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I mentally sighed, then said, “Look, we just have a couple of quick questions, but if you think either James Parred or Catherine Moore would prefer to speak directly to the guardians, that can be arranged.”
She bit the bottom of her lip, her expression uncertain, then made her decision and picked up the phone. “James, there are some investigators from the vampire council here who wish to speak to you about Ms. Summer.”
“Another bloody complaint, no doubt,” he replied, voice clearly audible even from where I stood. As was his annoyance. “Send them in.”
The woman hung up and motioned to the vibrant yellow door at the far end of the desk. “Through there, green door on your left.”
“Thanks.”
We followed her directions, and a balding, middle-aged man rose from his chair and gave a welcoming—if somewhat tense—smile. “James Parred, at your service.”
I shook his offered hand. “Annie Logan and Bear Brown,” I said, grabbing at the first names that came to mind.
He glanced at Azriel, amusement briefly touching his lips. “Bear?”
“It is more a nickname,” Azriel replied, giving me a “must-you?” sort of look.
“Well, it’s certainly appropriate, if you don’t mind me saying.” He waved a hand toward the seats, then sat back down himself. “What do you wish to know about Ms. Summer?”
“We went to Hallowed Ground to talk to her this afternoon, but she disappeared—”
“Yeah, damn annoying, that was,” he cut in. “She did me out of a booking fee and annoyed a good customer.”
“Have you been in contact with her? Do you know why she ran?”
He shook his head. “I tried calling her, but she’s not answering her phone.”
“And have you had any problems like this with her before?”
“Like this? No.”
“But you have had problems?”
He hesitated. “Earlier this week we were having problems contacting her, but she called yesterday and said her phone had been on the blink.” He grimaced. “Obviously, it still is.”
Either that, or the shape-shifting spirit behind these kills had decided to abandon the Summer identity. And that, in turn, meant we were dealing with a spirit with more intelligence than I’d thought them capable of. Although why I’d thought them incapable of logical thought, I couldn’t say. Maybe I’d just figured dark spirits were all about the need to kill and little else.
“What about Di Shard?”
He blinked. “What about her?”
“Well, have you had a similar problem with her recently?”
“She was out of contact for a couple of days, but it wasn’t a problem because we didn’t actually have her booked for anything.” He shrugged.
“Have you been in contact with her recently?”
“She called this morning to ask if there were any bookings.”
“And were there?”
“Nothing last moment. But I did have to remind her about her regular midnight booking at the Falcon Club, which was a little odd.”
Meaning if our dark spirit had taken over the identities of both Summer and Shard, the Falcon Club was most likely her next hunting ground. “Have you got a picture of the two women?”
“Sure.”
He rifled through the paperwork on his desk and handed me two photos. Both women were tall, with thin features and dark hair. Other than the fact one had pale skin, the other dark, they could have been mistaken for sisters.
