When the sun rose the following morning, Winston found me outside lounging on the couch, the bonfire flickering.
“Sir?”
I looked up and he was, as always, well put together. In his hand was a mug of blood. I held out my hand to take it.
“Is there anything else I could get you?”
“Do you know, after Sam’s parents died—did he get a life insurance payout?”
His brows dipped. “I have no idea, sir. I can see what I could find out.”
That felt intrusive and, I was sure Vincent would tell me, rude. “No, I was just wondering if you knew.”
“Is something wrong?”
I sat up more and took a sip of blood. “I don’t know. Sam wasn’t Sam yesterday. Off, sad, worried.”
“Could he just have been having a bad day? Us humans do have bad days, just as I’m sure you too have rough ones.”
Perhaps that was it. “I suppose.”
“Did you ask him?”
“Of course. He claimed he was just stressed, had a lot to do.”
Winston shrugged. “There you have it. Stress can absolutely bring a mood down.”
Was that really all it was? “Perhaps.”
“You have an evening planned with him tonight, correct?”
“Yes, just going to the movies, and maybe he’d like to come back here.”
“Very good. See how he is. If his mood has blossomed, you know it was just a bad day. If it hasn’t, gently ask him what’s going on.”
It was so simple. “Thank you, Winston.”
I sat there long after I’d finished my blood. I’d texted Sam good morning and asked him if he’d be ready at seven to go to the movies. His reply wasn’t his usualHey, handsome. Instead all I got was,Yeah.
Something was absolutely wrong, and I was going to find out what it was.
Winston madesure there would be a car waiting at the dock. I didn’t want to walk to the movie theater; it was a good five miles from Sam’s apartment, and that felt like too much for a human.
I pulled up to Sam’s at five to seven. Maggie was outside closing up and waved when she saw me.
“Good evening, Lukas.”
“Maggie. How are you?” I didn’t really care how she was, but I wanted to ask her something quickly before I went up to Sam’s apartment.
“I’m well, you?”
“Good. Listen, Maggie, has Sam seemed off to you?”
“Off, how?”
“Not the sunshine and rainbows he normally is, stressed?”
She cocked her head. “Hmm…Now that you mention it, he didn’t come in this morning for a new book, and he usually does.”
