Page 44 (1/2)

Roxana’s char

I bent down and spoke quietly in Kane’s ear It twitched as he listened "The last ti by that crashed taxi Mab was inspecting the driver’s injuries, I stood beside her, and Juliet was behind us We stood there for a one"

Kane nudged at the plastic bag I held I removed Juliet’s sweater and held it out to hi his tiround Hepeople out of the way or scooting between their legs, trying to find the scent Itto sniff out one vah, Kane froze He raised his head and yipped quietly, looking back at ot it?" I ain He broke out of the crowd and moved toward Beacon Street at a swift trot

At the intersection, Kane turned right on Beacon He went maybe a dozen yards and then veered toward the curb Beside a parked car, he stopped and raised his head He looked up and down the street, nostrils flaring, trying to catch a scent on the wind Then he squeezed between two parked cars, stepping into the street He walked slowly along the street side of the cars, sniffing the ground There wasn’t ht, but I watched for cars co from Beacon Hill

Kane bounded across the street and paced up and down the sidewalk there After a few minutes, he returned to where I stood He sat and shook his head

"So the trail disappears right here?"

He nodded He got up on his hind legs, leaning his front paws against a car, and then looked down the street

"Yeah, that must be what happened They put her in soainst the parked car Damned dead end Nohat? The Old Ones had Juliet Myrddin had the bloodstone, and Mab was aging by the ic And in forty-eight hours, someone else would die

It wasto stop the Reaper--and frustrate Myrddin’s plans But I couldn’t do it alone

"I’ine Detective Costello would be happy to see ood atin the way But if I told him where the Reaper would strike next, he could flood the place with cops and, with luck, prevent the final s with Myrddin

We made our way back to the crime scene The crowd had thinned There wasn’tover the place, a photographer taking photos, cops standing around talking

Standing beside the Channel 10 On-the-Scene News van was Lynne Hong, investigative reporter Lynne had been dating Daniel since the Paranormal Appreciation Day concert She was pretty and petite and, right now, reeting when she saw aze back to the crime scene

"Is Daniel here?" I asked

"Yes Not that it’s doing ood There’s been no official stateood is dating a cop if you can’t get inside inforone out with Daniel a few tiood reasons to date hian

"They’re keeping all the reporters way back," she said, as if I hadn’t spoken "We couldn’t even get a decent shot of the a the body"

"I need to talk to Daniel Can you point out where he is?"

"Why?" Her head whipped around, and she looked at h she’d only just realized I stood beside her "Do you have infor to follow up on?"

Her eyes shone with eagerness ADeadtown’s zo, who’d been slow to cover the story Now that hu to give her any scoops I shook my head and walked away

"He’s over there," she called I turned around to see where she was pointing, then waved my thanks

As I walked in the direction Lynne had indicated, I noticed that all the police activity was on the strip of grass between Back Street and Storrow Drive There were no cops in the place where Mab and I had been cornered by Myrddin’s vampire allies That area wasn’t one No bodies lay in the street Not even the SUV Myrddin had blasted remained

The Old Ones had done one hell of a clean-up job And fast But why bother?

I could think of only one reason They must have feared the vampire, the one I didn’t kill, would betray therip on Juliet, who’d run away Maybe they worried their poas slipping

At the crime scene’s perimeter, a uniformed cop stood with his ar to look tough Probably not the best cop to approach, but he was closest to Daniel I stopped in front of hiave me a distinctly unfriendly look