Vampire detectives swarmed the Sleeping Bat Inn like a bunch of vultures.  Gwyneira stayed close to Emrys’ side in the lobby, with Nightshade nestled in her arms.  One bat cop had already taken their statements, then had them wait in the lobby for another senior officer to go through the whole tedious process again.

Crime scenes were normally not something Gwyneira had to deal with.  Not unless it was to revisit them long after the cops had combed through everything.  She didn’t like how exposed it left her to stand there in a room full of vampires, especially those who had been in the middle of their precious feedings.  

“Look what the cat dragged in.” A vampire with short auburn locks that framed his freckled face approached them.  The Valorath crest of a golden bat with its wings outstretched was pinned to his sleek black uniform, and he, unlike Emrys, knew the importance of protecting his sensitive ears with a knitted hat imbued with warming magic.  Much similarly to the one she’d lent Emrys.

“Percy.” Gwyneira greeted him with a smile, relief fluttering through her at seeing a familiar face.  “They have you working tonight?”

“Unfortunately.” Percy shifted his crimson eyes suspiciously toward Emrys beside her.  “I heard you’re the vamp that found the poor sap then moved him into that coffin.  Tampering with evidence.  Care to explain how that happened?”

“My client was just trying to be respectful of the deceased,” Gwyneria said before Emrys had a chance to open his mouth.  “He wasn’t thinking clearly after waking up to such a horrific sight.”

“Your client, eh?” Percy shook his head.  “You really ought to stick to defending humans, Gwyn.”

Honestly, Gwyneira agreed with him but she wasn’t about to admit that.  Especially not in front of her latest vampire client.  Things were not looking too good for him.  Gwyneira had wished she’d known ahead of time that he’d gone and moved the deceased’s body.  At least they hadn’t uncovered anything concrete to pin charges against him yet. 

After Percy wandered off to speak to some of his colleagues, Emrys leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Why can he call you Gwyn but I can’t?”

Shivers raced down Gwyneira’s spine.  What sort of idiotic question was that?  She bristled much like Nightshade would when something irked her.  “Percy is married to my brother, and I’ve known him far longer than you.”

“I see.” Emrys stepped aside, tucking his hands into his pockets. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“A sister as well,” Gwyneira told him, although she wasn’t sure why.  She’d never bothered telling previous clients about her family before, and she really shouldn’t start now.  “She’s engaged to a vampire hunter.”

Emrys tensed up beside her, crimson eyes glowing as he struggled to sheath his fangs.  “I’m sure your family dinners are just wonderful.”

“Vespera stabbed our brother’s husband with a fork the first time they met.” Gwyneira shrugged, as if such a thing were normal.  She knew full well her family was anything but that.  “We’ve learned to have dinners together without our partners to make life easier for our poor father.”

“Fair enough.  So, is your partner a vampire or vampire hunter?” Emrys asked, those piercing red eyes of his penetrating her very soul as she turned to look at anything but him.  

“I don’t have a partner because I have no time for one.” 

“Right,” Emrys drew out the word, but before Gwyneira could snap back a retort, Percy slipped back over to them like a mere shadow.  

“We found a vial of fairydust in the victim’s pocket, along with some blood stimulants.” Percy slanted his eyes at Emrys, then returned to Gwyneira with a softening to his rigid features.  “You should ask your client about those.”

“Perhaps he’s a drug peddler?” Emrys suggested with a nonchalant shrug.  “If you’re asking if he came to deliver those to me, then sorry, you’re mistaken. Fairydust reeks like unicorn piss, and do you really believe I can’t find some fresh blood to sink my fangs into?” he scoffed.

Gwyneira thought about the blood pills he’d stashed away.  She doubted he realized she had noticed them and wondered if she ought to question him about it once they were alone.  Had Iron Fang visited him to sell those blood pills illegally?  A doctor had to prescribe them, she knew that much.  She mentally kicked herself for not paying closer attention to the name on the bottle.

“Have you ever encountered the victim before tonight?” Percy asked.

Emrys glimpsed at Gwyneira, who gave him a curt nod.  Sometimes it was good to be honest about small things before they came to bite them in the arse.

“Nope.  Never seen the vamp before.” Emrys tucked his hands in his coat’s pockets.  “He gave me quite a scare when I woke up.  Did you find out who he is?  I don’t think I’ve seen him around the Inn, but maybe he was dealing to some other customers here.”

Gwyneira resisted the urge to cast a truth-telling hex on the vamp like he were a fibbing toddler. Lying to the police would do him no favors. Only guilty men lied, and whenever truth came to light about him knowing just exactly who Iron Fang was, it would bite them in arse. Precisely what she had wanted to avoid.

It had only been a few hours, and Gwyneira had already rated him as one of her most insufferable clients. How was she supposed to defend him when he kept digging himself into a deeper hole? 

Whenever they got back to her office, she’d have a stern talking to with him about his lying.