Bound to Shadows Page 0,46

it wouldn't have taken much to flare into something more serious, so I pulled free of his grip and stepped back. "I'll meet you back at the Directorate, then."

"One of these days, I'm going to break down those barriers and enjoy that luscious body of yours once more."

"In your dreams, my friend."

"Oh, you don't want to know about my dreams, trust me on that." Kade walked past me and headed for the front door.

I trailed along behind, enjoying the view. I might not be able to touch, but that didn't mean I couldn't look. And he always did wear jeans extremely well.

Once in my car, I zoomed into the main road traffic, then clicked the comlink in my ear and said, "Hello, hello, anyone there ?"

"Unlike some who shall not be named, I do not slack off." Benson's deep tones were dry. He'd obviously been taking lessons from Sal. "What can I do for you, Riley?"

"Did Jack pass on a request for an information search on a Luke Johnson?"

"Yes, and I've done it. He's human."

"He's also a possible source of information. I need his details."

"Patching them through now. Anything else?"

The onboard beeped as the information came through. I glanced at it briefly, then said, "Did you get any hits on the other man?"

"Nothing yet. We're currently going through license information."

"Thanks, Benson."

"My pleasure," he said, and signed off.

I transferred Johnson's address to the nav computer and drove across town to his place.

Luke Johnson, it turned out, was a dead end in more ways than one. He opened the door naked, and his scrawny body stank of booze, cigarettes and sex. His neck was littered with the scars of old vampire bites and there was an unhealthy, sallow look to his skin - suggesting he was indulging in his drug of choice a little too often.

"Yeah," he said, squinting blue eyes and leaning forward slightly, as if he was having trouble seeing me.

"Luke Johnson?" I flashed my badge. "Did you visit Dante's club two nights ago?"

He frowned and gripped the doorframe a little tighter, though it didn't seem to help stop his swaying. "I think so. Why?"

"Do you remember talking to this woman?"

I took out a photo of Mandy and held it up. He leaned forward, squinting harder. "Yeah. She's not a vamp."

"No, she isn't. What did you talk to her about?"

"Thought she was a vamp, didn't I?" He teetered backwards, his vice like grip on the door and the frame the only things holding him upright. "She wasn't."

"Did you talk to her about anything else."

"No. Found me a vamp, didn't I?"

Which left me with Kye, and he'd already denied talking to the woman about the vampire found dead outside the club.

So why would he lie? Because he obviously was. I'd seen the cash in Mandy Jones' wallet and had found no lie - or psychic interference - in her thoughts or memories.

"Thanks for your help, Mr. Johnson."

He nodded and closed the door. His footsteps meandered away, going back to whoever was sharing his bed. I could only feel sorry for them.

I went back to my car and headed over to Vinny's.

She still lived in one of those high-rise brick and glass buildings that the government had insisted on building some fifty years ago. The intention had been to relieve the low-income housing crisis, but the resulting buildings were neither pretty nor truly functional. Add tenants who hadn't really given a damn about the place, and you were basically left with a large hovel. One with many smashed windows and doors, and decorated by multi-colored graffiti.

Vinny's building had been vacated by both the government and the real tenants years ago, and according to recent Directorate records, she'd bought the building outright. It was interesting to note that the broken glass and graffiti that had once decorated this place were now gone.

I walked up to the front door. As before, the stink of vampire grew stronger with every step, until the cloying, unhealthy smell all but surrounded me.

Obviously, she still hadn't got the water running properly in the downstairs area.

I opened the glass front doors and stepped inside. Footsteps whispered through the shadows - the sounds so soft regular hearing wouldn't have caught it.

"Riley Jenson from the Directorate," I said, raising my voice just a little. "I'm here to see Vinny."

A young woman in her late teens emerged from the shadows to the right. Her plump face was smeared with dirt, but otherwise she was extremely pretty - and very healthy-looking. Which was