House Rules - Chloe Neill Page 0,26

been inked arm over arm by the same artist.

They both had blond hair, but it was matted with blood. Their throats had been cut completely, their heads severed but resting only centimeters away from their bodies, a mockery of their immortality. They might have survived other wounds that would kill most humans; vampires healed quickly, and gashes might have eventually closed. But decapitation was, quite clearly, a mortal wound. A cruel cut.

There were no other signs of trauma. They might have been sleeping . . . other than the obvious insult.

I’d seen death before, and I’d taken life myself—always in the heat of battle, and always to protect someone or something that I’d loved. That was different. Unless Noah had information about Oliver and Eve we just didn’t understand, this was cold-blooded, and shocking in its brutality.

My stomach swooned. My skin felt clammy, and a cold trickle of sweat slipped down my back. My head spun. I was swamped by the sudden memories of the loss I’d suffered a few months ago, before Ethan had been brought back to me. . . .

Shakily, I handed the phone to my grandfather, then looked at Noah, Rose, and Elena. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Noah nodded. “We aren’t troublemakers. I don’t know who could have done this.”

“A monster,” my grandfather said frankly, handing the phone to Catcher and Jeff, then looking at Noah, Rose, and Elena in turn. “I’m sorry for your loss, as well. I know that’s little consolation, but I’m sorry for it.”

I wondered how many times he’d spoken those words in his decades-long career as a cop.

“You took the picture?” Catcher asked.

Noah nodded again. “A friend of ours is a professional photographer. He loves to take shots of urban decay: building husks, graffiti, rusting steel, things like that. There’s an old document warehouse not far from his studio. It was built in the nineteen forties, and he didn’t think it would last much longer. He wanted to take a look before it was torn down or fell down, so he was walking through it with a colleague.”

Noah cleared his throat, as if the explanation was getting more difficult. “They were walking around one of the upper floors, and they smelled blood, but they couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. No visible source anywhere. James—that’s the vampire—eventually found a latch. There was a secret room, a vault of some kind at the back of the room. They opened the door . . . and found Oliver and Eve.”

Rose sobbed. My grandfather offered a box of tissues housed in a cozy knitted by my grandmother. Elena pulled a few out and handed them to Rose, who pressed them to her face but only cried harder.

“We took a look—just to confirm it was them—then came here. I left others to retrieve their remains. In case there’s other evidence there, we wanted someone to know.”

I looked at my grandfather, silently seeking his advice. A murder would fall under the purview of the CPD, but it wasn’t as if the city’s sentiment toward vampires was friendly right now. We were, after all, animals that required licensing.

“I can make a discreet phone call to the CPD,” my grandfather said. “In the meantime,” he told Catcher, “you might take a look at the scene for any other evidence.” He glanced at Noah. “If that’s all right with you?”

Noah nodded.

“Merit and I will go,” Catcher said.

Noah was a big and buff man, but I caught a glint of relief in his eyes. He didn’t want to return to the crime scene, and I didn’t blame him. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s probably best.”

“I hate to ask this,” Catcher said, “but is there any chance James or his friend is involved?”

Noah shook his head. “I know you have to ask, and no. I’ve thought about it, and I truly believe he had nothing to do with it. Oliver and Eve were good kids. Ditto James. He prefers cameras to weapons, and he volunteers at a halfway house for guys with addiction problems. The service-oriented type.”

Catcher nodded. “Then we’ll start with the building. Jeff, while we’re gone, check the property records for anything interesting. The owner, the history, anything that might tell us why the building was picked.”

“Will do,” Jeff said. He stood and waved gallantly down the hallway. “If any of you would like to join me in my office, you’re welcome to. You could lend your expertise.”

Noah rose and followed Jeff down the hall, leaving Elena