Murder in Vein (2010) (10 page)

"This place is called Scarlet," Dodie told Madison, "after its
owner. It's a vampire restaurant. A living person can only come
in here accompanied by a vampire. It's a place where the two can
come together socially for a meal, each of their own kind. It has a
limited food menu, but I'm told the food is quite good. Are you
hungry?"

Madison shook her head and mumbled, "No, thanks." She'd
nibbled on the pot roast earlier. It was delicious, but she hadn't
had much of an appetite, eating what she did only because she
knew she needed to eat something.

"Don't worry," Dodie said, seeing Madison stare into her coffee mug with concern. "The kitchen where the food is made is
separate from where the blood items are prepared." She laughed
lightly. "Think of it as a kosher kitchen, where the meat dishes
and the dairy dishes are never allowed to mingle."

Madison looked around the restaurant, thinking maybe some
small talk would get her mind off of the photos. "So," she began,
swallowing hard before continuing, "are the waiters here also
vampires?"

"Yes, though the chef for the food is not. Since vampires don't
eat, how could a vampire chef tell if something tasted good or not? Although most of us do enjoy the aroma of a well-cooked
meal."

"Pauline told me that's why you enjoy cooking-for the
smell."

"Yes, and I like seeing people enjoy what I make. Did you
enjoy the pot roast?"

"I wasn't too hungry, but I had some. It was very good, but I
thought Pauline fixed that."

"I put it on before I went to bed. It's one of my specialties, like
the chicken soup is one of Pauline's. It was also a favorite of my
first husband."

In spite of her continued wariness, Madison found her tension begin to melt and the memory of the photos retreat from
the forefront of her thoughts. Dodie's company was as pleasant
and soothing as the coffee and chocolate beverage in the mug she
held. For the first time since she was a young girl, Madison felt a
little spoiled and pampered, even cared about. She also warned
herself not to get too used to it. As soon as this thing with the
murders was over, she'd be back to her own life in a lonely, dingy
apartment, slinging burgers and juggling classes. There would be
no indulgences, but there also wouldn't be photos of bodies or
blood in the fridge.

"You were married before?" Madison asked with surprise. "To
a beater?"

Dodie laughed. "I was a beater then, too." Taking on a faraway
look, she traveled through her memories. "I was a widow living
in Arizona when I met Doug Dedham. My husband had died six
years earlier. Our only son had died years before in the military.
I was waiting to die myself. Doug didn't tell me right off about
being a vampire. Probably a good thing he didn't, but he gave me back my enjoyment of life. We fell in love. I became a vampire to spend eternity with him. After losing my first husband,
there was something very appealing in knowing I couldn't lose
my second."

"So you can never die?" Madison was sitting at attention,
wondering what it would feel like to know that life could go on
forever. Would it be a curse or a blessing? She decided it would
depend on the life you had to lead for eternity.

"Vampires can die, Madison. We can be killed by a couple of
methods."

"Like being in the sun?"

"Another myth spread by movies and literature." Dodie
shook her head in amusement. "We can be out in the sun without exploding or turning to ash, but we prefer not to be, because
we're very sensitive to it. It tends to sap our energy and powers,
and it makes us feel under the weather. It's almost like it gives
us the flu." Dodie paused to think about the subject further.
"Perhaps if we were exposed to it continuously over a very long
period of time, it could kill us, but I've never heard of that." She
looked at Madison and winked. "But I do know you won't find
many vampires traveling to places where there's extended daylight, like Greenland."

Dodie took a drink from her mug. "We're also not sensitive
to crosses, garlic, holy water, or silver. Those are concepts created
by the early Christian church to give people comfort and a sense
of protection. And except for what the sun does to us, we don't
get sick." Dodie screwed up her face in pretend confusion. "The
funny thing is, even though we're technically dead, our hair and
nails still grow. Not sure why, but they do. But I'm glad, because I
love going to the salon."

Madison ran a hand through her newly shaped hair and loved
its silky feel. Dodie had also purchased some makeup, and the
stylist had shown Madison how to apply it to cover the black eye
and other bruises. When they were done, Madison didn't look
half bad. "Was that a vampire salon we went to?"

"It's owned by a vampire. By day it's a regular salon. Several
nights a week they stay open to serve us. It's also a popular tanning salon. Many of us get spray tans so we don't look so pale.
Others use makeup when they go out in public, but Doug and I
prefer the spray tan. It covers everything and lasts longer."

Madison closed her eyes tight and shook herself. "I feel as
though I've fallen into a Tim Burton movie. One minute I'm
freaking out, the next minute I'm fascinated."

Leaning forward, Dodie patted Madison's hand. "Ask any
questions you'd like, dear. Just be discreet about where you do it.
Here or at home is fine"

The two women sat quietly. Madison tried not to stare at the
other patrons but couldn't help herself. She wondered which
were vampires. No one looked particularly dead to her, though
it was easy to spot the living. They were the few using knives and
forks.

After a minute, Madison turned her attention back to Dodie
and wasn't surprised to find the older woman watching her much
like she had been watching the vampires.

"That was nice of you to get some of my stuff for me," Madison said. She paused, then added a quick and quiet thanks.

"And thank you, Madison, for not leaving when Pauline gave
you your car keys. We really do need you to help us solve these
murders before our way of life is threatened. Not to mention averting the panic that would occur if the people of Los Angeles
found out about us."

Dodie hesitated, choosing her next words and tone carefully, understanding that Madison was skittish and uncomfortable in personal situations. "Madison, is that your mother in the
photo?"

In answer, Madison buried her nose into her mug and
nodded.

"Where is she? Do you mind telling me?"

Madison put down her mug and stared at one of the paintings. It was an abstract blend of yellows, reds, and oranges, with
the occasional surprise of blue-sharp angles that came together
in smooth and pleasing harmony.

"She's dead," Madison told Dodie in a voice devoid of emotion. When Dodie didn't comment, Madison continued. "She
died when I was five. I was raised by my father's aunt, Eleanor,
until she died a few years later. After that, I made the rounds of
foster homes until I turned eighteen." Madison's voice began to
break. She swallowed the lump in her throat and corralled her
emotions. "You know that ratty old stuffed animal? The one you
brought over from my place?"

Dodie nodded. She had sensed the battered toy meant something significant to Madison.

"My mother gave that to me right before she died. It's all I
have left of her-that and the photo."

"How did she die, Madison? Was she sick?"

"No, she wasn't." The words came out of the girl spiced with
bile. Seeing that Madison looked about to break into tears, Dodie
didn't prod. After another few moments, Madison said, "My
mother was killed in a robbery."

"I'm so very sorry, Madison."

Madison, considering she'd gone this far, decided she might
as well complete the story she hadn't told anyone-ever. "My
mother and father and I were coming home from something, not
even sure now what, when my father decided to stop at a convenience store. Mom was driving. My father went into the store.
Then there was the sound of shots. My father ran out of the store
and yelled at my mother to get going. She screamed at my dad. I
remember her asking him over and over about what he'd done.
He kept screaming for her to drive. A man came out of the store
and fired a gun at the car. My mother was killed."

Dodie's lips were pressed tight, holding back tears that in reality she couldn't shed. "And your father?"

Madison shrugged. "He's in jail-or was. He shot one of the
store clerks, paralyzing him. Even before then, I don't remember
him around much. And when he was around, he was mean to us,
especially to my mother"

Madison filled her lungs with air, held it, then expelled it, as
if doing that would rid her of the horrible memory. When that
didn't work, she shoved the pain back into the shadows to sit next
to the photos of the dead women. "Aunt Eleanor left me a little
money. Not much, but I couldn't get it until I turned twenty-one.
As soon as I did, I left Boise and headed here to start over."

In a sharp motion, Madison pushed away from the table.
"Where's the ladies' room? Or don't they have one?"

"It's over there, dear." Dodie pointed to a door just to the left
of the bar. "It's for their live customers."

hen Madison headed back to their table, she saw that
Dodie wasn't alone. Seated with her was another woman.
She appeared to be in her late thirties, with straight brown
hair pulled back into a ponytail and bangs worn just past her
eyebrows. Her body was compact and athletic.

"So this is the girl," the woman announced rather than asked
as Madison reached the table.

"Madison," Dodie said with a smile. "I want you to meet a
good friend of ours. This is Stacie Neroni. She's an attorney who
does a lot of work for the community."

Stacie held out her hand to Madison, who took it with a slight
hesitation. They shook, and Madison noticed that Stacie's hand
was ice cold.

"You're a-," Madison started to say as she took her seat.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Stacie said, cutting her off with a wave of
her hand. "I'm a vampire attorney. I know, go ahead and say itit's redundant." Her words came at Madison fast and aggressive,
like the beat of a hard metal rock song but without the harshness. "I've heard it all before," Stacie continued with a smirk. "`Bloodsucking should come easy to me. It's a natural career step. I want
to bite your wallet' In the forty-two years since I was turned, I've
heard it all."

"Turned?" Madison ventured.

"Turned," Dodie answered her, "means when Stacie became a
vampire. It's the term we use to denote the event of going from
living to undead."

Stacie studied Madison, making a frank and speedy assessment. "Bet you're learning a lot in a short time. Bet it's more than
you want to learn, too."

Madison looked directly into Stacie's brown eyes. Attorney
or not, vampire or not, Madison's gut was telling her to like and
trust the woman. She could see that Dodie did. "When it's TMI,
I'll let you know."

"TMI?" asked Dodie.

"Too much information," Madison and Stacie answered in
quick unison.

The attorney smiled at Madison. "I think I'm going to like
you, Madison Rose." Before Madison could answer, Stacie shifted
her brain into a higher gear. "So tell me what happened Saturday
night. What do you remember? Did you see anyone besides the
creep who grabbed you?"

"I've already told Detective Notchey everything," Madison
answered.

"So now tell me," Stacie pressed. "Everything"

Madison looked over at Dodie. The older woman smiled and
gave her an assuring nod.

"Like I told Notchey, I came out of the diner where I work.
I was alone and it was late, after one in the morning. We stay open late on Saturday nights to feed the club crowd. It was very
dark in the parking lot." Madison scrunched her eyes in thought.
"Now that I think of it, it was darker than usual, like the light
back there was burned out or something."