Murder in Vein (2010) (33 page)

The house was U-shaped, with its extensions reaching out like
arms to embrace a large tiled courtyard. Beyond it was a large
pool. Low-level lights lit the courtyard and set off the various
pots of flowers and shrubs to their best advantage. Submerged
lights in the pool made the water shimmer in a slow liquid dance
like a mirage.

Madison watched the lights for a moment. "It's lovely,
Samuel"

"Thank you. Maybe, in time, you'd like to come and stay for
a visit." When Madison jerked her head to look at him, he added
with a smile, "Just for a visit. A guest. Nothing else. I often have
houseguests."

"Live ones?"

"Yes, and undead ones." He laughed. "The wing to the right
houses two large guest suites. The wing to the left contains the
master suite and my office. Most of the rooms have doors that
open up onto the courtyard."

Samuel led her through the house into the right wing and
showed her to a guest suite that consisted of a spacious bedroom
with a roomy sitting area and private bath. The bed was large and
covered with a quilt the color of terra-cotta pots. On the bed, pillows of different sizes and shapes were clustered like green- and
peach-patterned mushrooms. The sight of the bed made Madison yawn.

"You must be tired," Samuel said. "I'll bet since last night
you've hardly gotten any sleep."

"Just the couple of hours at Colin's" Madison yawned again.
"I'm sorry, but I'm ready to drop."

"Understandable" Samuel placed the small bag of toiletries and clothing Madison had brought with her on the bed.
"Through that door is the bathroom. Feel free to use the whirlpool tub; it might help you sleep. Also, there is some food in the
kitchen-I'm not sure how much, but don't hesitate to check out
the cupboards and refrigerator. I always keep things on hand for
my living friends. There's no one else here tonight. Gordon lives
in an apartment over the garage, and my housekeeper doesn't
come until after eleven in the morning."

Samuel pointed to drapes pulled back close to the wall, away
from the French doors. "You will find that all the bedrooms have
room-darkening drapery panels to the side of the windows. My
undead guests generally use those, but you might enjoy leaving
the windows uncovered to enjoy the moonlight and the morning
sun.

Before he left, Samuel bent and kissed Madison lightly on the
cheek. "Good night, little one. Put the events of the day aside and
sleep like the dead." He winked, closing the door behind him.

A few minutes later, Madison wandered into the kitchen in
search of food. Finding a small bag of gourmet cookies in a cupboard and some apples in a bowl on the counter, she retreated to
her room with her booty and ate while soaking in the deep tub.

The life of a vampire didn't seem that bad, Madison thought
to herself as she relaxed in scented bubbles. They lived in luxury
homes, drove expensive cars, and had money. Then she remembered Doug sniffing food he couldn't eat and Dodie baking
cookies to keep her memories alive. Bowls of oranges and lemons instead of scrapbooks. And Kate Thornton with a mate who
would grow old and die-Jerry being nothing but a heartbeat in
Kate's eternal world. Under the wealth and power, it seemed a
lonely and painful life, and one filled with worry of exposure and
concern about who to trust and who could not be trusted. It was
a secret life lived in darkness. And it was forever.

Madison started to cry and wasn't sure why.

Sometime in the night, Madison woke to find herself in total
darkness. Someone had come in and closed her drapes. Maybe
Samuel had, thinking it would help her sleep longer in the morning. Slipping out of bed, she went to the window and peeked
through the heavy curtain. Everything looked the same in the
large courtyard: the pool was still blue and inviting, the moon
bright. In their outdoor dim light, the trees and potted shrubs
stood like dancers in the wings, waiting for their cue to step into
the spotlight.

Madison was about to return to bed when she spotted a
shadow leaving the house from a back door on the other wing. She scooted farther back behind the drapes and watched. It
was a man. He seemed short and squat and moved like a nocturnal animal across the courtyard and past the pool. When he
reached the far end of the property, which was bordered by an
ivy-covered fence, he disappeared. A moment later, another figure left the opposite wing. This time it was a woman. She strolled
with confidence, taking the same path as the man before her. For
a brief moment moonlight crossed her face, and Madison recognized Stacie Neroni. Like the man before her, she approached the
ivy fence and disappeared.

If Stacie was here, maybe she'd learned something more from
Cubby, but why was she outside? Why couldn't she just meet with
Samuel in the living room? And who was the man who'd arrived
before her? Bursting with curiosity and hoping Stacie's presence
meant they'd found the killers, Madison slipped into her jeans
and her sneakers. Quietly opening the French doors from her
room to the courtyard, she crept out into the night and followed
the trail to the fence.

The night was cold and damp. Madison hugged her arms to
herself as she scurried across the courtyard tiles and onto the
grass on the far side of the pool. Besides her jeans and sneakers,
she was only wearing the tee shirt she'd worn to bed. Once at the
fence, she couldn't see where they'd gone.

Reaching through the ivy, Madison discovered it wasn't a
fence at all, but a building on the other side. She quietly felt her
way along until her hand hit something familiar. It was a door
handle. She pulled on it just far enough so she could look inside.

On the other side of the door was a long, narrow storage
room with its lights on, but no sign of Stacie or the man. Madison slipped inside. Once inside, she heard voices and followed them to the far side of the room, where she found another door.
This one was slightly open.

From here, she could recognize Samuel's voice but couldn't
see him. He sounded cold and menacing. She also recognized
Colin's voice, and Stacie's. Madison wondered if they were arguing. She stepped through the door to get a better look and found
herself in a small, dark area with a thick curtain separating it
from the main area. She pulled back the drapery an inch and
peered through the slit.

The room was the size of a large garage and bare except for
chairs set up in a circle around a table. Seated in the chairs were
Stacie Neroni, Colin Reddy, Isabella Claussen, and the man she'd
seen crossing the lawn. Samuel La Croix stood at the head of the
table, looking down.

Madison clenched her teeth to keep from screaming.

On the table was Lilith, leader of the Fang Me coven. She was
naked and moaning. Blood dripped from her body onto the floor
like wax from a melting red candle.

"Tell us where Ethan and Ben are," Samuel demanded.

"I don't know," Lilith answered in a weak voice. Her eyes were
closed. Her head sagged to one side.

Stacie got up, sunk her fangs into one of Lilith's wrists, and
sucked hard. Lilith screamed, but the sound was ragged and
feeble.

"How does it feel to bleed to death?" Blood dripped from Stacie's mouth as she asked Lilith the question. "This is how your
victims died. Talk or you'll die the same way."

"I don't ... I don't know where they are. I haven't seen them
since last night."

Lilith raised her head slightly and turned it toward Isabella. "I
was with you all last night and tonight-tell them."

Isabella got up and walked to the table. Stacie moved away,
taking her place back on a chair. Isabella stroked Lilith's hair.
"We were together, and it was lovely." Isabella smiled down at
Lilith. "But you need to tell us everything you know." Isabella's
voice was tender. "Who's behind this, Lilith? We know it's not
you. Who is calling the shots on the kidnappings and killings?"

"I don't know," Lilith whimpered, her former arrogance
drained from her as her blood dripped from her body. "Really.
Ethan told me they knew how to become real vampires and asked
if I wanted in. That's it. I'm telling you the truth." Lilith sobbed,
then choked back the tears. "But you're real." She moved her head
to look at the rest of them. "You're all real." She caught her eye on
Colin. "Even you. All this time, you were a real vampire."

Colin stared at her, his dark, handsome face molded into a
terrible mask.

Isabella nodded and continued to stroke Lilith's hair. "Yes,
darling, we're the genuine article." She flashed her fangs.

Lilith shrank against the table. "But we worship you. We want
to be like you ... to be one of you."

"So much so," Colin finally said, his voice thick with disgust,
"that you were willing to kill innocent people? Even we don't do
that." He stood up and covered the distance to the table in a single stride. "Only people with bloodlines can become vampires,
Lilith. You killed at least five potential vampires in your fruitless
quest to become one yourself. We don't take that lightly. It's like
killing our children." Colin unleashed his fangs. He reared back
and thrust himself forward, latching himself onto one of Lilith's
upper thighs. Lilith screamed while Isabella held her head.

Acidic bile rose in Madison's throat as she fought the urge to
vomit.

When Colin finished sucking on Lilith's thigh, he returned to
his chair. Samuel stepped up to the table. Isabella continued to
hold Lilith's head, keeping it steady and turned toward Samuel.

"Tell us everything you know, Lilith," Samuel demanded, "or
your life ends right here, right now."

Madison shrunk away, stumbling on rubbery legs to find her
way out of the building and across the lawn and courtyard to her
room. She knew no matter what Lilith said or confessed, the high
priestess of Fang Me was going to die tonight on that table. The
council had already sentenced her.

The weak light of dawn woke Madison as it crept into her room
like a stealthy cat. She turned toward the French doors to find
that someone had pulled back the drapes, just as they had been
when she'd first gone to bed the night before. Again, she'd heard
nothing.

The frightening memory of Lilith's screams filled Madison's
morning thoughts. She got out of bed and looked out across
the courtyard toward the ivy. Everything appeared peaceful, and
there was no sign of a building beyond the ivy. Then her eye
caught her sneakers where she'd kicked them off upon returning
to her room. Wet grass clung to them. It hadn't been a dream. She
had been out in the night. Madison looked again at the ivy and
shivered. She wanted to crawl back in bed and stay there forever.

Turning, she looked out again into the courtyard and saw
movement out of the corner of her eye. It was Samuel. He was
standing in the doorway that opened to the living room, beckon ing her to join him. Wrapping herself in a thick white terrycloth
robe she'd found the night before in the bathroom, Madison
padded down the hallway and through the house to the living
room, where she found Colin and Samuel together, deep in discussion. Colin was slouched on the sofa, facing the French doors.
Samuel was pacing. Neither were wearing the same clothes they'd
had on the night before.

On the large coffee table in front of the sofa was a tray with
a small pitcher of fresh orange juice, a glass, and a plate of
croissants.

Samuel indicated the tray. "That's for you, Madison. Help
yourself."

Madison poured herself a glass of juice and curled up on one
end of the large sofa, tucking her legs beneath her. With their
super hearing and Samuel's ability to read thoughts, they had to
know she'd seen them last night. She took a drink of juice and
waited for it to play out, knowing she was powerless to avoid it.

"Seems our surveillance turned up nothing," Samuel told her.
"Neither Ethan nor Ben showed up anywhere last night."

Colin turned to her. "It's almost like they knew someone was
looking for them and took off."

"Maybe they realized I overheard them and decided not to stick
around in case I called the police." Madison took another drink,
hoping the vampires didn't notice her shaking hands. "Maybe
what happened to my apartment was just vandalism by kids."

Samuel shook his head. "Doug didn't think so. He said it
looked like someone was angry at you. But we have to consider
all the options."

"What about Gordon?" Madison asked. "Did he find out
anything?"

"He checked in with me right after we got home last night.
He said he had a lead and was checking it out. I haven't heard
from him since." Samuel ran a hand over his bald head. "Not like
him. It worries me. No answer on his cell phone either."

"And Lilith?" asked Madison, addressing the elephant in the
room.

Samuel sat down in a chair across from the sofa and studied
Madison before speaking. "She was bragging to Isabella about
how she was going to be running all the covens shortly."