Fire Within (13 page)

“Oh, yes, I see. Suppose a go-between would be useful.”

“Yes, but he’s more than that, and he’ll be especially helpful if the killer turns out to be non-human.” Ari wasn’t sure why she’d chosen to defend Andreas. She just didn’t like Shale’s dismissive attitude.

“You think that’s possible? That an Otherworlder did this?” The counselor’s voice sharpened with interest, and Ari backpedaled.

“Hard to say. The ME hasn’t confirmed the cause of death, which makes everyone a suspect at this stage. We consider all possibilities, no matter how remote.” There, she thought, that was vague enough.

“I see. Well, here I am keeping you on the phone when you have work to do. We’re all anxious for these killings to be solved, but I’ll tell Carl to be patient.” Shale gave a noticeable sigh. “And I’ll try to follow my own advice. If you learn anything new, please let us know.”

When she disconnected, Ryan looked at her with a question on his face.

“Shale. For an update, he said, but I think he really wanted to know about Andreas. Didn’t like being questioned about his agency or staff. And, it isn’t often you see a vampire working with the police. Which reminds me, have you heard from him?”

Ryan slapped his forehead. “Dammit. Didn’t I tell you? Tonight, 7:00. He’s bringing in three members of some vampire gang called the Pure Bloods.”

“As in ‘vampires are the only pure race’?”

Ryan shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll tell us.”

“What’s next?” Ari mused. “Actually, bigots might fit the profile. Racial purity as a motive.”

“Didn’t know we had a profile.”

“Two vampire victims. Both romantically involved outside their species. Looks like a developing pattern to me.”

Ryan shook his head, probably regretting he’d chosen law enforcement as a career. The topic often came up when things weren’t going well. “I suppose you’re subtly reminding me Eddie only hated one particular vampire. So, OK, let’s talk with him.”

* * *

Ari decided the redheaded reporter looked worse than the last time. He’d lost weight. His face was gaunt; the blue jumpsuit hung loose. Jail life didn’t agree with him. Ari supposed a really good friend should ooze sympathy, but she was annoyed. Patricia’s death confirmed for her that Eddie was innocent, but his false confession had sidetracked the investigation and delayed the search for the real killer. He should have trusted the system. Or at least trusted her.

“Sit down, Eddie,” Ryan began. “We have a few more questions for you.”

“I’ve told you both I have nothing more to say.” Eddie’s voice was weary.

“There’s been another killing,” Ryan said.

“What?” The reporter’s eyes bugged, face paled. “That can’t be! Is this some kind of trick?” He searched Ari’s face, then back to Ryan. “Who?”

“Thought you’d consider this good news,” Ryan said, studying his reaction. “Obviously you weren’t the shooter this time. If you have something more to tell us about Jules’s death, now’s the time.”

Eddie hesitated, and Ari threw him a lifeline. “Your mom gave me her gun. Lab tests confirmed this morning that it hadn’t been fired in months.”

His shoulders slumped, and he let out a long breath. “Thank God.”

Ryan looked at Ari and shook his head. “OK, Eddie, tell us exactly what you know about this mess.”

Eddie brushed back his rumpled hair. “I really thought my mother shot him.”

Ari sat back and listened to the rest of Eddie’s retraction. No surprises. He’d simply found the body and jumped to the wrong conclusion.

“When I arrived at the Woodland, the lot was full of cars, so I parked down the street at the curb. I was walking toward the bar when I heard the shots. I ran around the bushes, and Jules was on the ground. I assumed my mother had been there and taken off.”

“But you saw nobody? Not even a weapon?” Ryan was incredulous. “I have trouble believing that.”

Eddie glared at him. “If I’d seen anything, anybody other than my mother, do you think I’d be in here? I would’ve told you right away.”

“Yeah, maybe. But then, you’ve already lied to us. So why were you at the bar?” Ryan wasn’t giving an inch.

Eddie glanced away and looked sheepish. “I came to warn Jules. About Mother. She was so upset, and she had Dad's gun. I wanted him to stay away for a while. I didn’t like the guy, at least not with my sister. But I didn’t want Mother to shoot him.”

Ryan thought about this for a moment. “Assuming I believe you, this would have been a lot easier if you’d told the truth from the beginning.”

Eddie’s face creased with irritation. “No way I’d let my mother go to jail.” He turned to Ari. “How are they? Lorraine? Mother?”

“Not bad.” She turned to Ryan. “Well?”

He didn’t look happy about it, but he said, “OK, I guess you can find out for yourself. You’re free to go, as soon as the jail completes the paperwork. But don’t leave town. You’re still a suspect in Jules’s murder.”

“Leave town? Heck, no. I’ve got a story to write.” Eddie’s tired face broke into a grin.

Ari was satisfied on behalf of both the West kids. Lorraine could use her brother’s support right now. As for their mother, Ari wondered how many other “good citizens” just like her were out there. The woman wasn’t guilty of murder, but she was part of the poisonous hatred that surrounded this case. Mrs. West’s attitude made Ari angry and uneasy, worried they’d only scratched the surface of something much uglier.

* * *

Dark thoughts lingered around her like a black cloud throughout the afternoon. As dusk began to fall, she approached the interviews with the Pure Bloods in an ill-tempered frame of mind.

Her first glimpse of the three male vamps did nothing to dispel her irritation. They swaggered into the police interview room clothed in muscle shirts, jeans, and a smartass attitude. Andreas followed, his controlled energy providing a sharp contrast to their overblown bravado. Ryan took one look at the trio and ordered the two assisting cops to take two of them into another room. Divide and conquer.

Ari studied the remaining vampire, the stated leader of the group. A brawny biker-dude with a full head of spiky black hair. He returned her look, arrogant, dismissive. Even without his buddies, he didn’t lose the attitude, and he glared at everyone in the room. Ari concluded the only thing keeping him halfway civil was the presence of a more powerful vampire. Andreas was making sure the suspect didn’t forget that fact by allowing his energy to hover in the room. Ari’s skin tingled with it, raising her level of discomfort. When Andreas flashed her a brief pointed look, she interpreted it as an apology. Only Ryan, being human, was unaware of the magical tension. Biker-dude’s face froze in a scowl, but his gaze repeatedly flickered toward the vampire leader. In turn, Andreas ignored him.

The gang leader’s name turned out to be Bernard, an unimaginative label that Ari silently shortened to Bernie. Wussy for a vampire. Maybe that was why he acted so tough. He even tried to stare down Ryan, which almost made Ari laugh.

But even the steely-eyed cop didn’t get far with questioning him. Bernie was surly, uncooperative, admitting nothing, except that he knew Patricia.

Ryan finally leaned forward, his voice clipped. “We know you talked to her about dating a human. I want to know exactly what you said.”

Bernie leaned back in his chair, tipping it onto its two back legs. His gaze lay insolently on Ryan’s face. “Why? What’s it to you?”

The chair suddenly fell backward, crashed on the floor and dumped Bernie onto the painted concrete. Without sparing a glance for the fallen vampire, Andreas drew his leg back under the table. Ari struggled to suppress a laugh; Ryan quickly wiped a grin off his face. Andreas remained as cool and distant as she’d seen him in a long time. Except for what might have been a glint of humor in his eye.

Bernie scrambled to his feet, glowering at Andreas, but he wasn’t quite bold enough to say anything. Andreas waved him to his seat with a careless hand. He sat and pulled his chair to the table.

Andreas finally looked at him, a long look. “Enough.”

Bernie broke eye contact and muttered to Ryan. “Patricia shouldn’t have been dating outside her own people. That’s what we told her. That’s all.”

“Who do you mean by ‘we’?” Ryan asked, acting as if the conversation hadn’t been interrupted.

“Me, Richard, Bario. But we never hurt nobody. ’Specially Patricia.”

“Why do you say it that way? ‘Especially Patricia.’”

“No reason. She was a good kid.”

Uh-huh. He’d been attracted to Patricia, Ari thought. Maybe he’d been harassing her out of a socially awkward bid for attention or simple jealousy.

“I guess you didn’t like her boyfriend, Carl,” Ryan said.

“Didn’t know him, but he’s a full blooded human.”

“And that’s a problem for you?”

Bernard snorted. “Duh. Of course. Not that I’d expect you to understand. We’re the chosen, see? Patricia had gone slumming. We were just trying to straighten her out. But nobody in the Pure Bloods would have hurt a sister.”

“Just who are the Pure Bloods?” Ari asked. “What does your group stand for?”

Bernie gave her a cheeky look. “How’s that any of your business, honey?”

Andreas cleared his throat.

Bernie scowled at the table. “We’re friends who like to hang together. We understand and acknowledge the superiority of vampires.”

“Superior to who?” she asked. “Humans or everyone?”

“Everyone. In every way. Wouldn’t mind giving you a demonstration, honey.” He leered at her, licking his lips.

“Ok, Bernie, I’m not interested in playing games or flirting with you. You’re here to answer questions. And you’ll sit in that chair until you do.”

His smug face said he wasn’t impressed yet.

Ari hardened her voice. Playing the bitch was an easy role, especially tonight. “Your attitude makes me think you’re guilty of something. I could hold you for further questioning on that alone. If I decide to do that, whether you spend your jail time at the Otherworld center or in a human cell, with its sunny windows and no blood bank, would be up to me.” She leaned across the table. “And my name’s not ‘honey.’ Got it?”

Bernie’s nostrils flared. The human jail was a death trap for vamps. His focus slid to Andreas and Ryan before returning to Ari. “Yeah, I get it.”

“Good. How many Pure Bloods are there?”

“About twenty. It varies.”

“Can you account for any of them at the time Patricia was killed? And for yourself? That would be last night between six and ten.”

“I told you, none of us would do that.”

“Humor me.”

His mouth hardened. “We were together. Here and there.”

“Try again. Who and where?”

“We don’t take attendance. Don’t pay much attention to time either.” His face was flat, the tone careless. “Can’t exactly say where we were at any particular moment.”

Ari clenched her jaw. Now, he was playing dumb. “Then begin when you crawled out of your coffin. Or wherever in hell cockroaches like you sleep. Relate everything you did, and I’ll tell you when you can stop.” He’d gotten under her skin, and her witch blood began to stir.

Bernie grinned. “Now, honey, you sure are cute when you’re mad.”

He had such a short freaking memory.

He leaned toward her, broadening the grin, smug, showing full fangs.

At the first hint of fang, a flash of blue fire erupted from Ari’s fingers. The stun sent Bernie flying backward and planted his butt firmly on the floor for the second time that evening.

Ryan leaped to his feet. He eyed the uninjured vampire and then Andreas, who hadn’t moved a muscle. “Why don’t we take a break?” he said. “I could use some coffee. Anyone else?”

Ari cocked her head at Ryan and stood. What he really thought was
she
needed a break. He was right on that one. If she didn’t get her temper under control, the next one might not be a stunner.

“I will wait with Bernard,” Andreas said. “It will give us an opportunity to chat.” The corners of his mouth twitched as he looked up at Ari.

Poor Bernie. Ari hoped his ego was sliced and diced during their absence.

When they were outside the room, Ryan turned to Ari with a cautious grin. “I’ve never seen you in action before. Feel better?”

“Yeah, I think I do. Rather therapeutic.”

Ten minutes later, they resumed the interview. Bernie was subdued. Whether it was Andreas’s chat or Ari’s witch fire, the badass vamp was ready to cooperate. The result was anti-climactic. If he was telling the truth, the gang members could alibi each other for the time of Patricia’s death. Other than a lot of bragging and self-serving rhetoric, Bernie had little more to add that was even remotely related to the investigation.

When they’d run out of questions, Andreas shoved a paper and pen toward Bernie and demanded the name of every Pure Blood member. “When you leave here, collect your friends and stay available. You will be hearing from me.”

The other two interviews failed to produce anything incriminating. Bario was especially offensive. Crude. Maybe it was for Ari’s benefit, since she was female and looked human, but his gutter talk about humanity was enough to make a longshoreman blush. By the time they were done, Ari wanted a cleansing shower. Ryan looked equally disgusted. Andreas was unreadable, but since Ari could barely feel his energy, she knew he was blocking. With a brusque, “good night,” he pushed to his feet, gathered the vampires, and hustled them out the door.

Ryan watched them go. “What was the rush? What’s he going to do with them?”

Ari lifted a casual shoulder. Vampire business. For once, she wasn’t sure she cared.

* * *

Ari was almost relieved when the weekend arrived. While she chafed at the lack of progress on the murder investigations, her dealings with Mrs. West and then the Pure Bloods had left her depressed, unsettled. She needed down time, a little perspective. On Saturday, she went shopping with Claris for the entire afternoon, while Brando watched the shop. They didn’t buy much: a pair of sandals for Claris, three t-shirts for Ari. That evening Ari reciprocated by working in the shop through closing time and spending time with Hernando the cat while Brando took Claris to the movies.