Serafina and the Silent Vampire - By Marie Treanor Page 0,24

new client to the door, she found another, less welcome visitor waiting for her. PC McGowan, the red-haired policeman who’d taken such a dislike to her at the Bells’. Elspeth’s eyes were rolling frantically in his direction to warn her, but Sera had seen him at once, sitting in one of the comfortable waiting chairs.

“See you at five,” Moira Gordon, her client, said with a smile that didn’t touch the sadness in her eyes.

“I’ll be there,” Sera returned, uncomfortably aware of the constable’s glare as she opened the front door for Moira and closed it behind her. And in fact, before she’d even turned, he was in her face.

“What are you going to tell that poor woman? That her dead mother wants her to give you a load of money she doesn’t have?”

“Her mother isn’t dead. What do you want?”

The policeman dragged his bitter gaze away from the window where the tired, not so well-dressed figure of Moira Gordon crossed the road toward the bus stop.

“Nice premises you have here,” he said with unmistakable resentment. “Business must be going well.”

“It’s growing,” she said calmly, “but if you mean it pays the rent on this place, no it doesn’t. I paid five years rent in advance from a legacy.” Namely, Mattie and George’s house, which she’d sold because she couldn’t bear to live there without them.

This obviously wasn’t the answer McGowan expected, but he only grunted before smiling with rather more relish. “There’s been a complaint against you.”

Oops. Have I been careless? “By whom? For what?”

“By Mr. Jason Bell. For harassing him at his place of work.”

Sera grinned with blatant mockery. “Really?”

“There are more annoyances than physical threats,” the policeman said defensively. “We were sent video footage of you breaking into the C & H car park.”

Sera sat down on one of the other waiting chairs. “Goodness. Well, I climbed over the barrier and hung around waiting for him.”

“Why?”

“To be sure he was all right. At least you and I can agree the events at his father’s party were a trifle strange.”

He blinked at that, as though determined not to agree with her publicly about anything. “Well, Jason and his father seem to consider the matter closed. Why don’t you?”

“Ah, Constable”—although she remembered his name perfectly well, she peered at his name tag—“McGowan. If I told you that, you’d assume I was taking the piss. What else did that video show? Fighting?” Men leaping impossible heights and distances, vanishing into dust…?

“Hardly,” said Constable McGowan coldly. “If it had, you’d have been under arrest.” His tone left no doubt that he was sorry not to be able to deliver that particular outcome. Sera was more interested in the fact that Jason must have somehow doctored the tape before giving it to the police.

Or perhaps vampires didn’t show up on camera? Or mirrors? Was she becoming as gullible as the people she’d been known to part from their cash?

“So you’re not here in any official capacity?” she suggested.

He stood up. “Oh yes. Rest assured I’ll be making a full report. In which I’ll state that I’ve warned you to leave off harassing all of the Bell family.”

“I’ve never harassed anyone in my life,” Sera retorted. “And I doubt there are many policemen who can say the same. As for the Bells,” she continued inexorably as his face flushed an indignant if unbecoming rose color, “I’m still employed by Ferdinand Bell to locate his stalker. If Jason comes back to you, you might suggest he take things up with his father rather than the police. Good morning, Constable McGowan.”

She stood dismissively, but as she turned to march away, he reached out to detain her. His grip on her wrist wasn’t angry or rough, but it was firm enough to turn her back, and he immediately released her.

Too late. The vision was already in her mind. Some deep, corrosive grief, a young girl full of life struck down by a speeding car. A sickening thud, screeching tires; blood and tears. And money trickling through worn, old fingers.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“What?” McGowan looked confused but recovered quickly. “Look, I know that woman, Mrs. Gordon. I know the family. The last thing they need is your sort. I’ll be watching.”

“Watching what?” Sera demanded.

“You know,” McGowan said darkly and made his exit.

“What’s he got against you?” Elspeth demanded indignantly.

“He thinks I’m a charlatan who preys on human tragedy.” Of course, he had his own tragedy. Who didn’t? She winked at Elspeth. “Got to make a living somehow. Five