The Guilty Innocent (8 page)

“What's wrong?” he asked.

“What did you and Darian talk about?” I asked

“I told him about the house and the nightclub, I also told him that Elise, you and I would be tracking down the killers. I've made some telephone calls last night and learned that Anthony, our previous day manager had been visited by a male and female the night...” Xavier trailed off. He looked at me, then continued. “The night before he disappeared. We knew that Anthony had been with the Russian mafia in the past but was no longer an active member. I want to find out who the two people were and what kind of connection they had with Anthony. I think we may find some clues tonight. Come on, let's go.”

Xavier led the way as we exited the precinct. Elise and Sergio climbed into a silver Python sports car, Sergio behind the wheel, Elise sat in the passenger side. Xavier and I walked towards them, Xavier told them the directions to the mansion. Sergio nodded then started the engine. Xavier and I climbed into his own red two-door sports car the Viper, an expensive car built for speed with all of the luxury of a Boa. We zoomed on the expressway towards the mansion. Xavier's driving was very similar to Warren's and from the way Sergio was keeping up, he appeared to enjoy speeding as well.

We soon arrived at a huge beautiful mansion, I've only seen these sort of homes on television when the camera goes inside the extravagant mansions of the rich and famous. This was my first time in Darian's and Xavier's home, I was a very excited. Sergio pulled in behind us and we all climbed out of the cars. Elise walked towards the front door, her long cashmere coat flapping in the wind as she practically glided towards the entrance. I did not like her but I had to admit, she did look pretty damn smooth. I did admire the design of her pale pink satin pantsuit, the way it accented her curves and skin tone. Sergio wasn't wearing a coat which gave me a great view of his body, he was extremely muscular and if my eyes were not deceiving me, he was packing some heat in the gentleman's department, if you know what I mean? I could see a pretty distinct imprint in the front of his blue jeans. I liked the way his white t-shirt hugged his toned torso. I took my eyes off the two of them and focused on Xavier, who in his own right was dangerously handsome. Xavier wore a black ribbed pullover shirt and boot-cut blue jeans and a black bomber jacket. He was extremely sexy, even the manner in which he moved was mesmerizing. I wondered how much of that was truly Xavier before his change?

Xavier opened the front door and we all stepped inside. I looked around, it was true the mansion was in disarray. Artwork damaged, furniture strewn about, some in shambles. There was paper everywhere, no drawer was left unopened, no cushions left unturned. There was one thing I did not want to see and that was a dead body. Xavier had said that their human servants were slaughtered and I did not want to see one.

I turned to Xavier. “Where are the bodies?” I asked, unable to conceal the nervousness in my voice.

“What? Afraid you're going to get a little blood on your hands,” Elise stated smugly.

“I'm not talking to you.” I hoped she got the message. What was with this bitch!? “You know what...I don't know what your problem is with me, but you need to calm down that attitude. I am not going to take any more of your snide ass comments!” I said, finally reaching my last straw.

“Is that a threat? Is this the part where I'm suppose to shake in my three inch heels?” she asked, then she laughed outright, hand coming to her mouth coyly.

I wanted to slap her, I think Xavier felt my anger and he pulled me out of the room. I would like to think he separated us for her safety, but I knew she had to be some sort of shape-shifter and my silver earrings wasn't a useful enough weapon to go against her with had we actually came to blows. It was a wise decision on his part.

“What's with her, Xavier? Why is she picking on me!?” I asked him, hoping he could give some insight.

“She and Darian were lovers,” he said. I had an inclination that they were lovers. I hoped they weren't lovers still, I decided to ask.

“Are they still lovers?” I asked apprehensively. I wanted to know, but then I didn't. I would hate to find out that Darian was courting me, while sleeping around, that is a definite “no-no” in my book.

“No. When he met you and decided he was going to court you, he had stopped seeing Elise. That is why she is giving you a hard time, but I'll talk to her.” Xavier said, then he looked around the room and frowned. “We cleared out the bodies earlier, why don't you look around, see if you notice anything that would form a good connection...or do you think the club would be a better location?” He asked, he searched my expression as if trying to ascertain my feelings at the moment.

“Well, I'll look around the mansion, first. But I do think the club would be the better location,” I said. “Warren and I went there last night and earlier today. We checked the dance section, garage and Darian's car, but that was before the club was ransacked.”

He nodded. “I should have thought of that earlier, it's just my mind...” his voice trailed off, he put his finger tips to his temples and closed his eyes.

I suppose vampires can get headaches or at least frustrated to the point of discomfort just like humans.

“Living here with Darian has been wonderful. Darian is always in control, the atmosphere which he controls is always perfect and now, without him here, we have this chaos. I've never had to deal with anything like this,” he looked at me and smiled sadly.

“Everything will be alright, Xavier.” I said, trying my best to console him. Xavier was still worried that Darian would go rogue and everything that was once perfect would be destroyed. I did not want that to happen either, I really cared about them and I didn't want anything bad to happen to either of them.

“Come on, we've got work to do.” Xavier said, perking himself up.

I nodded and we walked out of Darian's and Xavier's bedroom, which was in perfect condition. Xavier led me to a room that looked a lot like a storage area.

“As you can see, they searched this room thoroughly.” Xavier said as he surveyed the damage. “This is where Darian and I keep some of our personal belongs we don't have the heart to discard.” he chuckled but I could tell that he didn't think it was funny.

It must be a horrible feeling to know that someone-a stranger has violated your space and all of your belongings. I ran my lingers over Darian's personal items, such as his watches, shoes, I looked into his trunks, both his and Xavier's beautiful clothes were tossed on the floor. These people who came here must have been desperate to enter the very lair of vampires and rob them while they slept in their beds. I wondered how they could do what they did without being caught.

“Xavier?” I asked. He looked up at me from hiss kneeling position on the floor. He had been looking under a table for clues.

“Yes?” he asked as he rose and began to walk towards me.

“They were in here as you slept, I thought you could wake up during the day in case of emergency?” I asked.

He chuckled. “Darian can, I can't...still not old enough for that little trick. I'm powerful but Darian has age and the skills learned over the ages on his side.” He continued. “These thieves probably do not know this and that is why they didn't take any chances by entering our bedrooms.”

We searched the rest of the mansion for a few more hours. We were in the den when I decided to ask another question.

“How old is Darian?” Xavier seemed a bit reluctant to tell me. “I'll keep his age a secret.” I promised, hoping to convince him to tell me.

“Very well,” he sighed, smiling. “He'll be sixteen hundred and fifty years old on August 24
^th
.” His smiled widened as he looked at me.

My shocked expression must have tickled him pink, I could not help it. It's not every day you find out someone is over a thousand years old!!!

“Damn! No wonder he's so jaded!” I exclaimed. “Yes, 'he's been there and done that', as they say.” Xavier said chuckling.

“Sorry to break you two lovebirds up, but Sergio and I have picked up a few scents and we're ready to go to the club now.” Elise interrupted, she stood in the doorway, hands on her hips.

“Good, let's go.” Xavier said, not wasting any time.

We left the mansion and drove at neck-breaking speed towards
Desires Unleashed.
We walked inside the offices and saw that they were in the same condition as the mansion. It was a good thing Darian was rich, he was going to need the money to fix all the damages. We searched out the strip and dance sections of the club. Xavier even led us to a part of the club I had no idea existed. Dare I say it was a bordello! The lock was broken, and the door rested on one hinge. The four of us walked inside, the shifters immediately started scenting the room. Sergio chuckled but didn't say anything. After a few minutes they left and only Xavier and I remained. I looked around the room, it was decorated somewhat like a high-class salon. There were cushioned chairs in the waiting area. A customer service desk, where I supposed “appointments” were made. There was a big screen television and a rack with nothing but adult reading material.

“I don't know quite what to think about all this.” I said as I surveyed the room.

“Yes, it's a bordello, one of the best in the country thanks to our 'highly skilled' employees, if you catch my drift.” Xavier chuckled. “Come on, we have a long night ahead.”

We entered several bedrooms, each had their own theme decoration. For example, one room was all red with a rotating bed...kind of cheesy, but some people might enjoy that. Another room, which I thought was pretty creative was almost like the universal vision of heaven. It was all white, the bed looked to be one big comfy cloud. There were sheer white curtains which really brought out the beauty of the room. All-in-all, it was a glitzy bordello, not that I'm the expert on adult “funhouses”.

As I searched, I almost did not want to touch anything, but for Annette, I decided to bite-the-bullet. I made some connections, and we continued our investigation. Xavier led me to Annette's office as I looked around, I felt my throat tightened and I choked back the tears. Xavier pointed out the objects that Anthony used when he had the office. I touched the computer, the stapler, the movie memorabilia paperweight. The various items I touched sent little tingling sensation through my fingertips as connections were being formed with each contact.

“Xavier, why haven't you called the police to report all this?” I asked.

Xavier turned around and looked at me. “Because the police would ask questions that I don't have the answers to. There would be too much speculation and we don't have time to deal with a police investigation right now. Everything has been dealt with accordingly.” He walked toward me. “What is the matter?” he asked inquisitively.

“What did you do with the bodies?”
I
asked.

“We have contacts that help us with this sort of situation, meaning the disposal of bodies. Those who had family members will be notified
 
and funeral services for their loved ones will be held, paid for by us. Those who did not have family to contact will be
buried
on holy ground. The police cannot be involved at this point, our time is too precious...you do understand this, don’t you,
Natasha?”
Xavier asked me as he stared into my eyes.
I
nodded
my head

“Good, I didn't want to have to do any of this, but if we don’t work fast there is no telling what will happen in
the next five days. Besides, all of the vampires in this mansion, including myself, would have ended up in a cell along with Darian for multiple homicides. Without substantial evidence pointing to alternate killers, we would be the first to blame. Come on, let's see what Sergio and Elise have discovered.” He led us out of Annette's office.

I was relieved to leave the room, lest
I
would not be able to fight back the tears any longer. Elise and Sergio began walking towards us with catlike gracefulness. They appeared to walk in step with one another as if their every move was choreographed. They stood in front of us, Elise threw me a disdainful glance, then looked at Xavier.

“We've picked up the same scent here that was at the mansion. So what did little miss psychic here find out?” Elise asked.

“Natasha has to be asleep to see her visions, at least that is the way it is at this moment,” Xavier replied.

“Oh lord!” Elise said exasperated. “Do you mean to tell me she is only useful in her sleep.” She looked at me with a sneer on her lips. “I hope you're sleepy...pathetic!”

That was it! “You know what, you're supposed to be a supernatural, but
I
don't see you coming up with any plans or answers, so you can just back off, bitch!”