man in the doorway.
“Oh, Sly. This is Nick, Konrad’s twin brother.”
“No kidding,” Sly said. “I could have easily mistaken you for Konrad. How is our old friend, anyway?”
“He’s great. He and Roz got married recently.”
“We heard. Actually, they invited us to the wedding, but we didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. I guess some werewolves are still very antivampire.”
“I know, and that’s so foolish. If you two are interested, you should stop by the bar where my girlfriend works. It’s on Charles Street. The place is called Boston Uncommon. It’s a safe place for paranormals of all kinds to socialize.”
Sly gave her a sideways glance. “It would be good for both of us to get out together.”
She folded her hands in her lap and gazed at them.
There’s something they’re not saying. “Oh, well. The place is always there if you decide to give it a try.”
“Yes. Thank you for bringing it to our attention,” Sly said.
Nick cleared his throat. “Well, on to the reason I’m here. I’m a private investigator working on a case that involves a paranormal perpetrator—possibly a vampire.”
“I’m intrigued,” Sly said. “How can I help?”
“The perp robs banks while the vault is open and only while it’s open. No one sees a thing. I slowed down some video footage and saw a dark gray blur. I thought because vampires can run at speeds that essentially make them invisible, perhaps that’s what we were dealing with.”
Sly raised his eyebrows. “Did you think I might be able to test this theory?”
Nick took in a deep breath and hoped for the best. “Yes.”
“Wow.” Sly scratched his head and his brows knit. “I haven’t flown that often. I’d be willing to try it, as long as everything is arranged ahead of time and I won’t get arrested.”
“Don’t worry. We have the cooperation of the police force. A test will be set up for a Sunday when you’re free, not during business hours. Can you do it?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, I can try.”
“How about tomorrow?”
“Sure. I’m available.”
Morgaine put a hand on his knee. “I don’t know, hon. This sounds impossible.” She focused on Nick. “How would the thief manage to get in and out of the building without being seen? I can’t imagine no one would notice the door opening by itself.”
“Good point,” Sly said. “Has your video footage captured anything that would account for that?”
“No. That’s why I need to test the full theory. I can only imagine he slips in as a customer opens the door, then makes a grab and runs around the perimeter until another customer opens the door.”
“I’m sorry, but that sounds crazy,” Morgaine said. “I doubt either of us could pull that off.”
“Unless he had an accomplice,” Sly said. “Someone to open the door and stand out of the way at the precise time the vampire needed to enter, then to reopen it when the vampire needed to leave.”
Nick shook his head. “We ruled that out. None of the cameras captured a consistent person at each of the heists.”
Sly rose and paced. “If I were to pull this off, I might mesmerize a random customer in the parking lot to open the door at precise times.”
Nick sighed. “We thought of that too. The cops set up long-distance cameras covering all angles outside. They didn’t capture anything like that in the parking lots.”
Sly paused in his pacing. “Did any of the customers look mesmerized?”
“We checked. It’s hard to detect a non-blinking person on a video. That’s the only telltale sign I could think of.”
Sly smiled at Morgaine. “Remember when I tried to mesmerize you and couldn’t?”
She chuckled. “Yeah. I wondered what was wrong with you. You kept staring at me and your eyes changed colors. It was bizarre.”
“I already knew you were special. I just didn’t know it meant you were my beloved.”
Morgaine grinned back at him. “In more ways than one.”
Nick glanced from one to the other. “Your beloved? You say that like it’s a special thing, like werewolf mates.”
“It is.”
“I’ve never heard that term. What does it mean?”
Sly settled next to Morgaine again and squeezed her knee. “There’s one special woman for every vampire. Some are never lucky enough to find that person. When it happens, it means, ‘Look no further. You’ve found your equal.’”
“Kind of like a werewolf finding his one true mate.”
“Exactly,” Sly said.
Nick nodded. “I get it. Konrad and Roz are perfect examples. They can even communicate telepathically.”
“So can we,” Morgaine said. “Don’t worry. We try not to do it when