Awake at Dawn (Shadow Falls #2)(55)

"But not worried enough to even speak to me, huh?" The look on Miranda's face was half sad and half angry. She met Kylie's gaze again. "Your turn." She pointed to the office door. "Watch out, the she-wolf bites."

Kylie gave Derek's hand a tight squeeze and then walked into the room to face Burnett and the she-wolf. Kylie was no longer as intimidated by Burnett as she was the first time she'd been interrogated by him, but a nervous tickle still fluttered in her chest.

Chapter Seventeen

Burnett made Kylie go over what happened several times. Then he asked specific questions. "You said the rogue vampire was bloody. Did it look like fresh blood? How much time passed from when you saw the girls to when he appeared?"

Then Burnett asked the same questions in a slightly different way. At one time she'd have thought he was trying to catch her in a lie, but now she suspected his intent was to make sure she wasn't forgetting something and hoping a slightly different question might lead her to remember some minor detail that could be useful. Problem was, Kylie didn't want to remember. She longed to forget, to wipe it from her memory forever. And seriously, what else could she tell him that might be helpful?

"Could you describe the blood to me?" Burnett straddled a straightbacked chair in front of Kylie, reminding her of their first interrogation. Only this time she sat on the sofa with Holiday beside her.

"I already did." She felt her patience being pulled like a tight rubber band.

"One more time." His tone demanded obedience.

It was the tone that finally made Kylie snap. "You know who did this.

You know who his victims were. So is any of this really necessary?"

She gritted her teeth and tried not to start crying again.

"We decide what's necessary," Selynn answered in her haughty tone, moving in behind Burnett.

Kylie glared up at the werewolf, not trying to hide her contempt.

Selynn's tone annoyed Kylie even more than Burnett's harsh tenor. At least with Burnett, she heard real concern. With Selynn, it seemed to be all about power. She liked having it and enjoyed using it. "You think we did this, don't you?" Kylie asked Selynn.

"I think-"

"Stop." Burnett frowned at Selynn, then glanced back at Kylie. "Kylie, I know you didn't do this. And I know this isn't easy. However, blood patterns might tell us if he was killing for sport or for food."

His statement made her stomach churn. "And why does that make a difference? Those girls are dead no matter what his reasons were for killing them."

"I think she's had enough questions." Holiday placed her hand on Kylie's wrist, offering moral support and a strong surge of calm. The rush of peaceful energy slowed Kylie's heartbeat and lessened the tightness in her chest. Not that it could make it all go away. Kylie didn't think that power existed.

Burnett looked at Holiday, then at Kylie. "It won't change what happened. But right now, we need all the information we can get on this creep to be able to catch him. To stop him before he does this again."

Burnett's words shifted around inside her head and pulled at her conscience.

Two girls had died. Violently died. Was it too much to ask for Kylie to suffer through a few more minutes of questions? No, it wasn't. Taking in a breath, she sat up straighter.

Holiday stiffened. "For a vampire, your hearing is really bad. I said she's had enough."

"It's okay." Kylie turned her palm over and gave the camp leader's hand a squeeze. "If it helps stop this guy, I can do it." But she didn't let go of Holiday's hand.

Ten minutes later, apparently when Burnett felt he'd drawn every detail about the incident he could out of her, he stood up and looked down at her. "Thank you, Kylie. I know this wasn't easy."

She nodded and after she let herself breathe in and out a couple of times, she decided it was her turn to ask the questions. "Do you think he wanted it to look as if we'd killed these girls? Like they tried to frame someone at the camp for killing the animals?"

Burnett shook his head. "No. There's nothing to lead us to conclude that."

"Do you think ... do you think he followed us into town?"

He considered her question for a second. "No, I don't. I think it was a coincidence that he ran across you."

Holiday squeezed Kylie's hand. "I told you, this isn't your fault."

"No, it isn't," Burnett said. "This has nothing to do with you, Kylie."

"Then how come it feels so ... personal?" Kylie asked. "I mean, he keeps showing back up. At the park and then last Friday. I didn't actually see him then, but I'm assuming it was him. And even after that I ... I've felt as if someone was following me."

"When did you feel this?" Burnett asked.

"Yesterday morning when I came to the office before breakfast. At first, I thought it was the wolf but-"

"Wolf?" both Burnett and Selynn said at the same time. While Burnett looked concerned, Selynn immediately started twitching, trying to read Kylie again. It took everything Kylie had not to reach up and cover her forehead. Maybe even give the woman the finger.

"When was this?" Burnett asked.

"A couple of days ago," Holiday answered. "It wasn't a werewolf. Kylie said it appeared to be semi-tame. Nonthreatening."