Phil and Phineas had taken turns roaming the grounds and the facility. So far, everything had gone smoothly.
Phil had reserved a conference room close to the banquet hall. He'd called the priest earlier in the day to explain his theory about Vanda's past, and Father Andrew had wanted to see the DVD of Vanda's interview. He was in the conference room now, watching it.
Phil strode into the foyer. "All clear," he reported to Connor.
"Good," the Scotsman replied. "Ye can take a break now." He gave Phineas a stern look. "Doona drink too much, lad."
"Aye aye, Captain Connor." Phineas saluted him, then dashed into the banquet hall.
Phil strolled into the noisy hall and glanced at the far corner where he'd discovered Vanda earlier. He smiled to himself, remembering how beautiful she'd looked in her silver dress, how sweet with a baby cradled in her arms. She had so much love to give, if only she could get over the pain from her past.
"Hi, Phil," a happy voice greeted him.
"Lara." He gave Jack's fiancée a hug. "How are you?"
"Exhausted." She brushed her golden red hair over a shoulder. "It must have taken an hour to meet everyone. My jaw is aching from all the smiling, and now I can't remember half the people's names."
Phil nodded. "You will, in time."
"Jack said there was some real food around here somewhere."
"Over there." Phil pointed to the far corner.
"Good. I'll grab a quick bite while Jack dances with LaToya. Did you meet my roommate?"
"Not yet. I've been on guard duty."
Lara cast a nervous glance toward the dance floor. "LaToya refused to be my maid of honor until we told her the truth about Jack, so we told her last night. Jack wanted to be there in case she went completely berserk and needed her memory erased."
Phil spotted Jack on the dance floor with a young black woman in a red dress. "Is she okay?"
"She's…a little freaked out. She always knew there was something different about Jack. But she thought he was a superhero, so now she's disappointed. Of course, I think he is a superhero."
"Of course."
Lara leaned close. "I didn't tell her about your secret."
"Thank you."
"Well, I'd better get some food." She hurried off and waved at Phineas as he returned with a glass filled to the brim with Blissky.
He took a long drink of the synthetic blood and whiskey mixture and winced. "Damn, that's good."
Phil shook his head, smiling. "Connor will know."
"Not if I have one of these afterward." Phineas showed him a roll of Vampos, then slipped the mints back into the pocket of his black trousers.
Phil knew the vampire after-dinner mint got rid of blood breath, but he wasn't sure it could erase the smell of whiskey. At any rate, it wasn't his problem. He glanced over at the corner where he was supposed to meet Vanda in five minutes. "Any news on Max the Mini Member?"
Phineas snorted. "You renamed the bastard. I like it. But no one's found him yet." He drank more Blissky. "I'm happy to keep going to the Horny Devils to make sure the ladies are safe."
"Like those two women last night?"
"What can I say? The ladies love to hang with Dr. Phang." Phineas adjusted his bow tie. "I look like James Bond in this tux, don't you think? I'll be looking sharp for my date tonight with Lisa. She thinks I'm a super spy."
"Which one was Lisa? The blonde?"
Phineas frowned, considering. "I think so. Or she could be the brunette." He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. The Love Doctor is an equal opportunity babe magnet, and one hot babe is just as bootie-licious as another."
Phil snorted. "One day you'll eat those words." He pictured Vanda in his mind. "One day you'll meet someone special, someone who can cut you off at the knees with a simple smile. Someone who can capture your very soul with just one glance of her beautiful eyes. And in one fell moment your entire world will tilt on its axis to point only at her. And you'll know you have met your fate."
Crash.
Phil jerked back as Phineas's glass shattered on the floor, shards glittering in a pool of Blissky. The young Vamp's hand was frozen in the air. He looked stunned.
"Phineas?" Phil touched his shoulder. "Are you all right?"
He remained stiff, his eyes wide-open and unblinking.
"Phineas." Phil shook him, but it had no effect. The young Vamp seemed completely paralyzed.
Nightshade? For a shocked second Phil wondered if someone had slipped the paralyzing drug into Phineas's drink. Was there a Malcontent lurking in their midst? But no, it couldn't be Nightshade. That would have made Phineas fall on the floor before paralysis set in.
"Who?" Phineas whispered so faintly Phil wasn't sure he'd heard it. This was a good sign, though. If Phineas had been dosed with Nightshade, he wouldn't be able to talk.
"Who…who is she?" Phineas whispered.
Phil followed the Vamp's line of vision. The dance floor.
There were several couples on the dance floor. Shanna was dancing with her husband. Jean-Luc was dancing with Heather. Gregori was dancing with the fashion model, Inga. And Jack was dancing with…"LaToya? The girl in the red dress?"
"La…LaToya?" Phineas stared at her.
"She's Lara's roommate."
"She's a goddess."
"She's the maid of honor."
"She's an angel," Phineas breathed.
"She's a police officer."
Phineas blinked. A shudder visibly shook him, and he turned to Phil with an appalled expression. "I–I don't do well with the po-po. I have an outstanding warrant."
Phil winced. "That could be a problem."
Phineas's gaze drifted back to LaToya, and his brown eyes widened with a look of awe. He squared his shoulders. "Nothing will stop me." He stepped forward.
When his shoe crunched on glass, Phil pulled him back. "Wait a minute." He motioned to a waiter to clean up the mess.
Phineas stiffened suddenly and grasped Phil's arm. "Did you see that? She looked at me!"
Phil glanced at the dance floor, and sure enough, LaToya was checking Phineas out.
"I'm in love," Phineas whispered.
That was fast. Phil suppressed a grin. "What about your date with Lisa?"
"Who?"
"Lisa. The blonde…or brunette. They're both Vamps like you. LaToya's mortal." Even though a lot of male Vamps were falling for mortal women, Phil knew the guys deeply regretted the fact that they would have to turn their wives at some point, or lose them to the ravages of time.
Phineas sighed. "LaToya is La-One. La-angel."
"All right, Pepe LePew, but you haven't actually met her yet."
Phineas stepped back as two waiters approached with a dustpan, pail, and mop. "I'll meet her now." He popped a Vampos into his mouth, then stuffed the roll of mints into his trouser pocket. "I need to act cool, man. Turn up the mojo. Impress her with my savoir faire and debonairness."
He unbuttoned his tuxedo jacket to reveal a bright red cummerbund. "The Love Doctor is in the house. Come on, bro. You can be my assistant. Make me sound good."
"I'll do my best." Phil accompanied the young black Vamp to the dance floor.
Phineas had one hand pressed to his cummerbund and was suddenly walking like John Wayne.
"What are you doing?" Phil whispered.
"This is my pimp walk. The ladies can't resist it."
"Are you sure that's the right approach to take with a police officer?"
"Oh yeah." Phineas smirked. "It's working, bro. She can't take her eyes off me."
"I'm not sure that's a good thing," Phil muttered.
The music stopped, and Jack spotted them. "Phil, Phineas, how are you? Have you met Lara's friend, LaToya?"