Dead Spots (Scarlett Bernard #1)(18)

“So?” I’d said, not carefully enough.

“Lions don’t usually hunt humans. This was very strange behavior, and they were very strange lions. But the humans didn’t abandon the area. They didn’t move the bridge, or send in a bunch of scientists to capture and study the two lions. They hunted them down and killed them. For being predators. For simply following their natures.”

“That was a long time ago, Dashiell. Times have changed.”

He shook his head. “In many ways, yes, but not in the way that humans react instinctively to a threat. They hunt it down and kill it. Look at the Americans and terrorists.” He had said Americans as though we weren’t sitting in beautiful Southern California at that very instant. “The witches can mostly pass for human, but the wolves and the vampires have very distinct weaknesses—the full moon and the daylight. We can be hunted so easily.” His eyes had met mine then, and glittered with meaning.

“You’re trying to tell me something,” I’d said, not getting it.

He leaned back in his chair, spreading his hands expansively. “Nulls appeared when the balance between magic and the natural world had shifted toward magic. But when the balance swung back, when the population of magical creatures began to drop, and then to drop further and further, nulls continued to be born. Why do you suppose that is?”

I’d shrugged. “Maybe evolution is phasing magic out entirely.”

“That is one theory,” he’d allowed. “But there’s another.”

“What is that?”

“That nulls will help us hide from human detection. That your kind will protect us.”

And the way that he’d looked at me, in that exact moment...Well, it taught me to be afraid of him.

“You’re thinking like a cop,” I told Jesse, emerging from my reverie and taking a sip of my soda. “All law and order, but that’s not how the Old World works. Self-preservation is everything to these people. If they were discovered, they would either try to take control of humans or be hunted to extinction. Probably both.”

“So they should just get away with killing people?” he protested.

“No, just...Look, right now, the only thing that unites the entire Old World is the fear of being exposed. It kind of works as its own justice system right there.”

Cruz thought that over for a moment, but then shook his head. “Okay, look, I need to think about that a little more. I’m still not sure that I shouldn’t just arrest you right now.”

“Good luck with that trial.” I checked my watch. “It’s getting late. Let’s go talk to Will.”

I grabbed his hand without thinking. It was warm and dry, and I dropped it almost immediately. What was wrong with me tonight? He followed me past the tables and through the EMPLOYEES ONLY door, where the bar’s din dropped down to a much more manageable level. Will was waiting for us in the hall outside the office that he shared with Caroline. I introduced the two of them, a little awkwardly.

“Will, this is Officer Jesse Cruz, and Cruz, this is Will Carling. He, um, owns this bar.”

The two men shook hands, and then Will said, “Come on in. I’ll show you those pictures.”

We followed him into the office, and he went behind his big oak desk and took out an oversized envelope full of photos, handing it to Cruz. I sat in one of the visitor chairs and looked at the walls, trying not to fidget. For someone who is technically a creature of the night, Will’s life often seems more normal than mine. The walls in his office were lined with pictures of the Little League team Will coached, a huge fish he’d caught, his mom and siblings. I wondered if his family knew what he was, if it bothered them. I felt a brief flare of jealousy, missing my own past as a normal person.

“Him,” Cruz said, and I jerked back to attention. He was holding up a photo of Will with Caroline and some of the other wolves, pointing to a slender, wispy man in the back. “This is him.”

Will took the picture and looked closely. “That’s Ronnie. He’s new to the pack, transferred last year from...Phoenix, I think.” He looked up and shrugged at us. “I don’t actually know him all that well, but he works at a comic book shop not too far from here, a mile or so east on Pico.”

“Last name?” Cruz said, suddenly all business. He’d gotten out a little pen and pad. They looked brand-new.

“Pocoa, I think. Something close to that. But Scarlett said you weren’t arresting him.” He looked pointedly back and forth from me to Cruz, who nodded.

“This part of the investigation is out of the public record. It’s just me. We’ll ask Ronnie if he knows anything, and if he can help, great, if not, that’ll be it,” Cruz said, then added firmly, “Of course, if he’s involved somehow, I’ll have to pursue it.” I had to admire Cruz a little bit for that one. Of course, he’d never seen Will turn into a wolf and snarl at an underling.

Will stood up. “Sounds reasonable to me.” He reached over and shook Cruz’s hand, indicating that the meeting was over. Good. I was tired.


I drove us back to my parking garage. Cruz was quiet beside me, and I wondered for a second if he’d fallen asleep. Then he spoke.

“My mom worked on a vampire movie once.”

“Your mom works in the movies?”