Vance. That suited him. He was suave in a not-quite-smarmy way, but still, something didn’t do it for me. “What can I do for you, Vance?” I asked.
It was strange how hard it was for me to get a read on this guy. He didn't strike me as either one of the good guys, or the bad. But maybe because I hadn't met a lot of nice vampires. My experience with them alone made me hesitant to let my guard down at all. Still, that probably wasn't a bad thing. Letting your guard down with a vampire might just mean becoming his next meal.
Or maybe I was just being dramatic. Who knew at this point? Daniel had told me to be on my guard, so I’d be careful.
He held out his arm, indicating the beach. “Shall we walk?”
I eyeballed my sandals and bottle of water near the grass that made up my backyard. “All right.” Nobody would bother my shoesifanyone even came through. This part of the beach was pretty private, with residences all along for miles. Private enough not to get my stuff stolen, but not so private that a vampire could attack me and no one would notice.
Which was perfect. I could hopefully elevate my curiosity and still be safe.
Besides, I had a feeling if this vampire was here to murder me, he wouldn't be being so polite. Nor would he be offering to walk along the beach. He'd probably just invite me back to his casket.
If vampires even use caskets. Note to self, ask Daniel more about vampires.
“I don’t mean to pull you away from your leisure,” Vance said as strolled along in his suit and tie. Sand had to have been getting inside his shiny, patent leather shoes, but it’d been his choice to come down to the beach. If he’d wanted to talk, he could’ve waited on my porch, or heck, even in my backyard. “I was hoping to discuss the case with you.”
That piqued my attention. “Sure. What can I help you with?” Belatedly, I remember how Daniel had warned me not to get involved.
He sucked a breath in through his teeth. Walking on the sand was, as always, a little tricky. I stumbled slightly, not about to fall, just the normal unsteadiness of being on the sand. Yet Vance grabbed my arm and put his other hand on my back as if he would single-handedly keep me on my feet for the rest of my life.
“I’m okay, thank you,” I murmured, then put a little bit of distance between us. “About the case?”
Because while none of this was likely him making moves on me, it oddly felt like he was. Like coming and talking to me about a shared topic was an excuse to romance me a bit. And I, officially, was someone's girlfriend, now. As well as, officially, head-over-heels for a particular bear shifter who made my heart race for entirely different reasons than this vampire did.
He sucked in another breath and this time I didn’t stumble before he spoke. “I suspect Quillan Laire was killed by another vampire.” As he spoke, he watched me. Was he looking to see my reaction? If so, well, tough luck buddy. I'd gotten a heck of a lot better at hiding my reactions these last few months. He wasn't going to getanynon-verbal info from me.
I kept my expression neutral, just in case he was. “Oh, really?”
“Yes.” His gaze burned. “Although I also think that vampire has been breaking our rules and laws left and right in an attempt to make his coven the most powerful; the biggest.”
That didn’t sound good. “That’s problematic.”
He nodded and put his hands in his pockets, which made me feel a little better about walking closer to him. Maybe he wouldn't try to put his arm around me again. “I wondered, Emma, if you’d be willing to come to look at some evidence and try to get a read on the suspects?”
"Why?" I genuinely meant it. I can't imagine some big, bad vampire detective needed me to look at the evidence.
"All the things you're doing in this town aren't going unnoticed. I feel you have a real skill for detective work and might be able to learn something that we've missed." He gives a charming smile, but I get the feeling a lot of women have been charmed by that smile, which made me wary.
Daniel said to give these guys some space. I really should listen because he's always got my back and wouldn't want to steer me in the wrong direction. But every time I think of Carol, I want to be super involved in this case. I want to find the killer of that jerk vampire, mostly just to be sure the killer isn't my friend's old love.
"You'd be doing us a huge favor. And if you don't figure anything out, no worries! We'll continue on with the case and try not to bother you again." The fact that his tone was so light, the opposite of someone trying to convince me, was strange. This man, he was smooth. Velvety smooth. But still, I could carefully look into the case and then, when I knew for sure what was going on, step right back out.
Couldn't I?
"Or not. Sorry if I overstepped."
"No, not at all," I said, studying him. I wasn’t sure exactly how they wanted me to help with this case unless they suspected Bryan and already knew he’d contacted me. But IwasKarma, after all. I’d help if I could. “Sure. I do a bit of private detecting with a partner. When and where?”
“I have a place just outside of town. Could you come for dinner tomorrow? We don’t keep formal offices.” He winked. “Keeps down on the suspicion that way.”
“Why dinner? How would that help?”
He ducked his head. “Sorry, let me explain. I’d like you to pretend to be my date and see if you can get a read on any of the vampires in attendance. I have invited the ones I suspect of being involved in Quillan’s death.”
I did have a certain amount of powers of my own, after all. And he was an investigator. It seemed unlikely he’d take me there to hurt me. I doubted he’d even beableto hurt me, if I was on my game, which I would be. And I also didn’t think he wanted to. Seemed more like he wanted to either flirt or actually use my powers to end this class faster.
Not that I'd let him flirt. More likely, I'd use the fact that he was used to women falling all over themselves with him to get the upper hand. Then, I could unofficially learn about the case and get out while causing the least amount of trouble.
