Midnight Bites (The Morganville Vampires)(93)

Really tough to hang on to that smile. “You have some information, Miss Morrell? I’d sure love to hear it.”

“Fine.” Monica yawned and inspected her fingernails, which were a perfect dark blue to match the dress. “I was driving by about noon and saw the body in the alley.”

“Body? Last I heard, she wasn’t dead.”

“Well, she looked it. Anyway, I’m the one who called it in. So I guess I saved her life.”

“Probably.” Hannah didn’t want to say it, but sometimes you had to give the devil his due. “She’d been lying there for hours, bleeding.”

“Can’t blame me for that. I didn’t get the memo.” Monica cocked her head to one side. “Huh. You’d think the vamps would have come running to the all-you-can-eat, what with the blood everywhere.”

That . . . was actually quite a good observation, and Hannah had to pause to consider it. Under all the hard gloss, Monica Morrell was clever, if not smart. “Did you see anything else?”

“Like some weirdo lurking in a hoodie? Miss Scarlet in the library with a candlestick? Nope. Just the girl and the blood.” Monica was quiet for a second. “I know her. Lindsay. I mean, it’s not like we’re besties, but she wasn’t a total loss. I don’t suppose you’ll ever figure out who did this, though.”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence.”

“Well, it’s Morganville, and she’s just human, so why bother, right?”

“It almost sounds like you don’t care for that. That’s a change, isn’t it? I thought the vampires could do no wrong; don’t you have that on your family crest?”

“Look, the vampires do what they want—we both know that—so let’s not get all Internet rage-aholic about it. Nobody’s going to go on strike for better living conditions. So enough already. Am I done?” Monica waved a hand in Hannah’s face that she was very tempted to flex-cuff, just on general principles. Too bad she had no real reason.

“Sure,” Hannah said. “Get off my crime scene.”

Monica got behind the convertible’s wheel and pulled away with an insolent squeal of tires that was probably meant as a middle finger, but Hannah didn’t much care. She was used to disrespect. When she felt it was necessary, she drew the line, but Monica didn’t matter enough to deserve the effort. Hannah had already forgotten her before the smoke faded from the tire scratch.

She walked back to the place where a girl named Lindsay had silently hung on to her life alone, waiting for someone to come save her. All that blood, dried on the pavement. Vamps must have known she was down and bleeding. Why not check it out?

It was a really good question. One that deserved an answer.

Hannah documented the scene with meticulous care, took all the necessary samples, and logged the evidence.

And then she went to ask Oliver some questions at his coffee shop, Common Grounds.

? ? ?

Eve Rosser—no, Eve Glass these days; hard to get used to that—was on duty, and was her usual Goth-chipper self. Hard to tell under all that dyed-black hair, pale makeup, and abusive eyeliner, but she was a pretty thing. Not delicate, no—strong. Had to be, growing up in Morganville. She’d taken her fair share of trouble around here, survived, and even thrived; Hannah respected that. As usual, Eve had nothing but a bright smile for her as she approached the counter.

“Chief! Hang on a sec, let me think—how about a corretto? I just learned how to make it.”

“Doesn’t that come with a shot of booze?”

Eve’s dimples deepened. “Why, Officer! I think it might.”

“Then I’m going to have to pass, and I won’t even cite you for attempted bribery. How about just a straight-up coffee?”

“One of these days, I’m going to expand your horizons, Chief—see if I don’t.” Eve got out a chunky white mug with the Common Grounds logo and poured from a carafe in the back. “Here you go. Hot and black.”

“Thanks. I’m going to need to talk to Oliver.”

“Don’t we all? Because it’s payday and he’s nowhere to be seen, and I’d really like my sweaty, coffee-scented, pathetically small check.”

“He’s not here?”

“Nope. Hasn’t been in all day. It’s weird. He’s usually here, or at least calls.” Eve shrugged. “Guess he’s busy.”

Hannah sipped her coffee and thought for a while in silence. Oliver being oddly busy—not to mention being all up in her crime scene business—was something that gave her pause. Not going to learn anything sitting around drinking Colombian, she thought. She idly scrolled numbers on her cell phone, considering, and then selected one and dialed.

Three rings. One more than courtesy, but at last, the line picked up, and the head vampire Amelie’s cool, calm voice said, “Chief Moses. I’m surprised to hear from you.” The implication was pretty clear that mere human cops didn’t have the Founder’s permission to call up to chat.

“This isn’t a social call,” Hannah said. “Did you send Oliver to dig around in the assault of a human girl?”

The pause was long, which was suspicious, but it also didn’t tell her much. Amelie’s silences were never telling, just ominous. “Oliver’s business is none of yours,” she said. “And I know nothing about this girl.”