Last Vampire Standing (15 page)

Sirens wailed closer, and the house phone rang.

“Answer it, but stay low,” Saber said.

“What the hell is going on?” Neil snapped as soon as I said hello.

“Someone shot at us. Saber said it’s a sniper.”

“Where, for God’s sake?”

“The huge oak on the gate side of the front yard.”

“I’ll take a look out the windows while you talk to Mags.”

“Is anyone hurt?” That’s Maggie, cutting to the chase.

I willed my voice to be steady and matter-of-fact. No point in worrying her. I was spooked enough for both of us.

“No one’s hurt. Don’t tell Neil, but Jo-Jo was giving me another flying lesson when it happened.”

“Any threats from Gorman lately?”

“Yeah, I saw him Tuesday night after my tour, but I don’t think it’s him.”

“Why not?”

“I didn’t smell garlic and jalapeño breath on the wind.”

“You didn’t sense this coming at all, did you?”

“No.” I was seriously freaked about that.

“Be sure to tell the cops about Gorman, and, honey, keep up those flight lessons. Sounds like you might need ’em.”

I didn’t bother to tell Maggie it was falling that saved me, not flying.

The St. Augustine police were on the scene for an hour and recovered three .22-caliber slugs that had been imbedded in the grass. Silver slugs. Made for a vampire, but effective on any old body.

Teams of police persons spread through the neighborhood taking statements. One cop questioned Maggie and Neil, and another talked to Hugh and Selma Lister. Oh, yes, Hugh had barged through the jasmine hedge in a rage, ready to burn us out there and then, and damn the arson charge. Well, burn me out anyway. Maggie might’ve gotten off the hook because Hugh didn’t seem to want to mess with Neil.

Maggie hugged me when the cops dismissed her. Neil just glared. Then the cops questioned us again about what we’d been doing in the yard. Saber said we were saying good night to Jo-Jo. When asked if we had any enemies, the answers took longer. I mentioned Gorman but didn’t for a minute think he’d taken the potshot. For starters, he wasn’t a young, nimble man. I couldn’t

see him climbing the oak tree, much less getting away. Still, I knew the cops would roust him from bed and check the arsenal they knew he owned.

Jo-Jo mentioned Vlad, but what were the city cops to do about an ancient vamp in Atlanta? Nada. Saber mentioned the problems in Daytona, but Ike wouldn’t be caught dead in a tree, and I couldn’t see him sending a hit-vamp after me. Now, Laurel? I wouldn’t put a thing past her, but Ike had her on domestic drudge duty, and it hadn’t sounded like he was releasing her from punishment anytime soon.

So who was the sniper?

Where was Pandora?

How had Triton known about the danger?

Though he was still shaken when the cops finally left, Jo-Jo stirred himself to leave when Saber offered him a ride.

“I hate to ask this, Princess, but can you still pick up Vince’s contract?”

“I’ll do it,” I assured him.

“Thank you, Graciousness. Oh, and I’m giving you two last lessons on Thursday and Friday after your tours.”

I sighed. “Jo-Jo, there’s no need.”

“I beg to differ, Highness. If you could have truly flown tonight, you might have caught the shooter.”

That thought made me shiver to my toes.

“He’s right, Cesca.”

“Guys, we can’t practice outside without being targets.”

“We can if whoever it was doesn’t know where to find us,” Jo-Jo said. “There’s a little neighborhood park near the comedy club. No one will expect us to be there.”

Saber nodded. “We’ll meet you there. Cesca, what time are your next two tours?”

“Both at nine.”

“Then we’ll meet Jo-Jo at eleven. You’ll practice for an hour, maybe less, and we’ll get out of there.”

He enfolded me in his arms and kissed me on the cheek.

“And, if you can find that damned cat who’s supposed to be protecting you, tell her I want her on patrol. Both nights.”

“Aren’t you coming back after you take Jo-Jo to the motel?”

Mouth tight, he shook his head. “First, I’m dropping in on Ike and company. Then I’m going home to check the online GPS

readouts of every vamp in my territory.”

“Why?”

“Because no one but a ninja or a vampire could’ve gotten out of that tree without detection.”

He didn’t have to tell me it wasn’t a ninja.

013

I fought feeling abandoned when Saber left with Jo-Jo. I knew he had to go, but my heart still pounded two beats too fast, and I couldn’t munch ice fast enough to ease my dry mouth. Mostly, I wished Saber had been there to hold me. Take control, my rational voice said as I crunched another ice cube. Be the affect, not the effect. Stupid voice didn’t know how close it had come to being permanently silenced.

If Triton hadn’t warned me, I could be dead. If I hadn’t listened to the warning, I could be dead. If the shooter’s aim had been better, I could be forever dead.

Wait. Why wasn’t the sniper a better shot? For that matter, why would a vamp use a rifle at all? Vampires didn’t rely on firearms. They killed up close and disgustingly personal.

Which either meant this vamp couldn’t kill me up close or didn’t want to be identified. Damn it all, I hadn’t survived over two centuries in that crummy coffin to be killed by a sneaky sniper. I’d listen to my rational voice and take charge.

To that end, I closed all the drapes, reset the alarm, and even checked the escape hatch in my closet to be sure I hadn’t blocked it with boxes. Nope. The closet system shoe rack swung away at a touch to reveal the escape tunnel behind it. The hatch moved smoothly and silently and sealed completely.

Not that I thought the shooter was hanging around. In fact, Hugh Lister posed more of a threat. Yep, if I tuned in with vampire hearing, I could hear Hugh swearing viciously enough to peel the enamel off his teeth. Selma? She blessed to the heavens and muttered something about a long cruise and her damn vodka.

Since I couldn’t do anything about the Listers, I decided to dial up Triton on the telepathic airwaves. He’d darned well better answer my call.

I went to my desk and plucked the chain and mermaid charm from the tiki mug. Then I quieted and centered myself, the charm in my left hand. This time, the white noise buzz passed quickly into the song of ocean waves, and Triton’s mental door opened a slit.

“How did you know about the sniper?” I whispered.

The cat. Be alert and aware.

“But where is she?”

Triton’s mental door vanished, but Pandora’s thoughts poured in.

Princess Vampire, I am nearby once again.

“Are you all right?”

I am well. You must wear the talisman so I may be fully attuned to you.

“Is that what happened tonight? You couldn’t find me?”

Pandora was silent for so long, I thought she’d cut the connection.

I was diverted by another signal.

“Like what? The mother ship?”

I regretted being snarky when I sensed her confusion. “Never mind. Did you see the shooter?”

I arrived too late. I know only it was a vampire. Triton will try to learn more.

“Peachy, and will one of you please tell me when you get the scoop? Saber would like to catch this guy, you know. Oh, and he wants you to patrol when I practice flying tomorrow night. Can you do it?”

Wear the mermaid, and I shall find you.

“Uh, Pandora. About the charm.”

Silence.

“Pandora?”

The panther had left the building. I was getting more than a little fed up with these secretive shape-shifters and their cryptic messages.

I stared at the charm in my hand but hesitated to slip the steel chain over my head. Why? Because radio signal or not, I didn’t want my wearing Triton’s talisman to be an issue between Saber and me. Options. I needed options. I could stick the charm inside my bra. The old lady who had last owned Maggie’s Victorian house had spoken to her granddaughter about carrying mad money in her bra. Of course, at the time I’d still been buried in the forgotten basement, so I hadn’t understood what mad money was. Or what a bra was, for that matter.

I could put the charm and chain in a tiny plastic jewelry bag, and wear that inside my bra. Would plastic interfere with the signal?

The heck with options. I needed a decision.

I settled on putting the charm in a scrap of drapery material and fastened it with mini safety pins. There. That I could stuff in my bra. Place it under one boob, and Saber would never be the wiser. It was padded enough not to stick or scratch me, and just uncomfortable enough that I’d remember to remove it before Saber and I made love. Speaking of Saber, was he already home and on his computer looking up vampire GPS records? I glanced at the dolphin clock on my desk. Two in the morning. Probably not. He might still be at Ike’s club.

I wished I could help Saber investigate, but realized I could do some research on Jo-Jo’s would-be agent. That might be dull enough to lull my heartbeat back to normal.

After thirty minutes, I’d read all I could find on Vince Atlas in cyber land. He was, indeed, the real deal, and even represented some actors and actresses I’d heard of. A shocker since I watch mostly HGTV and classic TV shows and movies. There were Darlene Dickens and Jonathan Barlow, young stars of the new office comedy
Time Card
, and then there was Shane Steele. Shane was a hunka-hunka burning blond who’d appeared in two action movies I’d watched with Saber. If Jo-Jo decided to sign the contract with Vince—and I knew he would—he’d be in great company. 014

I awoke at three on Thursday afternoon, showered, and checked messages while I downed my daily Starbloods. Saber had called to tell me he’d contacted the attorney to look at Jo-Jo’s contract. Randy Tate’s office was just a mile from the Island Inn where Vince and his wife were staying. Saber didn’t report anything about the sniper, or his drop-in on Ike and company, but told me he’d see me later.

By four thirty, I’d finished running errands—Jo-Jo’s and my own—so I drove through Davis Shores checking out houses Saber might be interested in seeing. In the process, I found the neighborhood park Jo-Jo had mentioned. Except for a decorative well, the park was an expanse of grass lined with live oaks and palms. Here we’d spot a human sniper with one eye closed, but a vampire shooter was a wild card. I resolved to be more alert tonight, even with Pandora on the prowl. Traffic back across the temporary Bridge of Lions was heavy on Thursdays due to the summer concerts held in the Plaza de la Constitución. And, of course, the drawbridge delayed me, too. Which was all right. I had over three hours to change into my costume, and I might just stop in at the concert before my tour began. Music always lifts one’s spirits, right?

Lawn chairs and coolers cluttered the plaza by eight that night, the concertgoers tapping their feet to the bluegrass music. I listened awhile, people-watched, and thought about how different things were now than they had been when I was young. Oh, the plaza had been here forever, with Matanzas Bay on the east, and the Government House on the west. Townspeople gathered to visit the market, hear the latest proclamations, and exchange gossip. The women gossiped here, anyway. The men crowded into taverns to hear the news sailors brought from ports around the world. At eight thirty, I left the plaza to meet my tour group. I wandered up Cathedral Place, past the bank building where I’d lived with Maggie in her condo penthouse on the sixth floor. We had good times there, but I was happy we lived in separate homes now. Much as I missed our late-night talks, having men in both our lives called for more privacy. As I strode north on St. George Street, it occurred to me that I’d never had private space in my old life. My parents’ household and those of our neighbors had bustled with activity. Home had echoed with my mother’s scolding, with the noise of my boisterous brothers, and later, with the voices of their wives and children. A comfortable sort of chaos, but confining. The only times I’d known quiet were those when I’d snagged one of my father’s boats and headed to the island. Sometimes I’d play in the waves, other times I’d sit on the beach and stargaze. I made getaways with or without Triton, but more often with him. Those were carefree times, and, though I was ticked at Triton right now, I had loved him then. Maggie said a woman never forgot her first love, and she was right. But Saber was my first in more important ways than Triton could be. I didn’t agree with Saber on every topic under the Florida sun, but I could talk with him or share quiet time with him. We certainly had no problems between the sheets.