The Guilty Innocent (5 page)

“Natasha, I am so sorry, I know how dear Annette was to you. You must believe that Darian would never have hurt her, he did not do this!” Xavier said passionately.

This was all wrong, this should not be happening! I sat there on the sofa, letting everything that transpired sink in, Warren stood over me, both men remained silent as I grieved. Twenty minutes passed before I came to the realization that someone murdered Annette.

Some heinous son-of-a-bitch killed a beautiful and loving person and I wanted to know who?! I wanted to know why?!

I looked at Warren. “I want to go down to the precinct and speak with Darian, can that be done?” I asked, he shook his head slowly.

“Not tonight, he will be interrogated and the only person that will be allowed to see him tonight is his lawyer.” He held his hand out to me. “But we can look in on the interrogation.”

I took his hand and the three of us left the club. We climbed into Warren's Cobra sports car and drove to the S.U.I.T. precinct. Warren led us into an inconspicuous room that was adjacent to the interrogation room. We watched through the one-way window as Darian was being interrogated by two brutish detectives. They were obviously lacking Warren's and Matthew's tact and charm. I could not determine if the detectives were being brave, or just plain stupid as I witnessed them verbally badger Darian as he sat composed in the hard plastic chair, one leg crossed over the other, hands remained folded in his lap. He looked to be calm and collected, ever the distinguished gentleman. I watched his lips move seductively as he answered their questions. Darian told the officers that he did not know who killed Annette and I believed him. Just when I thought the interrogation was over, one of the detectives slammed a photograph down on the table in front of Darian. Okay, this detective was definitely feeling his oats, it was all about bravado, I suppose they felt as if they were on top of the world having arrested a master vampire. Darian casually looked down at the photograph then up towards the detectives. As I listened to the conversation, I could hear the detective identify the man in the picture. His name was Anthony Juliano. Apparently, he was the assistant day manager at
Desires Unleashed
before Annette took the position. Anthony had been found dead, his body burned. Only a partial skull and a few bone fragments were discovered amidst the ash. The only method in which he had been identified was through dental records.

Darian said he did not know what had happened to Anthony Juliano. The detectives appeared to become frustrated, Darian was being so compliant, he was completely relaxed as if he had not one worry in the world. The detectives then accused Darian of murdering Anthony as well as Annette, I would guess they were attempting to get a rise out of Darian, hoping he would accidentally give something away.

“Those two are imbeciles!” Xavier growled, I looked at him, his lips were pressed tightly together, a frown on his face.

He must be incensed...and worried. Darian is his lover and master, he is loyal to Darian. I have to admit, I didn't enjoy seeing Darian behind closed bars either, I believed he was being framed by the same person who had killed Annette.

“He didn't do this!!!” Xavier said through clenched teeth. “Warren, when can he receive visitors? How long will he be here?” Xavier asked, never taking his worried gaze from Darian.

“Seven days, this would be day one. We have six days to find the truth, on the seventh day, he'll have his trial.” Warren looked at Xavier and me. “We don't have time to waste. Tomorrow, Darian can have visitors, but not until then.”

Oh my god! This situation was getting worse with every passing minute! It was easily turning into one of the worst nights of my life. My heart was heavy with grief and my mind swam with thoughts of justice and revenge. I wanted to go home. I told Warren I wanted to leave and he agreed. As the three of us walked towards the door, Darian's lawyer entered the interrogation room, declaring that his client had been more than agreeable and he need not answer anymore questions. The two detectives looked at each other and nodded. They both left the room leaving Darian alone with his lawyer. That was the last thing I saw as I exited the secret room, closing the door behind us. Warren drove me home.

“I can come up there with you to keep you company, you don't have to go through this alone.” Warren said sympathetically.

I forced a smiled which I could tell didn't fool Warren, not that I was trying to pretend otherwise. It was very thoughtful of him to offer. I was frightened, I could not understand why someone would kill Annette. Could I be a target also? If I was, a little protection would be in my best interest.

“Thank you, Warren. I would really appreciate that,” Warren smiled and nodded. I looked at Xavier, he was staring out of the window in deep thought. His elbow rested on the frame, his chin resting on his fingers.

“Xavier?” I asked, the sound of my voice seemed to bring him out of his reverie. He looked at me, his eyes were blank as if he were in a trance, it unnerved me. I was used to seeing Xavier in better spirits. “What are you thinking about?” He took a deep breath then released it.

“Darian.” His eyes panned over both Warren and myself. “For the time being, he will stay calm and await his seven days but he will not let them kill him. Those two S.U.I.T. detectives aren't interested in the truth. I watched them tonight, their only concern was the fact that they had “bagged” a master vampire,” Xavier said.

“A seemingly untouchable one at that,” Warren added. He took my hand and gently squeezed it reassuringly. I was too caught up with what Xavier was saying. Xavier continued revealing his thoughts.

Xavier shook his head gravely. “He'll go rogue. He will kill whomever stands in the way of his freedom. It will be a massacre.”

I must have gasped, because both men looked at me. I seemed to be the only one surprised by the idea of Darian killing innocent people to escape death.

“Natasha, you must understand, Darian is a master vampire, centuries old. He will not be taken down by this. Going rogue is not something Darian would want to do, he has worked extremely hard establishing himself here in Chicago, especially after the
Exposure,
which is why he is being compliant now. However, if push comes to shove, things will get ugly.” Xavier said as a matter-of-fact.

I was speechless, I had about all I could handle on this night. I opened the car door, Warren released my hand and climbed out of his car.

“I want to find Annette's murderer, by finding her killer we can clear Darian's name.” I turned to face both men. “Xavier, are you coming up?” I asked.

He smiled slowly. “As much as I cherish your invitation, I can't. I have to make some telephone calls before I'm forced to rest for the day.” He leaned closer to me and kissed me lightly on my forehead. His eyes peered into mine, he was so beautiful, he almost took my breath away. “Take care of her, Warren.”

Warren nodded. “Will do.”

Xavier smiled, then vanished before my eyes in a gust of wind.

I yelped and stared blankly at the empty space in front of me. Xavier had disappeared like that once before, and it scared me then too. Warren must have guessed what I was thinking because he chuckled softly.

“He didn't vanish into thin air, he flew upward, I saw him. Darian can fly as well, but he moves entirely too fast for even my sight. Come on, let's go inside,” he said and I nodded.

It was a cold night and I relished the warmth of my apartment. Unfortunately, as I looked around the apartment, it reminded me of Annette and I was immediately overwhelmed by sorrow. Annette and I would never watch TV and laugh together ever again. We would never laugh at each other’s jokes or decorate the Christmas tree while we both sang horribly to Christmas carols.

“Oh God!!!! Why Annette!!!” she was my best friend, she was a true friend, she was the sister I've never had. All memories of her came rushing to me relentlessly. We had only known each other for three years, but it felt like a lifetime. I collapsed onto the floor, heart wrenching wails ripped from my throat, I did not even recognize my own voice! All I could do was hold myself and cry. Never before had I felt so much pain or so out of control of my emotions. Why her? Annette, who would never hurt a soul! Who was so full of life and happiness! I wanted to wish things to be as they were! I wanted to see Annette smile again, I wanted to hear her quirky laughter, I wanted to talk to her about my day, or to hear about hers! I wanted to smell the aroma of her cooking! I wanted those long nights when we would stay up to the break of dawn, laughing, and talking about nothing!

I was dimly aware that Warren had taken me into his arms. In was holding me tightly, he did not say one word.

Why did I feel so alone?

Warren scooped me up from the floor and laid me on my bed. On my night stand was a picture of Annette and me on my birthday, just one month ago. There were identical smiles on our faces, our arms locked around each other...and now she is gone. I began to feel angry, why was Annette murdered to frame Darian!? I sat up on the bed and looked at Warren. He looked at me, his expression was sad, I could tell he didn't like seeing me in such anguish, nor did I like feeling so miserable.

“Warren, I want to catch the person who did this to Annette, what do I need to do?” I asked as I wiped the tears from my eyes. Warren cleared his throat then answered.

“I could get access to the crime scene, you can use your ability to see what you can. Do you want to do that?” he asked cautiously, I nodded my head.

“Tonight. Let's go” I said as I climbed out of my bed. I needed something to take my mind away from my despair. Warren rose to his feet and we left the apartment. Thirty minutes passed before we pulled in front of Darian's nightclub. The club was empty, the S.U.I.T. had obtained a federal order to close the nightclub, at least that's what Warren told me. A uniformed officer stopped us at the door, Warren flashed his badge, the officer nodded at him then looked at me.

“She's with me, we're doing an investigation.” Warren said, and the officer gave me another look over, then allowed us to pass.

Warren led me to the huge multilevel garage where police tape blocked off Darian's Pavilion. I was willing to bet a lot of people were jealous that Darian could afford such a luxurious automobile, especially those two detectives that were interrogating him. We squatted under the tape, then walked slowly towards Darian's car. I was half afraid to touch it for what I would see later in my visions. I swallowed hard and gently placed my fingers on the trunk then running them over the key slot. I felt nothing as my hands rested on the cold metal of the trunk. I looked at Warren and shook my head. He had been sniffing around the car to get a scent.

“Nothing?” he asked me, I shook my head. “Well, I have two fresh scents, one is a female, the other male, there are dozens of scents in this garage, but only her perfume and his cologne are on the car. It's very faint, they must have leaned on the car when they planted the body-” he looked at me cautiously.

He was speaking in police terminology but didn't want to offend me by referring to Annette as the “body”. At this point, I thought that would be better, I feared I might have a breakdown if I continued to think of Annette as “Annette”. I smiled slightly at Warren to let him know it was alright. He continued.

“I traced the scent to this area over here,” he walked to a open parking space across from Darian's car. “Unfortunately, they drove away and I can't pick up their scent.” He looked as disappointed as I felt. I began to touch Darian's car all over, hoping to feel something that might help me form a connection. Warren watched me intently, he seemed intrigued by my methods. “Do you feel anything yet?” he asked.

“No. Okay, take me home...wait.” I said, having second thoughts about pursuing the investigation for another hour or so. “No, it's nothing, take me home, does your offer still stand?” I asked, hoping he would stay the night.

“You know it does. Come on,” he said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

We left the club and drove back home. I fought the urge to wallow in my tears again when I walked into the apartment I once shared with Annette. Warren and I climbed into my bed and we forced ourselves to catch a few hours sleep. I was hoping I would be able to get at least two hours of rest. I felt myself drifting off. As I slept, I opened my mind to receive the visions. I began to see lifestyles of the various people that I've made contact with over the past few months. I tried to use the techniques Darian taught me to filter out all of the visions I didn't want to see. There was nothing, not one vision that would reveal to me Annette's killers. I blocked all of the visions and gave myself some peace.

Chapter Four

Day Two

I awoke to the sound of Warren's voice as he spoke to his partner Matthew on the telephone. I turned and saw him sitting on the edge of the bed in his t-shirt and jeans. It felt really comforting being in bed with a man again, I almost forgot just how wonderful a feeling that was. Warren turned around to look at me, he smiled then reached over and took my hand into his. He ended his conversation with Matthew.