“Thankfully, we were introduced. And in case you don’t know, you’re gorgeous.”
“You’re kind of pretty yourself.”
“Ah, it’s just the costume. But, thanks. All vampires are sexy, right?”
“Bela Lugosi in the classic Dracula?” the woman asked. “Not so much.”
“But then came Franco Nero, for one. And Fright Night. Christopher Guest in the original—total charmer, or so it appeared.”
“You love old movies?”
“You bet.”
“Hey! Curious here. What color is your real hair?” the woman asked teasingly.
“Who said I had hair?”
They both laughed.
“Do you? Doesn’t matter to me. My friend said that you were a great guy.”
“I am a great guy.”
He headed out of the kitchen. Through his eyes, as him, Kylie saw that the woman on the sofa was about thirty and dressed as a fairy, all in pastels with delicate wings that kept her from sitting back. She didn’t seem to mind. Her hair was a soft blond color, and her eyes were an angelic blue, making the fairy costume a perfect fit for her.
He handed her one of the glasses.
The one into which he had emptied the contents of the strange little container while in the kitchen.
No. No, no, no, no, no!
This was a different experience. Different from…
She wasn’t the victim.
She was a killer! And the two murdered tourists had been killed with strychnine, added to alcoholic drinks.
She saw the man’s hand she currently inhabited. Saw the fringe of what she now knew to be a vampire costume.
Clown, werewolf, vampire. Hell, it was Halloween.
She had to take control. She needed to do something. Somehow, she had to overpower this man’s mind and will. She was inside his head.
Control the hand. Control the hand…
The woman reached for the glass. He lifted his to her. “To Salem!” he said. “To those who created the great and amazing place that is Salem, Massachusetts. To all those in the past who brought us here together tonight.”
The glass moved to the woman’s lips.
Kylie found her strength of will within his mind.
She felt as if she were lifting a mountain.
But she did it. He suddenly screamed, “No!” And his hand reached out—knocking the glass out of the woman’s hand.
She jumped, startled, and naturally mystified.
“Sorry, sorry!” the man said quickly. “I saw a bug—I—I didn’t want you drinking a bug. It’s all right. I’ll just make another one.”
But the woman was up, smiling but obviously a little thrown.
“I actually have an early-morning meeting with some other friends,” she told him. “We promised each other breakfast for Halloween. I’m going to head back to the hotel. It was wonderful meeting you. Maybe tomorrow night we can get together again. But now…”
She was already at the door, a beautiful fairy in flight.
“I am so sorry.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she called cheerfully.
“You promise?” he asked. She paused at the door. He walked over to her, a grin in place as he lifted her chin and almost brushed her lips with a kiss.
“Tomorrow night. We’ll start over,” she whispered.
“I can’t wait,” he said huskily.
Kylie couldn’t control his words or his actions. She had used all her strength to knock the glass from the woman’s hand.
“I won’t be a luscious fairy,” she warned him.
“And I won’t be a vampire. But I’ll still find you.”
“Promise?” she said teasingly, returning his word.
“Promise,” he vowed. “I’ll find you—at our bar.”
She was out the door. He started to go after her and then swore vociferously as he fell flat. Kylie had managed to instill herself again and willed his feet to stay glued to the floor. The inner battle going on between them caused him to trip over his own two feet.
The woman was gone into the night.
And the mist in Kylie’s dream or mind began to rise in the strange world that wasn’t a dream but came to Kylie in her dreams. She felt warmth, tenderness, and the sensation of being held in strong arms…
“Kylie, Kylie!”
It was Jon. Of course. He held her, seemed to be trying to wake her, clearly afraid of where her strange mental nocturnal journeys might have taken her.
But she wasn’t shaking. She wasn’t afraid. She looked into true and bright eyes with hers.
“I—I was the killer, Jon. I saw through his eyes. I was in his home, and I was with him as he tried to poison his next victim.”
“Another woman is dead?”
She shook her head, shaken but also incredibly relieved and amazed.
“Jon. I won! We battled in his mind. I controlled his hand and knocked away the glass with the poison.”
Chapter 10
Jon studied Kylie’s face, amazed at her incredible ability. He did not doubt that what she said was true.
“Okay,” he said softly. “Where were you? And could you give a sketch artist any concept of the man or the woman he tried to seduce—and kill?”
“A hotel, a suite hotel. Or, you know, the kind that has those little kitchenettes,” Kylie said. “I know I was a vampire, and the woman was a fairy. She looked to be about thirty, very pretty. Blond. And they made arrangements to see each other tomorrow night, both laughing and saying they’d be dressed differently. Jon, she just left him. She’s out on the streets somewhere. If we could find her…”
He had his phone out, dialing Ben.
“Hey!” Ben said gruffly. “Don’t you people ever sleep?”
“We need to find a really pretty fairy,” Jon said quickly. “A blond—”
“You have a wife, Jon.”
“Ben! The killer was just with her. He hesitated. He’s staying at a hotel with a kitchenette.”
“How the hell do you know this?” he demanded.
“Ben, just trust me. Insider tip. Can we get some men out on the streets looking for this woman?” He took a deep breath. “You know me, Ben. We need to find her. I’ll hand you to Kylie. She can give you a better description.”
He passed his wife the phone. She carefully described the woman and then noted Ben’s number to put into her phone in case she remembered anything else later. When she was done speaking with Ben, she handed Jon’s cell back to him.
“We’re heading out ourselves. The woman wasn’t staying at the hotel. It was where the man took her. Hanging up now. Ben, please, believe me.”
He ended the call.
Kylie was already getting dressed. He threw on his clothing, and they rushed downstairs together.
“We need to find her,” Jon said. “Kylie, you saved her life.”
Kylie appeared to be almost pained. “Jon, I think I did. But…it was so hard! Harder than any physical effort I’ve ever made before. I’m astonished that it even worked. But if we don’t stop him from seeing her again, he will kill her.”
“Yes, he will,” Jon agreed. “Werewolf, clown, vampire. No telling what he will be tomorrow and tomorrow night.”