Was there not something else you wanted to tell me? Amelie asked, just before she went out. Claire glanced back; the vampire was still staring into the fire. Did you not have another request?
I dont know what youre talking about.
Amelie sighed. Someone asked you for a favor.
Michael. Claire swallowed hard. Michael wants to talk to you.
Amelie nodded. Her expression didnt change.
What do I tell him? Claire asked.
That is entirely your affair. Tell him the truththat you did not care enough to deliver his message. Amelie waved a hand without even looking toward her. Go.
Lisa was sitting in the living room, frowning, arms folded, when Claire came back down the hall. She still looked fierce, never mind the bunny slippers, as she stood up to open the locks on the front door. Warrior princess on vacation, Claire thought. She guessed you grew up tough in Morganville, especially if you lived in a house Amelie could visit any time she felt like it.
Bad news, Lisa said. Right?
Did it show that much? Right, Claire said, and wiped at her eyes again with the handkerchief. She shoved it in her pocket and sniffled miserably. But Im not giving up.
Good, Lisa said. Now, when I open this door, youre gonna want to hurry. Go straight to the car out there. Dont look left or right.
Why? Is there something?
Morganville rules, Claire. Learn them, live them, survive them. Now go! Lisa yanked open the door, put a hand flat on Claires back, and propelled her out onto the porch. A second later, Lisa slammed the door, and Claire heard the rattle of the locks being turned. She got her balance, jumped down the steps, and hustled down the dark path and through the picket gate, and yanked open the passenger door of the car. She scrambled in and hit the lock, and then relaxed.
Im okay, she said, and turned to Detective Hess.
He wasnt there.
The drivers seat was empty. The keys were still in the ignition, the engine was idling, and the radio was playing softly. But the car was completely empty, except for her.
Oh God, Claire whispered. Oh God oh God oh God. Because she could drive the car, but that would mean stranding Detective Hess, if hed gone off doing police things. Stranding him without his partner to help him. Shed seen enough cop shows to know that wasnt a good idea. Maybe hed just gone off to talk to somebody and was coming right backor maybe hed been snatched out of the car by some hungry vamp. But didnt Hess have some kind of special Protection?
She had no idea what to do.
While she was thinking about it, she heard voices. Not loud, but a steady stream of conversation. It sounded like Detective Hess, and he wasnt far away. Claire cautiously rolled down the window and listened hard; she couldnt make out any words, but there were definitely voices.
Claire unlocked her door and eased it open, straining to catch the words, but they were just sound, no meaning. She hesitated, then slipped out of the car, eased the door shut, and hurried toward the sound of the voices. Yes, that was Detective Hess; she recognized his voice. No question about it.
She didnt even realize where she was goingshe was so intent on listeninguntil she realized how dark it was, and the words werent getting any clearer, and she wasnt at all sure now that was Detective Hesss voice after all.
And she was halfway down an alley with tall, rough board fence on both sides, trapping her.
Shed gone into the alley. Why the hell had she done that? Hess had warned her. Gramma had warned her. And she hadnt listened!
Claire tried to turn around, she really tried, but then the whispers came again, and yes, for sure that was Detective Hess, there was no safety back there in the car, the car was a trap waiting to spring, and if she could just get to the end of the alley shed be safe, Detective Hess would keep her safe, and shed be
Claire.
It was a cold, clear voice, falling on her like ice down her back, and it shocked her right out of the trance shed fallen into. Claire looked up. On the second story of Grammas house, bordering the alley, a slender white figure stood in the window, staring down.
Amelie.
Go back, she said, and then the window was empty, curtains blowing in the wind.
Claire gasped, turned, and ran as fast as she could out of the alley. She could feel it at her back, pulling at herit, whatever it was, it wasnt a vampire as she understood vamps in Morganville; it was something else, something worse. Trapdoor spider, that was how Gramma and Lisa had described it. Panic whited out its song in her head, and she made itsomehowto the end of the alley and burst out into the street.
Detective Hess was standing at the car, looking straight at the alleyway. Gun drawn and held at his side. He visibly relaxed at the sight of her, came around, and hustled her to the passenger side of the car. That was dumb, he said. And youre lucky.
I thought I heard you, she said faintly. Hess raised his eyebrows.
Like I said. Dumb. He shut the door on her, came around, and put the car in gear.
Whered you go?
Chapter Nineteen
He didnt answer. Claire looked back. There was something in the shadows in the alley, but she couldnt tell what it was.
Just that its eyes reflected the light.
It was coming up on deep night, when most sensible people were fast asleep in their beds with their doors bolted and windows securely locked, and Claire was knocking on the door of Common Grounds. It had a CLOSED sign in the window, but the lights were on in the back.
Youre sure you want to do this, Hess said.
You sound just like my subconscious, Claire said, and kept knocking. The blinds twitched and tented; locks rattled.
Oliver opened the door of the coffee shop, and the smell of espresso and cocoa and steamed milk washed over her. It was warm, welcoming, and so very wrong, considering what she knew about him.
He looked very humanly harassed at her arrival. Its late, he said. What is it?