The Dead Girls Dance Page 0,85

all about Frank Collins rolling back into town, and he used Frank to get rid of a troublemaking child-molesting bastard whod outlived his usefulness.

Claire asked, Why didnt he just kill him, if he wanted him dead?

Vampires do not kill each other. They just dont. So this way, he and Frank both get what they want. Oliver gets Morganville in chaos, Amelie losing controland I heard about the attack on her downtown. Maybe Oliver was hoping theyd take her out, leave him in charge. Brandon was probably a small price to pay. He paused for thought. Im guessing here, but Ill bet Oliver made Frank a whole lot of promises he never intended to keep. Brandon was a sign of good faith, to get Frank to commit. And holding on to Shane was insurance. No way would Oliver have let Frank keep on killing, though. Chaos is one thing. A bloodbath is another.

How does this help? Michael asked. We still dont know where they are.

Hess reached in his pocket and pulled out a folding pocket mapa Morganville map. It was marked in grids, color-coded: yellow for the university, pale red for the human enclaves, blue for the vampires. The center of town, Founders Square, was black. Here, he said, and walked to the dining room table. Michael moved his guitar case out of the way, and Hess spread the map out. Travis, you know who owns what near the square, right?

Yeah. Lowe leaned forward, fished some reading glasses out of his coat pocket, and looked closer. Okay, these are warehouses here. Vallery Kosomov owns some of them. Most of these belong to Josefina Lowell.

Anything owned by Oliver down there?

Why down there? Lowe asked.

You want to answer that one, Officer Morrell? Hess asked. Richard edged in to consider the map, and marked out something with his finger.

Underground runs right through here, he said. This is the only area of the Underground where we didnt see the van come and go.

Which tells you what? Hess asked.

Crap. They were faking the video. Showing us where they werent, sending us all over town. And hiding where they were. Richard looked up at Hess, then Lowe. Olivers warehouses are off of Bond Street. Its mostly storage.

Gentlemen, we have exactlyHess consulted his watchfifty-two minutes. Lets get moving.

They all moved to the door, and it was going fine until Richard Morrell glanced at Claire and Eve, put his arm up like a barricade, and said, Oh, I dont think so, kids.

Weve got a right to

Yeah, Im getting all choked up about your rights, Eve. You stay here.

Michaels going! Claire said, and winced, because she sounded like a disappointed little kid instead of the responsible, trustworthy adult shed intended.

Richard rolled his eyes nearly as well as Eve. You sound like my sister, he said. Thats really not attractive. And its not going to work. Michael can take care of himself on a whole bunch of levels you cant, kid, so you. Stay. Here.

And Hess and Lowe backed him up.

Michael just looked vaguely sorry to be in the middle of it, but relieved all the same that they werent going. It was Michael who took Eves car keys from the tray on the hall table, where she always left them. Just in case, he said, and dropped them in his pocket. Not that I dont trust you or anything, just that I know you never listen to me.

He slammed the door on Eves frustrated cry.

And that, Claire thought, was that.

I cant believe they left us, Claire said numbly, staring at the door. Eve kicked it hard enough to leave a black mark on the wood and stalked away, into the living room. She stood at the window until the police cruiser pulled away from the curb and glided off into the night. Then she turned and looked at Claire.

She was smiling.

Chapter Thirty-two

What? Claire asked, confused, as Eve grinned wider. Are we happy about getting left behind?

Yes, were happy. Because now I know where theyre going, Eve said, and reached in her pocket. She pulled out a second key ring and shook it with a merry, metallic jingle. And Ive got a spare set of keys. Lets go save their asses.

It was a good thing the Morganville police force was otherwise occupied, because Claire thought that Eve probably broke every traffic law that was on the books. Twice. She couldnt bring herself to open her eyes very oftenjust peeks every other block or sobut it seemed like