Fiction - "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room"
Title: "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room"
Author:
workerbee32
Fandom: Moonlight
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Mick/Beth, Josef, ADA Ben Talbot
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Series Finale
Disclaimer: I do not own any of it. It belongs to other people and I borrow them occasionally. No infringement intended!
Author's Notes: First ever Moonlight fic!
Summary: Mick had seen her injured before. Scraped, cut, bruised. Wounds that took days or weeks to heal, but they healed. They’d heal and scar to remind him that being connected to him was dangerous for her. But this was different. This had nothing to do with him. And yet, it had everything to do with him.
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
If Mick were human, his heart would’ve been beating out of his chest. He got a call from Talbot, the new ADA, that there had been an accident. Mick knew before the words were spoken that it was Beth. He could hear the ADA’s pulse quickening through the phone. Abbott was scared too. She wasn’t dead, but it was dire.
“You should get to the hospital as fast as you can, Mick.” Talbot told him. Mick didn’t wait to hear what was said after that. He was already on his way.
* * * * *
Mick had seen her injured before. Scraped, cut, bruised. Wounds that took days or weeks to heal, but they healed. They’d heal and scar to remind him that being connected to him was dangerous for her. But this was different. This had nothing to do with him. And yet, it had everything to do with him. This was his world, his love, his Beth. She was lying in a hospital bed and hooked up to numerous machines that were taking care of the mechanics of keeping her alive. The doctor told him that the blow to her head was too severe, caused too much damage. She’d likely never wake up. And, if she did, she’d be severely brain damaged.
Mick sat at her side for a week. He stoically listened to all the voices telling him that the best and most generous thing he could do would be to let her go. Let her be at peace instead of wandering in limbo.
Mick liked to replay the little moments in his head. The time when she tried to teach him how to dance, but ended up with bruised toes because he had two left feet.
“You can gracefully scale a ten story building, but a simple tango or samba has you tripping over your feet.” She teased. “And mine!” She laughed and so did he. He always laughed when she did. It was a reflex and now he wasn’t sure he’d ever laugh again.
But other times he’d recall their deep discussions. Her heart break over Josh’s death and the sadness that came with realizing that she hadn’t really wanted him. She wanted to want him. She should have wanted him.
“Don’t get me wrong, I loved Josh.” She had told Mick. “But I wasn’t in love with him and I certainly wouldn’t have felt right marrying him.” Equal parts victory and guilt shot through Mick at that revelation. “It wasn’t that I didn’t love him, I guess I just love you more.” She smiled at him and he smiled back.
Their discussions about Josh and Mick’s own disastrous marriage brought the same old questions back up. Would Mick turn Beth if it were the only option? Would he bestow the curse of eternity on her if not doing it meant he’d lose her forever? He had mastered the art of avoiding a straight answer. Decades as a plain sight vampire gave him an impressive skill set and avoidance was one of the big ones.
“I think that I’d like to go to Paris.” Beth told him out of the blue one night.
“I believe that can be arranged.” Mick’s mouth quirked at the corner, “Josef has a home there. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind lending it to us for a week or two.”
“No.” Beth shifted beside him on her couch. “I mean that it is where I think we should go to start over when I get turned.” She was watching him, gauging his reaction but he gave her nothing. He could tell she worded that carefully so as not to assume he would be the one turning her. She said it so casually, so he knew it wasn’t meant to turn into one of their knock-down-drag-outs about the subject. This was simply her expressing a fantasy future that Mick was sure would never have to be played out. He could play along because, no matter how sick he thought the fantasy was, he wouldn’t deny her the notion of them starting a new life together in Paris.
“Paris, huh?” His eyebrow quirked, playing along.
“Yeah.” She smiled. “New names, new place. I wouldn’t be able to stay in LA as a vampire anyway.”
“I don’t know,” Mick said, his face dropping a little, “I like your name. Beth. My Beth. It would feel wrong to call you something else.”
Beth sat in thought for a moment and then replied. “Fine. I can stay your Beth but that means that you have to stay my Mick. Different last names though. Something that sounds good with both our names, maybe.”
“Mick and Beth Smith it is then.” Mick pronounced with a smirk.
Beth rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because that wouldn’t be suspicious at all. Might as well be Mick and Beth NotVampires.” They laughed. It was all so silly, so absurd. So impossible.
But now, sitting beside his sleeping Beth, all Mick could think of was Paris and forever and seeing her eyes open and looking into his.
* * * * *
“I can’t say that I’m that shocked.” Josef said, standing at his living room bar pouring a fresh blood cocktail for himself and Mick. He handed a glass to his friend and then took a swig of his own. “But it is a bit of a strange move to make, being the self-loathing vampire you are.”
Mick could feel his friend’s eyes on him, studying him the way Beth would. “Well, things change.” Mick said before bringing his glass to his lips for a drink.
Josef’s brow arched and Mick hated it because it was the look Josef always had when he wasn’t buying Mick’s vague answers or reasoning. “Oh yeah?” Josef’s sarcastic swagger was in full effect. “Things changed and suddenly you love being a vampire? You dig the night life and completely embrace the fact that you have to nip on the neck of a stranger to survive? You look forward to watching generation after generation of friends die off? Good to see decades of denial fall away so spontaneously.”
Mick sat down on one of the sleek couches in Josef’s living room and put his head in his hands. “You’re really willing to bring Beth into this? To pass the one part of yourself that you truly hate about yourself on to her? Josef stood beside the couch, looking down at his friend.
“What other choice do I have?” Mick asked, his voice low enough that mortal ears wouldn’t have heard it. Josef did. When Mick looked up, he saw the concern flash behind Josef’s eyes. A genuine jolt of emotion shook both of them before Josef’s features faded back to his usual pithy sarcasm.
“So,” He sat down next to Mick and put his arm around his friend’s shoulders, “Is this going to make her my daughter-in-law or grand-daughter?”
* * * * *
Mick wasn’t wanting for money or connections, but there were things that Josef simply insisted on taking care of. While Mick prepared things on the Beth end of things, Josef went above and beyond getting everything else ready. A new villa in Paris, identities set up in all the legal channels and a plane on stand-by for when Mick was ready to pick up and leave LA with Beth. Mick usually rolled his eyes at Josef for going so broad and overboard, but he found himself being nothing but grateful this time around. It was the logistical details that Mick didn’t have time for, didn’t have the focus for. It was enough that he was having to mentally prepare to turn Beth into what he never wanted her to be, he couldn’t be bothered with French realtors and picking out furniture for the new home.
Standing at Beth’s bedside, Mick let out a sigh. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“You already have.” Josef looked bored of the gratitude, but Mick knew better.
“No matter what they say about you, Josef Kosten, you are a great person.” Mick smirked as he held onto Beth’s hand.
Josef scoffed. “Let’s not let that bit of information get out, then people will expect me to be-“ He wrinkled up his nose in mock disgust, “kind.” Mick laughed and he saw that the sound of it lit up Josef’s face for a brief second. “Glad I can entertain you, old friend. Do you mind me asking when you plan on carrying out this plan of yours?”
Mick stroked the back of Beth’s hand with his thumb. “Soon.” He replied softly.
Josef walked over to stand at Mick’s side. “How exactly do you plan on doing this? Here? Because I do not think that would be advisable.”
“I will take her to my apartment. It will have to be quick, but I will unhook her from the machines and get her to my apartment as fast as possible. Once I get there, I will do it.” He kept his eyes on her, hoping she’d wake up and tell him how stupid this whole plan was.
“How, exactly do you plan on getting a comatose woman out of a hospital without someone noticing or trying to stop you?” Josef pressed.
Mick let go of Beth’s hand and turned to face his friend. “I was hoping my extremely charming friend would have a conversation with key members of the staff to make my exit go smoothly.”
“Oh Mick St. John, you do know how to butter a fella up.” Josef retorted with fondness and sarcasm. “And if my limitless charm does not work?”
“Then your limitless bank account might help.” Mick smirked.
“I’ve always taken great pleasure in being your sugar daddy.” Josef teased and put his hand on Mick’s shoulder. “I will see what I can do.” And with that, he was off to work his magic.
* * * * *
Josef’s charm hadn’t been enough, so he had to pay off a handful of people to look the other way while Mick made his escape from the hospital with a lifeless Beth in his arms. He moved as fast as he could through the back streets of the city, a blur zig zagging a path to his apartment. Josef was waiting there with the door open. If this went wrong, Mick would need all the help he could get and Josef planned on being there if it became a worst-case scenario. Lord knew that he was familiar with what that looked like. He would probably never admit it, but he had wished someone had been there to help him through his own failed attempt to turn a mortal lover into an eternal one. He wasn’t going to let Mick go through this by himself.
“You better hurry.” Josef told him as he carried Beth through the doorway. “Her heart is barely-“
“I know.” Mick cut him off curtly. “I know.” He repeated with a softer tone as he carried her up to his bedroom and laid her across his bed, Josef on his heels. “You don’t have to stay.” Mick told Josef without looking away from Beth.
“Yes I do.” Josef replied simply. No bolstering bullshit or sarcasm.
Mick stole a quick glance at his friend and turned his attention back to the task before him. Turning Beth. He closed his eyes and listened to her heart as the beating started to slow. He wondered for a split second if he should let it stop, let her die a human death at peace in his bed instead of a vampire’s brutal true death centuries down the road. But the idea of her being gone completely, for good, made him feel like screaming until the world ended. Until the grandchildren of all the mortals around him were long gone and centuries had turned many times over with him shouting his sorrow at the world. The decision wasn’t hard, not anymore. Beth had to be eternal. He simply didn’t know how to be in the world if she wasn’t.
He gently swept her hair back from her neck and pressed a soft kiss against her lips before letting his fangs extend. His iris’ turning to the vampiric creaming pale blue and his body tensing as he leaned down to sink his fangs into her neck. He remembered the taste of her blood, the sweet notes it carried. He had only tasted it once, but he would never forget it. She saved him with her blood once, now it was his chance to return the favor.
Mick shut his brain off and drank. Too many thoughts were clouding his head and he worried he’d get lost in them. If he didn’t stop at exactly the right moment and then give Beth his blood, he would have no one to blame but himself for losing her. He willed himself to stop thinking, to focus on the weak beating of her heart until he barely felt it anymore. He pulled back from her neck and bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw significant blood. He quickly joined his mouth with Beth’s, forcing his blood into her mouth with his tongue. It wouldn’t take much to turn her, but he wanted to make sure the job was done. He kissed her, tasting the mixture of his own blood and hers as he puffed short bursts of air into her to move the blood further into her body.
Josef stepped forward and place a hand on Mick’s shoulder, signaling him that he had done all he could. The rest would take time.
* * * * *
ADA Ben Talbot’s looked up from the paperwork he was shuffling through to see who had knocked on his door. He was met with the portly suit wearing private investigator he had hired when Beth Turner went missing three months before, Philip Harris.
“Mr. Harris, it’s been a while.” Talbot pointed out, his face stoic to hide the annoyance bubbling below the surface. “It would’ve been polite to answer my calls over the past few weeks.”
Harris sat down across from Talbot and tossed a manila legal size envelope onto the desk. “I’m not paid to talk on the phone, I’m paid to dig until I find the bone.”
Talbot arched an eyebrow as he grabbed the envelope off the desk. “You found the bone?”
“Like a bloodhound in a graveyard, no pun intended.” Harris leaned forward in his chair. “Take a look.” He gestured to the envelope and Talbot pulled a stack of 8x10 pictures out. The top picture was of Mick St. John walking down a dark street.
“St. John?” Talbot asked, looking at his hired bloodhound with a gleam in his eye. “Where?”
“Paris, France.” Harris replied. “But he’s not going by St. John anymore. He’s Mick Cantrell.”
“He’s not as smart as I thought.” Talbot stared at the picture. “Keeping his first name was a dumb move. You can’t kill a woman and run off to France just to use your real name.”
“Keep going.” Harris waved his hand toward the stack of pictures.
Talbot went through the first couple, shots of Mick walking or other mundane activities, then Talbot’s hands stopped dead. “Beth Turner.” He exhaled and ran his index and middle fingers over the picture in disbelief.
“Beth Cantrell.” Harris corrected and received a look harsh enough to make him reel a bit. “I mean, she’s going by Beth Cantrell now.”
“Impossible.” Talbot stood, the shock moving him out of his chair. “She was essentially dead. There is no way she is walking down a street in France with Mick St. John.”
“Cantrell.” Harris corrected and immediately regretted it.
“Stop saying that!” Talbot paced, still holding the pictures.
“I also confirmed your suspicion. They’re vampires.” Harris whispered the last word.
“No.” Talbot stopped pacing and whipped to face Harris. “Not they. Just him. He’s a vampire. Beth isn’t.”
“She might not have been before, but she sure is now.” Harris informed. “They made weekly trips to a blood bank for blood. They never bought food, well, human food anyway. They rarely went out in daylight. If they did, they shaded their faces most of the time and made the trips short.”
Talbot sat back down and flipped through the remaining pictures. Mick and Beth walking together at dusk toward a theater showing a French film. Mick and Beth standing hand in hand at a street vendor as she looked at jewelry. Mick and Beth embracing, lips met in a kiss, in front of an old building.
“Did she seem happy?”
Harris looked jarred by the question, but nodded. “Actually, yes. They both did. And, as far as I can tell, they don’t hurt anyone. I followed them closely for weeks and never saw their fangs once. I never saw people go into their home without coming out looking the same as when they went in.”
“They weren’t feeding on anyone? Just the blood from the blood bank?” Talbot asked.
“Looked like, yeah.” Harris nodded. “If you didn’t know what to look for, you wouldn’t be able to tell they were vamps at all. Just a normal, happily married couple.”
Talbot tossed the pictures onto his desk and sighed. “Married?”
“Legally, yep. According to the country of France, they are husband and wife.”
“Mr. & Mrs. Cantrell.” Talbot nodded with defeat in his body language. “Good for them.”
The End
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Author:
workerbee32Fandom: Moonlight
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Mick/Beth, Josef, ADA Ben Talbot
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Series Finale
Disclaimer: I do not own any of it. It belongs to other people and I borrow them occasionally. No infringement intended!
Author's Notes: First ever Moonlight fic!
Summary: Mick had seen her injured before. Scraped, cut, bruised. Wounds that took days or weeks to heal, but they healed. They’d heal and scar to remind him that being connected to him was dangerous for her. But this was different. This had nothing to do with him. And yet, it had everything to do with him.
If Mick were human, his heart would’ve been beating out of his chest. He got a call from Talbot, the new ADA, that there had been an accident. Mick knew before the words were spoken that it was Beth. He could hear the ADA’s pulse quickening through the phone. Abbott was scared too. She wasn’t dead, but it was dire.
“You should get to the hospital as fast as you can, Mick.” Talbot told him. Mick didn’t wait to hear what was said after that. He was already on his way.
Mick had seen her injured before. Scraped, cut, bruised. Wounds that took days or weeks to heal, but they healed. They’d heal and scar to remind him that being connected to him was dangerous for her. But this was different. This had nothing to do with him. And yet, it had everything to do with him. This was his world, his love, his Beth. She was lying in a hospital bed and hooked up to numerous machines that were taking care of the mechanics of keeping her alive. The doctor told him that the blow to her head was too severe, caused too much damage. She’d likely never wake up. And, if she did, she’d be severely brain damaged.
Mick sat at her side for a week. He stoically listened to all the voices telling him that the best and most generous thing he could do would be to let her go. Let her be at peace instead of wandering in limbo.
Mick liked to replay the little moments in his head. The time when she tried to teach him how to dance, but ended up with bruised toes because he had two left feet.
“You can gracefully scale a ten story building, but a simple tango or samba has you tripping over your feet.” She teased. “And mine!” She laughed and so did he. He always laughed when she did. It was a reflex and now he wasn’t sure he’d ever laugh again.
But other times he’d recall their deep discussions. Her heart break over Josh’s death and the sadness that came with realizing that she hadn’t really wanted him. She wanted to want him. She should have wanted him.
“Don’t get me wrong, I loved Josh.” She had told Mick. “But I wasn’t in love with him and I certainly wouldn’t have felt right marrying him.” Equal parts victory and guilt shot through Mick at that revelation. “It wasn’t that I didn’t love him, I guess I just love you more.” She smiled at him and he smiled back.
Their discussions about Josh and Mick’s own disastrous marriage brought the same old questions back up. Would Mick turn Beth if it were the only option? Would he bestow the curse of eternity on her if not doing it meant he’d lose her forever? He had mastered the art of avoiding a straight answer. Decades as a plain sight vampire gave him an impressive skill set and avoidance was one of the big ones.
“I think that I’d like to go to Paris.” Beth told him out of the blue one night.
“I believe that can be arranged.” Mick’s mouth quirked at the corner, “Josef has a home there. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind lending it to us for a week or two.”
“No.” Beth shifted beside him on her couch. “I mean that it is where I think we should go to start over when I get turned.” She was watching him, gauging his reaction but he gave her nothing. He could tell she worded that carefully so as not to assume he would be the one turning her. She said it so casually, so he knew it wasn’t meant to turn into one of their knock-down-drag-outs about the subject. This was simply her expressing a fantasy future that Mick was sure would never have to be played out. He could play along because, no matter how sick he thought the fantasy was, he wouldn’t deny her the notion of them starting a new life together in Paris.
“Paris, huh?” His eyebrow quirked, playing along.
“Yeah.” She smiled. “New names, new place. I wouldn’t be able to stay in LA as a vampire anyway.”
“I don’t know,” Mick said, his face dropping a little, “I like your name. Beth. My Beth. It would feel wrong to call you something else.”
Beth sat in thought for a moment and then replied. “Fine. I can stay your Beth but that means that you have to stay my Mick. Different last names though. Something that sounds good with both our names, maybe.”
“Mick and Beth Smith it is then.” Mick pronounced with a smirk.
Beth rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because that wouldn’t be suspicious at all. Might as well be Mick and Beth NotVampires.” They laughed. It was all so silly, so absurd. So impossible.
But now, sitting beside his sleeping Beth, all Mick could think of was Paris and forever and seeing her eyes open and looking into his.
“I can’t say that I’m that shocked.” Josef said, standing at his living room bar pouring a fresh blood cocktail for himself and Mick. He handed a glass to his friend and then took a swig of his own. “But it is a bit of a strange move to make, being the self-loathing vampire you are.”
Mick could feel his friend’s eyes on him, studying him the way Beth would. “Well, things change.” Mick said before bringing his glass to his lips for a drink.
Josef’s brow arched and Mick hated it because it was the look Josef always had when he wasn’t buying Mick’s vague answers or reasoning. “Oh yeah?” Josef’s sarcastic swagger was in full effect. “Things changed and suddenly you love being a vampire? You dig the night life and completely embrace the fact that you have to nip on the neck of a stranger to survive? You look forward to watching generation after generation of friends die off? Good to see decades of denial fall away so spontaneously.”
Mick sat down on one of the sleek couches in Josef’s living room and put his head in his hands. “You’re really willing to bring Beth into this? To pass the one part of yourself that you truly hate about yourself on to her? Josef stood beside the couch, looking down at his friend.
“What other choice do I have?” Mick asked, his voice low enough that mortal ears wouldn’t have heard it. Josef did. When Mick looked up, he saw the concern flash behind Josef’s eyes. A genuine jolt of emotion shook both of them before Josef’s features faded back to his usual pithy sarcasm.
“So,” He sat down next to Mick and put his arm around his friend’s shoulders, “Is this going to make her my daughter-in-law or grand-daughter?”
Mick wasn’t wanting for money or connections, but there were things that Josef simply insisted on taking care of. While Mick prepared things on the Beth end of things, Josef went above and beyond getting everything else ready. A new villa in Paris, identities set up in all the legal channels and a plane on stand-by for when Mick was ready to pick up and leave LA with Beth. Mick usually rolled his eyes at Josef for going so broad and overboard, but he found himself being nothing but grateful this time around. It was the logistical details that Mick didn’t have time for, didn’t have the focus for. It was enough that he was having to mentally prepare to turn Beth into what he never wanted her to be, he couldn’t be bothered with French realtors and picking out furniture for the new home.
Standing at Beth’s bedside, Mick let out a sigh. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“You already have.” Josef looked bored of the gratitude, but Mick knew better.
“No matter what they say about you, Josef Kosten, you are a great person.” Mick smirked as he held onto Beth’s hand.
Josef scoffed. “Let’s not let that bit of information get out, then people will expect me to be-“ He wrinkled up his nose in mock disgust, “kind.” Mick laughed and he saw that the sound of it lit up Josef’s face for a brief second. “Glad I can entertain you, old friend. Do you mind me asking when you plan on carrying out this plan of yours?”
Mick stroked the back of Beth’s hand with his thumb. “Soon.” He replied softly.
Josef walked over to stand at Mick’s side. “How exactly do you plan on doing this? Here? Because I do not think that would be advisable.”
“I will take her to my apartment. It will have to be quick, but I will unhook her from the machines and get her to my apartment as fast as possible. Once I get there, I will do it.” He kept his eyes on her, hoping she’d wake up and tell him how stupid this whole plan was.
“How, exactly do you plan on getting a comatose woman out of a hospital without someone noticing or trying to stop you?” Josef pressed.
Mick let go of Beth’s hand and turned to face his friend. “I was hoping my extremely charming friend would have a conversation with key members of the staff to make my exit go smoothly.”
“Oh Mick St. John, you do know how to butter a fella up.” Josef retorted with fondness and sarcasm. “And if my limitless charm does not work?”
“Then your limitless bank account might help.” Mick smirked.
“I’ve always taken great pleasure in being your sugar daddy.” Josef teased and put his hand on Mick’s shoulder. “I will see what I can do.” And with that, he was off to work his magic.
Josef’s charm hadn’t been enough, so he had to pay off a handful of people to look the other way while Mick made his escape from the hospital with a lifeless Beth in his arms. He moved as fast as he could through the back streets of the city, a blur zig zagging a path to his apartment. Josef was waiting there with the door open. If this went wrong, Mick would need all the help he could get and Josef planned on being there if it became a worst-case scenario. Lord knew that he was familiar with what that looked like. He would probably never admit it, but he had wished someone had been there to help him through his own failed attempt to turn a mortal lover into an eternal one. He wasn’t going to let Mick go through this by himself.
“You better hurry.” Josef told him as he carried Beth through the doorway. “Her heart is barely-“
“I know.” Mick cut him off curtly. “I know.” He repeated with a softer tone as he carried her up to his bedroom and laid her across his bed, Josef on his heels. “You don’t have to stay.” Mick told Josef without looking away from Beth.
“Yes I do.” Josef replied simply. No bolstering bullshit or sarcasm.
Mick stole a quick glance at his friend and turned his attention back to the task before him. Turning Beth. He closed his eyes and listened to her heart as the beating started to slow. He wondered for a split second if he should let it stop, let her die a human death at peace in his bed instead of a vampire’s brutal true death centuries down the road. But the idea of her being gone completely, for good, made him feel like screaming until the world ended. Until the grandchildren of all the mortals around him were long gone and centuries had turned many times over with him shouting his sorrow at the world. The decision wasn’t hard, not anymore. Beth had to be eternal. He simply didn’t know how to be in the world if she wasn’t.
He gently swept her hair back from her neck and pressed a soft kiss against her lips before letting his fangs extend. His iris’ turning to the vampiric creaming pale blue and his body tensing as he leaned down to sink his fangs into her neck. He remembered the taste of her blood, the sweet notes it carried. He had only tasted it once, but he would never forget it. She saved him with her blood once, now it was his chance to return the favor.
Mick shut his brain off and drank. Too many thoughts were clouding his head and he worried he’d get lost in them. If he didn’t stop at exactly the right moment and then give Beth his blood, he would have no one to blame but himself for losing her. He willed himself to stop thinking, to focus on the weak beating of her heart until he barely felt it anymore. He pulled back from her neck and bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw significant blood. He quickly joined his mouth with Beth’s, forcing his blood into her mouth with his tongue. It wouldn’t take much to turn her, but he wanted to make sure the job was done. He kissed her, tasting the mixture of his own blood and hers as he puffed short bursts of air into her to move the blood further into her body.
Josef stepped forward and place a hand on Mick’s shoulder, signaling him that he had done all he could. The rest would take time.
ADA Ben Talbot’s looked up from the paperwork he was shuffling through to see who had knocked on his door. He was met with the portly suit wearing private investigator he had hired when Beth Turner went missing three months before, Philip Harris.
“Mr. Harris, it’s been a while.” Talbot pointed out, his face stoic to hide the annoyance bubbling below the surface. “It would’ve been polite to answer my calls over the past few weeks.”
Harris sat down across from Talbot and tossed a manila legal size envelope onto the desk. “I’m not paid to talk on the phone, I’m paid to dig until I find the bone.”
Talbot arched an eyebrow as he grabbed the envelope off the desk. “You found the bone?”
“Like a bloodhound in a graveyard, no pun intended.” Harris leaned forward in his chair. “Take a look.” He gestured to the envelope and Talbot pulled a stack of 8x10 pictures out. The top picture was of Mick St. John walking down a dark street.
“St. John?” Talbot asked, looking at his hired bloodhound with a gleam in his eye. “Where?”
“Paris, France.” Harris replied. “But he’s not going by St. John anymore. He’s Mick Cantrell.”
“He’s not as smart as I thought.” Talbot stared at the picture. “Keeping his first name was a dumb move. You can’t kill a woman and run off to France just to use your real name.”
“Keep going.” Harris waved his hand toward the stack of pictures.
Talbot went through the first couple, shots of Mick walking or other mundane activities, then Talbot’s hands stopped dead. “Beth Turner.” He exhaled and ran his index and middle fingers over the picture in disbelief.
“Beth Cantrell.” Harris corrected and received a look harsh enough to make him reel a bit. “I mean, she’s going by Beth Cantrell now.”
“Impossible.” Talbot stood, the shock moving him out of his chair. “She was essentially dead. There is no way she is walking down a street in France with Mick St. John.”
“Cantrell.” Harris corrected and immediately regretted it.
“Stop saying that!” Talbot paced, still holding the pictures.
“I also confirmed your suspicion. They’re vampires.” Harris whispered the last word.
“No.” Talbot stopped pacing and whipped to face Harris. “Not they. Just him. He’s a vampire. Beth isn’t.”
“She might not have been before, but she sure is now.” Harris informed. “They made weekly trips to a blood bank for blood. They never bought food, well, human food anyway. They rarely went out in daylight. If they did, they shaded their faces most of the time and made the trips short.”
Talbot sat back down and flipped through the remaining pictures. Mick and Beth walking together at dusk toward a theater showing a French film. Mick and Beth standing hand in hand at a street vendor as she looked at jewelry. Mick and Beth embracing, lips met in a kiss, in front of an old building.
“Did she seem happy?”
Harris looked jarred by the question, but nodded. “Actually, yes. They both did. And, as far as I can tell, they don’t hurt anyone. I followed them closely for weeks and never saw their fangs once. I never saw people go into their home without coming out looking the same as when they went in.”
“They weren’t feeding on anyone? Just the blood from the blood bank?” Talbot asked.
“Looked like, yeah.” Harris nodded. “If you didn’t know what to look for, you wouldn’t be able to tell they were vamps at all. Just a normal, happily married couple.”
Talbot tossed the pictures onto his desk and sighed. “Married?”
“Legally, yep. According to the country of France, they are husband and wife.”
“Mr. & Mrs. Cantrell.” Talbot nodded with defeat in his body language. “Good for them.”
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