Blood of the Innocent Page 8

  Of course, without another profile to compare it to, it was worthless.

  With a huge sigh, she leaned back in the chair. It seemed everybody thought she could help, but what could she do? She had written her report as carefully and completely as she could and turned it over to the Guardians. It was their job to handle the situation. Only the Guardians had the power to impose any kind of punishment on a vampire—and they didn’t see a problem with a human being killed. If she ignored their judgment and dug around for information, she ran the risk of getting in very big trouble.

  She’d always believed some ideals were worth risking trouble for. This, she decided, was one of them. One deep breath for courage, and she was ready to put her convictions to the test.

  In seconds, the papers were once again in a neat file folder, and she’d booted up her laptop. Her cursor hovered over the Internet icon, but she paused to open her picture files.

  The first photo was of two little girls, both wearing bright dresses and smiling happily at each other. Veronica and Linda Westin, her best friend in elementary school. Veronica took a moment to study the picture of the two of them at Linda’s seventh birthday party, the moment frozen at a time when they’d both been happy. When neither of them realized just how horrible life could be.

  Three months after the picture was taken, Linda was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. In fact, T-6 was the only type of blood cancer vampires could develop. One of the very few ailments vampire and human shared.

  Linda had one more birthday. Only Veronica and another friend had gone to the hospital to help celebrate.

  The memory of her beloved friend lying pale and sick against the white pillows still haunted her. Three days after that party, Veronica’s mother told her that Linda was gone.

  Wiping at tears that still burned, Veronica closed the picture file and opened the browser. It only took a moment to access the Guardian’s system. She logged in and went to the area she used to input her reports. As long as she stayed here there was little to no risk. She could always say she was double checking that she’d filed something.

  After Linda died, Veronica stood at her friend’s grave and swore that she would devote her life to finding why this one disease could cross species lines and take vampire lives. She’d never backed down from that promise, devoting hours beyond her schoolwork to reading everything she could find about T-6.

  It didn’t take long to discover the wealth of information from human research into all forms of leukemia. From that discovery, it was a short trip to the knowledge of how many humans suffered and died. Not just from T-6, but from all the other forms of leukemia, the forms from which vampires were immune.

  Shaking the memories from her head, Veronica resolutely clicked closed the reporting area and began a slow, careful search of the Guardian information bank. She’d had no idea of the incredible size and complexity of the stored data. That made sense, though. The Guardians were scattered around the world. Having immediate access to information twenty-four hours a day would make their jobs easier.

  Most of the file names meant nothing to her, and she spent a long hour exploring the edges of the site. Folders, main files, files within files; it was all organized in some way that made no sense to her. She was about to give up and get out before she was discovered, when she clicked open one last folder and saw something that had her leaning toward the screen. DNA. The actual file name was “DNA processes.”

  “What the hell?” she muttered as she clicked the name. Convinced she was about to be unceremoniously booted from the system, shock sent hard, painful prickles down her arms when the folder opened.

  Subfolders lined up in front of her. None were named, only numbered. At first they just seemed long string of digits. Then she realized the numbers either began with 13 or 14, and the last three numbers were always different, even when the middle numbers stayed the same. “Well hell, there’s only one way to find out if I can access anything.”

  Maybe the words gave her courage, or maybe she just couldn’t take the curiosity any longer, whatever the exact rationale, she picked a random file and clicked the number. It opened.

  For a moment, she simply stared at the file in front of her. It was a familiar sight, a computer- generated DNA sequence. “What the hell?” she leaned toward the screen, as if closer inspection would tell her why this type of information was on the Guardian site. It made no sense. None at all.

  A quick scan of the sequence told her it was the genotype of a male vampire.

  Okay. Now what?

  She closed the file and opened another. Also male vampire. Then another. Female vampire.

  She checked the numbers on the three random files, and found what she suspected from the beginning. The file numbers that began with thirteen were male, the fourteen were female.

  She pulled back out and looked again. There were dozens of DNA sequences in the database. What in the world could the Guardians want with all that genetic information? Where had they come from in the first place? Was it possible the killer’s DNA was among the sequences in the files? That was highly unlikely Then again, it was the only idea she had.

  She glanced at the paper file lying on her table. It would take forever to manually check each male sequence against the one of the killer, and her laptop didn’t have the software to do that kind of search.

  The computers at the lab did though, and thankfully only the monitors were damaged during the break-in. Those had been replaced and the computers were up and running.

  Her breath caught in her throat. That was a crazy idea. Was she determined to land herself in custody? Using Guardian resources that she had no right to be in was a seriously bad idea. She knew of no reason the killer would be in these files—unless the Guardians kept records of problem vampires. Even if she did find the right profile, she still wouldn’t have a name. But it was something. Something was better than nothing.

  Sighing, she got to her feet and grabbed a flash drive. In minutes she had copied the file with all the profiles to the drive. As fast as she was able, she got back to the area of the site she was allowed to access, logged out, deleted her history, and turned off her computer.

  She sat for a long time, staring at the little piece of metal and plastic in her hand. Finally she dropped the flash drive in her purse. “This is the right thing to do,” she whispered. Then she went to take a long, hot bath.

  Chapter 7

  “I have to admit, I haven’t hidden in the bushes waiting for a girl since high school.”

  Joe glared toward Mike. He could barely see him in the dark. The trees they were standing beside all but blotted out the soft glow of the moon and the sharper beam of a nearby streetlight.

  “Will you just be quiet, please? Veronica asked that we wait here for her. It’ll only be a few more minutes.”

  “She’s the vampire. Shouldn’t she be the one hanging in the shadows?”

  “I don’t need the shadows.” Veronica said from beside Mike.

  Joe jumped as much as Mike, but it only took a moment for a smile to pull at his mouth. Even in the low light, he could see his friend’s wide eyes. “I guess she got you, buddy.”

  “Damn, girl,” Mike said. “Don’t you make any noise when you walk?”

  Veronica ignored him as she went over to Joe. “Sorry about the stealth. I don’t think it’s a good idea to be seen together right now.”

  As soon as she got close to him, Joe’s breath quickened and his body hardened. Through the hormone induced reaction, he realized he sensed a strong emotion seeping from her. Worry? He touched her arm. “What happened?”

  “We had a break-in at the lab. I’ve been seen talking to you in the parking lot.” She shrugged. “I just thought it was better if we met somewhere else.”

  “So the first instinct is to blame the human, huh?” Mike asked.

  Veronica turned to face him. “There is no doubt a human was involved.”

  “How can you possibly know that?”


  She didn’t even blink. “Humans and vampires smell different.”

  Joe decided to diffuse the situation. “What do the police say?”

  She glanced down before meeting his gaze. “We don’t involve human police in vampire concerns.”

  “Too big a risk,” Mike said.

  “Yes. I don’t know how much you know about vampires, but we prefer not to reveal our presence to humans.”

  “So we won’t know what you do to us?”

  The emotion in Mike’s voice stunned Joe. What was with all that animosity?

  “If you mean drink your blood, yes, we do try to keep that quiet. The biggest reason, however, is that we attempt to live quietly among you. We try not to differentiate ourselves in any way.”

  “That makes it all right then? The blood drinking part?”

  She didn’t flinch. “The need to take in blood is no more right or wrong than you consuming food.”

  “We don’t eat fellow humans—or vampires.”

  The bickering wasn’t getting anywhere, and it gave Joe a headache. “Justin’s journal said you only need to take in a little blood. Is that true?”

  Veronica nodded. “Between one to three ounces every few weeks. It’s possible to get by with even smaller or less frequent amounts, but that can lead to weakening and illness.”

  “Can’t have that, can we?”

  Joe glared at his friend. “What is your issue tonight?”

  Mike shrugged. “It’s creepy thinking about creatures drinking our blood.”

  “We aren’t creatures. We are very much like you.”

  “Except for that pesky blood drinking thing.”

  Joe caught the other man’s arm and tightened his grip. “Michael, stop!”

  Mike shook his head, almost as if he were coming out of a dream. “I guess all those movies I’ve seen affected me more than I thought.”

  “It’s a common issue,” Veronica said, then turned to Joe and took his hand in hers. “How are you? I know it must have been incredibly difficult for you to bury your brother.”

  He squeezed her hand. “It was hell, but I’m doing okay.”

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I can’t imagine losing my sister.”

  A swirl of sadness washed from her over him, and his throat filled with answering emotion. He nodded.

  She gently kissed his cheek. “Later.” And she was gone.

  “So you’ve been lusting after a vampire.”

  “Stuff it.” Joe turned headed back to Justin’s apartment. He had some hard thinking to do.

  ****

  Veronica waited a couple of hours until Todd and Dr. Wright were focused on doing inventory of all the problems created by the break-in. She was working on inventory herself, but the flash drive in her pocket kept calling to her. She would be taking a huge risk, but it was at least something. Doing was definitely better than hoping things would work out. So she glanced once more toward the men, then walked into her office and closed the door.

  Her hands shook, and it took three tries before she seated the end of the drive securely into the slot on the computer. She opened the DNA profile of Justin Sullivan’s killer, and watched it fill the monitor screen. It wasn’t an entire profile, of course. Full genotypes were rarely done. What was in front of her was more than enough to identify a vampire—or human, for that matter, though this profile was definitely vampire. Either way, it was enough to get her in big trouble.

  Ignoring her trepidation, she set the software to compare key sections of the killer’s DNA with those she’d copied from the Guardian database. Her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest as she sat the program in motion.

  As soon as the comparison began, she pulled up an innocuous page from one of her latest reports. Pretending to read it, she worked on looking innocent.

  The laugh was unexpected as it bubbled out of her chest. Her hand went automatically to her mouth, but nobody was within earshot. It was silly, trying to look innocent. In fact, that would probably get her caught faster than anything.

  Leaning back in the chair, she closed her eyes and slowly convinced her body to relax. This was the right thing to do, and if she truly believed it was the right thing, then she had to be ready to confront the consequences head on.

  Of course, there was no reason not to do everything in her power to prevent those consequences.

  Pushing herself to her feet, she deliberately turned her back on the computer and strode into the lab. She had work to do.

  ****

  Kevin spent the night working the streets, and by morning was almost four-hundred dollars richer. As he sat on a bench at the edge of the downtown park finishing his burger and fries, he kept an eye on the happenings in town.

  When he saw that reporter’s brother walking down the street, anger blew through him so hard he shook. Maybe it wasn’t reasonable to be pissed at the guy, but Kevin didn’t much care at the moment. He was as good a target as anybody, and Kevin seriously needed somebody to pound on.

  He watched as the reporter’s twin and a friend walked across Main Street toward Ned’s Lobster Shack. Great, now there were two of them. Not that he couldn’t handle two guys if he decided to, but who wanted to go all Jackie Chan when you didn’t have to? Besides, if he decided to show that brother dude what was what, he didn’t want to have to worry about some other guy getting in the way and taking his focus off the prize.

  Maybe the friend would climb back under his rock soon. If not, then he’d come up with some kind of trick to separate the two. Yeah, that was the way to handle the situation. Be smart and make things easier on himself.

  Kevin turned from his resting place and headed toward his favorite part of the woods. It was just outside of town, where he could keep tabs on things and still be alone. He’d stir up some trouble tonight. Yeah, trouble with a capital T. That’s what he was good at, right? Maybe score an even bigger payday from a loaded tourist or two.

  For a moment, his mind went to a picture of the crazy woman with the long blonde hair. She was just some nut. That’s all. Just a loony tune woman. So he was a little freaked out. So what? He’d heard crazy people were stronger than regular people. He was smart not fighting her. That’s all. He could have if he’d wanted to.

  Kevin grinned as he headed toward the woods outside of town.

  ****

  Joe tossed and turned for hours, finally giving up on sleep about four a.m. Sprawled on the couch, Justin’s now familiar files covering the coffee table in front of him, his thoughts kept circling in the same pattern over and over. Were these vampires real? Was it true they had to drink human blood? Was the conspiracy against them real? Was that conspiracy what got his brother killed? Did Veronica know more than she was saying?

  Sometimes he thought she was holding back. Was she? What was Mike thinking? Why had he been so hard on Veronica when he asked her all those questions? Why hadn’t he asked those questions himself?

  “Up already?” Mike asked from the hall.

  “Couldn’t sleep, so I decided to put the time to good use.”

  “Are those Justin’s papers?” Joe nodded and Mike came over and picked up a couple of the newspaper articles. “Looks like he did his homework.”

  “Why were you so ornery with Veronica yesterday?” The question was out before Joe had time to think.

  “Ornery?”

  “What would you call it?”

  “I’d call it being a devil’s advocate.” Sighing, Mike sat and shoved a hand through his already messed-up hair. “I don’t believe any of this vampire, blood drinking, mind reading, voodoo shit. I wanted to see what she’d say or do when I asked some serious questions.”

  “And now?”

  “I think she believes what she says. And that you believe her.”

  Joe considered that for a minute, then indicated the pile of papers. “How about you look through this stuff, and I’ll put on coffee?”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Joe t
ook his spinning thoughts into the kitchen. Maybe having another point of view would help clarify things. He hoped so, because he sure wasn’t sure what was what anymore.

  ****

  An hour before time to go home, Veronica slipped back into her office and checked the computer. Fully prepared for the search to be a dead end, it took her a moment to realize there was, in fact, a match.

  It was only a number, but a quick scan of the profiles confirmed the computer had indeed found a matching profile to the one of Justin Sullivan’s killer. She made a note of the number, removed the drive, cleared her history, and turned off the computer. The note and flash drive went in her pocket, and she went back into the lab to finish her work for the day.

  She had a lead, but she had no idea how she could use it.

  ****

  Joe set a cup of coffee in front of Mike. “What do you think?”

  Mike took a sip of the hot liquid before he answered. “I still don’t buy this whole creatures-of-the-night routine, but Justin definitely documented some kind of hate group. A far-reaching one, apparently.”

  “It seems to me something important to them is somewhere around Bar Harbor or Lobster Cove. Or at least they think it is.”

  Mike nodded. “Among several other places.”

  “True, but a lot of what Justin found seems to allude to something important in this area.”

  “Maybe that cute vamp girlfriend of yours.”

  Something grabbed at Joe’s gut. “That’s not funny.”

  Mike stared at him, eyes narrowed and questioning. “You really have a thing for her, don’t you?”

  He wanted to deny it, wanted to tell his friend how that was impossible, he couldn’t feel something for a woman who either wasn’t human, or believed she wasn’t. Somehow he did, though. Somehow Veronica had gotten to him. He was fighting hard to keep from being sucked in, but he was pretty sure it was a lost cause.

  His cell phone chirping pulled him out of his confused thoughts. The number on the screen had him smiling as his heart missed a couple of beats. When he heard her voice, his whole body went hot and hard.