Sweeter than Blood

Chapter Ten

I took a long drink from the wine glass on the coffee table, my legs sprawled across the floor beneath it and my back resting on the footrest of my couch.

The interview with my father hadn't exactly gone poorly, but it didn't help knowing he was among the very few who knew the history of the place my vic was found. If he was involved, he would be brought to justice, I just hated that I would have to be the one to cuff him if it came to that.

Still, we had one other person left to talk to, and he was not making it easy.

Once we'd gotten back to the station, I had called Mayor Greg Harris' office three times, been "accidentally" hung up on twice, and sat on hold for nearly half an hour before a secretary told me the mayor was in meetings all day and could I please try again tomorrow.

I had smashed the phone back down on the receiver so hard that Garnet flinched and Captain Richards popped his head out of his office to tell me to hang it up for the day and start fresh in the morning.

So, I went home with my case files, poured myself a large glass from what was left of the Spellbound bottle Garnet had given to me, and set to staring at the images of the treaty signing in the middle of my apartment, hoping some illuminating piece of evidence would pop out of them. My gut kept telling me it had to be someone from the photo on the stage, but without anything concrete linking those individuals to a motive for murdering Finlay, my gut was growing increasingly impatient.

All of the details of the photo were likely permanently burned into my memory after how long I tried deciphering the micro-expressions of each individual, tried to see if either Harris or Lourd were trying to squeeze the other's hand too hard, if anyone at their sides looked unhappy or angry.

Meredith's dress had been a modest knit style that was common thirty years ago, and she had her hands clutched in front of her, holding her purse. She stood diligently at the mayor's side, looking sheepishly in my father's direction, though it could be argued she had been looking at Harris instead. At the time of the photo, she would have been one of the more influential people in the town, still running her cafe and constantly involved in all goings-on. I assumed she probably stood on the stage as a spokeswoman for the human community.

Jameson looked physically the same as he did in the present day thanks to his kind's ridiculously slow aging process. His clothes were expensive-looking, and his hair was slicked back with a shiny gel. He looked about as pleased to be there as anyone, the fake smile barely reaching his eyes, but he didn't look angry or concerned or much of anything other than desperate to go home. The other vampire elder next to him, Astrid, looked flawlessly beautiful and endlessly bored. She would leave the town some time after this, and it was always assumed she and Jameson had some sort of falling out, but no one knew for sure.

Harris and my father both had the same wide grin aimed at the camera, but where my father's eyes were soft, as though he had just been laughing jovially with someone, Harris' stare was cold, malicious even. They were around the same age, both handsome men in their own right, but Chief Hawthorne embodied familiarity and friendship while Mayor Harris was all power and control. It was a mystery to me why Meri would have chosen to be with the colder man, but I would be lying to myself if I knew even remotely what she wanted in a partner.

Maybe when I finally got in to visit with him I would understand her choice. Maybe I was missing something between them.

Glass empty and eyes heavy, I shoved the folders away from me on the table and opted to turn in for the night. It took a few stretches before my legs would carry me to the bed, but they were pleasantly relieved as soon as my head hit the pillow and I gave in to some much needed sleep.