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“Oh. ”
“But even so,” Weinstock continued thoughtfully, “would that protect men against a vampire who didn’t believe in Judaism?”
Crow said, “My, my, here we are discussing the actual power of God. ” He smiled and shook his head. “I mean, think about it. We are discussing which symbols of God will stop vampires. That’s quite a topic. And doesn’t it suggest that God is actually real? That He has power that can actually affect things in our world?”
“Well no shit,” said LaMastra. “What’s your problem? Don’t you believe in God?”
“Not much, no. ”
Ferro asked, “What were you before you lost your faith?”
Crow’s eyes were like flint. “A child,” he said. “I had it beaten out of me at an early age. ”
“I’ll stick with fire,” Weinstock said. “Fire purifies, as the saying goes. ”
“It would be interesting,” said Ferro, “to see how we could burn them without burning down your whole town and all the surrounding forestland. ”
They sat and thought about that for a while. Crow said, “Okay, this is farm country. Getting plenty of garlic is not a problem. We ought to be able to rustle up a hundred tons of it if we have to. ”
“I’m toying with the idea of bathing in it,” said LaMastra.
To Crow, Ferro said, “Is your fiancée going to be okay with this? With what we have to do to her brother?”
“It was her idea in the first place. ”
“She’s a pretty tough lady. ”
“You have no idea, Frank. ”
Ferro nodded. “You agree we have to do this, right?”
“Yeah, damn it. ”
“Mark is my brother,” Val said from the doorway. They could all see that she’d been crying, but her mouth was a hard line. “He’s…dead, and that’s something I’ll have to live with, but I can’t go on without knowing if he…if he…” Even she could not say it. No one blamed her. “But we have a responsibility to this town. If Mark and Connie are infected we have to know. I have to know. I owe it to the town, and to my baby. ”
“I’m sorry,” Ferro said softly.
She nodded, accepting it. “It’s getting dark. If we have to do this, let’s do it now. ” She paused and stifled a sob.
“Val,” said Ferro, “you should probably stay here while we—”
“No!” she snapped. “Listen to me, Frank. All of you listen. Mark is my brother. I love him. Do you think I’ll let him be alone through this?” Her voice was as harsh as a slap across Ferro’s face, and he winced. “Jonatha said that in order to test him we have to make him taste blood, that we have to put it in his mouth. Well, here’s what we’re going to do. Crow, you and Vince are going to hustle your asses out to the closest farm stand and buy all the garlic they have. As soon as you get back we’re going to go right down to the morgue, and you men are going to hold him down, and I am going to cut open my thumb and spill my blood, my family’s blood, into my brother’s mouth. That is what’s going to happen. Don’t you dare try to tell me it’s not. ”
The men stared at her in amazement, each one of them trying to measure their personal courage to see if it came close to matching hers. At that moment, there was not a man in that room who wouldn’t have died for her.
“And if my brother is one of them, if he’s become a…a…”
“Val,” Crow whispered, touching her.
She looked down at his hand then into his eyes. “If Mark is a vampire,” she said in a deadly whisper, “then we will do what needs to be done!” She paused for a moment. “And may God have mercy on us all. ”
Chapter 29
By the time Crow and LaMastra got back from the farm goods stand, the others had things ready to go. Val was on the far side of the morgue, standing by one of the room’s two large stainless-steel surgical tables, arms folded under her breasts, head bowed, staring down at a body completely covered by a clean white sheet.
Ferro said, “What did you get?”
“Cloves and a couple of big jars of garlic oil in gelcaps. I had a brainstorm while I was out. ”
