"Fine. Gimme a coupla minutes. Go find a charger, juice up, and I"ll call you back."
"Oh, man, here we go." The local police officer wiped the sweat from his brow as he spoke to his partner. "I get so tired of this stupid s.h.i.t, Dwayne, I"m about to turn in my badge."
"Yeah, it isn"t even dark and the crazies are out. What is it about s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g with mausoleums, huh, Leroy? Why desecrate the dead? That is so disgusting." He peered in and held his nose. "Man, the bodies ain"t even in the caskets."
"What? Don"t tell me some old maggoty bones were left on the ground for stray dogs to yank all over the placea"that is so nasty!"
"Naw, man. The bodies ain"t in there."
"You think we should bother calling this in, with all the h.e.l.l that"s been breaking loose here lately?"
"Do you wanna be standing in a graveyard all night on vandalism detail all because a couple of punks turned over some old-a.s.s graves and flung ashes everywhere? Because the bodies are missing, you and I both know that"s a lot of paperwork for felonious acts, taking it up from just being a stupid pledge prank. So you tell me, partner, if that"s what you wanna do tonight."
"h.e.l.l to the no, partner. Put it in the report tomorrow morning ... we could say we had to respond to a more immediate situation, but we"ll report it so the family can get their insurance claim. You know, tell the truth all way up till the last part... we got the anonymous tip that something was going on over here, we came, we saw, and then we had to leave to provide backup to another officer."
He whipped out his cell phone and called their buddies in another squad car. As soon as the call picked up, he hit speaker. "Yo, Jeff, we got us a bulls.h.i.t detail here, wanna ask for some backup? No, not you coming to us, us coming to you. Isn"t there a curfew violator that"s getting a little rowdy?"
Laughter filled the cell phone and the officers pounded each other"s fists.
"Cool."
They both looked at each other as their NOPD patrol car radio squawked.
"Like I said, we had to pursue another incident of higher priority."
Sasha tapped her foot as she waited for her phone to charge while sitting in the back of the darkened electronics store. Everything seemed to be hurry up and wait, and she was glad to at least be able to write down a list of names provided by Winters.
"Slow down, slow down, Sparky," she said, writing the names down quickly on the back of some receipt paper she"d pilfered. "Can you give me a sublista"like kids they went to school with from around here." She let her breath out hard. "I know there are hundreds of condolence notes on there. Well, if you"re gonna whine, put Clarissa on the phone."
All her old contacts were still in hiding in the sidhe, including Ethan McGregor and his family. It would have been a big help to have his wife, Margaret, a nurse from Tulane Hospital, on the scene. But who could blame the couple for going on hiatus until every evil being involved in that last big debacle was brought to justice? The McGregors had kids to worry about; in their position she"d be locked away in the sidhe, too. Then there was the little Pixie who lived in the tea-house gardens, or used to, anyway ... it would have been great to ask her if she"d experienced any more Were invasions on the grounds, but she was long gone, too.
Sasha kept walking. Most of the kids on the FB pages that Winters had hacked lived in off-campus apartments. There was a common theme, though: It seemed to be a Goth crowd, based on what he"d told her. The couple of pics he"d sent confirmed it, and she was sure if the police and FBI were diligently doing their jobs like she a.s.sumed, none of these kids would want to talk to anybody with a badge. On the other hand, after having interviewed the first five very tearful teens, even the sublist of twenty-five students to talk to seemed daunting.
She took out her cell phone again and looked at the pics. Maybe she was going about this all wrong. The FB comments from some of the friends of the victims had a decidedly Vampire-like theme. Zeroing in on the angrier responses, she studied Fanglegnd4eva. You guys were supposed to live 4evera"this sux.
Okaaaay . . . Sasha quickly called Winters back. "Dude," she said, beginning to jog. "Can you get into Fanglegnd4eva"s page? This guy seems really ticked about their deaths."
"A lot of people process their grief by getting p.i.s.sed off, Trudeau. My two seconds of pop psych for the trouble."
"Yeah, I know," she said, listening to Winters"s fingers click the keyboard. "But he made your top twenty-five list because he kept posting and posting, asking them if they"d "come back," and then challenged them to not forget their friends, right?"
"Kinda freaky, kinda sada"but yeah . .. and bingo, got an address with a regular name. Dude is Lawrence DeWitt. He just posted, too, saying screw the police, tomorrow night there"s gonna be a rave in honor of their friends that got suckered by suckers."
"You"re the man, Winters," Sasha said, memorizing the location.
"My kung fu is strong," he said, laughing, and then clicked off the call.
In and out of a shadow, she arrived under a street lamp in front of a run-down apartment building that still seemed to have flood damage stains on the crumbling outer walls. All the lights in the building were on, but in a place like this there was always a closet shadow.
Sasha stared up at the fourth floor where Lawrence DeWitt lived. There were no names on any of the doorbells, and she wasn"t inclined to hang outside and ring, anyway. A hunch tugged at her gut. This guy"s posts sounded like someone who had a real axe to grind . . . like a person who might have been promised one thing and then something totally screwed up happened. Plus, it was a young couple in the Goth scenea"and she wondered now if they might also have been in the Vamp rave scene. Coincidence that they both ended up dead? Not.
Boldly playing that hunch, Sasha left her fake badge in her back pocket and entered the building with ease. The hallway smelled like burnt microwave popcorn, bug spray, mold, old cheese, and weed. She made a face and took the stairs two at a time all the way to the fourth floor. Oh, yeah, the marijuana was coming from DeWitt"s place. But when she got to the front door, she stopped and sniffed harder. Why in the world was garlic stinging her nose?
Listening closely through the blaring heavy metal, she could hear DeWitt moving around in his apartment. Small moves. Someone-seated moves. Sasha went to the end of the hall, entered a shadow, came out in a coat closet, and then opened the door.
"Hey, Lawrence," she said, allowing her inner wolf to help make her eyes glow. It was the first time in her life she"d intentionally scared a human with her supernatural ability, but she needed answers, and time didn"t allow for finesse.
He shrieked and leaped out of his chair, his chubby rolls jiggling as he grabbed a gallon jug of water and brandished it in front of him. "How did you get in here! You can"t cross without an invitation. I have Holy Water. Get back!"
"Wow . . ." Sasha was at a momentary loss for words. This poor kid actually did think she was a Vampire. So her little ruse had struck a nerve. Somehow she suspected that if she showed him canines, he might have a coronary. Rather than have a medical emergency, she stayed still to allow him to calm down. "I just want to talk."
"I didn"t do it. Yeah, we were all p.i.s.sed, but we didn"t do the graveyard thing. We wouldn"t be that stupid."
"Okay," Sasha said leaning against the wall. "Who did?"
"I don"t know. A bunch of us were gonna go out there later tonight to find our mentors and ask what happened to Jim and Tanya, but when Mouse rode by there on his bike, he saw the mausoleum trashed and was like, we are so screwed, because it"ll seem like we"re involved when we aren"t!"
"All right, all right," Sasha said, holding up a hand. "Relax."
She sighed as Lawrence started crying. Huge tears rolled down his fat face; his mascara was running. Every few seconds he"d wipe his cheeks, flashing her black nail polish, and she focused on the big, dime-size holes in his ears that the black steel disks made.
"Can I at least finish my joint before you rip out my heart? I know you don"t believe me ... I know this is the part where you say I"m not going to hurt you but then you make me scream like a little b.i.t.c.h."
Sasha shook her head. "Some of my colleagues might be inclined to do that, but tonight is your lucky night. All I want to know is what happened." She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and pushed the video b.u.t.ton. "Tell me."
"Oh, G.o.d, oh, G.o.d, I"m going to be in a Vamp snuff video! I mean, not oh G.o.da"I"m sorry, I didn"t mean to say that word. Oh, Jesus, please .. ."
"Gimme a break," Sasha snarled. "I"m not going to snuff youa"but I do need your version of what happened for the record so that n.o.body else decides to. Now talk!"
"Jim did everything he was supposed to do," DeWitt said, sniffing. He clutched the plastic jug of Holy Water to his chest as though still not convinced he wouldn"t die. "He"d gotten all the way up there .. . brought plenty of donors, worked at the club as a human helper. He was even tattooed and ready to descend ... all he had to do was bring them a body and he"d get the bite."
"And he brought them their sacrifice?"
"Yeah. A virgin. Some Asian chick in Tanya"s lab."
Sasha coolly nodded to remain in character, even though sickened to her stomach. "So what went wrong?"
"Can I have my joint?" DeWitt looked at the smoldering roach in his ashtray.
Sasha motioned to the Marlboro reds on the kitchen counter. "Try those, stay lucid at least while you"re talking to me."
"Oh, s.h.i.t, oh, s.h.i.t, I knew it... you guys don"t like pollutants in the blood anda""
"I"m not going to bite you or kill you, and I"m not worrying about you making me high off a couple of tokes." Sasha walked over to the kitchen counter, tossed DeWitt his smokes, then went to the ashtray and crushed out his roach. "But I want you to clearly remember what happened so I can try to save your life, you little s.h.i.t.. . even though you didn"t give a d.a.m.n about that poor girl you guys gave to the . . . community." She put one hand on her hip and tried to steady her cell phone as she clamped her mouth shut, glad that she"d stopped her rant just short of calling Vampires, which she was supposed to be, Vampsa"a slur in their world.
"Me and Jim got her on campus . .. Tanya called her and said she wanted to study late to go over her part of the projecta"so getting to her was easy. She was really tiny, you know, fragile, so it was easy to grab her and tie her upa"smash some duct tape on her mouth. Then Jim took her in his trunk to the club."
"The Blood Oasis," Sasha said flatly, trying not to bare canines.
"Yeah, where else. That"s where he always met his mentor. Ariel was really excited, said he"d done good because they wanted the Asian chick for some big event going down in the bayou. Told Jim to get his girlfriend and stand bya"later that night was gonna be it."" DeWitt"s hands shook as he managed a cigarette and lit it without letting go of the Holy Water. "But, see, that"s where things got all f.u.c.ked up. My tight never came back. He and his girl were gone all night and we were all celebrating our a.s.ses off, because one of our own had descended, had become an undead. We were like waiting on the next nighta"it was gonna be glorious. I knew Jimmy would come back and make me first. . . that"s what was supposed to happen. Our whole crew would be in with him and Tanya."
DeWitt took an unsteady drag on his cigarette with a trembling hand as new tears welled up in his bloodshot hazel eyes. "But they came back in a f.u.c.king Dumpster in pieces like they were an appetizer or some really whack s.h.i.t. It just wasn"t right."
"Disappointing, I"m sure," Sasha said in a flat tone, eyeing DeWitt. "But probably no more disappointing than what the family of that girl is experiencing."
"I mean, c"mon," DeWitt said, dragging hard on his cigarette. "She was a n.o.body, not even into the dark side. Besides, how many Asian chicks arc there in thea""
Sasha had crossed the room so quickly that DeWitt never even got to scream. She held him by the throat and pressed the Holy Water in his arms hard with her torso until it seemed like he couldn"t breathe. Furious, she angled the cell phone camera over his head, close to biting his face off, but instead crushed his fallen b.u.t.t under her heel to avoid an apartment fire on the cheap rug.
"What was her name!"
"I don"t know," DeWitt stammered, glimpsing down at the Holy Water that separated them. "Wait, wait," he said, choking as Sasha"s grip tightened. "Amy Chen, I think."
She stepped away from Lawrence DeWitt and wiped off the hand she"d held him with on her jeans back pocket. She s.n.a.t.c.hed the Holy Water from him, set it down on the coffee table, and glared at the foolish student in front of her.
"That girl was a human being, which is more than I"d call youa"you little t.u.r.d. She had to have a family, had to have people who loved hera"people who are waiting and wondering when she"ll come home ... lighting candles and praying . . . and you gave her up for your own personal games? I oughta rip your heart out myself, but you"ll find a way to allow the Vampires to do that one night, I"m so sure." She pointed to the Holy Water. "That only works if you believe in the power of the Light over the darkness." Then she walked around the room and s.n.a.t.c.hed down hanging garlic cloves. "This will only p.i.s.s a Vampire off. While you"re jerking off on Internet p.o.r.n tonight, I suggest you do some real research and keep your dumb a.s.s alive."
Sasha flung open the smelly closet door and was gone. Despair and fury collided in the center of her chest. How had the Vamps seduced so many when what they did was so foul? She came out in the middle of the street in a car shadow so angry that she was nearly in tears. Amy Chen was as good as dead, but she"d call Winters to get a pic as soon as she calmed down. Now that she knew what body had been used, it might be easier to flash around a photo to see if anybody in the supernatural communities had seen Lady Jung Suk. The sick thing was, she was going to have to try to keep Lawrence DeWitt alive long enough to haul his fat a.s.s in as a possible witness.
Working quickly, Sasha uploaded the video to Winters for safekeeping at NORAD. After all that she"d been through in dealing with Vamps, she knew Murphy"s Law followed her around like a little black rain cloud. It would be all that she needed to lose her freaking cell phone during a clothing shed or a ground fight, and she really didn"t have it in her to go back and get another confession from DeWitt without killing him. As soon as the transmission went through, she sent Winters a quick text: Lock it up tight. This might save my a.s.s one night. Thx. She shoved the unit back into her jeans pocket and headed toward a series of shadows across the street.
A hard vibration thrummed against Sasha"s backside and she whipped out her cell phone again quickly, thinking it was Winters responding. Instead a quick confirmation text popped up from him while Shogun"s sad voice filled the receiver. Sasha simply closed her eyes as Shogun spoke.
"Thanks, Shogun. I can"t even imagine how her parents reacted," Sasha murmured. "I got a confirmation on the name . . . yeah, same girl. Just get back to the sidhe, okay ... it"s a real bad moon out here tonight."
CHAPTER 15.
Sasha released a long, mournful howl, and within minutes Hunter met her in the graveyard. She pointed at the desecrated mausoleum. "Ariel Beauchamp and a couple of his lady friends apparently used to live here."
"Did you do that this afternoon?" Hunter said with a sly smile. "I thought we were supposed to take the subtle approach, but nice work."
"Nah. Wish I did, though." She let out a hard breath and placed both hands on her hips. "Kids claimed they didn"t do it, either. But it doesn"t make sense for Lady Jung Suk to have done thisa"unless the Vamps reneged on some deal she"d made with them?"
"Kids?" Hunter"s expression instantly sobered.
She stared at Hunter, becoming nauseous again at the thought. "Yeah . . . you"ll never believe some immortality seekers on campus kidnapped an innocent girl and gave her over to those bloodsuckers, and in exchange one of their friends was supposed to get the permanent life bite. From there, their little plan was to infect all their friends and have a great ol" time forever at the Blood Oasis."
"You have got to be kidding me." Hunter raked his fingers through his hair.
"I wish I was," Sasha said, shaking her head as she sniffed the remnants of Vampire ash. "Amy Chen was her name . .. Shogun called me and I could tell just by the sound of his voice that her parents are destroyed. I don"t think I"ve ever heard Shogun sound so upset."
Hunter nodded. "Given the circ.u.mstances, he had the toughest detail in the group. Where is he now?"
"On his way back to the sidhe with Sir Rodney."
"Good." Hunter walked closer to the mausoleum and made a face as he peered in and then jogged back to where Sasha stood. "If they had anything to do with that, they won"t live very long and I"m not sure there"s much we can do about it."
Sasha nodded and pulled out her cell phone. "Get a load of this." She replayed DeWitt"s interrogation.
"Send it to Sir Rodney. Even if he"s in the sidhe now and the transmission can"t go through until he exits, the message will be stored and waiting for him."
"Yeah, can"t have too many copies of this floating around," Sasha said, manipulating her phone as they began walking. "But it"s just the beginning. All this shows is that the vamps had an Asian girl abducted, whom we have to presume is dead or inhabited ... and that they most likely killed the two students who were once in their employ. But it still doesn"t definitively link them to aiding and abetting a fugitivea"Lady Jung Suk."
"We"ll definitely need something harder to go on in order to show Vamp wrongdoing," Hunter said in a low rumble. "But now that we have a face ..."
"Great minds think alike." Sasha stared at him, enjoying the fullness of the moon for a few seconds.
Hunter reached out and caressed her cheek. "We"re going to beat this together."
"How sweet," a light male voice said, making Sasha and Hunter whirl on the sound.
Within seconds, blurs surrounded them to quickly materialize into Vampires.
"Adding to your offenses tonight?" a tall platinum-blond male said with a sneer. His onyx eyes held cold fury, and his black leather coat billowed out behind him as he looked at the destruction of Ariel Beau-champ"s mausoleum.
"We didn"t do this," Hunter said. "But I so wish we had."
Vampires hissed and levitated two inches above the ground. Sasha counted them quickly. Ten seasoned warriors against the two of them did not make for good odds. For a moment she considered the cell phone evidence in her pocket, but then thought better of it. DeWitt would have a target on his scruffy neck. She couldn"t sentence a nineteen-year-old to Vampire retaliation, no matter how much he deserved it.
"Let us pa.s.s and there will be no bloodshed," Hunter said evenly, his eyes already glowing.
"But we love bloodshed," the group leader said and then flew at Hunter, claws extended.
His wolf savaged a limb, tearing at flesh and bone as the attacker screeched and yanked away to lob a solid blow. Vampires flew up, circled, and then dove in again. Sasha went airborne, catching the first attacker in the throat as Hunter shook off the punch and disemboweled him. Rolling out of the way of extended claws, Sasha missed a swipe just as another Vampire leaped onto Hunter"s back. But a third wolf hurdled over a gravestone, ripping out that Vampire"s spinal column. Shogun threw his head back and howled. From a shadow, Crow exited with a thick tree branch in hand and staked through the back the Vampire who was headed toward Sasha.
Coalescing into an angry funnel cloud of bats, the seven survivors swept away. Breathing heavily, Crow Shadow jogged over to where Sasha, Hunter, and Shogun had transformed back into their human forms.
"I thought I gave you a direct order to stay in Denver," Hunter growled, out of breath, as he began tugging on his pants.
"My sister . . . family emergency rules apply, man," Crow Shadow said, resting his hands on his knees as he bent to suck in huge gulps of air. "Good to see you, too."
"And you were on your way to the sidhe," Sasha said, pulling on her T-shirt, giving Shogun a sidelong look.
"Heard your howl, knew it was wara"we don"t leave our own." Shogun pounded Hunter"s fist as he picked up his pants.