Maybe. Mrs. Chen mentioned a couple of names. TheMarchefords and the Thornwicks. Do they mean anything to you?
It was a moment before he replied.
No. But I know somebody who might. Meet me at the office.
12
VAMPIRE CONSULTATION
“Are we there yet?”Bo asked for the tenth time.
Samuel’s knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. “No.”
There was a pause that last exactly twelve seconds.
“How about now?” the Husky asked.
“Still no.”
I shot my dog a warning look in the rearview mirror. He was wedged between Didi and Gavin in the back seat of the Bentley, his tongue lolling happily despite the cramped conditions.
“This car smells like wet dog,” Didi observed sourly.
“I prefer eau de canine,” Bo huffed.
“It’s the same thing.”
“But fancier,” Bo countered.
Samuel ground his teeth.
“I’ll get the car cleaned,” I said hastily. “I promise.”
Gavin’s horns were starting to smoke. The dragon newt had been twitchy ever since we’d picked him and Didi up from Hawthorne & Associates. Somethingabout visiting vampire territory made him nervous. According to Didi, vampires and dragon newts had a complicated history involving an unfortunate turf war in the 1920s.
Didi eyed Gavin darkly. “Could you stop doing that?” She waved a hand in front of her face. “You’re setting off my allergies.”
“Sorry.” The dragon newt’s nostrils flared as he tried to control the sparks. “I can’t help it. Vampires make me stressed.” He shot a skittish look out of the window.
“Barney’s not going to bite you,” I reassured.
“That’s what they all say. Right before they bite you.”
“You work with the guy,” Samuel said leadenly.
Gavin still looked unconvinced.
“If worse comes to worst, you can flambé him,” Didi said irritably. “Vampires are highly flammable. I mean, it’s unlikely you’ll kill someone of Barney’s rank, but you could do some serious damage.” A disturbing cackle left the witch.
I reminded myself never to get on her bad side.
Bo’s ears perked. “When you say flambé, you mean like a Crêpes Suzombie, except minus the zombie?”
We all stared at him.
“Pearl and I were watching Crypt Kitchen the other day,” Bo revealed with unabated enthusiasm. “That French guy made it look really dramatic.”
“Too much TV will rot your brain,” Samuel warned.
