“No. If you don’t mind, I’d prefer you keep it at your place. No one who knows about it would ever believe that I would entrust it to you. Under your bed would probably be fine. Until I ask for it.”
“You got it. Anything else you need? You’re sort of camping out here, aren’t you? How about some marshmallows and chocolate bars, along with graham crackers.”
He shuddered. “Sounds ghastly.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s delicious.”
But I frowned, thinking of how he was living out here. “Bentley, really. How can you live in a cave? How can you stand it? I mean, even if you fancy it up with magic, it’s a cave. Don’t you feel vulnerable?”
We’d come to a large fallen tree trunk and he gestured for me to sit beside him. I started trying to do so, looking at him and waiting for answers. Why wouldn’t he say anything?
“Sit here and I’ll tell you a story,” he said as I managed to pull myself up on top of the trunk. “Something about myself that I haven’t told another person for almost a hundred years.”
I assumed he was joking, but even so, I knew he was a vampire, and I knew they sometimes stayed the same for a long, long time. I just didn’t want to deal with that thought right now. So I looked at him expectantly.
“I used to live in a cave,” he said, staring out at the water. “I was just a tyke. Maybe six or seven. My father had gone to the war. My mother had finally managed to find a job as a live-in kitchen maid in the house of a local rich man. But there was one rule she had to obey. She couldn’t bring any children along with her. So my sister and I couldn’t join her. Our grandmother had just died, and we had no other relatives in the area. No willing friends. But we had to live somewhere. So my mother found us a cave.”
“What?” I couldn’t believe it.
He nodded, smiling as though remembering the days. “Yes. It was out in the woods, cut into a small mountain. She made up a pair of beds out of rags, really. She did the best she could, I suppose. And she provided us with some simple furnishings, and some provisions. And then she left us there.”
“Oh no!” The picture he was painting horrified me. “How did you eat? How did you wash your clothes? How did you go to school?”
“School?” He laughed. “School was for the well-off. We were dirt. There was no school for such as we were.”
“That’s criminal!”
“Never mind. I had books. My father was quite an educated man for his time, and he had left behind piles of books. I had them to read and study over. It did me quite well. I probably got a better education that way.”
“But your mother….”
“She was only able to come to see us once a week, and she would bring as much food as she dared steal from the larder of the big house.”
I gaped at him. “How did you live on that?”
He shrugged. “Amy and I would routinely sneak about the neighborhood at night. We would steal milk out of buckets waiting for the mistress of a house to finish pouring. We would pick apples from the orchard and beans from the fields. Whatever we could find. We had our good times and our lean. I’m sure we were often close to starving, but we managed.” He sighed heavily and stared into the distance. “Until Amy took sick. I tried my best to provide for her, but she died in my arms.”
“Oh, how awful.” I closed my eyes, feeling the pain he must have felt, losing his only companion, being left all alone in the dark.
He nodded. “Yes. It broke my heart. And made me so angry. I ran away after that. Got to a city on the coast and went to sea on a sailing ship.”
“And your mother? And father?”
“I believe he was killed in action at the Battle of the Bermuda 500.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. What war was that? In the Middle-East? Vietnam?”
He looked at me and laughed softly. “Oh my dear sweet Haley. The War Between the States, of course.”
I stared at him. “Do you mean the Civil War?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” What could I say to that? There was a lump in my throat and I didn’t dare speak. Oh my goodness. He was really old.
He moved restlessly. “End of story. Let’s go back.”
I slid down off the tree trunk with him, but I was still shocked by his tale. “But wait. How old were you when you went to sea?”
“Maybe ten.”
“Oh Bentley. Your mother must have…”
“Never mind that. It was all long ago. I just wanted to show you that cave living isn’t beneath me. I’ve done it before.”
What he’d said brought up so many questions, but I hesitated to ask them. How exactly did you question a vampire about what turned him from human to…well, a sort of a monster? See? How could you say that?
“What a story,” I murmured, taking his hand as a gesture of empathy as we started back. “But you haven’t told me what your alibi is for the murder. Surely you have one.”
He gave me a sad look. “Do I?”
“You’d better!” I replied.
He held back a branch to let me pass by and I stepped out onto a rock that was jutting out over the river. Water was surging past just beneath us, making white water rapids here and there. Trees dipped their branches into the mix. It was beautiful.
“Wow,” I said. “Say, where are we? I came with Oliver, so I didn’t exactly get a good fix on the landscape.”
“We’re not too far out of town. Out near the ranch lands. The Gremlin Wrangler’s place is near here. And Gentry Farms. The place with the pick-your-own fruit operation. It’s a restful place to be. Not too many people around.”
Just as he made that hopeful statement, there was the sound of someone approaching further down the river. Bentley grabbed my arm and pulled me back away from the river, deeper into the trees, heading for another path back. The moment we stepped through the thicker bushes and into a clearing, I saw the first body.
It was a small animal, probably a young goat, but it had marks on its neck that made me cry out. I pulled back away from Bentley and stared at him. I wasn’t sure what to think, what to do.
“Bentley,” I whispered. “What is this?”
He was staring down at the dead animal, looking as puzzled as I was.
“Bentley, did you…?”
I couldn’t help it. The first thought that came to me was that this was the way that Bentley fed these days. I mean, vampires need blood, don’t they? I had never let myself think about how he might be getting what he needed. But was this the way? I shuddered as I waited for him to explain.
“Bentley…” I was embarrassed. I was almost whimpering, desperate for him to give me some excuse for this, some explanation. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see another body, another small animal. As I turned, I began to realize this area was full of them.
“Oh no,” I moaned, wishing we hadn’t come this way. I’d rather not see this, rather not know.
But Bentley was shaking his head. “Haley, listen,” he said. “I didn’t do this. I don’t know what this is. Really. Believe me.”
And I did. He sounded sincere. The only problem was, there wasn’t any time left. Before I could even think of anything to say to him, the newcomers we’d heard down river had arrived. Officers were coming out of the woods, sheriff’s deputies and beat cops swarming around us, looking at the animals as though this scene justified anything they might do. As far as they were concerned, it looked like we were dead ducks. Caught in the act.
Except, we weren’t guilty. But how to prove it?
Shane was there. He looked at me as though he’d never seen me before, and his real attention was all on Bentley.
“You got an explanation for this?” he said, gesturing toward the bodies. “Maybe give us a little background?”
Bentley was stuttering. “I…I…I don’t know what this is, really. We just walked into it ourselves. I swear to you, McAllister. I….”
His voice tailed off. He was staring behind me. I turned a
nd saw that the hunter Alessandro was coming into the clearing. At the same time, Bentley seemed to be suddenly struck dumb. He stared at the ground and didn’t say another word.
“Bentley St. Ames,” Shane was saying, holding up handcuffs. “You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent…..”
I shrank back among the trees as they did their work, taking photos and securing evidence. At least they didn’t seem to have much interest in me for the moment. Someone took Bentley away, but Shane was still there, jotting down notes and cataloging evidence.
I looked around the area, amazed at all the dead carcasses of medium sized and small animals.
“Completely exsanguinated,” one of the sheriff’s deputies said after doing an inspection of one of the animals. “Just like the others we found. Completely drained of blood.”
I bit my knuckles to keep from saying anything. I wanted to deny that Bentley was involved, but how could I? Vampires weren’t exactly a dime a dozen around here.
I felt sick. I started back, blindly stumbling in the direction of the cave, and hopefully Oliver, and suddenly I noticed something the officers seemed to have ignored. There, caught on a bush, was a small, brightly colored piece of clothing of some sort. It looked familiar but I couldn’t place it. Reaching out, I took it up and jammed it into my pocket, then moved on. I looked back. Shane was standing there watching me.
“We’ll need a statement,” he called.
“Of course,” I said, but I kept walking. I knew I wasn’t going to be going anywhere they didn’t want me to, but I just couldn’t stay in that death-drenched clearing any longer.
The brush was thicker here and I had to push back branches to make my way through them. I thought I heard a voice and I looked up and the weirdest thing happened. I thought I saw Rennie up ahead.
“Rennie!” I called, and I started pushing in fast, trying to catch her, but by the time I got to where I’d seen her, she was gone. I circled slowly, really looking into the greenery for signs of her, then began to wonder if it had been all in my mind. I had to admit the one fleeting glimpse I’d had wasn’t very distinct. Finally I gave up and went back to my original destination.
I was hoping to find Oliver, and I walked right past Bentley’s cave, then stepped back to look inside. The crystal chandelier was gone, as well as the bookcases and overstuffed furniture. It looked like a regular old cave, all dirt and rock walls. What I’d seen before really had all been the stuff that dreams are made of, hadn’t it? Tears stung my eyes and I blinked them back. How was I going to find my way in a place where nothing seemed to be real?
Okay, I allowed about thirty seconds for feeling sorry for myself, then bit it back. “Toughen up, Haley,” I muttered. “Only the strong survive.”
I took a deep breath and forced my head higher. What was I going to do next? Find a ride home. I had no idea where exactly I was and I didn’t want to have to hunt down Shane. I was glancing around the area, wondering if Oliver was coming back, when Alessandro appeared as though he’d been following me.
“Haley,” he said, walking toward me, looking tall and handsome and secretly amused by it all. “I’ve heard a lot about you, but until now, I haven’t had a chance to say hello.”
I turned and looked at him, bristling with suspicions. I didn’t say a word.
“You’re so defensive,” he said, though his eyes were smiling. “I know you’re angry with Shane right now, but you shouldn’t be. He’s only doing what he has to do. It’s his job to protect this community from blood sucking monsters. Don’t you agree?”
I flashed a look of daggers at him. “Bentley’s not a monster.”
“Maybe not. If that’s the truth, Shane will get there his own way. Give him a little credit.”
I sighed and turned away, scanning the forest. Oliver was still missing. How was I going to get home?
“You could get a ride with me,” Alessandro said.
I whirled and stared at him. Had he heard my thoughts?
“No, I do not read minds,” he answered, even though I still hadn’t said a word. “But you’ll find that I’m unusually perceptive.”
He smiled at me, and I have to admit, my sense of antagonism was beginning to melt. He was so darn striking and that smile was killer.
“I do need to get back fast. I’ve got to make sure my festival booth is being taken care of. It’s getting late.” I glanced at my watch. It was almost ten. I was absent without leave at this point.
“Come on. Might as well come along with me.”
He led me to where the cars were parked and opened the passenger’s door on a beautiful ice blue Jaguar XK. I slipped into the leather seat and started to relax. There was something about luxury cars that just made me feel like a cat on a pillow. I knew that was exactly why I needed to keep my guard up, but it was hard to do. I’d had a lot coming at me for this early in the morning and I still hadn’t tried to assimilate it all. Maybe a ride in this stellar car would help. It couldn’t hurt.
“Okay,” I challenged the large man as he started the engine and we slowly made our way out of the forest. “So tell me what your take is. Who killed the inspector? And why?”
He chuckled. “I’m assuming you don’t want me to finger your friend Bentley.”
“I’m looking for alternatives.”
“Of course.” He thought for a minute. “It’s well-known that Inspector Cranston was one of the most disliked people in town.”
“You don’t kill someone just because you dislike them.”
“No. That’s true. Murder is usually a quick remedy for something that the murderer feels is impossible to live with any longer. So we should look at who was most threatened by his autocratic rules and manner. And I’m afraid I have bad news there. You see, that leads us right back to Bentley St. Ames.”
“Then your theory is wrong.”
He shrugged. “I’m willing to listen to your list of alternatives.”
That really put me on the spot. Who would I throw out there? I didn’t really want to be reckless and smear anyone without a good reason. I thought fast. Who had seemed to feel threatened by Cranston? Bentley of course. Oh, and Krissy! And Joe at the garage. Rennie. But there was no way I was going to bring any of those names up to this man.
“I’ll have to think about that,” I murmured lamely. I looked at him sideways. “Tell me this. Why does Bentley seem to want to avoid you like the plague?”
He laughed. “We have a history, he and I. We’ve met before.”
“Ah.” I waited a moment, but he didn’t seem to want to elaborate.
He glanced at me. “I suppose we could add your grandmother to the list,” he said flatly.
I gasped. “What are you talking about?”
“Her fights with the inspector are legendary. Didn’t you know?”
I didn’t know. But something told me I was going to learn a bit about that before we got back into town. I steeled myself.
Chapter 8
Actually, Alessandro didn’t talk much after dropping that bombshell in my lap. His quick outline of my grandmother’s war with the inspector was very sketchy, something about a different vision for the town, leaving them at odds. You didn’t kill because you didn’t like the powers that ran your town. At least, I didn’t think anyone, even my grandmother, would do such a thing. So I didn’t take him very seriously.
But I did find out he’d recently been living up in Washington State. He’d come to Moonhaven at Shane’s invitation. He also wanted to visit an old friend who had lived here previously. He asked if I knew anything about him, but I had never heard the name before. And as we all know by now, I don’t remember much before last Tuesday.
He was an interesting man—though not really a warm one. I glanced at him sideways, trying to get a read on him. He obviously enjoyed the finer things of life, expensive clothes, expensive cars, designer sunglasses, and a slightly British accent that was almost irresistible. He came off like a well-known film star on hia
tus.
He dropped me at the café and I watched as he drove off, not sure if he was friend or foe. Still, I was back, shaken a bit, but not stirred.
“Ah, there you are,” Krissy cried as I came in. “I was beginning to lose hope.”
I apologized and she gave me a quick rundown on the preparations for the Festival booth. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. She’d even managed to cut down all the glass and porcelain ware without breaking more than a handful of pieces. Actually, things here at home were going well. Luanne and Molly were back and already in the park, manning the booth, while Krissy baked delicious cinnamon rolls that were quickly becoming the hit of the festival. They were so popular, they hadn’t been able to keep up with the demand. It was rather glorious being such a success. I enjoyed it even though my mind was mostly on other things.
I quickly got to work helping Krissy pack up the lunchtime sandwiches she’d prepared for Lenny to cart over. And all the time I was suppressing my reaction to what I’d just been through. If only Bentley had confided in me. Why had he been so adamant and closed-mouthed about it all? It was almost as though he was afraid to talk. That just wasn’t like him.
When I had a minute, I pulled out the piece of cloth I’d rescued from the bush by the river. I turned it in my hand, wondering why it looked familiar. Suddenly I realized it was a small cap. In fact, it was very like the small colorful cap the gremlin in my engine had been wearing. The little jerk who spit at me.
Gremlin hats. What in the world would gremlin hats be doing at the scene of all that death? I stuck my fingers in it, like you would a sock puppet, and contemplated it for a long moment. I could go out and look in my car engine. I could ask the gremlin currently camping out there where he’d got his cap. Or I could just go out and stick my hands in slime somewhere. It would probably get me the same result. I shuddered and stuffed the hat back into my pocket. I’d have to deal with that later.
“Krissy, do you have any sandwiches ready to go?” I said. “I’ll take them over. I want to check on how the booth is doing.”
“Sure. You can take these,” she said, gesturing toward a tray that was already made up, then hesitating. “Before you go, could you run up and check on Gavin? He went up to the bedroom to get his Octonauts and he hasn’t come back—and I’m elbow deep in dough right now.”
That Old Witch Magic (Wicked in Moonhaven~A Paranormal Cozy Book 2) Page 8