Blood Red (8 page)

“How strange,” Deanna murmured, then looked at Lauren again.

“What?” Lauren persisted.

“There
was
a carriage—well, there are lots of carriages in New Orleans—and I was tempted to take a ride, but then I saw Jonas.”

“Jonas?”

“The guy from the bar.”

“And then?” Lauren persisted.

“We chatted, he said he'd hoped we'd run into each other again tonight, he left, I found Heidi, and then we found you. And the hunk-next-door.”

“The scary hunk-next-door,” Lauren said.

Deanna let out a laugh. “You know what's scary about him?”

“What?”

“You.”

“
Me
?”

“Yes, you. Your reaction. You're afraid to get close to anyone. You're afraid to so much as have lunch with someone. And you need to get over it. Here's what I think. You're actually attracted to this guy, sexually, attracted, so you're trying to push him away. You don't want to be hurt, to lose someone again.”

“Thank you, Dr. Deanna.”

“Give the guy a chance, why don't you?”

“I was perfectly nice to him at lunch.”

“He's looking for more than lunch. And I think you are, too.”

Lauren felt her own cheeks redden. She was paler than her friend. Deanna didn't have to blink to realize she'd struck a chord.

“You feel it, don't you?”

“I feel what?”

“The desire to…well, I was going to say
jump his bones,
but it's you, so I'll just say the desire.”

Lauren groaned and rose, stretching.

“Where do you think you're going? We just ordered drinks from a hard working waitress. At least wait for her to come back so we can get our drinks and give her a tip, huh?”

“Oh, all right,” Lauren said. To kill time, she hit the button on the slot machine, then watched as five Creatures from the Black Lagoon appeared neatly in a row across the screen.

Bells started ringing.

“Fifty-
thousand
pennies!” Deanna said delightedly. “You just won five
hundred
dollars.”

“Now that's cool,” Lauren had to agree.

The bells were still ringing, and people around them were coming to check out her winnings. There were much larger jackpots to be had, she was certain, but fifty thousand cents was definitely fun, and most people seemed cheerful, apparently happy to see someone get the better of the house.

There was one cranky old fellow, though, who walked by them muttering, “That was my jackpot. That thing cleaned out my pockets”

At least the rest of the place seemed happy. The attendant was happy signing their sheet, and once they got their drinks and duly tipped the waitress, the cashier was pleased to give them their money. It really wasn't that much. The man in front of them was cashing in five thousand in poker chips.

“It isn't the amount; it's the excitement of the win,” Deanna told her.

“I'll bet you the excitement of a five-thousand-dollar win must feel pretty good, too,” Lauren said, but she was laughing. It really had been fun.

And they'd all but forgotten Heidi.

“Craps tables,” they said at the same time.

Their timing was great. They got there just as Heidi, who had apparently been on a roll, crapped out. The table cheered her when she got up, looking flushed and happy.

“Hey, you can't go now, lady luck!” a nicely dressed middle-aged woman called to her.

“Don't worry. The dice will come around again,” a handsome young guy in a Harley Davidson jacket assured her.

“We should leave now, while we're all ahead,” Deanna said.

“Why didn't you make me leave earlier, when I'd won even more?” Heidi demanded as they waited while she cashed in her chips. “How did you two do with your pennies?” she asked, her tone patronizing.

“Lauren won five hundred dollars,” Deanna said.

Heidi frowned. “Five hundred dollars?”

“Yep,” Deanna said proudly.

“I think I have three hundred and thirty five,” Heidi said, then grinned. “That means you pay for dinner.”

“Bathing suits, sun and the pool first, right?” Lauren asked.

“You bet,” Heidi agreed.

A little while later, they stepped out into bright afternoon sunlight and headed back to their B and B.

But despite the blazing sunlight, Lauren couldn't shake the feeling that they were surrounded by darkness and shadows.

“Vampires. Plural,” Sean Canady said, looking steadily at Mark.

Mark was surprised that he hadn't called in the men in the white coats, though he
had
excused himself for several minutes, then returned.

Maybe the men in the white coats were already on the way.

All right, time to try another tack. “Look, I love New Orleans. It's like no other place, but there are plenty of cultists and crazies here.”

“True enough,” the cop agreed sagely.

I don't mean me
, Mark added silently, then kept going. “Stephan is a…cult leader. He's also psychotic, a man who never feels any regret for the pain he causes, and he can mesmerize others and turn them into killers.”

“Well, thank you for your information. I appreciate your coming in.”

“You haven't filled out any forms.”

“I will.”

“Usually cops take notes while someone is talking.”

“You're familiar with police procedure?” Canady asked.

Mark hesitated just slightly, then said, “Hey, I watch television.
Law and Order
.”

“Right,” Canady agreed politely. “And
CSI
. We always get our guy in just one episode, too,” he said dryly.

“I assure you, you need to find this man, and stop him.” He stood. There was so much more he wanted to say, but if he did, he really would risk being committed.

He frowned, noticing the chain around the lieutenant's neck. “Cross?” he asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“No reason. Just curious,” Mark said.

He decided to depart quickly, before things became complicated. He'd tried, but he was still on his own against Stephan.

“Thanks for your time. Before I go, I should tell you that I'm certain he has some kind of…lair around here. Probably somewhere in the French Quarter, maybe the Garden District, or even uptown. I'll be looking for him. If you go looking for him, too, do it carefully.”

The cop blinked but still betrayed no emotion.

“Good luck, Lieutenant,” Mark said, shaking his head. Well, what the hell had he expected? for the lieutenant to form a posse armed with stakes and holy water?

“Back at you,” the cop said as Mark turned and left

Mark knew without looking that the steel-eyed lieutenant followed and watched him all the way out to the street.

The sun was still hot when they made it out to the pool, even though it was four o'clock. They had the place to themselves, the rest of guests apparently having gone off to other pursuits.

Jumping into the water felt delicious, and crawling out wasn't bad, either.

Many of the lounge chairs around the pool were shaded by umbrella tops and they pulled three together. They chatted about the wedding, the city and their plans for their winnings, but not about the headless corpse that had been dragged from the Mississippi or the tall, dark strangers they had encountered in the course of the weekend.

Heidi stood at last, yawning and stretching. “I'm going to shower, okay? If I stay out here much longer I'll burn to a crisp.”

“Poor, pale darling,” Deanna teased her.

“Hey, you can burn, too, my copper beauty,” Heidi warned.

“I know,” Deanna assured her. “But you're by far the most delicate of us.”

“I'm pale and I come in a small package, but I'm fierce,” Heidi told her.

“Of course you are,” Deanna assured her, waving a hand dismissively. “Go on. Take your shower.”

After Heidi went inside, a gentle breeze suddenly arose, not chilly but balmy and, since they were still damp from the water, quite nice. Lauren felt as if she had returned to the world of the normal. She felt relaxed.

Deanna turned to her suddenly.

“Did you feel it?” she demanded tensely.

“What?”

“I could
feel
it.”

“Feel what?”

“Eyes. Being watched.”

Lauren stared blankly at her friend, then asked slowly and carefully, “Um…do you think Mark Davidson is watching us from his cottage?” she suggested.

“No. He's not there.”

“How do you know?”

“I knocked on his door while you were still changing to see if he wanted to hang with us at the pool.”

Lauren digested that information. “Maybe he just didn't answer his door,” she suggested.

Deanna shook her head firmly.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I saw the maid go into his cottage, and she left his door open. He wasn't there.”

“Okay, so Mark isn't watching us. But you think someone is?”

“I don't think. I know.”

Despite herself, Lauren felt her pleasant aura of peace and calm evaporate. She looked around. The breeze was rustling the foliage around the house and pool, but it wasn't as if they were in a deep, dark forest.

She stood, then walked around the courtyard, around a hibiscus and a croton; she went so far as to head to the parking lot at the rear and check the trees there.

“No one,” she told Deanna, returning to her chair.

Deanna didn't seem appeased.

“Maybe someone was watching from the main house,” Lauren suggested. “Maybe our hostess, checking to be sure we aren't throwing a wild pool party.”

“I'm not making you understand,” Deanna said.

Yes, you are. You're totally giving me the creeps

, Lauren thought.

“Well, Heidi should be out of the shower by now. We can both go in. You can have first dibs. I think I'm going to brew up some coffee before you guys decide to hit the bars again.”

“Okay,” Deanna said and began to gather her belongings.

Lauren did the same, then stopped. “Deanna,” she said.

“Yeah?”

“Do you…do you think it was the man you ran into last night at the bar?”

“The cute guy?” Deanna asked.

“I didn't really see him. I don't know how cute he was,” Lauren said.

Deanna frowned in thought, then shook her head. “No. There was nothing…creepy about him. Now, the other guy…”

“What other guy?”

Deanna hesitated. “I don't know,” she said, puzzled.

“You're losing me. What are you talking about?” Lauren asked.

Deanna shook her head. “There are two guys.”

“Two guys?” Lauren said, frowning. “Do you mean Mark Davidson, maybe? Mark and the man you met at the bar?”

“No, Mark is
your
guy,” Deanna said.

“Then who
do
you mean?”

“I…don't really know. Maybe I had too much to drink or something, but I can't exactly remember. But I'm sure I've seen…or met…
two
men. The one at the bar last night. His name is Jonas. I like him. He's very sweet. And I ran into him today, right when…”

“Right when what?”

“What you said,” Deanna told her. She sounded impatient.

“What I said about what?”

“The carriage ride.”

“You
did
take a carriage ride?”

“No. But I was
tempted
to.” She looked at Lauren. “This is crazy. You know what? I'm with you from now on when it comes to fortune-tellers. But…”

“But
what?
” Lauren persisted.

“There's someone else,” Deanna said, troubled.

“The second man you've seen? Have you talked to him? Maybe you've just walked past him a few times or something. Deanna, I wish you made sense. I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Neither do I. It's more like a feeling,” Deanna murmured. “I'm sorry. I know I sound…confused. It must be the sleepwalking.”