City of Magic: The Complete Series by Helen Harper (book club recommendations TXT) 📕

straightened his back. ‘You can’t keep doing this. You can’t keep coming in here and threatening me and my punters whenever you like. I won’t stand for it.’

‘I’m trying to solve a series of murders,’ Monroe said. ‘I think that supersedes a couple of shitty drunks.’

‘Because you’re trying to pretend that you care? You don’t give a flying fuck about who’s died, Monroe. You like to pretend that you’re the big man. You got us all here months ago after your big speech about creating a community where people would be safe and protected as long as they toed the line. You suggested that your ways were better than her ways.’ He jerked his head towards me. ‘Then you ignored the lot of us. Don’t start acting like you’re surprised and you give a shit that people are getting killed. There are easier ways to get into a woman’s knickers. Have you thought about flowers?’ he sneered. ‘I mean, how hard can it be to fuck a blue-haired—’

It happened so quickly that I couldn’t even react. Monroe snapped his head forward, headbutting Carter. The vampire barman staggered, blood streaming from his nose. ‘Fuck you,’ he snarled.

Monroe’s body shook. He was a wolf’s whisker away from shifting completely. I doubted that would help matters so I stepped forward hastily. ‘Please, Carter. I understand that you’re upset. You have reason to be. When all this is over Monroe will listen to your complaints, but right now we’re on a clock. The last thing we need is for more people to die, whether they’re human or wolves.’ I paused. ‘Or vampires.’

Carter wiped away the worst of the blood with his sleeve. ‘All you had to do was ask nicely,’ he spat. He looked at me. ‘You got any room in the south for a vampire bar?’ he asked.

‘Please, Carter,’ I said. ‘Help us out.’

He looked away, his mouth twisting. ‘The two you’re looking for are called Ben and Jerry.’ He winked at me but there was little humour in his expression. ‘Not their real names, darling, that’s what they’re known as. They’re always together. They live smack-bang in the middle of the enclave. Terraced house. Blue door. It’s next to an old Chinese restaurant.’

Monroe was heading for the exit.

‘You probably won’t find them there,’ Carter called. He raised his eyes to mine. ‘You’ll remember that I helped you.’

I nodded. ‘I will.’

He stared at me for a long moment, trying to ascertain whether I was telling the truth, then he grunted. ‘They have a hideout near the River Irwell,’ he said. ‘North east. They’ve been setting it up for weeks. They want somewhere to hole up when all this community business goes to hell. Smart move, if you ask me.’

‘Where?’ Monroe asked, more softly. That was something at least. ‘Where exactly near the river?’

‘Beside some old cemetery. Kinda creepy if you ask me, but they’ve always been like that.’

Monroe gave him a long look, filled with mixed emotion. ‘Thank you,’ he said finally, inclining his head.

Carter glared. ‘You’re welcome.’

For no other reason than that it seemed fitting, I nipped over and pecked him on the cheek. ‘I really appreciate it,’ I whispered. ‘Monroe does too.’

The vampire grunted. ‘Get the fuck out of here.’

I smiled at him before Monroe and I vamoosed.

‘I don’t know what’s going on here, or what these two vamps have to do with anything,’ I said as I struggled to keep with him. ‘But I don’t think headbutting a vampire is the way to win friends and influence people.’

‘Maybe I should have kissed him instead, like you did.’ Monroe’s voice vibrated with barely checked anger. ‘Besides, he shouldn’t have insulted me. He should show more respect.’

‘Should he?’ I asked. ‘He’s disappointed, Monroe. It’s written all over his face.’

We veered round a corner and out towards the edge of the community. ‘Disappointed with what? He’s got nothing to be disappointed about.’

I wasn’t sure whether I should answer or not but concealing the truth didn’t seem like it would do anyone any good. ‘He’s disappointed in you. He was expecting more from you. It’s not your fault that you’ve not lived up to his expectations but…’ I grimaced. ‘It’s obvious that’s how he feels. I know it because I see the same look on the faces of the people in the south every time they come to talk to me.’

Monroe slowed his steps and turned to look at me.

‘You see?’ I said. ‘We’re all fuck-ups.’ I paused. ‘But let’s not fuck up this investigation. What are you onto? Who are these two guys?’

I could see him wrestling with himself, torn between what was going on with Julie and what had happened with Carter. In the end, the investigation won out. It had to. ‘When Julie came to me to talk about you, before I saw you at the reservoir, she only stayed until two other vampires showed up.’

‘Ben and Jerry?’ I guessed.

Monroe nodded. ‘Indeed. As far as I could tell, they were looking for her and she wasn’t happy about it.’

‘So if they’ve been keeping tabs on her, they might know where she is.’

‘Searching for them when we have their address makes more sense than trailing aimlessly through the city searching for Julie.’

‘Agreed.’ Whether it proved fruitful or not, having a destination was the best thing we could hope for right now. ‘I think I know where this cemetery is,’ I told him.

He pointed ahead. ‘Lead the way.’

There were quite a few buildings dotted around the cemetery, any one of which could have been chosen by a pair of vampires as a back-up hidey-hole. Most of them looked desolate and dark, and most had blacked-out windows, but only one of the buildings had voices raised in dispute coming from it. It was an old industrial warehouse that had seen better days. Hadn’t we all?

Monroe and I looked at each other. ‘Definitely vampires,’ he told me, his nostrils twitching.

I smiled in grim acknowledgment. ‘So how will we play this? We seem to