Page 71 of Starved Until Sunset

Eileen planted her cane and looked up into his face. “You remember when that alpha werewolf was chasing you around the condos out here?”

Cody knew where this was headed. He dropped his shoulders as all the air in his argument evaporated. “Yes. And I know you stopped him with silver-dusted buckshot.”

“Okay then.” Eileen gave a nod and moved off. “I just need to visit the little old woman’s room and I’ll be ready.”

Cody sat heavily in the chair and put his face in his hands. How had this become his life?

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“This usually isn’t what people mean when they invite someone over for steaks,” Lucia said.

Demetrius chuckled as Clarabell held up a foot and a half long piece of wood one of them had whittled to a wickedly sharp point.

“We thought the sheriff’s department might want a few wooden stakes to have on them as they patrol tonight.”

A shout from the street below Clarabell’s apartment made them all tense. Laughter followed right after, and each of them visibly relaxed. Somewhat.

“Are we really supposed to just…” Deputy Walsh picked a stake up from the kitchen island and mimed stabbing it downward. “Stab this into someone’s chest?”

“If they’ve got fangs and are trying to tear your jugular open, I would say yes,” Clarabell said, then she gestured toward Lucia. “But I’ll let Deputy Durant make that call.”

Lucia gave her a look. “Gee, thanks.” She grabbed a stake, then two more. “And, yes, if you have a stake in hand and an attacker is showing signs of vampirism, you may defend yourself with a stake to the heart.”

“Seems really extreme,” Deputy Walsh said, but she took two stakes for herself.

“What are your plans for the night?” Lucia asked, looking between the three of them.

“Maybe find Dr. Graham and work with him to try and track down Zenona,” Clarabell said, looking at Oliver and Demetrius. “That sound good to you two?”

“I do need to get home and catch Dave up on all of this,” Oliver said. “But the two of us can meet up with you in a little while.”

Clarabell looked to Demetrius. “How about you? Do you want to go see Cody?”

A flash of guilt went through him. He had yet to respond to Cody’s text, and as much as he wanted to see and be with him, it didn’t feel like the right time for them to be having the intense conversation needed to get themselves back on track. He smiled as steadily as possible.

“No. We’re okay to be apart a little longer.”

“If it were me, I’d make that a lot longer,” Lucia said. Then she gave each of them a stern look. “Do not take any chances. If you find out anything that could lead to Zenona, call it in. Do not investigate on your own.”

“Call the department phone or your phone?” Oliver asked.

“The department’s been brought up to date. I don’t want to be the bottleneck in saving Zenona if I’m involved in something else.”

“How’d that department briefing go over?” Clarabell asked.

Deputy Walsh gave a quiet snort. “Not as crazy as you’d think. Most of the deputies have seen or lived through something weird here in town. The newbies have heard stories from those who have. Only one who really reacted badly was the sheriff himself.”

Lucia’s expression tightened slightly. “He’ll come around when it comes right down to it.”

“You should be the sheriff,” Walsh said to Lucia. “You’re more of a leader on the force than he is.”

“All right, Deputy, that’s enough,” Lucia said, but with a tone that sounded a bit like gratitude.

“So, where will you be patrolling?” Demetrius asked. “And have you found anything that might be a dwelling for vampires?”

“Nothing yet. And we’re going to cover the city. Tomorrow’s Halloween, and I expect the tourists are going to be doing dry run parties tonight to prepare for tomorrow.”

Clarabell ducked out of sight behind the kitchen island, then popped back up with two long range squirt guns. She handed one to each deputy, and the women looked at squirt guns, each other, then back at Clarabell.