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The wohtly "At the warehouse?"

"Yes At the warehouse" My saze penetrates deeper This woman is mentally un?stable She has secret perversions My eyes do not cause her to flinch She is fond of young woirls even I wonder about Mr Fender I add, "May I come in?"

"Pardon?"

"I have to make a call May I use your phone?" I add, "Don&039;t worry, I don&039;t bite"

I have pushed the right button She enjoys being bitten Her son drinks her blood with her consent Even I, an immoral beast, have never been drawn to incestuous relationships Of course, in the literal sense of the word, we are not talking about incest Still, the Brady Bunch would never survive in this house She opens the screen door for me

"Of course," she says "Please come in Who do you have to call?"

"My brother"

"Oh"

I step inside, my sense of smell on alert Eddie has recently slept in this house Shehis aversion to the sun My ability to handle the sun is hopefully ainst this creature Even Yaksha, many times more powerful than myself, was far less com?fortable in the sun than I am Secretly I pray Eddie can&039;t even leave the house in the daylight hours without wearing sunscreen with an SPF of 100 or better, like Ray Although my senses study the interior of the house, my ears never leave the exterior I can?not be taken unaware, like before Mrs Fender leads-a back issue of Mad Magazine Actually, I kind of like Mad Magazine

I dial a phony number and speak to no one I&039;m at Eddie&039;s house He&039;s not here I&039;ll be a fewdown the phone, I stare at the woht?" I ask

"No Why would he call? He just left a couple of hours ago"

I take a step toward her "No one&039;s called?"

"No"

She&039;s lying The FBI has called, probably Joel himself Yet Joel, or anyone else for that matter-with the exception of Eddie-has not been in the house recently I would se The authorities will converge on this place sooner or later That fact may not be as crucial as it appears Eddie would not easily walk into a trap, and clearly he does not meet with his cohorts in this

house The warehouse is the key I need the address Taking another step forward, I force the wo room from the messy kitchen My eyes are all over her, all she sees There is no time for subtlety Fear blossoms inside her chest but also awe Her will is weird but weak I stop only a foot away

"I a to visit Eddie now," I say softly "Tell me the best way to the warehouse from here"

She speaks like a puppet "Take Hawthorne Boule?vard east to Washington Turn right and go down to Winston" She blinks and coughs "It&039;s there"

I pressscent "You will not remember that I was here There is no Kathy Gibson There is no pretty blond girl No visitor stopped by The FBI didn&039;t even call But if they should call again, tell the time" I put my palm on the woman&039;s forehead, whisper in her ear "You understand?"

She stares into space "Yes"

"Good" My lips brush her neck, but I don&039;t bite But if Eddie pisses le his mother in front of him "Goodbye, Mrs Fender"

Yet as I leave the house I note a cold draft from the back rooms I feel the vibration of an electric e freez?er next to one of the back bedrooestions, however, and to return may upset the woman&039;s delicate state of illusion Also, I have the location of the warehouse, and finding Eddie is my first priority If need be, I can return later and search the rest of the house