But that wasn't going to be the case here; I wasn't going to ridicule myself and my dignity by doing that. Especially, when deep down I knew that there was a very small chance of a happy ending for a relationship with someone like Josef.
I was kidding myself if I thought it would be possible.
I'm sure even Jane Austen herself would have pulled her hair out just attempting to put together such a story in words.
***
I stirred in my bed at the sound of something buzzing. My eyes fluttered as I tried to read the time on my clock.
3:43am
“What the hell?”
I reached over to grab my phone off the table which was covered with used kleenex tissues that kept me company during my sorrow earlier. I looked at the phone and saw Janel calling me.
“Hello?”
“Oh my God, what do you think happened?” She sounded absolutely panicked. My heart started racing.
“Janel, what are you talking about?” I sat completely up on my bed with no ounce of sleepiness left in me.
“Wait... you didn't hear?” She sounded shocked and her voice sounded like it was about to break.
The anticipation was killing me. “No, I quit the group yesterday. What happened?”
“Cassie is dead. She was murdered.”
CHAPTER ten
Dead.
Murdered!
An image of a beautiful young girl lying still and cold flashed in my mind and suddenly I needed to cover myself up more with my blanket.
I couldn't believe it. I wasn't her biggest fan but this was horrible. She was so young. Only 21 years old. I tried to calm myself and slow my heartbeat as I talked to Janel. Janel didn't have many details. She had only heard from Ivy who heard from Gwen. After we ended our conversation, I quickly dialed Artie's number. I wondered what happened.
Could it be....no, surely not.
Was it a vampire attack?...
On the whole, Richmond was a safe and quiet town. In the last few decades, vampires and humans have lived peacefully together after the vampire community came into a peace agreement with the U.S. Government. Vampires were allowed to live wherever they wanted and not hide, while they were not allowed to harm innocent humans. But that never stopped a few of the renegade vampires... Plus, it would make sense since the group was spending more time with Josef and his vampire friends. Especially since Cassie was in the group before. Did she get too close to a vampire?
When Artie answered his phone, he sounded wary. “Hi, Quinn.”
“Artie, what's going on? I just found out about Cassie from Janel.”
He didn't reply immediately and I could hear him give out a deep sigh on the other end. “ Lisa and Gwen found her dead in the hotel room she was staying in.” He paused. “After the museum we went to dinner and we all ended up staying at a nearby hotel since many of the girls were too tired to travel back home. Gwen had a small meeting with the girls in one of the hotel's conference rooms and... Cassie needed to be excused... and when she didn't return for a while Gwen and Lisa went to find her. And well... yeah.”
“No one knows anything else?”
“There is an investigation going on right now. But I really don't know what will come out of it...”
I could tell he was hiding something. I could hear distance in his voice. “Artie, talk me. What do you know?”
“When Jacob, Josef and I went to her room to see if we could pick up a scent...”
“Yes?”
“We did pick up a scent... a supernatural one.”
I knew it. I let out a gasp. “A vampire?”
“No. Not at all. It's something else entirely.”
I was confused. “What do you mean? Then who was it?”
“We don't know. We could usually pick up a vampire's or werewolf’s scent but... not this one. It was overwhelmingly strong. Too strong to be a human's but it was... like... it was blocked?”
“What do you mean blocked?”
“I mean, whoever did this was strong enough to put up a sort of...veil, you can say, so that they wouldn't get caught.”
“Okay. So who has that type of power? A very old vampire maybe?”
“No. There is only one type of person who has the ability to do something like that. A witch. A very, very powerful witch.”
***
Last night's conversation with Artie had haunted me. What happened to Cassie was awful but what he had revealed freaked me out beyond belief. I knew about the vampires and werewolves, but a witch? That was always a myth. Witches or wizards were never proven to exist. Or at least, they never came out publicly in anyway. And if they did exist, then why would they do this?
As I was going over all of it in my head during breakfast, my phone buzzed. It was Janel texting me.
Janel: Hey...So, we all want to meet up.
Me: Meet up?
Janel: Yeah, all of us seven. ONLY.
Me: Why???
Janel: Something is going on, I can feel it. We need to sit and talk and figure out what happened to her.
Me: We need to let the authorities figure it out. It's not our business...
Janel: Cassie was acting weird last night at dinner...
Me: ???
Janel: I can't explain it but I think she knew something about the group that we didn't.
Me: Please elaborate???
Janel: She told Lisa that someone told her that someone in the group was going to get killed.
Me: When? Where? Time?
Once she sent me the information of the meeting, I set my phone down and tried to look as casual and composed as possible. I looked over at my parents and my brother. They looked happy. The perfect family in a perfect town... I had gotten myself involved in something so crazy and apparently deadly too. How far was it going to go?
CHAPTER eleven
Janel decided that we meet at an abandoned barn just outside of Richmond. She was paranoid over being followed by Josef, Artie or Jacob and wanted to be away from any vampire hearing. I arrived to find the other five girls (Ivy, Lisa, Kimberley, Samantha and Nadine) sitting around in a half circle. They all looked sad and scared. I remembered that they all were, apart from Ivy, close with Cassie. I suddenly felt sad too. Janel was standing in the front and motioned for me to take a seat with the group.
“Thank you for coming out today to meet up.” You could tell that Janel was going to be a lawyer. She was a natural leader and she looked composed even though her voice slightly shook.
Lisa suddenly spoke with anger in her voice that made me jump in my seat, “Cassie told me that there was some sick plan. One of us was going to get killed. What the fuck? What sick game are they playing?”
Thankfully, Janel kept her composure. “Okay, Lisa talk us through exactly what Cassie told you.”
Lisa looked around at all of us and took a deep breath in before she started telling her story. “Okay, I noticed that Cassie was speaking to some girl at the event. I hadn't seen her before and she looked out of place. Like, she wasn't one of Mr. Constane's business clients. Then when she stopped talking to Cassie, she quickly walked out of the museum. And then...” She circled her hand around her face. “Cassie's face went super pale and she looked freaked out. She froze in her place and I had to nudge her to move since we were heading out to dinner.”
I raised my hand to interrupt her story, “I'm sorry but before you continue maybe you should describe the girl you saw Cassie with. Maybe one us will know her.”
Lisa shook her head profusely, “They stood in a really dark corner of the museum. And the girl had her back to me. But from behind she looked young, around our age, reddish-brownish hair.”
That didn't help and judging by the blank faces of the others, no one could guess as to who the mystery girl was.
Janel cleared her throat. “Continue please, Lisa.”
We all directed our attention back to Lisa but I couldn't help but be distracted by the draft that was coming from a crack in the barn door
.
Lisa took a moment to wipe a tear from her left cheek. “She didn't say a word in the limo on the way to dinner. We got to the restaurant and she pulled me aside to the bathroom and told me that the girl she spoke to was warning her that something bad was going to happen that night. One of the eight was going to get killed. I didn't make anything of it. I thought it was a sick joke and I went back to dinner not thinking of it. But Cassie was silent and distant the whole time. She wasn't even attempting to flirt with Mr. Constane like she always did. And then after dinner, Gwen was angry because some of us had too much to drink and so she demanded we have a late night meeting in a conference room in the hotel we ended up staying at. During the meeting, Cassie asked to use the restroom which Gwen allowed and then I got worried when she didn't return half an hour later. So, I interrupted Gwen to ask if I could go and find Cassie. Gwen realized, too, at that moment that something was off. So she went with me to look. After we checked the restrooms on the main hotel floor, we ended up going to her room. And...” Lisa looked down at her hands and Samantha started rubbing her back. “There was blood everywhere...I...I'm sorry, I can't.” She began to sob and Nadine handed her kleenex tissues.
Kimberley stood up and threw her hands up into the air. “What kind of sick joke is this?!” She always seemed to be the most composed of us all. She had light blonde hair, hazel eyes, and her skin always glowed. She was a true stunner but that was all I ever thought of her. Now, I was seeing a new side to her. She was concerned, scared, and pissed off. “We need to go to the police.”
Ivy gave out a small laugh, “And tell them what exactly? We have no good description of the girl Cassie was with plus who are we accusing exactly? Mr. Constane, Artie or Jacob? Or all three?”
Kimberley looked even more angry. “It was obviously a vampire. We don't know which one but it's obvious. Let's accuse all three of them.”
Janel hushed Kimberley and took to the front again. “It wasn't them.”
I looked over at Janel in shock. How did she know?
“One, it definitely wasn't Gwen since she was with us the whole time. She never left the group.”
Kimberley shot up again from her seat, “It obviously happened during our meeting and where were the guys? Nowhere to be seen!”
I looked over at Janel in hopes that she had a good answer. I couldn't think of Josef or Artie as murderers. Jacob, on the other hand, I wasn't too sure on...
Janel scratched a side of her face and closed her eyes before replying. “They were in the champagne room at the hotel. I had the exact same suspicions as you so I got to check out the security footage around the time of Cassie's death and Mr. Constane, Jacob and Artie were drinking the whole time.”
Ivy looked up at Janel with deep confusion spread across her face. “How did you get the security footage?”
Janel suddenly looked embarrassed. “I flirted with the security guy. I was desperate for answers.”
Ivy nodded her head at Ivy with a look of pride. “Oh. See, flirting is useful.”
Lisa waved for Ivy to be quiet. “Did you ask to see the footage of the room?”
Janel looked disappointed and couldn't meet Lisa's eyes. “No. The hotel has a strict privacy policy. There can't be cameras in the rooms.”
I was glad to know that the men were in the clear but it still left me apprehensive that we had no leads. And then I remembered what Artie had told me. I jumped off my seat. “I can't believe I forgot!”
Janel looked at me in surprise. “What?”
“After you called me, I called Artie and he told me that he nor the others guys couldn't pick up a scent in the room. There was something there but it was blocked.”
They all looked at me confused. I knew how they felt. It was exactly the same way I felt when Artie tried to explain it to me. “They concluded that it wasn't a vampire or a werewolf but it was definitely supernatural. And someone powerful to be able to block their scent like that. Like a witch.”
Ivy burst out nervously laughing. “Was he high when he spoke to you?”
“Think about it. Vampires and werewolves exist, so why can't witches?”
“Because no one has ever seen or heard of one actually living outside of a novel.”
It was weird to hear her say that when she had plans to open up some type of museum dedicated to witch stuff. Why would she want to pursue something she was skeptical about in the first place?
I looked at Janel who was biting her lip as she was processing what I had revealed. “I believe Artie. He doesn't lie.”
Nadine spoke up this time. Her voice was low and timid. She had a slight French accent. “So, what do we do? Look for this witch?” She looked around at us as if we were crazy. “Even if it's true, what are we supposed to do about it? I say we flee and not return to the Club.”
At that moment, we all looked at each other as if Nadine had finally put sense into the entire meeting.
Ivy spoke up, breaking the silence. “I agree. But we should still get our money. I say, we all go over to Mr. Constane's and demand the rest of the payment upfront.”
All of the girls nodded in agreement. I stood up and grabbed my bag. “Well, I'm not interested. So, have fun. It was nice meeting all of you. Good luck with everything.”
Before I turned to walk away, Kimberly ran around to stop right in front of me. “Oh no. You're coming. He'll probably throw a fit and you're like the only one he'll listen to.”
I shook my head and laughed. “Trust me, he doesn't like me.” Not after the fight we had yesterday.
Lisa got up from her seat and walked up to me. “Please, come with us. Maybe you can ask him for more details. I would like to have closure.” I looked into her eyes and it was difficult for me to argue with her. She lost her best friend at the hands of some supernatural being. She was probably never going to know what had happened and why.
“Fine, I'll go. But we all go in together. Not separately.”
***
I couldn't sleep that very night. Not only because I kept thinking about what had happened to Cassie but I was dreading going over to see Josef in the morning. I wanted to cry and vomit at the same time. I wished there was another way to end this instead of having to tell him in person but Janel insisted we do so. I wasn't sure what I was going to feel when I saw him. And most importantly, was this going to be the absolute last time that I would ever see him? A part of me felt somewhat sad thinking about it. Artie always said that vampires up and move at any time and rarely go back to previous places where they resided in the past.
My mixed feelings and emotions became even worse when we were walking up to his house in Pine Glen. The long walk up the hill was dreadful. It felt like I was ascending up to misery.
When we got to the gate, the girls prompted for me to answer the telephone entry system. A woman asked who we were. “Hi, we're Mr. Constane's Club or group or whatever.... And, uh, we would like to see Mr. Constane please...” I pulled back until I saw Ivy scorn at me. I leaned into the machine again and blurted, “It's actually not a request.” The woman didn't respond and it was a full minute later that the gates started to slowly open. Ivy and Lisa pushed me to the front of the group and indicated for me to ring the door bell. I did but as soon as I heard footsteps, I turned and dashed behind the group.
Josef opened the door. He looked exhausted for a vampire. His hair was disheveled and he was wearing jeans and a loose white t-shirt. Very unlike him. But, of course, somehow he still managed to look hot. The last time I saw him I was angry and now I felt my heart flutter at the sight of him. And I hated that; hated that he had that affect on me.
He certainly didn't look happy to see us but there was also a hint of understanding in his eyes as if he knew we would come and demand answers. He didn't look directly at us, instead he looked up to the ceiling. “Come in.”
And as we all slowly and cautiously walked in, his eyes dropped to meet mine and he looked surprised to see me. I felt my cheeks turn scarlet.
When we were all inside the main hall of the house, most of the girls turned to him and started demanding answers. One talked over the other. Some were pissed and others came across as extremely nervous which I caught because of their shaky voices. Either way, they took control of the situation. But not for long.
As he closed the door, he turned and put his hand up. “Quiet.”
And that was it. His demeanor and tone shut everyone up and he was the dominant one again. Like always. Lisa, Nadine, Samantha and Kimberley all looked down quickly as if they were ashamed that they interrupted their master. Janel looked scared but Ivy looked pissed at everyone. And me? Well, to be honest, a part of me really just wanted to take his hand, find an empty room and dishevel his hair some more. Okay, I have to stop!
Janel started to speak in a pleading manner. “Mr. Constane, may I speak please?”
He nodded.
“Due to recent events, we would no longer want to be a part of the Club and we would like to collect the remainder of what was owed.”
He looked angry but not entirely surprised. His nostrils flared and then he turned to me with an icy look. “Because you all believe that I am the murderer?”
I shook my head. “No, Sir. Not at all.” I looked around the group to see if anyone would step in. I didn't want to talk to him. Not like this. Not with his current manner. “We are just scared.”
“Why? Murders aren't rare. It happens.”
Ivy didn't want us to say anything to Josef about the mystery girl but I had to. “Sir, before she died, Cassie received a warning-” I was cut off by Ivy who was clearing her throat. Josef turned to her in a quick motion and his look alone shut Ivy up.
He turned back to me looking a little shook up, “What warning?”
“Cassie spoke to some girl at the museum who told her that something bad was going to happen and that someone from the group was going to die. And then...well, you know the rest.”
The Touch Series: Initiation Page 11