Young.”
“Wait. Young, the arsonist?”
“Looks that way. You tell anyone else that he was bothering you, Isabel?”
I shook my head, staring at the bag, trying to make sense of the situation. On the one hand, I was weak with relief that it hadn’t been someone I cared about. On the other, I was racking my brain. Who would have done this? “Just Shane,” I replied automatically.
Reggie nodded. “It looks as if he was killed somewhere else and placed here.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“The body was drained of blood. But there isn’t a drop here.” He motioned toward the ground.
“So, you’re thinking vampire?” I asked.
Reggie shrugged. “Maybe, but there were no bite marks. It looks like whoever did the deed slit the bastard’s throat.”
Shane and I exchanged a glance. It didn’t sound like a vamp kill, but it didn’t exclude them either. A squeal of tires from behind me made me turn. A Channel 7 news van had just showed up to the party. Super .
Reggie tucked his notebook in his pocket and nodded. “If y’all will excuse me, I need to go deal with this.”
As soon as he was out of earshot, Shane grabbed me by the elbow and led me off to the side, Mercy still in tow.
“That isn’t all,” he said in hushed tones. “When we found him, there was a big red bow on his head and a tag stuck to his shirt. Isabel, it had your name on it.”
“My name? Anything else?”
He shook his head.
“We, uh, left the bow, but I took the tag before the cops got here. I was afraid they might think…”
“That I had something to do with the murder,” I added softly.
Shane’s heart was in the right place, but if the cops ever found out he’d tampered with the evidence, he and Mercy could both be screwed.
“Exactly.”
“What kind of deranged person would put a bow and a tag on a dead body?” I asked out loud. To my surprise, Mercy answered.
“Someone who was leaving you a gift,” she said in her usual over-the-top accent. With a petulant frown, she added quietly, “She gets the best presents.” Louder, she said, “Oh, Shane, can we go now? All these sirens are giving me a headache.”
He looked surprised at her request. “Oh, well, I don’t know,” he said gently. “I don’t think Isabel should be alone tonight.”
Mercy shot me a look so dirty it could have lit me on fire.
The catty, insecure part of me wanted to play the frightened victim who needed him to stay, but the truth was, I’d have rather eaten glass than admit any weakness in front of that woman. The competitive side won out. What could I say? I sucked at damsel in distress.
“Nah, I’m fine. Really. I’m just gonna grab a shower and hit the sack,” I lied smoothly, knowing full well I’d never be able to get to sleep after this.
Shane looked at me like I was full of shit, but he didn’t challenge me. A lingering, vulnerable part of me was disappointed.
“All right then. Come on, Mercy. Let’s go.”
It took another hour before I’d answered all the cops’ questions and the coroner had taken the body. Reggie stayed with me and did a walk-through of the house just to make sure no one was inside and nothing had been stolen. Near as we could tell, whoever left the body had never made it inside. Unfortunately, that did little to calm my nerves.
I did everything I could to avoid going to bed. I sent some e-mails that were sitting in my outbox, returned a frantic call from my mother who’d seen the entire thing on the ten o’clock news, scrubbed my bathtub until I had a contact high from the cleaners, and then I watched Avatar .
My nerves finally settled down just as first light crept into my windows. Something about dawn made me feel safer, despite the fact that Shane still hadn’t made it home. He was probably shacking up with Mercy somewhere , I told myself grumpily as I slid into my cool bed and closed my eyes.
The cell phone in my nightstand started ringing just after I’d hit the sack, or
“Wait. Young, the arsonist?”
“Looks that way. You tell anyone else that he was bothering you, Isabel?”
I shook my head, staring at the bag, trying to make sense of the situation. On the one hand, I was weak with relief that it hadn’t been someone I cared about. On the other, I was racking my brain. Who would have done this? “Just Shane,” I replied automatically.
Reggie nodded. “It looks as if he was killed somewhere else and placed here.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“The body was drained of blood. But there isn’t a drop here.” He motioned toward the ground.
“So, you’re thinking vampire?” I asked.
Reggie shrugged. “Maybe, but there were no bite marks. It looks like whoever did the deed slit the bastard’s throat.”
Shane and I exchanged a glance. It didn’t sound like a vamp kill, but it didn’t exclude them either. A squeal of tires from behind me made me turn. A Channel 7 news van had just showed up to the party. Super .
Reggie tucked his notebook in his pocket and nodded. “If y’all will excuse me, I need to go deal with this.”
As soon as he was out of earshot, Shane grabbed me by the elbow and led me off to the side, Mercy still in tow.
“That isn’t all,” he said in hushed tones. “When we found him, there was a big red bow on his head and a tag stuck to his shirt. Isabel, it had your name on it.”
“My name? Anything else?”
He shook his head.
“We, uh, left the bow, but I took the tag before the cops got here. I was afraid they might think…”
“That I had something to do with the murder,” I added softly.
Shane’s heart was in the right place, but if the cops ever found out he’d tampered with the evidence, he and Mercy could both be screwed.
“Exactly.”
“What kind of deranged person would put a bow and a tag on a dead body?” I asked out loud. To my surprise, Mercy answered.
“Someone who was leaving you a gift,” she said in her usual over-the-top accent. With a petulant frown, she added quietly, “She gets the best presents.” Louder, she said, “Oh, Shane, can we go now? All these sirens are giving me a headache.”
He looked surprised at her request. “Oh, well, I don’t know,” he said gently. “I don’t think Isabel should be alone tonight.”
Mercy shot me a look so dirty it could have lit me on fire.
The catty, insecure part of me wanted to play the frightened victim who needed him to stay, but the truth was, I’d have rather eaten glass than admit any weakness in front of that woman. The competitive side won out. What could I say? I sucked at damsel in distress.
“Nah, I’m fine. Really. I’m just gonna grab a shower and hit the sack,” I lied smoothly, knowing full well I’d never be able to get to sleep after this.
Shane looked at me like I was full of shit, but he didn’t challenge me. A lingering, vulnerable part of me was disappointed.
“All right then. Come on, Mercy. Let’s go.”
It took another hour before I’d answered all the cops’ questions and the coroner had taken the body. Reggie stayed with me and did a walk-through of the house just to make sure no one was inside and nothing had been stolen. Near as we could tell, whoever left the body had never made it inside. Unfortunately, that did little to calm my nerves.
I did everything I could to avoid going to bed. I sent some e-mails that were sitting in my outbox, returned a frantic call from my mother who’d seen the entire thing on the ten o’clock news, scrubbed my bathtub until I had a contact high from the cleaners, and then I watched Avatar .
My nerves finally settled down just as first light crept into my windows. Something about dawn made me feel safer, despite the fact that Shane still hadn’t made it home. He was probably shacking up with Mercy somewhere , I told myself grumpily as I slid into my cool bed and closed my eyes.
The cell phone in my nightstand started ringing just after I’d hit the sack, or
Similar Books
