The Vampire Keeper (9 page)

Red and blue lights flickered against the wall as Jezalyn sat on a stretcher with a compress firmly secured against her neck. Two officers in black stood in front of her. She heard the older man say, “Go talk to the store owner while I talk to the victim.” The officer nodded his head, took out a little dark green leather notebook, and strolled over to Wyler.

“Hey, Wyler, how’s your shop doing now that y’all are settled?”

“I still have a lot of inventory to put out, but business has picked up.”

“That’s good to hear. Well, I have to ask you a few questions.”

“Okay.”

“So, what happened here?” asked the officer ready to take Wyler’s statement.

He gazed at Jezalyn’s neck before answering the question. “I am not sure. I wasn’t up here when it occurred. I was downstairs.”

“Okay, so you didn’t see anything.”

“No.”

“Did you hear anything?”

“I heard a loud thud, so I ran upstairs.”

“What did you see after coming upstairs?”

“I saw Jezalyn on the floor and Larkin was bent over her…” Wyler was finishing his statement with Rex Wheeler, the local deputy, when he overheard Jezalyn giving her statement to Lloyd Ellison, Transylvania’s detective and chief of police. The town truly only needed one authority, but Lloyd appointed Rex to be his deputy after Lloyd fell violently ill. The town would not hear of Lloyd’s removal, and Lloyd was too kindhearted to get rid of Rex, so now both enforced the law. This incident was the most action either of them had seen in this small town of less than a thousand in over a decade. Unlike most towns, Transylvania did not have petty crimes, much less attempted murder.

Wyler heard Jezalyn report, “He jumped over the counter and flung me onto the floor.”

“And what happened next?”

She slowly placed her hand up to her injured neck and said, “Then… I felt a sharp piercing pain in my neck.”

“I see. Is that all?”

“Yes, that’s all I remember; I must have fainted from the assault. When I awoke, Wyler was holding my neck.”

Deputy Wheeler returned interrupting the interview and said, “Hey, Cap, you got a moment?” He glanced back at Jezalyn and said, “Let Ray, the paramedic, check you out. I’ll be right back.” She shrugged her shoulders with a little nod as the paramedic approached her and removed the bandage that Wyler placed on her neck.

While the authorities were huddled in a corner and Jezalyn got her wounds treated, Wyler eased back over to Larkin. “What are we going to do?”

Without even a cursory glance he said, “Nothing. You told your side. I will tell mine, if asked.”

“But what are you going to say?”

“I will tell them what happened.”

“You can’t! How are you…” he finished the rest of his thought in his head,
going to explain her neck?

He turned to Wyler, looked into his eyes, and replied, “Stop worrying. It’s covered.”

Wyler watched Deputy Wheeler walk outside as Chief Ellison return to Ray and Jezalyn. Wyler had his suspicions that Larkin had bit her, but was not sure why. He thought,
If he wanted to change her or kill her, he would have told me first. Maybe he just wanted a little taste. No, that can’t be it. He would never compromise… so why then?
He finally said, “Okay, but at least tell me what happened up here.”

Larkin said nothing as he watched Lloyd talk to Ray. They were speaking low out of Jezalyn and Wyler’s earshot, but not his. He listened to Ray give an inconclusive report as to the cause of how she sustained her injuries.

“Larkin!”

“Later,” whispered Larkin, never taking his eyes of the chief as he approached them.

A moment later, the chief stood confidently in front of them. “So you are the owner correct?” he said as he pointed at Wyler. Without waiting for a response, he redirected his finger toward Larkin, “And you’re the one who flung himself on top of Ms. Williford?”

The latter responded, “Yes.”

“According to Ms. Williford, you jumped over the counter and tackled her. Is that correct?”

“Yes. It is.”

“Well, I must say she is a lucky girl to still be alive.”

“Yes, but she still got injured,” sighed Larkin compassionately, trying to hide the contempt he held for her. “If only—”

Not being able to hold back any longer, Wyler interrupted, “Wait a second, could someone please tell me what is going on around here?”

Although Larkin knew the whole story, he could not relate it without bringing up further questions, so he said, “I am not exactly sure myself.”

Chief Ellison gave them a puzzled look and said, “Oh! I am sorry I thought Rex had filled you in. Come with me.” They sauntered over to the front near the door where Jezalyn sat on the stretcher all bandaged up.

The paramedic remarked, “She doesn’t actually need to go to the hospital; it’s only a mild flesh wound. I gave her a sedative to help her relax. I must say whoever bandaged her before I got here did a good job. The injury had already begun to clot by the time I came on the scene.” With no further injury to attend to, he announced his departure. “Well, I have to get going; my wife called, and she thinks one of the girls twisted an ankle.” Turning directly to the Ellison, he said, “By the way, Chief, my wife said for me to invite you to Sunday dinner.”

The chief raised his hand and with a smile said, “Thanks, Ray. Tell Olive and the girls that I said hi, and I would love to come over for Sunday dinner.”

Ray waved his hand backward as he exited the bookstore with the stretcher, “Sure will, Lloyd. See ya Sunday.”

Now that Ray was gone, Chief Ellison’s expression turned serious. “I usually don’t tell anyone the particulars of an ongoing investigation, but I think I have this one pretty much wrapped up, so I will tell y’all what we are going to do about this situation.”

Jezalyn stood quietly with a red spotted bandage where blood had seeped through in certain spots on her neck and thought,
What happened? It all happened so fast. Does he know Larkin attacked me?
She scowled at Larkin,
Of course he knows. I am being ridiculous. I told him Larkin jumped over the counter and attacked me, but why would he attack me? And why has he not been arrested yet?
She took a deep breath trying to calm down as she contemplated his motive for attacking her.

Everyone else stared at Lloyd waiting for him to go on, but he did not. He simply peered out of the window until Wyler finally broke the silence and said, “I still don’t know what is going on.” He thought to himself,
Please don’t say you are going to have to take Larkin in.

He slowly turned around toward them. “Here is what happened and what is going to happen,” he said as all eyes were upon him. Even Jezalyn had abandoned her pondering to listen, but another thought instinctively crossed her mind,
I hope he arrests Larkin so that he won’t be able to try attacking me again.

Lloyd asked, “Do you know the Petersons?”

All except for Wyler shook their heads no. Wyler said, “Don’t the Petersons own the general store?”

“Yes, and since it will be local news instead of standard gossip tomorrow morning, I might as well go ahead and mention that Mr. Peterson was having an affair with Greta from over at the post office.”

“Oh, I hadn’t heard about that,” said Wyler as the others attentively listened to the conversation.

The chief continued, “I received a dispatch of domestic dispute. My deputy was the first on scene; he heard it from his parked car at the tire shop next door. It seems Mrs. Peterson found out about her husband and Greta. Distraught by her husband’s actions, she grabbed one of the store’s pistols, loaded it, and unloaded a few rounds at her husband. She claims she only intended to scare him.”

Wyler directly responded, “Was anyone hurt over there?”

“No. When we arrived, she was sitting in the middle of the floor crying and holding the gun with a box of shells in her lap.”

“Where was her husband?” asked a shocked Wyler.

“He was lying face down on the floor in the office. He said he was too trapped to do anything else.”

“Oh, that’s good if no one got hurt,” remarked Jezalyn.

“Well, I wouldn’t say no one,” replied the officer.

She eyed him peculiarly, “What do you mean?”

“You got hurt, didn’t you?”

She glanced over at Larkin for a moment, swallowed hard, and took a step closer to Chief Ellison out of Larkin’s direct line of view as she said, “Yes, but I don’t see how that has anything to do with Larkin attacking me.”

Larkin barely glanced in her direction as she continued, “I thought you were here to arrest him.”

“No, my dear. I will not be arresting anyone in this shop today,” replied Chief Ellison, letting his hands rest on his gun and handcuff holsters.

She hesitated but feared for her own safety, so she retorted with one hand on her hip, “And why not?”

Seeing she was not understanding the gravity of the situation, he motioned to Larkin and said, “Could I have the honor of telling her or would you like to?”

Wyler now extremely anxious over the situation said, “I wish someone would tell me already.”

Larkin said nothing. He put his hand on Wyler’s shoulder as a signal to relax as he gave the chief a little shrug and gestured for him to continue. Chief Ellison loved to tell a good story, and this occasion afforded him practice for later, so he continued, “When Mrs. Peterson began shooting at her husband next door, she didn’t quite try to kill him. She just shot aimlessly around the store trying to scare him, and several of the bullets penetrated the walls. Your neck injury is from one of the bullets that breached the wall.” They turned to look, all except Larkin whose eyes remained fixed on Chief Ellison.

“You see, my dear, Larkin is not your attacker; he is your savior.”

She instantly stared at Larkin; her green eyes enlarged and brightened from the events, and said, “I am so sorry. How could I ever think you would attack me after all your help? Please forgive me.” She ran up and latched onto him giving him the tightest squeeze she could muster up, all the while she thought,
Why am I so relieved he did not attack me? And why am I holding onto him so hard?
Larkin laughed inside as he listened to her apology until she immediately released him with her last thought. He was amused when she felt guilty about accusing him of harming her, but his entertainment faded when she realized she was clinging to him like her savior.

Wyler observed a minute smile cross Larkin’s face that quickly subsided when she pulled away. Wyler turned to the Chief of Police and said, “So, what is going to happen to Mrs. Peterson?”

“We have arrested her on several charges, including domestic assault and felony reckless conduct, but I suppose we will have to add assault and battery if Jezalyn wants to file a report on her.”

“A report!”

“Yes, and everyone will be expected to appear in court, so don’t leave town,” the chief ordered.

Before Wyler’s alarm had the chance to overtake his emotions, Jezalyn quickly said, “I don’t want to press charges.” More than one was intrigued by her declaration.

“You may not have a choice, if her bullet grazed your neck,” said Chief Ellison.

Jezalyn hesitated before she responded, “I am not sure the bullet even grazed my neck. I could have been injured when Larkin knocked me down.”

“Are you sure you hurt yourself while he was trying to protect you?” Chief Ellison knew he was trying to trap her into saying the bullet had actually hit her. He knew if she did not claim the injury as Mrs. Peterson’s fault, he could not add the third charge.

“Yes, I am sure; it’s more likely that the zipper or a button from his leather jacket caused it.”

He produced a card with his name and phone number. “Here, take this. Sleep on it. If you change your mind and want to file, give me a call.”

“Okay,” she replied taking his card and slipping it into her back pocket.

He turned to leave, and with one foot out the door, he glanced back at Larkin and said, “I have one last question. How did you know to duck and cover?”

“I heard the first shot; it was low and kind of muffled. I was not sure where it came from, so I jumped over the counter to protect Jezalyn. It was an instinctual reflex. I didn’t intend to hurt her. I hope she doesn’t hold it against me,” he added gazing into her eyes.

“No, I certainly do not,” blurted out Jezalyn.

Lloyd peered back out into the parking lot, “Well, it looks like my deputy has Mrs. Peterson in custody. Y’all have a good day,” trailed out of his mouth as the door closed behind him.

Jezalyn quickly studied Larkin’s face to determine if Larkin was angry with her. “I am so sorry for accusing you of attacking me.”

With a smirk he responded, “It’s fine. I would have thought the same thing in your position.”

Wyler interrupted, “How is your neck? Do you really think it was from Larkin and not a bullet?”

She fidgeted with her fingers as she said, “I am not sure; it all happened so fast.” Growing silent to reflect, Jezalyn decided,
it was probably the bullet because I felt a warm stinging sensation before I fainted.
After a short pause, she proclaimed, “I owe you my life.”

Larkin said, “You owe me nothing.” Finally turning to Wyler, he offered in a friendly tone as he tried to disguise his authority over Wyler. “Maybe closing for the day would be a good idea. What do you think?”