I closed my eyes for a minute. When I opened them, he was still there. Still dead.
“How is he dead?” I whispered, unable to keep my thoughts to myself. “He’s the murderer.”
“Declan, are you okay?” Gideon asked. He cupped my elbow in his hand, as if he meant to steer me away. “Maybe we should call Grady from Elwood’s.”
“I’m okay, I think. But we can’t leave yet. We need to look around before the police get here.”
Last time, I squandered my opportunity to investigate the crime scene. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again. Tulip stepped up beside me.
“Well, good riddance,” she muttered. “But I still want to drag him to my lake. Can I have him?” She stared unblinkingly at me.
“Uh…” Why was she asking me? Was it because she knew everyone else would tell her no and wanted to try her luck with the newbie?
“Hazel can wrap him up so he’s easier to move.”
Hazel cleared her throat and reached out with one of her skinny spider legs to pat Tulip on the back. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, dear. You don’t want a dead body cluttering up your pond, do you?”
“So, I can’t have him?” Tulip pressed.
“No.” I shook my head. “And if someone’s killed him, he must not be the murderer. We were wrong.”
Tulip crossed her arms over her chest and stomped her foot. It made a little splashing sound. Fun fact: when Tulip was agitated, she shed water more quickly. I’d need to remember to stock water bottles for her.
“Oh man,” Sandy said as he shoved the last of his cookie in his mouth. “The smell of blood does not go with chocolate.”
Gideon studied Mellgren. “You okay?”
Mellgren dabbed at his nose with a handkerchief. “I’m in control.”
“Why wouldn’t he be?” I whispered to Sandy.
“He abstains from drinking blood, but he’s still a vampire. Sometimes being around a lot of blood can send them into bloodlust.”
Oh. Yeah.That wasn’t good. I stepped closer to Gideon. He smiled down at me and put his arm around my back, like he was pleased I’d sought protection from him.
“Declan has a point. The police have their methods, but they aren’t us,” Gideon said. “If you aren’t too upset by this discovery, let’s take a few minutes to look around. We shouldn’t disturb the crime scene, but try to take note of what you can see from where you are standing.”
Mellgren was paler than he had been before. “I’ll step out and call Grady.”
“Of course.” Declan nodded. Getting the vampire away from the blood sounded like an excellent idea.
“Before I go…” The vampire held his handkerchief under his nose, but it didn’t muffle his words. “The color of the blood tells me the body has been here for several hours. The heat and the volume of blood are both factors, but this is definitely not a fresh kill.”
“How can you tell?”
“Experience. I wasn’t always vegan.”
His answer made me wish I hadn’t asked. Then he moved to the door so quickly that he was a blur.
“I’ll go check on him,” Elwood said.
“Are you sure that’s safe?”
Elwood rolled his eyes at me and didn’t bother answering before following the vampire out the door.
“Elwood knows what he’s doing,” Gideon assured me.
I hoped he was right.
