Gypsey Blood (8 page)

* * *

After Matt left, Rita took a long, relaxing shower and dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt.

She folded the ratty fur coat, a platinum wig, and another set of trolling duds into a shopping bag. Maybe they would spot the van again tonight. She shuddered. This time she would follow orders. Maybe even stay ten feet away and shoot a signal flare. No way did she want to approach that douche-bag again.

She threw the clothes into the back seat of her Rover, along with the plastic pink raincoat to play it safe with the weather.

The sun had passed its zenith, bathing the trees and the spiraling leaves in a golden glow. She slipped on her sunglasses, slid into the Rover, and headed for the Tea Room.

While driving, Rita mused about how good Matt and she had been together. Then her thoughts turned to the “need to know” aspect of this case. In fact, she was beginning to get peeved about the whole “secret.” Matt made no sense when he said the man could find her, or was that just a ploy to stay the night? A sudden feeling of dread crept over her. Something dark was clouding her future, and she shivered.

The only
person
who could shed some light on her questions and this sense of foreboding nagging at her, was her mother. Rita intended to do some heavy-duty arm-twisting.

Chapter Nine

Rita waved to the regulars sitting at the Tea Room’s counter and walked into the large dining area. Most of the lunch crowd had abated. A few shoppers sat in the booths, packages stacked on the benches, resting their feet after a buying binge in the square. She made her way to the table near her mother.

Anna looked up while setting napkins and silverware on one of the cleaned tables. “Ah, I see you’ve been with your man.”

Heat crept up Rita’s cheeks. “So?”

“You must think highly of him.” Anna nodded, then tugged Rita’s sweatshirt, signaling her to bend over and place her ear closer to her mother’s lips. “I also sensed a threat to you last night, and then I was very relieved when my breathing became easier. The crystal has not lost its power as you suspected, correct?”

“Yes and no, Ma.”
Rita leaned her hip against the table and crossed her arms. “We need to talk--now. Something very strange is going on, and I need your help.”

“Follow me.” Anna wheeled away from the table.

They went to Dragus who was standing behind the counter, chatting with customers. Millie, the cook, was refilling coffee cups, Dragus’s big frame dwarfing hers.

Anna motioned to him. “Come, Dragus. Millie and the others can take care of business for a while.” She guided her chair toward the office.

With the door closed, Rita told them about the mysterious killer. How he had locked her into the front seat of his van. How there was something peculiar about this case and the “need to know” aspect that Matt refused to share.

“The van smelled dirty, musty, and made me nauseated. But, the weird part was how he sniffed at me, and then the crystal made him go all freaky. When it touched his face, he screamed as if he had been burned.”

“Burned?” Anna’s eyes widened, her face turned ghostly white. Dragus inhaled sharply. Anna and Uncle Dragus looked at each other.
 
 

 
Puzzled, Rita added, “Yeah, then he said some crazy words I didn’t understand and shoved me out of his van.”

“Oh, no!
No!” Anna moved her chair to Rita. “We’ve been so foolish. I’m so sorry. We should have listened, trusted you. Oh, thank the stars for the amulet.”

A heavy knock rattled the thick door. Rita jumped to her feet and opened it. She stepped back. “What are you doing here, Matt?”

“The restaurant’s mentioned in your file. I’m not trying to go behind your back, Cheri, and I apologize for just showing up like this.”

Rita swallowed her impatience. “You should have called.”

“The last time I asked to meet your mom, you refused.” Matt stepped into the office and closed the door. “And before you ream me out,” he looked at Anna, “I need your help desperately, Mrs.
Moldova
.”

Anna nodded, taking his interference in stride. “Ach,
it’s
okay, Daughter. I expected your man to arrive. And now, I know it’s good that he is here.”

“I Dragus.
This Anna.”
Dragus shook Matt’s hand. “We both understand now what you look for.” Uncle’s face remained pallid. “You
be
seeker of this bad man?”

“Well, damn it,” said Rita, annoyed. “Anyone care to enlighten me?”

Matt nodded to Dragus. “Since it seems you already know, I think one of you better tell her.” He walked to the chair next to Anna and sat with an arm casually draped over the back. He cast a “here it comes” look at Rita.
 

Uncle Dragus perched on the edge of the desk and cupped Rita’s chin with his palm. “He talks of our Roma blood. When child, you remember Anna tell you stories of our people, our homeland of
Romania
. What do you remember about those who show no reflection, who walk among the living at night, and must feed on the warm blood to survive?”

“Vampires?”

Matt watched her with a bemused expression.

She giggled. “They were just spooky stories, old legends. I loved listening to them.” Rita let the grin drop from her lips. “Wait a minute. You can’t believe this man is a real vampire. Shouldn’t the dead bodies have puncture wounds on the neck? Come on. Their jugulars were carved with a blade.” She grabbed the corner of the desk, her knuckles whitening. “Hey, people, I believe in powers, the gifts. I’ve seen them with my own eyes. I have my amulet for protection.
But vampires?”
She laughed again. “Get real.”

Rita jumped at the crack of Anna’s hand smacking the desktop. Anna’s face reddened with anger. Her fingers shot out and grabbed Rita’s hand. Fingernails bit into her palm. “Ouch. Ma, you’re hurting me.”

Anna eyes had hardened to obsidian slits. “Do not dare belittle your bloodline and what we know to be true.
Ach.”
Anna threw Rita’s hand away. “Has the modern world confused your thinking? Well, Daughter, you best remember the history of our people and the stories passed down through the generations.”

Rita lowered her eyes.
“Sorry, Ma.
Uncle.”
She didn’t want to anger her family, but she thought everyone was nuts, including Matt from
Voodoo
City
. Vampires, zombies, werewolves were old legends and didn’t exist in the real world. But then, there had been no killer’s face reflected in the dead women’s eyes. She cleared her throat and looked at Matt. “This can’t be true.”

 
“That’s why I couldn’t tell you, couldn’t tell anyone.” Matt shifted in the chair and leaned forward. A scowl settled on his face. “You’ve seen powers at work, and now I find out that you also have a gift. Yet you find vampirism hard to believe. Wish you had told me about the amulet. I’d have felt a bit better knowing you carried some protection.”

 
“Well, I didn’t tell you for the same reason you didn’t tell me anything. Not ‘a need to know,’ remember?” Rita slumped over in the leather chair, rested her elbows on her knees, and buried her face in her hands.

Her mind spun.
The dank smell in the van.
The man’s speed and his strength like a body-builder on a triple dose of steroids. The prostitutes drained of blood. She raised her head. “He looked normal. He didn’t have fangs, or a pasty, waxen face. It could still be ritualistic in some twisted way. I’ve taken enough courses on profiling to know how many bent people roam this earth.”

Matt pushed up from the chair and hunkered on his heels in front of her. “The PCU is a special branch that deals with the unnatural.
Paranormal.
The hidden truths that are still causing turmoil in today’s world.” He glanced at Anna and Dragus. “I’m
trusting
this information stays in this room.”

Uncle Dragus paced, hands clasped behind his back. Rita caught the sharp looks he and Anna shared.
  
 

The sun blazing through the window cast Anna in a wreath of hazy light. Her forehead creased with concern. “Tell us more about this man, Matt.”

Drops of sweat slid down between Rita’s breasts. Her legs urged her to get up and run.

Matt stood, turned a chair around, and straddled it, his arms resting on the back. “We don’t know when he arrived in
New Orleans
, but I’ve been following him, his kills. He pins the victim down with his strength and drinks the blood. Then this monster uses a spring-loaded hand tool to carve a chunk in the jugular so no one will spot the fang marks.” Matt pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. When he opened them, his face tightened as if in pain. “I saw him do this the day he wounded me. My partner and I didn’t reach the victim in time. This vampire swiped me with the sharp tool,
then
snapped my partner’s neck before he took off. He has the strength of three men and he moves fast.” Matt fingered the gold cross on his sweater. “I wear this now. Father Ryan, a family friend, blessed the cross with holy water and sent it to me. It offers me some protection.”

 
Rita fidgeted in her chair. She remembered the bang on her head from the metal object hanging from the van’s roof, the dirt and the creepy, crypt smell.

“What you need from us, Matt?” Dragus asked. “How we help you?”

Rita couldn’t tell if the crystal was warning her, or if her own fear made her shudder. “Keep my family out of this mess, Matt. I…I don’t want them dragged into this horror.”

Matt turned an imploring gaze to Anna. “All I want is for you to use your crystal ball. Maybe you’ll see where he’ll kill next, maybe where he’s hiding? I’ll take any bit of information I can get, then I’ll handle it from there.”

Anna’s lips drew tight, her fingers curled into fists.

The conflicting emotions on her mother’s face sliced Rita deeply. A heavy darkness engulfed her. She wanted to beg Anna not to do it.
   

“
Dragus,
please go upstairs, get the crystal ball and red shawl from my trunk.”

Chapter Ten

Anna placed a black velvet cushion on her desk and set the clear orb in the center. Rita took the red shawl and helped Anna layer it over her head and face, leaving only her eyes uncovered. Anna bowed her head and breathed deeply, pulling in strength for the ordeal ahead.

Shivers raced up Rita’s spine along with the memory of the time Anna had foreseen the impending death of her parents.
The havoc, the tears, the manic phone calls to
Romania
.
The utter futility, and then the depth of Anna’s unforgiving grief.

 
Anna raised her head. “You know I need complete silence. No one must speak and break the spell. Understand?”

 
“You don’t have to do this, Ma,” Rita blurted.

 
“Ach.
I am reluctant to look into the crystal ball again, but I must. I suffer a question that needs an answer now.”

 
“Thank you for doing this, Anna.” Matt took Rita’s hand and led her to the chairs Uncle Dragus had pushed into the corner. She settled next to her uncle who sat as stiff as a stuffed bear, eyes glassy, his face devoid of expression.

Anna’s chest rose and fell in a steady, deep rhythm. She clasped her hands on her lap, bowed her head again, and chanted softly in her Gypsy tongue.

Sweat broke out on Rita’s forehead, yet a chill enveloped her. Matt’s hand tightened over hers. She squirmed in the silence as the minutes slowly ticked away.

Trapped within the ball, a rusty-red fog began to swirl with the power of the clan that Anna had called forth. A faint scent of cinnamon wafted around them. Anna keened, and then jerked. Her arms reached out slowly, and she splayed her fingers on the orb. She leaned forward, her eyes thinned to slits. Anna peered into the substance growing thicker within the ball. The air in the room grew heavy, cloyed with the sweet spice, as if an entity unto itself.