as Andreas consented to the location, she called Ryan, and he approved. At least she’d found something they could agree on.
Ari arrived early at the Magic Hall in order to track down a set of keys. The white-haired custodian blinked at her request. His rheumy eyes peered at her from under bushy white eyebrows. After she explained who she was and showed him her ID, he placed two keys in her hand.
“You’re responsible for any guests,” he said sternly.
Ari produced a smile meant to reassure him, but she wasn’t sure it worked. The ancient custodian frowned, shaking his head as he shuffled down the hall.
Maybe the ponytail didn’t inspire confidence, Ari decided. It made her look too young. She pulled out the band and shook her hair loose. She’d need all the authority she could muster during the next hour or two.
Her office was a roomy rectangle, with an oak desk, leather chairs and a conference table that seated six, eight in a pinch. The well-worn chairs looked relatively comfortable and had that pleasant smell of old leather. A bookcase with two books, a Cultural Center Manual and an English dictionary, stood against one wall. Overhead lights and a gold-plated desk lamp with a green shade provided adequate lighting. No dust. Somebody must come in and clean. Who knew?
Ari picked up the manual, selected a chair on the far side of the table, and prepared to wait. As she thumbed through the book, the other participants trooped through her open door in one large group. Everyone was dressed casually in jeans and jackets. Andreas’s sleek leather jacket appeared to be his usual brand.
Ryan’s lips were drawn in a tight line. Grumpy, she concluded. Andreas was wearing his polite mask. Ari sighed. Resigned to the inevitable, she ignored the animosity of the two men and focused on the witness.
Without the feral stare from blood deprivation, Gordon was a nice looking vampire. A little too punk for Ari’s taste, with the head bandanna and the heavy jewelry, but she could see why he appealed to Rita. The attitude didn’t match his style. Gordon was twitchy; his throat bobbed up and down as he swallowed repeatedly. She wondered if this was typical behavior or a side effect of his recent captivity. He stuck close to Andreas.
Ryan chose the seat next to Ari, back against the wall, forcing the vampires to sit with their backs to the door. She hid a smile at Ryan’s maneuvering.
Andreas introduced the young vamp and encouraged him to speak freely. “Just tell them in your own words what happened after you left Rita’s place.”
Gordon took a deep breath. “I was running home. It was late, almost daybreak. This black van drove by, twice. Wolf dudes inside. Offered me a ride, but I could get home faster on my own, so I blew them off. Next thing I knew, a couple of them were running beside me, asking if I knew some chick I never heard of named Sherry. Told ’em no. Figured they’d leave then, but they kept at it. ‘Get in the van. Help us find her.’ When I said no again, they jumped on my back, and I felt a prick in my neck. That’s it, till I woke in the cellar.”
“And then?” Andreas prompted.
“I couldn’t see, because of a hood. I smelled wolves and a vampire. My hands and legs were chained. After awhile, a she-wolf made them take the hood off. She gave me a packet of blood, said if I answered questions they’d let me go. She left, and another wolf asked a bunch of really bizarro questions. I asked if I could go now, but they laughed and put the hood back on. They beat me with silver clubs.” He stopped talking, his shoulders hunched.
Andreas put a hand on his shoulder. “Take your time.”
When the young vamp had composed himself, Ari jumped in before he finished his story. “These questions—what did they ask?”
Gordon looked at her for the first time. “Stupid stuff. What foods I used to like or hate. Movie ratings. Stuff about girls. Sex. Music groups. Like they were taking a poll. They wouldn’t tell me why.”
“Did they seem to be looking for a particular answer? Like they wanted you to say you liked red-haired girls, for example?”
“Not then, that came later.”
“What do you mean?”
Andreas intervened before Gordon answered. “This might make more sense, if you let him tell it in order.”
Ari shrugged. “I can wait. Tell us what happened after