Fifty Percent Vampire, #1, page 26
“Astrid! Thank the Lord you’re safe!” Aunt Jean cried as she pulled me into a squidgy embrace. “Emma! She’s home!”
I dropped my wet pack on the carpet, completely stunned by my aunt’s reaction. I’d been expecting to be bawled out. When Emma appeared a few moments later she was altogether cooler about my homecoming. “Why’d you run away?” she asked, shooting me a knowing look. “Did something awful happen yesterday? Another Jonah incident maybe?”
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I guess I was a little out of my mind.”
“I’ll call your uncle and tell him you’ve been found,” said Aunt Jean. “And then you can start explaining.”
Emma helped me upstairs and handed me dry clothes. “So how was Evan?” she inquired, sending a chill down my spine. I should have known she would have found out. Our exit from the party had been less than discreet.
“So-so,” I replied.
“Only so-so? That’s a disappointment. Where did he take you? Rachel told me you stayed out all night.”
I stopped massaging my hair and peered out from under my towel. “Is that really any of your business?”
“I guess not.” But her suspicious expression told me she thought the opposite. That a part of her world view no longer looked totally right.
I couldn’t confess to her that Evan was dead so I changed the subject. “Uncle James really went out to look for me in this weather?” I asked, still not completely convinced he had, expecting if I peeked in his bedroom I would find him lying there fast asleep, with a smile on his face as he dreamed of next year’s Super Bowl. “Huh.”
There was no smile on my face though when I eventually found oblivion in the early hours. How come Evan had vanished? I’d run that question around my weary brain a million times but not come up with an answer. Finally I’d managed to let the thought go. Mike and Edgar and Officer Tafani could deal with it. Maybe by the time I woke up they would have found him.
But as the days slipped past and they failed to find Evan’s body, and none of us who’d known him could take comfort in closure, even I began to wonder if I’d imagined the whole incident. Maybe, like Ebenezer Scrooge, I should have blamed it on a crumb of cheese. Or more likely in my case, on the hallucinogenic drugs I’d poured down my throat at the party.
In the end all the police could do was list Evan Montclair as a missing person, post his photo in every newspaper in the state, and hope for the best. Evan had disappeared from the face of the earth. They never found his car either, not even at the murky bottom of the pond near Lookout Point, so it appeared once again someone ‘up there’ had let me off the hook.
For a while I managed to sleep nights. But then something happened that completely took my mind off Evan, and sent it racing in an entirely different direction. An event that affected so many people so close to me I couldn’t possibly have imagined it.
CHAPTER 47
(Astrid)
Loss of Heart
In the days following my ignominious return Aunt Jean kept tabs on me every minute. I found her constant nagging at me frustrating but on the other hand I was grateful that since my disappearing act she hadn’t grounded me forever. One rainy Friday afternoon I was sprawled on my bed, listening to St. Elsewhere and slogging my way through On the Origin of Species, when Emma slipped into my room with flushed cheeks and a mischievous look on her face. I laid my book aside and took off my headphones.
“I have something wonderful to announce,” she squeaked.
“What is it?” I asked as she bounced down on the bed beside me. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“I, Em-ma Pow-er ...” She stretched each word with pride. “... have acquired myself a serious boyfriend.”
A serious one this time. Wow. “No way! Who is it?”
“You don’t know him but he’s amazing!” she gushed. “Tall and dark, in his early twenties, rides a—what did he say it was—a Kawasaki Ninja, a black one, and–”
My hand shot up. “Just a moment. He’s in his twenties?” And rides a black Kawasaki Ninja? I was no longer feeling so happy for my young cousin. The picture she’d begun to paint appeared to have potential for more than one scream in it.
“Yeah, and?” Emma said, suddenly defensive. “What about the guy you think you’re in love with, Mike Hanson?” she countered.
I blushed. “That’s different. I’m already eighteen.”
“Wow, what a difference a year makes,” she retorted. “It’s not like my guy’s Hugh Hefner’s big brother.”
“Okay, okay,” I apologized. “So what’s Mister Handsome’s name?”
Emma leaned close to my ear. “Angus,” she giggled.
I went completely stiff. Not Angus! I recalled the threat he’d made when he’d appeared in my bedroom, the threat I’d been denying to myself ever since. If the man my cousin was drooling over really was my evil stepbrother then this was very, very bad. No way could Emma defend herself against his charm, or worse, his bite.
“Tell me more about this, um, Angus,” I said, trying desperately to hide the panic rising inside me.
“He’s new in town. Staying at the motel. He’s strong, and handsome, and dreamy,” Emma gushed. “One look into his eyes and I’m gone.”
A chill slithered down my spine. Everything inside me hollered that Emma’s new suitor was the Angus I knew and hated. That this was a disaster waiting to happen. That Emma was headed down the same slippery slope as my mom. Or worse. I had to stop this. “When are you seeing him again?”
“He’s taking me clubbing tonight,” she said.
The blood drained from my face. “Em … You really shouldn’t be seeing this guy. He sounds dangerous.”
She recoiled as though I’d slapped her. “Dangerous? You’re a fine one to talk.”
“Emma, this isn’t about me,” I said, trying to calm her down. “You need to be careful around …” I couldn’t say the word I wanted to say, and nothing else sprang to mind.
“Listen, I’m meeting him at ten this evening in the Underworld and you can’t stop me,” spat my sweet little cousin, her eyes narrowed.
Oh no. The one place in town with a worse reputation than Lookout Point was the Underworld, the nightclub in the basement of the mall.
My heart dropped. How on earth had she sneaked Angus past her parents? Then I noticed something. “Where’s your crucifix? You promised me you’d never take it off.”
“That dumb thing.” She looked away. “It doesn’t match the outfit I’m planning to wear. Just drop it, Astrid.”
“Emma, please, you’ve no idea what you’re getting yourself into. Do Aunt Jean and Uncle James know about this man? That he’s so much older than you and new in town?”
My cousin’s defiant glare gave me the answers I feared.
“Emma, if–” I started.
”If you say one word to Mom or Dad, Astrid, I swear I’ll make your life a living hell!” Emma exploded, her cheeks glowing with anger. “Don’t think I don’t know you have dark secrets,” she hissed coldly in my ear. “I’m warning you, leave me and my Angus alone!” She stormed out of my room.
“Emma!” I ran out after her but she slammed her bedroom door in my face.
Race against Time
This was rapidly becoming more than very, very bad. I had a vision of my cousin lying abandoned in a ditch, like Zoe. I heard my stepbrother’s evil laugh. Thinking quickly, I decided to phone Mike. But when I called the station they told me he was off duty and refused to give me his number. I had no option but to track him down myself. At least the stalker in me knew where he lived.
This time I had no problem grabbing Emma’s bicycle and pedaling like a lunatic to Mike’s house. I threw the bike down on the sidewalk and ran up to the door and leaned on the buzzer and knocked frantically on the window, but no one was home. Next stop was his grandmother’s place but she hadn’t seen him since the previous Sunday. The sun was setting and time was running out. I had no choice.
I raced home to change. Black jeans and polo neck, ninja style. The black flat-soled ankle boots in case I needed to run. As nobody was around to help I would have to go to the Underworld alone, though I still had no idea how I was going to stop Angus or keep Emma away from him. Then something came to me. I ran into Emma’s room and tore apart the chaotic mess that was my cousin’s teenage fashion statement until I found her jewelry box. Inside it, to my relief, I found the crucifix pendant. Gingerly, I picked it up, but to my surprise it failed to burn my fingers. I hoped the anti-vampire protection hadn’t worn off. No matter, no time to worry about that now. I stuffed the pendant in my back pocket and almost fell back downstairs in my haste.
Stomping on the pedals, I rode like crazy to the mall. As I chained Emma’s bike to the railing I spotted several motorcycles parked up, some of them black Kawasakis, any of which might have belonged to Angus. As I ran toward the mall entrance I noticed a patrol car. Clearly I wasn’t the only one expecting trouble this Friday night. I hurried to the car hoping to find Mike sitting inside but to my disappointment it wasn’t him. I sighed. “Good evening, Officer Tafani,” I said, most respectfully.
But respectful didn’t work with Officer Tafani. “Yeah, right,” she growled. “What the hell do you want?”
“Do you know where I can find Mi ... I mean, Officer Hanson? It’s urgent.”
“Urgent?” Tafani’s eyes shrank to slits. “If it’s urgent, you can tell me.”
I clenched my fists behind my back. “Please, ma’am, I really need to speak to Officer Hanson. Please call him or tell me his phone number.”
The bitch laughed right in my face. “Like I’m giving my partner’s number to some teen maniac. I don’t care that he let you go, Miss Sonnschein. To me you’ll always be bad news.” She poked my chest with a bony finger.
I resisted the urge to grab the finger and snap it like a twig. “Please.”
“Take a hike.” Tafani leaned back and folded her arms. A minute later the smirk on her face faded when she realized I wasn’t leaving. “Seriously, kid. Move your ass or it’s back to the cage.”
I held my ground and stared at her defiantly. Instead of pulling out the cuffs she actually looked impressed for once. “Okay, okay. I’ll call him on one condition. You tell me why you need to speak to him so bad.”
How could I impart a message through this woman to make Mike drop what he was doing and rush to my rescue? “Just, um, just tell him my cousin Emma’s honor is at stake,” I said weakly. “Trust me, he’ll understand.”
Tafani snorted in derision but reached for her cell and dialed. “Hey, Mikey? Hi. What? Yeah, I’m on babysitting duty at the mall observing the usual troublemakers. Last week the chief eyeballed a couple of newcomers he wants me to watch out for,” she said lazily. “Um, right, and I have your little redhead friend here and she’s about ready to wet her cute little panties ... What she wants? Nothing important, something about the Power girl’s honor being at stake. You know what these high school kids are like on weekends.” She rolled her eyes, rather uselessly I thought, because Mike couldn’t see them. “Why are you yelling at me? I said we’re at the mall, Mister Personality. Okay, cool it, I’ll tell her.”
She shot a glare my way, the cell phone still stuck to her ear. For the sake of my personal safety I kept my mouth shut.
“He’ll be here in an hour,” she spat. “Time enough for you to primp up, Princess. Shut it, Mike, I’m just teasing you, man.”
An hour? I’d wasted more than enough time already. I couldn’t stand around any longer waiting for this pair of Keystone cops to get their act together; every second was vital.
“He’ll find me inside the club,” I said through gritted teeth, and took off.
The entrance to the Underworld was at a corner way back from the basement stairs and I noted that it wouldn’t be the easiest place to escape from in an emergency like an earthquake or a fire. Or from a disaster named Angus. Thankfully, so early in the evening the line wasn’t long and I only paid five dollars entrance fee as an unaccompanied female.
Inside the club the darkness hid the worry on my face and the dry ice burned my throat. I was surprised how crowded the room was already; loud death metal pounded over a mass of dancing bodies and bobbing heads. I chose a corner table as the best lookout from which to spot Emma coming in, but unfortunately even that far from the bar I couldn’t hide from leering old men and testosterone-junky teens who thought they deserved a dance or considered it their right to buy me drinks. I lost count of the number of times I shook my head and said no thanks. After an age a waitress arrived and I ordered a glass of mineral water.
Half an hour later Mike turned up, and I waved and yelled hysterically over the brain-rattling music until he spotted me. He was out of uniform, dressed in a casual gray suit with wide lapels and a white shirt whose two top buttons were undone, and despite the lack of light in the club, shades. He sauntered towards me, parting the dry ice, and my breath failed me. Damn, he looked hot. But now was unfortunately not the time.
“So, Astrid,” he said, doffing his shades and leaning close to my ear so I could hear him. “Want to tell me what we’re doing here?”
I felt my face flush and my throat constrict. “I wasn’t lying when I said this was about Emma. But it’s not really about her honor, it’s about her impending death.”
Mike raised his left eyebrow and I could tell he was thinking ‘drama queen’. To convince him of the gravity of the situation I would need to elaborate. If possible without mentioning the v-word.
“Emma’s hanging out with a man named Angus,” I babbled. “Mike, he’s really bad news and I’m not just scared he’ll hurt her.” I leaned in closer and projected my most worried look. “I’m afraid he might kill her.”
“Kill her?” Mike leaned back. “Is this the guy who murdered the others?”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure,” I confessed. “But it could be.”
“How do you know this person?” Mike was suddenly suspicious.
“I’m kind of associated with him, but we’re nothing alike, I swear!”
“Another illegal Romanian import? What is this? If you knew he was here why didn’t you say something sooner?” he demanded. “Seriously, Astrid, your schoolmates have died, Lydia’s skulking out there in the parking lot on the lookout for suspicious characters, and only now you decide to drop this bomb on me?”
I studied the bubbles rising from the bottom of my glass. “I only found out this afternoon he was in town and Emma threatened to have me deported if I told anyone. What if I’m mistaken? I don’t want to look like an idiot and I already caused enough trouble when I tried to run away.”
I looked up at him. “Please, Mike,” I said, hoping he would at least try to understand.
Mike sat back, pensive. “I guess you felt you didn’t have a choice.” His face contorted and he closed his eyes as if suddenly in great pain. When he didn’t open them again I gently touched his hand.
“Mike? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I guess.” He shook his head clear of whatever had been troubling him. “It’s nothing.”
Well you could have fooled me.
“I suggest we split up,” he said. “You stay here and keep your head down and I’ll wander around to see if I can find your cousin or this Angus character. Here’s my number. Call me if you spot him. What does he look like?”
I gave Mike a detailed description of my stepbrother and, after warning me not to confront Angus if he put in an appearance, he disappeared toward the bar. I continued to survey the scene, growing more and more anxious as time ticked on.
At last, at ten after ten I saw Emma and a group of her friends enter the club. My cousin was barely recognizable under all the Goth makeup she was wearing. To my relief Angus wasn’t part of the group. All the friends were paired up with the exception of Emma and after ordering drinks they left her behind at the table and headed for the dance floor. Emma sat alternately looking at her cell and anxiously scanning the room. Whenever she glanced my way I hid behind my menu. Better she didn’t know I was here until Angus showed.
“Hey.”
I almost jumped out of my skin as someone tapped me on the shoulder.
It was Mike. He pulled out the chair opposite me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“She’s here,” I told him, indicating the table.
“But no boyfriend.”
“He’s running late,” I said. “Her friends got fed up and went dancing.”
“So the poor kid’s stuck guarding the drinks.” He took a swig from my glass. “Like a little black and white wallflower.”
“He could come any moment,” I said. “It’s not like the club’s about to close.”
Mike looked at his watch and rose to his feet. “I have to go. How about you keep watch and call me if he puts in an appearance?”
“What?” I panicked. “You’re going to leave me here alone? I tell you Angus is dangerous and now after getting mad at me because I didn’t tell you sooner you’re going to scoot off and abandon me?”
“Miss Sonnschein,” Mike screwed his eyes shut again. “Don’t make such a crisis out of this. I won’t be far away. It so happens I have more important things to do tonight.”
So that was it. He thought I was crying wolf. But I wasn’t. I was crying vampire. “More important things? Like what? Like being off duty until tomorrow?”
“How do you—damn it—Lydia was right about you.”
At the mention of that woman’s name my temper flared. “Lydia? Seriously? You’re going to listen to that … She hates me, Mike. You know damn well the bitch locked me in that cell out of spite.”
By now the people at the next table were staring but I didn’t care. I couldn’t believe Mike had decided to treat me like an untrustworthy child. I wished I’d never gotten into his cruiser at the end of my half-hearted getaway attempt. Maybe I did sound melodramatic but Emma was in the gravest of danger and all Mike had in his tiny mind was to sit upstairs in his nice quiet patrol car with that ... that Tafani woman, instead of staying down here to help me save my cousin from a fate worse than death.
