Vampire Detective Midnight by J C Andrijeski

Author:J C Andrijeski [Andrijeski, J C]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: White Sun Press
Published: 2019-06-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Principal’s Office

Nick followed Jordan to that heavy door with the silver plaque, still frowning at it without knowing why.

It wasn’t until they were almost all the way there that Nick saw the desk hiding in an alcove to his left.

A woman in a grey suit sat behind that desk, a liquid monitor on the table in front of her.

She was manipulating something on the monitor with a narrow, bright-silver stylus, as well as likely a mind-board, given the gear wrapped around her head.

She could see past her virtual view, however.

She looked at them directly once they were in her immediate line of sight and smiled.

“Detectives Tanaka and Jordan?” she said politely.

Jordan nodded, flashing his badge, likely unnecessarily at that point.

“Is Ms. James available?” he said politely. “I believe we’re a little early.”

The woman’s gaze turned inward briefly, enough to tell Nick she was probably conversing with her employer via the virtual connection. Her eyes clicked back into focus a few seconds later, and she smiled at them.

“You can go right in,” she said, her voice friendly. “Ms. James is waiting for you.”

Jordan smiled back, thanked her, then walked directly to the wooden door. He didn’t wait, but grasped the old-fashioned, wrought-iron handle and turned it clockwise.

The well-oiled door opened with a soundless click.

Nick walked in after the human detective, glancing around the oddly round and high-ceilinged space.

He immediately felt like he’d entered a magician’s owlry.

Or maybe a witch’s tower.

The entire place was filled with books.

The whole office appeared to be one giant, circular bookshelf, covered in leather- and cloth-bound books. Nick’s eyes scaled up, tracking books and levels of bookshelves above where they stood. Apart from a small reading nook in front of a round window covered with cushions, where he could see a glimpse of blue sky, sun and clouds from the upper dome, Nick didn’t see a lot of breaks in those circular shelves.

He didn’t look down until he heard her voice.

“Well, you aren’t quite what I expected,” the warm voice said.

Nick flinched, even before he met her gaze.

He’d expected an older woman.

He’d expected a nun-type figure, someone he could picture owning a lot of cats.

He’d expected, without realizing he expected it, frumpy clothes, maybe a mother-of-pearl brooch or a real string of pearls inherited from a great aunt, both accenting something like a purple woolen suit that looked like something the Queen of England would have worn, back when there was still a Queen of England. Too many movies about gray-haired school marms, he supposed.

She said the words to both of them, ostensibly, but Nick saw her eyes rest a few beats longer on him.

He found himself staring back at her, unable to stop staring once he had.

She definitely wasn’t old… or frumpy.

She was a few decades south of old, or even what he would consider middle-aged, even in a human.

She couldn’t be more than thirty-five.

Forty, tops… but he highly doubted she was that old.

Long, thickly luxurious, loosely curled, raven-black hair hung down her shoulders and

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