The Vampire's Touch: A midlife paranormal mystery thriller (Memory Guild Book 9)(Paranormal Women's Midlife Fiction)

THE VAMPIRE'S TOUCH A midlife paranormal mystery thriller MEMORY GUILD BOOK 9 WARD PARKER Mad Mangrove Media CONTENTS 1. Mr. Jubbles' Troubles 2. Divine Longing 3. Father of Lies 4. Sophie's Spells 5. War-God Boyfriend 6. The Equilibrium 7. Monster Mayhem 8. A Spell of a Problem 9. Inn Danger 10. Vampire in Yoga Pants 11. Feel the Magic 12. High Stakes 13. The Vampire's Wish 14. Double the Jubbles Troubles 15. Vociferous Vamp 16. Stain on My Reputation 17. Fight of the Century 18. The Cost of Immortality 19. Can’t Give Up Hope 20. Battle Magic 21. Between a Rock and a Hiding Place 22. Bag of Wolverines 23. Vampire Family Reunion 24. The Power of Lies 25. Ugly Eagles What’s Next Acknowledgments About the Author CHAPTER 1 MR. JUBBLES' TROUBLES He was stealing a snack in the middle of the night and became a snack himself. Mr. Jubbles lay in a heap inside the pantry, the bulk bin of cocktail peanuts spilled on the floor beside him, as if he had tumbled from the same container. I had entered the pantry to retrieve these nuts for Wine Hour. None of the staff had been in it all day, and Mr. Jubbles couldn’t have been without being caught. So, the poor man had lain here since last night. Poor Mr. Jubbles. I had been surprised when he booked this stay with us after Sophie scolded him for stealing towels the last time he was here. And after he witnessed an attack by monsters called anthropophagi—that he fortunately forgot about, thanks to being blackout drunk. But why did he break into the pantry? I keep a tray of cookies and a bowl of fruit on a table in the foyer for guests to snack on. Small discreet placards outside the kitchen and the pantry announce these spaces are for employees only. Occasionally, a guest has been known to raid the refrigerator overnight in search of leftover breakfast goodies or canapés from the Wine Hour that I didn’t devour myself. It was unheard of for a guest to raid the pantry—basically a large supply closet—because it was supposed to be locked. Sophie, who had handled last night’s Wine Hour for me, must have forgotten to lock it. The instant I saw Mr. Jubbles, I felt his frigid neck for a pulse, although it was unlikely that he was still alive. It was difficult to get to his neck with his droopy jowls in the way. A small amount of blood was smeared beside his mouth—possibly from a hemorrhage or a cut from falling. He was also unnaturally pale, but being dead can do that to you. No pulse. Sadly, he was deceased. My guess that it was a cardiac incident was quickly dashed when I saw the twin puncture wounds on his neck. Uh-oh. It was bad enough for a guest to die in our inn. We’ve had too many do so. But to be drained by a vampire? That could put us out of business for sure. The inn’s reputation for being haunted was, in fact, a draw for some guests. But they would not appreciate the possibility of being preyed upon by a blood-sucking fiend. Did Roderick do this? My resident vampire, who slept in a crawlspace behind the refrigerator, knew better than to mess with guests. Nevertheless, he was my prime suspect right now. Sunset would arrive soon, and I would question him as soon as he emerged from his lair. I’d almost forgotten about Wine Hour. How could I host a gathering of guests sipping Chardonnay while Mr. Jubbles lay here just around the corner? And how could I distract them while an EMS crew carted the body away? Well, Mr. Jubbles has been here since last night, an extra hour or so won’t hurt him. “Oh, no!” Cory blurted out behind me, causing me to jump in surprise. “Is that Mr. Jubbles?” He ran his hands nervously through his straight sandy-blond hair. “Yep.” “Heart attack?” “Vampire attack.” “Oh no.” “Oh yes. Let’s just leave him in here until Wine Hour is over.” “We can’t do that. Are you crazy? We need to take care of him immediately.” “He’s dead. He’s in no hurry.” “Knock it off with the macabre humor, Darla. I’m calling nine-one-one.” “It’s more complicated than that. Technically, this is a murder. He was drained by the vampire. But we can’t talk about vampires to the authorities. We can play dumb, and let the EMTs and medical examiner come up with a preposterous explanation of how he died without involving the supernatural. But it would probably be criminal not to say we know a vampire did it. A vampire who’s not supposed to exist.” “You should call Detective Samson,” Cory said. “He’s the only cop we can trust.” “Yeah. This is all going to look terrible for our guests.” “We have no choice. It’s too bad we can’t contact the Vampire Guild, but they’re all stark raving mad from the evil magic that infected them.” “I’ll call Diego.” A member of both the Memory Guild and the Clan of the Eternal Night, he was one of the very few vampires in San Marcos who wasn’t infected. “Do you think Roderick did this?” he asked. “I hope not,” I said. “He knows better, but preying on guests got him in trouble back when he owned the place in the late eighteen hundreds. I’ll ask him as soon as he wakes up. In the meantime, please help me set up for Wine Hour, and I’ll call Samson.” I handed him three bottles of red and told him which bottles of white to retrieve from the wine fridge. After he left the pantry, I called Samson. “Are you busy?” “Actually, I’m about to go home for the day,” he replied. “Um, sorry to delay you, but we need help.” “Don’t tell me you’ve had another murder at the inn.” “Will you stop it? You make it sound