He cut her a quick glance. “You know of these murders?"
Cyn nodded. “I called Lucia Shinn when I got back to town. I need to find Elizabeth—Mirabelle's human sister. That's why Jabril hired me in the first place. Her eighteenth birthday's in a couple weeks and he planned to turn her the way he did Mirabelle."
"Thus giving him control over the entire Hawthorn fortune."
Cyn nodded. “Fortunately, Elizabeth isn't stupid; she figured out what he had planned and didn't stick around for the party. Which is where I come in. But once I got there, two things became obvious. First, Jabril only hired me out of curiosity and to piss off Raphael.” She shook her head at his expression. “I'm not totally clueless, Duncan. And two,” she continued, “while I will definitely find Elizabeth Hawthorn, I'll do my damnedest to see she never goes within a hundred miles of Jabril Karim ever again. Because monsters come in all shapes and sizes, Duncan, even vampires."
"Indeed,” he murmured.
"Anyway, Luci told me about the murders here in L.A. She's pissed and thinks not enough is being done to find the killer. So I made a few calls for her and found out the cops think they've got a serial killer vampire on their hands."
"Not just any vampire, Cynthia. Lord Raphael."
Cyn stared. “Raphael? They think Raphael's the killer, but that's ridiculous."
"They claim to have a witness to one of the crimes."
"But, surely. I mean, Raphael ... he's never alone, is he? His security—"
"Precisely, ‘his security.’ The police do not credit any of our witnesses because they are, every one of them, Vampire."
"Well, f**k. I told them it couldn't be a vamp doing this, that Raphael would never—"
"They are questioning him at this moment."
Cyn looked at him in alarm. “Why aren't you with him? Does he have a lawyer?"
"My master ordered me to assist you instead, and yes, both of his lawyers are with him. The police originally wanted to question him at the station, but our people prevailed in that much. Lord Raphael is not without influence."
"Okay. Okay.” She began pacing, thinking hard. “Look, I've already started looking into this for Luci.” She glanced up. “I'm supposed to see the bodies later tonight.” Duncan's face showed his surprise. “I'm not without influence either,” she snapped. “I don't know exactly when, but I'll need to stash Mirabelle somewhere—"
"I've already said—"
"Yeah, yeah, but I've been thinking about it, and she'll be better off with Lucia Shinn. Luci's used to dealing with scared, lonely kids, and that's what Mirabelle is, vampire or not. I'll pick her up before dawn and take her back to my place. She'll be safe there, for now anyway.” She stopping pacing. “You're right, though. She'll need something else in the long run, but I'm not sure Raphael's place is it. You didn't see the Texas testosterone palace. I did. She needs something ... else. I'm not sure ... Dammit. I need to move around if I'm going to follow up on this, and she can't go with me. She's not—"
"Alexandra."
"What?"
"Mirabelle can stay with Alexandra. She is quite a bit older, of course, but their initial experiences are not dissimilar and Alexandra is ... lonely, I believe, since the kidnapping, since Matias died. They were together for a long time and very close. He was perhaps her only real friend. It might benefit her to care for someone else, someone she can identify with."
"But...” Cyn drew a breath, trying to figure out a way to say what she wanted to without offending anyone. “Mirabelle is a modern teenager. Or she was before that a**hole raped her and stole her life. She needs to be free, to be young again, and Alexandra...” She sighed, remembering the female vampire's perfect French manor home in the middle of Malibu, with its antique furniture and candlelit drawing rooms, not to mention her elaborate dresses right out of a big budget costume drama. “She lives in the 18th century, Duncan."
"She did,” he corrected. “I believe the recent events were a wake-up call of sorts for Alexandra. She has been experimenting lately with other ways. In fact, she has asked Raphael on numerous occasions if you could visit."
"Me?"
Duncan nodded. “She was quite impressed with your, shall we say, businesslike dispatch of Albin, when you rescued her."
Cyn gave a very unladylike snort, remembering the vampire Albin's death. It had been a contest between the vampire and an Uzi. The Uzi had won. Not that he didn't deserve it. Albin had not only betrayed Raphael and helped kidnap Alexandra, but he had nearly killed Cynthia as well. “Okay,” she said thoughtfully. “Tell you what. For tonight, Mirabelle comes home with me—if that's what she wants, of course, and then—"
"That's what I want."
They both looked up in surprise to see Mirabelle standing in the plane's doorway, wearing the clothes Lucia had picked out for her. For the first time since Cyn met her, Mirabelle looked like what she'd been before Jabril made her Vampire, what she would now always seem to be. A teenager. The faded denims were a little too big and the t-shirt a little too bright for her vampire-pale coloring, but it was clear that with a few weeks of decent feeding, she'd be quite lovely. Her blond hair had been brushed and tied back in a neat ponytail, revealing startlingly large blue eyes and a full mouth.
Cyn smiled at her, delighted. “What say we have a bonfire and burn those old rags, Mirabelle? We can drink champagne and dance around the fire na**d."
"Whoa, can I come?” Lonnie was standing in the open door, staring at the girl.