Keri Arthur - Bound to Shadows

Kade was already there when I arrived. I pulled up behind his car and killed the engine, then grabbed the laser from its hidey hole under the seat and climbed out.

"A laser?" Amusement twitched his lips and his chocolate-colored eyes sparkled with mirth. "So you think a ghost might jump out and start hassling you?"

"I'm making a point not to go anywhere unarmed at the moment."

"Ah, the fuss the papers are making about the so-called gang responsible for the beheadings." He paused. "You don't think the vamp population is going to get antsy about it, do you?"

"I had two very old vampires warning me to be careful this morning. This is me being careful. I haven't got telekinesis as a weapon, like you." I shoved the weapon in my back pocket and waved him forward. "Has Jack filled you in on the details?"

He'd sent me the file, but the computer's metallic tones had annoyed the crap out of me, so I'd switched it off and concentrated instead on the road and drinking my coffee.

"Yeah, it appears to be the same MO as the last one," Kade said, opening the front gate and ushering me through. "The victim's name is Janette Crowley. A divorcee in her mid-forties—no kids, no family, no lovers. The women she shares the house with found her body last night."

"So an autopsy hasn't been performed yet?"

He shook his head. "But the police report said there were no obvious signs of a struggle in the room or on the body, and no sign of forced entry into the house. Because we were already handling the Renatta Bailey case, they threw this one straight to us."

"Even though it may not be related?"

"The cause of death may not be known, but everything else is the same." He shrugged. "I guess they're not taking chances."

I grunted and opened the screen door. Kade rapped his knuckles on the sturdy-looking front door. The sound echoed inside, suggesting the house was empty. He knocked a second time, then dug out his electronic lock pick. The door clicked open, and the air that rushed out was filled with the stench of death and decay.

I wrinkled my nose and tried breathing through my mouth. "I'm guessing that not only isn't the housemate staying here, but she didn't find her straight away?"

"No. She'd just come back from a two month holiday. Initial reports suggest Crowley died at least a month ago."

"Well before Renatta Bailey, then."

I followed Kade inside, but didn't shut the door behind us. The house desperately needed some fresh air. We made our way down through the living room and small kitchen area to the back of the house, following the smell. It led us into a small hall at the rear of the house, past a large bedroom and bathroom, before dumping us into second, smaller bedroom.

Janette Crowley's taste in furnishings was the polar opposite to Renatta Bailey's. Her bed was a single, and the rumpled sheets and blankets looked threadbare and worn. The dresser and side tables were teak but both had seen better days, as had the small writing desk that sat underneath the half-window. The smell of decay had permeated the room, and I very much doubted there'd be much in the way of emotions lingering, let alone a soul.

I stopped near the doorway, desperately trying to ignore the smell as I watched Kade move through the room, his large form dominating the space.

"Nothing," he said after a moment. He glanced over his shoulder. "You?"

I shook my head. "It's been a month. Most souls tend to lose energy after a few days, so even if she was here, I might not be able to sense her."

He frowned and turned around, his gaze sweeping the room. "Jack would have known that, so why bother sending you in the first place?"

"Because I keep doing the unexpected, and he's hoping for an easy way to solve the puzzle." I shrugged—a movement he wouldn't have seen because he was walking towards a mirror on the wall.

"It's opposite the bed, just like the one at Renatta Bailey's," I commented.

"That was my thinking." He lifted the mirror and looked behind it. "I can't sense anything, but as you said, it's been a month."

My gaze swept the room, spotting a purse on the dresser. Wrinkling my nose against the overwhelming stench of death, I walked across and picked it up. Surprise, surprise, more vampire club business cards inside.

"We have a connection," I said, holding up the cards. "You know, it seems a little odd that blood whores have now come up as a connection in two apparently separate cases."

Kade dropped the mirror and walked over. He plucked the cards from my fingers and examined them critically. "The beheadings just happened near a whore club. And none of these women appear to have gone near Dante's."

"Just because they haven't got a card doesn't mean they haven't visited. And at least two of the beheading victims serviced 'clients' at Dante's." Given the propensity of cases to intertwine in the past, I wasn't about to ignore a possible link now. Not if it meant a quick end to one or both of the cases.

Of course, to discover if either of the women had gone to Dante's, I'd have to go question the man himself—and that wasn't something I wanted to do. The man was sexual dynamite, and I really didn't want to take my chances with him any more than necessary.

"I can't sense any sort of magical or emotional tag on the cards, so I don't think they're connected." Kade handed them back to me, then shoved his hands in his pocket, his expression one of frustration. "There has to be more of a connection between these women than just the clubs."

My gaze went to the bed, and I frowned. "Maybe there is. Let's presume Crowley died the exact same way as Bailey. So if she'd been found early enough, there would have been a feeling of ecstasy in the room, would there not?"

"Yes."

"Well, emo vampires feed off that sort of emotion, don't they?"

He frowned. "Yeah, but emo vampires can't travel through mirrors. "

"That we know of." I met the warm chocolate of his gaze. "Even if they can't, they're still vampires and still territorial. The first murder was on Vinny's turf. She'd surely be aware of someone encroaching."

I'd discovered Vinny's existence a while back, and she was currently under observation, thanks to the fact her wealth was growing extraordinarily fast and because she had several underage, unidentified newly-turned under her care. The Directorate—and the council, apparently—didn't like having unknowns in their midst.

"Then we'd best go talk to her."

I grinned. "And wouldn't Vinny just love you? Which is why we'd better split up. I'll talk to Vinny. You go investigate these clubs." I waved the business cards at him.

He raised his eyebrows. "You don't trust my control?"

"No, I don't trust Vinny. Her aura is so powerful she had me kissing her, and I'm definitely not attracted to women. You'd be putty in her hands."

His lips twisted cheekily. "I'm never putty when I'm in someone's hands. As you should know."

My grin widened. "I do remember that fact quite fondly."

He stepped forward, wrapping a hand around my waist and dragged me against his long, strong body. "Care for a refresher?"

The stallion was already half rampant. I sighed wistfully then shook my head. "I'm afraid I have enough men on my plate at the moment."

"Such a shame," he murmured, and bent to give me a quick kiss on the lips. It was a friend's kiss, not one shared by lovers. He was teasing, not actively trying to seduce.

Still, it wouldn't have taken much to flare into something more serious, so I pulled free of his grip and stepped back. "I'll meet you back at the Directorate, then."

"One of these days, I'm going to break down those barriers and enjoy that luscious body of yours once more."

"In your dreams, my friend."

"Oh, you don't want to know about my dreams, trust me on that." Kade walked past me and headed for the front door.