JК
Circus of the Damned :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 190 из 210So why did my stomach feel tight? Why did I have the urge to call Jean-Claude and warn him? Was it the marks, or was Richard right? Did I love Jean-Claude in some strange, twisted way? God help me, I hoped not.
45
It was full dark on All Hallows Eve. Larry and I had made two appointments. He'd raised one, and I'd raised the other. He had one more to go, and I had three. A nice normal night.
What Larry was wearing was not normal. Bert had encouraged us to wear something fitting for the holiday. I'd chosen the sweater. Larry had chosen a costume. He was wearing blue denim overalls, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a straw hat, and work boots. When asked, he'd said, "I'm Huck Finn. Don't I fit the part?"
With his red hair and freckles, he did fit the part. There was blood on the shirt now, but it was Halloween. There were a lot of people out with fake blood on them. We fit right in tonight.
My beeper went off. I checked the number, and it was Dolph. Damn.
"Who is it?" Larry asked.
"The police. We've got to find a phone."
He glanced at the dashboard clock. "We're ahead of schedule. How about the McDonald's just off the highway?"
"Great." I prayed that it wasn't another murder. I needed a nice normal night. At the back of my head like a bit of remembered song, two sentences kept playing: "Jean-Claude is going to die tonight. You set him up."
It seemed wrong to kill him from a safe distance. To not look him in the eyes and pull the trigger myself, to not give him a chance to kill me first. Fair play and all that. Fuck fair play; it was him or me. Wasn't it?
Larry parked in the McDonald's lot. "I'm gonna get a Coke while you call in. You want something?"
I shook my head.
"You all right?"
"Sure. I'm just hoping it's not another murder."
"Jesus, I hadn't thought of that."
We got out of the car. Larry went into the dining room. I stayed in the little entrance area with the pay phone.
Dolph picked up on the third ring. "Sergeant Storr."
"It's Anita. What's up?"
"We finally broke the paralegal that was feeding information to the vampires."
"Great; I thought it might be another murder."
"Not tonight; the vamp's got more important business."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"He's planning on getting every vampire in the city to slaughter humans for Halloween."
"He can't. Only the Master of the City could do that, and then only if he was incredibly powerful."
"That's what I thought. Could be the vampire's crazy.
45
It was full dark on All Hallows Eve. Larry and I had made two appointments. He'd raised one, and I'd raised the other. He had one more to go, and I had three. A nice normal night.
What Larry was wearing was not normal. Bert had encouraged us to wear something fitting for the holiday. I'd chosen the sweater. Larry had chosen a costume. He was wearing blue denim overalls, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a straw hat, and work boots. When asked, he'd said, "I'm Huck Finn. Don't I fit the part?"
With his red hair and freckles, he did fit the part. There was blood on the shirt now, but it was Halloween. There were a lot of people out with fake blood on them. We fit right in tonight.
My beeper went off. I checked the number, and it was Dolph. Damn.
"Who is it?" Larry asked.
"The police. We've got to find a phone."
He glanced at the dashboard clock. "We're ahead of schedule. How about the McDonald's just off the highway?"
"Great." I prayed that it wasn't another murder. I needed a nice normal night. At the back of my head like a bit of remembered song, two sentences kept playing: "Jean-Claude is going to die tonight. You set him up."
It seemed wrong to kill him from a safe distance. To not look him in the eyes and pull the trigger myself, to not give him a chance to kill me first. Fair play and all that. Fuck fair play; it was him or me. Wasn't it?
Larry parked in the McDonald's lot. "I'm gonna get a Coke while you call in. You want something?"
I shook my head.
"You all right?"
"Sure. I'm just hoping it's not another murder."
"Jesus, I hadn't thought of that."
We got out of the car. Larry went into the dining room. I stayed in the little entrance area with the pay phone.
Dolph picked up on the third ring. "Sergeant Storr."
"It's Anita. What's up?"
"We finally broke the paralegal that was feeding information to the vampires."
"Great; I thought it might be another murder."
"Not tonight; the vamp's got more important business."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"He's planning on getting every vampire in the city to slaughter humans for Halloween."
"He can't. Only the Master of the City could do that, and then only if he was incredibly powerful."
"That's what I thought. Could be the vampire's crazy.