Crimes by Moonlight

Taking the Long View by Toni L. P. Kelner

“Do we have to go?” Mark asked, trying to make it a question instead of a whine.

“Yes.” Stella finished brushing her hair. “Ramon throws lovely parties.”

“With dribble glasses and whoopee cushions on every chair?” It was Ramon who’d told Mark that vampires had to sleep in the dirt of their native land, who’d talked him into drinking canine blood so he could tell everybody that Mark was sick as a dog. He’d nearly convinced Mark to cut off a finger by swearing on his own grave that it was painless and would grow back, but Stella had stopped him before he found out how much the regrowing process would hurt.

“Even Ramon wouldn’t make a mockery of his own sire’s anniversary celebration,” Stella said. “And Vilmos would be extremely offended if we didn’t attend.”

“God forbid we should offend Vilmos,” Mark muttered. “Should I call him Grandfather or Granddaddy?” Since Stella was Mark’s dam, surely her sire deserved a title.

“I wouldn’t advise it.”

“Gramps? Grandpa?”

“Just Vilmos. He isn’t known for his sense of humor.”

“There’s a surprise.”

She cocked her head to look at him. “Are you jealous?”

“Just because we’re spending the weekend honoring the vampire with whom you spent decades traveling from one exotic hot spot to another? Why would I be jealous?”

“I have no interest in Vilmos.” She kissed him so thoroughly that he was forced to admit her sincerity.

“What about his interest in you?”

“He has none.”

He took in her curvaceous figure, currently enhanced by a perfectly fitted strapless red gown; the chestnut brown hair that just brushed her bare shoulders; and the lovely face that always seemed to have a secretive smile. “Why the hell not?”

She kissed him again, even more sincerely. “Please come to the gala with me?”

“Since you put it that way.” They took a moment to wipe off and reapply lipstick respectively, and he said, “What about Pop-Pop?”

She squeezed his arm affectionately, but hard enough to bruise a human.

“Vilmos it is,” he said as he opened the door.

Despite Ramon’s questionable taste in humor, Mark had to admit that he had superb taste in mansion decorating. Stella’s and his suite was as luxurious as the finest hotel, and some of the others made theirs look like a Motel 6. Vilmos had the best accommodations, but he was the birthday boy as well as one of the oldest vampires there.

A crowd of vampires was mingling in the ballroom when Mark and Stella made their appearance, plus a scattering of humans. Mark was surprised. He wasn’t used to humans socializing with vampires, but before he could ask Stella about them, Ramon bounded over.

With a name like that, he should have been swarthy and sleek, but like everything to do with Ramon, it was a joke. He was a bearded teddy bear with strawberry blond hair and deceptively innocent blue eyes. Mark had it on good authority that he’d been freckled before spending so many years out of the sun.

“Stella, you look fabulous,” Ramon said, kissing her hand. “And Marcus, you’re perfectly adequate.”

“That’s one of us,” Mark said. He knew he looked damned good in his new tuxedo. With his dark hair and swimmer’s build, he was made for evening wear. Ramon, on the other hand, looked like a waiter. Maybe it was the cummerbund. Mark had never seen one decorated with happy faces before.

Ramon just grinned before going to greet more guests.

“Excited much?” Mark asked.

“It’s his first time hosting Vilmos’s gala. He wants everything to be perfect.”

“Then he should lose the cummerbund.”

A gaunt but elegant vampire waved them over to the couch where she lounged. “Stella, dearest!”

“Alexis,” Stella said as she went toward her. “How have you been?”

“Eternally bored,” she said, and gave Mark the once-over. “This must be your new protégé.”

“Alexis, this is Mark. Mark, Alexis.”

“It’s so brave of you to add to your line in these uncertain times, Stella.”

“I simply couldn’t resist him.”

“Has Vilmos seen him yet?”

“I haven’t had the pleasure,” Mark said for himself, “but if he’s as warm and welcoming as you, I can hardly wait.”

Alexis’s eyes narrowed for an instant, then she smiled. “I can see where you might be amusing. Come visit me in a few years, and we’ll talk.”

“I’ll count the days.”

“Well done,” Stella said as she and Mark moved away. “I haven’t seen Alexis smile in decades.”

“Really? I thought she was a hoot. What was that about your bravery?”

“Very few of us are offering the Choice these days, what with the economic downturn.”

The tradition was for a vampire sire or dam to settle a chunk of change on their undead offspring, which Stella had done for Mark, even though as a successful financial planner, he already had a solid nest egg. The two of them met when he took over her investment portfolio and had only known each other a few months when she offered him the Choice.

“Does that mean that all the other vamps here tonight are older than I am?”

“Probably.”

“Great. I love being the low vampire on the totem pole.”

“No one cares about that.”

“Please. Every meeting between vampires is a pissing contest, and you know it.”

“Don’t be silly.”

Just then the guest of honor arrived. Mark had seen a portrait of Stella’s sire, but even without it he’d have known Vilmos the second he strode in. There was something about the way he chose which people to acknowledge, and how the other vampires almost wriggled in their eagerness to be noticed. It wasn’t his looks, though he was devastatingly distinguished-it was sheer force of charisma. Vilmos dominated the room.

“Don’t look now,” Mark whispered to Stella, “but I think he’s about to start marking his territory.”

Stella elbowed him, but was watching Vilmos as intently as everybody else. That initially included Mark, but when he made himself look away, he noticed another person who wasn’t watching. A gorgeous human woman with flaming red hair was pointedly looking at a statue in the corner of the room and, when Mark glanced back at Vilmos, he saw that the vampire was staring at her, as if he could make her look his way. Slowly, all the other people in the room, vampire and human, followed the direction of Vilmos’s eyes, and soon everyone was watching the sublimely oblivious woman.

It was Ramon who broke the spell by clapping his hands, and a moment later a crew of waiters began to circulate with toothsome morsels to tempt the palates of vampires who no longer needed anything but blood. Since Mark still had to eat at least one full meal a day, it was most welcome-he’d been afraid there’d be no solid food.

Unfortunately, that meant that his mouth was full when Vilmos sauntered in their direction, and he suspected that the older vampire had planned it that way. Vilmos embraced Stella at length before turning to regard Mark appraisingly.

“So,” he said, “this is the new member of our line. Tell me, Stella, is it true? What I’ve heard about his talents?”

Stella raised a delicate eyebrow in polite inquiry.

Vilmos laughed heartily. “I refer only to his financial acumen.”

“Mark is a genius,” she said simply.

Deciding that modesty wasn’t called for, Mark didn’t argue the point.

“Then perhaps I have work for him,” Vilmos said. “My own financial adviser has sadly passed away.”

Stella gave Mark a prompting look, so he said, “I would be happy to make some recommendations.”

“Splendid!” Vilmos said. “We shall talk later.” He embraced them both before moving on.

“Did I pass inspection?” Mark asked.

“Tentatively,” Stella said. “Just be warned that I heard that Vilmos’s previous adviser didn’t die of natural causes.”

“Message received.”

Mark knew that, objectively, it was quite a celebration. Food and beverages were served in abundance, there were plenty of willing blood donors available, and the band was excellent. Admittedly, Mark wasn’t expecting bluegrass, but Stella explained that Vilmos was currently fascinated with the form. Had anybody treated Mark as something other than Stella’s arm candy, he would have had a terrific time. As it was, he would rather have been watching wrestling, and he hated wrestling.

Even the humans seemed aware that he was just a pup, relatively speaking. When he approached the lovely redhead who’d resisted Vilmos’s charm, she said, “Sorry, I’m taken.” Before he could protest that he was just looking for conversation, she retreated to the side of a trim-looking specimen who could have stepped out of any boardroom in corporate America ifhe’d still had a pulse.

Interestingly, Vilmos was watching her, too, and for an instant the civilized veneer slipped away to show avarice.

After that, Mark stayed with Stella, pulling her onto the dance floor as often as possible to keep from having to listen while he was assessed as though he weren’t even in the room.

As dawn approached, the guests began to leave for their beds. Mark heard the redhead complaining that her feet were sore, and her vampire companion whisked her up the stairs in his arms. Several vampires laughed at the display, but Vilmos wasn’t among them.

Clearly there was a story there, but Mark couldn’t get it out of Stella that night. They barely had time to strip off their finery and wash up before snuggling in bed as the sun rose. Then they slipped into death together.

Mark was still able to move around during the day, and woke a little after noon. He’d intended to catch up on some paperwork while Stella lay in bed, but a note had been slipped under the door to tell Mark that there was a package waiting for him in the hall. When he opened the door, he found that Vilmos had arranged for a fat stack of financial data to be left for him. It was presumptuous as hell, but for Stella’s sake, Mark was willing to see if he could help.

After checking in vain for a CD or spreadsheet printout, he sighed and got out his laptop to create a data file. Entering and analyzing it took the rest of the day, and he began to think that whatever had happened to Vilmos’s previous adviser, it wasn’t enough.

Mark still had an hour to go before he could expect Stella to rise when he finally stood and stretched. Hungry for actual food, not just blood, he wandered downstairs to see what was available. Since there were humans around, there had to be something. The ballroom was empty, but in an adjoining dining room a handsome array of meats, cheeses, fruits, and vegetables was waiting. As Mark helped himself, a servant came to offer him something to drink.

At first, he was the only one at the table, but halfway through his meal, the redhead came in and filled a plate. Considering how she’d acted the night before, Mark wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d gone elsewhere to eat, but instead she joined him.

“I don’t believe we’ve met formally. I’m Mark.” He didn’t give a last name. Vampires usually didn’t.

“I’m Reinette.”

“Pleased to meet you, Reinette. That was some party last night, wasn’t it?”

“Not bad,” she said, “but just wait until Geoff’s-it’ll be much nicer.” She watched him for a moment. “You’re still a baby, aren’t you?”

“I bet I’m older than you are.”

“I mean a baby vampire. Geoff never eats food.”

Mark couldn’t think of an appropriate response, so he kept on eating.

“Who’s your sire?” Reinette asked.

“My dam is Stella.”

“Stella… Oh, one of Vilmos’s line. He bid for me, you know.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Vilmos really wanted me, but Geoff outbid him.” She held her hand out. “Geoff even gave me this ring as a signing bonus.”

“Very nice,” Mark said, which was a massive understatement. It was a wondrous confection of diamonds and emeralds.

“Geoff is so generous. I could never be a concubine to somebody who wasn’t generous.”

“Naturally not.”

“He gives me new jewelry every month on our anniversary. Of course, it’s in our contract, so he has to, but he has such wonderful taste.” She sighed happily. “Tomorrow is our anniversary, and I can’t wait to see what he got me. He has something in a velvet bag that he wouldn’t let me look at. Maybe it’s a necklace or a bracelet.”

“I’m sure it’ll be lovely.”

“I want something really special to show Vilmos how much Geoff appreciates me.” She lowered her voice. “Vilmos only got Ramon to invite us because he wanted Geoff to send me to him for a birthday present.” She wrinkled her nose. “Geoff would never do that, and besides, it’s in my contract that he can’t lend me out. So don’t bother asking.”

Deciding that he didn’t want dessert enough to put up with Reinette any longer, Mark said, “Lovely to meet you,” and left.

By the time he got back to the room, Stella was stirring, and he climbed into bed with her to speed the process. Ironically, this resulted in their remaining in bed somewhat longer.

Once they were both up and dressed, Mark told her about his progress with Vilmos’s finances.

“Can you help him?”

“Of course. I’m a genius. But why are vampires such wimps with their money?”

“We’re just cautious.”

“Cautious investors don’t pull their money out the second the market drops half a point, which is what most of them were talking about doing last night. Cautious investors know how to ride out the tough times, to take the long view. If anybody should know how to take the long view, vampires should.”

“Vilmos isn’t broke, is he?”

“Not even close. In a year’s time, he’ll be able to buy and sell women at will.”

“Excuse me?”

“I met a woman named Reinette downstairs who said Vilmos couldn’t afford her, though I hadn’t realized that slavery was part of the vampire lifestyle. You do realize that I come from an old New England family. We were abolitionists long before it was cool.”

“It’s not slavery.” She rolled her eyes. “Foolish humans have trophy wives and boy toys. Foolish vampires have concubines. They actually contract with humans to act as regular blood donors.”

“Are you serious?”

“Reinette’s family has served vampires for generations. She offered herself for auction last year and signed a contract with Geoff.”

“What if she changes her mind?”

“Don’t ask. Besides, Reinette was quite willing. Ramon found the whole process amusing, and told me that a dozen vampires put in bids, but it came down to Geoff and Vilmos. They kept upping their offers until Vilmos ran out of money. As it was, Geoff had to pay twice the usual stipend, plus expenses and monthly gifts of jewelry. When the term is up, she gets a house and pension.”

“That’s a lot of bucks just to win a pissing contest.”

“Geoff is an idiot. And now he’s got to put up with Reinette for the next five years.”

They were about to head downstairs when a scream ripped through the mansion. With a place that large, few humans would have heard the screams unless they were nearby, but vampires came from every corner with blinding speed. Mark, of course, was the last to arrive and pushed his way into the spacious suite, mindless of protocol.

At first, it didn’t register that the heavy draperies were open, exposing the room to the nighttime sky. Then he realized how wrong that was. He’d never seen any of the house’s drapes open, for obvious reasons. As far as he knew, he was the only vampire young enough to endure the sun.

Reinette was staring at the bed, no longer screaming, but as pale as the oldest vampire. The blankets were pulled back, and the sheets rumpled as if someone had slept there, but the bed was covered in a fine coating of steel-gray dust.

Mark wasn’t sure what he was seeing. Stella knelt by the side of the bed farthest from the window, then stood holding something. Mark’s mind rebelled when he realized it was an arm, a man’s arm.

“He always slept with one arm hanging over the edge of the bed,” Alexis said, “ever since I gave him the Choice.”

“Who?” Mark asked.

“Geoff,” Stella answered. “This is all that’s left of him.”

Reinette swayed, and Ramon moved to catch her as she fainted.

“How did this happen?” Alexis demanded, eyes flashing. Her languor of the night before was gone-Mark hadn’t realized that she was Geoff’s dam.

“I don’t know,” Ramon stammered. “My servants are trained to perfection. They would never do such a thing.”

“They must be questioned.”

“I’ll see to it immediately.” Realizing that he was still holding Reinette, he looked around, as if for a convenient shelf on which to place her.

“Take her to my room,” Vilmos said. Mark hadn’t even seen him-for once, he wasn’t the center of attention.

“Gods above, Vilmos!” Alexis said. “Control your appetites!”

“How dare you imply-”

“Give her to Mark,” Stella said calmly. “He can watch over her.”

Mark wasn’t sure if it was because he was trusted or because he was too low in the pecking order to be a threat, but both Alexis and Vilmos nodded in agreement, and Ramon passed the unconscious woman to him almost tenderly. The other vampires stepped aside, and Mark carried Reinette to his and Stella’s room. Fortunately, they’d left the door open. He hesitated about whether or not to put her on the bed, and deciding to avoid giving the wrong impression, laid her on the sofa.

Reinette stayed out for over an hour, while Mark went back to work on Vilmos’s finances. Though he kept hoping Stella would let him know what was happening, they were left alone. Finally Mark heard Reinette’s breathing and heart rate change, and after a moment, she spoke.

“Is Geoff really dead?” she asked in a tiny voice.

Technically, Geoff had been dead for years, but Mark didn’t think she was in the proper frame of mind for technicalities. “I’m afraid so.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and he was touched by the depth of her emotion until she choked out, “Then what happens to me?” and burst into the most annoying sobs he’d ever heard.

Mark found a box of tissues to give her, but felt helpless otherwise. Presumably he could have held her or patted her back, but he didn’t want to touch her.

Suddenly she stopped. “There was something about this in my contract! Think, Reinette, think!”

“Silly girl, nobody expects you to do that.”

Mark and Reinette looked up to see Ramon in the doorway.

“Ramon, do you know what my contract says about Geoff dying before the term is up?” she asked.

“Probably the usual provision for you to get everything you would have if he’d lived: the stipend, the pension, the house.”

“And the jewelry?”

“I suppose,” he said, “but that’s all moot.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that the only provision of your contract that applies is one about punishment for killing your patron. Once you’re found guilty by the tribunal, you’ll be given to Geoff’s sire, which means you’ll be spending the rest of your life as Alexis’s belonging. Did I mention that she’s quite angry at you for killing Geoff?”

“But I didn’t!”

“Every other human in the house has been bespelled and questioned, and none of them went into that room today. It had to have been you who opened the curtain.”

“It wasn’t! Bespell me and ask me.”

“You know that’s not possible.”

“Why not?” Mark asked.

“Reinette was rendered immune from bespelling,” Ramon explained. “It’s part of the bond between a concubine and a vampire. How else could it be a binding contract?”

Reinette said, “You can’t give me to Alexis! I told her she looked old, and she hates me because it’s true.”

“That wasn’t very diplomatic,” Ramon said, clicking his tongue.

She started crying again, even more loudly.

“Ramon, are you serious? Alexis is going to own Reinette?”

“Marcus, don’t tell you me you’re squeamish about the fate of a murderer.”

“What I’m squeamish about is slavery. How do we even know she’s guilty?” Mark had eaten at the same table as Reinette no more than two hours before Geoff’s remains were found. He couldn’t believe she’d just killed her patron or intended to do so within the next few minutes. Nobody was that good an actress.

“Don’t worry. The tribunal will prove that she’s guilty first-it shouldn’t take long.” He checked his watch. “They’ve given Reinette an hour to prepare.”

“An hour?”

“Why waste time? I’m to stay with Reinette so she doesn’t cheat by killing herself-Alexis is hinting that she’ll let us all sample her this evening.”

The concubine broke into fresh wails. As for Mark, he wished he hadn’t eaten real food that evening, because he felt very close to losing it at the thought. “But Reinette will have a chance to defend herself?”

“If she likes, or she can pick a spokesman. Maybe I’ll volunteer. It might be fun.” Ramon snapped his fingers. “Hold on! Didn’t Stella tell me you’re a lawyer?”

“I do financial planning, not courtroom work.”

“Close enough. You can give me some tips. Are there any appropriate Latin phrases? Habeas corpus?”

“Ramon, you can’t make a joke out of Reinette’s life. Get somebody who’ll take it seriously.”

“Oh, nobody else dares face Alexis’s wrath. I’m only willing to risk it for the amusement value.”

Mark looked at Reinette, who’d thrown herself on the couch sobbing, then remembered the stories his mother had told him about their ancestors who’d been part of the Underground Railroad. “Tell me how the tribunal works, Ramon. I’ll defend Reinette.”

Given the choice between Ramon’s mocking and defending herself, Reinette leapt at Mark’s offer, even if he was a baby vampire. Fortunately, Ramon restrained his sense of the absurd long enough to give Mark a brief but thorough description of vampiric legal procedures, which were fairly simple.

The vampires present would choose a judge to oversee the tribunal, usually the most senior vampire present. Both sides would present their cases, and the judge would make a ruling. Any punishment would be carried out immediately. Fairness was ensured by vampires’ long memories-nobody wanted to be accused of favoritism by a vampire who might be in charge of his tribunal in a decade’s time.

There were no formal rules of evidence or testimony, and of course, nobody swore on the Bible.

“Is there anything else I should know?” Mark asked.

“Like the part about your having to suffer the same punishment as the accused, should she be found guilty?”

Mark blinked.

Ramon broke into laughter. “I’m kidding, Marcus. We’re a tad more civilized than that.”

“Other than the part about letting Alexis torture Reinette.”

“I did say ‘a tad.’”

“Fine.” With only a few minutes left, and knowing vampires’ love for style, Mark dressed in his best suit while Reinette made what repairs she could to her face. She ran roughshod over Stella’s makeup in the process, but that was the least of Mark’s worries. At the last moment, he grabbed a pad and pen just because he thought he should have one.

Reinette clung to his arm the whole way to the ballroom, and Mark was afraid he was going to have to carry her the last few steps, but just before she reached the door, she straightened up and stepped inside proudly and defiantly.

“Very Joan of Arc,” Ramon said, but Mark was impressed. Maybe she wasn’t a total waste of space after all.

The ballroom furnishings had been rearranged to mimic a modern-day courtroom, with a judge’s bench, tables for the prosecution and defense, and a witness chair. The gallery was already filled with vampires and, at the very back, frightened-looking humans. Presumably they were there to witness the cost of treachery.

The judge’s place was empty, but Alexis was already seated at the prosecutor’s table. She watched Reinette menacingly as the girl stepped past her to sit in the defendant’s seat, and the look she gave Mark was nearly as hostile.

He hadn’t seen Stella as he came in, but didn’t have a chance to look for her before Ramon went to stand in front of the room and said, “By the traditions of our kind, this tribunal has been convened to determine the truth behind the death of Geoff, of the line of Alexis.” Everyone rose, and when the judge came in, Mark realized he didn’t need to look for Stella after all.

Stella was the judge.

Mark could tell she was as shocked to see him defending Reinette as he was to see her as judge. He glared at Ramon, who must have known, but the trickster shrugged and tried to look surprised.

Reinette whispered, “Isn’t that your sire? That’s going to make it easier, right?”

“You don’t know Stella,” Mark said. She’d be fair, but she’d do her duty as she saw it, even if it meant ruling against him. He honestly didn’t know if he could stay with her should she allow Reinette to be enslaved.

Stella sat, and everyone else followed suit.

“Who asks for judgment?” she asked formally.

Alexis said, “As Geoff’s sire, I call for judgment against the concubine Reinette for foully betraying her patron to the sun.”

“Is the accused present?”

“Yes,” Reinette responded meekly. “I’ve asked Mark to speak in my place.”

“Mark, have you been made aware of our customs?”

“I have, Your Honor.”

“Then we shall proceed. Alexis, state your case.”

“It is brutally simple. This creature drew the curtains during daylight while Geoff slept helplessly. He burned to nothingness until his arm fell from his ravaged body.” She paused to let the horrific image sink in. “Under our laws, she is mine to do with as I will.”

“Mark? What is your defense?”

“The defense is just as simple,” Mark said. “Reinette is as much a victim as Geoff.”

There was hissing from the gallery until Stella quelled it with a look.

“I call Reinette to the stand,” Mark said.

Reinette went to the chair that had been set up, and Stella warned, “Be aware that a lie-any lie-will cause me to rule against you.”

“Yes, Your Honor.” She saw the gallery of vampires watching her hungrily, and swallowed visibly.

“Reinette,” Mark said, “tell us what happened from the time you left Vilmos’s gala to the moment you discovered Geoff’s remains.”

She could barely speak at first, but with Mark’s coaxing, managed to give her account. Geoff had carried her to her room and enjoyed a nightcap of her blood before going to his own suite. “I don’t like being with him when he’s, you know, not breathing, so I always have my own room.” She’d slept until after two, and after performing a remarkable amount of grooming, had gone to the dining room, where she’d found Mark. After he’d left-“kind of suddenly” in her opinion-she’d finished eating and went back to her room to watch TV and primp still more. She would normally have waited for Geoff to come to her, but was hoping to convince him to present her monthly gift a day early, so used her key to get into his room. They all knew the rest.

Unfortunately, the only piece of the story that could be confirmed was her meal with Mark, and that wasn’t nearly enough to prove her innocence.

Lastly Mark asked if she had any reason to want Geoff dead. “Of course not! Geoff gave me everything I asked for, no matter how much it cost. I know he had to because of the contract, but he never fussed. And he was good in bed, too.”

Mark turned it over to Alexis, who asked a single, devastating question. Did Reinette know that if Geoff died before the end of the term of their contract, she would get everything she would have had he lived?

She did, meaning that she knew she stood to benefit substantially from Geoff’s death.

Next Mark called Ramon, who explained that the only keys to the room had been in the possession of Geoff, Reinette, and Ramon himself. Even if there had been a way for a servant to gain access, all the humans on the estate had been questioned, and none of them had gone into Geoff’s room. Mark asked about other security measures, but while the perimeter of the estate was thoroughly protected with both high-tech and mystic measures, there was nothing comparable inside the house.

After Ramon stepped down, Alexis said, “Reinette’s guilt is clear. I demand that judgment be made immediately.”

“You are not in a position to demand anything,” Stella said. “I will make my decision when I am ready, not one second before.”

The two vampires locked eyes, but it was Alexis who finally relented.

For once, Mark was grateful for the pissing contest.

Then Stella said, “Mark, do you wish to call further witnesses?”

He flipped through the blank pages of his pad, trying to come up with something. He wasn’t a trial lawyer, and this was like no trial he’d ever seen, anyway. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage. “Your Honor, I would like to make an observation, if you will allow it.”

Stella raised one eyebrow, but nodded.

“Ramon’s testimony suggests that no human could have entered Geoff’s bedroom, but there are far more vampires in residence than humans.”

“Geoff, Ramon, and the girl were the only ones with keys,” Alexis pointed out.

Mark said, “Locks can be picked. All that is required is a set of easily obtainable picks and a person with good hearing, a steady hand, and patience. I think that would apply to any of the vampires here.”

There was a great deal of murmuring until Stella said, “We will have quiet.”

“Since any of the vampires could have picked the lock,” Mark went on, “any of them could have opened the curtains.”

“How?” Alexis wanted to know. “None of us woke until dusk. The only vampire awake before then was you.” She bared her teeth. “Are you confessing?”

Mark didn’t dignify that with a reply. He was still trying to find some way to prove that somebody else had been in that room. Could he be wrong about Reinette? Could she have casually insulted him after killing Geoff? He looked at her again, but still didn’t believe it. The only thing that had been on her mind was jewelry. Jewelry…

“Your Honor,” he said, “Geoff gave Reinette apiece of jewelry each month on their anniversary, and she told me he had brought along this month’s gift wrapped in a velvet bag. I request that a search be made to find that gift.”

Stella looked uncertain, but Alexis threw up her hands and said, “If it will speed this charade, then find the creature’s bauble.”

“I will allow it,” Stella said. “Ramon?”

Ramon, grinning of course, picked two other vampires as witnesses and sped away. In just a few moments, they returned, with Ramon triumphantly holding a black bag. He handed it to Stella, who turned it upside down. Only a sprinkle of dust emerged.

Mark asked, “Ramon, was there anything else in that room that could have been this month’s gift?”

“Nothing,” Ramon said.

“So?” Alexis said. “We have only Reinette’s word that there was anything in that bag in the first place.”

“But we do know that tomorrow was their anniversary,” Mark countered, “and that Geoff was meticulous about providing gifts.”

Alexis scoffed. “Then Reinette took it. She probably has it on her now.”

“I do not,” Reinette said. “You can strip me here if you want!”

Ramon leered. “Anything to please a lady!”

“Ramon!” Stella admonished. “Come here, child.” She wasn’t overly rough with Reinette, but she was thorough. “There is no jewelry on her.”

“She must have hidden it,” Alexis said.

“When?” Mark asked. “She hasn’t been alone since Geoff’s remains were found.”

“She hid it before raising the alarm.”

“Then I request a search of the house to find it.”

Now there were sounds of anger from the gallery.

“That could take days!” Alexis sputtered. “Your Honor, I object most strenuously.”

Stella looked at Mark. He knew she wanted to know if he was stalling, but he didn’t move a muscle-if she could be a stickler for procedure, so could he.

Then she said, “With the jewelry missing, you have adequately established the possibility that a vampire could have gotten into Geoff’s room and taken it, but unless you can provide a viable suspect or suspects, I will have to make my decision.”

Mark wanted to kick something extremely hard, but he didn’t dare show doubt, or Reinette was doomed. Maybe she already was. All he had was an empty bag that could have contained jewelry, and a dead vampire’s arm. Alexis had means and opportunity on her side, and one of the best motives imaginable: greed. Mark had managed to cloud means and opportunity a little, but he had nothing for motive. Unless…

“Mark?” Stella asked.

“Your Honor, I call Vilmos to the stand.”

Mark heard gasps, and even Ramon looked appalled. But Stella said, “Vilmos, will you take the stand?”

Mark had been expecting haughty indignation, but instead Vilmos was chuckling as he sat. “Of course. Who am I to argue with genius?”

Mark took a deep breath. “Vilmos, it is my understanding that you made an offer for Reinette’s services as a concubine.”

“I did. Under the circumstances, I count myself fortunate that I did not succeed.” He chuckled again.

“I also understand that the bids were unusually high.”

“We got caught up in the moment, I fear. No woman is worth that much money.” He twinkled at Stella. “No human woman, that is.”

“In other words, you bid more than you could afford?”

“I would have honored any promises made,” Vilmos said stiffly, no longer affable.

“Presumably Geoff felt the same way.”

“Geoff would not have shamed me by failing to meet his obligations,” Alexis said.

Mark was sure that he had the answer now, but he needed one last thing to prove it. The question was, how far would Stella be willing to play along? “Your Honor, I again request a search of the house.”

Alexis jumped up, furious, while Vilmos laughed out loud, and said, “A genius!” But Mark looked only at Stella. He’d told Reinette that having Stella as judge would give them no advantage, but he was hoping he’d been wrong. It all came down to one question. Did she trust him enough to risk loss of face in front of her fellow vampires?

It didn’t matter to him what anybody else did.

Finally she spoke. “I will allow a one-hour recess for a search. No more. Ramon, you may choose assistance as needed.”

Mark said, “May I make a private suggestion to Ramon?” He whispered his thoughts to Ramon, who looked at him as if he were making the joke for once, but nodded before enlisting a trio of vampires.

Stella left the room, but Mark and Reinette remained as the rest of the vampires and humans speculated wildly. It was all he could do to keep from pacing, but preventing Reinette from going into hysterics kept him distracted.

Stella came back into the room five minutes before the hour was up, and Mark could tell she was as anxious as he was. Half the people were watching the clock, while the others were watching the door. One minute before the time was up, Ramon came into the room, grinning widely. “I believe we have the missing item,” he said. His assistants came behind him pushing Geoff into the room ahead of them, still alive, but with only one arm.

Mark turned to Stella, who was smiling at him, and neither of them noticed that Reinette had fainted again.

“IT was the joke of a lifetime!” Ramon said admiringly.

“Perhaps not so funny to Reinette,” Stella said.

They had gotten the whole story out of Geoff. It was a classic case of buyer’s remorse. After signing Reinette’s contract for far more money than he should have spent, he’d had to meet the terms even as the economy drained his pocketbook. As Mark had verified with a quick audit, Geoff was fast approaching bankruptcy, and the monthly gifts of jewelry were the last straw.

So he’d staged his own death, spreading around the dust he’d brought in the velvet bag Reinette was so covetous of and cutting off his own arm to add the right touch of horror.

“Because he’d rather lose his arm than lose face,” Mark said.

Stella rolled her eyes. “Aren’t Ramon’s jokes enough?”

“Sorry.”

After setting the stage, Geoff snuck out of the room and locked the door behind him before going to hide in the attic.

“I’m surprised it took so long to find him,” Mark said to Ramon. “I told you to look up there first.”

“Oh, we found him in the first ten minutes. We only waited to make a better entrance.”

There was nothing Mark could say to that, and no point, anyway. Ramon was incorrigible.

Geoff had planned to escape from the mansion at the earliest opportunity and had already arranged a new identity to use for as long as necessary. He’d assumed that Reinette wouldn’t survive long as Alexis’s belonging, but that by the time he reemerged from hiding, nobody would care enough to bring a case against him. Reinette was not well-liked.

Once the plot was revealed, Reinette, with prompting from Mark, asked for judgment against Geoff for trying to skip out on their contract. Alexis, furious that he’d dishonored her line, had supported the concubine.

Stella’s judgment was that Reinette be released from her contract but that she immediately receive everything promised to her, including the jewelry or its cash value, which would drive Geoff into poverty. Moreover, since Geoff had been willing to go without an arm, he could continue to do so. Each time it grew back, it would be cut off again. For a full five years. Knowing how much it hurt to regrow a finger, let alone an arm, even Vilmos winced at Stella’s decision, while Alexis offered up another one of her rare smiles.

Reinette was so grateful that she offered to feed Mark right then and there, but he respectfully declined. He hadn’t wanted her enslaved, but that didn’t mean he liked her. He did accept her emerald ring as a thank-you gift and planned to give it to Stella at the first opportunity.

“I think Reinette has learned something from all this,” Ramon said. “She’s going to change her life around, perhaps attend college or go into charity work.”

Mark and Stella stared at him.

Ramon chortled. “Just kidding. As far as I know, her only goal is to see how fast she can spend Geoff’s money. When that gets old, she may sign another contract. Or perhaps I’ll offer her the Choice.”

“Ramon, tell me you’re joking,” Mark said, aghast.

“Oh, I know that she’s vapid and vain and greedy, and honestly, not terribly bright.”

“Then why?”

“Because I’m in love with the little bitch!” Ramon snapped. Then he gathered himself enough to put the clown mask back up. “It would give me somebody else to play jokes on instead of you, Marcus-won’t that be a relief? Maybe after a decade or two or three, she’ll grow up.”

He sauntered off, leaving Mark and Stella to enjoy their first time alone in what seemed like days. They took advantage of it promptly.

Afterward, Mark said, “I just realized that Ramon purposely maneuvered me into defending Reinette.”

“That’s quite a compliment, to put the life of his beloved in your hands.”

“That kind of compliment I can do without. Setting me against you, then dragging out the search for Geoff to the last minute. Which reminds me. I never thanked you for giving me that hour.”

“You’re welcome. Besides, I needed it, too.”

“Oh?”

She looked embarrassed. “It took me most of that time to get in touch with a sorcerer I know. He was ready to teleport into the house on my signal, and teleport out with Reinette.”

“You mean you would have-?”

“I know you, Mark. You wouldn’t have defended Reinette unless you thought she was innocent, and could never have accepted what would have happened to her if I had found her guilty. That helped me realize that I couldn’t, either.”

There was no way he could say anything to match that, so he didn’t try. Instead, he showed her how he felt even more enthusiastically than before.

By the time he’d exhausted his gratitude, dawn was nearly upon them.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Mark said. “Why did you give me the Choice instead of making me your concubine?”

“I knew five years with you wouldn’t be enough,” she said. “I was taking the long view.”