by Dannika Dark
Since it was near dawn and Wyatt wanted to eat breakfast, I suggested my favorite human location that was safe from prying ears.
“This place is out of sight,” he said, slurping on his orange juice. “It reminds me of the diners I used to see in the fifties.”
I peppered my scrambled eggs. “You’re an old man.”
He pointed his fork at me, syrup dripping from the end. “You just wait. Someday you’ll be reminiscing over the good old days when—”
“Cheese came in a can?”
He grinned handsomely. “Exactly. Too bad they don’t serve fries before ten.”
“That didn’t seem to stop you from getting any.”
He swirled the last fry in a pot of syrup. “It’s amazing what people will do for twenty bucks.”
“Pancakes and french fries—I’m sure you definitely made the list of the weirdest orders.”
I glanced out the window at the gloomy sunrise. Low clouds and a brisk wind had people dashing across puddles to get into the busy diner where it was warm and smelled of coffee and bacon. It didn’t seem that long ago when I would creep into this place, soaking wet, and sit in the back in hopes of getting a few leftover scraps.
“Wyatt, your invisible friend needs to start talking.”
“You’re telling me.” He folded a large piece of his pancake in half and stuffed it into his mouth. “I think he’s stalling because he’s afraid of ending the case too soon, and maybe he’s not ready to leave.”
“If he doesn’t start talking, I’m going to evict him one way or another.”
“What do you think of the whole Christian thing?” he asked around a mouthful of food.
“As in priests and exorcisms?”
He snorted. “No. As in your toothy partner who might be the serial killer we’re looking for.”
“I don’t know. On one hand, he’s a Vampire, so there’s that. But…”
“But?”
Christian had been so methodical back in Washington when we’d burned Penny’s house down. He took his time, didn’t leave behind evidence, and nothing about it—despite that those men had tried to kill us—was done in a fit of rage. Why would he have left his scarf behind? He had to know I’d recognize her. At the same time, how much I knew about Christian Poe could fill a thimble.
I set down my fork. “The candy wrapper is bothering me.”
Wyatt gulped down his orange juice. “That’s an interesting clue to dwell on. No thoughts about the fact he might have a secret blood addiction that’s out of control?”
I rested my forearms on the table. “Christian doesn’t litter.”
Wyatt picked a blueberry off his plate and popped it into his mouth. “Maybe he’s just getting sloppy. Sometimes people want to get caught, Raven. It’s no fun unless someone else can admire your work. Maybe he just couldn’t wait for someone to find his latest masterpiece, so he reported the murders himself. Anonymously.”
“Viktor didn’t look thrilled.”
Wyatt wrapped his hand around the syrup dispenser, revealing the tattoo that spelled LOST. “I think Viktor’s more concerned that one of his own is a suspect. Whether Christian’s guilty or not, it puts a bad light on us, and Viktor’s going to have to deal with the cleanup one way or another.” Wyatt casually lifted the dispenser and let the syrup pour into his mouth.
“I don’t think that’s on the menu,” I said.
He set it down and wiped his lips. “They can charge me extra.” He glanced up. “Hey, Claude. You’re late. Sorry you missed the murder, but we saved you some pancakes.”
Claude slid next to Wyatt in the bench across from me. “I got there a few minutes after you left. I couldn’t pick up an unfamiliar scent. It doesn’t look good for Christian.”
Claude was not only a hairstylist and spy extraordinaire, but he was also a tracker. He hadn’t gone with us that morning because he was working on a separate case. The dark circles under his eyes were indicative he hadn’t slept in at least twenty-four hours, and that wasn’t a good look for a man who had amber-colored eyes and large curls of blondish hair. He lifted his arms straight up and stretched, his biceps flexing, then relaxed and raked his fingers through his disheveled hair. He looked like he’d rather be sleeping in a warm bed than sitting in a diner at the crack of dawn. Blond whiskers dusted his face, which was usually shaven.
When he glanced at the leftover food on my plate, he pushed it toward me. “Eat, female.”
“I’m done. You can have the rest.”
He furrowed his brow. “You want me to take food from a woman?”
“Yep. Unless you’d rather force-feed the female and give her a stomachache. You look like you need it more than I do.”
He pursed his lips and gave the idea consideration before gobbling up my leftover bacon. “I never thought we’d be hunting one of our own.”
“You don’t think he’s innocent?”
Claude gave me a skeptical look as he licked his thumb. “Aside from Gem and maybe Wyatt, not one of us is incapable of slipping back into our old ways and committing murder. I don’t want to believe it, but the only one who could have committed this crime is a Vampire. I didn’t pick up any new scents at the crime scene. We have more evidence pointing against him than away. He hasn’t responded to Viktor’s messages. That sounds like a guilty man to me.”
I swung my eyes over at Wyatt. “Keep checking the inbox on that Breed site. Did you look through all the files on her computer?”
Wyatt burped and sat back. “She didn’t do anything on there except get on the Internet. Now that we know who the new girl is, we can check out her place and see if anything comes up.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Claude volunteered. “Do you want her computers?”
Wyatt rubbed his eyes. “Anything electronic except for a vibrator.”
Claude curled his lip in disgust and stood up. “I’m heading back. Are you two done?”
“I’m out,” Wyatt said. “Time for bed since I was so rudely woken up. People really need to commit murders at decent hours.”
I waved my hand at them. “I’ll catch a cab. I need to gather my thoughts.”
Wyatt swung his key ring around his finger. “You sure? There are only nine zillion rooms in the mansion to think. Rock climbing is good for that.”
He didn’t understand. Quiet places made me more self-reflective, whereas busy diners and city streets helped me scheme and devise plans.
Wyatt slapped a few bills on the table before they moseyed out the side door.
What did I really know about these people? Given most of us were probably criminals before Keystone, it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that any one of us could be capable of murder. My moral compass broke years ago, and no matter how much I wanted to believe in redemption, I had to question how easy it would be for me to slip back into my old ways. There hadn’t been any additional murders while we were in Washington, and then the one night Christian conveniently disappeared, a body turned up.
Restless, I put on my leather jacket and headed out the door. It was but an hour’s walk to the crime scene, and it didn’t take long before I arrived in the empty parking lot. The cleaners had done a good job erasing the evidence. Not a spot of blood was visible, and they’d pulled up most of the grass where the body had lain.
I folded my arms.
Why the hell did she leave the club to come out to this old parking lot?
If she wanted privacy, there were plenty of rooms in the club for that, and she didn’t strike me as the kind of girl who would make out in a parking lot. And with a stranger? Then again, I hadn’t known her very well. Maybe Marlene was easily swayed by power, money, or even compliments.
I strolled into the field and scanned the ground for missed clues. Why the knife? And why did he leave the murder weapon behind? I turned and looked at the road. “Did someone drive by and force you to hurry?”
The marks on her arm indicated a struggle before he’d finished draining
her blood, which meant he might not have charmed her. Maybe in the dark, he couldn’t. Was this really the work of someone with bloodlust?
I stumbled over something and looked down. Beneath the tall grass, a shiny black object caught my attention. I knelt down and lifted Marlene’s shoe from the dirt. The heel dangled as if she’d tried to run. A Chitah could run faster than a Mage, but in heels? No one had found a missing shoe at the other crime scenes.
As I rose to my feet, the air whooshed out of my lungs when someone crashed into me from behind, flattening me on the dry grass. The weight of him crushed me, and he pinned both my arms with brutal strength.
Vampire strength.
A sharp fang grazed against my neck, and I shuddered.
“Get off me, Christian!”
“Guess again.”
My eyes widened. Who the hell was on top of me? My heart thumped against my chest, and the dagger strapped beneath my pants was too far to reach.
I made a shrugging gesture. “Publishers Clearing House?”
His fang pierced my flesh, and I tensed. “You wicked little wench. Six months ago at the Golden Compass, you promised to show me your panties.”
I racked my brain and suddenly burst out laughing, mostly out of nervousness. “Oh yeah. You were the guy who liked to rape humans. Sorry about the misunderstanding; I thought I killed you.”
I winced when a piece of grass poked me in the eye. Suddenly his weight shifted, and the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching made me turn to look.
Christian walked toward us with a menacing stride and yanked the Vampire off me. “Get your fangs off her,” he growled. Then he kicked the man in the stomach. “You can’t walk down the street anymore without all the garbage on the side of the road. I bet you’re no more than five years made.” When he kicked the Vampire in the face, I heard bones crack. “Don’t fecking move, or I’ll fertilize this barren land with your meaty bones.”
Flustered, I stood up and dusted off my pants.
Christian approached me, his hands up. “I didn’t do it, Raven. I didn’t kill those girls.”
“I know.”
His black eyes narrowed, and he froze where he stood. “Show me your hands.”
“I’m not going to stake you.”
The wind swept my hair in front of my mouth, and I shivered.
“I was over there when you arrived last night,” he said, pointing to the road. “I heard everything. They think I’m the killer, but it looks like we caught him.”
I shook my head. “That idiot isn’t a killer.”
Christian folded his arms. “And what makes you the expert? I couldn’t help but overhear you calling him a rapist.”
“Because none of the girls we found were sexually assaulted, and this bloodsucker only likes humans. That was the only way I could lure him into the bathroom.”
Christian gave a sardonic smile. “Ah. So that was one of your failed attempts.”
“Don’t rub it in.”
“Did you try to kill him in a human club? I bet that was a surprise for the mortician who pulled out the stake.”
I kicked the Vampire in his face, and a spray of blood colored the dead grass. “I should have cut off his head.”
Christian gripped my shoulders and held me back. “Don’t get any ideas or else you’ll be the outlaw.”
“I’ve always been an outlaw.”
Thirty minutes later, Christian steered his bike to a side of the city I’d never seen. After a bumpy ride up a dirt path, he stopped in front of a concrete structure in the middle of the woods.
I got off the bike and put my hands on my hips. “I’m not sure I should have agreed to this, especially with a serial killer.”
“Don’t be daft.” He kicked a branch out of the way and headed toward the door. “This is my home away from home.”
We entered a dark room absent of windows. Christian lit a candle on the wooden table to the right, and I got a good view of his second home. It looked more like a prison cell.
“Shut the door,” he said.
I glanced down at a mattress in the far left corner. “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. People won’t be able to hear me scream.”
“Nor me, should you decide to steal your chance to get rid of me.”
The candle flickered for a brief moment before it steadied. I did as Christian asked and locked the door behind us. My feet scraped against the dusty floor as I turned around. “I guess you didn’t make good money as a bodyguard.”
“Vampires don’t need much,” he said, relaxing in the only chair. “You should know all about that life.”
“True. But a rug might brighten things up.”
“Then I’d need a vacuum to clean the mud from my boots. And I don’t have electricity. Where does it end? You buy one luxury, and it leads to another.”
I approached the sturdy wooden table and sat on it, angling my body to face Christian. His neck tattoo was already fading.
He moved the candle farther back. “How did you know it wasn’t me?”
I swung my leg. “Because Christian Poe doesn’t litter. The candy wrapper is pretty incriminating since nobody else eats that weird shit, but it’s not like you. I could see you leaving behind the scarf if you were in a hurry, but eating a piece of candy after the murder suggests the killer wasn’t in a rush. I’m sure it’s not a rare candy, and maybe you gave a piece to Marlene that the killer took after he killed her. I know I shouldn’t trust you, but I need to know what happened last night after we left the restaurant.”
Christian widened his legs, his left arm resting on the table. “Marlene was a lovely lass. What happened to her is an abomination. You know how women like to rabbit on about things? Well, she wouldn’t stop talking about the band she wanted to see playing at the Red Door. For personal reasons, I don’t like going there. She didn’t mind the bike ride too much, especially with her suede coat, but she finally got the scarf away from my neck to keep warm. And feck you and your tattoo. I have half a mind to put one on your neck that says EAT ME.”
I chuckled. “I might have no complaints. So if you’re innocent, why did you speed away last night? That made you look even more guilty.”
He drummed his fingers on the table. “Viktor’s always had my back, but I didn’t want him to be forced into making a decision on my fate just yet. The good detective seems eager to lock me away, and had I appeared, I’m quite certain I’d be sitting in Breed jail as we speak, whether Viktor agreed to it or not.”
I shivered from the cold.
“Does this bother you?” he asked.
Before I could answer, Christian got up and crossed the room. When he returned, he unfolded a musty blanket and draped it over my legs.
“Thanks,” I said, trying to ignore the tension between us.
He stood before me and tilted his head to the side. “Raven Black, you’re the biggest mystery I’ve ever known. You’re the last person I would have expected to be on my side. It would be easier for you to see me thrown in jail. No more Vampire to deal with. No more partner.”
“Did you and Marlene…”
His brows arched. “I’m not into corpses.”
I glared up at him. “I meant before.”
Christian removed his jacket, and it fell to his feet. “Ah. So you want to know if you won our bet.”
I looked at his red button-up shirt. “Maybe I don’t think you have restraint around a woman so… voluptuous.”
He slowly began undoing the buttons on his shirt, his eyes steady on mine. “Do you see any lipstick stains? Love bites? Scratches from long nails?” His shirt fell to the floor, and he did a slow turn.
I saw a strong man with beautiful skin and a V-cut that was visible above his low-slung jeans.
“Well?” he asked, his arms wide.
I shrugged. “I’m all out of dollar bills, so you might want to reconsider the second part of the act.”
He gave me a peevish glance and returned to the bed.
&n
bsp; “Love bites and scratches heal quickly on you,” I pointed out.
He grabbed a raggedy old sweater and pulled it over his head.
I was certain Christian was telling the truth. He didn’t smell like sex, and his shirt didn’t have a single wrinkle. No missing buttons, no unsightly stains, and no look of self-satisfaction in his eyes.
“For what it’s worth, I think most of the team has your back,” I said, brushing the dust off the table next to me. “But you might want to lie low for a while, just in case the authorities come sniffing around. Wyatt’s attempting to bait the killer, assuming he’s one of the men on the Breed dating site. I can’t imagine another reason she would have flown out here. It turns out Penny was a bit of a recluse.”
“Ah, yes. Penny. Did you finish reading her diary?”
“Not yet.”
“Maybe you should fast-forward to the end. There might be some evidence in there.”
I watched his shadow on the wall behind him. “I’ve always hated skipping to the end.”
He moved to my left and turned around. I scooted over to give him enough room to sit, but he leaned against the table, his troubled eyes staring at our shadows, which were larger than life.
I tugged at a frayed piece of thread on the blanket. “Niko said we all collect enemies. You just met one of mine, but it makes me wonder… who’s yours? You said you don’t like going to that club for personal reasons. Do you think someone noticed you together and killed Marlene to get back at you?”
“It’s possible,” he murmured. “I left her before the band came on. I should have stayed.”
“It’s not your fault she died. It was just her misfortune for going out on a date with you.”
He sputtered out a laugh and stood up. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Not really. But my job isn’t to make you feel better, Christian. If you have any enemies, you might want to start narrowing them down. Someone obviously tried to pin this on you—probably someone with a vendetta against you. Only you have the key to solve that mystery.”
He locked his fingers behind his head. “If you’re right, this could take decades to solve. I make enemies for a living, not friends.”