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AS HE RODE BACK INTO TOWN, worn and weary, Cody saw the group gathered at the cerave, fists clenched at her sides as she stared wordlessly at Cole Granger

"Oh, hell," Cody muttered

"Maybe you should have talked to her, broken it to her gently," Brendan said

Cody scowled at his friend "You think I should have told her that her father ?"

Cody kneed his tired horse and galloped toward the ceed his own horse to hurry and followed As they approached, several of the people who had been tending the fire greeted them, but Cody only waved distractedly as he leaped off his horse, threw the reins over the fence and strode quickly toward the tense scene on the hill

"What&039;s theas Cody approached "How dare you dig up rave-any of these graves Why did you do it, Cole? Why?"

Cody knew the , because she stiffened, her eyes narrowing in fury His stomach took a dive

"Alex," he said sharply "Don&039;t lash into Cole-none of this is his fault or even his doing If you need to blame someone, blame me"

"Cody, it&039;s all right, I can take care of ain, Alex walked over to hi, hard strides and shoved hirateful for your knowledge and help, everyone has done everything you&039;ve ordered But now you&039;re taking advantage of this co to decide who you should disinter and chop to pieces? What kind of a ghoul are you?"

She slaht her wrists "Alex, listen We didn&039;t choose anything We only did e had to do I&039;iven hi up these people? Why did you dig up my father?" she de the themselves out"

"What?" Her eyes widened in shocked realization

"You knohat vampires are-you&039;ve seen them When a person is bled to death by a vampire, they come back How the hell did you think it happened?"

She shook her head "Butthey were in their graves! Cole said you had to decapitate them, like the man who died in the street, like the vaht"

"Yes," Cody said

She stared froraves? Buteren&039;t they with Milo?"

"Milo doesn&039;t want everyone he infects He leaves the, desperate, deadly newborns Alex, we let the, don&039;t you understand?"

"And my father? You did that to

"No," Cole told her

"Why not?"

"Because he wasn&039;t in his grave"

She stared at hi Then she turned and raced down the hill to where her mare was tethered Sheup dust, horse and rider went racing off toward town

"Where in hell is she going?" Dave demanded

Cody didn&039;t answer hi Alex

A LEX COULD HAVE HEADED straight to the lodging house Beulah always kept alcohol on hand-for medicinal purposes, the cook said-and she could have chosen from brandy, sherry and perhaps soo ho fro thepost in front Then she strode through the swinging doors and walked straight to the bar

Roscoe looked at her, hesitant As if he was afraid of her

"I&039;d like a whiskey, Roscoe," she said

"Uhpardon?" he said, blinking

"I would like a whiskey," she repeated more slowly

"Miss Alex"

"A whiskey, Roscoe," she said

He nodded, turned and poured her a drink Alex took a long s, and a shudder racked her body She grimaced God, the stuff tasted awful

But as it burned its way down her throat and into her stoth

They were all crazy, she thought Her father was not a va like Milo Roundtree

"Miss Alex?"

She spun around Jigs was sitting on the piano bench, his back toward the keys

"Hey, Jigs," she said glumly, then looked at him more closely She frowned He looked tired, ashen

"Are you all right?" she asked him

"I reckon I&039;ht kindly been sleeping here the last couple of nights He keeps vigil froht to 4:00 am, then I take over for a few hours, and then Roscoe"

She heard footsteps and looked up Linda was co down the stairs Alex tried to watch her objectively It was just so difficult, seeing Linda-Linda Gordon, that was her name now-so blithe and overt about her proene Gordon had done her the honor ofher his wife When Alex had left after their conversation the other day, she had found herself actually liking the woht now, on top of what she&039;d just learned about her father, Linda, in all her skimpy finery, was the last person Alex wanted to see

"What&039;s the matter, sweetie?" Linda asked casually on her way to the bar

"You watched theht? Ithe future, before he was buried, were you?" Alex asked

Linda started, then smiled slowly "Ooh Sweet little Alex has claws"

"Just answer me Please"

The amusement on the other woman&039;s features faded "Of course I was at his funeral Which you didn&039;t attend, I ht add"

"I didn&039;t even knoas dead You know da before the letters ever reached me," Alex said

Linda still seemed wary after Alex&039;s initial attack "I saw him buried, yes Jisby to make sure he was buried with a full Christian cereet a chance to answer Cody, as suddenly standing just inside the swinging doors, spoke for her "Because he&039;s not in his grave That&039;s why"

Linda looked frorave," she said, as if they&039;d both lost their rave the other day The earth was already disturbed, and his coffin wasn&039;t sealed And he wasn&039;t in it"

Linda shook her head, wrinkling her nose prettily "I don&039;t understand Are you accusinganyone of anything," Cody said, walking over to join the a fact"

"Oh, yes, you are," Alex said, rounding on hi a vampire Like Milo Roundtree"

"I never said he was like Milo Roundtree," Cody argued

"God in heaven," Roscoe breathed, pouring a whiskey into the shot glass and downing it in one swift movement

"But they all have to be destroyed They&039;re all ht?" Alex demanded

Cody was stubbornly silent

Alex looked at Linda again "Tellaround outside your balcony, calling to you-quoting from Cyrano, maybe Or maybe Shakespeare He always loved Shakespeare Maybe he&039;s playing Ro to entice his Juliet to come out and have her neck bitten and her blood sucked dry!"

"Alex," Lindaon hysterics, and she knew it She should have gone hoo ho past Cody totheir horses and stepping up onto the wooden sidewalk "Alex," Cole said sympathetically "One of us should have-"

"Not now, Cole," she said Without another word, she collected Cheyenne&039;s reins and led her horse ho her around the side of the house to the stable Levyat the barn door to take the horse froht?" he asked her

"What the hell does &039;all right&039; even mean around here anymore?" she asked hih the ripped her and touched so in her heart

She forced a s?"

"Good, Miss Alex I feel good, and angry-and strong," he assured her

"Thank you, Levy" She turned and started toward the back door of the boardinghouse, then stopped and looked back at hied "No, not really Well, not that I remember, anyway"

"Have you ever dreamed about my father?"

"No, Miss Alex" He frowned, clearly confused by the question

She shook her head, hesitating, as she felt tears welling in her eyes She blinked them back "If you ever should drea for help, or just looking for you-don&039;t go to hio to hio to hi at her, but not in a way that suggested she was crazy

No, it was a look of helplessness

She smiled sadly, shook her head and went inside

She passed through the kitchen, where Beulah was preparing dinner, stirring so at the table, peeling potatoes, and Jeas next to her, snapping peas

"There you are, Alex I was about to get worried I wonder if theo ahead and wash up Won&039;t be long now till the food is ready," Beulah said