The Mammoth Book Of Vampire Stories Written By Women

Carmine gave a strange little laugh. "Money doesn't come into it. You could offer me half a million and I'd turn it down. The plain fact is, I will not do this for any living soul unless there is a very, very good reason indeed."

"And my reason isn't good enough."

"No. Frankly, it isn't."

"I see. So you're happy to give David your gift, but you won't consider giving it to me."

"It isn't like that, Penny."

"No, I'm sure it isn't." Then something dawned, and Penny wondered why on earth she hadn't thought of it before. "Well, I won't bother you again, then. I'll ask my husband to do it for me instead. He is my husband, after all. Which is something you seem to conveniently forget when it suits you."

There was a sharp pause. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Work it out, Carmine. You're intelligent enough." Penny was completely calm now. Yes, David can do it. Fool I am: I needn't even have made this call . Coolly, she added, "I won't take up any more of your time. Oh, one last thing. You're not welcome in this house from now on."

She didn't hang up immediately; she wanted to hear and savour Carmine's reaction. There was a short silence.

Then Carmine said, "Message understood. But before you go, it's only fair to tell you that David can't help you. Even if he agreed to it — which I frankly doubt — he doesn't possess the ability. Only those who are born to the club, as you might say, can initiate new members. Goodbye, Penny. I think I feel rather sorry for you."

Carmine was the one to break the connection.

Penny did not tell David about the phone call, and she did not ask him to do what she wanted. Instead, she kept the memory of the conversation locked privately in her mind, picking over every detail until it festered like a sore that wouldn't heal. David can't . Was that true, or had Carmine lied for her own purposes? I doubt if he would agree . How did she know what David would or wouldn't agree to? Discussed it, had they? How often? How intimately? Your reason isn't good enough . Carmine Smith, aka God. Well, the motive was obvious, wasn't it? Wives get in the way of affairs, and the last thing Carmine and David would want was Penny joining the club, as Carmine had put it. Penny would cramp their style. Penny would be a damned nuisance. So she must be prevented from joining, mustn't she? Provided Penny stayed in the ranks of ordinary mortals, Carmine and David need only wait a few years — nothing, to them — until Penny began seriously to age, then faded, withered and finally dropped out of the picture altogether. Problem solved: until then they could simply carry on their liaison behind her back.

The dark thoughts hung on Penny like a shroud all evening. David must have been aware of it but he made no comment, which to her only compounded his guilt. She refused sex that night (unusually, he didn't try too hard to persuade her), slept badly and, when it was time for him to get up, lay still and silent, pretending that the alarm clock hadn't woken her. It fooled David; he dressed silently, then went downstairs to make his own breakfast, as she had begun to insist he should do.

Then the phone rang. It was unusually early for anyone to call, and Penny raised her head from the pillow. David answered it on the kitchen extension, and the kitchen was directly below their bedroom, so his side of the conversation carried clearly.

"David Blythe Oh — hi. This is a surprise No, no; it's all right What? When? Well, I don't Ah. Well, yes, perhaps we should Okay; 12:45 suit you? Right. I'll meet you there." Click . End of call.

When he had eaten and came back upstairs, Penny yawned and stretched and put on a sleepy voice. "Who was that on the phone?"

David had his back to her and was putting on his tie. He didn't use a mirror; there was no point. "I told you about that new client, didn't I?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, it was his secretary; just changing the time of a meeting. Bloody nuisance; I've got a lot of other things scheduled today." He turned and glanced at her. "You all right?"

"Fine." Go on, go away. I've got something to find out, and I don't want you around while I do it .

He left a few minutes later. Penny listened to the sounds of the troublesome car eventually starting (an old banger: we all know what happened to the decent one, don't we?) and as soon as he drove away she picked up the phone and keyed "recall", to see who had really phoned.

The number given was local, but not familiar. Could be the supposed client's secretary. However Penny entered the code that would stop her own call being traced, then punched the number in. A ringing tone began.

Click . "Carmine Smith."

Penny hung up. Carmine. Not at her office but, obviously, at home. Well, now she had all her answers. New client. Oh, sure .

"You bastard. You two-faced, lying, cheating, cold-blooded bastardl"

And that, although she didn't realize it until quite some time afterwards, was the moment when everything was set in train.