Murder in Vein (2010) (23 page)

"So far," Notchey answered, "there's been no link to them or
any of the other covens, but she was definitely into the vampire
scene.

"But she seemed so shy and straight-laced," commented Madison, who was still having a difficult time believing that Evie had
been involved with dark dealings. "Are you sure?" she asked Mike.
"Isn't her father a minister or something like that?"

"They're often the worst-and the most vulnerable," scoffed
Colin. "The more strict the upbringing, the wilder the kid once
they get a taste of freedom."

"I'm afraid Colin is right. Not always, but often it's that way,"
Mike added. "Evie Banks was from a very strict home in a small
town up north. Seems she moved here a couple of years ago
against her family's wishes. At least that's what I've heard."

Madison thought of Geoff. "When Colin and I were at Bat
Beauty last night," she told the group, "I met a young man
who had just arrived from Nebraska a few months ago. He seemed awfully naive to be in such fast company. And he had a
bloodline."

Mike Notchey shifted in his chair and coughed. Samuel studied him, then said, "I sense Detective Notchey has some other
unpleasant news for us. Might as well spill it, Mike."

Mike coughed again and rolled his neck to try and expel tension. Madison could hear the pops of his vertebrae with each
head twist.

"Another body was found early this morning," Mike told
them. "On a wooded jogging trail near Valencia. It was a young
man." He glanced at Madison. "His name was Geoff Baxter."

Madison raised a hand to her mouth, then lowered it to
squeak out, "Did he have a bloodline? The Geoff I met had a
bloodline."

"Don't know about that yet, but I was told he was from
Nebraska. At least he still had a Nebraska driver's license."

"Wilhelm said Geoff didn't show up for ... for a meeting they
had scheduled today." As soon as Madison said it, Colin and
Samuel turned to her-Colin with angry surprise, Samuel with
his usual stone face from behind dark glasses.

"Seems Miss Rose also has something to tell us," announced
Samuel.

"Go ahead, dear," coaxed Dodie. "Tell them what you
learned."

As Madison told the group what she'd learned about Sylvia
Hannaford, Samuel took his sunglasses off and stared at her.
Madison avoided looking at him.

"What is it you're not telling us, Madison?" Samuel demanded.

"That's about it. Seems this Sylvia, who Colin had met, did
leave the coven to marry. She lives in Thousand Oaks now. And Geoff didn't come by Bat Beauty today for his meeting with
Wilhelm."

"And?" pushed Samuel.

Madison stirred up the courage to look in Samuel's direction.
"And what?"

In an instant, Samuel vanished from his seat and popped
up directly behind Madison. Startled, her breath caught in her
throat, and she put a hand over her heart. The others seemed less
surprised.

"Don't you have more to tell us, Madison?" Samuel coaxed
in a soothing voice, not unlike the tone Wilhelm had used. He
placed his hands on Madison's shoulders at the base of her neck.
Madison stifled a cry of pain as one of his hands squeezed the
area where she'd been cut.

"Wilhelm-," she started, but stopped as she fought not to
cry.

"Wilhelm-," Dodie jumped in, but was stopped short by a
look from Samuel.

"Let the girl tell us." Samuel pressed harder over the bandaged
area. Madison winced, her eyes watering.

Madison focused her attention on Dodie and remembered
what she'd told her earlier: show respect but not fear. Madison
took several breaths while everyone waited. Samuel kept his
hands on her shoulders.

Madison turned slightly in her chair and looked up at Samuel
with as steady an eye as she could command. "Wilhelm sucked
my blood." Madison managed to say the words evenly and clearly.
"Is that what you wanted to hear, Samuel?"

"He did what?" Colin was on his feet.

"Goddamn it!" yelled Mike. "I knew you couldn't be trusted
out on your own."

Without a word, Samuel grabbed the collar of Madison's jersey and tore it away from her neck on the left side, from the collar
right through to the sleeveless opening, exposing the bandaged
area. She let out a soft cry of surprise and clutched her shirt in
front of her to keep it from falling. Samuel ripped off the bandage. Although Madison couldn't see Samuel's face, every other
eye at the table was on him, watching in serious contemplation
of what would come next.

With one finger, Samuel lowered Madison's bra strap down
off her shoulder. The area was showing signs of bruising from
the earlier aggressive suction. Then he squeezed the large puncture wounds. A soft gasp of pain escaped Madison's lips.

"Did you like it?" Samuel asked Madison, continuing to speak
in a soft, persuasive tone.

"Now see here, La Croix," said Mike in anger. "That's quite
enough. Stop torturing the girl."

When Samuel pressed harder on Madison's shoulder, Mike
reached out to grab Samuel's arm. The head vampire's fangs shot
out as he bared them at the cop. "I wouldn't if I were you," he
warned.

Colin moved to Notchey and pulled him back from the table.
The Dedhams looked on in silence. Like Colin, they were totally
obedient to Samuel and would not interfere.

Madison looked straight ahead, her eyes fixed on the sofa in
the living area of the great room, trying to forget that anyone else
was in the room. "I'm not sure," she said in a small voice, answering Samuel's question.

"And what does that mean?" Samuel asked, his fangs still
exposed, long, sharp, and deadly.

"It means ...," Madison paused. "It means I did not enjoy that
it was Wilhelm doing it to me."

Samuel gathered Madison's hair, just as Wilhelm had, and
tossed it over her right shoulder. Leaning close to Madison, he
rubbed his fangs over her long, graceful neck, several inches
above Wilhelm's marks. She could feel their sharpness against her
flesh.

"Maybe you'd like me to bite you?" suggested Samuel. "Believe
me, it would be much more satisfying than the sucking of an old,
delusional man." For a brief moment, he closed his mouth over
Madison's neck, but he didn't bite. "Would you like that?"

Madison relaxed in her chair, a feeling of unexplainable peace
enveloping her for the first time since she'd met the vampires. "I
don't know, Samuel," she answered honestly. "But if you wish it,
you have my consent."

"No!" shouted Mike, still restrained by Colin.

"This doesn't concern you, Mike," Doug said in a firm voice.

As if they were alone, Samuel turned Madison around in her
chair so that they were face to face, showing her his terrifying
fangs. She displayed no fear.

Samuel leaned in close to her neck again. "And why would
you let me bite you?" he whispered to her.

"Because I trust you," Madison whispered back. When Samuel
pulled away to look into her eyes, she reached up and placed the
palm of her hand against his cheek. "Because I trust everyone at
this table more than I've ever trusted anyone."

or a few moments, Samuel was still, his fangs exposed and
threatening. Then, as quickly as he had arrived at her side, he
was back at the head of the table. He retracted his fangs,
replaced his sunglasses, and sat down as if nothing beyond a little
misunderstanding had occurred.

Samuel looked at Colin, signaling him to release Notchey. "So,
Mike," Samuel said. "Any ideas on who killed this Geoff Baxter
fellow?"

Mike Notchey shook off Colin and stood bewildered, like a
man who'd entered a private party by mistake. He looked at Madison, then at Samuel, not happy with either the recent news or the
dental display. Colin sat back down on the other side of Madison,
studying her now-exposed neck as he walked behind her.

Dodie left the table and returned with the cardigan sweater
Pauline kept in the kitchen. She placed it over Madison's shoulders as Madison pulled her bra strap back in place. After giving
Madison a gentle pat of reassurance, Dodie returned to her spot
next to Doug.

"Geoff Baxter died the same way Evie Banks did," Mike
explained, taking his seat but still watching Madison. "He bled
out after receiving small but accurately placed cuts. It happened
elsewhere, and his body was dumped in the woods."

Doug scrunched his brows in thought. "First time it's been a
man, correct?"

"That we know of," Mike answered.

Turning to Madison, Doug asked, "And you're sure this Geoff
person had a bloodline?"

"Positive," she answered.

Samuel tapped his pen on the notepad in front of him.
"Seems whoever is doing this is no longer gender specific."

"There's something else I'm wondering about," Madison said.
When all eyes turned to her, she continued. "Wilhelm told me
about a ceremony at Bat Beauty-something involving the coven
cutting and sucking the blood of newer members, people who
volunteered."

"It's done on feast days," Colin said, turning to look at her, his
eyes bright with intensity.

"Yes," Madison continued. "That's it. Feast days" She looked
away from Colin as the strong erotic memory of Wilhelm's
description started to shroud her purpose. "Apparently, the members cut these volunteers and suck their blood over the course of
several hours. Maybe that's what happened to these people."

"But no one dies from those ceremonies," Colin added. "I've
seen them."

"Seen them, yes," Madison said, looking at Colin. "Wilhelm
told me you attended one." She looked quickly away, mindful of
Samuel's eyes on both of them. "But what if sometimes these ceremonies get carried away? What if not all the covens took the same care as Bat Beauty and the sacrifices of these members
included death?"

Notchey leaned in closer to Madison, totally forgetting about
the earlier drama. "It's possible you're onto something here, but
I don't recall any evidence that the other women were into vampirism." He sorted through some of his notes as he spoke. "Did
Wilhelm say anything about other types of ceremonies?"

Madison shook her head. "No, just that one"

Samuel looked to Colin. "How about you? Ever see or hear
anything about members being bled to death?"

Colin also shook his head. "Never. I've witnessed feast days
at most of the covens I've visited, and they are pretty much the
same. Lilith at Fang Me has mentioned blood bars, but I've never
seen concrete evidence that they exist outside of our own vampire culture. That doesn't mean they don't, of course."

Madison's eyes widened. "There really are such things as
blood bars?" She turned to Colin. "I thought Lilith was just teasing you."

"No," said Dodie moving her head up and down with quick,
short movements. "They exist. Scarlet, the place I took you on
Monday, is a vampire blood bar"

Madison drew her lower lip into her mouth while she
digested the information. She'd not given much thought to where
the blood Dodie had ordered at Scarlet had come from, just that
Dodie had assured her that no one had died to provide it. "So
blood bars are places where vampires can get human blood by
the glass, like ordering a merlot or chardonnay?"

The vampires all glanced at each other. Finally, Dodie cleared
her throat and prepared to set the record straight. "That night I
had a glass of human blood-blood that was donated by a will ing human. It's like making a donation to a blood bank, but for
money. As you may have already discovered, some vampires prefer blood fresh from the vein."

"Some?" Samuel said. "Don't sugarcoat it, Dodie. Tell the girl
the truth. She needs to know."

"All right," Dodie said, not pleased with having to be so blunt.
"Not some, Madison; all-all of us prefer blood straight from the
vein. But that doesn't mean we run amok like savages-at least,
most of us don't. In the back room at Scarlet, a vampire can go
and get sustenance directly from a human who is paid to provide
it."