Her tip jar was stolen, Barrie explained. Among other things.
Those bastards stole your tip jar! Sailor said, straightening, her protest loyal and fierce.
Its all right, Rhiannon said. Ill live. She an arm around Sailors shoulders. We need to go home. Barrie has an early morning, as usual. She turned to her other cousin. Night, Barrie, thanks for listening.
Hey, wait, Barrie said, following Rhiannon and Sailor to the door. Rhiannon, Ill see what I can dig up tomorrow. And also, I was thinking that Sailor and I should go see that play with you.
You dont have to, Rhiannon said.
Play? Sailor said, perking up. What play?
Vampire Rampage, Rhiannon said.
To Rhiannons surprise, Sailors jaw dropped. Youre kidding, right?
No, not at all. They pulled a promo stunt in front of the coffee shop tonight.
Sailors eyes were wide. The moviethe one Ive been asked to be inis called Vampire Rampage, and its based on the play. Yes, lets all go. It will really help me to see the original.
And to think, I was just hoping it might keep someone alive, Rhiannon said.
Sailor turned slowly and stared at her. Whats going on? she asked.
An Elven actor stopped by the café tonight, and he told me that I really need to see the play. And then Merlin told me tonight that three murder victims have been found drained of blood. So now Im kind of worried that a vampire, well, you know.
Sailor stared at Rhiannon for a long moment, and then reached out and pulled her into a hug. Oh, I am so sorry! You knowmaybe someone has been itching to break the rules and waited until our fathers were gone, figuring that
Wed be ineffectual, Rhiannon said wearily.
Barrie and Sailor were silent.
Well, I dont intend to be ineffectual, Rhiannon said. So tomorrow night, the three of us, the theater
Well be ready, Sailor assured her. It will be great.
All I can think about is three bodies drained of bloodand Ive barely been here a week, Rhiannon said.
Well get through this. Well help you get the answers, Barrie said. Right, Sailor?
Right, Sailor agreed.
Rhiannon left Gwydions Cave and headed back to her own house. The moon was out, shining down and creating a crystal trail across the surface of the pool.
Three bodies drained of blood.
Tomorrow she would get out her dads list of helpful contacts in the city. She had to get into the morgue and see what she could find out, and then, tomorrow night, the play.
Vampire Rampage, she murmured.
She reached into her pocket and fingered the business card the Elven had given her, then pulled it out and looked at it. Mac Brodie, Actor. And then it offered a cell phone number. It was curious that an actors card didnt have his website and résumé listed.
She thought about calling him, then decided to wait until shed seen the show. She might be a novice Keeper, but she was going to have to be strong and prove that she could be as effective as her father.
Because she was very afraid that there was already a vampire on the rampage in L.A.
Brodie sat at his desk at the station, reading over the files on his desk.
The first body had been discovered three weeks ago at the bottom of the molding pool at an abandoned house off Hollywood and Vinethe owner had gone into foreclosure and no enterprising real estate mogul had as yet snapped up the place. The victim, who was in his twenties, remained unidentified, despite the fact that theyd combed through missing person reports from across the country. Of course, hed been missing his fingers and though the morgue had taken dental impressions, they were worthless when there were no records with which to compare them.
The dead man must have had friends or family somewhere, but apparently none of them had reported him missing. Then again, young people often took off to find themselves, so their nearest and dearest didnt always know they were missing.
Because of the fetid water where the body had been dumped, the soft tissue had been in an advanced state of decomposition. Despite the mess hed had to work with, Tony Brandts report stated that hed tentatively identified the puncture marks at the throat that had led to exsanguination, which he listed as cause of death. Because the body had been in the water and then in the morgue for several weeksand because it was a John Doethe case had ended up at the bottom of a pile of open cases that had gone cold.
There was one interesting fact, though. A waterlogged playbill had been discovered in his pocket.
Ten days ago, with the discovery of the second body, two files had landed on Brodies desk. His captain was concerned. The second file contained another John Doe. This one had been found in a small man-made lake in Los Feliznear a rehearsal hall that had been rented to a local theatrical group, the same group now performing Vampire Rampage. Once again dental impressions had been taken, and they were still hoping to make a match. Also once again, no fingerprint identification was possible because there were no fingers.
That body had also been decaying for some time. It was in fact so decayed that Tony Brandt could only find the suggestion of puncture marks in the jugular vein. But the similarities had been enough for Brodies captain to decide that the two murders might be the work of a serial killer, and that it was time to get to the truth.
Captain Edwin Riley knew something about the Others and the Otherworld. He was one of the few individuals trusted by the citys Other community, being the son of a practicing Wiccan and high priestess whod been targeted for death. Brodie didnt really know the whole story, and the captain didnt like talking about it, so he didnt pry. But it had something to do with a religious cult that had decided his parents were devil worshippers, and that they needed to have an accidentone that would remove them from the earth.
Theyd survived the accident, thanks to Brodies father, then a young Elven, who had seen what was happening and jumped from his own car in time to rescue the Rileys car before their car went over a cliff.
Most human beings had no idea about the existence of the Others, but the captain knew about Brodie, which made him the logical choice to find out what was happening.
The next thing he knew, he was auditioning. There had been an opening in the cast because an actor had suddenly and, from the cops point of view conveniently, left, sending Jackson Hunter an email stating that he had to get back to Connecticut and stop the love of his life from marrying another man.
It had seemed a weak linkjoining the playbut it was better than nothing, and the theater was the only connection, however vague, between the murders. Hed been suspicious that the missing actor might be one of the John Does in the morgue cooler, but Adam Lansky, in the police tech assistance unit, had tracked him down, and he was indeed back in Connecticut. Whether hed stopped the love of his life from marrying another man or not, Brodie didnt know.
Tonight, after seeing the third corpse on Tony Brandts autopsy table, he was more convinced than ever that the killer was somehow involved with the play. Not only had the corpse been found in the lake that was just past the parking lot and a stretch of overgrown brush behind the theater, but there was the fact that hed actually seen the man in the audience.
Tonight, after seeing the third corpse on Tony Brandts autopsy table, he was more convinced than ever that the killer was somehow involved with the play. Not only had the corpse been found in the lake that was just past the parking lot and a stretch of overgrown brush behind the theater, but there was the fact that hed actually seen the man in the audience.
Three John Does, all of them connected in one way or another to the theater and Vampire Rampage. And, he was very much afraid, to a real vampire, too.
All right after the three strongest peacekeepers in the area had left.
And in their place
Three untestedgirls.
Brodie stood and walked to the rear of his bungalow apartment in central Hollywood. He could see the crescent moon rising boldly in the clear heavens. He tried to tell himself that the fact that the bodies had been drained did not definitely mean that the killer was a vampire. The victims might have been drained so that their deaths appeared to be the work of a vampire. And God knew, there were plenty of crazy humans who thought they were vampires. And there were dozens of reasons for draining a body of blood, starting with
Hunger.
Like it or not, he had the feeling that a vampire was guilty.
All he had to do was find himand kill him.
Obviously he couldnt count on any help from the new Keeper, Ms. Rhiannon Gryffald, and yet the case definitely fell under her jurisdiction. Hed given her his card, damn it, and she hadnt even bothered to call him. Okay, so she didnt now he was a cop. But still, she should have realized that something important was upsomething she, as a Keeper, needed to investigate.
He gritted his teeth, wondering just how many corpses they would find before the killer was unmasked.