details as she went. “If there’s any doubt about her identity, maybe you or Victor could go along and point her out. Then I’ll talk to her.”
“You make it sound easy. And, in the event she does not wish to talk, what then?”
Hmm. Good question. Ari hesitated, weighing her choices.
“Or is that where I come in again? Please, tell me you don’t expect me to hold her hostage until she complies.” Andreas’s voice held a strong undertone of amusement.
“Don’t be funny. Let me think about it,” Ari said, struggling to keep her annoyance in check. After all, she was asking for a big favor. “You know, I never expected you to answer the phone and ask all these questions.”
“Then why did you call?”
His question was so reasonable she swallowed her irritation. “I was going to leave a message,” she admitted. “OK, here’s the plan. If she refuses, I’ll take her into custody and put pressure on her at the police station.”
“You intend to arrest this woman inside my club or some other owner’s club?” Andreas wasn’t amused anymore. Incredulous, maybe.
“Not unless I have to,” Ari protested. “I think she’ll talk to me. Give me some credit, Andreas. I don’t intend to start a riot.”
“You astonish me. I assumed that was exactly your intent, and that you expected me to put down the uprising. I’m relieved your expectations were not so grand.”
“Cut the sarcasm,” she said. “Unless you’ve got a better idea, this is my only chance.”
“I cannot agree. Consenting to an arrest inside my club strikes me as a very poor business decision.” He paused. “I am not unsympathetic, but Club Dintero is a reputable establishment. I intend to keep it that way. Come up with a better proposal, and I’ll reconsider. And I will put some thought into it myself.”
“This is urgent,” Ari said. “The killer could get away. Or kill again.” She wondered if he was brushing her off. Maybe she’d pushed too hard.
“Then you should move quickly to find a better plan.”
That was the best she could get from him. At least he didn’t say no. Not entirely.
Chapter Ten
Once she was off the phone, Ari flopped on her couch and tried to come up with ideas to make her plan more acceptable to Andreas. When she finally realized that dusk had darkened her windows, she abandoned her efforts, began a kitchen search for food, and prepared to go on patrol. She’d just bitten into an apple, while contemplating the skimpy contents of her fridge, when Martin called. The elf served as Guardian for the rest of Riverdale, including the suburbs. Mostly wolf country.
Martin’s voice vibrated with tension. “Ari, we’ve got a mess on our hands! There’s been a vamp fight at Hartley Park. Two dead, their heads torn off. Third vamp got away. Probably headed your direction. Toward home. We’re searching the streets, but no sign of him yet.”
“A public fight? What brought that on?” She knew vamps sometimes settled disputes through violence, but never where the community could see it.
“Haven’t heard. But this big vamp’s really out of control, on a rampage. I notified the Council and the vampire court. Don’t try to take him by yourself, Ari. He’s over 250 pounds, built like a sumo wrestler, long black hair. His name might be Christopher. Here’s Steffan. Maybe he can tell you something more.”
She heard rustling on the other end, then Steffan’s voice.
“He’s right. It’s a mess here. There must be two hundred lycanthropes milling around. An impromptu Were Fest. But I wanted you to know a couple things right away. The vamps in the fight were brought here by that Canadian pack. Strange coincidence, right? That’s not the weirdest part. I’m being told the vamps were drunk. Is that even possible?”
Ari hardly heard the rest of the conversation. What Steffan had said made no sense. Vampires were resistant to spells and charms, even her stuns, and drank alcohol without visible effects. Prescription and recreational drugs were the same. Vamps simply didn’t get drunk or high. Witnesses had to be wrong. But whatever was going on, she couldn’t think of anything more dangerous than an Otherworlder who was out of control. Especially a vamp.
Telling Steffan she had to go, Ari strapped her ankle holster in place and slipped in the Cobra D22 derringer with its two rounds of silver bullets. It wasn’t lethal to Otherworlders, except at unbearably close quarters, but it might slow a vamp or get his attention. She shrugged into her leather jacket,