Blood Lust (16 page)

The ride to New York was uneventful. She laughed and joked with Mark as usual as he told her about some of the goofy cases he was on; spying on wives, looking for cats. The life of a private eye was never dull, that was for sure. Crappy food, late nights, but never dull.

“So what do you hope to find in New York?” Mark asked.

“I don’t know. I just know that Libby thinks Anton is dead, so she could easily use the apartment any time she felt like it. She’d just have to tip the doorman to keep his mouth shut. I’m hoping that she’s left something significant there. Some clue to where she goes when she’s not in New York or Connecticut. She must have a residence somewhere.”

“Not that I can find.”

“Could it be that she just goes from gentleman to gentleman? Anton said she had several men she frequented.”

“Where do you find women like this? I could go for some gorgeous woman who just wants a good time and then leaves.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”

“What do you know of it?”

“Oh, don’t give me that. All men say they want that, and then when she’s the one coming and going and you don’t know when you’ll see her again, you’d be just as miserable as a girl with a guy like that. I’m sure it sounds great but I’m sure there is more to it.

“Since I’ve had to cut back, I started working at the library. Now remember, I told you before, everything I say is strictly confidential, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, you told me Devon’s a vampire.”

“Yes, but so is Libby and I think she is a very special kind of vampire, one that hasn’t been around for centuries. Like I said, I found some papers from this ancient document. Vampirism has been around for centuries and it is said that the Ancient Ones are the creators of vampirism. But this document says that’s not the case, that it goes back even further, and that’s where this very special race of vampires came from.

“It seems that many, many centuries ago a clan of vampires had a couple of, let’s call them Insatiables. These were vampires that just couldn’t get enough blood, they were always thirsty, always on the hunt, and they seemed to have a gift, a gift for influencing their fellow vampires, as vampires influence humans. They didn’t use this gift much but it was quite valuable in arguments, or accusations, in easing the extremity of the outcome.

“The Elders of the clan found this lack of control for their thirst disturbing and they demanded that the Insatiables were to either conform or be banished from the clan. Well now, being in the clan certainly had its perks, and who knew what was outside the clan? So these Insatiables started using their gift and mastering it. They found that they could feed on their own kind, without their knowing. They also found great power in feeding on their fellow vampires. Their strength was impervious, their mind influence was greater, and their beauty was more than any other in the clan.

It was a long time before the clan figured out what was going on. If the Insatiables hadn’t gotten so greedy, they probably could have lived in the clan forever, but their greed for this new found power, was overwhelmingly addicting. Their appetite for it became irresistible. They were also feeding off the sexual energies of their fellow vampires. These Insatiables started draining the vampires of their blood and their energy through sex. They could control their minds so that they never knew the act of sex or feeding ever happened, just like a vampire can do with a human.”

“So what happened to these Insatiables?”

“Well, when vampires started appearing sick and everyone knows vampires don’t get sick, bells started going off. Vampires started spying on other vampires and that’s when it was revealed what these Insatiables had been doing. The clan beheaded them and burned them at the stake, basic killing of a vampire, unless you have a werewolf around.”

“Well, of course,” Mark rolled his eyes. “So you think that Libby is one of these Insatiables?”

“I do, but you would define her as a succubus of vampires. She only feeds on vampire men, and in our case, very specific men.”

“Specific how?”

“I think she will only feed from those of noble blood. The Larsens are noble. That’s why she came on to Devon in the first place. She knew he was related to the Larsens and he was her foot in the door.”

“But why would she go after him now?”

“I’m figuring her pickings are getting slim and Devon is half noble blood. His mother was a pure blood, so she drained poor Anton, leaving him for dead, and grabbed the next one in line.”

“If that’s so, we may have a break in this case.”

“Why?”

“Well, if you can get a list of pure blood vampires in the area, we can look for them and maybe run across her feeding pattern.”

“Good point. I’ll call Anton when we get to the apartment.”

Darby talked to the doorman and got the key that Anton had left for her.

“It’s the penthouse apartment,” the doorman said.

“Thanks.” She and Mark went into the elevator as the doorman watched Mark rather nervously.

“Quit doing that, Mark.”

“What?”

“Giving your scary face to try and intimidate people.”

“I was not doing that.”

“Liar.”

“Was not.”

“Pants on fire.”

“What are you, five?”

The elevator doors slid open and they went to the far end of the hall and inserted the key. “Wow!” she said as she walked in.

“Nice pad.”

“No kidding. Look at the view. Wow, and here I am eating macaroni and cheese every night – oh well. You start doing your P.I. thing. See if you can find anything that might be Libby’s or gives us a clue to where she might be going. I’m going to call Anton.”

“All righty then.”

“Anton? It’s Darby again. My God, this place is beautiful. I think I can see your house in Connecticut from here.”

“It’s yours anytime you want it, Darby. What can I do for you?”

“Do you have a list of names of other pure blood vampires in the area? I mean, is there some kind of secret society or men’s club or something?”

“Not really, I mean, you know that’s pretty hush, hush.”

“Oh, I know, but I have a hunch and I think it might pertain to others of your blood line.”

“Well, there aren’t any other Larsens anymore. Dominic used to mingle with a Michael Porter in New York and Abby used to be close with ummm… a Simon Corbel. Does that help?”

“Sure it does, Anton. Anything helps. If you think of any others could you text me?”

“Sure. Are you going to stay there tonight?”

“Oh, probably not. I bummed a ride and I’m sure Mark has to get back home.”

“You went there with a guy?”

“He’s a friend, Anton. Remember, I’m looking for Devon.”

“Yeah, okay. Well at least there’s someone there to protect you in the city.”

“Thank you, sweetie. Talk to you later.”

“Anton a little worried about me, making some moves on you?” Mark asked.

“Anton’s a little worry wart. Did you find anything?”

“Well, I’m not sure. On the post-it pad over there by the phone, I found an address.”

“Good. Was it in the garbage?”

“No, it wasn’t in the garbage, it was imprinted from the post-it on top.”

“Oh, so you used the pencil trick.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Cool. Does it look like a woman’s writing?”

“Yes, it’s very flowery.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah, but it could be Anton’s.”

“What?”

“A very expensive black overcoat.” She stopped cold. It was Devon’s, she was sure of it. She picked it up and smelled it.
Yes, Devon. Definitely Devon.
She reached in the pocket and she sat down on the chair. She pulled out several bobby pins with two strands of her hair attached from the night he told her about Libby.
Oh God. He was here.
The tears poured down her face like it had happened yesterday.

Mark rushed over to her and kneeled in front of her, “What is it, Darby?”

“It’s his. It’s Devon’s. He was here.”

“How can you know that? It could be Anton’s.”

She shook her head and opened her hand to display the bobby pins. “These are mine. I borrowed his coat and put them in there myself.”

“Oh, Darby. I’m so sorry, but it does mean we are on the right track, right? We don’t know how long ago he was here, but he was here. I’ll go talk to the creepy doorman and see if he can’t give me a timeline for seeing Devon.”

“Great, Mark. Thank you!”

“Are you going to be all right?”

“Maybe one day.” She sat there holding the coat. “You go ahead. I’ll meet you down there and lock up.”

She dried her eyes and made one last look around the beautiful apartment and the view outside. She grabbed the coat and brought it to her face, taking a huge whiff. She put on the coat, grabbed the keys, locked the door, and headed for the elevator.

She stepped out of the elevator and headed for Mark. He was finishing up with the doorman and as she got to his side, he turned and escorted her out the door.

“Good news. Cost me fifty bucks, but he remembers Devon. Said he only saw him the one time about two months ago, with a great looking blonde with brown eyes.”

“Thanks, Mark. You’re a trouper. I’ll pay you back, I promise, next paycheck from the library.”

The drive home to Massachusetts was very quiet. She just sat there looking out the window, hands in her lap, wearing Devon’s overcoat. Mark wondered when or if she would ever take it off. As they turned on her street, Mark said, “So we have a couple good solid leads. Can you give me the names of the pure bloods?”

“You don’t have to, Mark. I can look them up.”

“Sure you can, but with two, you get more information.” She smiled at his generosity.

“Simon Corbel – Connecticut and Michael Porter –New York.”

He wrote them down. “Okay. I will check on that address too and let you know what I come up with.”

She never once looked at him. She seemed to be in a daze, like a zombie. “That’s super, Mark. Thanks for your help. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Perfect,” she said and went up the steps and into the house, but he never saw a light come on.
Didn’t she have electricity. It was February for God’s sake.
He worried about her all the way home.
I sure hope this guy is truly in trouble, because if he’s not, I’m going to give him some trouble, vampire or not.

Darby stood behind the closed door as Mark drove away. She could see her breath as she tried to hold the sobbing back without success. She dropped her purse on the floor in front of the door and walked to the couch. She didn’t have a bed. She didn’t want to waste her money on frivolous things she could get by without. The couch was fine.

Fully clothed, she got under the thick pile of blankets and pulled them up over her. She lay there and cried for hours it seemed. He had been there with Libby. Was he still alive? Would she ever feel his warm, loving arms around her again, or were those only for Libby now, along with his sweet kisses and whispers in the night. For weeks now she had only enough income to pay for water and a tiny bit of food. The less she used, the longer the money would last. She had money in the bank, the money from the bookstore, but that would only last so long and she felt she needed to keep a bit in the bank in case she had to travel to find Devon. She didn’t have to live this way, but she could search for Devon longer if she watched every penny. She lived on peanut butter sandwiches and water. When she wasn’t working at the library, she was doing research in the library. She only came home to sleep, shower, and eat peanut butter sandwiches.

December had been long and somewhat productive in finding the first two girls. January had been cold, but completely fruitless in her search for leads on Devon. February had been brutal, but it would let up soon, she hoped. Maybe the address they found tonight would lead to more information. She hoped she would not be too late in finding him.

It had been a long road, without anyone believing in her quest. She knew Devon was out there and it was a matter of time before the leech would drain him. She knew it as if she had seen the whole thing. Every part of her being knew she was doing the right thing, but not having Blake and Rowan to help, that had been devastating. How could Blake turn his back on Devon? How could Rowan turn her back on her? Why couldn’t they see through Libby’s façade? Were they all being influenced by her? No. She may be strong from draining other vampires, but influencing them over a distance like that? No, this was all on them. They had given up on Devon, his whole family; Dominic, Anton, and Blake.

“She’s not going to get away with this. I will find her, one way or another, I swear it, Devon. I’m looking for you and I won’t give up on you. This is her doing not yours; I feel it in my bones.” Darby said this out loud as if someone was there to hear her. As if saying it out loud would somehow relay the statement to Devon, wherever he was.

She had to find him, and soon. If he was suffering, so would she. With that thought and the slight scent of Devon from his coat, she finally fell asleep under her pile of blankets.