Page 19 of The Mermaid's Bubble Lounge
Could that be the perspective from a camera above?
I don’t think so. And look at his size compared to the dumpster. I wasn’t really paying attention to it when I walked around back last night, which means the size felt appropriate for The Bubble Lounge. Go back. How easy was it for the homeless man to climb on it?
“What is going on?” Vlad demanded.
I waved my hand at him. “Shush. We’re busy over here.”
Darling, get your laptop so we can see the image bigger.
Good call, but my laptop is over where Vlad is.
The was a long pause and then Clive said, Show him the video. It’s not him and he might have more ideas. I don’t trust my brain right now to pick out the salient details.
Okay, good. That’s where I was leaning too. I closed the dining room curtains.
“Does this mean you’re no longer afraid of me?” he asked from the corner. He sounded bored, but I could hear the hurt.
“I need my laptop. It’s on the end table beside you.”
He held it out and I took it before sitting on the carpet beside his chair. Fergus dropped down, resting his big head in my lap.
“Kinda in my way,” I muttered, powering on the computer and pulling up my texts. “Nerissa, the owner of the Bubble Lounge, is the one who called me this morning about another dead body. She installed cameras around the periphery of her nightclub yesterday, so she has video of the killing.”
“And the killer looks like me,” he stated.
“How did you know?”
“Why else would you be panicking?” He crooked his finger. “Let me see it.”
I tapped on the video and then handed him back the laptop.
I wanted to see that, Clive said in my head.
We will. Vlad seemed hurt that we were suspecting him, so I wanted him to see why.
Clive was quiet, so I assumed he agreed with me, but then he said, You’re incredibly sweet. How did I get so lucky to find someone concerned with vampire feelings?
“Hmm.” Vlad leaned forward, staring at the screen.
“Did he just drop into the frame?”
Vlad nodded slowly, his eyes glued to the laptop screen. A moment later, he reared back as he tapped the trackpad. “Well,” he finally said. “I understand why your heart raced.” He glanced over at me in the dark. Werewolf night vision was handy when dealing with vampires.
Pointing at the screen he said, “This isn’t me. I can’t explain it, but this isn’t me. After I left Clive and Cadmael, I searched the piers and then ended up at a bar. I thought it was a biker bar, but I recognized pretty quickly it was a gay biker bar, which is only a problem because this mustache gets me hit on in a lot of gay spaces. Your dragon bartender was there, but it was the other bartender I was interested in. She’s not human. She’s?—”
“Stheno,” I told him.
He stilled. “You know her?”
“She’s a good friend of mine. Tell me, though, are your intentions honorable?”
“Of course not,” he said, as though talking to a child.
“Perfect. Hers are never honorable either. I’ll be your wingman, but first we need to figure out the killer part.”
“Right.” He looked down at the screen and then turned to me again. “What is she? I didn’t recognize her scent, and it’s driving me crazy.”
Grinning, I said, “That’s for her to tell you. I keep my friends’ secrets.”
