Chapter 5
The text came at two a.m.
I slept light these days. The phone only vibrated once and lit up on the nightstand, waking me.
sorry
That was it.
No name, unknown number.
I squinted at the word, then the time, brain fogged.
“sorry”
I held the phone close to my face, frowned at it, and flopped my head back onto the pillow.
There weren’t many people who knew this number. My little business was new. I had a total of three clients. The number was out there, but none of them would be texting “sorry” at two a.m., and all were in my contact list.
Probably a wrong number. I reached out to put the phone back on the bedside table. A second text pinged.
is Theo
Rolling my eyes, I put the phone back on the nightstand and shoved my face into the pillow.
Another vibration.
No, I wasn’t doing this.
Not at two a.m.
Not ever.
How had he gotten my number? From his father? Oh right, the groceries. I’d left him my number when he’d stayed briefly.
I grabbed the phone, rolled onto my side, and looked at the messages.
u awake?
No.
I sent back, including the capital letter and period, so he knew I was pissed.
Bentley switched my bedroom light for a UV one
I frowned at the words, taking a second to let them sink in. Was he serious?
put garlic in his smoothie
I sent back. Then followed it with,
I’m sleeping go away
slpeeing alone?
he sent, including the spelling errors. He’d sent it fast, without thinking.
I smiled, and let that message sit on read, unanswered.
For the rest of the night, I slept really well.
The following day, I had chores to run, but no work booked in. I ate breakfast standing at my kitchen counter and scrolled my phone for news about the Witherborne pool murder. Theo had known the victim. I wanted to find out how and why.
The internet had done its own sleuthing, and it didn’t take long to find a bunch of threads on the case.
The victim, Jay Green, had been employed for a year as the Witherbornes’ pool guy.
He’d also done some ground maintenance work, caring for the gardens, and general odd jobs around the house.
Thirty years old. His social media was filled with smiley pictures.
He’d travelled in his van, was often on the road.
Had a girlfriend but they’d separated a while ago.
Just some normal guy living his life.
But someone had wanted him gone. And now Theo had been arrested for his murder, then released without being charged.
How had Jay ended up in the neighbors’ pool, where I’d seen him, and then in Theo’s? Theo hadn’t moved him, he’d been with me. The Witherbornes wouldn’t have moved a body into their own pool. So, that left the neighbor.
Jeremy in his black robe.
Was he trying to frame the Witherbornes? It would be easy to do. People would believe a vampire had killed the pool boy.
But why would the neighbor kill the Witherbornes’ pool guy?
Or maybe it had nothing to do with either of them, and Jay was involved in something shady that got him killed.
I scrolled Jay’s Facebook page, passing the hundreds of grieving messages, pictures with his girl, backpacking on a mountain somewhere, walking a dog in the sunset .
. . I propped my head on my hand. What if Jay had had someone in his life who he’d thought he cared for, who he’d trusted completely, trusted with his heart, and then that person had turned on him?
He wouldn’t have seen it coming. You think you know someone and then bam! The whole world turns on its head.
Maybe that’s what happened to Jay the pool guy?
I could relate.
The cops were on it. They’d get to the bottom of it . . . But sometimes justice didn’t work like it was supposed to. Sometimes the victim didn’t get the justice they deserved.
Justice wasn’t going to bring Jay back anyway. And it was well known that the cops generally didn’t know what to do with vampires.
I closed the apps and pulled up Theo’s text chain.
The “sorry,” the “UV bulb,” the “are you sleeping alone?”
He’d cared about Jay. He’d revealed that much when he’d walked away without answering me. I had no idea how deep that care went, but he’d cared enough that it had cracked him open. He’d known Jay’s body was in the neighbors’ pool. He’d paid me to go see it, so he had a witness.
If I hadn’t shown up for work that morning, maybe Theo would have let himself die on that lounger?
“You saved my life,” he’d told me after I brought him back to my place.
I’d laughed him off, thinking him dramatic.
But why hadn’t he called the cops himself? Afraid of vampire discrimination, maybe. I dragged a hand down my face and looked at the generic wall art I’d bought off to break up my apartment’s boring beige walls.
I was the new pool guy, so it made sense to dig a little deeper, right? Survival instinct, really. I needed to know what was going on here, so I didn’t end up face down in the neighbors’ pool too.
I set the phone’s alarm for two p.m., then got on with my chores, filling half the day with tedium. At two p.m., I was at the hardware store when my phone alarm went off. I stopped in the aisle, slipped my phone from my pocket, and opened Theo’s text chain.
I’m in the paint aisle, what are your thoughts on beige?
I sent. I wasn’t in the paint aisle, but he didn’t need to know that.
A few minutes later, I’d gotten to the checkout when my phone buzzed his reply.
I see wot ur doing, pool boy
I chuckled at the screen and sent back,
were you asleep?
asshole
Shoving the phone away, I paid for the goods, and arms loaded with cleaning sponges and buckets, I crossed the parking lot to my car and rummaged around in my pockets for the keys.
A shiny gray truck rumbled by, its windows blacked out.
I unlocked my car doors and dumped the gear in the back seat.
As I got behind the wheel, the truck caught my eye again, parked a few rows over.
Someone had detailed it recently. Glossy paint, no dust. Clean truck bed, as much as I could see from my low-down position.
Something about it felt off. The other cars in the lot were dusty, and sure, the driver had just had it cleaned.
Nothing wrong in that. But nobody had gotten out yet. The driver was sitting there, waiting.
I shoved aside the sense of unease, started my car, pulled out of the lot and into traffic, and half expected to see the truck pull out after me. It didn’t.
I was paranoid, clearly.
My phone in the cup holder buzzed. Then buzzed again.
I scooped it up, flicked it open.
Home alone tonight Come over
Instincts screamed no, bad idea. Forget all the drama, hanging out with my vampire boss alone at his house would not end well. I needed to keep things professional.
busy
I sent back, typing awkwardly with my hand and phone against the wheel while I was trying to drive. The string of replies came in one after another.
no ur not
I seen ur place
ur lonely
me too
come over
Theo wasn’t lonely. He probably had a thousand numbers he could call up. They’d all fall over themselves to hang out at his fancy house. He was bored. And he wanted me to be his new plaything, because why else would he want to spend time with me?
Im not coming to vampire mansion
I sent back.
promise not to eat you
cmon have fun
I will behave
no biting
U have my word
The texts came rapidly, one after another.
I should say no. That was the only responsible adult reply I could send.
No. And stop texting him. But his rapid-fire texts were penetrating through the I shouldn’t do this and landing somewhere around it’s just one night.
What was I going to do tonight? Sit in front of Scrubs reruns and fall asleep on my couch.
“Yeah, but it’s Theo Witherborne,” I said aloud.
The traffic started to move, so I had to abandon the phone and get on with driving. The texts kept coming. One after another. Clearly, Theo didn’t understand what no meant.
But also, what if being Theo Witherborne wasn’t all it looked like from the outside? He’d said I thought I knew him, but he’d said it with a snarl. He could call up a bunch of people at the click of his fingers, but maybe he didn’t want to because with them, he had to be something he’s not?
Maybe he liked hanging out with the pool guy because I didn’t ask anything of him. I was just the pool guy.
Alright, so maybe I was intrigued. That was allowed. I was human, after all. Curious. Bored. Lonely. Ex-con. Bad past. Needed to stay away from trouble.
After I parked in the lot outside my apartment building, I picked up my phone and sent,
fine but no social media
Done. 10pm. c u later
A little scattering of butterflies held a tiny riot in my belly.
No, nope, wasn’t getting excited. I was going there purely for research.
I’d find out about Jay Green, to determine if I was in danger.
That was all. This wasn’t anything personal.
I had no personal interest in Theo whatsoever. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
I hurried inside, dumped the gear in the closet by my front door, and headed to the bedroom to figure out what I was going to wear for my not-date with the Witherborne heir.