Page 36 (1/2)

“I didn’t knoe had a choice”

“We’re the vampire experts All you have to do is tell the local cops that it’s too dangerous when they’re awake You don’t want anyone to get caught by the vaaze Or, as athe less dangerous assignments for the newbies”

“I’ll try that next time” His face was all serious, but his head was so not in the game

“When all this is over, I’ll be happy to sit down over coffee and talk I’ll share all the tips I’ve learned over the years for keeping the personal horror level low, or as low as possible on this job, but right noe have work to do Bobby needs you, Newhtmares Can you do that?”

He nodded, taking a big breath and letting it out in a big rush “You’re right We have to try to buy time for Bobby I’ll take you up on that coffee later” He shoved the anger down so that his eyes were alo see if the state forensic people are here yet”

His voice was even, uneer If I hadn’t known he’d take it wrong, I’d have patted him on the back and said Atta boy Men stuff their emotions because life and death are more

important than any emotion If you don’t survive, then what the fuck does it matter? I was one of the boys in more ways than one I’d teach Newe from the survival was someone else’s job

13

NEWMAN AND I, along with so a fight in the living roo room was the size of ant furniture done in silky-looking brocade in shades of pink, creaundy with hints of the sa in shapes that I think were supposed to be flowers There were real oil paintings on the walls, and I’d have bet that all the knickknacks were real antiques It lookedroo room There were chairs, two couches, and a love seat, but none of us was sitting down I think ere all afraid to muss the furniture

“You cannot put one of our people in the cell with a wereani soston of the state cops declared loudly He wasn’t quite yelling yet, but he was getting more forceful every time he said no

The urge to say Captain Livingston, I presu His parents had actually naston, like the fah the last nastone, but they were pronounced the same, so he’d probably heard the joke a bajillion times It made it easier for me to resist

It had seeet prints from Bobby Marchand to compare to the ones at the house, and half of it was simple The forensic team from the state police was happy to collect evidence at the house, but we needed evidence from Bobby’s body At minimum we needed his feet to be printed, and that meant either one of the techs went inside the cell with him, or he came out of the cell to us

“I will not let that er anyone else,” Sheriff Leduc said, also not quite yelling

“Well, you’re not endangering one of ston said

He was looht since he was only a couple of inches taller, but where Duke had let histon had not The captain was big, lean, and if his short, nearly buzzed hair hadn’t been er Once he took his hat off and I could see the hair, I’d known to notice the extra sray eyes and the parentheses around his ested that every sentence he’d spoken had left its mark around his lips His ot, the thinner his lips seemed I was never sure how sory or sad