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Camille bit into one of the pretzels from the snack bowl. “She have a boyfriend? Parents in the area? And when she left work, did she mention any problems that she’d been having?”
At the word “boyfriend” a scowl raced across Tad’s face, but he shook it away. “She’s been seeing some guy—his name’s Tanne. He’s from Germany, a writer.”
“Got a last name for us?” I paused, pen waiting.
“Baum. Tanne Baum. Fir tree. Like the Christmas song. He’s one of the Black Forest woodland Fae.” Again, the grimace.
“You don’t like him, do you?” I grinned, having a feeling the sentiment wasn’t so much the Fae’s nature but . . .
Tad let out a snort. “Like him? Not so much.”
Albert gave me the faintest of grins. “He’s jealous.”
Even though that was a no brainer, I affected a surprised look. Camille let out a faint snicker, and Menolly stared at the ceiling.
“Jealous? And . . . why are you jealous?” Stupid question, but I knew better than to say what I was thinking, which was “You’ve got the hots for her, right?”
Tad shifted uncomfortably. “I . . . When Brenda broke up with me, I thought that I wouldn’t ever find anybody I liked as much. But then Violet came to work in our group. I’ve never met anybody like her. She’s vibrant, and witty. She thinks differently than any woman I’ve ever known. I think . . . I think I’ve been falling in love with her.”
“Dude, you like her that much but you never asked her out?” Camille gave him a disgusted look.
“She’s seeing this Tanne guy . . .” He squirmed. “I don’t want to be responsible for breaking them up.”
“So what? It’s not like they’re married, and besides, she’s Fae. The Fae aren’t monogamous by nature.” With a sigh, Camille bit into another pretzel. “Humans, even when they’re vampires, you guys are so uptight about sex. But, be that as it may, do you have Tanne’s phone number or address?”
Tad swallowed the last of his bottled blood and wiped his mouth, saying nothing. But Albert reached out, grabbed the notebook from me, and scribbled down both. When he handed it back, a wry smile on his face, I couldn’t help but like him a little more.
“We sort of did some checking on the guy. Just to make sure he was on the up and up.” Albert glanced at Tad. “Baum is what he says he is, that we know. He comes from the Black Forest and he’s . . .”
“What Albert is saying is that the guy is intense, but genuine. And Camille,” Tad said, looking straight at her, “if I thought I even had a chance of being part of her world in that way, even in a poly relationship, I’d jump for it. But I don’t think she’s into humans or vampires. When I’m around Violet, she treats me like . . . like a brilliant puppy dog. I’d have as much chance of bedding you as I would her.”
His tone was so sad that my heart went out to him. He was willing to share, he was willing to put his heart on a silver platter, but the object of his attention had no clue and now she was missing.
Camille must have sensed it too, because she reached across the table and rested her hand on his. “You don’t know that for sure, Tad. Don’t underestimate yourself. You need to ask her . . . once she shows up again. She might surprise you.”
Tad shrugged. “I guess. But mostly, right now, I just want to make sure she’s okay. Will you guys check into this? We’d go to the police but they don’t listen to vampires very much, and we want to keep this quiet until we know there’s a reason to get them involved.”
I glanced at Camille, who nodded. Menolly gave me the heads-up too and I turned back to Tad and Albert. “Sure. Give us what you have on her and we’ll take a look around. We should go over and have a look at her place.”
“I was going to take her cat home with me tonight, and leave another note for her. We can go now, if you like.” Albert pulled out a ring of keys that looked hefty enough to KO a bodybuilder. He dangled them from his index finger. The next thing I knew, he winked at me.
Swallowing my surprise, I flashed him a bemused smile. “Let’s go, then. You guys have rides?”
Tad nodded. “We’ll meet you there, unless you want to ride with us.”
Camille pulled out her keys. “Nah, we’ll take my Lexus. Kitten, you have the address?”
I held up my notebook. “Right here. Let’s book.”
And so, we slid out of the booth. Menolly told Derrick she was going to be gone for a while, and we headed out into the night.
• • •
Menolly sat in the back while I rode shotgun with Camille. As the car eased out of the parking space, I flipped through my notes.
After a few moments, I looked up. “So, do we start with the threatening calls, or do we discuss Violet?”
“Violet,” Menolly said. “I told you everything about the calls I can remember for now.”
