Page 12 of The Mermaid's Bubble Lounge
“Hi, Russell,” I interjected. “I’ve missed you too.”
“Thank you.” Russell’s deep voice made me smile. “And I you.” It was almost like old times.
“Too bad we’re not all together in your office right now. Is my bench still up against the wall?” When Clive was the Master, I sat to the side, not wanting to sit in the position of one of his underlings. After Clive stepped down, he shared my bench with me.
I could hear the smile in Russell’s voice when he answered, “It is. And as I told you when you moved out, you will always be welcome here.”
I sat back, grinning, as Clive rubbed my arm.
“Gentlemen and lady,” Russell began, “I should let you know that the San Francisco nocturne will serve as host for the Guild’s gathering. The Counselors are scheduled to appear in a night or two. When they arrive depends on the position of the sun when the plane lands. The Asian Counselor has yet to check in with us—she’s more hesitant than the others. The South American and African Counselors have confirmed that they will be attending.”
“Thank you, Russell,” Clive said. “I know they’ll be in good hands. We need to begin the process of rebuilding the Guild.”
“Have they agreed to stay in the nocturne?” Cadmael asked.
“Again, all but the Asian Counselor have confirmed staying with us during their time in town.”
“Hardly surprising she’s hesitating,” Vlad said. “Her partners were killed in Budapest.”
“That was our take as well,” Russell replied. “Now, as to the murder this morning, we’ve only begun to get reports. The autopsy was supposed to be performed tomorrow but we were able to get it moved up. What we know right now is that the woman, Emily Lake, was running with her blue Staffordshire Bull Terrier a little after two this morning.”
“So late?” I murmured.
“That was our question as well, my lady,” Russell said. “Apparently, she suffers from insomnia and on nights she can’t sleep, she often goes for a run. She specifically adopted the Staffordshire so strange men wouldn’t approach her. Friends reported that she and the dog were a great team and after she adopted him, she no longer had to worry about being accosted on a run.
“Miss Lake had apparently just returned from a work trip. She texted a friend she was jetlagged, which probably accounted for her run early this morning. I had two of my people go to the Bubble Lounge to investigate?—”
“That would be Audrey and myself,” Godfrey said.
“By all means,” Russell replied. “Tell them what you found.”
“Bugger all, that’s what. Too many people had trampled over the spot,” Godfrey explained. “It was impossible to pull apart all the different scent trails. I can tell you there was no bleeding vampire there—before us, that is.”
SEVEN
Whispers in the Dark
“If I may, Sire?” Audrey asked. I hadn’t realized she was there.
“Go ahead,” Russell replied.
“We found some of her blood spattered about.”
The vampires around me stilled at that.
“We caught the scents of countless humans, as Godfrey said. We found her scent and her dog’s. There was even a faint feline scent, as well, but no vampire. Now, I’m not saying it wasn’t a vampire kill,” Audrey assured us. “The poor lass was drained of blood, and she had a bite mark in her neck. We have a copy of the on-scene report, though, and the bobbies?—”
“Officers,” Russell quietly corrected.
“Aye, the officers, they reported an identical wound on her inner thigh too. We don’t have the autopsy yet, but a contact we have in the morgue confirms that there was a bite mark over her femoral artery as well.”
“Really?” Vlad asked. “Out in the open? A neck bite can look like a lover’s kiss to a passerby. The same can’t be said for the femoral artery.”
“Oh, now, I beg to differ,” Godfrey interrupted. “And on a related note, I have sympathy for your dates.”
I laughed. Most of living in the nocturne blew, but these three I missed horribly.
“The draining of a body is actually a lengthy process,” Clive began. “The killing took place out in the open. Perhaps moving to the femoral was intended to speed it along.”
