Murder in Vein

by Sue Ann Jaffarian

  "Wait here," said Dodie. "I have just the thing." When Dodie returned, she was carrying a couple of items. One was a wide black leather belt with an ornate buckle. She handed the belt to Madison. "Here, try this."

  Madison fastened the belt low on her slim hips. "That definitely helps. Thanks."

  The other item Dodie had was a very long silk scarf in silver and black with fringe on the end. She loosely draped it around Madison's neck twice, leaving the long, feathery tails to hang in front. "There," she pronounced. "It completes the outfit, and it covers your neck in case the collar slips down."

  Madison looked in the mirror. It was a doable club look, especially for a club with dark themes. Then suddenly she felt sad, wishing she'd had such moments with her mother.

  Madison released the hair that had been pulled up and started brushing it out, leaving it loose. "This should help with the neckline, too."

  Dodie looked at the young woman with pride. "You look quite fetching."

  "Huh," Madison said as she stopped fussing with her hair. "That's what Lilith said yesterday."

  "Lilith at Fang Me?"

  "Yeah. She said something like how Ethan Young would find me fetching." Madison laughed. "Odd. I've never been called that before. It's such an old-fashioned term, and now two of you have said it almost back-to-back"

  Dodie picked up some makeup and started dabbing at Madison's black eye, touching up the cover job. "Well, you are fetching. And there are three men downstairs who have noticed, so I'm sure Mr. Young will also."

  Madison put down her brush. "Three men? You mean Mike, Colin, and Samuel?"

  "I certainly don't mean Doug," said Dodie, feigning shock. "Though he does find you adorable, but only in a fatherly kind of way."

  Madison shook her head. "Mike yells at me. Colin can't stand me. And Samuel was pissed enough to want to bite me. I hardly think I'm making a great impression." She paused as she reached for her leather jacket. "And I'm not sure I want to make that kind of impression. Mike's as big a mess as I am, and the others are ... well, vampires."

  "I dated Doug before I was turned," Dodie pointed out. "And Jerry married Kate."

  "Uh-huh," Madison said, heading for the door. "Thanks, but no thanks."

  Colin was waiting outside on the motorcycle for Madison. Parked in front of his bike was Samuel's sedan. Gordon stood straight as an arrow next to the open rear passenger door. The two vampires were talking when Madison bounced out the front door and down the walk. The Dedhams came out behind her. Mike Notchey had already left.

  Colin appraised her outfit. "Going grunge, are we?"

  "It's my nightgown," Madison quipped.

  Colin grinned. Samuel studied her in silence before walking to his car. Before climbing into the back seat, he turned to Dodie. "I thought about your request, Dodie. My answer is yes, providing circumstances play out as we expect."

  Dodie slightly bowed her head toward the head vampire. "Thank you, Samuel."

  TWENTY-THREE

  loodlust was very different from Fang Me and Bat Beauty. For one, it was packed with people, even on a Wednesday night. The placard at the front door proclaimed Wednesday as fang night. Every person who wore fangs of one kind or another got half off the cover price, which was fairly steep to begin with.

  After leaving the motorcycle and helmets with the valet, Madison and Colin stood in line behind scores of young people mostly dressed in various shades of black, gray, and red. Most of them had wax fangs that they flashed at the person collecting the cover charge. Once at the head of the line, Colin paid the full price for the two of them.

  Inside, the place was throbbing with energy, and the decor and music were glitzy goth, as opposed to dark and depressing goth. It was Transylvania gone Hollywood.

  As the two of them entered the club, Colin took Madison's hand and guided her through the throngs of people. Along the way, several people said hello to Colin. There were even a couple of people they'd seen in the back room at Bat Beauty the night before, and Madison was surprised to receive greetings of her own.

  "Colin," she whispered, getting close to him. "There are people here from Bat Beauty. Do you think they don't know about Geoff yet? Seems odd they would be here when their friend was murdered. I hardly knew him, and I feel funny about being out partying."

  Colin shrugged, his face impassive. "Difficult to say. Maybe they weren't close."

  The club was on two levels. The lower level was mainly for dancing, with tables and booths scattered around the edges on various levels to give people seated in the back a view of the dance floor. Upstairs, there was a large loft area with more booths and tables. The music was still loud upstairs but better for customers who wanted to have some shot at conversation.

  "I don't have the same contacts here since it's fairly new," Colin said to her. "We'll just have to mingle like regular customers."

  They were working their way toward the stairs to the loft when they heard someone call out Colin's name. Turning, both of them saw Miriam.

  Wilhelm's handmaiden had left her long, dark frock at home and was dressed in a black leather-looking mini-dress and boots. Her hair, worn in a single, long, demure braid the night before, hung loose down her back. Her demeanor was also not as meek as it had been at Bat Beauty.

  When Miriam reached Colin and Madison, she only had eyes for Colin. "I didn't know you came to Bloodlust" The girl spoke to Colin with shiny, eager eyes.

  "I've only been here a couple of times before," he told her. He held up his hand, in which he still clutched Madison's. "You remember Madison, don't you?"

  Miriam gave Madison a side glance and a perfunctory nod, then returned her adoring gaze to Colin. "There's, like, this huge multi-coven party going on upstairs. Follow me."

  They followed Miriam through the crowd and up the wide, curved staircase. A large group had commandeered the far corner of the loft area. Madison recognized a few of the people clustered around from the night before-some from Dark Tidings, some from Bat Beauty. She felt someone watching her and turned to see Lilith seated in the middle of everything, her eyes glued to Madison. Next to her was an attractive bald man with a goatee and glasses, whom Madison recognized as Ethan Young. With her eyes glued to Madison, Lilith's head was tilted toward Ethan and she was saying something to him. He turned to watch Colin and Madison, but Madison felt his attention riveted on her.

  "Look who I found downstairs," gushed Miriam as she presented Madison and Colin to the main table, at which Ethan and Lilith sat like reigning royalty.

  Ethan Young stood up and held out a hand to Colin. "You must be the Colin Reddy I've heard so much about. I'm Ethan Young, high priest of Bloodlust."

  Ethan wore a loose white silk shirt only partially buttoned. As he bent to shake hands, it gapped enough to show off part of the large tattoo Lilith had mentioned.

  "It's nice to finally make your acquaintance," Colin said, shaking Ethan's hand. "And this is Madison."

  Ethan held his hand out to Madison, but not in shaking position. Instead, he held it out palm up. With a brief hesitation, Madison placed her right hand palm down in Ethan's. He bent over it and kissed it gently. "Lilith was just telling me that she had the pleasure of meeting you last night," Ethan told her. "Welcome, both of you. Please join us. Here, Madison, sit next to me."

  Following a jerk of Ethan's head, the others at the table cleared out, leaving it a private party. Ethan had Madison sit next to him on his right side. Lilith was on his left. But instead of sitting down himself, Ethan excused himself.

  "Please pardon me for a moment," he told the table, "but I have to check on something." Ethan left, but he returned less than two minutes later.

  "So what brings you two here tonight?" Ethan asked, settling himself back into his seat.

  Colin leaned slightly toward Ethan to be heard over the music and other conversations. "We heard you attract quite a crowd on Wednesday."

  Ethan looked out over the club and smiled. "The half price helps. Weekends,
at full price, it's standing room only. Of course, the current frenzy over vampires is what really brings them in. Every time a new vampire movie or TV show comes out, my profits soar." Ethan picked up a bottle of beer from the table and hoisted it in the air. "May the fang fad last forever."

  "Your coven as active as the club?" Colin asked.

  Ethan nodded and cut his eyes back to Colin. "I'm happy to say both have been growing by leaps and bounds. A lot of people are curious about vampirism these days." He glanced at Lilith. "I was just trying to convince the Lady Lilith to merge her coven with mine. Together, we could bring true vampirism out into the open.

  All eyes turned to Lilith, who was watching the exchange like a crouched black cat. "We'll see," she said with a sly smile.

  Madison couldn't resist the urge to taunt Lilith. "I've heard that most of your coven's members have already moved over to Bloodlust." She made the comment with a straight face, as if delivering boring news about a traffic tie-up.

  Lilith's eyes flashed. "Fang Me has been around a long time. Don't think it's dead quite yet."

  Colin put his arm around Madison's shoulders and discreetly squeezed, signaling her to behave. Ethan's eyes danced from behind his glasses as he sensed and enjoyed the tension between the two women.

  "There's champagne in the bucket next to the table," Ethan announced to them. "Grab a glass and help yourself. Me, I'm more of a beer drinker." He indicated the bottle in his hand.

  "Neither of them drink, Ethan," Lilith informed him, taking a pointed gulp from her own champagne flute. "Maybe they should sit at the kiddie table?"

  Ethan laughed. He had a thick, easy laugh. "Then what can I get you both?"

  Colin stood up. "Thanks, but I'll get our drinks. I see someone at the bar I'd like to say hello to anyway." Before he left, Colin nuzzled Madison's ear and whispered, "Buddy up to Ethan. Find out what you can about him and his coven." Madison played along and let out a giggle as if he'd said something naughty.

  As soon as Colin left, Ethan slid closer to Madison. "You're certainly a fresh face around here."

  Madison looked him directly in the eye. "Fresh face or fresh blood?"

  Again, Ethan laughed. He turned to Lilith. "You're right. I am going to enjoy this girl."

  At his comment, Lilith aimed a smug smile past Ethan toward Madison, which put Madison on red alert.

  Ethan turned his attention back to Madison. "You into that, Madison? You into having your blood sucked?"

  His words woke the memory of Wilhelm nursing at her neck. She blushed, both in embarrassment and disgust.

  The rise in her color was noticed by Ethan even in the dim light of the club. He leaned close to Madison. "Methinks the elegant Mr. Reddy already enjoys the fruit of your veins." Ethan chuckled and winked at her. "He may not drink spirits, but I'll bet he enjoys a fine red of another kind."

  Madison almost laughed at the irony and wondered what they would think if they knew the truth about Colin. Knowing a real vampire was in their midst, would they be titillated-or scared out of their minds?

  Lilith, overhearing, had her own comment. "Seems Mr. Reddy likes variety."

  When Ethan and Madison looked her way, she tossed a glance at the bar, where Colin was chumming up to a very tall and willowy blond in tight leather pants and a black lace camisole. She was as drop-dead gorgeous as Colin, and together they made a striking couple. They had their heads together, talking discreetly. Colin's wavy black hair contrasted against her short platinum hair like piano keys. The woman said something to Colin that made him laugh and flash her a wide smile of white teeth.

  "Stunning, isn't she?" Ethan's voice puffed with open appreciation.

  "Who is she?" asked Lilith. "I've never seen her before."

  "Name's Isabella Claussen," Ethan told them. "Comes around from time to time, but I haven't seen her in a while. Heard she travels a lot, something about international consulting work."

  Madison knew the name. Isabella Claussen was on Samuel's vampire council. She was also the vampire he was going to assign to watch Lilith. Madison wondered if that was why Isabella was here tonight. She also wondered what kind of relationship she had with Colin to look so cozy.

  "Looks like Colin's trading up," hissed Lilith with a look so smug, Madison wanted to slap it off her face.

  Instead, Madison smiled at Ethan, knowing full well how to charm him. She'd made decent money conning lonely men in bars in and around Boise, batting her eyelashes and offering promises she never intended to keep. In the end, they wound up with their pants down, their wallets empty, unsatisfied and too embarrassed to call the cops. Except for one. That was the time she'd been arrested.

  "Colin and I don't have an exclusive relationship," Madison said, keeping her eyes on Ethan.

  "Well," he replied with an answering smile, "that's information worth having."

  Turning to Lilith, Ethan said, "From what I hear, Isabella swings both ways, just like you, Lilith. Maybe the two of you can become BFFs? Or maybe Colin is trying to line up a threesome with Madison here." His grin was wide at the thought.

  Lilith's eyes narrowed as she watched Colin and Isabella like a hungry tigress on the hunt. "If Colin and that woman have a threesome, it won't be with Alice in Wonderland here. It will be with me." She nearly smacked her lips at the thought.

  "Well, here's your chance," Ethan announced as Colin, with a beverage in each hand, returned to the table with Isabella in tow. He made introductions. "I hope you don't mind, Ethan, if my friend Isabella joins us."

  "Not at all." Ethan got up and gallantly welcomed Isabella as he had Madison. "Welcome, beautiful lady."

  "Why don't you sit next to me," Lilith purred.

  If Isabella Claussen had been sent by Samuel to keep an eye on Lilith, it was going to be easy pickings. Isabella gazed into Lilith's eyes, and the high priestess of Fang Me nearly drooled. With fascination, Madison watched Isabella work.

  "Not to change the festive mood," Colin said, taking his seat next to Madison again, "but did you hear about that young bloke that was killed this morning?"

  "This is Los Angeles, Colin," Ethan commented dryly. "Young men are killed here every day. So are young women."

  "But this was one of Wilhelm's people," Madison added. "His name was Geoff Baxter. We met him last night at Bat Beauty."

  Ethan and Lilith exchanged glances before Ethan answered. "Geoff? A young, good-looking kid from somewhere in the Midwest?"

  Colin and Madison nodded almost in unison. "He come around here?" asked Colin.

  "Yes," answered Ethan, the earlier mirth in his face now gone. "He was here quite often. Even talked to me about joining our coven.

  "He was going to leave Bat Beauty?" Madison was surprised. "He seemed so devoted to Wilhelm."

  Ethan took a drink from his beer before answering. "While Lord Wilhelm has his charms and his knowledge of vampirism is second to none in this town, he's not very progressive. Young people coming into the culture today want more than ancient rituals and feast days. They want fun. They want excitement." He took another drink.

  Madison sipped her own drink. It was a combination of cranberry and orange juice with lime. Another just like it sat on the table in front of Colin. Across the table, Isabella played with a thin straw in a glass of clear liquid and lemon, but Madison never saw her take a drink. She wondered if the others noticed.

  "Like Miriam over there," Ethan continued. "She's still an acolyte at Bat Beauty, but it's just a matter of time before she converts to Bloodlust. She's blossomed since coming here."

  Miriam, sitting at a table across from them with several others, never took her eyes off of Colin. Whenever they looked her way, she would stretch her neck and lick her lips. Ethan caught it and laughed.

  "Seems she's hot for you, Colin," Ethan said.

  Lilith stopped mooning at Isabella long enough to snap with disdain, "She's hot for anything in pants with a taste for blood." She left off her seduction of Isabella to study Colin with amusemen
t. "Though I do recall, Colin, that you're quite handy with a lancet. One of the best. Maybe you should do Miriam a favor and taste her before she explodes." She cackled. Ethan and Isabella joined in the laugh.

  Madison reached up and touched the spot where she'd been sucked. She had no idea so many people were into it. She looked over at the cow-eyed Miriam. She'd been sucked on by Colin and craved more. Lilith wanted more of him, too. But it would be different between them if Madison allowed it to happen, because Colin wouldn't have to hide who he was with her. The thought frightened Madison to her core. She remembered his fangs and Samuel's ... and she remembered Dodie's first-aid kit. The vampires were wild wolves easily mistaken for well-behaved German shepherds.

  "What about Dark Tidings?" Madison asked, getting her mind back in the groove. "Are its members coming here?"

  "We get a lot fewer people from Dark Tidings," Ethan replied. "Mostly because that's more the intellectual, artsy set. Their members tend to be a bit older and more settled, less interested in dancing and drinking."

  After a short lull in the conversation, Ethan stood up. "May I dance with your lady?" he asked Colin.

  Colin looked at Madison. "If the lady would like that, certainly."

  Ethan held out a hand to Madison. With a look of encouragement from Colin, she took it and followed him downstairs to the dance floor. The music was neither fast nor slow. Ethan gyrated to the beat, sometimes against her. She followed along. The band played something a little slower, and he took her into his arms and moved them through the music with ease.

  "You should come around more often, Madison." He pulled her close so she could hear him. "Without Colin"

  "To the coven or to the club?"

  Ethan grinned. "To both. You belong to a coven?"

  She shook her head. "I'm kind of new to the whole vampire scene.

  "I thought you might be."

  "Tell me, Ethan." Madison looked up at him. "Do you believe in real vampires? You know, the kind in the Dracula movies? Or just in the worship of blood and darkness?"