she turned her face from him to Lilith, she plastered on a strained smile.

  "So," Lilith said to Madison, "you're the reason we never see Colin around anymore." The tone was accusatory, not friendly. "You are a pretty little thing. You interested in the vampire culture?"

  "Colin has been teaching me about it," Madison answered, keeping her eyes pinned on Lilith, letting her know she was no pushover.

  Lilith met Madison's visual challenge. "Maybe the two of you will join the coven together. It's been years and we've never been able to convince Colin to join us officially."

  Colin shrugged. "I'm not much of a joiner. I prefer to keep my options open."

  Lilith placed a hand on Colin's chest. "I hope that goes for women, too. I always promised you a trip to a real blood bar. The invitation's still open." She gave Madison a sideways glance. "But it's only good for one guest."

  Once outside Fang Me, Madison stomped to the motorcycle. "I can't believe that woman. She came on to you right in front of me.

  "What's your problem?" asked Colin. "It's not like we're really seeing each other."

  Madison pointed back down the alley. "But she doesn't know that. She wouldn't have cared if we were married and had three kids."

  Colin was amused. "You're jealous. It's rather cute."

  "I am not jealous. I'm just pissed that she dismissed me like ... like some inconvenient child who got to stay up past her bedtime."

  "Come on, we got what we came for-information."

  Madison started to put on her helmet but stopped. "You think any of it will be helpful?"

  Colin shrugged. "Hard to say."

  After the touchy introductions had been made, the three of them-Lilith, Colin, and Madison-had sat down at a table on the far side, away from the bar and the few customers.

  "What can I get you to drink," she asked Madison in a flat, bored tone.

  "Thanks, but I don't drink," Madison replied.

  A catty smile spread across Lilith's face. She turned to Colin. "As I recall, you don't drink either, Colin. Now I see the attraction. You're just a couple of straight-laced goths."

  Lilith caught Bernard's eye. "A couple of Cokes for the kiddies and the usual for me. And bring some butts."

  "So what's going on with Bloodlust?" Colin asked, getting the ball rolling.

  Lilith casually waved a slim hand with long, tapered fingers capped with bright scarlet lacquer. "Bloodlust is the flavor of the moment, that's all. Give it a few weeks, maybe a month, and the hype will fade."

  Colin pushed for clarification. "Are you talking about the nightclub or the coven?"

  The drinks came. Bernard put down two glas
ses of soda and one short glass filled with an amber liquid but no ice. He left and returned with a pack of cigarettes, some matches, and a small, clear glass ashtray.

  Lilith picked up the cigarettes, pulled one out, and stuck it between her crimson lips. Then she waited, an eyebrow cocked in Colin's direction, until Colin picked up the matches. He struck one, the smell of sulfur momentarily invading the table space. Cupping the lit match, he held it out toward Lilith, who cradled the hand holding the match while she took her time lighting her cigarette. Colin pulled his hand away and shook the match until it went out. Lilith chuckled deep in her throat.

  Taking a deep drag off of her cigarette, Lilith arched her neck, sending the smoke toward the ceiling. She turned to Madison. "I do hope you're not going to lecture me on how smoking is illegal in bars. You seem the type."

  "None of my business," Madison replied, picking up her soda and smiling at Lilith. It was then that Madison realized she had seen Lilith before. Her photo had been among those shown to her by Mike Notchey. Lilith hadn't been as heavily made up in the photo, but Madison was sure one of the women in the group had been her.

  Colin got back down to business. "Who's the leader of the Bloodlust coven?"

  Lilith took another drag from her cigarette. "Some guy named Ethan Young."

  Colin frowned. "I've never heard of him. He new to the area?"

  "Not sure," Lilith said, raising her angular shoulders. "Seemed like one day he started coming around to the various covens, next thing he had his own. Doesn't believe in keeping it low-key, either. A lot of the local covens have lost members to Bloodlust, not just ours."

  "Maybe cranking up the name of this place would help," Madison threw out. Lilith glared at her.

  "What's he like?" Colin asked after sending Madison a look of warning. "You have met him, haven't you?"

  "Yes." Lilith took another puff. "We even had a fling when he first starting coming to Fang Me." Lilith shot Madison a scowl as she took a sip of her drink. "Ethan is very virile." She emphasized the word, hoping to get a reaction from Colin, but was disappointed when he remained impassive. "Powerful body, about average height," she continued. "Bald, goatee, fabulous scrolling tattoo across his back and down over his shoulder, toward his stomach."