Murder in Vein (2010) (7 page)

Madison stretched in the sunlight, going through moves she'd
learned in a yoga class. Ignoring the protests of her bruises, she
enjoyed the feel of her body. No matter what was ahead, for now
she was alive. She'd decided to approach her time with the Dedhams much as she did her childhood in foster care-one day at a
time. Although in the case of the Dedhams, it might be one night
at a time.

During her final stretches, Madison noticed the desk chair
had been moved to the side of the bed, as if someone had been
watching her sleep. She'd had a dream about a man, a very dark
man, watching over her. When he'd touched her in the dream,
she'd been both thrilled and terrified. Madison moved the chair
back to the desk. Dodie had probably come in to make sure she
was all right, but Madison still found it slightly disturbing.

Something else was different. On the desk was a laptop and
a stack of books. Not just any books, but her schoolbooks, along
with a few other books she'd had in her apartment. The laptop
was hers, too. Her eyes swept the room and came to rest on the
dresser. On the top of the dresser were neatly folded clothes that
also looked familiar. She crossed the large room and fingered
the articles, instantly recognizing several pairs of her jeans and
various sweaters and tee shirts. There was also a plastic bag filled with her personal cosmetics and toiletries, including her hairbrush and comb. Then her eye snagged on two other recognizable items.

Half hidden by the pile of clothing was Pookie, a raggedy
stuffed kitten, and a photograph in a blue wooden frame. It was a
photo of a very young Madison with her mother. Leaning against
the frame was a folded piece of stationery monogrammed with
a stylized D at the top. With a shaking hand, Madison picked up
the paper. It was a note from Dodie. The handwriting was clean
and precise.

We thought you'd be more comfortable with some of
your own things. There are a few more in the closet.
Your lingerie is in the dresser.

Madison yanked open the top dresser drawer to find an
assortment of her panties, bras, and socks. Dashing to the closet,
she flung open the doors. Neatly hanging from wooden hangers
were the only two pairs of dress pants she owned, a few blouses,
and a dress. On the floor of the closet were a couple pairs of her
shoes, including her favorite boots.

Returning to the dresser, Madison picked up the photo and
studied it as tears ran down her cheeks. She traced the outline of
her mother's face. She'd died when Madison was five years old.
The stuffed kitten was the last thing she'd given Madison before
her death.

Madison put down the photo and picked up the stuffed animal. Clutching it to her chest, she slipped back into bed and buried her head in a pillow, sobbing until she was too exhausted to
cry anymore.

It was nearly ten by the time Madison showered and went
downstairs dressed in her own clothing. Much to her surprise,
the drapes were open and the house was flooded with sunshine.
She heard noise coming from the kitchen and headed in that
direction.

Bustling around the kitchen was a squat African-American
woman with long, braided hair. The mixture of black and gray
in her hair gave it the appearance of a tweed veil. She wore gray
leggings and a long tunic sweater the color of a ripe banana. An
apron was tied around her thick waist. Her feet were stuck into
white Keds. The woman's back was to Madison. She was humming a tune that sounded like church music.

Madison cleared her throat before speaking so she would not
scare the woman. "Are you Pauline?"

The woman turned around, not surprised at all. She appeared
to be in her fifties, with a broad face, high cheekbones, and small,
sharp bird eyes. "That's me-Pauline Speakes. And you must be
young Miss Madison." The woman eyed Madison up and down
without apology. "Thought you were going to sleep the day
away, but now that I see that black eye and those cuts, I'm not
surprised."

Madison self-consciously touched the bandage on the side
of her face. "Dodie gave me a pain pill last night. Those things
knock me on my ass."

"Hmmm" Pauline crossed her arms and stared at Madison. "You need to know right off, I don't take to girls with potty
mouths."

Madison started to say something coarse in retort, but one
look at Pauline cautioned her not to pick the fight. "I'll remember that," she said instead.

"Good, that's getting off on the right foot. Now, what would
you like for breakfast?"

Madison shrugged.

"Speak up, girl," Pauline told her. "Dodie had me pick up a
few things on my way in today. Things like eggs and bread, some
pouches of tuna-stuff like that. She said you drink 2% milk
with your Honey Nut Cheerios, that right?"

"How did she know?" Madison asked, then remembered her
personal items upstairs. "Of course, they went to my apartment,
didn't they?"

"Seems so. Shall it be cereal, then?"

When Madison nodded, Pauline went to a cupboard and
retrieved a bowl. From a drawer she pulled out a spoon. "The
cereal's in that cupboard," she said, pointing to one near the
refrigerator.

Madison went to the cupboard and found a fresh box of her
favorite cereal. The pantry was well stocked, though most items
appeared newly purchased. After grabbing the box from the
cupboard and milk from the refrigerator, she took a seat at the
kitchen table, where Pauline had placed the bowl and spoon. In
the middle of the table was a large bowl of fresh fruit.

"Where am I?" Madison ventured as she poured cereal into
her bowl. Even as she asked the question, it sounded lame to her.

Pauline turned from the sink to face her. "You mean
geographically?"

Madison nodded and added milk to the bowl. "With everything that's happened, I forgot to ask. Kind of stupid of me, I
know."

"This house is in Topanga Canyon. You know where that is?"

Again, Madison nodded.

Pauline went to the refrigerator, pulled out a container of
juice, and poured two glasses. She put one in front of Madison
and the other in front of another seat at the table. Pauline settled
herself in the chair by the juice.

"Seems like now would be a good time to go over some house
rules," she told Madison. "First off, I'm not here to wait on you.
Got that?"

Madison jabbed her spoon into her cereal. "I wouldn't expect
you to."

"You take care of your room. Pick up after yourself. Make
your own bed."

"It's already made." Madison popped the first spoonful of
cereal into her mouth and chewed, being careful of her split lip.
It was delicious. She'd not eaten much the day before except for
soup and a couple of cookies, and she was famished. She shoveled
another bite in on the heels of the first.

"Mrs. D said you were neat. Glad to hear it." Pauline took a
drink of juice and watched the girl. "Secondly, you have the run
of the house except for the Dedhams' master suite. That doesn't
mean you can go snooping around or anything like that, but
you're not restricted on where you can go-except for their
room. The master suite is at the end of the hallway, down from
your room. There are two small bedrooms that share a bath
across the hall from your room. Mrs. D uses one for a kind of
sewing or craft room. She loves to do handwork-knitting,
needlepoint, anything with a hook or needle. The other room is
empty except for a bed and dresser. Down here, there's the living
room, dining room, den, and a small study Mr. D uses. There are
lots of books in there. I've heard you like to read, so help yourself, just don't disturb Mr. D's paints. He likes to dabble in oils. It's the only messy place in the entire house." The last sentence
was spoken with frustration mixed with pride.

"Don't worry," Madison told her between bites. "I'm used to
living in other people's homes." When Pauline gave her a quizzical look, she added, "I grew up in foster care. Five different places
between the ages of eight and eighteen"

Again, Pauline quietly studied Madison, taking her measure.
Dodie Dedham had seen something special in the girl. She'd told
Pauline so this morning when she arrived, just before Dodie had
gone to bed. Dodie had specifically waited up to talk to her about
Madison.

Pauline got up from the table and moved to the sink. She
pointed out the window. "Out back there's a lap pool, hot tub,
and large patio. The pool's heater isn't on, so you might not want
to use it this time of year. The Dedhams both love to swim, but
the cold don't bother them any."

"Doesn't matter. I don't have a swimsuit."

"I'm sure I can find you one of Mrs. D's if you want to go into
the hot tub. Nothing sexy, but it should do."

Madison finished her cereal but stayed at the table, wiping her
mouth with the paper napkin Pauline had provided along with
the spoon. "So the house and the patio, that's it?"

Pauline moved away from the window. From a set of wooden
key pegs by the back door, she removed a set of keys and brought
them to the table. She dropped them in front of Madison with
a discordant clang. Madison immediately recognized that they
were her keys.

"The Dedhams wanted me to tell you that you're no prisoner
here. You can go anytime, but they think it best you listen to them
and stay, at least for a few days. So do I."

Remembering what Doug had told her the night before about
the killings and the person impersonating a vampire, Madison
fought the urge to grab her keys and run for the door. So far, the
Dedhams had treated her decently-better than most everyone
else in her life had treated her to date, except for her mother and
her great aunt Eleanor.

"As for food," Pauline said, moving to the refrigerator, "you
can cook and eat anything you find, except for stuff that looks
like blood."

Madison shivered and Pauline noticed. She chuckled softly
as she opened the refrigerator door. "Most of these plastic containers have blood in them. There are similar containers in the
freezer, and all are clearly marked with what type of blood."

This time, Madison turned a pale shade of green, and again
Pauline noticed her discomfort. "Don't worry, in time you'll get
used to it, and none of it's human blood. The Dedhams don't
store human blood in the house." She paused before adding,
"Doesn't mean they don't enjoy it, but it would be tougher to
explain to the authorities if for any reason someone stumbled
upon it here. They go out for that-sort of like you and I would
go out for a nice slice of prime rib and fried shrimp."

Madison rested her arms on the table and lowered her head
onto them. "Oh, god," she moaned as the reality of the situation
made itself crystal clear. There really were vampires, and she'd
managed to happen upon them.

Pauline ignored Madison's distress. "Mrs. D loves to bake.
Seeing how you're a bag of bones, she'll probably try to put some
meat on you."

That caught Madison's attention. Remembering the cookies,
she asked, without lifting her head from the table, "She loves to
bake? Can they eat any of it?"

"Not a lick, but both of them love the smell of fresh baked
goods in the house, especially Mrs. D. I think it reminds her of
when she was ... well ... it reminds her of another time." Pauline
paused, then added, "Makes her feel more normal, I think. She
hasn't been a vampire very long, only about fifteen years. Became
one when she married Mr. D."

Curious, Madison raised her head and pushed aside the
thought of the Dedhams' liquid meals sharing space in the fridge
alongside the cereal milk. She was about to ask Pauline more
about the Dedhams, but the housekeeper moved back to the
kitchen counter where a Crock-Pot was set up. There she continued with her instructions. "This here is a pot roast for your
dinner tonight. There's a nice chunk of beef in there with carrots
and potatoes. You should let it cook until at least three o'clock;
anytime after that you can eat it. There'll be plenty for leftovers,
too. Storage containers for the leftovers are in the cabinet under
the microwave."

"You're not staying today?" Madison asked with slight alarm.
"I thought you were here all day."

"Usually, I'm here five days a week from about eight in the
morning until two or three in the afternoon, but today my greatniece is in a play at school. But don't worry, just relax and get
used to the place. The Dedhams get up around five, a little later
in the summer months when the days are longer. Mrs. D told me
she has a surprise for you, so be ready to go out around six or so.
Nothing fancy, just girl stuff."

Madison felt like a ship buffeted by a capricious storm. One
minute she'd fallen into a heart-warming movie of the week, the
next she was in a cult horror picture.

"We've only had one other living houseguest before, and that
was Mike," Pauline told Madison with a skeptical shake of her
head. "So this should be interesting, to say the least."

"Do you mean Detective Notchey?"

"Yes. He stayed here once, in the same room you're in now.
It was while Mrs. D nursed him back from a shooting injury."
Pauline was about to say more about the detective when she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I forgot," she said, pulling a
message out of the pocket of her apron. "Mike called. He wants
you to call him as soon as you can. I believe he wants to come by
today and ask you more questions."

Madison picked up her keys and rose from the table. She
went to Pauline and took the note, which was a phone number
scrawled on the back of a grocery receipt.

"He left his cell number," Pauline explained, "in case you misplaced his business card."

Looking out the window, Madison could see the pool, hot
tub, and large, lovely patio. The property was edged with thick
natural trees and shrubs, like it had been carved out of the dense
vegetation with a soup spoon. She'd hiked in Topanga Canyon
several times. It was located in the Santa Monica Mountains, not
far from the Pacific Ocean and Malibu. Bobby Piper had taken
her to a wooded area, and she wondered if it had been here, close
to the Dedhams' house.