Crimes by Moonlight

The judge’s place was empty, but Alexis was already seated at the prosecutor’s table. She watched Reinette menacingly as the girl stepped past her to sit in the defendant’s seat, and the look she gave Mark was nearly as hostile.

He hadn’t seen Stella as he came in, but didn’t have a chance to look for her before Ramon went to stand in front of the room and said, “By the traditions of our kind, this tribunal has been convened to determine the truth behind the death of Geoff, of the line of Alexis.” Everyone rose, and when the judge came in, Mark realized he didn’t need to look for Stella after all.

Stella was the judge.

Mark could tell she was as shocked to see him defending Reinette as he was to see her as judge. He glared at Ramon, who must have known, but the trickster shrugged and tried to look surprised.

Reinette whispered, “Isn’t that your sire? That’s going to make it easier, right?”

“You don’t know Stella,” Mark said. She’d be fair, but she’d do her duty as she saw it, even if it meant ruling against him. He honestly didn’t know if he could stay with her should she allow Reinette to be enslaved.

Stella sat, and everyone else followed suit.

“Who asks for judgment?” she asked formally.

Alexis said, “As Geoff’s sire, I call for judgment against the concubine Reinette for foully betraying her patron to the sun.”

“Is the accused present?”

“Yes,” Reinette responded meekly. “I’ve asked Mark to speak in my place.”

“Mark, have you been made aware of our customs?”

“I have, Your Honor.”

“Then we shall proceed. Alexis, state your case.”

“It is brutally simple. This creature drew the curtains during daylight while Geoff slept helplessly. He burned to nothingness until his arm fell from his ravaged body.” She paused to let the horrific image sink in. “Under our laws, she is mine to do with as I will.”

“Mark? What is your defense?”

“The defense is just as simple,” Mark said. “Reinette is as much a victim as Geoff.”

There was hissing from the gallery until Stella quelled it with a look.

“I call Reinette to the stand,” Mark said.

Reinette went to the chair that had been set up, and Stella warned, “Be aware that a lie-any lie-will cause me to rule against you.”

“Yes, Your Honor.” She saw the gallery of vampires watching her hungrily, and swallowed visibly.

“Reinette,” Mark said, “tell us what happened from the time you left Vilmos’s gala to the moment you discovered Geoff’s remains.”

She could barely speak at first, but with Mark’s coaxing, managed to give her account. Geoff had carried her to her room and enjoyed a nightcap of her blood before going to his own suite. “I don’t like being with him when he’s, you know, not breathing, so I always have my own room.” She’d slept until after two, and after performing a remarkable amount of grooming, had gone to the dining room, where she’d found Mark. After he’d left-“kind of suddenly” in her opinion-she’d finished eating and went back to her room to watch TV and primp still more. She would normally have waited for Geoff to come to her, but was hoping to convince him to present her monthly gift a day early, so used her key to get into his room. They all knew the rest.

Unfortunately, the only piece of the story that could be confirmed was her meal with Mark, and that wasn’t nearly enough to prove her i

Lastly Mark asked if she had any reason to want Geoff dead. “Of course not! Geoff gave me everything I asked for, no matter how much it cost. I know he had to because of the contract, but he never fussed. And he was good in bed, too.”

Mark turned it over to Alexis, who asked a single, devastating question. Did Reinette know that if Geoff died before the end of the term of their contract, she would get everything she would have had he lived?

She did, meaning that she knew she stood to benefit substantially from Geoff’s death.

Next Mark called Ramon, who explained that the only keys to the room had been in the possession of Geoff, Reinette, and Ramon himself. Even if there had been a way for a servant to gain access, all the humans on the estate had been questioned, and none of them had gone into Geoff’s room. Mark asked about other security measures, but while the perimeter of the estate was thoroughly protected with both high-tech and mystic measures, there was nothing comparable inside the house.

After Ramon stepped down, Alexis said, “Reinette’s guilt is clear. I demand that judgment be made immediately.”

“You are not in a position to demand anything,” Stella said. “I will make my decision when I am ready, not one second before.”

The two vampires locked eyes, but it was Alexis who finally relented.

For once, Mark was grateful for the pissing contest.

Then Stella said, “Mark, do you wish to call further witnesses?”

He flipped through the blank pages of his pad, trying to come up with something. He wasn’t a trial lawyer, and this was like no trial he’d ever seen, anyway. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage. “Your Honor, I would like to make an observation, if you will allow it.”

Stella raised one eyebrow, but nodded.

“Ramon’s testimony suggests that no human could have entered Geoff’s bedroom, but there are far more vampires in residence than humans.”

“Geoff, Ramon, and the girl were the only ones with keys,” Alexis pointed out.

Mark said, “Locks can be picked. All that is required is a set of easily obtainable picks and a person with good hearing, a steady hand, and patience. I think that would apply to any of the vampires here.”

There was a great deal of murmuring until Stella said, “We will have quiet.”

“Since any of the vampires could have picked the lock,” Mark went on, “any of them could have opened the curtains.”

“How?” Alexis wanted to know. “None of us woke until dusk. The only vampire awake before then was you.” She bared her teeth. “Are you confessing?”

Mark didn’t dignify that with a reply. He was still trying to find some way to prove that somebody else had been in that room. Could he be wrong about Reinette? Could she have casually insulted him after killing Geoff? He looked at her again, but still didn’t believe it. The only thing that had been on her mind was jewelry. Jewelry…

“Your Honor,” he said, “Geoff gave Reinette apiece of jewelry each month on their a

Stella looked uncertain, but Alexis threw up her hands and said, “If it will speed this charade, then find the creature’s bauble.”

“I will allow it,” Stella said. “Ramon?”

Ramon, gri

Mark asked, “Ramon, was there anything else in that room that could have been this month’s gift?”

“Nothing,” Ramon said.

“So?” Alexis said. “We have only Reinette’s word that there was anything in that bag in the first place.”

“But we do know that tomorrow was their a

Alexis scoffed. “Then Reinette took it. She probably has it on her now.”

“I do not,” Reinette said. “You can strip me here if you want!”

Ramon leered. “Anything to please a lady!”

“Ramon!” Stella admonished. “Come here, child.” She wasn’t overly rough with Reinette, but she was thorough. “There is no jewelry on her.”

“She must have hidden it,” Alexis said.

“When?” Mark asked. “She hasn’t been alone since Geoff’s remains were found.”

“She hid it before raising the alarm.”

“Then I request a search of the house to find it.”