“What are you going to do?” Josie asks.
“First I’m going to call repairmen to get the window boarded up and a replacement ordered and then I’m going to go down to Moretti’s.”
Josie sounds like she’s choking on her own spit. “Moretti’s? Why? That place is a dump.”
“You said the vampires were barflies. People Brian knew. They’ll be at Moretti’s.”
“You believe us?” Lyle asks. “About the vampires?”
I stop in the middle of the news office and look around. It looks like a war was waged. There’s glass and debris everywhere. Even if the vampires didn’t come inside they threw just about everything they could in. There’s a couple of city trash cans on their sides. I wrinkle my nose at the smell. I’m going to need to get a crew out here, too.
“I do. I know you wouldn’t lie, and I know you know what you saw, because I saw it too. Brian is one of them. He’s turning them.”
Josie pales. “We thought it was just one vampire but…”
I rub my temples. “It’s a fucking gang.” I turn towards my office but stop and look back at the staff. “I’m never going to understand how you all just immediately jumped to vampires. I thought you were kidding.”
Josie crosses her arms and looks at Mary. The two women exchange looks before Mary speaks, “Vesper Point isn’t a normal town. We’ve lived here all our lives. This isn’t the first time people have died like this. We’ve had this here before.”
My brow furrows. “When?”
“When we were kids. Killed the same way as Father Paretti. Our parents had a manhunt. Twelve children were murdered. It lasted a whole summer and was gone again, but we never forgot. This town isn’t right. It never has been.”
“I never knew,” I tell them. “Why didn’t I hear anything about this growing up?”
In a town as small as Vesper Point, you’d think they’d have a memorial plaque to the lost children and a whole monument tothat summer, but if it wasn’t for what the staff is telling me now I’d have never known about it.
Lyle puts an arm around Mary’s shoulders and gives me a sad smile. “That’s because this town hid it. That’s why we can’t let them do it again. The vampires are back, and we have to tell the truth this time. This time we're the adults and we aren’t going to let them cover this up.”
Josie backs up and so does Mary and Greg. “He’s right. We’re not letting the story die. We’re seeing it through this time.”
I swallow hard. The conviction I see on their faces is set. There’s no talking them out of it. If I don't make it out of this, at least they will.
“That’s good. That’s real good.” I back up a step and then turn towards my office. “Go home. All of you. Get some rest. Tomorrow we’ll start writing the story.”
Forty-Seven
MARIS
When I said I was coming to Moretti’s looking for vampires, I don’t know what I thought it was going to be like. Maybe more scary? Or spooky? Some vampire king sitting in the corner looking over everyone as they entered maybe?
There’s no vampires at Moretti’s.
There’s not even any good music here.
It’s the same dive bar that I remember sneaking into in high school with Billy for watered down rum and coke, a shitty fake ID that shouldn’t have worked, especially since the bartender knew who I was.
I sip my beer and scan the bar for the hundredth time since I came in half an hour ago. It’s just after six, and the bar is getting busy but nothing about it screams vampire. A pity since I took the time to ditch my kitchen knife for a gun.
The first thing I did after I called repairmen and a cleaning service was to go down to JJ’s Armory and buy a hand gun. I didn’t have to explain why I wanted the gun. Not after last night. JJ had been friends with Mike Sheep and I know for a fact theman wouldn’t have done business with me before word got out about Brian.
By now, everyone in town knew that a murder had happened and it had been one of them this time. Not me. And worst of all, the murderer had wanted me. Brian ripping Liz’s head off because he couldn’t get to me had done more for my reputation in town in twelve hours than I had managed in two years. Although that really shouldn’t be that hard considering I didn’t try to make amends in the slightest but still.
Now here I was with no word from Julian and fucking vampire hunting with a hand gun that I barely know how to use. I’d strapped a knife to my ankle, plus added a pepper spray key chain because a variety of violence making means seemed best when it came to vampires. Who knew what the fuck they were scared of?
I’d taken the walk up to St. Edwards to get some holy water too. As silly as I felt scooping it into my plastic water bottle from lunch, I did it. If vampires needed an invitation to get inside then who’s to say holy water wouldn’t work on them? I filled that water bottle up to the brim. It’s in my bag now.
“Can I buy you another?”
