The Virgin and the Vampire by Carol Marlene Smith

Author:Carol Marlene Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: vampire new orleans short story hostage bayou romance

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When noon came, I was ready for a break. One thing, I’d been inside the cab of the forklift most all morning where it was shady, but I was still concerned about how the sun might affect me. When I’d left home in the morning it had been spittin' rain, but the sun was now high and hot overhead. I took my sandwich and walked over to the lunchroom. Some of the guys I remembered working with were there. When I walked in I was greeted with curiosity.

“Hey, Blanchard, thought you were fired?”

“Who told you that?” I asked.

“Never saw you around for a while.” A tall, lean redheaded guy with a long face and sad looking eyes addressed me, while he simultaneously chewed on a sandwich.

“I had a few days off,” I explained. “I’ve got a new job now. Just got a promotion.”

Harry, one of the guys that I used to work with, piped up, “Yeah, I saw you over with Lawson. How come you got that job? You ain’t been here more than a few weeks.”

“Got the drag,” I bragged. “I think it’s gonna be a good job. Now I can let a machine lift that crap instead of me.”

Some of the guys laughed, but most of them sneered. They didn’t like the idea of a newcomer getting promoted before them.

“Hear about Freddie?” Harry asked.

I took a bite of my tuna sandwich. “What about Freddie? Is he here today?’

Harry looked sombre and shook his head. “The guy’s missin’. Cops were all over the place here a couple days ago. Askin’ everyone what they knew about him.”

“That’s too bad. Freddie was a good guy,” I added.

Most of the guys that had been interested in the conversation nodded in agreement. Then the long-faced guy spoke up, “Hear about the kidnapping?”

I swallowed the bite of sandwich I’d been chewing and looked at the guy. “What kidnapping?”

“One of those rich girls. Seems they’re holding her for ransom.”

“What rich girl?”

“Savannah Harris. Her daddy owns a big chain of hotels.”

I had another bite of sandwich ready to swallow but instead I choked on it. I gagged a bit then took a sip of soda. The news hit me like a punch from a prize fighter, and I felt almost as out of wind as I would have had I really been punched. Getting my breathing under control, I asked, “When did that happen?”

“Heard it this morning before I came to work, sometimes I’m glad I’m not rich. Wouldn’t want one of my kids abducted. Hell of a thing, even if you got the money, which this guy has and plenty of it, you don’t have no guarantee that they’re gonna turn her back over to him.”

The guy’s voice was becoming a distant drone as my mind went flying into high gear. It had to have happened last night, after she’d left my place. I wondered if someone had been watching her…watching us. Savannah’s sweet face came floating into my mind. I could almost hear her musical laughter and see her beautiful smile.

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