Just One Taste (18 page)

Jon scented some unknown vamp on the grounds. A fact that helps solidifies my current belief that the killer must be a vampire—one who’s not a guest. What non-native human could come to this resort and be able to survive outside of a building for longer than a few hours? It took Castner’s Cutthroats to save over two-thousand ill-prepared soldiers in the Aleutian Islands during World War II. Our modern-day murderer, if human, would need a ton of equipment to live and I’m sure Jon’s half-wolves would have tracked them by now.

I lower my hands together in a prayer position before my heart. Deep breath in.

What else stood out as odd?

The fact the vampire did not drain the victim when killing. What kind of undead would do that? All I can think of is one who was seriously pissed off, crazy, or both.

I let the air out of my lungs.

Hmm… something else is niggling the back of my brain.

A quiet peace seeps into me as I bow my head forward in a moment of silence. I reflect upon the words Olga sometimes repeated at the end of our sessions together:

I honor that place in you

where the entire universe resides.

I honor that place in you

of love, of light, and peace.

I honor that place –

where if you are in that place in you,

and I am in that place in me,

there is only one of us.

“
Namaste
.”

My voice echoes in the room, the thought complete with the utterance of that one word. I feel at one with life around me and have a peaceful tingle of energy in my heart, this one not associated with Were blood. I like to think whenever I say
Namaste
that Olga is in my heart with me.

She was the most peaceful, loving woman I have ever had the grace to know and I’ll always be grateful for the gift she gave me in Rafe. Olga was centered in her life and accepting of all around her. She became aware of what I am during the decade she taught me yoga, but I did not know the depth of her acceptance until over a decade later when she sent Rafe to find me.

I light the oil pot sitting on a low table near the wall then sit on the large square cushion before it. Closing my thoughts, I focus on the flame. The room around me fades as I sink into the dancing firelight.

Surprisingly, a face forms in the flames and I can see Drew’s wife clearly in my mind. She’s smiling, like he remembered her. I have seen this woman before, I know it now, but can’t place where because she looks different. Could she have been a guest here or at one of our previous properties?

No. Wait. She was human, so our last spot in Paris is out. Had to be here, but damned if I can recall. Maybe Rafe will remember. I’ll check with him when he wakes. I close my eyes to block out the flames and push her image from my mind.

I’ll never achieve Nirvana if I keep this up.

Crashing waves, deep breathing, counting sheep—none of it seems to help me. Today may be one of those days I will not be able to meditate. I’m not surprised. Reaching peace remains a difficult journey for me.

Time passes until I’m not sure how long I’ve been sitting. One task becomes clear to me as I rise to start the day: I need to return the phone call to New York.

I head to the small sitting area by the door and take a seat. There’s a side table with a phone between two chairs. I prefer calling from here over going back to our suite and risk waking up Rafe. From memory, I dial the number I’d recognized from the slip of paper. It’s Cy’s landline in his office.

After several rings, Cali’s voice comes over the receiver. “Hello? Vivian.”

Ah, the joys of caller ID.

“Yes. Hey, Cali. Got the message Cy left for me. You have any news yet?”

“And good morning to you too.” She says with a laugh. “Turns out John Pierre’s from Washington state. He flew in to Fairbanks a few days ago, rented an SUV, and got gas in Coldfoot on the credit card number you gave us.” She pauses a bit. “Do you want the details of where he lived over the phone or should I email you what we have?”

Washington is all I needed to hear. I know exactly where he lived and now I need to get the hell off the phone.

“Nah, what you’ve given me is enough for now. Emailing the rest will be fine. I’d like to go over it with Asa when he gets here.”

“Speaking of that, they should be at your place before nine a.m. your time—depending on tailwinds.”

I check; it’s almost six now. I’ll have to hustle to get some things done before he arrives.

“Great, thanks. Tell Cy I appreciate all the hard work.”

“No problem, Vivian. You know he’d do anything for you.”

“You’re fine with your nephew coming up here?” I decide to dig while I have her on the phone and Cy is not within hearing distance. “Cy didn’t even ask him first, so I’m hoping it’s okay with you as well.”

“Yes, well… Asa expressed an interest in leaving here almost as soon as he got back from the war last year. Cy taught him a lot about control and he’s definitely trustworthy, no need to worry on that front.” She sighs before she goes on. “Actually, it was my idea all along. I’ve wanted Cy to call you for months to see if Asa could come up there.”

Silence can sometimes get me more than rushing in and firing off questions, and this time it’s exactly what she needs.Cali continues. “I think the noise and people of the club are too much for him. He was always reserved as a kid and I think the frivolousness of the place sets him on edge. Combine that with the shock of being out of the military and newly undead, and you can imagine what it’s been like for him. Cy refused to call you because he knew you don’t really have a formal seethe, but I was tempted to do an end-run and call you myself.”

Damn, that wouldn’t have been good. I’d hate to have to turn her down and that’s exactly what I would have done.

“Don’t get your hopes up, Cali. He may like it here fine, but I’m not inclined to have more members in my seethe. Let’s see how it goes, okay?”

“Alright,” disappointment stands out clear in her tone, “I’ll leave you alone. But, he’s great with all the latest security advancements. You never know…” Her voice lifts at the end, hope shines back in her sunny disposition once more and I don’t have the heart to crush it out of her right now.

I can always let Cy handle the crushing task when I decide Asa has to go. If I can get Asa out of here with him none the wiser on my secrets, then that’s what I’ll do.

Hanging up the phone, one fact resonates with certainty in my mind. Salvador’s group hales from Washington. I think Sheba and her tears may be the key to the murder. I have a feeling many details will come together when I can question that elusive member of Sal’s group. For a polite hotel hostess, it’s still too early to knock on a guest’s door and wake her up.

I shut the lights off when I leave the gym and run into Paul on his way to the kitchen. Paul’s the best chef we’ve had here in two decades. He used to cook down in the lower forty-eight for years, until he answered my employment ad. He hadn’t wanted to come up here to this frozen area of our nation, but the money I threw at him was impossible to resist.

“Morning, Paul. Glad to see you up and at ‘em today,” I say with a cheeky grin.

I saw him last night on the dance floor with some of the other employees and he’s looking worse for the wear today with a haggard air about him.

“Ugh, no teasing. My head can’t take it right now.” He stumbles slightly and catches himself against the hallway wall.

A short, loud laugh erupts from me. After my emotional night, seeing him hung-over helps shake off my last lingering tendrils of heartache.

“Poor baby. You should know by now the morning shift always comes sooner than you think.” I take pity on him and try to give him a little nudge in the right direction. “You know what they say about water the next day, right? Drink plenty and you should be better by noon.”

“Yeah, that and a beer chaser with some Advil should do me.”

I smile and take my leave of him as we approach the lobby. Of course, I meant the small trace of vampire blood in the water would make him feel better. Whether he takes my advice, or his own, is up to him.

Miranda’s still on shift at the front desk when I enter the lobby. She’s busy working on the computer, but looks up on my approach.

“Hey Miranda, has it been slow this morning?”

“Yes. Only one blood request and nothing else. Tommy went out to Jet Natsuhara’s cabin around five.”

“Good. We’ve got a temporary employee named Asa coming up from Cy’s place in Manhattan. Could you put him in one of the cabins for now? I’m not sure how long he’ll be here or where I’ll want him long term.”

Miranda types rapidly on the keyboard in front of her, “Sure thing, I’ll put him in unit one. What time do you expect him?”

I smile at the thought of our ex-military guy tucked away next door to the Natsuhara cabin. “According to Cali, he could be here as early as nine.”

As I walk away from the front desk, another thought occurs to me. Turning back to Miranda, I say, “Call me when the airstrip reports his plane coming in.”

“You got it, Vivian. No problem.”

I smile my thanks and head to the pool in the east wing. It’s still too early to head back to our suite; maybe I’ll relax in the steam room. Rafe could use a bit more rest. Werewolf-infused vampire blood or not, he needs a few hours a night to keep healthy.

The pool wing’s double doors open at a push and the humidity from the vestibule wraps around me, transporting my senses to a tropical island paradise. The second set of doors open as the first set close behind me. Pausing a moment, I once again admire the gorgeous sight in front of me.

Large, healthy green palm trees and other tropical plants flourish in big containers with their personal UV bulbs. Cushioned chaise lounge chairs are scattered around the pool’s edge with small tables placed in between. A flapping noise breaks the relaxing spell and the flutter of green wings causes my head to whip up as I twist my body to the side.

“Braaacck! Mikey wants a biiiite.”

“Stop it, you Goddamn bird!”

I swear that flying menace is out to get me! Who would have thought a parrot could cause me so much anxiety. I’m a damn powerful vampire and this is embarrassing.

Mikey never fails to swoop down on me whenever I enter the pool area. His only saving grace is that he’s well behaved with the guests. If Rafe hadn’t insisted we have the three birds in here for atmosphere, I’d throw all of them out into the snow and be done with it.

I fell quickly out of love with the whole atmosphere idea when Rafe taught Mikey that cute little phrase. Months later, Rafe topped it by somehow training the flying bastard to pester me the second I walk in. There are times that man should count himself lucky I don’t smother him in his sleep. The fact it wouldn’t work and he’d just laugh at me must be what has kept me from trying.

The calypso music and voices bouncing off the water have thankfully made my very un-cool freak-out go unnoticed by the patrons in the pool. I think some day I’m going to set those birds free. Today they have a stay of execution as I spot the very person I need to talk to above all others.

Sheba.

Strolling past empty chairs, I casually stop at the one next to the lovely, full-bodied woman. Lowering myself into the chair next to hers, I clear my throat to get her attention and she looks over at me. Her expression looks strained as she struggles to focus on me.

“Hello. Sheba, isn’t it?”

Her inviting smile warms up her whole face, helping dispel some of the strain. Her beautiful
café-au-lait
skin and hazel, almond-shaped eyes speak of an exotic mix in her heritage. I can see why she was sought after to enter this seethe. Her coloring is breathtaking to behold, and I’m shocked no vampire has laid claim to her yet.

“Yes, you have a good memory, Vivian. How are you?”

“I’m good. Surprised to see you here, actually. I ran into Sal at the bar last night. He said you weren’t feeling well. Is there anything we can get for you?”

“No, but thank you. I’m not myself. Bouts of being upset and crying without quite knowing why. It’s the oddest thing really.”

“Hmm…” I think I know why she’s feeling so off. I’d bet a million bucks someone’s been messing with her head. I wonder if she’ll let me check?

“Sheba, how long have you been with Sal’s seethe?”

“Oh, about a year. I’m hoping Sal or one of the others in the family will make me a servant soon.”

She has that starry-eyed look of hope around her, and for her sake, I hope she gets her wish. If she had been a servant already, she would have been protected from whatever someone did to her. I’ve never understood the callousness of not protecting those you feed from. Then again, with more than a hundred and forty humans as my wards, all of whom I won’t touch, I’m clearly not the norm.

“I think someone may have been inside your head and tampered with your thoughts recently,” I say, deciding to cut right to the chase. A deer-in-headlights look quickly replaces her happily contented one. “Would you mind if I take a look?”

“Whhhat?”

“What you are describing,” I repeat, “sounds like someone could have been tampering with your memories. Can you tell me everything you did yesterday?”

She squints as she tries to remember. “I went bowling with the group for Sunday’s tournament, which, by the way, was a blast. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’d had so much fun.”

I smile at her praise and nod. I don’t want to stem her flow of thoughts.

“Let’s see… then next we saw a classic horror movie in the media room and afterwards, I went back to my room to nap for the festivities later…” She looks off in the distance and scrunches up her brow.