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CHAPTER 16
When I woke, Camille was sitting in the rocking chair, a nervous look on her face. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs away. "What's going on? I can tell by the look on your face that it's not good, whatever it is."
She frowned. "You're right. Come upstairs—we need to have a meeting. Chase is here, and so are Wade and Siobhan."
Chase? Wade? Siobhan? Curious, I hurried into my clothes and followed her to the living room.
Sure enough, Wade and Siobhan were on the sofa, talking in low whispers. Iris and Maggie were snuggled in the low rocking chair we'd bought for the house sprite. Shamas was in the corner talking to Morio, while Delilah and Anna-Linda were playing a game of cards at the card table.
It struck me that Anna-Linda looked like a totally different girl—her face was freshly washed, she was wearing a new pair of jeans, not skintight, and a cute T-shirt. And she was smiling.
But it was Chase who caught my attention. He was holding his head in his hands and I couldn't see his face, but he looked thoroughly rumpled—unusual for his Armani-and-a-martini self. He looked up at me, wiping his sleeve across his face, and I was shocked to see that not only was he disheveled, his eyes were bloodshot and he looked about ready to puke.
Camille pulled up an ottoman and sat next to his side. "Let's get this show on the road."
"What happened? More murders?" I asked, landing on the first reasonable explanation.
Chase shook his head. "Not that I know of… not yet, at least. Worse, actually."
"What could be worse than another spate of murders?"
Unfortunately I was about to get my answer. Delilah tossed me the Seattle Tattler, one of those yellow rags she was so fond of. I wouldn't wipe my ass with it, that is if I still needed to, but she loved the tabloids.
I glanced at the headlines. There, screaming in huge black font, were the words: Vampires Rule Underground Seattle.
"What the fuck?" I flipped the maze of amazing-but-not-so-true stories until I came to the cover headline. As I began to read, I understood why everybody was so upset.
What well-known director of the Faerie-Human Crime Scene Investigation Team has been hiding the activity of a nest of nasty vampires? Rumor has it that several citizens of Seattle have gone missing, and that Seattle's star detective, Chase Johnson, has pulled the bamboozle of the century and simply ignored the whispers about these abductions.
We at the Tattler have leads pointing to the truth—that these AWOL innocents have been turned into bloodsucking leeches of the night. That's right, folks—you knew they existed, but did you realize that Seattle plays home to an estimated 45 of these undead menaces? And when the upstanding, tax-paying citizens of Seattle disappear, who can we look to in order to take care of the situation? The police? Think again.
Kylie Wilson, president of the Guardian Watchdogs, says the group has joined forces with Freedom's Angels and are planning mass protests over the next few months to combat the growing population of Supernaturals (commonly known as Supes). "If God had meant Supes, as they call themselves, to exist in any large numbers, we'd all be born degenerates and mutants."
Chief Richard Devins, when asked about the missing people, claims no conspiracy exists. "We've received no missing persons reports, and if we were in the business of covering up murders, we wouldn't be out there every day hunting down the bad guys," he said this morning. "But you can rest assured, we will look into these allegations and prove that they're false. Until then, we urge the citizens of Seattle to avoid panic."
"Great mother, if this isn't a shit storm waiting to happen." I put down the magazine and looked at Chase. "Why haven't our newborns been reported as missing? Anybody know anything about that?"
"Anna-Linda, why don't we go into the kitchen and get a snack?" Delilah said. "We can finish the game in there."
Anna-Linda snorted. "You guys just want to talk without me in the room." She looked over at me and broke into a run, racing over to throw her arms around my waist. "Thank you. Thank you for helping me!"
Mystified, I glanced at Siobhan, who gave me the thumbs-up. "Anna-Linda's going to live with her aunt in Boise," she said. "Nerissa and I found out she has relatives there. And surprise of surprises, her aunt's husband—"
"Let me tell her! Let me tell her!" Anna-Linda jumped up and down.
Siobhan laughed. "Okay, go ahead. Tell her your news."
Anna turned back to me. "My aunt's husband is a werewolf. They have twins who are four years old. Darrin, the boy, is an FBH, and his sister, Chrissie, is a werewolf. I can help them on their ranch, they have a small dairy farm, and I'll help Aunt Jean with the kids and learn to ride and get back in school."
Her eyes were shining and I felt an overwhelming urge to cry—not because of the shit she'd gone through, but because she'd lucked out. She was going to make it off the streets. Anna-Linda would be okay. She'd grow up and, if she was lucky, turn out to be a happy, healthy young woman.
"I'm so thrilled for you," I said. "I take it your mom and your aunt don't keep in touch much, huh?"
Anna-Linda's face drooped a little. She shook her head. "No, my mom said that Aunt Jean's a drag and doesn't understand her. But she said she doesn't care if I go live with her."
Ouch! I couldn't imagine not caring where my child lived.
Siobhan rested her hands on Anna-Linda's shoulders. "Why don't we go into the kitchen and get that snack? That way Delilah can stay here and talk to Menolly."
