Night Kill (Private Investigator Andrew Knight Mystery Series) (22 page)

“May I ask who is calling?” He looked at them with stern-looking eyes. It was as if he were scolding them for interrupting the household.

“Chloe Hawkins,” Chloe gestured towards herself, and then Roxanne. “Roxanne Turner, my assistant.”

“I will announce you to the master,” the man said closing the door.

“Creepy,” Roxanne commented.

“Yeah,” Chloe added.

The door opened again. A bony, thin hand appeared gesturing for them to enter.

The two girls stepped through the open doorway and it seemed into the past. The grand foyer resembled the architecture of medieval times.

“Follow me please,” the man said. He led them from the foyer down the hallway to the right. Portraits were hung on the wall, presumably ancestors of Vlad Ravenclaw. The one thing that struck both women, were the golden hues of the eyes in each painting. It made the men look surreal.

“Here we are,” the man gestured towards an already open door. He left them.

Both of them entered.

The grand hall was overwhelming with its stone and mortar fireplace. And in spite of the warmth of the fire, the room seemed cold. Dark wood and heavy-looking leather furniture were arranged to face the hearth.

Chloe made note of where everyone was in the room. All of the youth were seated quite properly on the furniture. All were presentably attired in suits and dresses, respectively. It was as if the room itself had commanded their respect. Next to the hearth was Vlad Ravenclaw. Chloe didn’t know what to make of the man standing there with long, straight black hair, well defined features and eyes which were dark and not a golden hue. His suit appeared to be of the finest material, tailored to show off his physically fit form. It wasn’t the room that demanded the respect of those youths; it was him.

Chloe briskly walked over to Vlad and presented herself to him; Roxanne followed.

“Chloe Hawkins,” Chloe extended her hand.

“A pleasure,” Vlad took her hand and bowed. “Vlad Ravenclaw.”

“Roxanne Turner,” Roxanne said.

“A pleasure Miss Turner,” Vlad now took hold of her hand. Roxanne shuddered.

“We would like to ask all of you some questions,” Chloe announced taking out her tape recorder. “Would that be alright?”

“Direct, aren’t you?” Vlad smiled, with stained fangs revealed. “I like that.”

“May we begin?” Chloe took charge.

“By all means.” Vlad gestured to two empty chairs in front of the hearth that faced towards the others. It was as if they had already been arranged that way on purpose.

Chloe and Roxanne were seated. Chloe loosened the buttons of her dark blue suit jacket. Roxanne did the same with her own dark brown one. Thus far she was disappointed at being unable to read the feelings of the others in the room. It was as if someone put up a psychic energy field to block her.

“I would like to start with Storm,” Chloe announced, as she reviewed her case notes. She looked up and at Storm, whom was seated right in front of her on the long sofa. Storm drew her eyes up from the floor and on Chloe. She was ready.

“Is there anything out of the ordinary that you recall on the night your family was attacked?” Chloe asked.

“You mean callously murdered,” Vlad interrupted.

“I’m asking the question here sir, not you,” Chloe chastised him. “You will not interrupt me again.”

“How dare you speak to me like this in my own home,” Vlad eyes narrowed and his lips curled, fangs revealed.

“I’m here to find out why Storm’s family was attacked,” Chloe stood her ground. She continued, “My father and I were hired by Wyatt’s’ mother to find him and prove he had no involvement in the events of that night. That’s what I am here to do sir. Are you going to let me conduct my investigation, or shall I go right now and turn this entire questioning over to the authorities? The choice is yours!”

“As you wish,” Vlad sat back down. He was unaccustomed to being told what to do.

“Now,” Chloe said as she pressed the record button again. “Please continue.”

“Things were pretty normal that day,” Storm said. “My parents were getting things ready for the winter solstice party. Since I was grounded, I spent most of the day in my room working on my missing assignments for school. My brother was helping my parents out.”

“So nothing was out of the ordinary?” Chloe asked.

“No,” Storm answered.

Chloe next turned her attention to the others. She decided to start with the boy with the thick and black hair. He had several earrings in his left ear with a beaded chain running to one in his nose.

“What’s your name?” Chloe asked.

“Seth,” he answered respectfully.

“Tell me what happened that night at JFK Prep?” Chloe asked.

“We all snuck out that night,” Seth glanced at his uncle, Ravenclaw, who gave a look of disapproval. Seth continued, “We decided to take my sister Amber’s boyfriend with us. When we got there, we all headed to the upstairs of the old dormitory. There we played with the Ouji board game. Afterwards we all went to make out.” Seth stopped and looked at the others. He saw by the look in their eyes that they were still as much afraid as he was. If it hadn’t been for Mister Knight finding them, they would all have died. He never had a chance to thank Mister Knight. Seth continued, “Gabriel and I were making out, when there was a knock at the door. I was pissed off at the interruption and got up to see who it was. As soon as I opened the door, this person in a mask, punched me in the face. I fell to the floor as they went after Gabriel. I jumped up and was about to go after them, when two more dressed the same, grabbed me. One of them was touching my shoulder blades, almost like they were giving me a massage. Well, all of a sudden I felt this weird tingling and then I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was in this dark, stinking room.”

“That’s what happened to us,” added the boy with frizzy black hair.

“And you are?” Chloe asked.

“Jazz,” he answered.

“Jazz is right. We were attacked the same way,” the other girl answered. She had a Victorian look but still wore the black makeup and hair like the rest.

“And you are?” Chloe asked her.

“Melissa,” she replied.

Chloe looked at Roxanne. She was hoping that Roxanne would use her special gift to pick up on the vibes in the room. Roxanne sensed what Chloe wanted.

“May I use your bathroom?” Roxanne asked Vlad.

“You may,” Vlad replied. He pointed in the direction of the bathroom. “There is one just down the hallway on the right.”

“Thank you,” Roxanne said. She left the room.

“Please explain to me about who you are,” Chloe turned her attention to Vlad.

“What do you mean?” he asked for clarification.

“Explain what kind of vampires you are.”

“Is it important to the investigation?”

“It so that I have a better understanding, that’s all.”

“Very well,” Vlad agreed. He began, “There are two types of vampires. There is Sanguine, which need to feed off of the blood of others, and cannot achieve satisfaction through any other feeding methods.” Chloe shivered at the thought of it. Vlad continued, “Psychic are vampires that feeds directly upon the vital energy of a being, and cannot achieve satisfaction through the intake of blood.” Vlad moved closer to Chloe. He went on, “Psi feeding methods can be long ranged or up close. The families in the clan are a mix of both.” He smirked, “We are known as hybrid and require both blood and vital energy to satisfy our needs.” Vlad glanced in the direction where Roxanne had gone. His lips spread into a thin smile and with narrowed eyes said, “You’re assistant’s psychic energy is strong. We could feed off of her forever.”

Roxanne did have to use the restroom. Once she was done though, Roxanne stood in the hallway and closed her eyes. She slowed her breathing and concentrated on the energy all around her. At first, there was nothing but blackness. Roxanne cleared her mind to open it up to reach a higher plain of physic energy. It worked and a swirling of images filled Roxanne’s mind. She saw a castle high in the mountains. There was a feeling of danger associated with it. Roxanne saw Andrew and some others she did not know sitting in a forest. The same feeling of danger filled Roxanne. She snapped open her eyes. Roxanne knew she had visions of the future. She immediately returned to the room were the others were.

Chloe was relieved to see Roxanne return. Roxanne retook her seat. Chloe sensed something was bothering Roxanne, but didn’t know what it was. Vlad moved back over by the fireplace.

“Where is Chad?” Chloe asked as she again reviewed her case notes.

“He chose not to accept our protection,” Vlad informed her. “He is with his mother.”

“Well,” Chloe said, putting her things away. “I think we are done for now.”

“Do you know where Wyatt is?” Vlad suddenly asked. Chloe found it rather weird that he waited until now to ask.

“My father knows,” Chloe answered. “And he is going after him.”

“Where?” Vlad pressed further.

“That information is confidential,” Chloe countered. “And you don’t need to know.”

“Rebellious, aren’t you?” Vlad added.

“Professional,” Chloe shot back. She grabbed her briefcase and walked out. Roxanne followed right behind her.

Andrew couldn’t sleep. It was still dark outside and hours before the dawn. He decided to get up and make some coffee. Andrew had just sat down at the breakfast nook and was about to take the first sip, when Megan came shuffling in the kitchen. She went to the cupboard and took a glass. Then she walked over to the refrigerator and took out the milk. Megan poured herself some and put the container back. She looked all warm and cozy in her pink fuzzy robe. She sat across from her husband.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Megan asked.

“No.” Andrew took the first sip.

“Why?” Megan asked.

“Stuff.” Andrew was withdrawn.

“I don’t like the fact that you are going after this Wyatt!” Megan just sort of blurted out. “Why does it always have to be you?”

“We’ve had this discussion,” Andrew grumbled.

“I know we talked about it eariler,” Megan snipped. “We’ve never been able to finish it, because you always make up some excuse.”

“You knew what I did when we first met,” Andrew shot back. “You knew the risks involved. Why are you bringing this up now? I don’t get it.”

“I’m bringing it up because we’re having a baby,” Megan reminded. “And that changes things for me; us. I want you to be around to raise your son or daughter.” Megan pushed aside her glass and reached out for Andrew’s hands. He moved his cup to the side and accepted her hands into his. “I don’t argue with that fact, because most of your cases are pretty normal stuff, you know.” Megan bit her lower lip and then went on, “It’s just that you’re going after these Knights of VanHelsing, and well, they’re trained killers. From what you told me, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone, and that’s including you. That’s what I don’t like.”

“It not just me, you know,” Andrew answered. “There is a team of us going to Germany. We’re meeting with the authorities and are going to develop a plan of attack.” Andrew looked at her and squeezed her hands. “Yes, I won’t lie to you that there is some risk involved, but I can handle it.”

“I…I don’t want to lose you,” Megan broke free of his grasp. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Andrew got up and rushed to her side. He laid his head on her ever expanding tummy. Andrew felt the baby move.

“What do you want me to do?” Andrew spoke more calmly now. “Work retail security? Retire for good?”

“No I don’t want that,” Megan gently caressed his hair. “I just don’t want you to do something stupid and it ends up costing you your life. Besides, retail security would be too boring for you.” Megan teased. “You’d probably end up getting fired for taking out a shoplifter with your martial arts moves.” She laughed; Andrew joined her. He pictured bagging some middle aged shoplifter with a roundhouse kick combination. It made him laugh harder. Megan was laughing so hard it made her feel like she had to go to the bathroom.

“My mom called today.” Megan sobered up and changed the subject. She needed to so as not to think about the other stuff. “She wants me to come for a visit. Is that okay?”

“I think it would be a great idea,” Andrew agreed. Andrew opened up his arms and drew her into his loving embrace

“Ready for bed?” Andrew asked tenderly.

“Yes,” Megan answered him in the same way.

Chapter 12

The Berlin airport was always a flurry of activity, with hundreds of passengers passing through. Lieutenant Otto Gunderson nervously paced back and forth as he watched the steady stream of passengers. He was interested only in the group disembarking from the United States flight. Would he recognize Andrew among the mob of faces?

“Lieutenant, you’re wearing a hole in the floor.” Detective Fredrick Schindler scolded.

“I’m just nervous,” Lieutenant Otto Gunderson answered his junior partner.

Otto stopped pacing for now. He recalled working with Andrew on the Jensen kidnapping case about ten years ago. It was the only time they worked together. So as you can imagine, Otto was quite shocked to receive Andrew’s call a few days ago.