“Empty,” I whispered as I climbed the stairs out of the basement in Roan’s old garage. 

Dudley had already told me it probably would be deserted because there were no cars crowding the back gate, but I had to check anyway. I had my doubts the other night, but tonight, I was fearless. Those vampiric monsters were torturing London and I had to find her.

Dudley’s jaw was clenched like he was suppressing a scream. I was frustrated, too. Our leads were slim.

“What do you think we should do now?” I asked as I took his offered hand to help me up the last few steps.

“We can hide in the bushes and wait to see if they show up later. It’s only twelve-twenty-three now, so they might not show up until later. Humans who are about to become vampires want to throw their time schedule off, so they might not show up until three or four. Do you want to wait?”

“Let’s check out the house,” was my answer.

“Sure.”

We split up and started circling the grounds.

I was an idiot. Dudley had no idea how much of an idiot I was. I didn’t think we were going to get anywhere doing things his way—creeping around the back alley and waiting in the bushes. I was prepared to sacrifice my life for London, so I had another plan. While Dudley was around the other side of the house, I walked right up to the front door and rang the bell.

It was a minute or two before the door was answered by a maid dressed in a smart black pantsuit with a white collar. “May I help you with something?” she asked skeptically as she examined my outfit (still the same one I was wearing earlier when I spoke with Pierce).

“Yes, I was wondering if I could speak with Roan.”

“Whom shall I announce?”

“Sweeper Robertson. Tell him I’m Detective Marshall’s assistant and I’d like to talk to him briefly about his case.”

The maid pursed her lips and invited me inside while she went to ask if the master of the house was available.

After she left, I took a look at the place. The decorations and furnishings were classic and had been kept immaculately. I stood there and priced out the furniture. In the entryway alone and I couldn’t even calculate the cost—it was staggering.

After a minute, the maid returned and asked me to follow her. She led me through a doorway, down a dimly lit hallway, and then through another door into a sitting room. It turned out to be a library chock-full of the most beautifully bound books I had ever seen. I didn’t even know people had book collections like his. I thought books only looked like that in period films.

Inside, Roan was sitting behind a huge oak desk and to my surprise, Pierce Wagner was lounging on one of the brown leather armchairs.

“Hello again,” Pierce said, rising to greet me before Roan could say anything. The Chief of Police seemed strangely pleased to see me. I smiled and extended my hand, which he shook warmly—even though his hand wasn’t exactly warm. “I didn’t expect us to meet again so soon,” he continued.

“Oh?”

“As a matter of fact, he is visiting me today only to ask if I know you,” Roan said blankly from behind the desk. “Except when he appeared, I was at a complete loss. It’s good to get visits from old friends, but I had no idea how I should know you. Now that you’ve introduced yourself it makes perfect sense. Detective Marshall’s assistant?”

“Yes,” I said, moving away from Pierce and standing in front of the desk. Standing closer to Roan, I was surprised by his looks. He looked almost identical to Schroder, but his skin wasn’t smooth. It looked almost crumpled. Well, most identical twins looked slightly different.

“If you have something to say, I wish you had called and arranged for a meeting. As you can see I have company now and it’s quite late. Could we meet tomorrow morning?”

I gathered up my courage and started talking. “I’m afraid not. This matter is rather urgent.”

“This isn’t how I do business,” he said, picking up a telephone receiver and preparing to dial a number.

“You see,” I said before he could call anyone. “While I was at work I happened to see a file regarding a search request from you about my sister—London Robertson.”

At this statement, Roan looked distinctly uncomfortable. His eyes flicked toward Pierce, back to me, and then he dropped the phone.

“She disappeared yesterday and I was wondering if you’d managed to get in touch with her?”

Just then, I saw a flicker of movement outside one of the windows. Dudley was watching.

Roan’s expression was disgustingly relaxed. “I haven’t seen her.”

“I find that hard to believe.  Did you hear from her at all? A phone call? An email?”

“No.”

I couldn’t help glaring at him. Actually, I had to clear my mouth of saliva before I could speak to stop myself from spitting on his desk. “All right. Then I was wondering if you possibly had the address or phone number of a guy named Garth. I understood you were in contact with him.”

Roan leaned back on his chair and put his left ankle on his right knee. “Sorry, I’ve never heard that name before.”

At this point, I was fuming and I didn’t know how to continue. I wasn’t sure if his lies were for my benefit, or Pierce’s, or both of us, but I didn’t want to leave without getting something from him.

Suddenly, a slightly different tactic popped into my head. “You know, I knew your brother Schroder,” I said boldly.

For a second his eyes lost their façade and he looked at me like he could kill me just to get me to shut up. Then the mask was back up and he looked at me casually. “Of course you did.  Since you’re London’s sister.”

“Look,” I continued, audaciously leaning my knuckles on his desk. “I don’t know what kind of protection you have from the police, but I’m just going to come right out and say what’s on my mind. You’re after London because you think she murdered your brother who turned her into a vampire.”

Roan didn’t look at all shocked. He had obviously gotten a grip on himself in the past ten seconds.

Pierce came up beside me and said calmly, “That is a very serious accusation.”

My head flicked toward him. “And what’s your position in all this? Do you just let vampires and humans do whatever they want?”

“It’s complicated,” he drawled.

“Explain it to me.”

He licked his lips and said, “Roan here is one of the most powerful vampires in our city. I’ve known him for several years now and I can give a fairly accurate description of his history and dealings. He was made honestly, no matter how dishonest his brother made it afterward. If you think he loves his brother, you’re wrong. His brother was unbelievably dishonest and cruel—even from a vampire’s perspective. If you make an attempt on Roan’s life—no matter how justified you think you are—the ramifications will be so dire you won’t be able to bear the consequences.”

I tilted my head. “Oh?”

“The stable vampire community won’t just let you do whatever you want. I’m telling you this for your protection. Now, if your sister is missing, it doesn’t matter if she is a vampire. You should contact the police and we will look for her. I’ll even supervise the investigation myself if that will make you more comfortable.”