Page 21 of Death is Familiar

Well, if no one else had any questions, this was my chance to get us on the right track, hopefully without ruffling too many feathers.

“If we want to know what happened, we’ll have to go to Huntington.” Everyone stopped and turned to me. “West Virginia,” I added, feeling the weight of their gaze.

“The murders happened in Cincinnati.” Zhou was non-plussed. “Huntington, is what? Two, three hours away? Why there?”

“If you want to find out what happened, we’re going to have to ask the real vampires. They’ll be able to tell us whether or not their own were involved. Either way, they’ll want to find out who is ruining their brand.”

“You’re expecting us to believe that vampires exist?” Zhou’s brows shot up, looking to the team for back up, though none was given.

“I’m saying vampires are good business.” Even in avoiding vampire cults, it was well understood that modern vampires generated a lot of cash. “And they’ll do everything in their power to keep it that way.”

†

Mercifully, and much to my relief, the meeting didn’t last much longer. We agreed on a course of action, half of the team, led by Fawzy, was headed to Cincinnati, while Jack, Todd, and I headed for Huntington. Aside from the continued and increasingly vocal protestations from Zhou, it all went rather smoothly.

We left the next day.

I packed quick and light, though my packing list was somewhat unusual.

Of course, I had the basics—minus my knife, since I still hadn’t been trusted to carry anything on my person that might be considered a weapon, though it was a situation I planned on remedying—but I also packed an inordinate amount of food. Mostly snack-sized. And mostly candy. The last thing I needed was to be in a car with Jack and Todd in the middle of nowhere and have my insides hollow out.

I also packed Lawrence’s letter.

The stupidly infuriating coded letter. I tried to give myself some grace, to not beat myself up for not being able to translate the numbers Lawrence left me into something meaningful. My brain was still foggier than usual, but I knew I was missing something obvious. He wouldn’t have given me something I wouldn’t be able to translate. They were his last words for god’s sake, and he left them for me. Me, the only person he wanted to know what the letter contained.

Just thinking about it seized my muscles with frustration. Think, Delilah, think! But nothing. No sudden realization. No ‘aha’ moment. Not yet, anyway. I packed it with the hope the key would come to me when I least expected it. Something would suddenly click, or the fog would clear, and I could see what was right in front of me. And then I’d have Lawrence’s final words on hand, ready to translate.

At least that was what I told myself.

“Wait. You’re saying vampires have nothing to do with blood?” Jack gave me a puzzled look through the rear-view mirror, fuzzy dice swinging as always.

Todd turned in his seat, but I could tell he couldn’t take me seriously, like he was holding back a laugh. “And that ‘creeps’ you out because…”

“These vampires have very little to do with blood.” I could feel the bureaucrat in Jack smiling at my response. “I’m sure there are people out there who think they need blood to survive, but not the vampires we are going to see.”

“And…”

“For the right price, anyone can be a vampire.” It was a saying I’d heard often enough. “It’s all about appearances, and secrets, and sex, and power.” And necks, and teeth, and obsession, and subservience. I felt myself grimace.

“See, that doesn’t seem so bad to me.” Jack cocked his head. “Doesn’t sound like they’d want to kill anyone.”

“No, they just think they own everyone. And they spend a hell of a lot of money to participate in the vampire lifestyle. And they’re completely fixated on their looks.”

“Plenty of people are fixated on their looks, Delilah,” Jack teased. “I mean look at Todd. All his tattoos—pure vanity.”

I don’t think it was possible for Todd to roll his eyes any farther. Even though his tattoos were beautiful, I knew they were part of his armor. Just like his shaved head. “If I cared about how I looked, I’d grow my hair out and spend way too much time making sure it looked like I ‘forgot’ to shave.” That was clearly a jab at Jack. He did have a near constant five o’clock shadow.

“So, shaving your head is a choice? Not a necessity?”

“Trust me, Delilah, I have a full head of hair.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Maybe there was a bit more vanity at play than I had given the agents credit for. I mean, their looks hadn’t been lost on me. I would have had to be dead not to notice. Even if Todd was dangerous first, grumpy second, and handsome third. Jack, however, had nothing obscuring his beauty. He was objectively pretty in a way that wasn’t lost on anyone.

Not that I’d admit what I thought about the agents’ looks to either of them.

“See? Lots of people are fixated on their looks.” Jack stifled a grin. “And for the record my hair just grows this way.”