Chapter 16 #2
“Ready?” Cody said when he moved back.
“Ready.”
Demetrius followed him out the door, locked it behind them, and headed for his truck.
They still had plenty of time until sunset when they reached the house.
The clouds had cleared out, pushed east by gusts of wind, and the heat index had climbed.
Even so, Demetrius shivered as he and Cody walked up the cracked driveway of the house on Shale Road.
The tall weeds sprouting from most of the cracks brushed his bare legs.
Insects buzzed around them, and somewhere out in the trees a blue jay screeched.
He adjusted his grip on the water rifle, fingers tight on the plastic as garlic water sloshed in the reservoir.
They walked the perimeter first, inspecting access points and checking for tracks before approaching the side door. They saw no sign anyone had been inside since Demetrius had closed it behind him on Saturday. The marks were slightly weathered but stood out against the peeling and pitted door.
“Ready?” Cody asked.
“Yeah.” Demetrius gazed along the trees bordering the yard, trying to see deeper into the shadows.
“You sure?”
Demetrius nodded. “Just nervous, not sure why.”
“It’s a creepy old house. I’m nervous, too. But I want to get this done in the daylight. Basement first?”
“Yeah.”
Cody turned the knob and pushed the door open.
The hinges squealed just like before, the sound running down Demetrius’s spine like icy water.
He squared his shoulders, held the water gun tighter against his chest, and followed Cody inside.
They switched on the bright LED flashlights they’d brought and descended the wooden steps.
Without saying a word, they stuck together, walking around the entire basement.
The bright beams chased away shadows as they went, pausing now and then to wipe cobwebs off their heads or duck around dangling wires.
When they reached the mattress, the tangled clothing was now stiff from the dried black blood.
Cody played the beam of his flashlight over all of it, including the cowboy boots standing side by side at one end.
Claws skittered overhead through one of the ducts coming off the furnace, and they both jumped.
“Fucking vampires find the nastiest places to roost,” Cody said, shuddering. He squatted beside the mattress and pointed to a hole. “What do you think? Had this hole always been there, or was it left by the force of the stake someone put into him?”
“I didn’t notice that before.” Demetrius crouched beside him. “It doesn’t appear too frayed around the edges. I’d say it happened when he was staked.”
“Which tells me someone really let him have it. Come on, let’s check out the rest of the place.”
Cody straightened up, ducking his head as he walked under the ducts toward the stairs, and Demetrius followed.
The other rooms were the same as Demetrius remembered: newspapers and black trash bags covering the windows, the few pieces of furniture left behind, the layers of dust, and the oppressive heat of a sealed up house sitting under the blazing summer sun.
They made quick work of the search before returning to the kitchen and leaving through the side door. Demetrius pulled it shut behind him.
“Still not clear who was here or who offed him,” Cody said.
“Right.”
Cody stared over Demetrius’s shoulder, and his expression hardened. When he followed Cody’s gaze, he saw Lucia and Gayle coming up the driveway, both in sheriff’s khakis and sunlight dancing off the lenses of their sunglasses.
“Doing a bit of B&E between critter catching?” Lucia asked.
“We were following up on a client call,” Demetrius said.
“One we heard about at The Rusty Screw,” Cody said.
Lucia went very still. Gayle looked between her and Cody before asking, “The Rusty Screw? Is that a place around here?”
Cody kept his eyes on Lucia as he replied to Gayle. “Yeah. It’s a bar out on Hemlock Way, right at the border with Lawrence County. Been there a long, long time. I’m surprised you haven’t heard it mentioned before.”
“I haven’t.” Gayle turned to Lucia. “Do you know it?”
“I’ve heard of it.” Lucia didn’t take her eyes off Cody. “But just recently. And I haven’t been there. I hear it’s a pretty rough place.”
“Yeah,” Cody said. “Pretty dead during the day, but it really comes alive at night.”
A long silence stretched out between them.
“How’d you know we were here?” Demetrius finally asked.
“Someone called it in,” Lucia said, finally turning to him. “There’s apparently been a lot of activity around this abandoned house.”
“They did?” Gayle’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t hear it.”
“You were in the gas station buying the drinks.” Lucia looked back at Cody. “What were you two doing in there?”
“Having sex,” Cody said. “Like hot yoga, only more intimate.”
Demetrius’s eyebrows went up.
“Public indecency,” Lucia said. “You trying to spend a couple nights in jail?”
Cody pressed his lips tight.
“What else do you know about The Rusty Screw?” Demetrius asked.
Lucia took a step closer to him. “After all these years, do you not understand the dynamic here?” She gestured between them. “Law enforcement asks the questions.”
“Did you know this house was a vampire roost?” Demetrius asked.
“Wait, what?” Gayle appeared genuinely surprised. “Those fucking things are back? How? When?”
“Who told you it was a roost?” Lucia’s voice was steady, unsurprised.
A weed brushed his leg as it bent in the breeze, and he looked down to swat it away. He caught sight of Lucia’s black work boots, then jerked his gaze back up to her. “Did you see anything during your shift on Saturday?”
“We ask the questions, how is that still not clear?”
“Lucia didn’t work Saturday, but I did,” Gayle said. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”
Demetrius saw his own satisfied expression in the reflection in Lucia’s sunglasses. “It was you. It’s been you, all along.”
“I don’t know what—”
“Did you carve the fangs into the door while I was inside? Were they meant to be a warning?”
“Fangs?” Gayle said. “What fangs?”
“I could take you in right now,” Lucia growled.
“It’s her?” Cody said. “The vampire vigilante?”
Demetrius nodded, not taking his eyes off Lucia. “It’s her.”
“Lucy, what’s he talking about?” Gayle said, her voice soft and confused, edging on hurt. “What’s going on?”
“Goddammit.” Lucia turned in a circle, hands on the back of her head.
When she faced them again, she shook her head as she looked between Demetrius and Cody.
“You fucking Critter Catchers always think you’re so smart.
” She pointed at Demetrius. “You shouldn’t have gone inside that house alone.
And unarmed. What the fuck were you thinking? ”
“It was the middle of the day,” Demetrius said, hearing his voice rising, feeling his heart beat faster. “Were you following me?”
“No, I had just finished inside there when you showed up.” She jabbed her finger at Cody. “And you shouldn’t have gone into The Rusty Screw alone.”
“How’d you know about that?” Cody said.
“I’m the law around here,” she said with a sneer. “I know about everything.”
“Do you know about Fang?” Demetrius asked.
Lucia removed her sunglasses, giving him the full force of her glare. “I told you, you shouldn’t have gone in there alone.” She gestured to the house behind him.
“No, not the fangs carved into the door. The drug Fang.”
She blinked. “Drug?” She looked between them. “What drug?”
“We need a group meeting,” Cody said.
“Someone tell me what the fuck is going on,” Gayle said. “Please?”
“When are you two done with your shift?” Demetrius asked.
“A couple of hours,” Gayle said. “What’s Fang? And who carved fangs into a door?”
“It’s a long story,” Lucia said, her voice gentler. “I’ll fill you in.”
“Fill me in?” Gayle scoffed. “I shouldn’t have to be filled in. I’m your partner, at work and at home. This all should have been shared with me from the start.”
“I know,” Lucia said. “We’ll talk after this.”
Shaking her head, Gayle strode back to the cruiser parked at the curb. Lucia sighed and watched her go before facing them again.
“How bad is it?” she asked.
“It’s not good,” Cody said. He lifted his chin in Gayle’s direction. “You two living together now?” Lucia didn’t respond. Cody gave her a big smile and said, “Congratulations. Should I get you a gift?”
“You shutting your damn mouth for fifteen minutes would be the best gift I could ever receive.”
Demetrius intervened with, “I’ll call Clarabell after this and see if we can get everyone together once your shift is done.”
“Text me and let me know.” Lucia put her sunglasses on. “I need to smooth things over with Gayle.”
“Maybe be nicer about it than usual,” Cody said. “Might get you farther.”
“Have I told you to fuck off recently?” Lucia said.
“That’s what’s been missing from my life.”
“Fuck off, Bower.”
She walked back to the cruiser and got behind the wheel.
Demetrius let out a breath. “What do you think?”
“I think I need a shower and dinner at Margie’s before we deal with Clarabell.”
“Good idea.”
Lucia pulled away from the curb as they started down the drive. Gayle sat in the passenger seat, face turned away from Lucia as she stared out her window.