Page 67 of Starved Until Sunset

“Could it have been whoever he’s using as his own personal Renfield?” Clarabell said. “He needs someone living to guard him during daylight hours and set things up for him, right?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Oliver got up to pace. “But it sounds like he’s been here in town for a long time. He’d need someplace dark and quiet to stay during the day. A place where he wouldn’t be suspected or found, and his own personal Renfield wouldn’t draw suspicion by behaving maybe a little differently.”

“His own personal Renfield sounds like a terrible remix of a great Depeche Mode song,” Clarabell said.

“He’d need someone with access to bodies and maybe digging equipment or space to house himself and however many he’s turned.” Demetrius looked up. “Funeral home maybe? Or cemetery?”

“Worth a visit,” Clarabell said, then looked toward the French doors. “But tomorrow. Sun’s going down soon.”

“It gets dark so much earlier now,” Demetrius said, thinking of Cody. As if on cue, Demetrius’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out. And smiled.

“I know that smile,” Clarabell said with a smile herself. “Did the big galoot apologize via text?”

“So classy,” Oliver said, then got up to refill his wineglass.

Demetrius read the text several times, his heart lifting higher with each pass.

I’m sorry I was such an ass this morning. I love you, and I missed you today. I reacted badly because I’m afraid I’m going to lose you to these crazy cases. Please let me know you’re okay. I’m going out to see my grandma. I think a lot of weird stuff has gone on out there, and I want to make sure she’s okay. I love you with all I have. Please tell me you’re okay.

Before Demetrius could respond, another text from Cody came in.

I must really love you, because I left a shawarma in the fridge for you instead of eating a second one. And John the Bastard sends his love.

This time, Demetrius laughed aloud.

“Well, looks like everything is back to normal in the Bower-Singleton household,” Oliver said from the kitchen island. “Ready to make a plan for the rest of the night?”

“I’ve got crosses and holy water,” Clarabell said.

“Of course you do,” Demetrius said. He put his phone away without responding. He needed some time to think about what he wanted to say. And maybe he should say it in person.

“We could drive up and down the streets and look for people acting like vampires,” Clarabell said.

“The streets are packed with tourists dressed like werewolves and vampires,” Demetrius said. “We need to do something different. Something more specific to saving Zenona. Do we have wooden stakes?”

“Not on me,” Oliver said.

“Let’s take a trip to the hardware store,” Clarabell said. “I’ve got some discretionary money I can spend.”

“Yeah, about that.” Oliver waved a hand to indicate the apartment. “How are you affording this place? Do you have a job we don’t know about? Are you, like, some kind of secret banking person for a few hours a day?”

Clarabell gave him a look. “How much wine have you had?”

“One glass,” Oliver said.

“One very full glass,” Demetrius amended, receiving a look.

“I’m very good at finding, applying for, and receiving grants,” Clarabell said before getting to her feet. She grabbed her small shoulder bag and slung it across her body. “Let’s go. Hardware store will be closing soon, I’m sure.”

Demetrius took in her tie-dyed caftan and rainbow socks. “Do you want to change?”

Clarabell held out her arms. “Are you kidding? This outfit is a statement. Come on, dudes, we’ve got some stakes to make.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The array of weapons laid out on Amelia and Otis’s dining table was both impressive and disturbing.

“Where the hell did you find a crossbow?” Cody stretched out a hand, but pulled back, afraid to trigger the thing. Instead, he let his fingers hover in the space above its stock.