Iris Johansen - Blood Game

“Hamburger Helper?” Eve said. “Hardly. It was just fast.”

“Hearty, flavorful, and substantial. That’s all that’s necessary to make it good.”

“Then food must not be that important to you,” Eve said.

“Sometimes. Not usually.” He smiled. “But I appreciate you serving me under your roof. It shows a certain acceptance.” He looked at Joe. “And trust?”

“Conditional,” Joe said. “How about Kevin Jelak? Is food important to him?”

“At this point, not at all. It probably makes him ill after only a few bites. He’s living on blood.”

“He couldn’t,” Eve said. “That’s impossible.”

“It’s possible for a little while longer. He’ll grow thinner, but his energy level will carry him through.” He turned to Joe. “Why did you ask me that question?”

“I wanted to know how deeply Jelak has bought into this bullshit.”

“All the way.” He glanced at Eve. “Could we have coffee on the porch? I’ve grown very fond of your wonderful views.”

“I suppose we could.” Eve got to her feet. “As long as you’re not trying to evade our questions.”

“Perish the thought. I’m encouraged that Quinn is thinking that I can be useful in digging into Jelak’s psyche.” He got to his feet. “I have a call to make. I’ll meet you on the porch.”

“Sidestepping?” Eve said to Joe as Caleb left the room.

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. We’ll know later.” He got down the tray and carafe. “Because I’m going to ask him a boatload of questions.”

Caleb was just finishing his call when they joined him on the porch. “You’ll be glad to know that Jane is fine. They’d just finished the dinner that Charlie Brand had cooked.” He smiled. “And it was not Hamburger Helper.”

“You called Jane?” Eve asked. “Why?”

“I like to keep track of her,” Caleb said as he took the cup Eve handed him. “Jelak thinks she’s important. I do too.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t hang up on you,” Eve said.

“She knows I want the best for her. She was impatient, but not angry. She’s a very smart woman.” He sat down on the top step and gestured to the swing. “Sit down. I’m sure you’re impatient too, Quinn. You want answers. I just wanted to be sure about Jane.”

“So do we,” Joe said. “But there’s an officer with her.”

“And that was probably enough of a deterrent. However, Jelak is getting closer to his time and may get desperate.” He took a sip of his coffee. “You were asking about Jelak and food.” He chuckled. “You’ve been thinking back about all the trashy movies and novels you’ve read about vampires and the traditional profiles. Let’s see, vampires never eat.”

“You’ve just said that Jelak doesn’t,” Eve said.

“Not at this point. According to what his master, Franco Donari, taught him when he was in training, he should have no hunger except for the blood when he was coming near to his completion. Since he’s completely sure that he’s right around the bend from that august state, he’s convinced himself that he has every sign he should have to support that fact.”

“In other words, he’s sold himself a bill of goods,” Joe said. “What happens when he doesn’t reach this completion? He’d starve to death.”

“Not for a long time. The mind can do amazing things.”

“I thought you said this vampire cult Jelak belonged to only believed the more palatable things connected with the legends. Starving seems pretty extreme.”

“But only in the last stage of his resurrection.”

“Resurrection? You’ve never mentioned that word.”

“Didn’t I? Perhaps it sounded too pretentious.” He leaned back against the railing. “What else, Quinn?”

“Does he believe he can’t go out in daylight?”

“No, but he’s a night creature because it’s easier to prey. Very sensible. I’ve always wondered if that’s how that legend got started.” He smiled. “And he doesn’t think garlic or onion or holy crosses will make him powerless. A stake in the heart? At this stage he thinks a bullet would do the job. That’s why he’s wary.”

“At this stage?” Eve repeated. “What about when he goes through this resurrection? What does he think it’s going to bring him?”

“He’s certain it’s going to give him everything that he wants in the world.” He took another sip of coffee. “It’s going to make him a god.”

“Even a nut like Jelak couldn’t believe that,” Joe said.

“He believes what he wants to believe. According to what the cult taught him, when he reaches his final transformation, he’ll receive powers beyond belief. There will be nothing that he can’t reach out and take. No one who will be safe from him.”

“Easy promises,” Eve said. “And ones that would appeal to a monster like Jelak.”

He nodded. “And like all gods, he’ll be invisible to mortal man.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.”

“I never said that it wasn’t totally irrational. But you can see how that would make an unbalanced man try to gain all the rewards promised by the cult.”

Unbalanced? Eve thought. Jelak had to be totally insane to believe that he could make himself a supreme being by spreading this trail of blood and death. “And I can’t understand how he’d ever believe in that cult. It’s too outlandish. You said that he’d gone to several countries before he went to Italy and linked up with that group.”

“This one suited him,” Caleb said. “It told him what he wanted to hear. And the cult had the cachet of having been in existence for hundreds of years. I’m sure Jelak thought that he’d found the true stronghold of the vampire. There were all kinds of wild tales about how it started. It was believed to have originated back in the fourteenth century because the people of the village of Fiero had seen dark magic performed in their midst by two brothers who had recently come to their town.”

“What kind of dark magic?”

“Blood. Power. Death. The villagers were terrified. For decades they were made practically into servants by the Ridondo brothers and their descendants. But they were also fascinated, envious, and set about to study and copy them. Hence the cult was born.”

“You’re saying the Ridondo family were vampires?” Jane asked skeptically.

“I’m saying that the legend connects their dark arts with blood.” He shrugged. “And that Jelak believed the legend.”

“And you haven’t told us one thing that could help us nail Jelak,” Joe said.

“You understand him better now,” Caleb said. “You know he thinks he’s got to keep on killing to keep himself alive. You know he’s feverishly trying to reach his goal of resurrection now.” He paused. “You know he’s close to it.”

“How close?” Joe asked.

“Selkirk was a good find for him.” He reached into his pocket and brought out his digital camera. “I’m sure you noticed the goblet was different.” He handed the camera to Eve. “He knew right away that he’d found a gem.”

Eve looked at the viewer. At first it appeared the same as the other goblets but when she looked closer… “There are ten men sitting at the table instead of nine.”

Caleb nodded. “Margaret Selkirk was a step in the right direction. Her blood was strong enough not only to feed him but to give him a step toward resurrection. He only has two to go.” He looked at Eve. “I think that may mean your friend Patty may be off the hook.”

“Patty.” She immediately caught the omission. “Not Jane.”

He shook his head. “And not you. He has to have two that will be sure things. And quickly. He doesn’t have time to hunt down another quality kill. He got lucky with Margaret Selkirk.”