about seventeen pillows and a down comforter. Wilhelm thinks this is a sign of my “moral decrepitude” and “debilitating laziness.” I think it’s a sign of I just like sleeping, dude .
In fact, when I got upstairs, that’s exactly what happened—pretty much right away. Imean, I tried to start my investigation. I got as far as Googling Tex Harrison and finding out that he kept a blog on his MySpace page. But it turned out to be all about sports and how awesome the Luna Tigers are and what an awesome quarterback he is and blah blah Patriots and Red Sox, plus a detailed rundown of his daily workout regimen and everything he’s ever eaten. Ever. Can you really blame me for falling asleep?
When I woke up, I was lying across my bed in a mountain of pillows. My vampire instincts told me that it was dark outside. I rolled over and saw Zach standing in my doorway. Really, “lurking” is the most appropriate description.
“Go away,” I said, throwing a pillow at him.
“You forgot to lock your door again,” he said.
“ You forgot to not be an ass again,” I said. “Stay on your side of the house.”
“I hear you’re going to solve Tex’s murder,” he said with a smirk. “Looks like it’s going well so far.”
“Um, hello? All the best detectives do their work in the dark,” I said.
“I can think of better things to do in thedark,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.
That was my cue to leave.
“Have some blood before you go out!” Olympia called from the kitchen as I stomped past.
“No, thanks!” I called back, grabbing my keys. I slammed the door behind me and started running. I never used to like running, but it turns out it’s a lot more fun when you’re nearly as fast as a car. And it doesn’t make me tired anymore, at least as long as the moon is out. Plus it’s a lot safer to run unnaturally fast at night—not so many people out on the street.
I made it to the high school in about ten minutes. It looked all gloomy and shadowy in the moonlight, the brick and concrete merging into silvery edges. Most of the glass had been swept up, but I could see a few tiny shards they’d missed still shimmering on the steps. I guess the police had been busy, because even the crime scene tape was gone. They probably really wanted school to get back to normal the next day.
They’d done a pretty good job of cleaning up; only the smell of blood still lingered, a whisperof what had happened here, and I’m guessing that only a vampire nose would pick that up. Even the broken window above was covered with a black tarp, one corner flapping a little in the wind.
There’s another cemetery right beside the high school—not the one I usually go to. This one is smaller and older, with tiny crooked gravestones. With that on one side and the football field on the other, the school has a lot of open space around it. Only a couple of houses have a view of the front steps, and that’s across the parking lot. I was guessing nobody could have seen anything, especially that late at night, without vampire sight. It was only eleven o’clock now, and already all the houses were dark. Unhelpful day-dwellers.
I padded across the grass that edged the parking lot, staying close to the shadows just in case. Long trails of purple-gray clouds slid across the moon. A small piece of glass crunched under my sneaker as I climbed the steps. Tex must have landed with a lot of force; I could smell blood spatters on the front door. And blood was the only thing I could smell. The scent of theattacker was completely masked by the overwhelming scent of Tex’s blood.
The door was, of course, locked, which made me wonder how Tex and his killer had gotten inside in the middle of the night in the first place.
Not that it’s hard for a vampire to get into places like this. We have to be invited into private homes, but everything else is wide open to us. For instance, I could have just pulled the door off, but I thought that might be a
In fact, when I got upstairs, that’s exactly what happened—pretty much right away. Imean, I tried to start my investigation. I got as far as Googling Tex Harrison and finding out that he kept a blog on his MySpace page. But it turned out to be all about sports and how awesome the Luna Tigers are and what an awesome quarterback he is and blah blah Patriots and Red Sox, plus a detailed rundown of his daily workout regimen and everything he’s ever eaten. Ever. Can you really blame me for falling asleep?
When I woke up, I was lying across my bed in a mountain of pillows. My vampire instincts told me that it was dark outside. I rolled over and saw Zach standing in my doorway. Really, “lurking” is the most appropriate description.
“Go away,” I said, throwing a pillow at him.
“You forgot to lock your door again,” he said.
“ You forgot to not be an ass again,” I said. “Stay on your side of the house.”
“I hear you’re going to solve Tex’s murder,” he said with a smirk. “Looks like it’s going well so far.”
“Um, hello? All the best detectives do their work in the dark,” I said.
“I can think of better things to do in thedark,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.
That was my cue to leave.
“Have some blood before you go out!” Olympia called from the kitchen as I stomped past.
“No, thanks!” I called back, grabbing my keys. I slammed the door behind me and started running. I never used to like running, but it turns out it’s a lot more fun when you’re nearly as fast as a car. And it doesn’t make me tired anymore, at least as long as the moon is out. Plus it’s a lot safer to run unnaturally fast at night—not so many people out on the street.
I made it to the high school in about ten minutes. It looked all gloomy and shadowy in the moonlight, the brick and concrete merging into silvery edges. Most of the glass had been swept up, but I could see a few tiny shards they’d missed still shimmering on the steps. I guess the police had been busy, because even the crime scene tape was gone. They probably really wanted school to get back to normal the next day.
They’d done a pretty good job of cleaning up; only the smell of blood still lingered, a whisperof what had happened here, and I’m guessing that only a vampire nose would pick that up. Even the broken window above was covered with a black tarp, one corner flapping a little in the wind.
There’s another cemetery right beside the high school—not the one I usually go to. This one is smaller and older, with tiny crooked gravestones. With that on one side and the football field on the other, the school has a lot of open space around it. Only a couple of houses have a view of the front steps, and that’s across the parking lot. I was guessing nobody could have seen anything, especially that late at night, without vampire sight. It was only eleven o’clock now, and already all the houses were dark. Unhelpful day-dwellers.
I padded across the grass that edged the parking lot, staying close to the shadows just in case. Long trails of purple-gray clouds slid across the moon. A small piece of glass crunched under my sneaker as I climbed the steps. Tex must have landed with a lot of force; I could smell blood spatters on the front door. And blood was the only thing I could smell. The scent of theattacker was completely masked by the overwhelming scent of Tex’s blood.
The door was, of course, locked, which made me wonder how Tex and his killer had gotten inside in the middle of the night in the first place.
Not that it’s hard for a vampire to get into places like this. We have to be invited into private homes, but everything else is wide open to us. For instance, I could have just pulled the door off, but I thought that might be a
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