Dead Rising by Debra Dunbar

could think of was whether my deodorant was working or not. “And some diseases lend a lovely flavor to blood. You should try it.”
    Ick. We loved our veal, and that was seriously anemic calves, so I guess I couldn’t judge. “No way. I’ll stick to steak and potatoes, thank you very much.”
    His lips twitched. “Your loss.”
    The last half of our drive went quickly. Dario was a pretty interesting guy, weird dining habits aside. He liked modern music, had a thing for craft beers, and confessed that he’d always wanted a cat. I didn’t ask whether he meant to eat or as a pet.
    What he didn’t have were a lot of hobbies outside of hunting for a meal. Vampires liked to lay low, and it was difficult to completely satisfy their hunger without killing their human prey. Every now and then they could get away with murder, but with the number of vampires in a Balaj , it had to be a rare occurrence. A rapidly vanishing population would be noticed, as would a stockpile of dead, bloodless bodies.
    Which reminded me of the autopsy report on the Robertsons. I’d thought about the possibility of vampires as the killers, but there were too many other suspects to start pointing fingers. Still, it seemed a good moment as any to dig for information.
    “Let’s say you kill your victim, either accidently or on purpose. Would you try to cover it up somehow? I can’t imagine it would do you all any good to have a vampire scare in Baltimore.”
    “Are you trying to pin some murders on me?” he teased, cutting a bit close to the truth. “It would be stupid to kill on purpose in your own territory and potentially bring notice to yourself, as well as put your Mistress and Balaj in danger. If there’s an accident, it’s best that the body never be discovered. That rarely happens, though. Leonora doesn’t punish those who have such accidents with a slap on the wrist.”
    I winced, my vivid imagination supplying me with plenty of ideas of Leonora’s punishments. “But what about on purpose? Let’s say you have a score to settle with someone, or you need to set an example.”
    He eyed me steadily. “Leonora would need to sanction that sort of thing. And there would be no need to ‘cover it up’ since we would want the message to get across loud and clear.”
    Made sense. Without coming right out and asking, I couldn’t see a scenario where the Master, or Mistress, of a Balaj would want to kill an entire family and make it look like their throats were slit. I was leaning toward death magic.
    “Not thinking of becoming a Paladin, are you?” There was a note of ruthlessness under the wry tone. I had no doubt what he’d do to me if he thought I was going to turn into some kind of Batman in plate armor.
    “Do I seem like the Paladin type to you?”
    He snorted. It was the closest thing to a laugh that I’d ever heard him make. “So how is this thing going to go at your parent’s house? Do I have any hope of being back in Baltimore by sunrise?”
    It was my turn to snort. “Sunrise Monday, maybe.” I turned off the main road and started down the long drive that lead to our house. “It’s late in human-time, so we’ll have a lovely, tension-filled meet-and-greet, then be packed off to bed. While you sleep through the day, I’ll be subjected to the torture of family activities while my mother snipes at my life choices. Then after dinner, which will be insanely late because Mom will demand we have it when you’re up and about, I’ll finally get into the vault. It will hopefully only take me one night to find what I need. Normally I’d bug out Sunday after brunch claiming to have the plague or cramps or something, but since you’re not able to travel in daylight without a movable crypt, I’ll need to stay one more agonizing day before heading back.”
    We sat in silence, the tall oaks on either side of the drive like an endless row of giant fence posts in the dark.
    “Sorry.”
    Whoa. Two apologies in one evening. That