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Otto was immediately seized by two vampires who seemed amazed and delighted to see him outside his own four walls.
Kane shot me a curious look. “You brought a date to a funeral?”
“He isn’t a date. We drove here together since he’s blind and too short to see over the steering wheel anyway.”
“Did he know Diamond?”
“What’s with the questions? People show up for funerals. It’s normal.”
“He isn’t people. He’s a vampire.”
I gestured to the crowd. “So are half the mourners in attendance. Why does it matter?”
“Fine. He’s a vampire that doesn’t generally mingle.”
“Don’t make an issue of it. You’ll make him self-conscious, and he’ll retreat into his shell.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed the two of you would become so chummy. Perhaps there would’ve been hope for you and Diamond after all, had he lived.”
“Now we’ll never know,” I said with mock regret.
Kane lifted his chin slightly. “I like your dress. It suits you.”
“Thank you.” Given his reaction to Otto’s presence, I declined to mention it was on loan from the vampire.
“Josephine is observing the proceedings from an undisclosed location,” he advised. “She wants to see whether she can identify the guilty party.”
“She thinks Diamond’s killer would show up for the funeral? That’s ballsy.”
“If it was another assassin, they might. It would be questionable if they didn’t attend.”
“Are all guild members present and accounted for?” I asked.
Kane silently counted heads. “Yes.”
I lowered my voice. “You don’t really believe one of yours did this, do you?”
“No, but I must warn you, there are a couple members who seem convinced you might have been involved.”
I nearly laughed. “Me?”
“It isn’t that far-fetched. You were so distressed by his trespassing that you showed up at a guild meeting and issued a threat.”
“It wasn’t a threat. It was a general announcement.”
“Assassins aren’t as reasonable as the average person. They hear a threat when someone asks how much is that puppy in the window.”
“Sounds like a ‘them’ problem.”
He leaned closer. “I’ve warned them to leave you be or they’ll have to answer to me.”
I inched away. “You don’t need to fight my battles for me. I’m more than capable.”
Someone stood at the grave and rang a bell, prompting mourners to huddle closer to the casket.
Otto had already planted himself next to a blonde of average height with more than a few extra pounds around her midsection. It seemed the vampire had a type.
I maneuvered away from Kane to stand between Gunther and Camryn as the proceedings began.
