by Rose Pressey
“What’s going on?” Nicolas asked.
“Another vampire has been murdered. I think that’s the guy I just saw. I think he’s the guy who was talking with Thomas. I need to find out more information.”
I made eye contact with one of the detectives and then headed over to him.
“Do you have any information you can give me?” I showed my ID.
“It’s a male suspect. All we have is his driver’s license, considering there is nothing more than a pile of ashes now.”
I couldn’t understand how this had happened so quickly. Now I really was starting to suspect that maybe the vampire leader was right and that these murders were all related. And maybe Thomas had more information about this than he was letting on.
“We have to find Thomas so I can have a serious talk with him,” I said.
Chapter 10
We looked around for Thomas, going back inside and even through the club. They were closing up, which was understandable after a murder had just occurred outside in the parking lot. Thomas was nowhere to be found.
“Where do you think he is?” I asked, pushing the hair out of my eyes.
“I don’t know. Maybe he went back to the manor,” Nicolas said.
“Well, I have to find him because he has some questions to answer.”
Nicolas touched my arm. “Hallie, don’t you think you’re being a little too suspicious of him? He’s a nice guy.”
If I heard he was a nice guy one more time I was going to scream.
“How can you not be suspicious of him after what happened, and then he was talking to this vampire? The vampire is at a witch’s club and now he’s dead. Now Thomas is gone. If the police find out about this I think they’ll feel the same way as I do. I’d like to get to Thomas first.”
I said I wanted to talk with him first, but honestly I was a little nervous about the possibility that Thomas had killed the vampire. If he was guilty of that then he probably wouldn’t hesitate to kill a witch. We looked around for Thomas a little more, but had no luck with finding him. Even Annabelle was urging me not to be suspicious.
Since we couldn’t find Thomas, we decided to go back to the manor and see if he had by some chance shown up back there. When we arrived at the manor we rushed inside, but all was quiet. The cat meowed loudly, as if letting me know he was hungry. Oddly enough, more meowing came from the parlor room. Pluto wasn’t making the sound.
“What’s going on here?” Liam asked.
When we stepped into the room there was another cat.
“Where did he come from?” I asked.
The skinny feline was sitting on the back of the sofa with his tail wagging. He had gray and white fur. Plus, long legs and mesmerizing blue eyes.
“I’ve never seen that cat before and how did he get in the house?”
“Looks like you brought a friend home, Pluto,” Nicolas said, rubbing Pluto’s head.
The cat didn’t have a collar, but I wondered if he had a microchip? “I’ll have to take you into the vet to see if I can find your owner.” I rubbed the cat’s head. “In the meantime, I’ll bring that food for you guys.”
“He’s such a handsome cat,” Annabelle said.
The cat meowed as if saying thank you.
“As soon as I give them food, we’ll go upstairs and check the room,” I said.
Everyone followed me up the stairs, including the cats, oddly enough. They skipped the food to come with us. We went to Thomas’ room. The door was open, which to me meant that he had probably skipped town. To my surprise, Thomas’ belongings were still there as if he’d only stepped out for a moment.
“He brought his own food.” Annabelle picked up a bag. “He must not trust your cooking.” She pulled out a can of tuna and a package of crackers.
“This is odd,” I said, looking at the toiletries on top of the dresser. “Where could he be?”
“Well, you see, he probably just met someone at the club and went home with that person,” Liam said.
“I’m sure he’ll show up soon,” Nicolas said.
“I think I need to make a couple phone calls,” I said.
We went back downstairs and while they were sitting in the living room I got my phone and walked into the kitchen to call Cassandra Delaney, the leader of the vampires. I wanted to ask her if she knew Thomas. I just wished I had a photo to show her. Right now all I would be able to do would be to describe him.
She answered on the first ring. “I’m glad that you called me back. I hope this means you’re really investigating this.”
“I’m trying my best,” I said. “I need to speak to you about something.”
“Well, it’s a good thing that you asked because I just happen to have pulled up in front of the manor as we speak.”
“Really? Okay. I’ll meet you at the front door.”
“Thanks.”
I wasn’t that excited about her coming over because everyone was here and they would want to know what we were talking about. They would just have to be excluded from the conversation, because no matter what I said they always seemed to defend Thomas. I needed someone with an unbiased opinion to listen to what I had to say about him. Plus, I hoped she would be able to identify him. Maybe there really was a link between Thomas and the murders.
When I moved through the parlor everyone looked at me, but no one asked where I was headed. I just smiled and they all looked at each other suspiciously. The cat was sitting next to Annabelle with his paw on her hand, meowing. She had a new friend. Maybe she would want to take the cat home with her. Annabelle had all kinds of animals. What was one more when she had an entire zoo in her apartment?
I answered the door and showed Cassandra inside. I told her to go into the library and I would be right with her.
After going back into the parlor room, I said, “Hey, guys, I’ll be right back.”
“Who’s here?” Annabelle asked.
“The leader of the National Vampire Association,” I said. “We’re just going to discuss what happened tonight.”
I knew they were suspicious, but I took off before they could ask more questions.
“So what did you want to ask me?” Cassandra said when I stepped into the room.
“There’s this guy. I’m wondering if you know him. His name is Thomas. I don’t have a picture of him.”
She listened as I described him. She shook her head. “No, I think I would remember him.”
“I think you would too,” I said.
“Why do you ask?”
“I think he might have some involvement in the murder that happened tonight. It just so happens that he disappeared right when this happened.”
“Did you tell the police?” she asked.
“At the time I didn’t know that he had disappeared. We couldn’t find him so we came back here to see if by any chance he had returned to the manor. Of course he isn’t here. I suppose I should tell the police.”
“I think you should,” she said.
I pulled out the card that the detective had given me and dialed his number. I explained that I needed to tell him something. He said he would be right over. I hoped he didn’t think I was getting ready to confess to the crime. I didn’t exactly tell him that I had a suspect in mind. How would I tell everyone in the parlor that I had called the cops on Thomas? It was just a precaution, and that was all. That was what I would tell them. I just wanted to make sure about him because after all, if he was involved with it, then they needed to know. He couldn’t go on killing people. Just a few minutes later and the doorbell rang.
“That was fast,” I said.
I hurried toward the door before someone else got a chance to answer it. I should have told them before the police arrived, but they might have tried to talk me out of it. I answered the door and guided the officer into the library. When I glanced back I saw that the guys and Annabelle had come out to see what I was up to. Now I knew they were suspicious. Their eyes widened when they saw the police officer.
The next thing I knew the stray cat was hissing and made a lunge toward the officer. The officer fell backward over a chair. I screamed and ran over to the cat, pulling him off of the officer. What had caused him to attack? I had no idea.
“I’m so sorry about that,” I said. “This isn’t even my cat.”
The cat hissed and swiped in the general direction of the police officer.
“For some reason he doesn’t seem to like you,” I said.
Annabelle came over and took the cat for me. He immediately started purring when he was in her arms.
“I’ll put food out for him in the kitchen. That might keep him busy until the officer leaves.” Annabelle carried the cat out of the room.
Liam and Nicolas listened as I relayed the story to the Enchantment Pointe police officer.
“We’ll certainly be on the lookout for him,” the officer said. “But until we find him there’s not much we can do. I have no evidence to charge him. Obviously I would need to speak with him first.”
“Absolutely, I completely understand,” I said. “Just wanted to make sure that you knew.”
“We appreciate you sharing that information. I’ll be in touch if I find him,” he said. “If you do see him again make sure to call me right away.”
“I will, Officer, thank you.” I walked him to the door again. “I’m sorry about the cat.”
“That’s okay, I guess he doesn’t like the uniform.” He laughed.
I waved as he walked down the steps and got into his car, driving away. I felt eyes on me. When I turned around, Liam and Nicolas were staring at me.
“Why did you do that?” Liam asked.
“Because Thomas was there when the vampire was murdered, and then he disappeared.” I tossed my hands up. “Where is he now? Why isn’t he here?”
“He probably just left with someone,” Liam said.
“Did you see him leave with someone else?”
“Well, no…”
“All right then. You don’t know for sure. I can’t believe you guys.”
Cassandra stood up and said, “Listen, I am enjoying this bickering more than anybody, but right now, I have to get going. Please call me if you think of anything else or if you find anything.”
“I will, thanks,” I said, walking her to the door.
I waved her off and then continued the discussion with the guys.
Annabelle walked back into the foyer with the cat right behind her. “I really need to get going.”
“The cat seems to like you,” I said.
The stray was staring up at Annabelle. It was almost as if he had little hearts in his eyes.
“He does seem to cling to me.” She smiled down at the cat.
“Why don’t you take him with you?” I said.
“I already have so many cats.”
“Yeah, well, what’s one more?” I asked.
“I guess I could…” She stared at the cat.
“Why don’t you? He seems to love you way more than he does me. You do have a way with animals.” I opened the door and gestured for her to pick him up.
“I suppose you’re right. Animals do love me. Okay, I’ll take him.”
Usually I tried to talk her out of taking in more animals. There was just something about this cat that didn’t sit right with me. Maybe I was losing it.
Annabelle reached down and scooped up the cat. He seemed content in her arms. She carried him out to her car and then took off down the driveway. Now I was left with the two guys and our heated discussion. I hoped they still weren’t mad.
“I guess I’ll be going,” Liam said.
I stared at them for a moment. Neither one looked at if they wanted to talk. I could take a hint.
“Well, good night.” I turned and walked up the steps without another word.
We’d discussed this enough tonight. I’d had enough of talking about Thomas. I left the men standing in the hallway. They would probably discuss what I’d done. That was fine. I knew I had done the right thing. Let them talk if that was what made them feel better. I would prove to them that Thomas was up to no good. He was possibly a murderer. If he was then I didn’t want him to come back to the manor. Maybe I should stay up all night and wait to see if he returned. How would I know if he came back in the middle of the night? The thought sent a chill down my spine.
Chapter 11
Since I couldn’t sleep I came down to the kitchen to try to get some work done. Instead of working on the wedding invitations I had to work on this murder investigation. It was far more important. I pulled out the file that the vampire leader had given me so that I could look over the other cases. Now that there was another murder I was more willing to accept that maybe things were related. Thomas was my number one suspect for being involved. Maybe that witch was somehow in on it too. She had shown up at the exact time as Thomas, so I felt like they were connected.
Now I just had to piece together how all of these cases were related. Cassandra had never told me why she thought they were connected. I assumed that she had that information in the file. At least I hoped that was the case. If not I would have to figure it out on my own. It would be too late tonight to call her to ask. If she didn’t have the information listed then I would call her tomorrow. Anyway, I sat down on the stool at the kitchen island. The cat was asleep still on the bed with Nicolas, so I was all alone in the room. I pulled out the file and opened it up to see a picture of the first victim.
This was a guy about the same age as Thomas and the vampire who had been murdered last night. I stared at the photo. He had dark hair and hauntingly beautiful dark eyes. His fangs were exposed as he smiled. The file said that he had been ambushed as he sat in his car. That sounded like what happened to the victim last night. So that was one way that the murders were similar. They had no suspects and no witnesses to the crime. It had happened in a parking lot too. No surveillance video had been recovered and it was late, so there had been no people out. I just wondered if maybe they had skipped something. If they had somehow overlooked talking to someone around the area. Maybe someone was too afraid to come forward. I could look into that by going to the location and possibly tracking down anyone who might have seen anything suspicious, even if it wasn’t on the night of the murder. I would take any clue that I could get, just something to help me move forward with this.
I wished I had a photo of Thomas so that I could show everyone. Perhaps I could get one from Nicolas or Liam. But then they would know what I was up to and probably try to stop me, since they didn’t want to believe that their cousin could be involved in anything this bad. I knew that sometimes we didn’t really know people at all, even if we thought we did. No matter how nice they seemed there was always some darker side that could pop through.
Now I was on to murder number two. This was also a male, probably around the age of thirty. He hadn’t been in his car, but merely walking down an alleyway. It was ironically the same alleyway where Annabelle and I had gone when we went to the graveyard that day and saw the two guys. Maybe he had been going to that cemetery to meet them. This could be somewhere they frequented. I would have to go and check out that graveyard and look for any kind of clues. So there were a few things that were adding up as being connected. Was there something else I was missing that was right in front of my face? I just had to study these files for a while longer and maybe it would pop out at me.
Now onto the guy from earlier in the evening. I didn’t have a file on him, but I had connected him to the other cases because the crimes were similar. My best bet was to go back to that graveyard and look for the reason why the men had been there. Maybe the police hadn’t thought to look that far away from the scene of the crime. Even though it was close, they might have stayed in the general area of the crime scene and skipped that graveyard. The guys and the witch seemed attracted to the place. Was there some other reason other than to visit one of the murder victim’s gravesites?
It seemed suspicious that they had all b
een there. Maybe it was a set-up for the men. Maybe they had witnessed something they weren’t supposed to see and someone had wanted to get rid of them. With any luck, I would find clues soon. How did Thomas relate to all of this? How did he fit into it and how much did he know?
My eyes were getting heavy and I wasn’t sure how much longer I would be able to stay awake. Maybe if I just laid my head down on the island for a few seconds I could rest and then look over the file some more. I wasn’t ready to go to bed and give this up just yet. I closed my eyes just to give them a little bit of rest. I told myself that I wouldn’t fall asleep.
A noise captured my attention. I raised my head and looked around. Nothing unusual stood out to me. The noise had sounded as if it had come from the parlor or some other part of the front of the house. I got up and eased over to the door, peeking out into the other room. Had Nicolas woken up? Was it the cat? When I didn’t see anything I became even more anxious. I decided to walk in the other room and take a look around, just to be sure. Maybe Thomas had returned. I was still puzzled how the stray cat had gotten in the house. Was there some window open somewhere that I wasn’t aware of? Or maybe a hole somewhere? What kind of animal could have gotten in this time?
I walked into the parlor, but saw nothing strange there either. I continued on to the foyer. The front door was still locked and no one was around. All was quiet. Maybe it was just my imagination and I hadn’t really heard anything at all. I could’ve dozed off and just thought that I’d heard something.
The bang echoed out again and I realized it was real this time. It seemed as if it had come from the library. Was someone playing games with me and wanting me to chase the noise around? I headed in that direction with even more anxiety settling in the pit of my stomach.