Baited Blood (A Madison Rose Vampire Mystery)

by Sue Ann Jaffarian

  Before turning the body over, Samuel pulled out the stake. It made everyone wince.

  Madison bent to study the hole. “There’s not much blood. I noticed that with Parker, too. Is that normal?”

  “Yes,” answered Samuel. “Vampires don’t have as much blood in their systems as the living, nor do we have a heartbeat to pump it out. Also, this fellow was probably killed elsewhere and brought here.”

  It was difficult to tell if the tattoos on the back of the dead vampire were one art piece added to over time or a mishmash of a bunch of tats on a limited space. They only appeared on his back—none on his arms, legs, or chest.

  Madison traced a delicate hummingbird with her index finger. Next to it was the logo for Harley-Davidson. The hole the stake had made went through a turtle, taking out its head. “It’s as if he limited them only to where they wouldn’t show unless he chose to show them.”

  Stacie took a closer look. “Makes you wonder what he did for work before he became a vampire. Maybe he couldn’t have any tattoos showing.”

  “You two need to move,” Doug told them, “if you want me to sketch those things. As it is, I’ll only be able to get a general sense of them on paper. There are just too many.”

  Madison took several quick photos and moved out of the way. “Make sure you get that one on the edge up by his left shoulder.” She pointed to a tattoo the size of a Ping-Pong ball.

  Samuel took off his glasses and leaned in for a closer look. “Those are fangs. And female lips.”

  “Yep.” Madison traced the outline as she had the hummingbird, as if reading it by Braille. “Wonder if that’s a new or old tattoo?”

  Doug kept sketching. “If the brand hadn’t been placed so far down on his back, we might have missed it with all this other stuff.”

  Samuel put his glasses back on and took a few steps back. “Vampires can’t be tattooed. If they are, the marking disappears shortly after it’s made because of our fast healing process. This man was probably involved with a vampire before he was turned. Maybe he had one as a lover.”

  “Possibly Lady herself.” Everyone turned to find Colin approaching the door. “I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation.”

  After a nod to everyone, Colin crouched down near Madison and looked the dead vampire over, front and back. Colin was wearing the same clothes but smelled freshly showered. Madison stood up and backed away, then caught Samuel looking at her.

  “Ever see him before, Colin?” asked Samuel.

  “Maybe. Possibly around some of the clubs, but I don’t have a name or remember who I might have seen him with.”

  Much like Isabella Claussen acted as the council’s ambassador around the world, Colin was the council’s eyes and ears on the club circuit, particularly the nightclubs that attracted and catered to vampire worshipers. There were several such groups, also known as covens, in the Los Angeles area. Colin made it his business to be familiar with them all, though none of them knew he was the genuine article, the very being they worshiped and sought to be. He also kept an eye on the clubs that catered to real vampires and their human companions.

  “You know,” Madison added, “there’s something familiar about him to me, too, but I can’t place it.”

  Doug looked up at her. “Maybe at school?”

  “He hardly looks like Joe College,” Stacie quipped.

  Doug grinned at her. “Don’t judge a book by its cover, Stacie. You don’t exactly look like an attorney.”

  “Oh, yeah? So what’s an attorney supposed to look like? Perry Mason?” Stacie stuck out her chin and folded her arms. “What is this, ‘bag on Stacie’ night? Isn’t it bad enough I have a dead vampire in my bedroom?”

  Everyone laughed. “Better yours than mine,” shot back Colin.

  Stacie cured her lip in a snarl. “Let’s not get started on what goes on in your bedroom, Reddy.”

  Colin and Madison shot each other dirty looks, then quickly looked elsewhere, hoping no one else had caught the exchange.

  Colin stood up and went to Stacie. “Samuel said you found him in your bathtub?”

  “Yeah. Creeped me out, walking in and seeing him there.”

  Considering everything vampires saw and did on a daily basis, Madison found Stacie’s choice of words amusing, but she kept it to herself.

  “There was no sign of forced entry, either,” Stacie added. “They must have picked the back lock.”

  Madison cleared her throat. “Don’t tell me: security systems are out of the question for vampires. Right?”

  “You don’t see one at our house, do you?” asked Doug. “Can you imagine what the police or security company would think if the alarm went off during the day and they found Dodie and me upstairs sleeping?”

  Samuel, who’d been in the bathroom having another look around, stepped out with the rest of them. “I have one. But there is always a live person on my premises at all times, especially after I retire.”

  Unlike the Dedhams, who employed Pauline Speakes to come in for a few hours each day, Samuel employed a middle-aged couple who lived in a guesthouse on his property and worked for him full-time. Foster and Enid were small, dark people who spoke broken English. The wife took care of the house while her husband managed the grounds. Enid always beamed when Madison emerged from Samuel’s guest wing because it meant she would be able to put her considerable cooking skills to work on breakfast. She loved cooking for Madison as much as Dodie did. Hyun lived in a very large apartment over the four-car garage.

  Madison turned to Stacie. “Do you have a housekeeper or someone here when you’re sleeping?”

  “My secretary, Barbara, is here most of the day. She works in an office I have downstairs. She arrives after I go to bed and generally goes home shortly after I wake up.” Stacie glanced at everyone as she spoke. “My housekeeper comes in only two days a week. Like I told Samuel earlier, tonight I went to a movie with friends. I left here around eight and got home just past eleven.”

  “Well,” Doug said, “at least we have a short window of time during which it could have happened. At our house it probably occurred after we went to bed.”

  Colin went to the window and pulled back the room-darkening drapes. He stared out into the night, digesting the facts. “Sounds to me like someone was watching you, Stacie, to see exactly when you left the house.” He turned back. “Maybe we have this all wrong. Maybe it’s not Ann Hayes out to hurt the Dedhams or someone out to set Ann up. Maybe it’s someone out to target us—the council.”

  Samuel glanced at Doug, then turned to Colin. “It’s an idea that came up tonight at dinner, even before Stacie called me.”

  Colin turned to look at Samuel. Stacie and Madison were all ears.

  “Keleta didn’t say much tonight at dinner,” Samuel continued, “but from what little he did say, we started wondering if we’re thinking too small by only looking at the Dedhams as the target. At least it’s another theory. Now I’m thinking it’s a stronger possibility.” Samuel walked over to the bed and sat down. Crossing one leg over the other, he got comfortable. His collar was open, his tie long gone. “Think about it: I doubt anything like this could happen at Colin’s condo. The security is too tight, and there are too many neighbors who might see something. There’s always someone at my property. The remaining council members live in the northern part of the state, making it difficult to transport a body over a distance. Only the Dedhams and Stacie here would be easy targets for someone watching their patterns.”

  “What about Kate Thornton?” Madison asked. “She lives in Southern California.”

  “Yes,” Samuel admitted, “but out nearly to Riverside.” He brushed at some lint on his trousers. “Still, we might want to warn her and Jerry, just in case.”

  Finished with his sketching, Doug stood up and stretched. “We may be barking up the wrong tree here, but it pays to be careful.”

  “Exactly,” Stacie agreed. “We can’t have anyone finding these bodies except us. Can you imagin
e the nightmare of trying to explain this to the police?”

  “Speaking of police,” said Samuel, “we should give that sketch to Mike Notchey to see if he can locate a missing persons report on this fellow like he did for Keleta. Although without a name, it might be very difficult.”

  “I’d like a copy of the tattoo sketch.” Colin left the window and walked back over to look at the body again. “As well as the sketch of the face. People this covered with body art usually have it done at a favorite spot. There are a lot of tattoo shops in Los Angeles, but it wouldn’t hurt to start checking out some of the more popular ones.”

  “Great idea, Colin.” Samuel stood up and faced Madison. “Scan copies of the sketches as you did with Parker, and get them to everyone on the council first thing in the morning. Right now, though, I’d like you to e-mail those photos to me. I’ll send them on to Ricky and have him show them to Keleta immediately. They’re clear enough to help.”

  Madison nodded and began e-mailing the photos from her phone. “Am I still going up to Marin tomorrow?”

  “It’s more important than ever,” Samuel told her. “And remember to take copies of the sketches of both Parker and this guy with you.”

  “Marin?” Colin asked, turning to Samuel with surprise. “You’re sending her up to Joni?”

  “Yes,” Samuel told him. “Just for a day. Joni has been working hard on the genealogy database, and I want Madison to get familiar with it. Seems like the perfect time with all this nonsense going on.”

  Colin turned his gaze to Madison. She returned it without a flinch. “I agree,” he finally said. “I think it would be good for Madison to get away right now.” He looked at Samuel and quickly added, “She could be more of a help on the research end than stomping around tattoo parlors with me.”

  SIXTEEN

  S

  hortly after Jesús arrived at Stacie’s house and confirmed that the dead vampire was a young vampire, as they’d suspected, Samuel sent Doug and Madison home. Before she went to bed, Madison scanned the sketches and downloaded the photos and sent them to all of the council members. Samuel had texted them earlier about the latest development and let them know the sketches would be coming. He’d also texted a message to the council and Madison saying Ricky felt from Keleta’s reaction to the photos that he knew who the latest dead vampire was, but claimed he didn’t. Byron and Ricky were going to work on Keleta to get him to talk.

  As tired as she was, Madison had trouble sleeping, awakening just after daybreak. Restless, instead of turning over and going back to sleep, she got up and put on her running clothes.

  Once at the park, Madison was happy about her decision. The morning was shaping up to be beautiful and clear. She had just parked her car and was heading to the trail when she saw Julianne jogging toward her, obviously done with her run. She was with a different running companion—a tall, young man with dark hair and brown skin. He wore a Dodgers cap like Julianne’s.

  “I’ll be with you in a minute,” Julianne told the guy, tossing him the keys. He headed for the SUV while Julianne stopped to speak to Madison.

  “I was wondering if you’d be here today,” she said to Madison. “Have trouble getting out of bed this morning?”

  “A bit. I had to work very late last night.”

  “And you’re alone today. I’m sorry about that.”

  Madison shrugged. “Yeah. I haven’t seen or talked to Mike since yesterday morning. I think we both need some cooling-off time.” She tossed her head in the direction of Julianne’s companion. “I see you have a new running partner. He’s pretty cute.”

  Julianne laughed and looked over at the SUV. “Yeah, he is. Not the brightest bulb on the tree, but he is fun.” She looked back at Madison and winked. “Men are like busses, Madison—miss one, another comes along.”

  Julianne started to walk to her car, but Madison stopped her. “Julianne, you’ve been so nice. Maybe one day we can meet for lunch or something?” They were difficult words for Madison to spit out. She wasn’t used to making overtures toward people she didn’t know, but she did need friends her own age, and Julianne seemed like a good place to start.

  A wide smile crossed Julianne’s lovely face, and her blue eyes brightened with interest. “I’d like that, Madison. I really would. I get so wrapped up with my career, I seldom take the time to relax with girlfriends.”

  “I know what you mean. I go to school and work. In fact, I’m going out of town tonight for my employer.”

  “Tell you what, then. Let’s dump the clowns and run together Monday morning. We can talk more then.”

  Madison was excited at the prospect. “Great. Usual time, around six thirty?”

  “Hang on,” Julianne said and ran to her vehicle. She returned with a piece of paper on which she’d written her phone number. Handing it to Madison, she said, “That’s my cell. Call me if something comes up. Otherwise, it’s Monday morning for sure.”

  Buoyed by her successful chat with Julianne and her invigorating run, Madison attacked the rest of her morning in high spirits. She packed for her trip, did some schoolwork, and even managed a nap—a nap cut short by the ringing of her cell phone. She reached over to grab the phone from her nightstand.

  “Hello.” Madison’s voice was thick with sleep as she answered the phone on the fourth ring. One more and the call would have gone to voice mail.

  “Ms. Rose,” the caller began. “This is Nina. Nina Weinberg, the realtor. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  Madison sat up and shook off the fog of sleep. It was the realtor she’d spoken to the day before. “No,” Madison said in a hurry. “Not at all. Did you find something already?”

  “I may have. I made several calls yesterday to some colleagues. As I suspected, there are quite a few properties that meet your size requirements on the market right now, but only five that might suit your employer’s architectural tastes and privacy needs. Two are currently being leased, but both leases are due to be up soon. Of the remaining three, two are unoccupied.” She paused. When Madison didn’t say anything, she continued. “If you’d like, I could show you three of properties tomorrow. The leased properties are not available for showing except by special arrangement, but we could drive by those if you have the time. If they are suitable, I’ll arrange for a showing.”

  “I have to go up north on business this weekend.” Madison got out of bed and walked over to her laptop. “Do you have information on the properties you can e-mail me? I can show them to my boss. If he’s interested, he may want to do his own drive-by before taking it further.”

  When the realtor hesitated, Madison rattled off her council e-mail address. If Nina Weinberg checked the root address, she would find an impressive website on the foundation that was a front for the California Vampire Council. The foundation was real, but its true business was that of handling the affairs of the vampires.

  “I’m sorry,” Nina told her, “but could you hold on a moment? I have another call, and I’m in the office alone right now.”

  “Of course. No problem.” Madison was savvy enough to smell the polite lie for what it was, a way of buying enough time for the woman to check the website. Nina Weinberg was cautious. Madison liked that.

  “Thank you for your patience, Ms. Rose,” the realtor said a minute later. “Let me gather up the information on those properties and send them right over to you.”

  “I really appreciate it. We can look them over this weekend in between meetings.” The lies once again came easily, and Madison started to feel guilty about the commission the realtor would never see.

  While she waited for the e-mails, she finished preparations for her trip. There were still several hours before she had to head to the airport, and Madison intended to make the most of that time. Sensing Colin would be concentrating initially on the more popular tattoo parlors in the trendy areas, she had intended to check out some of the shops in her area and along the beach communities. She also knew he wouldn’t be starting his search
until dark. Before her nap, Madison had done online research on tattoo parlors in Los Angeles and made a list of those within a reasonable driving distance to target before she left. She’d noticed that most parlors didn’t open until at least two in the afternoon and stayed open quite late. Her plan was to hit them shortly after they opened, before they got too busy to chat. But now with the realtor sending information on possible castle-type properties, she was changing her plans.

  She didn’t have to wait long before the e-mail from Nina Weinberg came through. Included were addresses and photos of the properties. Each looked like a perfect fit—large, secluded, and European in appearance. One even looked like a modern rendition of a castle. Madison concentrated on the occupied properties first. It was possible that Lady and her crew had left the area recently. It was even possible that they were not in one of the houses on the list. But Madison felt it was too quick for Lady and her sizeable household to pack and leave, and since the bodies had all been dumped geographically close together, she also felt chances were good they might be close by. If it weren’t daytime, she’d run over to Byron and Ricky’s and show the photos to Keleta, but by the time they arose she’d be on her way to the airport. If she found something viable, she could always e-mail the information to Samuel to show Keleta tonight.

  “I’m going out for a bit and taking the Range Rover,” Madison called to Pauline, who was transferring laundry from the washer to the dryer.

  The Dedhams had two vehicles and put both at Madison’s disposal. She plucked the keys to the Range Rover off the key rack near the door and was about to leave when she stopped short, remembering something.

  She stepped into the laundry room. “I just thought of something. If I leave, you’ll be here alone. Hyun isn’t coming by until he drives me to the airport. Should I call him and see if he can come by now?”

  Pauline shook her head. “Nah. Hyun called me earlier to say that Samuel didn’t think we needed round-the-clock guarding any longer, at least not in the middle of the day. He wants us to be on guard but thinks if anything happens, it will be after dark.” She set the timer on the machine and turned her attention to Madison. “You gonna be gone long? I still hate to leave the Dedhams alone under the circumstances. Sounds like whoever is doing this is watching people’s houses. Might be vampires; might not be.”