The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

CHAPTER 1

I sat comfortably in my seat on the chartered plane owned by Charles “Chuck” Dawson, as the aircraft bounced up and down on the turbulence of air beneath it. I took the cell phone out of the pocket of my black leather coat, flipped it open and dialed Reverend Blair’s number. The line ran endlessly but no one answered.

The man sends me a letter, now he doesn’t answer, I thought.

I began to worry. It wasn’t like Reverend Blair to write a letter to me for help and then not answer his cell when I called shortly thereafter. I wondered if something was wrong.

I’d wanted to call him shortly before we landed in England, but I obviously was not getting through.

“Damn,” I muttered.

“Something wrong?” Chuck shouted over the blaring sound of the twin engines.

“The reverend’s not answering his phone,” I replied loudly.

“Maybe the blessed father stepped out for a coffee break,” Chuck suggested in his southern drawl of a voice.

“Or maybe I should be expecting the worse,” I said.

“Don’t sweat it. We’ll be approaching the runway in about an hour. Just sit back and relax,” he said.

“Chuck, I don’t think even your strongest drink could relax me on this flight,” I concluded.

PROLOGUE

I opened the envelope and read the letter. It was from an old flame of mine from England who lived and ran the Manchester Cathedral, Reverend Jack Blair. I’d had a relationship with him shortly after the death and disappearance of my husband, Scott Chase, who’d had an affair shortly before his final disappearance from my life. As I read the words, my countenance fell, including my smile and eyebrows. There went a damn fine day. Of course, in my line of work, everything good usually went all to hell.

My best friend, Amanda Blake, stood anxiously before me, awaiting my response. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I scanned lines of text, head shifting from left to right and back again.

“Well? What is it? What does it say?” Amanda asked.

“A letter from Reverend Blair…,” I began to answer.

“Who?” Amanda asked.

“An old friend of mine. The letter says he wants me to come down and see him. Says some vampires have been wreaking havoc on the town, tearing out throats, leaving behind a trail of corpses,” I said.

I rose to my feet, pulled a bag off an overhead shelf, pulled out my drawer doors, and shoved some close inside.

“I’ve gotta go. I’ve gotta take care of this,” I said.

“I’ll go with you,” Amanda said.

“No. I have to do this alone. I need you to stay and tell the chief what’s happened.”

“Come on, Jackie. You know the chief. He assigns the missions. At least, that’s what he’ll say,” Amanda responded.

“I can’t sit here and wait until he makes up his mind while people die. I’m going,” I said.

“I’ll meet you there. Chief or no chief,” Amanda said.

“I’ll see you there,” I said, as I picked up my black gym bag, already zipped, and heaved it onto my shoulder. Then, like a breath of wind, I was gone.