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Bloody Bones :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 267 из 272The relief at knowing for sure that Larry was alive made me weak-kneed,and I was wobbly enough as it was.
The cops had found over a dozen bodies buried in the basement of Serephina's house. She should have buried them in the woods. For all I knew, she'd raised their ghosts. I didn't know. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that we had a warrant of execution, and the cops were listening to me today.
They sat me in an interrogation room with a cup of black coffee, thick enough to walk on, and a blanket to wrap around me. I was shivering and couldn't seem to stop.
Bradford came in and sat down across from me. He stared at me with eyes that were just a little too wide. "The locals say you found the master vampire's lair."
I laughed, and it came out wrong, almost like a sob. "I wouldn't say I found Serephina's lair. More like I woke up in it." I raised the coffee to my mouth and had to stop in mid-motion. My hands were shaking so badly I was about to slosh coffee onto the table. I took a deep breath, blew it out, and concentrated on taking a drink of coffee. Just concentrated on the simple physical movement. It helped. I got coffee, and calmer at the same time.
"You need to go to the hospital," Bradford said.
"I need Serephina dead."
"We've got warrants for all of them. All the vampires involved. How do you want to do it?"
"Burn them out. Block off everything but the front door. If Magnus is inside, he'll come out."
"Magnus Bouvier?" he asked.
"Yeah." There was something about the way he said it that I didn't like.
"The cops found what's left of him in the parking lot. It looks like something melted the lower half of his body. Would you know anything about that?" He looked at me very steadily when he asked it.
I took another careful sip of coffee, and met his eyes without blinking. What was I supposed to say? "The vampires were controlling him. He was supposed to keep me in the bar until nightfall. Maybe they punished him for failing." What I'd done to Magnus and Ellie was enough to earn me a death sentence. I wasn't admitting that to the Feds.
"The vampires punished him?" He made it a question.
"Yeah."
He looked at me for a long time, then nodded and changed the subject. "Won't the vampires try to make a break when the fire starts?"
"Sunlight or fire," I said. "Just a choice of how well done you want your vampires to be." I finished the last of the coffee in my cup.
"Your protege, Mr. Kirkland, said you were kidnapped from the graveyard. Is that your story, too?"
"It happens to be the truth, Agent Bradford.
The cops had found over a dozen bodies buried in the basement of Serephina's house. She should have buried them in the woods. For all I knew, she'd raised their ghosts. I didn't know. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that we had a warrant of execution, and the cops were listening to me today.
They sat me in an interrogation room with a cup of black coffee, thick enough to walk on, and a blanket to wrap around me. I was shivering and couldn't seem to stop.
Bradford came in and sat down across from me. He stared at me with eyes that were just a little too wide. "The locals say you found the master vampire's lair."
I laughed, and it came out wrong, almost like a sob. "I wouldn't say I found Serephina's lair. More like I woke up in it." I raised the coffee to my mouth and had to stop in mid-motion. My hands were shaking so badly I was about to slosh coffee onto the table. I took a deep breath, blew it out, and concentrated on taking a drink of coffee. Just concentrated on the simple physical movement. It helped. I got coffee, and calmer at the same time.
"You need to go to the hospital," Bradford said.
"I need Serephina dead."
"We've got warrants for all of them. All the vampires involved. How do you want to do it?"
"Burn them out. Block off everything but the front door. If Magnus is inside, he'll come out."
"Magnus Bouvier?" he asked.
"Yeah." There was something about the way he said it that I didn't like.
"The cops found what's left of him in the parking lot. It looks like something melted the lower half of his body. Would you know anything about that?" He looked at me very steadily when he asked it.
I took another careful sip of coffee, and met his eyes without blinking. What was I supposed to say? "The vampires were controlling him. He was supposed to keep me in the bar until nightfall. Maybe they punished him for failing." What I'd done to Magnus and Ellie was enough to earn me a death sentence. I wasn't admitting that to the Feds.
"The vampires punished him?" He made it a question.
"Yeah."
He looked at me for a long time, then nodded and changed the subject. "Won't the vampires try to make a break when the fire starts?"
"Sunlight or fire," I said. "Just a choice of how well done you want your vampires to be." I finished the last of the coffee in my cup.
"Your protege, Mr. Kirkland, said you were kidnapped from the graveyard. Is that your story, too?"
"It happens to be the truth, Agent Bradford.