attached to his body. Three seconds later, the doorbell rings and, on cue, Kimchi starts barking.
Unable to reach the door handle thanks to Kimchi’s ecstatically vibrating body, I grab his collar and try to pull him away. ‘No!’ I say firmly.
He ignores me and continues yelping. Idiot dog. Or, to be more accurate, idiot me. Even Brinkish had managed to control him; I’m clearly not cut out to be a dog handler. For expediency’s sake, I scoop him up into my arms. Kimchi seems to think this is some kind of new game and wriggles around in delight. I get him into the bedroom and shut the door – then it occurs to me that now he can gnaw on my bedsheets as well as my clothes and cushions. As he’s fallen suspiciously quiet, no doubt that’s what he’s immediately set about doing.
Giving up on the dog, I open the door and peer out. When I see who it is, I fall back in surprise. It’s been a while since I saw Rogu3 face to face and he’s grown about a foot and a half in the intervening months. Gallingly, he’s now taller than I am. He still has the gangliness of a teenager, however, and grins at me awkwardly.
‘Hi, Bo.’ He glances at my clothes. ‘Oh, did I wake you?’
I realise I’m still wearing my rather threadbare pyjamas, dotted all over with teddy bears. Hardly a kickass vampire PI, then.
‘I keep different hours these days,’ I mutter, feeling somewhat embarrassed. I beckon him inside. ‘What are you doing here, Rogu3?’
He scratches his neck. ‘Do you want me to go?’
Realising how easily my question could have been misconstrued, I backtrack. ‘No, of course not! It’s great to see you.’ To emphasise my words, I lean over and give him a hug. ‘It’s just that you normally prefer the whole incognito thing.’
‘I thought you’d want this.’ He gives me a slim file.
I flip it open. The first sheet is a mugshot of woman in her twenties. Typed next to the photo are the words ‘Matheson, Corinne’. I raise my eyebrows. ‘Is telepathy a new trick of yours?’
Rogu3 shrugs. ‘It was all over the news. I figured it was the kind of thing you’d be after.’
‘It is.’ My suspicions, however, are on full alert. I can’t believe he stayed up half the night to pull all the information he could extricate from the virtual world merely on the off-chance that I’d want it. He’s a great kid but he’s smart enough to charge market value for his services. Given that I still owe him money, something else is going on. ‘What do you really want?’
‘Um,’ he flushes. ‘Nothing, just…’
I suddenly realise something is different. I grin at him. ‘Your voice! It’s broken!’
‘Yeah,’ he admits, smiling. ‘I was pretty much the last one in my class, which was kind of embarrassing, especially when it kept cracking at the wrong moments. But last week’s word of the week was “stentorian”. Mainly because when I’m not concentrating, I sound like my old primary school teacher who enjoyed bellowing loudly about decimal points.’
I’m glad he’s not grown up so much that he’s putting aside his more endearing personality quirks. ‘Try me,’ I say.
Rogu3 clears his throat. ‘No, you foolish child,’ he booms, ‘calculators are reserved for the arithmetically challenged!’
I clap my hands. ‘Impressive. And definitely stentorian. Now tell me why you’re here.’
There’s a snuffling sound at my bedroom door. He throws me a look. ‘Either you’ve really changed since you’ve become a bloodguzzler, Bo, or you’ve got a new friend.’
‘It’s a case I’m working on. Answer the question.’
He swallows. ‘You can say no…’
‘Granted. Go on.’
He stands back up, thrusting his hands into his pockets. ‘This is stupid,’ he mumbles. ‘Forget I was ever here.’
‘Rogu3, sit down. You can ask me anything. I won’t bite.’ His eyes fly to mine and I smile softly. ‘I promise.’
‘Okay, yes,’ he nods. ‘I can trust you. I’ve known you for
Unable to reach the door handle thanks to Kimchi’s ecstatically vibrating body, I grab his collar and try to pull him away. ‘No!’ I say firmly.
He ignores me and continues yelping. Idiot dog. Or, to be more accurate, idiot me. Even Brinkish had managed to control him; I’m clearly not cut out to be a dog handler. For expediency’s sake, I scoop him up into my arms. Kimchi seems to think this is some kind of new game and wriggles around in delight. I get him into the bedroom and shut the door – then it occurs to me that now he can gnaw on my bedsheets as well as my clothes and cushions. As he’s fallen suspiciously quiet, no doubt that’s what he’s immediately set about doing.
Giving up on the dog, I open the door and peer out. When I see who it is, I fall back in surprise. It’s been a while since I saw Rogu3 face to face and he’s grown about a foot and a half in the intervening months. Gallingly, he’s now taller than I am. He still has the gangliness of a teenager, however, and grins at me awkwardly.
‘Hi, Bo.’ He glances at my clothes. ‘Oh, did I wake you?’
I realise I’m still wearing my rather threadbare pyjamas, dotted all over with teddy bears. Hardly a kickass vampire PI, then.
‘I keep different hours these days,’ I mutter, feeling somewhat embarrassed. I beckon him inside. ‘What are you doing here, Rogu3?’
He scratches his neck. ‘Do you want me to go?’
Realising how easily my question could have been misconstrued, I backtrack. ‘No, of course not! It’s great to see you.’ To emphasise my words, I lean over and give him a hug. ‘It’s just that you normally prefer the whole incognito thing.’
‘I thought you’d want this.’ He gives me a slim file.
I flip it open. The first sheet is a mugshot of woman in her twenties. Typed next to the photo are the words ‘Matheson, Corinne’. I raise my eyebrows. ‘Is telepathy a new trick of yours?’
Rogu3 shrugs. ‘It was all over the news. I figured it was the kind of thing you’d be after.’
‘It is.’ My suspicions, however, are on full alert. I can’t believe he stayed up half the night to pull all the information he could extricate from the virtual world merely on the off-chance that I’d want it. He’s a great kid but he’s smart enough to charge market value for his services. Given that I still owe him money, something else is going on. ‘What do you really want?’
‘Um,’ he flushes. ‘Nothing, just…’
I suddenly realise something is different. I grin at him. ‘Your voice! It’s broken!’
‘Yeah,’ he admits, smiling. ‘I was pretty much the last one in my class, which was kind of embarrassing, especially when it kept cracking at the wrong moments. But last week’s word of the week was “stentorian”. Mainly because when I’m not concentrating, I sound like my old primary school teacher who enjoyed bellowing loudly about decimal points.’
I’m glad he’s not grown up so much that he’s putting aside his more endearing personality quirks. ‘Try me,’ I say.
Rogu3 clears his throat. ‘No, you foolish child,’ he booms, ‘calculators are reserved for the arithmetically challenged!’
I clap my hands. ‘Impressive. And definitely stentorian. Now tell me why you’re here.’
There’s a snuffling sound at my bedroom door. He throws me a look. ‘Either you’ve really changed since you’ve become a bloodguzzler, Bo, or you’ve got a new friend.’
‘It’s a case I’m working on. Answer the question.’
He swallows. ‘You can say no…’
‘Granted. Go on.’
He stands back up, thrusting his hands into his pockets. ‘This is stupid,’ he mumbles. ‘Forget I was ever here.’
‘Rogu3, sit down. You can ask me anything. I won’t bite.’ His eyes fly to mine and I smile softly. ‘I promise.’
‘Okay, yes,’ he nods. ‘I can trust you. I’ve known you for
Similar Books
