"You were a suspect."
I shook my head. "You didn't really believe that. You're just playing all the details close to your chest, like always. I get tired of putting the pieces together when you've already done it."
"So, what do you make of the marks?" he asked, his voice neutral.
"You know damn well what I make of them. He may have been gagged while they did this to him. The neighbors really might not have heard anything. But that still doesn't say how the killers got into the house. If vampires were involved, they couldn't cross the threshold without an invitation. Robert wouldn't have invited strange vamps into his house, so someone with them had to be known, or human, or at least not vampire."
"Could a human cross the threshold and invite vampires inside?"
"Yes," I said.
Dolph was making notes, not looking at me. "So we're looking for a mixed group, at least one vamp, at least one not vamp, at least one witch or necromancer."
"You got that last from Reynolds," I said.
"You disagree?"
"No, but since I'm the only necromancer in town, it has to be outside talent." The moment I said it, I realized that outside talent was in town now. Dominic Dumare.
"John Burke couldn't do it?"
I thought about that. "John's a vaudun priest, but this isn't voodoo. I don't know if his knowledge of the arcane stretches this far. I also don't know if he's powerful enough to have done this, even with the knowledge."
"Are you powerful enough?"
I sighed. "I don't know, Dolph. I'm sort of new at necromancy. I mean, I've raised the dead for years, but not this formally." I motioned at the body. "I've never seen a spell like this."
He nodded. "Anything else?"
I hated dragging Dominic into it, but it was too bloody big a coincidence that a powerful necromancer hits town and a vamp gets taken out with necromancy. If he was innocent, I'd apologize. If he wasn't innocent, it was a death penalty case.
"Dominic Dumare is a necromancer. He just got into town."
"Could he have done this?" Dolph asked.
"I only met the man once, Dolph."
"Give me an opinion, Anita."
I thought about the feel of Dominic in my head. His offer to teach me necromancy. The big thing was that killing Robert and leaving the body for us to find was stupid. Dominic Dumare didn't strike me as a stupid man.
"He could have. He's a vampire's human servant, so it gives you two of your mixed group."
"Did the vampire know Robert?"
I shook my head. "Not to my knowledge."
"You got a number where we can reach Mr. Dumare?"
"I can call our night secretary and get it for you."
"Great." Dolph stared down at his notes. "Is Dumare your best suspect?"
I thought about that. "Yeah, I guess he is."
"You got any proof?"
"He's a necromancer, and this was done by someone with knowledge of necromancy." I shrugged.