Blood Lily (Lilith Adams Vampire Series Book 1) (2 page)

Lilith slipped into the hall and closed the door behind her. If she was luck
y, she could make it back to the apartment before another call came in, get a hot shower, and freshen up. Her nights were pretty unpredictable. Sometimes she’d only get one call, other nights they never seemed to stop. Her erratic schedule didn’t leave much room for a social life of any kind. There were the occasional dates, usually either cops or Gloria’s matchmaking, but she had a serious lack of friends in general. Being a vampire made it even more difficult to make close friends she could talk to. Gloria was the closest thing she had to a girlfriend. On Sunday mornings, after Gloria dragged the girls to early Mass, Lilith would go over for coffee in their cozy little sunlit kitchen and gossip about anything and everything. Maybe that was the real reason why she endured all the bad blind dates.

Lilith’s thoughts turned back to the corpse with a stake through his heart.
At least that call had been a false alarm, like most of the calls honestly. There were only a dozen or so documented vampire families in New York City and probably half as many undocumented. The percentages of human violence versus vampire were heavily skewed toward humans since they outnumbered vampires about a million to one. It seemed like a rare occasion when she actually had to use her kit. Of course, that technically, should have been a good thing. Somehow she couldn’t put her heart completely into that thought. She wanted something to chase, some mystery to figure out, some reason for her to look at dead bodies every night. It felt odd to actually wish for a vampire killer or victim, but there it was. She just wanted a purpose.

She got halfway up the stairs to her second floor
Manhattan apartment when her Bluetooth beeped in her ear again. She pressed the button and stubbornly continued up the stairs. Nothing was going to keep her from that shower, especially not when she was so close. The dead bodies could wait. “Lilith Adams.”

“Lily, darling, are you at a scene right now?” Her
father’s voice was rich and comforting like warm velvet on a cold night. A smile tugged at her lips as she reached her door and dug out her keys.

“Nope.
Just wrapped up and I’m unlocking my door right now. If you want to meet for dinner I can be there in about an hour.  I desperately need a shower.”

The
living room was all clean, modern lines, modest, not a lot of knick knacks. The grey couch sat low, dark wood end tables and coffee table, all in an uncomplicated style. She dropped her keys in a dish by the door and set her aluminum case on the counter before continuing back toward the bedroom.

“
I’m not sure I’d have time for dinner, but I do wish to speak to you about something, and perhaps you could bring that kit of yours along with you?”

Lilith stopped with her
hand on the door knob to her bedroom.  Her heart pounded, yes it still did that, and she stood completely still. “Gregor?” Her voice was tentatively cautious. “What’s wrong?”

The usual velvety tone of his voice dropped away. “
You know me too well.” He sighed softly and then continued on. “It’s just a little something that I’d like you to look into for me.”

“
Dad, I’m a forensic investigator. It’s not like I’m a plumber who can look at your leaky toilet. I investigate crime scenes. So, again, what’s wrong?” She was still gripping the door handle and her fingers were turning white under the pressure. Suddenly, she was taking back all the earlier hopes for a real crime scene with real vampire criminals and victims.

“
Lilith.” He used her full name, a rarity, which startled her out of her remorseful thoughts. “It’s nothing I want to discuss right now. Freshen up and meet me when you’re done. I’ll text you the address.” His voice was steely and commanding now. It always amazed her how his tones could be so vastly different and damned effective. Of course, he’d had a very long time to practice. He hung up as soon as the last word crackled through the Bluetooth, leaving all her questions
dead in her throat. Well that was abrupt.

The doorknob felt cold beneath her tight fingers and she let out a slow breath. This couldn’t be good.
She thought back again about how disappointed she’d been at the last crime scene, how she was desperate for some mystery to solve. Damn. Careful what you wish for.

Slowly, she twisted the knob and opened it up to her bedroom. It was a stark contrast to the
living room.
Rich red walls rose to meet gold treated crown molding. Swaths of rich fabrics in reds, golds and purples covered the room. Teak wood embellishments from India accented the walls and low tables. This was her sanctuary, the one part of the apartment that was truly her. This was her place to feel powerful, sensual, exotic. Of course, no one ever saw it. Just like the most important parts of her, it was hidden away, secret.  It wasn’t that she didn’t date beyond Gloria’s horrible matchmaking, they just weren’t allowed here. She didn’t want any of her painful flings to taint her little version of Eden with venomous memories. It was the one thing that was just hers, no one else’s. A soft smile melted some of the dread as she kicked off her shoes and crossed the plush carpets. She always loved the way the cushy carpet felt on her bare feet.

After a brief moment, relishing the light glinting through the colored
glass lantern panes, she turned her back on her haven and ran into the bathroom. After a quick shower, she pinned her wet hair back, threw on some makeup and slipped into the closet. She passed up the comfy jeans after a longing look and grabbed a pair of sleek dark purple dress pants.

There was a rebellious moment, considering her favorite
t-shirt paired with the dress pants. It was bright yellow with two pandas on the front and beneath them…”I didn’t slap you, I high-fived you in the face!”  Somehow she didn’t think Gregor would see the humor, so she settled for a Lavender button up number, fitted and sleek. Modern humor was something her father just didn’t get. He was old fashioned that way.

Lilith shimm
ied into her clothes, grabbing a knee length dark green coat to keep out the fall chill and crossed the room to grab her phone and Bluetooth.  A little red light was blinking on the phone. The address Gregor sent wasn’t one she was familiar with, someplace near central park. Definitely not a neighborhood for strolling around at night, so after calling a cab, she jogged down to the lobby with her aluminum kit.

It wasn’t an opulent apartment building, but even modest with a security officer at the desk cost a
small fortune in New York City
.  The lobby was done in tasteful, neutral tile with a little desk set to the side of the door and a couple fake plants. An ageing man in a crisply starched grey shirt smiled up from the counter. Lines crinkled around his eyes as he tipped his hat. “Ms. Adams. Lovely to see you."

Lilith returned his smile and crossed the lobby, setting her case down by the desk
, and leaned against the counter. “Hey, Charlie. How’s your night?”

The old man shrugged his thin shoulders and looked down at the security screens. “
All's quiet, Ms. Adams. You going out there on foot or would you like me to call you a cab? Because I really don’t think you should be strolling around by yourself after dark.” His smile changed to a cautionary look, full of fatherly worry. Perhaps more like grandfatherly worry. Charlie had been working the security desk of this building for over 40 years. He was one of those kind old men that knew every single tenant and thought of most of them, Lilith included, as his children.
There were pictures of tenants, their kids and grandkids, littering the wall behind the counter. There wasn’t a single picture of Charlie’s own family, which led her to believe that he may not have one outside of the building. For some reason, that just made him more endearing.

Lilith flashed a soft smile at Charlie. “I had the very same
thought tonight, actually. I already called a cab and it should be here in a few minutes, but thank you.”

A bright look lit his
smile-wrinkled face suddenly and he pulled open a drawer. “I nearly forgot Ms.” He slid a cream envelope across the counter. “This was dropped off for you.”

Lilith frowned at her
name scrolled on the front in vaguely familiar swirly calligraphy. It tugged at her, but she couldn’t quite place it. She flipped the envelope over but there was nothing else. “Who dropped this off?” Inside was a small slip of parchment paper with a faint rubbing of an arrow. She opened the envelope wide, but there was nothing else inside. A strange feeling of dread settled over her shoulders like a lead weight.

Charlie seemed to share in her confusion. “Well, I don’t really know.”

Lilith looked up from the odd scrap of paper sharply. There was a tingling up her spine, and the weight seemed suddenly heavier. “How is that possible?” She tried to keep the edge out of her voice. Charlie was old and she didn’t want to go off on him and give him an aneurism. Still, no matter how sweet Charlie was, no matter how much she liked him, she paid a lot of money for the safety of a building that had a security guard on duty at all times as well as a video surveillance system of the foyer.

“Well, I left the desk for just a moment, had to use the men’s room. Anyway, when I got back to the desk, this was sitting there. I didn’t see anyone.” Charlie actually looked a little nervous. He took his job pretty seriously. “I…uh…tried to look back at the tape, but that new guy, Gary, he didn’t switch the tapes out this afternoon.” He shook his head with a stern look. “These youngsters just don’t have any
self-respect for the job they’re given. I am so sorry, Ms. Adams. I understand if you want to file a formal complaint with the apartment association.” Charlie straightened up like a man preparing to take his punishment.

The anger leaked out of her as she stuffed the slip of parchment back into the envelope and plunged it into her coat pocket.
Blowing up at Charlie wouldn’t do any good and she certainly wasn’t going to file a complaint just because the poor man had to take a leak. It wasn’t going to magically reveal the author of the mystery note. All it would accomplish is scaring an old man that loved his job and already felt incredibly guilty.

A car honked outside and brought her back to her senses. “It’s all right, Charlie. That’s my ride. Have a good night.” She flashed a smile
and grabbed her aluminum case. Lilith raced for the cab, pushing through the lobby doors and into the cool, crisp night, her dark green heels clicking against the pavement. The thoughts of the weirdly ominous envelope were pushed to the back of her mind.

Lilith stared out the cab window, then dug out her phone and double checked the address. This couldn’t be the place. She looked back out at the decaying building that used to be a classy Italian restaurant once upon a time. The huge glass windows were boarded up and artfully decorated with numerous layers of graffiti. The canopy consisted of fading, shredded material that only slightly resembled the classic Italian colors of green, red and white. Whatever the name had been, it was impossible to tell. The fluorescent sign was smashed and unrecognizable. Most of the streetlights here were either burned out or broken, leaving the place surrounded by an unsettling darkness.

A small cough from the front seat shook her out of
her trance. This was definitely the address Gregor sent. With a sigh she handed over the cab fare, grabbed her aluminum case and slipped out of the car. The air seemed colder here and she pulled her coat tighter around her. It didn’t seem to help. Somehow she doubted that the cool, fall air had anything to do with the chill traveling up her spine as the cab sped away.

The
front door was boarded up solid, so there had to be another way in. All restaurants had back doors or sidewalk accesses to basements for deliveries. There didn’t seem to be anything up front, but she noticed a faint glow from the side alley. She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and shook herself.  It’s just an alley, just an ordinary alley exactly like ones she’d seen a hundred times. The clink of a bottle falling against concrete echoed from the dark. It’s just a dark alley in the middle of a rundown block in a bad neighborhood in New York City.  So much for the pep talk.

With a deep shaky breath that wasn’t anywhere near as comforting as she thought it should be, Lilith edged around the corner and peered down the alley.  Rusting dumpsters lined the brick walls with trash and boxes littering the wet pavement. 
Plenty of places for a psycho to hide. Not for the first time, Lilith wished she really was impervious to harm like the Hollywood vampires. Wouldn’t it be nice to throw on a black latex suit and be an instant bad ass? Hey it worked for Catwoman and that chick in Underworld.

There was a lone bare light bulb over a faded green doorway. It had to be the delivery door to the restaurant. She frowned for a second and leaned against the wall. Why the hell did Gregor want to meet
here
? He was eccentric, granted. He’d been alive at least since the colonies, probably even longer. He never liked to talk about it and he wasn’t the sort of person you pushed the issue with. Lilith always figured that if he wanted to talk about it, one day he would. Still, this was way beyond eccentric. A very real fear started creeping up her spine, deep down in her bones, worse than some homeless nutcase or gun toting gang member. Something was very seriously wrong. She could feel it, smell it in the air. This wasn’t just her hyperactive imagination.