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He reset the auto control for Kensington, then got out the wristcom and dialed Sam’s number.
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The screams were coming from the second floor. Sam flashed her ID at security and ran for the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. By the time she reached the second floor, all the nursing home’s residents seemed to be milling in the corridor. Many more screams had joined the first, and the sound was almost deafening.
“SIU, folks. Please clear the area!” She had to shout to be heard above the din, and even then it did no good. Everyone ignored her—or perhaps they had their hearing aids turned down to cut out all that noise.
She pushed her way through until she reached the room at the far end of the corridor. Inside, the kite had sheeted its victim. Two nurses were gamely attacking the creature with brooms, alternatively sobbing and screaming for help.
“SIU, ladies. Step away!”
The two women looked up, relief etched across their faces when they spotted her. When both stepped away, she fired the stun gun at the creature’s head.
It looked up and snarled, but she kept firing. The creature rose, shaking its head as it backed toward the window. Then it turned and jumped out. She ran over. The creature was fleeing for the nearest tree, white flesh billowing in the breeze.
There was a fire escape to the left of the window. She clambered out, then hesitated, glancing back. The nurses, their faces still white, were beginning respiration on the victim. Given the bloody condition of his face and chest, she didn’t hold out much hope, but at least they were trying, no matter how gruesome the task was.
“I’ll call an ambulance,” she said, and immediately did so.
“Thank you,” one nurse said. Her expression said it all; for all intents and purposes, the victim was dead. But that wouldn’t stop her from at least trying. Sam nodded and ran down the rusting metal stairs. Her wristcom vibrated, indicating an incoming call. She glanced at it, saw it was Gabriel and groaned inwardly. The man had a knack for catching her at the wrong moment. She hit the answer button.
“What?” She jumped past the remaining five steps and hit the ground running. The kite had taken to the treetops, jumping from one to the other like some great white bat.
“What’s wrong?” Gabriel’s voice, instantly on edge.
“A kite just attacked one of the four men in the photograph I took from Lyle’s.”
“Where is it now?”
“Heading west up Racecourse Road.”
“Where are you?” His voice had a resigned note. He obviously had a pretty good idea of where she was.
“Right on its tail, figuratively speaking.”
“I see you now.”
He did? Why the hell was he in Kensington? A gray Ford slowed to a stop beside her and the door flung open.
“Get in,” he ordered.
She did. After securing her seat belt, she leaned forward and watched the kite jump across the treetops. “It appears to be heading for the racecourse.”
“It probably has some type of escape route there.”
“I thought you said these things were brainless. And that they were only active at night.”
“Obviously, we were wrong—on both counts.”
“Are you admitting that the SIU doesn’t know everything?” she said, slipping a note of shock into her voice.
His quick glance suggested he was not amused. She grinned and continued to watch the kite. If any of the pedestrians noticed the monster above their heads, they gave little indication. Nor did the passing traffic seem to see it. Maybe such monsters had become an everyday event, or maybe people simply thought it was a sheet tumbling in the breeze.
The creature leapt over the race ground’s fence and disappeared from sight. Gabriel swore, then spun the wheel and aimed the car straight at the nearby gates.
“Hang on,” he said, almost as an afterthought.
