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“He bought drugs from the Doc.”
She tucked the bag into her pocket, replaced the floorboard and stood up. A creak from outside the room. Barbara turned. Ed stood in the doorway.
“I’m just about done here, sir.”
He walked inside and looked around. “Janice won’t clear anything away. Nothing. Like she thinks he’s still going to come back.”
Barbara felt the lump rise in her throat. And then Ed suddenly gripped her arm. She jumped.
His eyes were hollow with desperation. “He won’t, will he? Marcus won’t come back?”
She stared at him, the chill freezing her spine to its core. He won’t come back. Not as one of them. A vampyr. Undead.
“No,” she said softly. “He won’t come back, sir. I’m certain of that.”
33
Barbara waded back through the snow, feeling drained and despondent. Grief had a way of rubbing off on you. She was almost at the police department when she spotted a familiar figure striding down the street toward her. Her heart sank.
Colleen Grey. Just what she needed right now. As always, the Reverend was dressed as though for a Victorian funeral. Long, flowing dress and a black, hooded overcoat, dusted with snow. Barbara shivered just looking at her.
She forced a smile. “Evening, Reverend.”
Colleen pushed back her hood and smiled widely in return. “Good evening, Detective. I hope you’ve had a fruitful day?”
“Well, ma’am, sometimes you move an inch, sometimes a mile, but as long as you’re covering ground, that’s what’s important.”
“I heard Marcus’s parents are back.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve just been to visit them.”
“I imagine that must have been difficult, especially with no news to bring them.”
Barbara bit hard on her tongue. “Did you want something in particular?” she asked. “It’s just, I can’t feel my toes out here.”
“I had a worrying call from a member of my congregation earlier. Jess Garrett.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Barbara said.
“Jess claims the child vampyr, Athelinda, was at her father’s house last night. She threatened him.”
“Well, Mrs. Garrett should have reported the incident.”
A tight smile. “Not everyone trusts you here, Detective. Some suspect your motives.”
“My motives? My motives are to find a killer.”
“I wondered if you might join us at church tomorrow morning. I thought you could address the congregation. It would be an opportunity for you to allay some of their concerns and answer questions.”
Barbara reined back her irritation. It wasn’t Colleen’s place to call a town meeting. That was down to Rita. However, it wasn’t a bad idea.
“I’d be happy to. I’m actually having dinner with the mayor tonight, so as long as it’s okay with her.”
“Good. We’ll see you at 10 a.m.” Colleen pulled up her hood. “Send my regards to Rita and her mother.”
Barbara watched her walk away, feeling unnerved and aggravated in equal measure. The damn woman set her teeth on edge, like biting on tin foil or hearing nails scrape against a chalkboard.
She turned down the road, toward the police department, and fumbled the keys out of her pocket. She inserted them in the lock and pushed open the door.
