The Vampire (THE VAMPIRE Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

what appears to be a legitimate job offer?
    Okay, so it wasn’t exactly a crime yet. But this was definitely some kind of scam. Jason had seen movies like this…some poor sap lured into some crazy, too good to be true setup, and left to take the fall for some horrible crime. Oh, no, they won’t! Jason dropped the pages into the wastebasket, and made sure his door was double locked before climbing into bed. He got absorbed in an old black and white movie on TV. He was tired but it was still a while before he finally fell asleep, with the TV still on.
    The next morning, on his way out the door to get breakfast, he impulsively retrieved the pages from the wastebasket. He felt a little nervous walking around now, and kept looking around to see if he was being followed.
    He had walked in the direction of the Ursulines Convent, intrigued about the place and wanting to check it out further in the daytime after learning about it on the previous night’s vampire tour. On the way there he discovered the Croissant D’Or café, where he stopped for breakfast. He started to calm a little by the second cup of coffee. He made a plan to research the names Genier and Augere and then determine what steps to take next. He returned to the hotel, forgetting about the intended convent visit, and made use of the hotel’s business center.
    He looked up the names Augere—he couldn’t recall a first name—and Genier on the internet. There was no mention of anyone by the name Augere; nothing in the past century seemed relevant to the person he sought. However, it turned out the Geniers were an old, well-respected family whose professional presence in New Orleans predated the opening of Tulane Law School, as well as the Civil War, as far back as the 1840s at least. Subsequent generations of Geniers had graduated from Tulane Law School as well as other prestigious schools across the country.
    There was brief mention, in some very old records, of transactions between a member of the Augere family and those of the Geniers; so it appeared the two families were well acquainted and linked, historically at least, going back a very long time. The Geniers had arrived from Europe by way of Boston. It seemed there had been attorneys in the Genier family for at least 170 years. Jason was impressed. But he remained wary.
    Why me? he wondered again. What do I have that they want? If it was all some kind of scam, as he still suspected, they were going to a lot of trouble to appear legitimate. Which suggested to Jason a very complicated scam. He laughed nervously. “Make sure you don’t get drunk and end up losing a kidney,” he told himself.
    Jason decided to call the local number. He was not at all interested in the job. Anything that looks too good to be true, always is. But he needed to know how they got his name, and what they were up to.
    A young woman answered, asked who was calling and then transferred the call.
    “Hello, Mr. Sterling. This is James Genier.” A pleasant sounding voice; slight Southern accent, smoothly enunciated, professional tone. He pronounced his name Zhen-yay . “How may I help you?”
    “I want to know how you got my name, and why.” Jason hoped he sounded angry but with a touch of restraint.
    There was a brief pause.
    “I believe I can answer your questions. Would you prefer to meet in person? Perhaps in the lobby of your hotel? An invitation to a business lunch, if you like.”
    I don’t really need to meet these people in person , Jason thought. What would be the point of that? What would he say to them? Then he thought about having to see that stranger again…hmmm. A public place. Well…that seemed harmless enough.
    “When?” Jason asked.
    “At your convenience.”
    “Right now then.” Jason did not want them to have any extra time to try to pull something.
    “I believe that will work for me. I can be there within 30 minutes or so.”
    “Fine.” Jason answered. He had wasted much of the morning already. He