Certain Dark Things(36)

“Two criminals. Kika, do you have the information?”

The younger woman grabbed a tablet and presented it to Ana. A photo of a corpse. Ana slid through them. Corpses and more corpses. Several were charred, unrecognizable. A woman. Blood splatters and viscera.

“What am I looking at?” Ana asked.

“The future,” Valentina said. “They did this.”

“The Godoy boy and the Iztac girl did this?”

“Godoy killed Atl Iztac’s mother. Her clan retaliated. These are the results. You’ve seen the girl that vampire killed behind the nightclub. That is the beginning. How many more corpses do you want to drag to your morgue?”

Ana looked down at the screen again. Under the pressure of her fingers a portion of the photo she was looking at seemed to distort. Her mouth felt dry.

“How about that drink now, Detective?”

Valentina was toying with the stem of her glass while Kika had taken out a cigarette and was blowing out smoke rings. She wondered how this girl had gotten involved with a gang; she looked a bit too bubble gum to Ana, like a kid playing gangster.

Then she thought of Marisol and frowned.

Ana wanted a better life for the both of them. She certainly wanted those two vampire narcos off the streets. She was not interested in more random murders. Deep Crimson members were no saints, but who was she kidding, it wasn’t like the cops were any better. Castillo didn’t give a shit.

Fuck it.

“‘Consultant’ is the right word,” Ana said, speaking quickly. “I’m not bringing those two in for you. I’ll watch, you provide the muscle. And I need half up front, tonight.”

“Give me the account number and I can initiate the transferal,” Valentina said. “Or would you rather have a plain, old-fashioned suitcase?”

“A bank transfer is fine. From a discreet account, I hope.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it any other way. Kika, darling,” Valentina said, raising a hand and making a languid motion.

The young woman smiled and took the tablet from Ana’s hands, fiddling with the screen and presenting it back to her. Ana entered the necessary numbers. Then the young woman pressed a button. Just like that it was done. Ana had never wanted a smoke more badly in her life, yet at the same time she felt almost relieved.

“Weapons, you’ve considered that?” Ana asked.

“Whatever you need,” Valentina said.

“You can’t kill a vampire with bullets. Your best bet is a cattle prod,” Ana said.

“That works?” Kika asked, sounding interested.

“It stuns them, sure. Vampires are stronger and more agile than us, but they are wildly susceptible to certain stimuli. A number of chemicals induce something akin to anaphylactic shock. Some get it from coming in contact with stuff as innocent as garlic. This girl’s type, it’s silver nitrate. I’m sure you can get darts with it. We had them in Zacatecas.”

“And the boy?”

“I’m not sure there’s anything that can truly knock a Necros off his feet hard, except sunlight. You can smoke him a bit with UV light, but it won’t kill him. Silver blades will screw him. Bullets can also pound some damage into him, but you shouldn’t believe the lies they spew on the Internet. A gunshot, blessed bullet or not, will not kill a vampire by itself.”

“You know your stuff.”

Ana thought about her years spent trying to keep order in Zacatecas, and the numerous vampires she’d encountered. Yeah, she knew her stuff. She had a morbid fascination with the bloodsuckers, to be sure.

“Don’t make the mistake of asking for actual silver bullets,” Ana added. “Lead, coated with silver, will do. Pure silver is terrible, the bullets are less accurate. And if you can’t get silver-coated bullets don’t worry about it too much. The darts are the thing to aim for.”

“We’ll need a few days,” Valentina said.

“Good. I’ll look for your vampires in the meantime,” Ana replied.

“We should have a toast, to—”

“Some other time, thanks,” Ana replied.

She walked down the stairs without bidding Valentina a formal goodbye. When she reached the street she paused by the building’s main door, listening to the buzzing of the neon sign. The clatter of heels alerted her to Kika’s presence before she turned her head.

“Why the hurry, Detective?” the woman asked, sliding next to her.

“I’ve got work to do, don’t I?”

“Then you’ll need this.”

Kika handed her a large envelope. Ana opened it and saw that there were photos inside. Pictures of Atl and Nick. Also copies of the images she had looked at on the tablet, the parade of corpses.

“If we have anything else we’ll let you know,” Kika said. “Right now that’s it, just pretty pictures and a bit of background on them both.”

“Thanks.”

“I can ask for a cab for you. It’s going to rain.”

She could hear the faint, ugly music from inside the temple, seeping out into the street. Ana shook her head.

“I’ll take my chances,” she replied.





CHAPTER

14

Cualli was at the door, waiting for her. She rubbed the dog’s head and tossed food in his bowl before stepping into the shower.