Page 15 of Midlife Vampire Unexpected

“But you know the perpetrator is a demon and he’s not shacked up at the Crown Hotel. What we need to be figuring out is where the demon is, what form he’s taken and what he’s doing.”

“In order to keep everything simple and straightforward, I need to show up for work and do what my boss asks me to. And who knows, with all the tourists who are coming into this town, we might meet one at the hotel.”

“Now you’re guessing and stretching and hoping there’s a real solution there.” Antonio dared me to deny it.

“Last time I checked I was a cop,” I said, “so why don’t you leave the sleuthing to the pros. I didn’t ask for you to come with me.”

“What Bianca said about you needing me made sense. I’m saying instead of going to the Crown Hotel and interviewing everybody, why don’t we go and find out where the demon is.”

I looked up at him. “And do you have some lead on this Demon? Maybe you have some place you know where the demons all hang out and we can go there and take a look for him?”

“Can’t say I do,” Antonio said.

“Right, because you’re a werewolf without a pack. You don’t even have a network of people to talk to you.”

“I don’t see you with a pack either, Deputy,” Antonio said, a slight bit of sarcasm running in his voice. “Keep making out I’m a loner, but last time I checked you don’t have a lot of friends or family hanging around.”

Irritation shot through me. It wasn’t like I needed that pointed out. I was used to being alone. It had always seemed a bit strange to me that officers of the law would get married and have kids when their job was so dangerous. They could be killed at any minute and leave behind a wife, a kid, a husband and partner. There was no way I was going to do that to anybody. I was going to stay isolated and in my own little world and if I died in the line of duty, it wasn’t going to affect anyone.

I stopped in my tracks and took a deep breath even though I didn’t need to breathe anymore I was dead whether I breathed or not. My body was inhaling and exhaling out of habit rather than necessity.

I had died in the line of duty and just shown back up to work. I pressed my lips together, a bit nonplussed by the observation Antonio had made.

“Let’s get these interviews done and you can get back to Bianca,” I said, a little annoyed. He arched an eyebrow at me but didn’t respond.

The woman behind the hotel desk had blonde curly hair and thin lips pressed together in a bad mood. I waved my badge, which just made her glare at me with annoyance. “You got a problem with someone at my hotel?” she asked.

Whatever the Crown Hotel had once been in its day, it had lost some of its lavish charm now. It was an old brick building with a façade that made it look rather grand, but inside, everything was faded and tattered. Basically, it needed a really good overhaul.

Just like the lady behind the counter. Even though she was young, she looked a little bit worn out. I peered at her nametag. “Heather, we’re looking for some people who have been acting suspiciously. People that have been acting a little differently to your typical holiday goers.”

“You mean all those happy couples from the city?” she asked curiously. “The happiest couples come through here, holding hands and kissing faces before they go to their rooms to fuck their brains out all weekend. Then they back to their homes in the cities and their high-end jobs. They leave us to change the sheets.”

Antonio raised both of his eyebrows at her, his eyes wide with surprise. It was fairly standard. I had interviewed hundreds of hotel clerks and shop attendants and there was always a hint of a bitterness. Probably because they had to deal with the public all the time.

“But there’s been no single men checking in recently?” I asked. “Somebody on their own, maybe even a woman on the road?”

“There was one guy,” the woman said. “Fiery red hair and a strong jaw line. He was something else, but I don’t think he was suspicious.”

“What room is he in?” I asked, giving her a warning stare.

“We don’t want any trouble here,” she said.

“The only way you’re going to stay out of trouble is if you don’t give me that man’s room number,” I said.

“Twenty-nine,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll walk you over there.”

Chapter 10

We walked with Heather up to the door and knocked on it a few times, but there was no answer.

“I can’t let you in without a search warrant.”

Antonio let out a low growl.

I glared at him. “Stop it. She’s a kid. She doesn’t realize the amount of time it’ll take me to walk over to the police station and do all the paperwork to get a search warrant.” I looked at her wondering if I need to spell out a threat. “Or you could just let me in the room.”

“You don’t scare me none,” Heather said. “I’m going to open the door, but I want you know it’s not because I’m afraid of you. It’s because I’m a good citizen. If there’s somebody in there doing something wrong in the neighborhood, then I’m going to want to know about it or I’m going to want to help to stop it from happening.”

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