The Lady is a Vamp (The Paranormal Investigations Series Book 1) (2 page)

‘Yes, I know the party line. Save it for someone who might be interested,’ Nick snapped, leaning forward in his seat and staring intently at Lord Azriel. He was certain now that the man knew something. Using his powers, Nick pushed at Azriel’s mind.

The man’s thoughts scattered like a kaleidoscope. Nick frowned as the manager put his hand to his head as if experiencing a sudden ache. The man had a natural resistance to him, but seemed genuinely unaware. Nick sighed. This case just got a whole lot harder. He couldn’t push any further without doing the man damage. Or losing his badge.

‘I’m not suggesting anything of the sort Mr Green.’

‘Lord Azriel,’ he corrected, looking pained. Nick ignored him.

‘However if there is anything you think I should know it is your duty to disclose it. Withholding evidence is a crime in itself.’

Nick felt a sudden flare of anger and, yes, contempt from the man, although he betrayed no trace of it in his face. An interesting character, this.

‘I know nothing Detective. I would not like to see Crimson Shade implicated in this matter.’

‘We will do everything we can to keep the details out of the press. In the meantime I need a list of other members Simon came into contact with; particularly people he gave blood to or took it from.’

‘Of course. Although Simon did not take blood, only gave it. It was an erotic exchange for him.’

Interesting, Nick thought.

‘Did you take blood from him?’

‘No.’

He was telling the truth. Nick stood, his chair scraping along the floor. Azriel stood up and offered his hand. Nick ignored it.

‘I’ll wait outside. I’ll need names and addresses, contact numbers if possible.’

‘I cannot give out confidential information Detective.’

Nick arched an eyebrow at him. ‘Would you prefer me to return with a warrant?’

The man sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes.

‘No Detective. Please make yourself comfortable in the bar. Drinks are on the house.’

Nick strode out of the office feeling irritated. The redhead and her two companions were no longer outside the door; they had been replaced by a gothic looking couple in matching purple robes. Nick flashed his badge at them.

‘Did you know Simon Canterbury-White?’ They shook their heads, stammering that it was their first visit to the club. Nick nodded and went back to the bar where the adolescent barman was polishing glasses and looking nervous.

More than happy to answer Nick’s questions, he confided that Simon had been coming to the club for at least two months, usually on a Friday when the upstairs private booths were opened for those who wanted to donate or share blood. Nick would need to see those, to check for lingering mental impressions.

‘Who was he usually with?’

The barman pointed to a table in the corner occupied by a small group in their late teens and early twenties. Nick nodded and made his way over to them. A frightened looking girl with short, platinum hair, a gangly guy with a purple mohican, and an effeminate young man in full vamp regalia shifted in their seats as he approached. Nick pulled up a stool, trying his best to look friendly.

‘I’m here about Simon,’ he said quietly.

The three exchanged glances before Purple Mohican, clearly the spokesperson, said defensively,

 ‘Yeah, we heard he died. He was found yesterday right?’

Nick nodded.

‘You don’t seem very upset. I thought he was your friend?’

The blonde girl went to speak and Mohican shot her a look. Looking at the floor, she spoke anyway.

‘Simon started coming here with us a couple of months ago, and he seemed really into it, but then he got too into it, you know? We don’t do all that blood drinking stuff.’

‘I tried to talk him out of it, but he didn’t want to know,’ Mohican cut in angrily. Nick probed his thoughts. The guy was like an open book, and within seconds Nick had everything he needed to know from the group. He thanked them and stood up.

‘Is that it?’ Mohican asked, surprised.

‘Anything you can think of that might be useful, ring this number.’ Nick passed him a card, before striding purposefully from the office. As he had intuited, the self-styled Lord Azriel hadn’t been lying; he didn’t take blood from Simon. There was only one ‘vamp’ that the victim had regularly donated to.

The beautiful redhead.

Nick was both oddly disappointed that she might turn out to be a suspect and pleased that he would get the chance to talk to her in depth. If he could find her. A quick scan of the club revealed she was nowhere to be seen. Upstairs, perhaps, in the drinking booths? Nick strode back in to the office without bothering to knock. Lord Azriel, tapping away on his laptop, looked up in surprise and then animosity.

‘Detective. Do they not teach you manners on the police force?’

‘No, but they teach us honesty, which you seem to lack, Mr Green,’ Nick said, fixing the man with a cold stare, ‘Why didn’t you tell me the woman who took blood from Simon was here?’

The manager blanched and went to protest, then thought better of it.

‘We take vows, Detective, to protect each other and not reveal our secrets. As leader of this group, I am especially bound to such pledges. Simon was a young man who had placed his trust in me.’

‘Simon is dead, Mr Green. The only harm you can do him now is to not tell me anything you might know.’

Azriel wrung his hands.

‘Of course, of course. Forgive me, Detective.’

‘Where is the woman? The ‘sanguinarian’ that fed from Simon?’

Azriel winced. ‘I dislike the word ‘fed’ Detective.’

‘I dislike murder, Mr Green.’

‘Call me Azriel, please,’ the man almost pleaded, ‘this way. The Contessa will be upstairs in the kissing booths.’

Kissing booths? Nice euphemism, Nick thought. It also occurred to him that no-one here seemed very concerned or upset about Simon.

He was also disappointed that the woman who had so enticed him earlier was clearly as deluded as Azriel. ‘The Contessa’ indeed.

Chapter Two

Ruby – or ‘the Contessa’ as the regulars at Crimson Shade knew her – sat back in the booth and took a sip of her drink, crossing her legs elegantly. She was alone, having retreated upstairs to get some peace from the overpowering atmosphere of the bar, and also to escape from the intense eyes of the man she had seen go into the office. When their eyes had met earlier she had been unable to stop the immediate response of her body. His commanding presence, muscular physique, and heart-stopping good looks were enough to turn any woman’s eye, but that didn’t explain the jolt of electricity that had shot through her on meeting his gaze. She hadn’t reacted to a man like that for a very long time.

Centuries, in fact.

Ruby looked over the balcony at the room below and saw the man crossing the bar with Azriel. Even from there the sheer masculinity of him made her catch her breath. He was powerfully built, looking as if every inch of him was sculpted to perfection; from the broad shoulders and bulging biceps to the perky curves of his butt. It was impossible not to imagine those arms around her, or those strong butt cheeks tightening as he plunged into her … Ruby shook her head, wondering what the hell was wrong with her. Clearly it had been so long since she had taken a lover that the mere sight of a red blooded male was enough to reduce her to a quivering mess. She felt almost human again.

The guy had to be a cop, investigating what had befallen Simon. Ruby thought of the unfortunate blood donor and sighed, her lustful thoughts pushed to one side. She had tried to help Simon, to deter him from the path he had chosen, but she obviously hadn’t tried hard enough. And whatever afterlife he had gone to, it wasn’t the one he had wanted for himself.

As Ruby saw Azriel and the detective begin to climb the stairs to the balcony she frowned, but then reasoned that of course he would want to question her; Simon had, as far as anyone here knew, been her regular donor. She would have to be careful what she said to this human. No doubt the NYPD were looking for some crazy vamp wannabe who had taken his fantasy too far. Better that they go on a wild goose chase for a deranged but very mortal murderer than find out the truth.

The two men were approaching, so Ruby smoothed her hair and put on a polite smile. She tried not to watch the detective as he walked towards her; not to be aware of the heat flaring up inside her at the sight of him. Perhaps she had gone too long without feeding this time and was confusing her blood thirst with something far more primal.

Yet when he flashed his badge and slid into the booth opposite her, Azriel at his side seeming unusually twitchy, Ruby saw that his cynical cop smile was hiding his own arousal. With her finely tuned vamp senses Ruby could see the dilation of his pupils and sense the rise in blood pressure. He wanted her too, and she hadn’t even tried to bespell him. This was more than a man noticing an attractive woman, she could feel it. Taking a big gulp of her wine Ruby looked at the man over the rim of her glass, struggling to keep her composure. He was staring at her almost in wonder.

‘I need to ask you a few questions ma’am,’ he said, clearing his throat and dropping his eyes, ‘about your relationship with Simon Canterbury-White.’

He glared at Azriel, who seemed to wilt under his gaze, but didn’t get the message. Ruby smiled kindly at him.

‘I think I might like to talk to the detective alone?’ she said lightly. Azriel looked panicked for a minute, before nodding and rising reluctantly. The cop watched him go, his mouth curling in distaste as he watched Azriel flounce down the stairs and click his fingers at the barman who jumped to attention and began to pour him a drink.

‘You don’t approve of us, Detective Carter?’ she asked, putting a seductive energy into her voice that should have had him too busy swooning over her to concentrate on her questions, especially with his obvious desire for her, but he merely frowned at her and sat back in his seat.

‘Hardly, Miss …?’

‘Ruby.’

‘Ruby. You can call me Nick. It may well be this lifestyle choice that got Simon killed. What exactly was your relationship with him?’

Ruby smiled and turned up her powers a notch, willing the detective to believe anything she said.

‘We were friends Detective…Nick.’

But his eyes remained cynical and probing. Ruby had to stop herself scowling. If she had hit anyone else with that much of her persuasive power she could have told them the moon was made of green cheese and they would have taken her word as gospel. The Detective however was looking more suspicious by the minute.

‘Is that all? He wasn’t your donor then? Because you were seen to make frequent private trips to this part of the club with him.’

Ruby sighed. If her vampire wiles had apparently short circuited, she would just have to fall back on her good old fashioned womanly ones. Leaning forward with her arms on the table in front of her so that her cleavage was enhanced and her hair tumbling around her shoulders, she looked up at him from under her long lashes. He blinked, his gaze falling to her breasts, then lingering on her mouth, before reluctantly coming back to her eyes. Still, they were like flint. This man was no pushover, that was for sure.

She shrugged.

‘Simon saw me as his mentor, if you like. But I didn’t kill him. That’s what you really want to know, isn’t it Nick?’

The man glared at her. He seemed to be having some kind of internal struggle with himself, and with more than simply his desire for her. Ruby sent her power to him again, soothing waves of energy that should have relaxed him instantly, but again it didn’t work. If anything, he seemed even more on edge.

‘Any ideas who did?’ he ground out. He was virtually gritting his teeth now.

‘Are you alright?’ she asked, and her concern was genuine. Perhaps he was ill, even mentally so; that may affect her ability to influence him, but even so her powers should have some effect. Some vampires were blessed with preternatural strength or speed, but her gift was her strong influence. Never had she met anyone, no matter how strong minded, who didn’t react in some way. Until now. Who was this man? He was certainly intriguing, as well as drop dead gorgeous.

Dangerous. But her instincts weren’t telling her to run. Quite the opposite, in fact. She wanted to throw herself in his arms and lose herself in his body, his smell, with a lust that had nothing to do with blood, only flesh. Ruby realised she was biting her lip, and that he was staring at her doing so. He blinked, seeming to mentally shake himself, and swallowed as he answered her question.

‘I’m fine. The atmosphere here is not quite what I’m used to. Tell me,’ he said, sounding genuinely interested, ‘why would a beautiful woman such as yourself be interested in all this?’

She smiled.

‘Why do you think, Detective? Attention seeking perhaps, or a desire to hide my true self? They are often one of the same after all. Perhaps I genuinely believe myself to need the exchange of blood to keep myself in full health?’ If he only knew how true that was.

‘Were you and Simon lovers?’ he changed his line of questioning so abruptly it made Ruby blink.

‘No.’

He glared at her again, as if he were trying to see inside her head and was angry that he couldn’t. The fierce look on his face made him appear both dangerous and impossibly sexy. Since she had been turned Ruby had never met a mortal man that she couldn’t control with her mind, and the effect of that coupled with his alpha male looks and personality had an unnerving but exciting effect.
I bet he would be good in bed
she couldn’t help thinking.

‘Were you with Simon Thursday night?’

She regarded him coolly, though she was fighting not to blush under his penetrating gaze. He really did have the most intense eyes … 
get a grip Ruby
, she told herself in annoyance.

‘Briefly, yes. I met him here, we came upstairs for a while and talked. I left about ten and went home. He remained here. I’m sure there are witnesses here who will corroborate that.’

‘Did you take blood from him that night?’

‘No.’