Page 13 of Absolution
“Self-defense then. Three against one is never good odds. Even for a vampire. They could have had weapons.”
But I’d let the monster out. Maybe my senses had been off. Maybe I’d taken too much from one of them. “Do you know what a redout is?”
“It’s something bad. A berserker-like rage that vampires can go into, uncontrollable bloodlust, usually with no memory of what happened. It’s sort of a boogeyman tale to scare young vampires into behaving and people away from them.”
Shit.
“There are some reports of actual occurrences that I read about in my Metaphysics 101 class. Usually a lot of people die. Sometimes the vampire doesn’t even feed on the blood, just shreds people. Gabe won’t talk about it. Not with me.” He paused and frowned. “Did you have a redout in the alley?” Seiran gripped my hand like he feared my answer.
“No.” Not really. I’d let the monster out, but I’d still mostly been in control. “With Luca. I remember everything from the alley. But my sight went red with Luca just before I blacked out.”
Sei relaxed in his chair. “Luca is alive and well, so that’s good.” He sighed heavily. “There’s no legal defense for redouts.”
The door opened and several people entered the room. One had to be my lawyer since he was dressed in an expensive suit. The other two were probably cops.
“Mr. Rou you’ll have to leave now,” one of the detectives told him, holding the door open for him. The cop put his hand out for my empty cup and I let him have it. He’d probably take DNA off it or something, fingerprints, whatever. I couldn’t stop it. If I killed those men, I deserved whatever they did to me. The fine line I was walking between hurting them and killing them was far too narrow. Gabe was going to rip me a new one if I made it out of this.
Seiran squeezed my hand before he left.
“Later, Ronnie,” I teased him. Everyone sat down. The suit took his place beside me and said, “Please note that I will advise him not to answer any questions that may incriminate him. He has also cooperated without resistance, so let’s make this fast so I can take my client home to bed where he belongs.”
“Understood, Mr. Janovich,” the cop said then turned to me. “I’m Detective Rice and this is Detective Moore. We just want to ask you a few questions about last night.”
“Okay,” I told him.
“Let’s start with how you got so banged up, Sam.”
“I was sparring with my friend Luca.”
“He beat you up? He looks pretty roughed up too. Maybe you both went for a little walk to find someone else to beat on? Maybe you get your kicks that way,” the other detective said.
The lawyer interrupted before I could reply, “If you don’t have any actual questions, Detective, this interview is over.”
“Is there anyone who can vouch for you other than Luca Depacio?”
Were they questioning his credibility too? “Not when we were sparring. It was just the two us, but before that we were at a coffee shop for a while.”
“Name and location of the shop?”
I rattled it off. I wondered if I should tell them about the fight in the alley. Would they automatically assume I’d killed the guys even though they’d been alive when I left? I leaned toward the lawyer who tilted his head to listen. “Three guys attacked me in an alley early last night. They had bats. I fought back, but they were all alive when I left. That was before coffee and before I met Gabe at the club.”
“What time?” He prompted.
“Eight thirty. Then I went to the club where I met up with Gabe and Luca. I worked last night too. But I’m sure Gabe told you that.”
“And where did this incident occur?”
I gave him the exact location. West 7thwasn’t a great place to be in broad daylight. After dark it was brutal. Just being there was bound to start something, but I kept my mouth shut about the fact that I’d been looking for a fight.
Mr. Janovich relayed the events to the detectives. “I think that settles this. Since Mr. Mueller was otherwise engaged. He has a solid alibi from after eleven p.m. Probable death for your victims was after two a.m.” I was at the bar working until just before two a.m. “He was on the other side of town working until two a.m. and then with a lover, who is out in the lobby, until early this morning. Since you have no reason to hold him, it’s time for him to go home.” He got up from his chair and I followed. I really hadn’t killed anyone?
“It’s daylight. He can’t leave anyway. And we can hold him for up to twenty-four hours without charging him.”
“You have no reason to hold him other than the fact that he’s a vampire. That would be racial profiling, Detective. Does your department want that lawsuit?”
The detectives glanced at each other. “So be it,” Rice said. “I suggest you don’t leave town, Mr. Mueller. Forensics will be combing your clothing for DNA evidence.”
“You should probably swab Luca, since it’s his blood all over my clothes,” I told them as I followed my lawyer out the door. Were they really letting me go?