Rising, she checked them all again, starting with the window in her room. All were locked. None had been tampered with as far as she could see.
Maybe she was imagining things. But no, she could still smell his scent in her room. She was fully awake now. She wasn't imagining anything. It gave her a decidedly uneasy feeling to know that someone had been in her house, in her bedroom, while she slept.
She was going to have a serious talk with Mr. Antonio Battista when she saw him again!
The opportunity came sooner than she expected. She was about to leave for work when he appeared on her doorstep. Dressed in black, as always. She wondered what kind of statement he was trying to make under all that black leather and cloth.
"Good evening, Victoria."
Such a formal greeting, she thought. Sometimes he sounded like some old-world count.
"What brings you here?"
He lifted one shoulder in an elegant shrug. "I came to accompany you to work."
"Oh. Well, I'm glad you're here. We need to talk."
She took a step backward and opened the screen door. "Come in."
He paused a moment, then stepped across the threshold and into the living room.
"What do you wish to talk about?" he asked.
"Last night." She dropped her handbag and coat on a chair, then turned to face him, her arms crossed over her breasts.
"What about last night?"
"You were in my room while I was sleeping." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact.
"Yes."
"Oh, you admit it! What were you doing there? How did you get in? All the doors and windows were locked."
"I meant you no harm, my sweet one, I only wanted to make sure you were all right."
"Why wouldn't I be all right?" she asked, then realized how stupid that sounded. There was a murderer running loose, a murderer who preyed on redheads. Maybe it wasn't such a stupid question, she thought. After all, none of the women had been killed in their homes.
"Do you wish me to apologize for worrying about you?" he asked with a wry smile.
"Yes. No. I don't know, but I want your promise that you won't come into my house again unless I invite you."
He bowed his head in acquiescence. "As you wish."
"You never told me how you got in."
"A trick of the trade, you might say."
She raised one brow. "What trade is that? Don't tell me you're a cat burglar."
He laughed softly. "No."
"What do you do?"
"Perhaps I shall tell you sometime."
"There's something else I'd like to know."
"You are full of questions this evening."
"Yeah, well… " She hesitated. Maybe asking wasn't such a good idea, but she had to know.
He crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.
"I saw you with Sharlene and that other woman, and… Did you know them?"
"That is not what you want to ask," he chided softly. "You want to know why I was with them."
"Yes."
"I walked them home, nothing more."
"Why?"
"You still think I might have killed them?"
"No, but… "
"I knew they were in danger. I walked them home and warned them against opening their doors to strangers."
"You were a stranger."
He smiled faintly. "A stranger, yes, but not a murderer of young women."
She glanced at the clock over the mantel. "I've got to go. I'm going to be late for work."
She was picking up her handbag when Antonio said, "Tom Duncan."
"What?"
"The man you were with last night. What did he want?"
"I don't see as how that's any of your concern."
He took a step forward. Though his expression didn't change, he seemed suddenly menacing. "What did he want?"
"Dinner, of course," she retorted. "Why else do people come into a diner? Well, except for you."
He clenched his hands at his sides. "There is more, something you are not telling me."
"He asked me for a date, not that it's any of your business."
He stared at her.
"What's the matter? Is it so hard to believe that someone would want to date me?"
Battista shook his head. "No, of course not." He didn't think the man ever thought of anything but destroying the Undead, but the vampire hunter had actually asked Victoria for a date. Battista knew hunters rarely married. It had never occurred to him that they might date from time to time. "Are you going out with him?"
"I've really got to go."
"Yes, of course." His face a hard mask, he turned and stalked out the door.
Grabbing her coat, she followed him out of the house, locking the door behind her.
She could feel him watching her as she unlocked her car door, tossed her coat into the backseat, and then slid behind the wheel.
She stared at him for a moment before she started the car and pulled out of the driveway.
He waited until she was out of sight, then dissolved into mist and followed her to the diner.
Chapter 9
Vicki couldn't help it. She kept glancing over her shoulder as she walked from her car to the diner. She had the oddest feeling that she was being followed but there was no one behind her, at least no one she could see.
She frowned, remembering how Antonio seemed to walk without making a sound. But he wasn't invisible, even if his footsteps didn't make any noise.
With a shake of her head, she went in the back door. She left her coat and her handbag in her locker, put on a clean apron, grabbed her pad, and went to relieve Gladys.
She nodded at Bobbie Sue, noting that there were only a few customers in the diner.
But that was normal for this time of night.
Things picked up as the night wore on. It was about eight o'clock when Tom Duncan sat down at table four.
"Hi," she said. "Steak again?"
He shook his head. "No, I think I'll try something else. What do you recommend?"
"The shrimp looks good."
He tapped one finger on the table. "How about the meat loaf?"
"I'd stick with the shrimp if I were you."
"All right, shrimp it is."
"Do you want rice or fries with that?"
"Fries."
She jotted it down. "Coffee?"
"Sure."
"Be right back."
She brought him a cup of coffee but she didn't have time to stay and chat. Saturday nights were always busy. She saw Maddy and Rex sharing a hot fudge sundae and smiled. Two dates in less than a week. Perhaps there would be a wedding soon.
She was clearing table two when she happened to glance out the window. She was startled to see Antonio looking back at her through the glass. At least she thought it was Antonio. Before she could be sure, he was gone.
With a shake of her head, she went back to clearing the table.
Tom left a few minutes later, but only after reaffirming their date for Sunday night.
The rest of the evening passed quickly. It was half an hour before closing time when Vicki saw Antonio enter the diner. All the booths and tables in her section were full. But then a strange thing happened. She saw Antonio stare at Bert Summers, who was sitting at a booth in the back. Bert hadn't even finished his pie and coffee when he dropped a ten dollar bill on the table and headed for the door. Looking faintly smug, Antonio took the booth Bert had vacated.
Curious and strangely annoyed, she went to his table. "What did you do?"
"Do?"
She gestured at Bert, who was just walking out the door, then pointed at his barely touched plate. "Why did he leave so abruptly?"
"Maybe he remembered an appointment."
"You did something to him. I saw you."
"What did you see?"
"I don't know. You looked at him and all of a sudden he just got up and left without even finishing his order."
"Perhaps he was no longer hungry?" Antonio replied, his face inscrutable.
"Why didn't you just take one of the empty tables?"
He lifted one brow. "Why do you think?"
She pursed her lips, her brow furrowed in thought. Something wasn't right here, but what? "Was that you outside the window earlier tonight?"
He nodded.
"What were you doing out there?"
"Nothing, why? Is there something else you wish to accuse me of?"
"No, of course not," she said, feeling properly chastised. "I'm sorry." Looking up, she saw Gus watching her. "You'll have to order something."
"Coffee."
With a nod, she left the table.
At closing time, the diner was empty save for Antonio, who continued to sit at the boom in the back corner, his coffee untouched.
"What's with him?" Bobbie Sue asked, coming up beside Vicki. "He comes in here practically every night and never eats anything."
"I'm not sure."
"I think he's kind of creepy, you know?"
Vicki shrugged. "He seems nice enough."
"If you say so." Bobbie Sue removed her apron and wadded it into a ball. "I'm going over to the Blue Horse for a while. I told Steve I'd meet him there. Do you want to come along?"
Vicki considered that for a moment. The Blue Horse Tavern was a dive located on the outskirts of town. They catered mostly to the young crowd who wanted to dance and drink a few beers but didn't want to make the trip into one of the bigger cities. She had received her first kiss on the dance floor at the Blue Horse.
"Sure," Vicki said.
"No sense taking two cars," Bobbie Sue said. "Why don't you go with me?"
"All right." Vicki glanced at Antonio, not surprised to find that he was watching her. "Just let me finish cleaning up."
As she approached his booth, Battista stood and dropped a twenty dollar bill on the table.