Vampire Dating Agency III (5 page)

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

Cresh felt around for the
light-switch behind him. The Count turned away before he found it.

“Okay,” Cresh
muttered. “Just … okay…”

“I said sit
down.”

Cresh grabbed
hold of the chair in front of the desk and moved it back near the door. He sat
down anxiously. “Nadine should have arrived by now. We were willing to comply
with your demands.”

The Count
reached over to some photo frames standing on Cresh’s desk. He picked up one of
them. “Your wife, Megan. She’s very beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

“I suppose I
could go visit her if I wanted. Now I know where you live.”

He put the
frame down.

Then picked
up another. “Marcus, Adam and little Caitlyn. What a happy family you all seem
to be.”

Tears fell
from Cresh’s eyes.

He looked
down at the floor. “I’m sorry. Please. Forgive me. Forgive us.”

The Count
turned slightly. “What a sad little fool you’ve become. I’m most disappointed
in you.”

“Are you the
killer?” Cresh asked. “Are you behind all this?”

“That doesn’t
matter, does it?” the Count replied. “Whether I killed all those young women …
Whether I killed Haley’s family … You know I’ve killed my share of people.”

“So it’s not
you then?”

“I didn’t say
that,” the Count grinned.

He walked
round in front of the desk to face Cresh.

“I know who
the killer is,” the Count said. “I know what they want. But, I say to you –
hands off.”

“What do you
mean?”

“I say to
you, keep away. Little … Paranormal Policeman…”

“What about
Nadine? What about –?”

“If she is
where I think she is, then she too will soon know who the killer is. And then
after that, I shall take her in as my own.”

“What?”

“We all have
our little secrets, don’t we, Dermott? You remember how it used to be? How I
fell to the darkness, but you were spared by the light…?”

“That was a
long time ago,” Cresh said.

“I lost
someone tonight. Someone who … I need to replace. I thought maybe her sister
would fill the roll … but there is too much, shall we say ‘kookiness’ to my
other daughter. She is not a suitable protégé. So I have decided I shall take
on yours instead.”

“It wasn’t
her who killed your daughter,” Cresh said. “It was the new girl.”

“I know.
Haley will get hers too.”

A chill ran
down Cresh’s spine. “It is you, isn’t it? Kendra was right.”

“Look at me,
Cresh,” the Count said in a hypnotic voice.

Cresh looked
up.

The thing in
front of him barely resembled the man he once knew. Disfigurations aside, he was
clearly a monster.

“There is no
me,” the Count said. “There is no you.”

“So what is
there?” Cresh whispered.

“There is
only darkness. There is only … a screeching … swirling … pit of nothing. The
sky is empty. It’s just a void.”

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

Water. It was flushing everywhere.
Through her hair. Down her shoulders. Into her chest…

Haley came
to, a shivering, dripping mess.

Bright
lights, all around her. She couldn’t see.

Figures, to
the left.

And to the
right.

“Haley,” a
woman’s voice said grabbing her hand. “Haley, can you hear me?”

She reached
up, wiping the water from her eyes.

The lights
were coming into focus.

“She’s
awake,” someone else declared.

Haley parted
her lips. She searched for her voice. “Brock … Brock … Where are you?”

“He’s gone,”
Jason said proudly. “We chased him off.”

He held out a
towel for her.

As Haley
begun to dry herself, she realized she was back inside the diner.

“What are you
guys doing here?” she said after a moment.

“He called us
down here,” Riley answered. “How did he get to you?”

“What?”

“Brock dumped
you in the car park,” Jason said. “He’s the killer.”

“No –” Haley
said trying to stand. “He can’t be –”

“What do you
remember?” Riley asked.

“I don’t
know,” Haley said resting her hand on the table. “It’s a blur.”

“Did he say
anything about my girlfriend?” Jason asked. “Did he mention a girl named
Roxanne?”

Haley shook
her head.

“Think now,”
Jason insisted. “Where do you think he’s keeping her?”

“He’s not the
killer!” Haley cried. “I know he isn’t!”

“How? How do
you know?”

Riley turned
to Jason. “Leave it be would you. She obviously doesn’t remember.”

“No, I
remember,” Haley murmured. “He put something in my hand.”

She turned it
over.

The
needle-mark was still there.

“Let me see,”
Riley said grabbing the hand. “So he … he put you to sleep then?”

“He must
have.”

Jason was
pacing. “Haven’t you guys figured this out? This is all part of his plan. He
wants me to – he wants me to –”

“Look maybe
we’ve got this wrong,” Riley said. “Maybe he was just giving Haley to us to
look after her or something.”

“What are you
nuts?” Jason exploded. “Any minute now I’m gonna get another call from him –”

“Is
everything alright here?” the waitress asked walking over.

“We’re fine,”
Riley said.

“Does your
friend need an ambulance?”

Haley forced
herself out of the booth. “I … I think I’m okay.”

“Well, you
guys can’t stay here forever. Not unless you order something.”

“We’ll get
something to go,” Riley said. She got up and led the waitress away from them.

Jason put his
hands behind his head. “Where the hell have you been, Haley? What’s happened to
you?”

Haley touched
the side of her face.

She could
still feel Edmond’s claws going into her skin.

As well, as
some other things…

“Haley?”

She felt as
though she was going to collapse.

Why?

Why had he abandoned
her?

How could he
–?

“It’s okay,”
Jason said taking her in his arms. “It’s okay, Haley I’ve got you now.”

Haley allowed
Jason to lead her through the diner and back into the parking lot. As they
passed Riley at the counter she saw that she gave them a funny look.

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

Cresh’s blood was still on my hands.

Literally
speaking, not my hands themselves. But it was all over my gloves.

I let them
sit under water in the bottom of the basin, watching the red run down the sink.
Above the basin there was a mirror. It had been smashed in three places.

My reflection
was distorted. Sections of my face split apart. As I leaned in closer, the angles
blurred further. It was the face of a stranger. A face of the undead.

I took a step
away from it and peered through the opening. Not much light. But it was enough.

I reached in
and pulled the gloves out of the basin. I gave them a flap, and then forced my
fingers through the soggy holes.

Outside the
wash room, the air was thick and dirty. My feet crunched as they walked across
the gravelly floor towards the cold hard center. Jason’s girlfriend had been
reduced to her underwear, and was huddled there on her knees making whimpering
noises. A splash of blood rolled down from her left temple. A gun hovered just
above her head.

“Time’s up
darling,” I said quietly. “Let’s see how much your fellow loves you.”

I pulled out
my phone and dialed Jason’s number.

He answered
quickly. “Hello?”

“How did we
go?”

Silence.

“Is Haley
with you?”

“You know she
is,” he replied. “And she’s safe now.”

“You put the
moves on her? As per our arrangement?”

“Yeah. Yeah,
that’s right. So you can let Roxanne go now.”

“I haven’t
received any images from you.”

“I thought
you were watching us. I thought you’d know when the deed was done.”

I considered
a moment. “Let me talk to her.”

“I don’t
think that’s a good idea.”

“Okay. Let me
paint you a picture, Jason. I’m standing in a room right now, a room neither
you or the police will ever find. Roxanne is on the floor just a few feet away.
She’s crying. She’s bleeding. All it takes is one action from me and she’s
gone. Forever. For all existence. In other words, it might be best for you to
indulge me.”

Silence.

My eyes
shifted.

“Jason?”

“It’s me,” a
girl’s voice spoke. “It’s Haley.”

“Haley,” I
whispered. “How are you handling things?”

“Not too
well.”

“Well, I’m
sorry. If it counts for anything. Sometimes things happen without a reason.”

A pause on
her end. “What will it take for you to let Roxanne go?”

“You slept
with Jason?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t lie to
me.”

“I’m not.”

“Did he tell
you I asked him to fuck you?”

“Yes.”

“So it wasn’t
rape then?”

“I don’t
know.”

“Very well.”

I suddenly
felt the urge to start moving again. To get back outside.

I started to
walk.

“Have you
been thinking about me, Haley?” I asked. “Who I really am?”

“That’s all I
think about.”

“I think it’s
time we should meet then. I mean, properly.”

“Alright.”

“Good. You
seem a lot calmer than you were before.”

“You’ll need
to let Roxanne go first,” Haley said. “Give her a phone so we know she’s okay.
So we know you haven’t gone back on your word.”

“It will be
arranged,” I said. “She means nothing to me, of course. I just … wanted to toy
with Jason for a bit.”

“Where shall
I meet you?”

“A car will
be sent to your location. Just text me an address and you’ll be picked up. And
then you and I shall have a proper date.”

“Right.”

“Well. I’m
looking forward to this. Are you?”

“Yep.”

“Good. I … I
guess I’ll let you go then. Give you … one last chance to wonder about who I
am…”

She mumbled
something.

“And Haley?”

“Yes?” she
replied.

“I love you.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY

The words meant nothing to her.
Whatever twisted frame of mind, whatever fucked up fantasy – it was his, the
killer’s alone. At least … for now.

Message sent.

Haley’s face
was expressionless as the phone slipped from her grasp. It had gone beyond trauma.
Beyond rage, hysteria. The unspeakable sorrow. She was in limbo. Her thoughts.
Her emotions. She’d frozen over. It was no longer a nightmare she was living
in. She was actually asleep.

“Haley,”
Jason said picking up the phone beside her. “What did he say?”

“I’m to meet
him,” Haley whispered. “Just me. He’s sending a car.”

“What about
Roxanne?”

“She’ll call
you soon.”

“What? How do
you know that?”

“It was part
of the deal.”

Haley opened
the door beside her and jumped out from the van into the parking lot. As she
walked across it, she passed Riley in the centre.

“What’s going
on?” she said handing Haley a coffee.

“I’m
surrendering,” Haley replied.

“To who?”

“That’s what
I’m about to find out.”

Haley kept on
walking.

She didn’t
stop until she was at the highway’s edge. Once there she sat on the ground and
crossed her legs.

It was a
waiting game now.

Hopefully he
wouldn’t keep her too long.