Page 7 of How to Stake a Vampire (Diary of a Reluctant Werewolf #2)

THE PLOT THICKENS

Virgil blinked, nonplussed. “What blood bank robbery?”

Ellie was pretending to make coffee behind him and failing badly.

My wolf and I could tell Virgil wasn’t acting.

“We understand you were at Eternal Reserves on Saturday,” I said quietly. “Someone broke into the place and pretty much cleaned it out that night.”

Ellie almost dropped a cup.

Virgil stiffened. The vampire’s friendly smile faded. “And I’m a suspect? Just because I visited the place that day?”

A burst of crimson power rolled off the barista.

I startled, my wolf stirring under my skin. It was gone as quickly as it had appeared, leaving a fading haze in the air I suspected only supernatural creatures could see.

Judging from the way Barney narrowed his eyes, it wasn’t a figment of my imagination.

“We’re not saying you’re a suspect,” the older vampire told Virgil in a hard voice, his gaze holding a crimson glint of warning. “But you might have seen or smelled something that could help us identify the culprit.”

Didi made a face at Barney. “Are you sure you want to write him off the suspect list?”

Barney indicated Virgil irritably. “Does he look like he goes around humming Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony?”

Didi studied the vampire barista with pursed lips. “You have a point.”

“He had two in his—” Bo started helpfully before I hastily muzzled him with my hand.

Ellie reappeared at Virgil’s elbow. I stared at what she was carrying as she stepped out from behind the counter.

It was a tray of drinks that looked suspiciously like regular coffee with red coloring.

“Ellie, wait—” Virgil started, alarmed.

She’d already reached a table.

“Two Type-O lattes and a B-positive cappuccino,” she announced cheerfully.

We stared as the vampires reluctantly accepted their order and took polite sips that couldn’t completely hide their disappointment.

I hated being right.

“She’s been giving vampires normal coffee?” I asked Virgil.

Barney sucked in air. Gavin’s horns popped out.

Didi muttered something under her breath that didn’t sound like a compliment.

“The customers are too polite to complain. Besides, it’s not like regular coffee will kill them.” Virgil sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I thought she was getting the hang of the supernatural drink recipes, but apparently I wasn’t clear enough. I should have kept a closer eye on her.”

Having known Ellie since preschool, I could see how Virgil had fallen into the trap of thinking she could understand simple instructions without a map. I shuddered as I recalled the sandpit incident of 2002.

My best friend had flooded the sandbox with the garden hose in a mistaken attempt to cool everyone down during a blistering summer.

This resulted in a quagmire that had trapped five children, two teaching assistants, and Gerald, the school’s pet hamster.

The fire department chief said he’d never seen anything like it, a statement Ellie had chosen to take as a compliment rather than a dire indictment of her burgeoning life skills.

Mrs. Henderson, our teacher, had to take the week off to recuperate from the trauma.

As for Gerald the Hamster, he was never quite the same afterward.

“Is what you said true?” Virgil said warily. “Someone cleaned out Eternal Reserves?”

“They even hit the emergency stock,” Gavin confirmed.

“Ouch.” Virgil rubbed his chin, a thoughtful frown wrinkling his brow. “I’m afraid I didn’t sense anything unusual while I was there.”

“The staff we interviewed told us you looked a little preoccupied that day,” I said carefully.

“And you seemed oddly fixated on their client board,” Didi added with a grudging trace of suspicion.

Virgil’s expression grew shuttered.

“I was just seeing if they had enough Type A negative,” he finally confessed. “The other blood banks seem to have almost run out. And I’ve been having some—family issues lately.”

“You mean, with the Tremaines?” Didi asked.

Virgil stiffened. “How did you know that?” He shot an accusing look at Gavin.

The dragon newt put his hands up. “It wasn’t me. One of the blood bank staff accidentally spilled the beans.”

“Besides, I know who you are,” Barney said irritably.

Virgil didn’t look happy about any of this.

“If you must know, my father’s been pressuring me to come back to the family,” he said stiffly. “Since he’s not above using underhanded tactics to get what he wants, I’ve been kinda on edge lately.”

Barney studied him for a moment. “I have to admit I wouldn’t put anything past Gregory Tremaine, but sabotaging a coffee shop seems a bit far-fetched.”

“You don’t know my father like I do,” Virgil said darkly. “He’s never forgiven me for rejecting my role in our family. In his mind, I’m bringing shame to the Tremaine name by serving coffee to the masses instead of ruling over them from some ivory tower.”

An awkward silence followed. I started to feel sorry for the vampire.

“I’m afraid we still have to ask you this. Where were you at midnight on Saturday?”

“At home, playing D there had been varying amounts of inventory going missing at most of them, plenty of nervous ghoul staff, and a collective case of selective amnesia when it came to filing official reports.

The tension thrumming through the mate bond from my alpha put my wolf’s teeth on edge. This case was turning out to be bigger than any of us had anticipated.

“That’s about the size of it,” Didi confirmed. “Crimson Curations lost several pints of AB negative last month. Midnight Supply had their entire O-positive stock depleted over the course of three weeks. And don’t get me started on what happened at Plasma Palace.”

Samuel groaned. “What happened at Plasma Palace?”

“Someone kept breaking in and stealing exactly one pint at a time,” Gavin admitted. He scratched a horn. “It took some time for the staff to connect the dots.”

None of us felt the need to inform Samuel that the staff at Plasma Palace were not the smartest tools in the supernatural tool box. Barney had words with the manager before we’d left. The ghoul had lost a couple of limbs in distress.

Samuel sat back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.

I noted the faint circles under his eyes with a degree of concern until I realized I was likely the cause of them. Damn my wolf and her libido.

“So, bar our clue about a vampire who dresses like he’s from the Victorian era and hums Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, we have nothing?” my alpha grumbled.

“No,” Barney muttered. “And we still have no idea why he wanted those genealogical files.”

“Maybe he’s into family trees?” Bo suggested, busy snarfing a muffin he’d unearthed from God knows where.

We all looked at him.

The Husky finished swallowing and licked his chops. “Someone could be mapping out vampire bloodlines and cherry-picking specific types of blood to steal.”

“That actually makes horrifying sense,” Barney said grudgingly.

I studied Bo with something approaching admiration. Sometimes, my dog acted like a true genius.

“Or maybe they’re planning something real terrible,” the Husky continued with significantly more enthusiasm. “Like, I don’t know, wiping out all inferior vampire bloodlines.” His tail thrummed the air with macabre zeal. “I saw a TV show like that once. It was cool!”

And sometimes, my dog just acted like an utter nutjob.

Samuel scowled. “How about we have less useless speculation and more concrete ideas?” There was a knock on the door. “Come in,” he called out irritably.

Janet stuck her head in, her expression apologetic. “Sorry to interrupt, but Charlene just rang. Gregory and Constantia Tremaine are in the building. They’re asking to speak with you about the blood bank investigation.”

A fraught hush fell over the room. Didi and Gavin looked like they’d just been told Victoria and Pearl were here for a visit. Barney curled a lip like he’d swallowed a worm. Bo scratched an ear before examining his tail with the kind of focused expression that said he was thinking about chasing it.

Yup, things could be about to spiral down the drain to Shitsville.

Samuel nodded curtly at Janet, oblivious to my glum thoughts. “Send them in.”

Janet disappeared and returned moments later with the power couple.

Gregory wore a suit that made him look like he’d stepped out of a boardroom where billion-dollar deals were being discussed over afternoon tea.

Constantia’s dress screamed money, while her moue indicated her growing horror at having to mingle with Amberford’s riffraff.

“Abby,” Gregory greeted me politely.

“Gregory,” I murmured.

The vampire couple tensed a little at the sight of Barney.

“Barnabas,” Constantia said steadily. “You’re looking well.”

“As are you, Constantia,” Barney said in a formal tone that hinted at some past history.

Gregory’s face tightened.

Definitely some drama there.

Samuel gestured to a couple of empty chairs. “Please, sit. I assume you’re here about the break-in at Eternal Reserves?”

“Among other things.” Gregory settled into his seat with predatory grace and proceeded to ignore Barney. “We understand you’ve begun investigating the incident.”

“That’s correct. I put Didi’s team in charge of this case.”

Gregory’s gaze flitted to the witch before finding mine. “And what conclusions have you reached so far?”

I shot a wary look at Didi and Samuel. They nodded slightly.

“It seems someone with extensive knowledge of the Amberford blood banks systematically robbed that facility,” I said carefully. “They also stole the genealogical records of some very specific bloodlines.”

Constantia’s fingers tightened on her purse.

Gregory’s expression didn’t change.

“Do you have any suspects?” the vampire asked in a voice that gave little away.

“We’re following a couple of leads,” Didi admitted. She hesitated for a fraction of a second that didn’t go unnoticed. “Your son Virgil was one of the last customers at Eternal Reserves before the break-in.”

The silence became glacial.

I started to wish I’d never bothered to get out of bed this morning.

Bo gulped audibly, all thoughts of chasing his tail evidently abandoned.