Baited Blood (15 page)

Samuel glanced at Doug, then turned to Colin. “It’s an idea that came up tonight at dinner, even before Stacie called me.”

Colin turned to look at Samuel. Stacie and Madison were all ears.

“Keleta didn’t say much tonight at dinner,” Samuel continued, “but from what little he did say, we started wondering if we’re thinking too small by only looking at the Dedhams as the
target
. At least it’s another theory. Now I’m thinking it’s a stronger possibility.” Samuel walked over to the bed and sat down. Crossing one leg over the other, he got comfortable. His collar was open, his tie long gone. “Think about it: I doubt anything like this could happen at Colin’s condo. The security is too tight, and there are too many neighbors who might see something. There’s always someone at my property. The remaining council members live in the northern part of the state, making it difficult to transport a body over a distance. Only the Dedhams and Stacie here would be easy targets for someone watching their patterns.”

“What about Kate Thornton?” Madison asked. “She lives in Southern California.”

“Yes,” Samuel admitted, “but out nearly to Riverside.” He brushed at some lint on his trousers. “Still, we might want to warn her and Jerry, just in case.”

Finished with his sketching, Doug stood up and stretched. “We may be barking up the wrong tree here, but it pays to be careful.”

“Exactly,” Stacie agreed. “We can’t have anyone finding these bodies except us. Can you imagine the nightmare of trying to explain this to the police?”

“Speaking of police,” said Samuel, “we should give that sketch to Mike Notchey to see if he can locate a missing persons report on this fellow like he did for Keleta. Although without a name, it might be very difficult.”

“I’d like a copy of the tattoo sketch.” Colin left the window and walked back over to look at the body again. “As well as the sketch of the face. People this covered with body art usually have it done at a favorite spot. There are a lot of tattoo shops in Los Angeles, but it wouldn’t hurt to start checking out some of the more popular ones.”

“Great idea, Colin.” Samuel stood up and faced Madison. “Scan copies of the sketches as you did with Parker, and get them to everyone on the council first thing in the morning. Right now, though, I’d like you to e-mail those photos to me. I’ll send them on to Ricky and have him show them to Keleta immediately. They’re clear enough to help.”

Madison nodded and began e-mailing the photos from her phone. “Am I still going up to Marin tomorrow?”

“It’s more important than ever,” Samuel told her. “And remember to take copies of the sketches of both Parker and this guy with you.”

“Marin?” Colin asked, turning to Samuel with surprise. “You’re sending her up to Joni?”

“Yes,” Samuel told him. “Just for a day. Joni has been working hard on the genealogy database, and I want Madison to get familiar with it. Seems like the perfect time with all this nonsense going on.”

Colin turned his gaze to Madison. She returned it without a flinch. “I agree,” he finally said. “I think it would be good for Madison to get away right now.” He looked at Samuel and quickly added, “She could be more of a help on the research end than stomping around tattoo parlors with me.”

SIXTEEN

S
hortly after Jesús arrived at Stacie’s house and confirmed that the dead vampire was a young vampire, as they’d suspected, Samuel sent Doug and Madison home. Before she went to bed, Madison scanned the sketches and downloaded the photos and sent them to all of the council members. Samuel had texted them earlier about the latest development and let them know the sketches would be coming. He’d also texted a message to the council and Madison saying Ricky felt from Keleta’s reaction to the photos that he knew who the latest dead vampire was, but claimed he didn’t. Byron and Ricky were going to work on Keleta to get him to talk.

As tired as she was, Madison had trouble sleeping, awakening just after daybreak. Restless, instead of turning over and going back to sleep, she got up and put on her running clothes.

Once at the park, Madison was happy about her decision. The morning was shaping up to be beautiful and clear. She had just parked her car and was heading to the trail when she saw Julianne jogging toward her, obviously done with her run. She was with a different running companion—a tall, young man with dark hair and brown skin. He wore a Dodgers cap like Julianne’s.

“I’ll be with you in a minute,” Julianne told the guy, tossing him the keys. He headed for the SUV while Julianne stopped to speak to Madison.

“I was wondering if you’d be here today,” she said to Madison. “Have trouble getting out of bed this morning?”

“A bit. I had to work very late last night.”

“And you’re alone today. I’m sorry about that.”

Madison shrugged. “Yeah. I haven’t seen or talked to Mike since yesterday morning. I think we both need some cooling-off time.” She tossed her head in the direction of Julianne’s companion. “I see you have a new running partner. He’s pretty cute.”

Julianne laughed and looked over at the SUV. “Yeah, he is. Not the brightest bulb on the tree, but he is fun.” She looked back at Madison and winked. “Men are like busses, Madison—miss one, another comes along.”

Julianne started to walk to her car, but Madison stopped her. “Julianne, you’ve been so nice. Maybe one day we can meet for lunch or something?” They were difficult words for Madison to spit out. She wasn’t used to making overtures toward people she didn’t know, but she did need friends her own age, and Julianne seemed like a good place to start.

A wide smile crossed Julianne’s lovely face, and her blue eyes brightened with interest. “I’d like that, Madison. I really would. I get so wrapped up with my career, I seldom take the time to relax with girlfriends.”

“I know what you mean. I go to school and work. In fact, I’m going out of town tonight for my employer.”

“Tell you what, then. Let’s dump the clowns and run together Monday morning. We can talk more then.”

Madison was excited at the prospect. “Great. Usual time, around six thirty?”

“Hang on,” Julianne said and ran to her vehicle. She returned with a piece of paper on which she’d written her phone number. Handing it to Madison, she said, “That’s my cell. Call me if something comes up. Otherwise, it’s Monday morning for sure.”

Buoyed by her successful chat with Julianne and her invigorating run, Madison attacked the rest of her morning in high spirits. She packed for her trip, did some schoolwork, and even managed a nap—a nap cut short by the ringing of her cell phone. She reached over to grab the phone from her nightstand.

“Hello.” Madison’s voice was thick with sleep as she answered the phone on the fourth ring. One more and the call would have gone to voice mail.

“Ms. Rose,” the caller began. “This is Nina. Nina Weinberg, the realtor. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

Madison sat up and shook off the fog of sleep. It was the realtor she’d spoken to the day before. “No,” Madison said in a hurry. “Not at all. Did you find something already?”

“I may have. I made several calls yesterday to some colleagues. As I suspected, there are quite a few properties that meet your size requirements on the market right now, but only five that might suit your employer’s architectural tastes and privacy needs. Two are currently being leased, but both leases are due to be up soon. Of the remaining three, two are unoccupied.” She paused. When Madison didn’t say anything, she continued. “If you’d like, I could show you three of properties tomorrow. The leased properties are not available for showing except by special arrangement, but we could drive by those if you have the time. If they are suitable, I’ll arrange for a showing.”

“I have to go up north on business this weekend.” Madison got out of bed and walked over to her laptop. “Do you have information on the properties you can e-mail me? I can show them to my boss. If he’s interested, he may want to do his own drive-by before taking it further.”

When the realtor hesitated, Madison rattled off her council e-mail address. If Nina Weinberg checked the root address, she would find an impressive website on the foundation that was a front for the California Vampire Council. The foundation was real, but its true business was that of handling the affairs of the vampires.

“I’m sorry,” Nina told her, “but could you hold on a moment? I have another call, and I’m in the office alone right now.”

“Of course. No problem.” Madison was savvy enough to smell the polite lie for what it was, a way of buying enough time for the woman to check the website. Nina Weinberg was cautious. Madison liked that.

“Thank you for your patience, Ms. Rose,” the realtor said a minute later. “Let me gather up the information on those properties and send them right over to you.”

“I really appreciate it. We can look them over this weekend in between meetings.” The lies once again came easily, and Madison started to feel guilty about the commission the realtor would never see.

While she waited for the e-mails, she finished preparations for her trip. There were still several hours before she had to head to the airport, and Madison intended to make the most of that time. Sensing Colin would be concentrating initially on the more popular tattoo parlors in the trendy areas, she had intended to check out some of the shops in her area and along the beach communities. She also knew he wouldn’t be starting his search until dark. Before her nap, Madison had done online research on tattoo parlors in Los Angeles and made a list of those within a reasonable driving distance to target before she left. She’d noticed that most parlors didn’t open until at least two in the afternoon and stayed open quite late. Her plan was to hit them shortly after they opened, before they got too busy to chat. But now with the realtor sending information on possible castle-type properties, she was changing her plans.

She didn’t have to wait long before the e-mail from Nina Weinberg came through. Included were addresses and photos of the properties. Each looked like a perfect fit—large, secluded, and European in appearance. One even looked like a modern rendition of a castle. Madison concentrated on the occupied properties first. It was possible that Lady and her crew had left the area recently. It was even possible that they were not in one of the houses on the list. But Madison felt it was too quick for Lady and her sizeable household to pack and leave, and since the bodies had all been dumped geographically close together, she also felt chances were good they might be close by. If it weren’t daytime, she’d run over to Byron and Ricky’s and show the photos to Keleta, but by the time they arose she’d be on her way to the airport. If she found something viable, she could always e-mail the information to Samuel to show Keleta tonight.

“I’m going out for a bit and taking the Range Rover,” Madison called to Pauline, who was transferring laundry from the washer to the dryer.

The Dedhams had two vehicles and put both at Madison’s disposal. She plucked the keys to the Range Rover off the key rack near the door and was about to leave when she stopped short, remembering something.

She stepped into the laundry room. “I just thought of something. If I leave, you’ll be here alone. Hyun isn’t coming by until he drives me to the airport. Should I call him and see if he can come by now?”

Pauline shook her head. “Nah. Hyun called me earlier to say that Samuel didn’t think we needed round-the-clock guarding any longer, at least not in the middle of the day. He wants us to be on guard but thinks if anything happens, it will be after dark.” She set the timer on the machine and turned her attention to Madison. “You gonna be gone long? I still hate to leave the Dedhams alone under the circumstances. Sounds like whoever is doing this is watching people’s houses. Might be vampires; might not be.”

“Not too long. I want to check out something having to do with Keleta.”

Pauline eyed Madison up and down, taking in her black tailored slacks, white silk shirt, and tweed blazer. It was a different fashion statement than her usual jeans and sweater and let the housekeeper know whatever Madison was up to, it required a professional appearance. “Tell you what. I’m due to leave in two hours, but I don’t have any special plans for tonight. How about I stay an hour or two longer. Will that give you enough time?”

Madison considered the timing and the distance she had to cover. “I think it will be plenty.” She glanced at her watch. “Besides, Hyun will be here in about four hours, so I’ll have to be back.” She paused. She had grown to love the gruff Pauline, who stood before her squat and thick and full of street smarts, as much as she had the Dedhams. “Are you sure you’ll be okay here alone?”

Instead of answering, Pauline walked over to the kitchen counter. Opening a drawer, she pulled something out and turned to Madison. In her dark hands was a large handgun.

Even though the gun wasn’t directed at her, Madison jumped back. “Where did you get that?”

“It’s mine,” the housekeeper said casually. “Had it for years. I brought it from home as soon as all this nonsense started.” She put the gun on the kitchen counter. “You run along and try to get to the bottom of this. The sooner someone does, the sooner things will return to normal around here.” Pauline closed one brown eye and fixed the other on Madison to give her next words extra meaning. “I happen to be a big fan of
normal
.”

Madison was going to make a crack about there being nothing normal about working for vampires, but one glance at the gun and she changed her mind.