Page 64 of Death is Familiar

But there were a lot of victims. Vampire hunter victims. Seven in total in the last year.

“Why did they think it would work? The vamp hunters?” I rolled onto my elbows, mind churning. “The murders escalated from two to five. Surely, there had to be an in between. A reason they thought the ‘cure’ would work.”

“Maybe the vampires set the numbers the hunters ‘cure’. Five familiars were bitten, five were ‘treated’. Before that it was two and two.” Which meant the escalation was solely the result of the number of people bitten, not confidence in the solution.

“But why did they think it would work, when things went so wrong in Lexington?”

“That is something we will need to find out.”

There was much to mull over. So many more questions that needed answers. At least with the right questions, we could start moving in the right direction. And in order for that to happen, we’d need to get the remaining video footage, and answers from Lenore.

“Alright, the team is up to speed.” Jack returned, the door closing over behind him. “Cyber is looking for anti-vamp groups and related activities online. Kaatz and Thruppy are checking out the latest records and footage sent by Lenore. Fawzy and Zhou are headed back to Lexington to see if there are any more similarities to the murders at Spring Grove.”

Since Todd and I didn’t bother getting off the bed, I looked over my shoulder to address Jack as he resumed his position leaning on the desk across from us. “The murders in Lexington happened eleven months ago, if they’re looking for the sunrise to tell them anything, they’ll be a month off.”

“Good point.” He nodded. “We’ll make sure they note the shadows then we’ll project where they would be a month from now.” Just as Jack started to settle in his phone rang again. His eyes held an apology, first to me, then to Todd, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to answer it. “Sorry, I’ll be right back.”

Jack answered the phone as he slipped out the door again.

I assumed he had taken the hint that Todd and I didn’t particularly enjoy having to mute ourselves while Jack was on the phone, and had chosen to give us space to continue our conversation. Jack’s room was kitty-corner to mine, so it didn’t take much for him to slip out across the hall to have a conversation away from other hotel guests’ wandering ears.

Which was pleasant given that our motel room set up usually forced Todd and me to subject ourselves to the constant stream of Jack’s calls. And it was looking very much like we’d be returning to a motel sooner rather than later.

I didn’t relish the thought of having to travel all the way back to Huntington to have another conversation with Lenore. I was growing as tired as dirt, and was hoping we’d stay in place for a couple of days. Partially, so I could enjoy the hotel and its high thread count sheets—not that I knew what was a good thread count to start with—and fancy glass-encased shower.

I flattened myself out on the bed, soaking in all the comfort I could get, and nuzzled my face into the folded crooks of my elbows. “What are the chances we’ll be staying here tonight?”

Todd’s response was swift. “Fifty-fifty.”

Either, or. Not overly helpful, it was like saying both yes and no.

I paused a moment, thinking about Todd’s comment about the vampire hunters, and how his words made me feel. “You know, what you said about opposites earlier surprised me.”

“Because it was deep?”

I shrugged.

“Want to know a secret?” Todd rolled himself over so that we were shoulder to shoulder, the bed dipping where we touched. When I nodded, he pushed himself off the bed to his feet. “I read it off a mug.”

I groaned into my arms. Of course, he did. “And here I was trying to give you a compliment.”

“And I’ll take it. Don’t let the tattoos fool you. I can be deep when I want to be.”

The door clicked shut. Jack entered in silence, his face sullen. Disappointed. The mood in the room changed. I sat up, exchanging a quick look with Todd, before breaking the silence. “What? What’s wrong?”

“You’re not going to like this.” Jack’s words were directed at me. “We’ve got a confession.”

†

I let out a string of curses from behind the one-way mirror. Jack was right. I didn’t like it.

We’d dropped everything and driven the three hours back to Huntington where the confessor was being held by local police, and I did not like what I saw.

The person who had confessed to murdering the familiars sat in front of us, patient, calm, with her hands cuffed to the metal table. It was almost like she was at peace. Contented to be under lock and key. Like she wanted to be guilty.

“She was at the gathering.” Todd kept his eyes on the confessor, exhaling with a hot huff.

Yes, yes, she was.