“That’s a good question.”
And hopefully I could come up with a good answer.
I said, “The fangs are special because they’re from a time when Nick and I were happy as a couple. Our split had been amicable, of course—” I had to bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep myself from balking “—but they’re representative of a fond memory.”
“Even though you’re with Robert Bramson now?” he said, sounding almost as if he was mocking me.
“That’s right. So, if I could have the fangs back, I’d really appreciate it. They’re just so small. I’d hate to see them lost.”
A few tears leaked from the corners of my eyes, and I realized that I wasn’t faking them. Nick may have done a lot of despicable things, but he didn’t deserve to be murdered in such a barbaric fashion. I felt the most grief for his parents, who were sweet, decent people from a small town in Minnesota. They were going to be devastated to learn that they’d lost their only son.
The officer considered my request. “We’ll have to hold them as evidence, but I don’t see why you won’t be able to get them back after everything’s processed.”
I sighed. Robert was not going to be happy when I returned home empty-handed. Vampires had connections everywhere, though, so maybe he or one of his associates knew a human at the police station who could be bribed to steal the fangs from evidence lockup.
“So, you’ve seen them?”
“No, I haven’t personally,” the officer said, getting to his feet. “Wait just a moment, please.”
I wiped tears away from my cheeks with the back of my hand. “It would break my heart if they were damaged,” I called after him desperately as he strode toward the fountain. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was essential to Robert’s welfare to get those fangs back.
I watched as the officer searched around the fountain, then briefly chatted with the techs working the scene. Everyone he spoke with shook their heads. I knew the news was bad before Officer Dodds returned to deliver it.
The fangs were nowhere to be found.
4
When I got home, I saw that Robert’s fangs weren’t all that was missing. The rest of Robert was gone, too.
A lot had happened since I’d seen him. Not only did I crave my boyfriend’s comfort, but I was also bursting to tell him the news about Nick’s murder.
“Robert? Are you here?”
Nothing.
I’d repeatedly tried calling him on the way home. His phone had kept going to voicemail, which was odd. I assumed he would have been dying to learn all the nitty-gritty details about my meeting at Lakeside Plaza—or at least offer up commiseration after I’d been forced to deal with Nick. At minimum, he should have at least wanted to know if I’d gotten his fangs back.
So, where was he?
My chest heated with a spark of anger. I wouldn’t have said that I was pissed off, but I was getting prepared to be. Robert couldn’tstillbe mad about the tiff we’d had earlier, could he? He’d better not be after what I’d just been through.
I went into the kitchen and set my handbag on the diningroom table, then looked around for a note. After a moment of searching, I saw no note but understood why my calls had gone unanswered. Robert’s cell was sitting on top of the table, buzzing like crazy with message notifications.
I frowned. On weekdays, Robert never went anywhere without his phone. When you run your own corporation, being continually available Monday through Friday is simply a way of life.
I went into the garage to see if his car was gone. It wasn’t. I felt the hood, and it was cold, so he hadn’t gone anywhere recently. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I was getting a bad feeling. There had to be a logical explanation, though, right? No need to overreact when Robert simply may have gone out for a stroll.
Telling myself to stay calm didn’t slow the thudding of my heart, especially when a voice in my brain piped up to remind me that I’d never once witnessed Robert casually going for a walk the whole time we’d lived together. He didn’t casually doanything. Everything he did had a purpose. Also, he’d been expecting me, so he wouldn’t have suddenly gone meandering around the neighborhood.
So, where the hell was he?
Not in bed. I’d checked his sleeping chamber anyway, despite it being nighttime and vampires not being napping types. Empty.
I went through the rest of the house, starting from the bottom and working my way up. I even looked in closets. My fright increased as I ran out of places to search.
The house even felt empty. Off, too, though my heebie-jeebies might have been caused by seeing my ex-boyfriend’s head floating in a fountain. I took a few deep breaths to slow my heartbeat.
In the last place I searched, the living room, I came acrosssigns of a struggle. It wasn’t a bloody scene, just a crushed ottoman, an overturned lamp and table, and a couple cushions askew on the sofa. However, it was enough to convince me that something nefarious had happened.
