Mixed Blessing (Mixed Blessing Mystery, Book 1) (18 page)

I could have glazed him easily, he was clearly quiet susceptible to my influence, but that would mean removing my contacts and drawing attention to my reddened eyes. I may have been throwing
Sanguis Vitam
around like lollies from a parade float, but I knew what crossing the line would mean. So far my
Sanguis Vitam
was going undetected, my red eyes would not be so easy to hide.

"I'm here for Detective Anderson," I said sweetly. "I have his dinner."

"He's busy. Can't be disturbed." The officer's short sentences were common in those who fell easily under our power. Or at least that had been the case for me, I couldn't speak for any other vamp. I could quite simply crush this guy metaphysically though right now, but that wasn't my intention.

"Go get him. He will thank you." I'd made sure to lean forward and whisper those words to the cop so no one could hear. He turned immediately and walked toward where I knew Mark was from the location of his scent.

I waited patiently, I had no fear he wouldn't come. My command had been simple and direct. The uniformed officer would drag Mark here if he refused. But I was guessing if he appeared convinced enough that Mark should attend, Mark would consider it worth his while to investigate. I was right. Three minutes later Mark came out from behind the sheet. His eyes scanned the crowd and finally came to rest on me. He was briefly pleased, then quickly surprised.

He walked directly towards me, brushing off the persistent officer who was still trying to get him to walk faster in order to fulfil my
Sanguis Vitam
laced command. When the officer saw Mark stop in front of me, he blinked twice and then looked around as if in a daze. I willed him silently to move on. Finally he just shook his head and returned to his perimeter beat.

"Gigi? You got my message? Is everything OK?" Mark seemed genuinely concerned and for the slimmest of moments I felt a twinge of regret for the game I was now playing, but my Dark Shadow quickly pushed that emotion aside and settled back to watch the action unfold.

"Yeah, I was worried. You sounded tired. I thought you probably wouldn't get to eat, so..." I held up the noodle box with an embarrassed shrug. I had a feeling Mark went for caring and coy girls over confident and sassy.

"Oh," he replied, a small pleased smile edging into the corners of his mouth. "That's really kind. Thanks." He took the proffered box of food and then took in our surroundings. "Um, why don't you come over here." He lifted the yellow tape and indicated I should duck under it. Too easy.

I slipped beneath the cordon and followed him off to the side several feet away from the crowd. He made sure not to take me too far, so I couldn't see what was happening behind the screen, but it was far enough away that we could talk without being overheard.

"How did you know I was here?" he asked as he offered me a seat beside one of their police cars. I sat and he followed suit, lifting the lid on the noodle box to peer inside. He didn't start eating, just closed the lid on the box again and returned his attention to me.

"Don't you want to eat?" I asked, nodding towards the box on his lap and purposely ignoring his question.

"Oh, yeah, it looks great and ordinarily I would, but, well, you know..." he trailed off with a nod towards the white sheet.

I frowned. "Oh God. I'm sorry, I should have thought a death would put you off your food. It is a death, isn't it?"

He nodded. "That's all I deal with." His voice was soft and a little flat.

"That must be hard."

"Yes, but getting justice for those left behind makes up for the stomach churning parts."

The little part of me that was still clinging to my Light, sighed. This was a good man and now he was stuck in the middle of an event he had no hope of solving. Unless the supernatural community gave him something
believable
as an answer to the crime.

"Well, I just wanted you to know I was thinking of you, I suppose," I said, quietly, making sure to keep my head down and eyes averted.

"Hey." I raised my eyes to his. He frowned slightly when his eyes reached mine. Yeah, I knew what he was thinking, they'd been light blue the last time he'd seen them. My anger at that thought further banished any Light inside. "Thanks for this, it's really kind."

I smiled meekly, relying on my Dark Shadow to quash the uneasiness within, then let a little of my
Sanguis Vitam
out to wrap around him. His eyes widened even before I had mentally voiced my will. He was reacting to my blood life force, simply because it was there, not because it was directed at him. My mouth opened in surprise and the uneasiness grew exponentially. 

"Can you tell me what you're working on?" I asked, thinking I'd better just get to the point before my
Sanguis Vitam
did anything else strange with this man. Already my glaze had created an unusual response and now my blood life force seemed to be too.

"You know I can't," he replied, but not harshly, more like he was in a dream. "But I'd really like to see you later. After I've dealt with all of this." He waved his free hand - the hand not holding the noodle box - towards the scene. "It will take an hour to process this site and then I have two others. Can I come to your apartment after that?"

Whoa. Not happening, not when the Dark Shadow was dancing a jig inside. I could not afford to have this man under my influence in my apartment. It could end very badly indeed. But, I needed to know what information he had on Stu. What these new murders meant. How it all fitted together with Alison and the bum at the Grafton Oaks. Because I was sure this scene, and those he would also be processing, were connected. Even sitting here, obstructed by the white sheet, I could smell burnt peaches, apple and cinnamon.

Auckland had a serial killer on their hands and it wasn't the man they held behind bars.

I had already decided to follow Mark discreetly after this conversation ended. To listen from the shadows, to scent each new scene. I'd dismissed the option of quickly checking each one for the murderer, he or she would be long gone by now - simply vanished into thin air. So, following Mark was my best bet. But what if I didn't get everything I needed? What if I missed something crucial?

I could feed in between, surely somewhere along the way I'd find an appropriate victim to give me relief and make me less dangerous to Mark, should I let him in my apartment later. Once I fed, the Dark Shadow would retreat and my Light would have free reign again. I needed to solve these murders. More people were being killed and I had no idea why. I needed to see Mark afterwards, there was no way to avoid it. I had to find out tonight just what he knows.

"OK," I said smiling up at him and receiving a beaming grin in return.

"Really?" he said, taking one of my hands in his. It felt wrong, letting him believe this, but my Dark Shadow only purred inside.

Mine. Prey. Trapped.

"Really," I said with a decisive nod of my head.

"You're fantastic, you know that?" Mark said pulling me to my feet. "I'll make this up to you tonight. I promise."

In a daze I watched him lean in and kiss me lightly on my cheek. It wasn't a sexually charged move - not quite chaste, but not dripping in desire either. Just a hint of what he wanted. Enough to let me know and not scare me away. He didn't realise he couldn't scare me, I was no longer in charge. The Dark Shadow wanted to grab him right now, wrap my body around him, pull him to the floor and sink my fangs deep in his neck.

My vampire-within had found its next quarry, the hunt had begun and nothing would stop her from getting her target now.

I let Mark lead me to the public side of the yellow tape and with a small smile he headed back towards the white sheet and what lay on the other side. I needed to be there too, so ignoring the alarm bells that rang dimly inside my head at where this night was leading, instead I drifted away from the crowd and bled into the night. Wrapping the shadows around me I slunk along the wall down one side of the street, until I could see what lay on the other side.

The scene was exactly as I had expected, but the company I suddenly found myself with was not.

"Little sparrow, I've been waiting for you." The words whispered against my ear, a soft breeze wrapping around my neck and trailing down my shoulder. The smell of caramel and ginger filling the air, but I couldn't see him.

Aliath was wrapped as heavily as me in the shadows, but although I hadn't been aware he was there until he made it so, he had known I was, the second I came to a standstill.

An uneasy feeling seeped into my bones, more familiar than it had any right to be.

"How did you know I was here?" I decided to ask the obvious first. Ignoring my increasing fear, at the power this fairy wielded, sounded like a good idea for now.

"I followed your progress with the human," he replied, as though divulging how he could see me when he shouldn't wasn't a big issue at all. "Once you left him and pulled the shadows around yourself, it was easy to locate you in the darkness. Had I not been watching as you did it, I would not have had as easy a task."

I was unsure why he was letting me know this, surely it was to his benefit to make me think he could spot me anywhere. But just like the first night I met him, it was only when I had made a sound - albeit just the thud of my heart in my chest that first time - that he had been able to locate me in amongst the shadows. The sense of relief that his talent of detecting me when masked was fallible felt enormous. As long as he wasn't already aware I was there, I could fool him. That felt important to know and allowed the uneasy feeling to dissipate somewhat.

"What do you scent?" he asked almost conversationally.

I returned my attention to the job at hand. "The murderer was here."

"Anything else?"

I inhaled deeply and then as an added extra, opened my mouth and allowed the
tastes
of the night to land on my tongue. Bitter sweet dark chocolate that made my fangs descend. I was inordinately glad to be hidden, the Dark Shadow's response to the outright fear I could taste shamed me. Normally I'd be able to resist the allure, but with my Dark Shadow so close to the surface, coupled with the amount of bitter sweet chocolate on the air, it was impossible.

"The victim had been scared. Very scared." There was a lisp as I spoke, I felt a flash of burning heat rise up my cheeks, but knew even if I wasn't already hidden by shadows, it wouldn't have shown. I needed to feed before I'd blush again.

There was a slight pause before Aliath spoke. Then, "What else?"

"Sticky toffee," I said automatically, forgetting Aliath didn't understand my sensory range. I quickly corrected myself. "Amusement, but it doesn't belong to the victim."

"The murderer," Aliath said flatly. "Go on," he encouraged. I wasn't sure there was much more to determine, but I followed his instructions anyway. Inhaling again and sifting through the myriad of inconsequential scents searching for something,
anything
, that would help us in this game of cat and mouse.

It took several seconds to find, it was hidden, layered beneath so much rubbish, smells that simply couldn't belong to the current scene. But it wasn't hidden well enough for me. Cinnamon, bark and mixed spices. A breath of air left my lungs in a rush before I could stop it. Jett had been here, I couldn't tell if his scent was in relation with the murder scene, it wasn't as strong as the victim's or the murderer's, it was different and not as sharp as I would have expected. But it was here. Why was it here at all?

I looked around the street. Federal Street is a small one-way lane directly beside the impressive concrete tower that makes up Sky City. It's an access-way to shops that border the casino, but mainly used by taxis as they approach the front door to the building itself. I could not imagine Jett using this road. I had no idea if he was a gambler and liked to frequent that part of the complex or not, but he certainly would have no other reason than that to be in this street.

I wondered if I had been mistaken, if my talent was in fact foolproof. It had never failed to detect a scent accurately before, but what did I really know? I'd only been this freak of nature for two months. Hardly long enough to be expert at it. But something inside me, and it wasn't ego or over-confidence, said I didn't make mistakes. A scent is a scent. If I smell it, it is there. And as this was a signature scent and not an emotion, I was doubly sure it couldn't be faked. So, Jett had been here. My body slumped in defeat. Did I tell Aliath? Or cover it up?

Jett is my Master of the City, my boss. He is vampire, part of that which I am now a member of. I may not be 100% vampire, but I am 100% more Nosferatu than fairy, and therefore my loyalty remains with my kind. I had no reason to believe Aliath was on my side. I was using him as much as he was using me. And although Jett scared me, or at least what he could potentially do to me did, Aliath had not gained my trust.

Several seconds had passed since I had detected Jett's scent, Aliath had remained silent at my side. Still invisible, but his scent remained in the air around me and even his heat washed over my side from where he stood. I quickly inhaled again to try to find something to distract him with, but there was little else on the night air.

"Too many scents to get anything else, but the murderer left the scene that way." I pointed towards the front of Sky City, Victoria Street East end.

Silence met my announcement, but I knew he hadn't left. I also knew he was aware I was withholding, I forced myself not to squirm, held my breath and stilled my heart. I did my level best to disappear.

Of course my actions spoke louder than words, his soft chuckle at my behaviour and poor attempts to hide met my ears. I ignored him for now and attempted to listen in on Mark's conversation. Again with Detective Grumpy Guts. They had obviously already examined the body, so I couldn't determine how the victim had been killed, but the smell of blood and the pool of it beneath the covered form of the body said enough. I was guessing the throat had been slit again, maybe to hide fang marks.

"Would a fairy need to slice their victim's throat?" I asked, still listening to Mark and the other detective argue about which scene to go to next.

"To kill? No. But it is just as effective to rend flesh and sever veins, as it is to use magic. We all carry weapons of some description, not all of them are as obvious as a knife to the throat though."

I didn't need to ask if vampires would do the same. We could kill with our
Sanguis Vitam
, we could use our bare hands to break a human's neck. But draining your victim of blood would be the preferred method. That's why the wasted blood at the scene led me to believe fairy, not vamp. But then, if a fairy could use a knife when it wasn't needed, a vampire could leave blood at the scene to misdirect. I needed a closer look at the body. Perhaps the knife wound wasn't entirely successful in hiding fang marks.

I took a step out from the shadows, I still held them firmly wrapped around me, but any further and the powerful lights brought in by forensics would rip them away. I took a deep breath in and contemplated using my
Sanguis Vitam
to shatter the bulbs, but light from the casino windows overlooking the scene would still provide too much illumination. I didn't think I was strong enough to take the city block power grid down.

I rolled my head on my shoulders and accepted this scene was not appropriate for closer inspection. I could only hope the next would offer a more private setting. I'd save my energy for that. Mark and Grumpy Guts were preparing to leave. I turned back to the shadows behind me, but the smell of caramel and ginger had gone. Aliath had retreated. I spun around and tried to get a bead on where he had gone to, but like the murder scenes before this one, his scent simply disappeared into thin air.

I wanted that to mean these murders had been performed by a fairy. The disappearing act too close to Aliath's right now to indicate anything else. But I am not naive, even before I had been turned by that Rogue, I wasn't the sort of person to believe in happy endings. Just because I didn't want a vampire responsible for this mess, didn't want Jett to be involved, didn't mean it wasn't so. My father had taught me that lesson when I was only eight.

Jett was involved to some degree I was sure and sooner or later I would have to confront the Master of Auckland City about my suspicions. But I needed to know more. I cursed under my breath - as I followed Mark towards his waiting vehicle - that I hadn't asked Aliath about the camera footage at SubZero's headquarters before he disappeared. Any additional info right now would be of benefit. I checked to make sure I still had the flash-drive of footage from Alison's apartment in my pocket. I really wanted to determine how involved Jett was. That had become as important as getting Stu off the charges.

Not that Jett's scent had appeared at Alison's murder scene at all. He hadn't popped up until the bum at Grafton Oaks. Still, I needed something more solid than his scent at the scenes before I approached the powerful vampire. I could still feel his fingers wrapped around my throat from our encounter in his office. Strangely, that didn't frighten me as much as it should. I frowned at the small thrill of excitement that coursed through my veins.

The next scene offered up almost the exact same scents as Federal Street. The murderer, Jett's and fear and amusement in copious quantities. But I refused to accept anything at face value. I shadowed Mark as closely as I could to the body. This one had been discovered behind an old cargo shed down on Queen's Wharf. As popular as the waterfront space is and especially the nearby Cloud structure, the body had obviously been here longer than the one in Federal Street. It had simply been overlooked. I added up the murders in my mind. Alison's had been the first. Followed by the bum at Grafton Oaks the next night. Then we had missed a night, no bodies discovered, until tonight. The body I was now looking at from the safe harbour of the shadows beside Cargo Shed 10 would have easily fitted into that time slot.

The murderer had been killing nightly since Alison's death. I wasn't the only one to conclude this.

"One every night since Friday," Mark commented quietly, as he knelt next to the slumped body of what looked like a man in faded jeans and a t-shirt. Blood had once again pooled beneath his neck, but it had congealed and darkened, having sat there longer than the blood at Federal Street. It smelled old, dead, lifeless. Entirely unappealing to my Nosferatu side as well as the Nosferatin. I crinkled my nose in disgust.

"Doesn't mean anything. He may have finished what he wanted to accomplish," Grumpy Guts answered, screwing up his face as he looked down at the victim from his full height. No crouching down to get a better look from this guy.

"Are you really that naive?" Mark asked dismissively. "He's only just started. Perps like this get a taste for it and once that taste has been acquired there's no stopping them. He's killed one a night until tonight, where he's increased to two. This could prove to be Auckland's biggest serial killer of all time. This isn't the last we'll see."

I didn't disagree with him, but I also wasn't entirely convinced this was your average serial killer, starting out small and increasing the numbers as he gained confidence and an addiction to the taste of watching his victim die. There was a reason this was happening and I knew it had to with Vive La Vodka. Why else was the first murder at SubZero and involved the CEO of the company? Why else did it feature so prominently in Alison Danvers' diary? I just didn't know what connected the other murders to my hunch.

I needed to talk to Stu. How the hell that was going to be accomplished I didn't know. But Stu worked closely with Alison, his name had appeared beside many of those meetings in her day planner. Maybe the cops hadn't put two and two together yet and asked him the right questions, but I could. I just needed to gain access to a key suspect in the crimes.

Still, surely they'd be releasing Stu soon, now that the murders were continuing and gaining in momentum. He could hardly be blamed for those deaths since he was imprisoned at Mount Eden.

"There's nothing else here to help us, lets move on to the next," Mark announced as he stood to full height and brushed down his trousers. They had creased, quite noticeably, he was starting to look tired and well worn and the night was still fairly young. Not long past ten. I took a quick scan around the scene and decided gaining a closer look at the victim couldn't be attained here, the wharf was now swarming with observers, many of which were from the press. Word had got out and now using
Sanguis Vitam
to shatter the forensics lights had become too great a risk.

I sighed and followed the detectives as they drove slowly from the scene. Hunger had begun to gnaw at my belly, my fangs were now permanently down. Nothing I could do would make them retract. I needed to feed, but it would have to wait. One last murder scene then I would give in to the Dark Shadow and sate my thirst.

I don't think I had ever used as much
Sanguis Vitam
in one night as I had done this evening. First the use of shadows to get from Parnell to the city, then the conversation over the telephone, followed by the influence of the cop at the Federal Street scene, then the use of shadows again to hide myself at each scene thereafter. As well as the speed required to keep up with a moving vehicle as it traversed the city streets. Thankfully, the final murder scene was not too far away. This one was in Albert Park. I couldn't have hoped for a more secluded setting if I had tried. This would be where I got my closer view. I just hoped it was worth using the last of my
Sanguis Vitam
to achieve it.

Albert Park is beautiful in the daylight, carefully planted flower beds in a wide open space of trimmed lawn, surrounding a picturesque fountain. I knew how it looked under the light of the sun, I had spent many hours here enjoying the scenery before
that
night. I would no longer see the whites, pinks, purples and greens as they were intended to be viewed. Night time diminished their wonder, the moon not as worthy an accompaniment as the sun.