The Caretaker of Showman's Hill (Vampire Romance) (5 page)

Chapter 5

Cassie awoke early the next morning to strange surroundings. She vaguely remembered much about the night before, but slowly it was coming back to her. It was Saturday, her day off from work and she figured she'd use it to her advantage to not only snoop around, but to inquire about her sister as well.

She slid out of bed, nearly tripping on La Roux who was sleeping at the side of the bed on the floor.

"La Roux?"

The girl shifted and mumbled something in her sleep.

"La Roux? Is it alright if I make myself something for breakfast?"

"Umph," mumbled La Roux and rolled over the other way, still half asleep.

"I take it that means yes." Cassie smoothed down her rumpled clothes and ran her fingers through her hair. "What I'd really like about now is a hot shower and a toothbrush." She grabbed her tape recorder and camera and headed down to the kitchen.

At the bottom of the stairs she stopped and eyed up the place. Besides being deserted, the place was filthy. Empty bottles and mugs lined the bar. Dirty ashtrays and litter were scattered around the floor and on the few tables that graced the place. The room smelled damp and musty. It was darker than a tomb in there - the two windows in the room both boarded up.

"What a sad, eerie place." Cassie headed to the front door not able to get the visions of poor Helga lying on the floor last night out of her head. She unbolted the five locks that secured the heavy wooden door and flung it open. Sunshine streamed in along with a gust of warm, fresh air.

"Now that's better already."

She made her way to the windows, and grabbing a stray board from the floor, managed to uncover them. They were cracked and so dirty she couldn't even see out. The windows were old - very old, and almost didn't want to open. Even when she finally managed to raise them and the fresh air blew in, they kept falling shut. It was almost as if they had a mind of their own and didn't want anyone touching them.

Cassie grabbed one of the rotting boards that she'd pulled off the window and stuck it underneath, to keep it from falling shut again.

"Just try and deny me now," she threatened.

Just then, the front door slammed shut and scared the daylights out of her.

"Be that way," she talked to the door. She propped another board in the door jam and headed off toward the kitchen.

That, too, was dark, and Cassie let out a deep breath.

"What is it with these people? You'd think they were moles or something.” She threw open the back door and immediately propped a kitchen chair against it before it had the chance to slam shut. Her hunger getting the best of her, she headed off toward the refrigerator.

She wondered where everyone was, figuring they were late sleepers since they'd all seemed to be night owls.

She pulled open the fridge and stared at the near empty shelves. Three eggs sat in a cracked bowl half hidden by some shriveled up beets that looked like they'd been there months too long. In another container was something green and slimy that looked liked seaweed. Two raspberry yogurts lined the door along with a half carton of milk.

"Not much to choose from." She was ready to close the fridge when she spied a Styrofoam container on the bottom shelf. She slipped it out and peeked inside. One slice of cold, plain cheese pizza. She didn't want to deprive anyone of the last piece and decided to put it back.

Shoving it into the fridge she heard something clank together. Something like glass bottles. She bent down and noticed half a dozen quart jars hidden in the back. She pulled one out and stared at the dark red liquid.

"Yuck." Flashes of memory ripped through her mind of Basil with borscht spilled all over his shirt when she entered the kitchen. "I hate beet soup." She put it back, grabbed an egg and headed over to the stove.

"Well, we'll make this do for now. Beggars can't be choosers."

She managed to find a nonstick pan under the sink, but no oil or butter to fry the egg in. She did her best cooking it, rummaging through the empty cabinets looking for some garlic powder or onion salt to spice it up. Nothing. Whoever lived here needed a class or two in cooking. She didn't consider herself the best cook, but did work for several years back home as a chef at the greasy spoon. She'd learned to make miracles out of little or nothing.

She couldn't find any utensils or plates to use, only the bowl Basil had used last night for his soup. It was still sitting dirty on the counter as well as the spoon. She did her best to wash them off with the little piece of soap sitting on the kitchen sink. She then flipped the egg into the bowl and walked out the back door to eat it in the sunshine.

The grounds were overgrown, but she could see at one time there was a garden at the far end of the house. She told herself she'd have to check it out later. At the back of the huge yard was a hill. Atop the hill, the cemetery.

Cassie took another bite of her egg as she spotted the stone animal gravestones in the distance that she’d seen the other night. Some were elephants, others lions, and even horses. She thought of a story Gregg had mentioned about a circus train wreck nearly two hundred years ago. A sadness engulfed her, thinking that  animals and humans both went to their deaths just because of an accident.

"Cassie?" La Roux's voice called from inside the house.

Cassie turned around and headed for the kitchen. The door to the kitchen was oddly closed. Cassie opened it and strolled inside.

"La Roux?" She peered into the dark kitchen, trying to adjust her eyes from the strong sunlight outside.

"I'm over here."

Cassie propped the door back open and headed over to the kitchen table. La Roux sat there with her head down, looking whiter than a ghost.

"La Roux? Are you alright?"

"Close the door, Cassie."

"Why? Doesn't the fresh air smell good?"

"When you're done, board the windows back up in the front room."
"La Roux, a little sunshine and fresh air would do this place some good. You're as pale as a ghost. Get up and come outside. You'll feel better."

"No!" La Roux was adamant about it, but Cassie knew it was really what the girl needed. She grabbed La Roux by the arm and pulled her toward the door before she could object.

"No! Leave me alone," she cried.

"C'mon, La Roux, don't fight me. You'll see. The sunshine will make you feel better."

La Roux was too weak to struggle, and Cassie pulled her out the door with ease. The sunshine hit the girl's face, and her hand shot up to cover her eyes.

"You don't know what you're doing, Cassie."

Cassie brought her into the backyard. Sunshine illuminated her fiery hair and added a glow to her skin.

"There. I bet you feel better already. Don't you?"

La Roux stood with her arms blocking her face for several minutes. Then, slowly she let down her hands. Squinting, she looked up at Cassie. Tears streamed from her eyes.

"I do, Cassie. I feel better." She looked at her hands and arms as if she'd never seen them before.

"See? You should listen to me. Sunshine always makes everyone feel better."

"This feels so good . . . I . . . " She grabbed Cassie's arm. "I feel like I'm going to faint."

"Let's get you inside and back in bed. You need a good meal and some rest and I'm sure you'll perk right up. Your refrigerator's nearly empty."

La Roux looked up at her wide-eyed. "You went into my refrigerator?"

"I ought to clean it out for you. That beet soup looks like it's getting old."

"No! Don't touch a thing in there. Basil will have a fit."

Cassie helped La Roux sit at the kitchen table.

"Where is Basil, anyway?" asked Cassie. "I'd like to ask him a few questions, as well as that Antonio guy and the other two I met last night."

"They work nights and sleep during the day," said La Roux carefully choosing her words.

"They sleep here?" Cassie looked around. "I noticed three extra rooms upstairs but I thought those were for the . . . how should I call them . . . women of the night."

"Those are the girls' rooms. The guys sleep in the basement." La Roux pointed to a door adjoining to the kitchen. "But don't bother them when they're sleeping or you might get your head bit off. They get crabby very easily."

"Oh. So Basil shares the basement with the rest of the guys? I thought he was sort of in charge around here."

"He is. Basil's got his own place, somewhere else."

"What's his address? Maybe I could visit him later on."

"If he wants to talk to you, he'll find you. Your best bet is just to leave here and don't come back." La Roux laid her head on the table.

"I can't leave you here alone."

"I'm not alone."

"But there's no one to take care of you, is there?"

"Helga used to cook for me. Now that she's gone, I guess I'm on my own."

Cassie's heart went out to the girl. She reminded her in a way of her younger sister, Didi. Didi had left home three years ago, not able to deal with the stress of trying to take care of their ailing mother. Cassie had gone to work to support the three of them. Now she wished she would have been able to be there when Didi needed her.

"I'll stay and cook for you," Cassie offered. " I'll also help you clean this place up."

"I can't ask you to do that." La Roux shook her head.

"I don't agree with what's going on at this cat house, but I can see you're stressed out and about to get sick if someone doesn't help you soon."

"It's a bat house, Cassie, not a cat house," the girl explained seriously.

"What's the difference?"

"Ask Basil."

"I would if you'd tell me where I could find him."

"He'll be here at dusk,” La Roux informed her. “In the meantime, could I talk you into going out and getting me a couple of groceries?" La Roux dug through her pocket and handed Cassie some bills. Cassie felt like she was taking blood money. She wouldn't use money earned by a prostitute to buy food. She didn't even want to touch the dirty stuff.

"I'll make you a deal, La Roux. I'll pay for the groceries and help you clean up the place if you let me stay here until I can afford a place of my own."

"Where are you staying now?" La Roux rubbed her eyes, and Cassie knew the girl should get back to bed.

"I'm in a hotel, but I can't afford it any longer on what I'm making at my job at the magazine."

"You're helping me out, Cassie. No one has ever offered to do that before. You're welcome here as far as I'm concerned. You can share a room with me."

"That'd be great. Now off to bed with you. I'm going to get some groceries and cleaning supplies. I take it the sheriff fixed my tire by now?"

"He did," answered La Roux. "He patched your tire since he didn't have the car keys to get the spare from the trunk. He didn’t want to wake you last night to get them."

"That's fine. The spare was flat anyway. Oh, by the way, I suppose I should buy lots of food, since the boys in the basement and the girls upstairs will probably be starved."

La Roux looked frightened for a moment, and Cassie couldn't figure out why.

"You'll only need to cook for me and Basil. The others eat out most of the time."

"Whatever you say." Cassie helped La Roux out of the chair. "What does Basil like to eat?"

Cassie somehow knew what La Roux was going to say even before she opened her mouth. And it was the one food that turned her stomach.

"The only thing you'll have to cook for him is borscht."

"Beets," Cassie mumbled under her breath.

"Don't you like beets?" asked La Roux, making her way to the stairs.

"I have an aversion to them," explained Cassie. "I know it's silly, but beet soup has always reminded me of blood."

Chapter 6

Cassie had made record time moving her things from the hotel room to the Bat House. She didn’t have but a few suitcases, so it didn’t take long at all. She would have brought more with her from California, had she thought she’d be staying long. However, she had high hopes to find her sister as soon as possible and be heading home within the next month or two at the most.

She'd also managed to stop at the grocery store on the way back, and pick up some food for dinner. She figured she'd cook up some fresh salmon, brown rice, and serve a tossed salad on the side. That should be a fitting meal to put La Roux back on her feet.

Cassie had bought a little extra food, hoping she'd be able to entice not only Basil, but also the sheriff to stay for supper. She was grateful to both of them for letting her stay the night and for helping with her flat tire, so it’s the least she could do.

She'd picked up some strawberry ice cream for desert. She never thought of looking in the freezer to see if there was room before she'd left, but by the looks of the empty fridge she was sure it wouldn't be a problem.

La Roux slept most of the day. In her own bed. Cassie had brought her sleeping bag with her from California and was going to insist she sleep on the floor instead. It was bad enough she was imposing on La Roux. Not having to pay for a hotel room was going to take a lot of stress off her.

Cassie unpacked the grocery bags in the kitchen, startled when she heard the sound of car tires on the gravel out front. She quickly grabbed the ice cream, jamming it in the over-packed freezer between all the bags of borscht.

"Damn, those beets. Basil must really be an odd one to like borscht so much."

She slammed the freezer shut just as the footsteps entered the kitchen. She spun around to meet her visitor.

"Sheriff!" Cassie was happy to see him.

"I saw the door open and thought maybe someone had broken in." He eyed her suspiciously.

"Oh, no," laughed Cassie holding out her hand. "I'm Cassie Briggs."

He just looked at her hand but didn't shake it.

She wiped her palm in her jeans uncomfortably and strolled back over to finish unpacking the groceries. People weren’t very friendly around here.

"I’d like to thank you for fixing my tire last night."

His face remained stoic, instead of giving her the recognition she thought he would. “I did it as a favor to Basil."

"Well, you really helped me out. I’d like to show my appreciation by having you for dinner tonight."

“Dinner?” he sounded shocked at the thought. As if no one had ever asked him to stay before. “You’re still going to be here for dinner?”  Maybe he was just shocked that she was hanging around.

“Of course,” she answered with a slight giggle. “I live here now.”

Just the thought of her staying there seemed to upset him. He didn't answer, just stared at her, all the while shaking his head. He was an athletic looking man, Cassie guessed to be in his early thirties. His wavy brown hair was neatly slicked back with hair gel. His uniform was impeccably clean and pressed. He didn't seem to fit in around this dump of a place.

"Where's La Roux?" he asked anxiously.

"She's sleeping. She’s not feeling well today."

He sure didn't say much, and it was making Cassie uncomfortable. She continued to unpack the bags, trying not to look at him.

"She was white as a ghost this morning,” she continued. “I'm glad I dragged her out into the sunshine. It seemed to cheer her up. Too bad she felt faint."

"You did what!" His face was now inches from hers. Her actions had obviously upset him, but for the life of her she couldn’t understand why.

Cassie put down the box of salt and stared him right back in the eyes.

"Sheriff, it’s obvious you don’t like me, but I don’t know why. I didn’t break any laws that I’m aware of, did I?"

"I'm going up to see La Roux right now." Still shaking his head, he opened the swinging doors intending to go upstairs.

"She's not to be bothered,” Cassie said with conviction. “She’s not feeling well and needs her sleep.” Cassie took the man’s arm and led him to the front door. “Come back around dusk and have dinner with us. I'm sure she'll be feeling better later."

"I’ll just do that," he mumbled as Cassie pushed him out the front door.

“See you then,” she said with a slight wave, “and thanks again for your help with my tire.” She closed the door only so he wouldn’t return and bother La Roux. She made her way through the dark room back toward the kitchen, thinking about all she needed to do before dinner.

* * *

Basil flipped open his vaulted bed, and emerged from inside the stone wall. He'd had a terrible sleep, tossing and turning, not able to get Cassie Briggs off his mind. At least she'd be gone by now and he could get things back to normal. If La Roux did her job as instructed, Cassie would be out of here and hopefully never return.

It wasn't quite dusk yet, and the setting sun cast blue and amber rays through his Egyptian stained glass window. Basil avoided the sun’s rays and closed his wall bed. He then flipped open a top vault which held his clothes. He was in a strange mood today and grabbed the tie-dyed t-shirt La Roux had bought him years ago. It was much too colorful for the likes of any vampire, but today he felt as if he wanted to wear it. He then selected a jean jacket and a pair of boots and slammed the vault close. He dressed, not bothering to change the blue jeans he'd slept in all night.

He looked around the place and realized he'd forgotten his sunglasses back in the kitchen last night. Now he'd have to wait until the sun was fully set before he'd be able to venture out. Damn that Cassie Briggs for distracting him like that.

He needed to get to the Bat House, and check his pets in the attic. He'd been so upset last night that he'd forgotten to feed them. One more stupid move like that, and they'd all pay for the mistake. He paced the floor furiously, not even bothering with a drink. He thought about La Roux and how pale she looked when she brought him his feeding. With Helga gone, La Roux would be on her own. Basil wished he could take care of her but there was no way he'd go out in public to shop for her. Not to mention, he couldn't even cook. He didn't know how, and the smell of anything besides borscht or seaweed soup turned his stomach.

He couldn't wait any longer. He'd have to risk the sun's rays. He felt it in his bones that something wasn't right and he had to find out what. Business would be starting up by now, and he needed to be there to keep an eye on the girls. They weren't cooperating lately, not to mention Antonio was getting out of hand. He should have reprimanded him last night, but he stormed out of there before Antonio made his nightly appearance.

Well, all that would change now. Cassie Briggs would be gone and he'd never be so distracted again. He slapped on some sunscreen and headed out into the darkening night.