Dracul's Revenge 02: Anarchy in Blood (6 page)

“Hello,” Aaron answered.

“They found another body,” Rick said.

Aaron noticed the shear panic in Rick’s normally calm voice. “Where?”

“South lawn.”

“How’s that even possible?”

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good.”

Aaron could tell there was something Rick wasn’t telling him. “Do you need me to come down there?”

“Yeah.”

Aaron glanced at his handsome date, trying his best not to listen in. He decided it would be a good time to make Rick think he was dating Gray just in case the two of them were spotted together at some point. “I’m on a date with Grayson Mills.”

He was met by silence for several seconds. “I didn’t know the two of you were dating.”

“It’s new. It wasn’t possible when we were both working at the White House.”

Rick made a noise in his throat, and Aaron silently cursed himself. “Tell Gray I said hi.”

“I will. I’ll ask him to drop me off,” Aaron explained.

“Cameron’s on his way in, too.”

“Okay. Give me thirty minutes to get there and battle my way through security.” Aaron hung up and turned to Gray. “Bad news.”

Gray perked up at the announcement. “What’s going on?”

“Another victim was found, this time on the South Lawn.”

“Fuck! If someone’s trying to bring attention to the President, they’re doing a damn fine job.”

“Exactly. That’s why I need to cut our date short and beg a ride to the White House.”

“Done,” Gray said easily.

* * * *

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

37

After a short make-out session in the car, Aaron eventually made it through the crowd of news crews and security. As he neared his office, he could hear the small television reporting the activities outside. It wasn’t anything new for people to watch TV in his office, so Aaron didn’t give it a second thought until he stepped into the room and overheard two of Rick’s Secret Service men talking.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I think it’s more than a coincidence we once again lost track of President Douglas earlier this evening,” Blaine Matthews said.

“Shhh,” Phillip Boone hissed. “Don’t say that too loudly or both our asses will be in a sling.”

“I know, but why should we be blamed? I mean, I still can’t figure out how the hell the guy gets away with breaching protocol all the time.”

Aaron had heard enough. He cleared his throat. “That
guy
is the President of the United States. A position Richard Douglas is not only well suited for but has worked his ass off to obtain. Show a little respect.”

The two men jumped and spun around, hands going to their sidearm. Once they realised it was Aaron, they relaxed and shut off the television.

“He’s expecting you,” Matthews said.

Aaron took off his overcoat and hung it on the coat tree in the corner of the room before knocking at the President’s door.

“Come in.”

Aaron stepped inside and closed the door. “I’m glad you called.”

Rick’s hair stuck out in every direction. It was obvious the man was under a great deal of stress. “I’ve screwed up big time.”

Aaron took a seat on one of the sofas. He agreed. “I just walked in on Matthews and Boone talking about the fact that you’d gone missing again this evening. Can I ask?”

Rick blew out a weary breath. “I didn’t leave the White House.”

Aaron could tell there was more. “But?”

Rick glanced towards the door. “I snuck away with Cameron for some alone time with him and refused to answer my phone when Matthews was trying to track me down.”

“Okay, so if anyone asks, we tell them the truth. You were inside the White House in an important private meeting.”

“What if they ask why we didn’t have our meeting in the office?”

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

38

God this would all be so much easier if Rick could just come out of the damn closet.

“You’ll have to get with Cameron and think of something.”

There was a knock on the door and Cameron stepped inside. The handsome older gentleman started to rush to Rick’s side, but Aaron once again cleared his throat.

“Don’t forget there are Secret Service men outside those windows,” Aaron reminded the two men.

Cameron stopped on a dime and glanced towards the windows. “Right.” He turned and sat on the twin sofa across from Aaron. “I just got off the phone with Wetherby.”

Aaron perked up. Benjamin Wetherby, the Director of the Secret Service, seemed like a nice enough guy, but Aaron knew the man took his job very seriously. “Any news on the body?”

“Not who he is, but Ben told me the young man had been drained of blood like the other two victims.”

“What? I didn’t know anything about the bodies being drained of blood. When was that announced?” Aaron swallowed the bile in his throat. “How do you even do something like that?”

Cameron glanced from Aaron to Rick. “You didn’t tell him?”

Rick shook his head. “It’s not public knowledge.” Rick glanced down at his hands.

“Besides, the details are pretty gruesome.”

“How so?” Aaron asked.

“It’s obvious the victims had sex while dying, or shortly before. On each of them, a small cut was made to their jugular vein, but the area around the wound also showed signs of…chewing. The police don’t know where the men were killed but no blood was found around the scene where the bodies were dumped. The neck wounds were thoroughly cleaned with a solvent that eliminated any trace of the murderer’s saliva.”

“You should’ve told me. It’s information I could’ve given…” Aaron stopped himself, remembering Rick knew nothing about Gray’s involvement.

Aaron shook his head. “Do you think the murderer sent the photographs to the media?”

“I don’t know. But the murder tonight is surely going to bring a load of shit on this office, especially after those photos were leaked,” Cameron pointed out.

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

39

“You’re right,” Rick sighed. Rick pushed himself away from his desk and walked over to join Aaron on the opposite end of the sofa. “Dropping a body in my front yard is damned ballsy. We’ve got to figure out who the hell is doing this before the American public starts pointing fingers in my direction.”

“See if you can get a name or picture on the most recent victim. I think the biggest lead we have is finding out who the men are and how they’re connected.” Aaron still wasn’t sure what was going on, but Rick was right. Sooner or later, the authorities would start asking questions.

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

40

Gray’s cell phone rang as he walked into his office. After pulling it out of his pocket, he checked the ID. Aaron’s name popped up and he answered.

“Tell me what you’ve got.”

“Well, hello to you too.” Aaron snipped at him.

He sighed. “Sorry, honey. I’m just a little on edge with this whole thing. Especially since the victims bear a striking resemblance to you.”

“Rick already pointed that out to me.”

A voice in the background interrupted, and Gray wondered if Aaron was still with the President.

“How’s he handling all of this?”

Aaron snorted. “About as well as you can expect. He’s freaking out a bit. It would be even worse if, like me, he suspected Broomfield knew of his relationship with Cameron.”

He tugged off his jacket and tossed it towards the couch. He resisted the urge to go and straighten it when it landed half on and half off the furniture. Needing everything to be in its place and perfect had helped contribute to his alcoholism in the first place. Admitting that he could allow the little things to be imperfect was a huge step in his recovery.

“Cameron told me that the victims have been drained of their blood before their bodies are dumped.”

He dropped into his chair and powered up his laptop. Gray pulled up the file Kaplan had emailed him about what the man had learned from Bert. No mention of how the blood left the body.

“What do you mean by drained, and what else does Cameron know?”

Aaron’s hesitation drew Gray’s attention.

“Talk to me.” He lowered his voice and issued the order.

“A small slit in the jugular has been found. Also, the men had sex or were having sex when it happened. But the worst part is it looks like the victims’ necks have actually been chewed on.”

“Shit. No forensics? Bite marks? DNA?”

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

41

“Nope. I guess the wounds were cleaned with something. Cameron didn’t say anything about actual teeth impressions, so I take that to mean there weren’t any.”

He typed in that information, updating their files. Kaplan would have to talk to Bert again and see what else had come up with the third murder. He’d check with Tina and see if she’d gotten in touch with Gus at the Bureau.

“Thanks for that information. We didn’t know about the jugular.”

“But you knew about the blood loss already?”

Gray could almost hear the wheels turning in Aaron’s head.

“Were you investigating these murders before I called you?”

“Just working a hunch. I’d seen a TV report on them and my gut told me there would be more.” Gray shoved his hand through his hair and debated whether to tell Aaron or not.

“There’s something else going on here, Aaron. It might have to do with someone trying to frame the President. I don’t know about that, but all my instincts are tweaking now.”

Aaron spoke softly. “I trust your instincts. Do what you have to do to solve this.”

He glanced up as a knock sounded on his door. While Gray often pulled all-nighters, he didn’t expect his employees to do so.

“Come in,” he called.

Kaplan stuck his head around the door, holding up some papers. Gray waved him in.

“Hey, I have to go. I might have more information to give you tomorrow. How about I call you in the morning and we set up a lunch date?”

“Great. Thanks for everything.”

“I haven’t done anything, but I’m sure I can convince you to thank me personally when I do.”

Aaron’s embarrassed laughter rang in Gray’s ear as he hung up. He motioned for Kaplan to take a seat.

“What are you doing here so late?”

Kaplan eyed him. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“I had that meeting with Aaron Baker, and then I took him to dinner. Technically, he’s your client.”

“Got it. No mixing business with pleasure.” Kaplan grinned.

“Right, but I expect you to keep me updated.” He pushed to his feet and strolled to the window. “A third body was found on the South Lawn tonight.”

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

42

Kaplan straightened. “No fucking way! That’s why Bert ran out on me so fast after he got a call. How the hell did that happen?”

“No one knows for sure, and I guarantee Wetherby’s chewing someone’s ass for it.”

“This is getting serious, Gray. What did Aaron want to talk to you about?”

“He’s hiring us to find out who took those pictures and gave them to the news channels. The President remembers talking to one of them, but he’s not sure where the other came from. Also, the one he does remember interned for Broomfield. Plus, Aaron caught Broomfield making a joke about the President this morning. Aaron thinks the Vice President might be in on it for some reason.”

“That gives me something to start with. Here.” Kaplan held out the papers. “I got some more information on the victims. It seems the other guy met Douglas at a rally when he announced Broomfield as his choice for V.P. I’m still waiting to hear back from some contacts.”

As he took the papers, he asked, “Do you know if Tina talked to Gus yet?”

“She has a call in to him, but we know how tight lipped those Bureau guys can be, especially if there’s even a whiff of it affecting the President.”

“True.” He organised his thoughts. “There’s something else that I need to be honest with you about, but the information is strictly confidential.”

“Okay.”

“President Douglas is gay. He’s been seeing Cameron James for several years now.”

When Kaplan didn’t react to Gray’s announcement, he studied his friend.

“Did you already suspect that?”

Kaplan shook his head. “No, not his being gay, but I did wonder from time to time, if he was having an affair. His wife is a bit of a cold fish and they don’t seem to spend a whole lot of time together.”

“I know we’re all professionals, but I just need to stress the fact that we need to be extra careful about what we find while we’re digging. This could ruin more than just Douglas’

career.”

“I’m not looking to destroy anyone’s life, but if I find out any information on whose doing this shit…”

“I’ll be right behind you as we go to the FBI. Murder trumps ‘outing’ someone any day of the week.”

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

43

Yet Gray doubted it would go that far. All they had been hired to do was find out who released those photographs. Once they’d done that, they would probably figure out who was trying to make the President a suspect in the murders. Why anyone would do such a thing was a no-brainer. As President, Douglas wasn’t popular with half the country and that was likely the explanation.

“So it seems that both of the first two guys met the President because of politics. It’ll narrow down the search for what sort of connection they have with each other as well.” Gray glanced at his watch. “Why don’t you take off? I’m going to head home myself.”

“Good idea. We’ll meet up tomorrow morning with Tina and pool our information.”

Kaplan stood and waved goodbye as he headed out.

Gray gathered the papers and his laptop, stuffing them in his briefcase before picking up his jacket and leaving the office.

* * * *

One soft light lit Gray’s living room as he sprawled on his couch and shuffled through the papers Kaplan had given him. Butch flopped on the floor by his feet and quickly started snoring away. Kid climbed up on the cushion next to Gray, ignoring his owner’s half-hearted attempt to push him off.