by J. R. Rain
"Of course it's not right. " He put his hand on my knee. "Let it go, Sam, okay? She's not a killer. She's one of us. "
I did not let it go. Could not let it go. The rest of the Matt Damon movie was lost on me, and as I absently watched the fight scenes, the chase scenes, and the bevy of cute buns, all I could think about was one person.
Detective Hanner.
Chapter Thirty-six
It was just after 9 p. m. , and I was going through the missing person list again.
A sad list, to be sure.
The files were, of course, peppered with photos of the missing. Driver's license pictures, family pictures, Christmas pictures. Pictures of couples holding hands. Pictures with co-workers. Only a small fraction of the missing were children. Three, in fact. Most of the missing were adults, and most were in their twenties.
In all, there were fifty-three missing-person cases in Orange County over a five-year span. Higher than even Los Angeles County, which, by my calculations, only had forty-one in the same period. And Los Angeles was nearly three times the size of Orange County.
That, in and of itself, was startling evidence.
There was an epidemic of missing people in Orange County, and so far, nothing had been made of it.
I studied the many pictures, trying to get a feel for them. Sometimes, I got blurry flashes, but the pictures and the files were too cold, too copied, too informal. Too old.
Over the past seven months, I'd enjoyed many goblets of fresh hemoglobin at Kingsley's and Hanner's. Looking at these files now, seeing these pictures now, spread before me in my living room, I was beginning to suspect with mounting horror that the blood I had consumed, the blood that had nourished my body, the blood that I had relished, belonged to these people.
Sweet Jesus.
Of course, I didn't know that for sure. Truth was, I didn't know what the hell was going on. Hanner had told me repeatedly the blood was from willing donors. But some of it was and maybe some of it wasn't. Maybe that was enough for her to lie to my face.
I was sitting cross-legged in the center of my living room, immersed in the missing. Having these files was highly illegal, which is why I had discreetly copied them while Sherbet had been on a curiously long coffee break. Just long enough, interestingly, for me to copy all the files.
So here I was now, late in the evening, scouring the files like my life depended on it. And maybe it did. Two men with crossbows suggested it did. Fang's recent revelation of the high desirability of vampire blood suggested it did.
Which was why my kids were presently staying with my sister, Mary Lou - which is where they would stay until I felt it was safe to bring them home again.
That Robert Mason was connected to all of this, I had no doubt. Sherbet agreed. For a case like this, a search warrant would do wonders. A suspect's home was thoroughly searched, and such searches usually turned up something, especially if the suspect was guilty.
Unless, of course, the suspect was an ex-soap opera star with a small amount of fame. A judge was going to be extremely careful handing out a search warrant.
Unless I could find something connecting Robert Mason to another victim.
Or, in this case, to a missing person.
I looked down at the dozens of files spread before me. Somewhere in this mosaic of the missing, this patchwork of faces and files, was the evidence I needed.
I was sure of it.
So, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, exhaled and expanded my consciousness out, touching down on each file. In my mind's eye, I saw a ball of light. I then slowly, carefully, opened my eyes and the ball of light remained, floating above the files.
This was weird. A damn new experience for me. Anything psychic before was generally done with my eyes closed.
I had created that light somehow. Could others see it? I didn't know, but I doubted it.
Either way, I watched as this ball of light moved over the floor methodically, like a slow-moving unmanned spy drone.
I kept breathing calmly, easily.
The ball of light neared the outer edge of the files. Maybe this was a lame idea. This psychic stuff was still so new to me. Or maybe I was barking up the wrong tree. Maybe the missing in California had nothing to do with Robert Mason.
Maybe. Calm. Relax.
The fiery ball in my mind's eye had begun to break up as my own thoughts grew more and more scattered. But I focused them again, and watched. And waited.
The light paused over a file. As it did so, a very strong knowing came over me. That's the one. As if on cue, the ball of light began descending, until it finally rested on the file.
And then the light disappeared.
I gasped and reached for the file.
Chapter Thirty-seven
At first blush, there wasn't much here.
A twenty-two-year-old male. Missing since last year. No evidence that he'd ever worked for the Fullerton Playhouse, or that he was involved in acting in any way. In fact, he was a computer salesman at Best Buy in Fullerton. His name was Gabriel Friday, and he was last seen going to work.
Except he never made it.
That was sixteen months ago.
Again, not much there. Of course, I didn't need much. I just needed a connection to Robert Mason. As I flipped through the file, there was no surprise that Sherbet and I didn't see one here. There was nothing obvious here. Nothing that would indicate a connection of any kind.
Maybe I was wrong. After all, who trusts random balls of light?
I did.
I shoved the file into a folder, checked the time on my cell, then headed out to Best Buy. In the least, I could finally see what the hell a Nook was.
* * *
The Best Buy night manager in Fullerton was a black woman named Shelley, who was shorter than me and looked far tougher. She led me to a small office behind the help desk and showed me to a seat in front of a metal desk.
"So you're a private investigator?" she asked, easing around the desk.
"That's what it says on my tax returns. "
She smiled easily. I suspected her easy smile could turn serious fast. "I've always wanted to be a private investigator. In a way, part of my job involves in-house investigations. Missing money. Missing shipments. Missing merchandise. Last month, I caught two employees loading up a minivan with Dyson vacuums. "
"They're nice vacuums," I said. "Almost worth going to jail over. "
She laughed. "And that's exactly where they are now. "
"You're kind of a badass. "
She leveled her considerable stare at me. "I'm a lot of badass, honey," she said. "Maybe we should team up someday and fight crime together. "
I grinned. I liked her. A lot. "Our first order of business could be to take down an international vacuum syndicate. "
"With stakeouts?"
"Of course. "
"You've got yourself a deal. " She smiled. "Now, how can I help you, Ms. Moon?"
"I'm here about Gabriel Friday. "
"Gabriel. Was he found?"
I shook my head. "Not yet. I'm sorry. "
She was about to say something, then closed her mouth again. She nodded once, and I saw that she was, in fact, trying to control herself.
"Were you close to him?" I asked.
"I try to be close to all my workers, Ms. Moon. "
"Please, call me Samantha. "
She nodded. "Very well, Samantha. Yes, as close as a manager and computer geek could be. We talked as much as time would allow, which might only be a few minutes a week, but I always make the effort. "
"You said 'geek'? A term of endearment?"
"A job title. He was part of the Geek Squad, our mobile support techs. "
"I see," I said, and now my mind was racing.
She dried her eyes and looked at me directly. "Why do you ask about him, Samantha?"
I shifted in my seat. "I ha
ve reason to believe that his disappearance might be related to another case. "
I liked Shelley. She deserved the truth, no matter how hard it was for me to tell her. When I was finished, she ran both hands through her thick hair, then just kept them there, holding her head. She seemed instantly lost.
"I'm sorry," I said.
"Oh, sweet Jesus. He was such a good kid, such a good kid. He didn't deserve this. I got to know his mother through all of this. They weren't close, and had a falling out, but she loved him so much. Missed him so much. We were all looking for answers. This can't be the answer. "
As she buried her face in her hands, I moved over to her side and put my arm around her shoulder as she wept quietly for a few moments. I gently patted her shoulder and thought to myself that everyone should be so lucky to have a boss who cared so much.
When she had gotten control of herself, blowing her nose on a tissue and sitting a little straighter, I moved back around the desk and asked if she still had records of Gabriel's clients.
She nodded. "I kept everything after his disappearance. Wasn't sure what would be important or not. "
She had good instincts. I said, "Did the police go through the records?"
She nodded. "Cursory at best. They looked at them, but as far as I know, that's all they did. "
"And what's in the files?"
"Just routine stuff. Records of various house calls. Sometimes to businesses, too. "
"Businesses?"
"Yes. "
"May I see his file?"
"Of course, honey. "
She spun her chair around and rolled over to a big filing cabinet in the far corner of the office. There, she dug through the first drawer until she came out with a thickish folder.
"Everything's in here," she said, rolling back, setting it in front of me. "The service orders and final receipts. Not to mention his evaluations and anything else we had on him. "
"Thank you," I said.
"If you need any help, Samantha Moon, you let me know. I would personally like to bring this piece of shit down, whoever he is. "
"I'll keep you in mind. "
She held my gaze a moment longer, and I think the two of us might have bonded. When she was gone, I cracked the file open. It took me precisely two minutes to find a service order for the Fullerton Playhouse.
Called in by Robert Mason himself.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Sherbet answered on the first ring.
"First-ring relationships are serious business," I said.
"Don't get used to it, kid. I just kinda, you know, sensed you were going to call me. Or something like that. "
I laughed. "Why, Detective, you sound kind of freaky. "
He growled under his breath, which nearly made my phone vibrate against my ear. This was all new to Sherbet. After all, homicide detectives don't sense things. They operate on facts and evidence. At best, they might get an informed hunch.
"So what's the news, Sam? Out with it. "
I told him about the file, about my trip to Best Buy, and about the missing tech guy. Although I still wasn't sure what the hell a Nook was, I had discovered that Robert Mason had hired the missing tech.
"Good work, and what's this Nook thing you're talking about?"
"I haven't said anything about a Nook. You're reading my thoughts again, Detective. "
More growling. "What's this tech's name again?"
"Gabriel Friday. "
"Hang on. I've got his file somewhere. . . okay, here it is. "
I had no doubt that Sherbet's home office looked similar to mine, stacked with files and reports. I soon heard him flipping through pages. He paused in his flipping - reading, no doubt - then said, "Okay, so it says the kid disappeared on his way to work. "
"Yes. "
"And phone records indicate he received an unknown call just prior to coming in to work. "
"Says the same thing in my file," I said.
"Probably because you illegally copied the file," said Sherbet. "So, what are you thinking, Sam?"
"I'm thinking Robert Mason gave Gabriel a call. "
"Maybe asked him to swing by the theater early one morning, perhaps to fix a bug in the computer. "
"Something like that," I said. "Sort of a follow-up call. "
"Gabriel's car - a VW bug - was found burned out in Corona," said Sherbet.
"Near where Brian Meeks's body was found. "
Sherbet paused, no doubt reading the same information I was reading. "Within a few miles, actually. "
"Yup. "
"So Gabriel Friday shows up to give Robert Mason a helping hand. . . maybe do some pro bono work to help out the local theater. . . and Mason offs him," said Sherbet.
"And drains him of blood. "
"Jesus," said the detective. "I'll call you back in a few minutes. "
He called me back, in fact, in fifteen minutes.
"I got it," he said.
"Got what?"
"The search warrant. We're going in tonight. "
"Going in where?"
"His house. "
"What about the theater?"
"The warrant only covers the house and any outbuildings on the property. The theater isn't on the property. "
"But he owns it. "
"Let's take it one property at a time, Sam. "
"Fine. I want to go with you tonight. "
"You can't, Sam. You know that. Official police business and all that. "
"Then do me one favor," I said.
"This have anything to do with Hanner? Why did I just say that?"
"Because I gave you a peek into my thoughts. "
I gave him another peek. In particular, I gave him access to my suspicions about Hanner.
"I don't understand, Sam," said Sherbet. "What's this got to do with Hanner?"
I next showed him an image - my own memory, really - of Hanner and myself on the deck of her house. Drinking blood. Together.
Sherbet didn't say anything for a long time. So long that I wondered if the old geezer had fallen asleep. But I knew he was working this through.
Finally, in a voice so deep that it nearly rattled my teeth, he said, "How did I not know, Sam? I feel like an idiot. "
"It's a gift of hers, Detective. She can plant thoughts and, I think, alter thoughts. In the least, divert thoughts. "
"Can you do this, too?"
"I. . . I don't know. "
"So, as far as I know, this whole damn city could be full of vampires, and I wouldn't know. No one would know. Because anytime one of us gets a whiff of a vampire, they put a subliminal thought in our head to order a Starbucks instead. "
"Sounds like a valid conspiracy. "
"This isn't funny, Sam. I'm seriously freaked out here. I mean, a bloody fucking vampire has been working under my nose for, what, five or six years, and I hadn't a clue. "
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Detective. Remember, you sniffed me out pretty quick. "
"Not really. I just thought you were damn weird. "
"Something every girl wants to hear. "
"You know what I mean, Sam. You had my radar pinging. Detective Hanner. . . nothing. Not even a suspicion. And she even works the goddamn night shift. "
"She's an old vampire, Detective. Old enough, I think, to know a few tricks. "
"Worse," said Sherbet, "is that I like her. Legitimately like her. "
"So do I. "
"Fine," he said. "I'll conduct this tonight without her. I'll round up a few of our boys and hit this house hard. I'll call you when it's over. "
And he disconnected the line.
Chapter Thirty-nine
I had just set aside my cell phone when there came a loud knock at my front door. Loud and obnoxious.
And since my inner alarm was not ringing, I relaxed a little as I moved through the hallway. Still, if there was a vampire hunter on t
he other side of that door, he was in for one hellacious fight.
It wasn't.
As I glanced through the peep hole, I saw a wildly warped and misshapen, yet familiarly handsome, face.
Fang.
His face, if possible, appeared even more misshapen due to what he was holding in his right hand: a bottle of hooch. I opened the door and he veritably spilled into my living room.
"Hope I'm not disturbing you or anything, Moon Dance," he said, catching himself on the center post that divided the foyer from the living room. His speech was nearly incoherent.
"You're drunk, Fang. "
"Oh, am I? I thought I was just shit-faced. "
I shut the door and double locked it behind me. As I did so, Fang began whistling for a dog. "Here, wolfie. Here, boy. "
"Kingsley's not here," I said, irritated.
"Oh, that's a shame. . . I had brought him some bones from work. Ribs, I think. " He briefly held up a greasy bag, which he shoved back into his coat pocket.
"You're being a jerk, Fang. "
He stood before me, swaying slightly. "You'll have to forgive me, Moon Dance. I've kind of been dealing with a broken heart. "
Fang wasn't looking too well. His hair looked dirty. His clothing was wrinkled. His hygiene was questionable. He also looked like he'd lost about ten pounds since I'd last seen him.
He held up his bottle of booze. Vodka. A big bottle, too, and it was nearly empty. "Would you like a drink, Moon Dance?"
"What are you doing here, Fang?"
"Oh, that's right. Vampires can't drink the hard stuff. Only the red stuff. " He laughed a little too hard at his own joke, then pushed away from the center post and stumbled into the adjoining living room. Like I said, I live in a small house. With two or three steps, a person could go from the foyer, to the dining room, to the living room.
"You mind if I sit, Moon Dance? I'm not feeling too well. "
As he stumbled across the floor, I ran to his side and helped him down onto my beautiful new couch. Once there, I positioned him so that his boots hung off the edge. I also relieved him of the vodka bottle.
As I positioned a pillow under him, he watched me with big, wet eyes. They were beautiful eyes. Knowing eyes. Drunk eyes. "Ah, Moon Dance. It almost feels as if you care about me. "
"Of course I care about you, Fang. "
I went into the kitchen, poured the booze down the drain, and deposited the bottle in my recycle bag. When I came back, Fang was trying to remove his boots. I knew that the drunk bastard would have to sleep it off here. Sighing, I helped him with his boots. Once again, he watched me. This time with a big, stupid, drunk grin.