And?
Theres never anything obvious about the marks he leaves behind, but this time it looks like theyre on the thigh. This is one clever vampire. He makes sure that he disposes of the bodies in a way that will lead to the most decay and deterioration in the shortest time.
Want to show me the body? Brodie asked.
I thought youd never ask.
Tony led the way down the hall to one of the autopsy rooms.
It was a large room, big enough for several autopsies to take place at one time. Now, however, the room was quiet and dim, and only a single body lay on a gurney on the far side of the room.
Strange, Brodie thought. He was Elven, although the Elven were pretty damned close to human in a lot of ways, maybe more human than they wanted to be. And he was a detective, often working undercover in some of the grittiest neighborhoods of a tough town where bluebloods crossed paths with derelict drug dealers. But despite both those things, hed never gotten over the strange sensations that nearly overwhelmed him at an autopsy. Lifeflesh and bloodreduced to sterile equipment and the smell of chemicals on the air. The organs that sustained life ripped from the body to be held and weighed and studied. It was just somehowwrong, despite the fact that the work done here was some of the most important that could be done for the dead and the living both.
Tony pulled down the sheet that covered the victim, and Brodie stared first at the face, his jaw hardening.
Youve seen him before?
Brodie nodded. Its hard to tell, really, the body is so decomposed. But I think I recognize him. I think he was at the first performance of the show.
Any idea who he is? Tony asked.
No, he was just a face in the crowd. Second row center. Have you gotten a hit off dental records? What about fingerprints?
Look at the hands, Tony told him, pulling the sheet down farther.
Brodie did, and he felt his stomach lurch sharply, even though hed expected the scene that met his eyes.
The killer had chopped off the fingers.
Tony nodded toward the body. Just like the other two. And heres what I foundyoull need that magnifier there. He pointed.
Brodie picked up the small magnifying glass that Tony had indicated, then walked down to join Tony by the foot of the gurney. Tony slipped on gloves and moved the thigh. The skin was mottled and bruised looking.
No lividity? Brodie asked.
The discoloration and bloating you see are because he was dumped in a pond out by one of those housing projects they never finished off Laurel Canyonsuspiciously near your theater, Tony said. But use the magnifying glass and check out his thigh. There are marks. Theyre tiny, and theyre practically buried in swollen flesh, but theyre there. And, of course, the body was pretty much drained of blood. There is a slash at the throat, but despite the damage and decay, I believe it was postmortem.
Despite his feelings about autopsy and corpses, Brodie donned gloves, shifted the dead mans leg and peered through the microscope, searching for the telltale marks, then looked up at Tony.
Third body in two weeks with the same marks and same method of disposal, Tony said.
And I know Ive seen this one at the theater, Brodie said wearily.
And the killer dumped them all close to that theater, Tony told him. Your captain seems to have been on the mark.
Brodie nodded. Yeah, without his insight the victims might have fallen on to the big pile of cold cases, with no leads to go on. The captain isa smart guy.
Guess that means you stay undercover, Tony said. Too bad L.A.s three best Keepers have been called to council. This is one hell of a mess.
Brodie thought about the stunning young auburn-haired woman with the big green eyes he had seen at the café. Shed rushed to what she thought was a crime scene like a bat out of hell. Shed been ready, he thought. But she wasnt ready enough. She loved her music too much. In a way, he understood. It was difficult to realize that you couldhad tolead a normal life, then let it all go to hell when necessary.
He wished to hell that Piers Gryffald, Rhiannons father and the previous Keeper of the Canyon vampires, was still there.
But he wasnt.
And the body count was rising.
Driving in L.A. was not like driving in Savannah. People in Savannah moved at a far more human pace. Everyone in L.A. was in a hurry, which seemed strange, because often they were hurrying just to go sit in a coffee shop and while away their time, hoping to make the right connection. Some hopefuls still believed that they could be discovered in an ice cream parlor, and God knew, in Hollywood, anything could happen, even if the statistics werent in their favor.
At least coming hometo the house that had been her old summer home and was now her permanent basewas appealing. She had to admit, she loved the exquisite old property where she lived with Sailor and Barrie. Each of them had her own house on the estatethe compound, reallythat had been left to their grandfather, Rhys Gryffald, by the great Merlin, magician extraordinaire, real name Ivan Schwartz.
Somehow during his younger years, Merlin had learned about the Keepers. Hed longed to be one, but only those born in the bloodline, born with the telltale birthmark indicating what they were destined to becomewerewolf Keeper, vampire Keeper, shapeshifter Keeper and so oncould inherit the role. Since he couldnt be a Keeper, Ivan did the next best thing: he befriended one. In fact, he had become such good friends with Rhiannons grandfather that he had first built him a house on the property, opposite the guesthouse that already existed, and then, on his death, Merlin had willed the entire compound to him.
Good old Ivan. He had loved them all so much that he had never actually left.
The House of the Rising Sun, the main house, loomed above her as she drove along the canyon road, and she had to admit, it was magnificent. It wasnt as if she hadnt known the house all her life. Her grandparents had three sonsher father and her two unclesand her dad had been mentored by a Keeper in Savannah, which had turned out to be a very good thing, since hed fallen in love with her mother, a musical director for a Savannah theater. But then hed returned to L.A. and assumed responsibility for the Canyon vampiresand she shouldnt have had to take over for another zillion years, give or take. She had grown up in Savannah, where her mother had kept her job, and her father had traveled back and forth on a regular basis. Despite the distance, her parents enjoyed one of the best marriages she had ever seen. And shed grown close with her L.A. family, because shed spent summers and most holidays there at the House of the Rising Sun. Sailor had always lived in the House of the Rising Sun itself, except for her acting stint in New York.
Barrie was now in Gwydions Cave, the house Merlin had built for their grandfather, and she herself had the original 1920s guesthouse, called Pandoras Box.
Pandoras Box. A fitting name for all of L.A. in her opinion.
The main house really was beautiful! Regal, haunting and majestic, high up on a cliff. The style was Mediterranean Gothic, and it seemed to hold a thousand secrets as it stood proud against the night sky.
The main house really was beautiful! Regal, haunting and majestic, high up on a cliff. The style was Mediterranean Gothic, and it seemed to hold a thousand secrets as it stood proud against the night sky.
As a matter of fact, it did hold a thousand secrets. All right, maybe not a thousand, but a lot of them. Like the tunnels that connected all three houses. And the little red buttons that looked like light switches and were set randomly around the three houses. Little red buttons that set off alarms in all three residences, in case someone in any one of them needed help.
The property could only be reached via a winding driveway that scaled the cliff face, and the entire property was protected by a tall stone wall. She had to open the massive electric gate with a remote she kept in her car or else buzz in and hope someone was home to answer.
Grudgingly, she had to admit that she loved the House of the Rising Sun and living on the estate wasnt any kind of punishment. It was still breathtaking to watch the gate swing wide to allow entry to the compound, and then awe inspiring to see the beautiful stone facades of the houses appear.
Sometimes she wondered why Merlin had bothered with the wall. The Others that the Keepers were assigned to watch werent the type to be stopped by walls or gates. But then again, Merlin had lived in the real world with its real dangers, too, as did theyalthough calling the surreal world of Hollywood real seemed like a contradiction in terms.
She clicked the gate shut behind her and drove forward slowly, noting that Barries car was parked on the left side of the property, while Sailors, unsurprisingly, was not. Since there was no garageall the available land had been used for the housesshe assumed that if Sailors car wasnt there, neither was Sailor herself. Barrie was determined to save the world, not only by overseeing the shapeshifters but also by practicing the kind of hard-hitting journalism that could bring about change in L.A., if not the world, so, she tended to keep reasonable hours. Sailor, Keeper of the Elven, was determined to rule the world from the silver screen, which meant she was likely to be out and networking at all hours.
Still thinking about the way the Elven had handed her his card and told her that she should see the play, Rhiannon pulled into her usual parking place and exited the car, bringing her guitar with her as she headed for Pandoras Box. Slipping her key into the lock, she shoved a shoulder wearily against the door, stepped in and flicked on the lights.
She was tired. And she worked in a café, for Gods sake. She should have brought home a gourmet tea to sip while she unwound, but after only a few minutes with Mac Brodie she had been too disconcerted to think of it.
She set her guitar case in its stand and headed into the kitchen. There she quickly brewed a cup of tea and added a touch of milk, then headed back out to the living room to sink into the comfortable old sofa and lean back. She closed her eyes.
No, you really should come see the show.
There was a tap at her door. She listened for a minute without rising. She was tired. And frustrated. And, she had to admit, unnerved.
An Elven had come to her and told her that she needed to see a vampire play.
Why?
It was just a play, a pretense. No vampires were out there killing people. Or other vampires, or anyone else. If they were, she would have heard about it on the news, wouldnt she?
The tapping became more persistent. Rhiannon forced herself to rise. It could only be one of a very few people at this time of night. Maybe Sailor had come home early and might listen to the story of Rhiannons night and give her some advice.
It wasnt Sailor or even Barrie who stood at her door. Merlin had come by to visit. I hope Im not disturbing you? he asked anxiously.
Yes, you are, she almost said, but she refrained. Merlin was a ghost. If he wanted to, he could be anywhereperched on the end of the grand piano in the living room, day and night, if he felt like it. But he was a polite ghost, one who had learned to manifest corporeally. He had mastered the art of knocking on doors to announce his presence and behaved at all times as if he was not only living but a gentleman. He had maintained his old room in the main house, and he was careful to be the best possible tenant. They all loved him, but Sailor, in particular, was accustomed to living with himboth before and after his death.
They had all sobbed at his funeraluntil they realized that he was standing right there with them, comforting them in his new and unearthly form.
Come in, Merlin, please, she said. Have a seat. My home is your home, you know. Literally, she added with a warm smile.
Merlin had always been so good to her family, and it had been a two-way street. Her grandfather had saved him from jail when a shapeshifter had impersonated him and perpetrated several lewd crimes while posing as the noted magician. Her grandfather had been the shapeshifter Keeper and had worked with a friend on the police forcea werewolfto prove that someone had been impersonating Merlin, and ensure that the proper person was caught and punished.
She stepped back from the door, sweeping a hand wide to indicate that he should join her.
Merlin stepped inside, looked around and sighed with happiness. Im so glad that you girls are living here, he told her.
He walked to the sofa and sank onto it, looking like a dignified and slightly weary old man. Which was exactly what he had been when hed died. Hed lived a good, long life that had left him with a charmingly lined face, bright blue eyes and a cap of snow-white hair. Having him around really was like having a grandfather on the property.
And were glad to be here, Rhiannon said.
What a liar she was, she thought. Shed been about to get her big break when shed been called home and been told that she was an adult and the good times were over. Her responsibilities had crashed down upon her with no time for her to think about it, to say yes or no. Suddenly all three Gryffald brothers were being sent overseas and their daughters were taking their places, and that was that.
Of course her father and her uncles hadnt been given a chance to say yes or no any more than she and Sailor and Barrie had.
The brothers had been summoned to serve on the new high council of Keepers at the Hague, a council that would act as a worldwide governing body for the Otherworld and the Others.
Are you fitting in okay? Merlin asked her, sincere concern in his voice.
Of course. She forced a smile. None of this was Merlins fault. Or her fathers. Hed tried to be so fierce when hed talked to her. You are the Keeper for the vampires, Rhiannon. They are powerful and deadly, and yours is a grave responsibility.
At the time, of course, all shed seen was that her band was finally getting a real breakand she wasnt going to be there to experience it.
Merlin nodded thoughtfully. I was just wonderingI mean, this is L.A. Its not as if there isnt plenty of murder, mayhem and scandal on a purely human level.
Merlin, what are you talking about? she asked wearily.
You might want to talk to Barrie. There have been a few mysterious deaths lately.
Something hard seemed to fall to the pit of her stomach. This couldnt involve her. Not already.