pen. "Our Sophia has been a bad girl, as well as a stupid one," I said a moment later. "She took a gig from someone. They put five K into an account for her just two hours ago. She gets another five K when the gig is finished. Our Sophia is a hired killer. Which means she knows nothing. Now that we have the phone, we can dispose of her."
Sophia started to hyperventilate in earnest, her nostrils whistling high and fast. I smiled. I bent forward and peeled off the tape over her mouth. "You want to talk to us? Give us a reason to keep you alive?"
"You'll let me go? You'll leave my family alone?"
"Your family is safe. I won't kill you," I said. "Talk."
Sophia knew little except that she was between a very jagged rock and a very sharp blade. She told us everything. Sophia - if that was her real name - had been contacted two days ago to be available at a moment's notice to take care of three problems, two high-ticket problems - George Dumas and Jane Yellowrock - and one floater, fees to be discussed later. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have my freebie house address, and the address she had for George was now a lump of soggy charcoal briquettes. What she did have was Katie's address.
I glanced at Eli and he nodded once, his eyes hard. We had to move the vamps, and safe houses were getting few and far between. I looked out the window, saw we were on South Broad Street, pulled my new throwaway cell, and hit REDIAL.
"NOPD, Jodi Richoux," she answered.
"That package I told you I might have for you?" I said. "It's a little different and it eats its dinner cooked, but it's still interesting. We'll be out front in a sec."
"This better be good."
"All I can do is deliver. It's up to you boys in blue to make good on the package." I ended the call.
Sophia closed her eyes. "Bitch," she said around the tape that dangled from her cheek.
I showed the hit woman my teeth. It wasn't a smile. "I promised to let you live and to leave your family alone. Free her hands and feet, Derek." To the driver, I said, "See that woman running out of NOPD up ahead? Pull over to her." I emptied the guns and as much info as I thought would help Jodi into a zip-lock baggie and sealed it.
When the van slowed enough, I slid open the side door and pushed the contract killer out into the street. She bounced twice and rolled a bit, probably scuffing her knees and elbows. I dropped the plastic baggie containing her little toy guns into the street next. They bounced too, but I had removed the magazines. Protecting the surfaces from my fingerprints, of course. We pulled away. My last sight was Jodi Richoux picking up the tiny woman and directing a uniformed guy to watch the guns. Oddly enough, Jodi looked irritated.
* * *
When we got back to the house, Alex was waiting, shaking like he had been mainlining espresso, like a bunny in the sights of a pit bull. "I think I found him. The fanghead you're looking for." He grabbed my arm and pulled me into the kitchen. A map was open on the laptop. "The problem is that we've been looking in all the wrong places. In Louisiana. But he's in Mississippi, in the territory of Hieronymus."
Big H was the vamp we had expected to be targeted next. Seems we were too late; he'd already been hit, long before our enemy targeted us. The upside? De Allyon had a power base only an hour away, and it was more than likely that he was making his forays from there. I nodded for Alex to continue.
"There's a business in Natchez, in the old downtown, near the main street, three stories, built in the eighteen thirties. The building changed hands two months ago, and has been under renovation, and it just passed a building code check and is ready for occupancy.
"The county requires all renovations of historic buildings to submit a floor plan, and this one fits what vamps are looking for. The building was originally a bank, and the vault is still there. The new owner ordered a safe room built, adjacent to and in front of the vault. No windows, no doors. All the internal rooms are no-window, no-door rooms too. Three stories' worth. And the reason