maybe —you don’t know for sure?”
“I don’t know for sure, which is strange. Really strange.”
“Why so strange?”
He paused on the sidewalk and turned his back to me. “Move a finger. Any finger.”
“What?”
Just do it.
I wiggled my pinky finger.
“Little finger left hand.”
I tried another.
“Ring finger, right hand.” He turned back around. “I can tell a human voice from a vampire voice, from a werewolf voice,” Gary said.
“And which was it?”
Gary glanced at the street, the people passing by us in their warm cars on the way to who knows where. “I couldn’t tell. Strange.”
“Bathory has a leprechaun. She could have used magic to disguise her voice.”
“True.”
For a moment, the only sound was our footsteps on the gritty, salt-sprinkled sidewalk. “One more question. How did you find the body? Did you hear the struggle? Did the woman scream or something?”
“No,” he said firmly. “That’s the scary part. There was no struggle. No scream. I’d gone to Julius’s door when I heard glass breaking. Then I smelled the blood. You saw what I found. He was already gone.”
We’d reached the end of the block. From here on out, mostly abandoned warehouses and processing plants loomed. The types of places where people got murdered and nobody noticed for days. It was risky to go this way with a vamp, lots of dark spaces and no one to hear me scream. But I didn’t want to interrupt him in case there was something more. Under the guise of scratching my neck, I brushed my fingertips over Nightshade’s hilt. I’d have to trust in my ability to take off his head. I kept walking.
“What time did you hear the glass shatter?” I asked.
“Just after five, I think. I was up, getting ready for the night.”
“But the third voice, when did you hear that?”
“Earlier in the day. Before I fell asleep.”
“During daylight hours. You’re not sure when they arrived, but they disappeared after sundown?”
He sighed. “Which suggests it was another vampire.”
“Or working for one. Like we established, the perpetrator left a lot of blood for a vamp.” Bathory had ways to compel people to do her bidding. She’d compelled Gary to consent to be turned into a vampire. It was very possible whoever murdered Calliope was completely under her control.
He nodded his head. “She might not risk coming back herself.”
“Anything else you can remember? Besides Bathory, was there anyone who wanted Julius out of the picture?”
“No. That’s it. But Grateful, you gotta find him.”
“I’ll try my best.”
“There are vampires in the coven who will be happy Julius is gone. They’ll want him to stay gone. A new leader will be elected on the next full moon. I can almost guarantee you won’t like who it is. I know I won’t.” Gary scowled. He’d worked for Bathory once and described the experience as “tortured.”
I placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll find him, Gary. If he’s still alive, I’ll find him.”
“Good,” he said. “Now if you don’t mind, I just heard dinner.” With a swift goodbye, he disappeared into the nearest abandoned building.
My stomach growled. Even the thought that Gary was probably sinking teeth into a warehouse rat didn’t sully my appetite. With plenty to think about, I circled back to the nearest diner for some sustenance of my own.
* * * * *
After I had drowned my sorrows in a greasy burger and fries, I caught up with Rick to finish our night’s work.
“How did you find me?” he asked. A stray cat bolted out of the alley at the sound of his voice. “Did you follow our connection? I didn’t feel you coming.”
I held up my phone. “Not magic. GPS. I tracked the phone I gave you for Christmas. There’s an app for that. Find-a-Buddy.”
Rick pulled the phone from his pocket and looked at it in horror. “Are you saying this metal square allows others to know where I am?” He tapped the screen in frustration.
Smugly, I
“I don’t know for sure, which is strange. Really strange.”
“Why so strange?”
He paused on the sidewalk and turned his back to me. “Move a finger. Any finger.”
“What?”
Just do it.
I wiggled my pinky finger.
“Little finger left hand.”
I tried another.
“Ring finger, right hand.” He turned back around. “I can tell a human voice from a vampire voice, from a werewolf voice,” Gary said.
“And which was it?”
Gary glanced at the street, the people passing by us in their warm cars on the way to who knows where. “I couldn’t tell. Strange.”
“Bathory has a leprechaun. She could have used magic to disguise her voice.”
“True.”
For a moment, the only sound was our footsteps on the gritty, salt-sprinkled sidewalk. “One more question. How did you find the body? Did you hear the struggle? Did the woman scream or something?”
“No,” he said firmly. “That’s the scary part. There was no struggle. No scream. I’d gone to Julius’s door when I heard glass breaking. Then I smelled the blood. You saw what I found. He was already gone.”
We’d reached the end of the block. From here on out, mostly abandoned warehouses and processing plants loomed. The types of places where people got murdered and nobody noticed for days. It was risky to go this way with a vamp, lots of dark spaces and no one to hear me scream. But I didn’t want to interrupt him in case there was something more. Under the guise of scratching my neck, I brushed my fingertips over Nightshade’s hilt. I’d have to trust in my ability to take off his head. I kept walking.
“What time did you hear the glass shatter?” I asked.
“Just after five, I think. I was up, getting ready for the night.”
“But the third voice, when did you hear that?”
“Earlier in the day. Before I fell asleep.”
“During daylight hours. You’re not sure when they arrived, but they disappeared after sundown?”
He sighed. “Which suggests it was another vampire.”
“Or working for one. Like we established, the perpetrator left a lot of blood for a vamp.” Bathory had ways to compel people to do her bidding. She’d compelled Gary to consent to be turned into a vampire. It was very possible whoever murdered Calliope was completely under her control.
He nodded his head. “She might not risk coming back herself.”
“Anything else you can remember? Besides Bathory, was there anyone who wanted Julius out of the picture?”
“No. That’s it. But Grateful, you gotta find him.”
“I’ll try my best.”
“There are vampires in the coven who will be happy Julius is gone. They’ll want him to stay gone. A new leader will be elected on the next full moon. I can almost guarantee you won’t like who it is. I know I won’t.” Gary scowled. He’d worked for Bathory once and described the experience as “tortured.”
I placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll find him, Gary. If he’s still alive, I’ll find him.”
“Good,” he said. “Now if you don’t mind, I just heard dinner.” With a swift goodbye, he disappeared into the nearest abandoned building.
My stomach growled. Even the thought that Gary was probably sinking teeth into a warehouse rat didn’t sully my appetite. With plenty to think about, I circled back to the nearest diner for some sustenance of my own.
* * * * *
After I had drowned my sorrows in a greasy burger and fries, I caught up with Rick to finish our night’s work.
“How did you find me?” he asked. A stray cat bolted out of the alley at the sound of his voice. “Did you follow our connection? I didn’t feel you coming.”
I held up my phone. “Not magic. GPS. I tracked the phone I gave you for Christmas. There’s an app for that. Find-a-Buddy.”
Rick pulled the phone from his pocket and looked at it in horror. “Are you saying this metal square allows others to know where I am?” He tapped the screen in frustration.
Smugly, I
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