Read Online Other Worldly Ways (Anthology 1) by Connie Suttle - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Connie Suttle
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waitress went on to tell us that the man paid by credit card and tipped very well.
We drove back to the Fremond, then, and talked to the desk clerk. I placed compulsion on him and Joey was a blur as he jumped behind the desk and started browsing the hotel's computer. He printed a copy of Merrill's bill; it had been paid with his bankcard, but room service had been placed on an American Express.
"See if you can find out what he ordered, Joey," I said. Only the amount was listed in the records.
"I don't have access to my computer system here," he told me. I looked over the rest of the bill. Room service had been delivered twice, I noticed. Unless he'd invited someone to his room, that shouldn't have been necessary. We questioned the desk clerk again, regarding any guests Merrill might have had in his room. He didn't know of any. We were at a dead end, it seemed.
"You didn't get any other information—charges or anything?" I asked.
"Nope. Didn't get a thing," Joey told me.
"Damn," I muttered.
"There's a branch of his bank close by, but it's closed, of course. Otherwise, I could try hacking into their system."
"Well, we may have to return to London and start over again."
"Yeah." Joey didn't sound upset.
"Fine." I led the way out of the hotel. I called Xavier when I got back to the safe house and arranged to have the jet pick us up the following evening. Joey tidied the safe house and we both packed.
* * *
Saturday, April 10th
I wasn't sorry to leave Memphis behind. Joey bemoaned the fact that he didn't get to see Graceland, but it was closed when he could have gone anyway. He didn't appreciate my pointing out that fact, however.
"I could have gotten in," he sniffed. I allowed him his delusions.
We only had a bit of darkness remaining when we arrived in London, and I told Joey I wanted to meet with him at midnight to go over anything else he might have gotten for me. I needed leads and they were scarce. He nodded and took a cab to his home there in London. I had a car waiting for me, and the driver dropped me off at my apartment. Dawn was coming, so I went to bed.
* * *
"Merrill, how long do you intend to keep this up? I think we need to devise another plan."
"Yes. Joey is already asking questions about my barbecue consumption. I passed it off as a joke, but I don't think I can keep up that charade. Chessman will ask questions, too, and he doesn't need to go down that path, brother."
"You talked to Joey earlier?"
"Yes. I passed some records off to him from two days ago. I asked someone I know who has one of my credit cards to make charges in New York. They'll go on another wild goose chase."
"We still need to come up with another plan. We have to meet with Chessman, sometime, in order to remove the compulsion. We may have to wipe some of this from Joey's mind as well; he may be able to put two and two together, and rather quickly, I might add. He isn't stupid, Merrill."
"I know. That's why I turned him, if you'll recall."
* * *
Sunday, April 11th
Joey walked into the coffee shop shortly after midnight. He had a folder in his hands and dropped it on the table in front of me. "He's been in New York," he said.
I flipped the folder open and looked at the records—charges on the American Express card he'd used in Memphis, only these were from New York, one from a bar, another from a coffee shop such as this one. Both regular hangouts for vampires if they were looking for someone human to spend the night with; the vampire lust can be quite consuming, after all. I was surprised Joey hadn't been looking for someone while he'd been with me. Perhaps he had, and I just hadn't noticed. I knew many rumors had been swirling about me the past fifty years. Some said I was a eunuch; others said I was an aberration. Neither of those assumptions was true.
"Then we must go to New York," I sighed. We vampires do breathe, just not as often as our human counterparts. Breath allows us to speak. It would be extremely difficult,
We drove back to the Fremond, then, and talked to the desk clerk. I placed compulsion on him and Joey was a blur as he jumped behind the desk and started browsing the hotel's computer. He printed a copy of Merrill's bill; it had been paid with his bankcard, but room service had been placed on an American Express.
"See if you can find out what he ordered, Joey," I said. Only the amount was listed in the records.
"I don't have access to my computer system here," he told me. I looked over the rest of the bill. Room service had been delivered twice, I noticed. Unless he'd invited someone to his room, that shouldn't have been necessary. We questioned the desk clerk again, regarding any guests Merrill might have had in his room. He didn't know of any. We were at a dead end, it seemed.
"You didn't get any other information—charges or anything?" I asked.
"Nope. Didn't get a thing," Joey told me.
"Damn," I muttered.
"There's a branch of his bank close by, but it's closed, of course. Otherwise, I could try hacking into their system."
"Well, we may have to return to London and start over again."
"Yeah." Joey didn't sound upset.
"Fine." I led the way out of the hotel. I called Xavier when I got back to the safe house and arranged to have the jet pick us up the following evening. Joey tidied the safe house and we both packed.
* * *
Saturday, April 10th
I wasn't sorry to leave Memphis behind. Joey bemoaned the fact that he didn't get to see Graceland, but it was closed when he could have gone anyway. He didn't appreciate my pointing out that fact, however.
"I could have gotten in," he sniffed. I allowed him his delusions.
We only had a bit of darkness remaining when we arrived in London, and I told Joey I wanted to meet with him at midnight to go over anything else he might have gotten for me. I needed leads and they were scarce. He nodded and took a cab to his home there in London. I had a car waiting for me, and the driver dropped me off at my apartment. Dawn was coming, so I went to bed.
* * *
"Merrill, how long do you intend to keep this up? I think we need to devise another plan."
"Yes. Joey is already asking questions about my barbecue consumption. I passed it off as a joke, but I don't think I can keep up that charade. Chessman will ask questions, too, and he doesn't need to go down that path, brother."
"You talked to Joey earlier?"
"Yes. I passed some records off to him from two days ago. I asked someone I know who has one of my credit cards to make charges in New York. They'll go on another wild goose chase."
"We still need to come up with another plan. We have to meet with Chessman, sometime, in order to remove the compulsion. We may have to wipe some of this from Joey's mind as well; he may be able to put two and two together, and rather quickly, I might add. He isn't stupid, Merrill."
"I know. That's why I turned him, if you'll recall."
* * *
Sunday, April 11th
Joey walked into the coffee shop shortly after midnight. He had a folder in his hands and dropped it on the table in front of me. "He's been in New York," he said.
I flipped the folder open and looked at the records—charges on the American Express card he'd used in Memphis, only these were from New York, one from a bar, another from a coffee shop such as this one. Both regular hangouts for vampires if they were looking for someone human to spend the night with; the vampire lust can be quite consuming, after all. I was surprised Joey hadn't been looking for someone while he'd been with me. Perhaps he had, and I just hadn't noticed. I knew many rumors had been swirling about me the past fifty years. Some said I was a eunuch; others said I was an aberration. Neither of those assumptions was true.
"Then we must go to New York," I sighed. We vampires do breathe, just not as often as our human counterparts. Breath allows us to speak. It would be extremely difficult,
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