Sucker Punch (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #27) - Laurell K. Hamilton Page 0,58

seen anything.”

“That’s not what she means,” Newman said.

“I just meant that I’ve seen some shit normal people do to one another that made me wish it had been monsters.”

Leduc took in a lot of air and let it out slow. “All right, I aimed a gun at you once, and you’ve aimed one back at me. Let’s call it even and start aiming at the real monster.”

“I thought if I did it, then it would all be over,” Troy said, face still wet with tears, though the actual crying had stopped.

“Bobby would be dead, but you’d be up on murder charges, Troy. It wouldn’t be over for you,” Newman said.

“I have the warrant in my pocket,” Troy said.

Everyone in the hallway with a badge looked at the deputy. Leduc spoke slowly like you would for a very young child who had done a bad thing. “Troy, what difference does it make if you have the warrant in your pocket?”

“You called it a get-out-of-jail-free card,” he said, and his eyes were guileless, like he didn’t realize his mistake.

“For the marshal whose name is on the warrant, yes, but not for you or anyone else.”

Troy blinked at Leduc. I was beginning to wonder how bright Troy was or wasn’t. He certainly wasn’t catching on fast.

Newman tried. “Troy, the warrant has my name on it. If I’m part of the hunt, then and only then is it a legal execution. Anything else is murder.”

“Now, Newman, if Bobby goes changing into his beast in the cell, then we will shoot him to make sure he doesn’t get out and hurt anyone else,” Leduc said.

“Deputy Wagner, was the prisoner changing shape when you fired at him?” I asked.

Troy looked at me, shaking his head. “No, but he killed Ray, and I had the warrant in my pocket.”

“Troy, damn it. I know you’re not a deep thinker, but ya gotta think better than this,” Leduc yelled.

“Troy Wagner, we’re holding you on suspicion of attempting to murder Bobby Marchand,” Newman said. Newman said all the words that normal cops say to suspects all the time. I’d actually never read anyone their rights. You only did that when you took suspects into custody. I didn’t do that. The vampires had nicknamed me the Executioner. I didn’t take prisoners.

19

CAPTAIN LIVINGSTON AND Kaitlin the crime scene tech were a little surprised when they found Deputy Wagner in the cell beside Bobby’s, but when we explained what he’d done, they didn’t question it.

Livingston did say, “I heard you were a shoot-first-ask-questions-later kind of person, Blake. I’m surprised you didn’t just shoot Troy.”

“You know, I’m a little surprised about that, too. Must have been something to do with the uniform he was wearing.”

“Don’t believe the bad stuff you hear about Marshal Blake. She’s one of the best preternatural officers I’ve ever worked with,” Newman said.

I smiled at him and said, “Thanks, Newman.”

“If I believed it all, I wouldn’t be here helping the two of you,” Livingston said.

“You’d really let an innocent man be executed rather than help the Whore of Babylon out?” I asked.

“I never used that word or anything like it,” Livingston said.

“And I really appreciate that,” I said.

“Are you saying that other officers have called you that to your face?” Kaitlin asked.

“I am,” I said, and I smiled when I said it, because sometimes you have to smile when you say the bad stuff out loud, or it gets too deep a hold on you. Smile and think Fuck you as you say it.

“Wow, that’s . . . awful,” she said.

“Agreed.”

“I’m sorry you experienced such a lack of professionalism at the hands of other officers,” Livingston said. He seemed to mean it, so I thanked him.

“Weirdly, the insults have gotten fewer since we announced the wedding. If they were upset I was sleeping with monsters, I thought marrying one would make it all worse,” I said.

“You’re marrying him,” Livingston said. “We don’t bad-mouth one another’s spouses. That’s sort of off-limits.”

“I’ve never had a spouse before, but good to know. Now, what do you need from us to take the prints from Bobby?” I said.

“I want Kaitlin safe while she gathers evidence, and I’d like to avoid killing the prisoner to keep her safe since that would defeat the entire purpose of why we’re doing this.”

“I’m sorry I had to break the chains,” Bobby said.

“You were trying to take cover while someone shot at you. No apology needed,” I said.

“I don’t have anything stronger to chain him up with,” Duke said.

“I