Page 71 of The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid

Robertson swallowed hard but shook his head.

‘Because we created some more books. Special books. Ones that lookedexactlythe same except for one thing.’

‘What?’ Robertson asked with dread.

Connor smiled. ‘We altered the books so it looked like you’d cooked them. When Dad wants to talk to me about your death, I’ll hand them over and explain that you’d been stealing from him for years.’

‘I would never have dared! I would never steal from your father!’

‘You and I both know that,’ Connor said. ‘But my dear father is always ready to believe the worst of people. Instead of being angry at me for killing one of his favourites, he will reward me. He will bepleasedat the proof that his son isn’t soft. It will prove to him that he was right to send you here for whatever imagined insult you supposedly gave him. I’m going to end you,’ he went on calmly, ‘and not a soul will weep for you. Not your wife, not your daughter – and certainly not Hamish MacKenzie.’

Hatred poured from Robertson’s eyes. ‘You little fucking bastard. I should have killed you during your conclave.’

‘Yes,’ Connor agreed. ‘You should have.’ He turned to John. ‘Gag him.’ John pulled out a roll of duct tape, bit some off and smoothed it over Robertson’s lips. Connor looked at me. ‘You don’t have to stay for this.’

‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘I do.’

His eyes glimmered with regret but, respecting my decision, he nodded. ‘Get everyone back in, Parker.’

Parker opened the door and called in the other vampires to witness what was to follow. ‘Sit,’ Connor ordered when they had all filed in. They all sat instantly, wherever they were. ‘I do not often rule by fang and fear. That is not our way here. We live together and work together in harmony. But I am not obliviousto those within our ranks who believe I am not firm enough.’ His eyes landed on Parker, who flushed.

‘Let us set such concerns aside. I am many things but soft is not one of them.’ He held a hand out to Margrave, who bowed low and passed over a sheathed sword.

Oh my goodness. A freaking sword! Had we gone back in time? This was some medieval shit.

Connor drew the silvery blade from the scabbard. As I saw his hands redden, I realised the bladeandits pommel were made of silver. ‘Cobalt Robertson, you have been tried and you have been found guilty. For bringing all of vampiredom into disrepute, I sentence you to death.’

Connor swung back the silver blade and struck with such brutal force that he not only severed Robertson’s head clean from his shoulders but also sliced straight through the back of the ornate wooden dining chair that Robertson was tied to. The impact echoed around the room, a wet crunch followed by the sharp crack of splintering wood.

There was no fountain of blood, only a steady, macabre spill, like wine poured out so it could breathe. As Connor pulled the blade free with a yank, blood sprayed off his sword; dark crimson splatters painted the white linen tablecloth, the porcelain dishes and the wall behind him.

Faye Robertson screamed, a high, broken wail that shattered the tense stillness. Maybe Connor was wrong: it seemed that Faye would weep over her husband, no matter how much of an asshole he turned out to be.

Robertson’s head hit the floor with a dull, meaty thud, his eyes wide open in shock, mouth still taped over. No last words for him. His body, secured to the chair with chains, remained where it was. The bloody stump was weeping blood but there was no arterial spray because the bastard didn’t have a pumping heart; he hadn’t had one for several centuries.

Connor stood over the carnage, blade still dripping, breathing slowly and steadily. ‘Justice is done,’ he said coldly to the assembly, then wiped the sword clean on a lace doily like it was just another Tuesday.

I looked at my mate and wondered if I knew him at all.

Chapter 44

The vampires were responsible for documenting and clearing the scene. I didn’t have chance to speak to Connor because he was awash in a sea of sycophantic brethren, all eyeing his crown with poorly disguised greed or lust. They were praising his actions and the women were fluttering their eyelashes. I trusted Connor, I truly did, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to bitch-slap the fluttering flirty females into next week.

To save me from needing to arrest myself, I urged Gunnar and Sidnee back to the SUV. ‘Well,’ I said into the silence. ‘That was different.’

‘You okay?’ Sidnee asked softly.

I thought about it. ‘I mostly am,’ I said finally. ‘It’s not like I haven’t seen Connor kill people before… But the ceremony, the trappings … that was all new. And I wished he’d spoken to me about what he intended. He rolled away this morning and left me a note – he was too cowardly to face me and discuss it like an adult. So, yeah, we’ll be having words.’

‘Have them later,’ Gunnar said tightly. ‘I got a message when we were in there. My contact has eyes on Thomas.’

‘Oh thank God!’ The words exploded out of Sidnee.

‘What happened?’ I asked Gunnar. ‘What do we know?’

‘Not much,’ he groused. ‘Just that there was some kind of fight in a corridor and my man caught sight of Thomas before he was hustled away. He’ll try and determine which floor he’s being held on and in which cell, then we’ll be good to go.’

‘“Some kind of fight”?’ I grinned. ‘That’s Thomas, all right.’

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