The Vampire and the Prince of Roses (Dreadful Vampire Mysteries Book 2) Page 4

  “Penny,” Alec said, stepping between me and the body. “I’m going to have to ask you and your family to step back. This is an official crime scene.”

  I nodded. “Of course.” We all stepped back, sliding under the crime scene tape. Except Granny Mags. She stayed right where she was. We all breathed in sharply as Alec focused his attention on her.

  With a friendly smile on his face, Alec extended his hand. “Sorry to meet under these circumstances. I’m Sheriff Alec Grayson, a friend of Penny’s. I’m guessing you’re Granny Mags? I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Granny stared at him for a second, looked back at me, back to Alec, and then cranked her glare up to about level six. “Yes, I’m Penny’s grandmother. I’ve heard a lot about you, too… and I know how to dispose of bodies if you make her cry.”

  I groaned. Great.

  Alec dropped his hand, but his smile grew wider. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem, ma’am.”

  Granny glared at him for a few seconds more and then silently joined us on the other side of the tape. She looked up at me. “He called me ma’am. He’s polite.” She turned and started back towards the house. “He might get to live.”

  “Why’d you come out here, anyway, Granny,” I called after her. “I didn’t think you cared about what happened around here.”

  She shrugged, never looking back. “Everyone else is out here. I was bored.”

  Chapter 6

  The medical examiner, a tall, thin guy with sunken cheeks and white hair, moved easily through the crowd because everyone parted like the Red Sea as he walked nonchalantly towards the crime scene, ignoring the crowd as he homed in on the body like a guided missile.

  Pita giggled so hard she snorted. I looked at her, stunned. “A girl’s been murdered. What in the world are you laughing about?”

  “Ten bucks says the guy’s name is Lurch.”

  I couldn’t help it. I laughed… but I recovered quickly. “That’s mean, Pita. Funny… but mean. This is serious. I’m sure Regina doesn’t see the humor in it.”

  Pita giggled harder. “She’s the one who said it.”

  Okay, so Regina was handling her death rather well. Who knew the girl was a fan of the Addams Family?

  “Actually,” a deep baritone voice said from right next to me, “the name is Ken.”

  I turned towards the voice and jumped back, bumping into my sisters and Broomhilda. The medical examiner was standing just a few inches away.

  The medical examiner smiled. “Ken Daver, Chief Medical Examiner of Transylvaniatown, at your service… although you lovely ladies hopefully won’t need my services for a very long time.”

  Know how high the bar is set for a vampire to consider someone creepy? Well, Ken cleared that bar easily. He was creepy. I looked at the badge clipped to the lapel of his white coat. It had his picture – with that creepy smile of his – and his name. K. Daver.

  “K. Daver?” I asked. “As in cadaver? Seriously?”

  Ken shrugged. “One of those funny bits that make life entertaining.” He turned back towards Regina’s body. “Life needs to be entertaining at times. Because sometimes it can be so painfully short.” He kneeled down by the body and began doing… well, whatever it is that medical examiners do.

  "Zombie," Pita said softly. "Has to be."

  "No way," Paige said. "He's a ghoul."

  Broomhilda couldn't take her eyes off of him, staring as if she had just discovered some new exotic species of bug. "Necromancy is definitely involved. No way anybody looks like that without being brought back from the other side."

  The medical examiner stood back up, pulled a tablet from his coat pocket, and began typing.

  “Can you tell us what killed her?” I asked.

  “Do I know what killed her?” Ken asked, still typing. “Yes. Can I tell you?” He glanced towards us, his creepy grin growing wider. “Sorry, but no. It’s classified until Sheriff Grayson releases the information to the public.”

  “Mr. Daver,” Paige began.

  “Dr. Daver,” the medical examiner corrected.

  “Of course,” Paige said. “I’m sorry, Dr. Daver. I meant no disrespect… but we’re the owners of the Dreadful Inn right across the street, and most of the guests were out here. We just want to make sure there’s nothing contagious to worry about. We’d hate to have something so fatal spread.”

  The medical examiner looked towards the Inn, watching the large number of girls being ushered back indoors by Christina. He looked at us and sighed, glancing over at Alec, who was questioning some of the girls across the street. He looked back at us. “I can understand your concern but there’s really nothing to worry about. The poor girl died of nothing.”

  I blinked, sure I had misheard him. Paige must’ve thought the same thing. “I’m sorry,” she said, “but how exactly does one die of nothing?”

  The doctor motioned towards the body. “Like that. There are no injuries, no wounds, no sign of trauma. She appears to be in her early twenties, neither obese nor malnourished. Aside from the fact that she’s dead, she appears to be in perfect health.”

  Alec walked back over, sliding a notepad into his shirt pocket. He and the doctor moved a few feet from us, talking softly. After a couple of minutes, Alec nodded and walked back towards us as the doctor supervised a couple of EMTs as they prepared to move the body.

  “I know it hasn’t been exactly a pleasant evening for you ladies but it doesn’t look like there’s been any foul play so at least there’s no need to worry about that.”

  “No foul play?” Pita asked. “So she wasn’t murdered?”

  “No,” Alec said. “The poor girl’s heart just stopped. It’s sad but not nefarious.”

  “But someone posed the body,” Paige and I said at the same time.

  Alec frowned. “Yeah, that part’s confusing. I’m thinking someone found her and posed her like that to give her a little dignity.” He shrugged. “It’s weird… and I am going to try to find out who did it, but I’m not even sure the person is guilty of a crime. They didn’t try to hide the body or cover up a crime. I don’t know if there’s any law against posing a body.”

  He glanced at me, his eyes quickly taking another round-trip view of the revealing dress I was wearing. “Sorry if all this ruined your date night.”

  I stepped towards Alec, reaching for him. “It’s not like that. It’s –”

  Alec laughed, taking my hand in his. “It’s okay, Penny. Ms. Harrison told me how your grandmother signed you up for the show and you were going along with it just to be polite.”

  I smiled. Yeah, that was close enough to the truth. I was being nice. It sounded so much better than I was being blackmailed because of a stupid plate of brownies.

  Alec looked over at Jet, talking to three women, his arms wrapped around two of them, holding them close. He glanced back at me, that irritatingly sexy lopsided grin appearing on his handsome face. “But I’ll understand if you lose interest in a simple small-town sheriff like me. After all, he is the Prince of Roses.”

  I groaned, rolling my eyes. “Dr. Ken has a better chance with me than that guy.” I held up a finger to shush Alec when it looked like he was about to say something. “And Dr. Ken has no chance at all. The guy’s creepy.”

  Alec laughed. “Dr. Daver is definitely an acquired taste. Give him time. He’ll grow on you.”

  “Like a diseased, zombified fungus,” Pita muttered under her breath.

  Chapter 7

  Christina clapped her hands to get our attention as soon as everyone was back inside. “Okay, ladies, and Jet, it’s time to put that sad moment behind us and get back to the business of finding true love so have some more wine, mingle, and keep your fingers crossed that you get Jet’s attention because the first rose ceremony will happen before the sun comes up.”

  And just like that, the mysterious death of Regina was swept away. At least that’s what it seemed like on the surface.

  “I heard that PA chick found the bo
dy,” I overheard one girl say as I walked around the room, pretending to mingle without actually talking to anyone.

  “Which one,” another girl in the group asked.

  The first girl laughed softly. “I don’t know her name. She’s a production assistant so it’s not like she’s important or anything.” She waved her hand dismissively in the air. “The one that just stands around and stares at everyone when she’s not busy kissing Christina’s butt.”

  One of the girls glanced at me and I drifted along through the room, not wanting to get roped into a conversation with any of the Bimbettes.

  Christina’s assistant, Denise, stood off to the side, her eyes constantly scanning the room as she made sure to avoid the cameras, her glowing earpiece still in place. She had to be the one the other girls had been talking about.

  “Hi,” I said, walking up to her. “Wild night, huh?”

  She glanced around nervously. “You shouldn’t talk to me since we’re filming now. You won’t get any screentime when you’re near me.”

  I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “Believe it or not, I’m okay with that.”

  That got her attention. Her wide eyes stared at me. “Why come on the show if you don’t want screentime?” She tilted her head, studying me closely. “Wait. You’re that Dreadful girl, aren’t you? The one who owns this place.”

  I nodded. “Actually, I own the place with my sisters, but yeah, that’s me.”

  A huge goofy grin appeared on her face. “This place rocks.” She jabbed her thumb towards the front door. “And the bodies in the tree are a great touch.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed, knowing ‘great touch’ wasn’t what Granny had been going for. “Definitely better than the body in the cemetery.”

  I know. Not subtle. What can I say? I’m a vampire; not a detective.

  For just a second, I thought I saw a flash of anger flicker across her face, but then tears filled her eyes as she ran her fingers through her long brown hair.

  “I didn’t believe it when I found her,” she said. “I thought they were playing a prank on me.” She looked at me with eyes filled with so much pain that it made my heart hurt. “All the girls. Every season. They really like playing pranks on me. The faces change but they’re all just plastic fake people wanting to see their name in lights.”

  “My sisters can be just as cruel,” I said, hoping to find some common ground to keep her talking. “I’m sorry you had to put up with that.” I extended my hand. “I don’t think we’ve officially met. I’m Penny.”

  “Denise,” she replied, ignoring the hand, her eyes once again scanning the room. “You’re nice. You need to mingle or you won’t make it past the first episode.”

  I chuckled. “I’m not too terribly torn up about that.”

  A ghost of a grin flitted across her face. “Maybe not but Christina would be livid.”

  “Really?” I was shocked. “I didn’t think she cared.”

  That got an actual laugh out of Denise. “She doesn’t, except you add local color. If you stay, your neighbors keep watching. If you get voted off too early...” She shrugged, running her fingers through her hair again. My eyes were drawn to a ring in the shape of a scorpion on her right hand.

  I nodded towards the eye-catching piece of jewelry. “Wicked ring.”

  She smiled. “Thanks. I designed it myself.” She extended her hand, letting me take a closer look. The scorpion sat on top of her finger, its tail coiling around, making the band.

  I glanced up at her. “You ever get tired of working in television, you could probably have a pretty good career designing jewelry.”

  Denise smiled, a rosy blush coloring her cheeks. She flinched suddenly, her hand flying to the Bluetooth in her ear. “I have to go,” she said quietly, stepping away from me, blending into the shadows so well that even a vampire would be envious.

  I glanced around and saw Christina glaring down at the spot where Denise had been standing a moment ago. Her eyes shifted to me and that big fake smile appeared on her face. ‘Mingle’ she mouthed to me.

  I nodded up to her, wondering exactly what Granny Mags had gotten me into. Wasn’t reality TV supposed to be fun?

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jet Carson heading my way, basically being herded towards me by the two PA’s walking behind him. He didn’t look happy about it, either. At least not until he noticed a camera swinging in his direction. He turned on that megawatt smile full-blast then.

  I turned on my own smile when Jet got close enough for his cameraman to include me in his shot, too. Even though his face was half-obscured by the camera, I recognized Jerry, his unruly blond curls poking out beneath a red baseball cap.

  “Peggy,” Jet exclaimed, his smile growing even bigger.

  I frowned. “It’s Penny.”

  “No worries,” Jerry said softly. “We can edit it out like it never happened. Just keep on rolling with it.”

  Jet slid beside me, one arm snaking around my waist. I stiffened when I felt his hand land on my butt.

  “Let’s find a little privacy and get to know each other,” Jet whispered in my ear, giving my bottom a squeeze.

  I reached back, grabbed his wrist, and squeezed, using just a tiny fraction of my vampire strength. I smiled at him sweetly as he winced, his fingers releasing my curves.

  “No need for privacy, Jet,” I said. “I can tell you a little about me right here.” I squeezed his wrist tighter until a tiny whimper escaped his throat, making sure he got the message.

  “I’m the type of girl,” I continued, “who will rip your hand off and feed it to you if you touch my butt again without my permission.”

  Jet snatched his arm away when I released him, gently rubbing his sore wrist with his good hand. “What the hell is wrong with you, lady?”

  I smiled at the tremble in his voice, his fear exciting the predator in me. I took a step towards him, letting my eyes glow with crimson fire.

  Jet gasped. “Stay away from me, you freak,” he choked out, his voice barely above a frightened whisper.

  I laughed softly as he walked quickly away.

  Jerry lowered his camera, sighing. “I guess that’s a cut. Can’t have any footage with Jet looking like a weenie.”

  “Good luck with that,” I said.

  Jerry grinned. “I wish we could use it. I think that’s actually the first bit of footage I got that shows him treating a woman with respect.”

  “I think that was fear.”

  Jerry shrugged. “Respect. Fear. Whatever. You’re the first girl he’s talked to tonight without trying to jam his tongue down your throat.”

  I ran the tip of my tongue across the tip of one of my fangs. “That would be a tremendously bad idea.”

  Jerry stared at me for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah, I believe it would be. There’s something about you. You and your sisters. All three of you have that ‘don’t mess with me’ vibe going on.”

  “What about you?” I asked, unable to stop myself from digging. So much for not being a detective. A girl had been killed across the street from my home, and part of me wanted to catch the killer. I guess it appealed to the predatory vampire nature. We were always happiest during the hunt.

  Jerry shrugged. “What about me?”

  I gestured to the roomful of women. “Unless you’re really into watching catfights, I can’t imagine filming this type of stuff is very exciting.”

  The cameraman laughed. “I’ll never win any awards or anything for filming these shows, but the job does have a few perks.”

  I flashed a knowing smile. “Access to lots of single ladies looking for a relationship.”

  “Relationship?” Jerry chuckled. “These girls are looking for fame… and maybe a little no-strings-attached fun.” He shrugged. “There’s a reason most of the couples on these shows don’t stay together. They’re not really looking to get married. They just want to have a good time.”

  “Doesn’t that hurt the show’s reputation, though?” I
asked.

  Jerry shook his head. “Quite the opposite, actually. When one of the couples do actually stay together, you can almost hear the ‘Aww’ across the world. I guess it wouldn’t be a big deal if every relationship worked, but now it’s sort of like winning the lottery.”

  A sharp tapping of a spoon on a glass pulled everyone’s attention to the center of the room. Christina smiled as all the cameras pointed in her direction. The smile didn’t reach her eyes, though. Her eyes looked tired. Haunted.

  “All right, ladies,” the hostess said. “I need everyone to gather in the front yard. It’s time for the first rose ceremony.”

  “Gotta go,” Jerry said. “Good luck.” He started following the girls, the camera once again glued to his face, as he taped the girls heading out the door.

  A sense of relief suddenly washed over me. It was almost over. It had to be. After my little encounter with the prince of roses, not getting a rose was practically guaranteed. Granny Mags would be upset about her little revenge plan fizzling out but I didn’t care. At this point, I was willing to accept whatever alternate punishment she dreamed up.

  “Penny,” Pita called out, headed towards me like a guided missile. A very unhappy guided missile. “We have a problem.”

  “You mean besides the murder that happened across the street from our home and business?”

  She nodded. “I was going to make a banana smoothie but we’re out of bananas.”

  I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose between two fingers. I could feel a headache coming. A week ago, Pita had decided she needed to work on eating healthier. She didn’t care that our main diet consisted of blood that Anthony got from a nearby out-of-town hospital, and she didn’t care that vampires rarely, if ever, gain weight. All she knew was that she wanted to eat healthier, and for whatever reason, she had decided smoothies - particularly banana smoothies - were the fast lane to healthy living.

  “So,” I said, wanting to make sure I understood correctly, “we had a murder happen across the street and I’m stuck in reality television hell but no bananas is a problem.”