Page 111 of Fire Dancer

She didn’t mean the vampires part. More like catering, a job beneath the dignity of a dragon.

Edwards pulled out one of those sketches the police made when they didn’t have a photo of the suspect. And, oh. Was it just that they’d never snapped one, or because vampires didn’t show up in photos? Or had modern technology changed that since digital cameras didn’t use mirrors?

I made a mental note to ask Ingo later.

Edwards tapped the sketch. “Gregor Hadik. Ring a bell?”

“Not the name, but I saw him there,” I said.

I also saw Ingo kill him, but why bore Edwards with such details?

“Gregor?” My mother snorted at the sketch. “No loss there. Such a prick.” Then she chuckled. “Ha. Get it? Prick? Vampire?”

I frowned. “I could have died, Mom.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. I didn’t raise my daughters to die foolishly.”

More accurately, she hadn’t raised us, period. But there was no winning with my mother.

Captain Edwards returned to the original subject. “I can’t say I’ll mourn Hadik. Been wanting to put that bastard away for years.”

My hopes rose. If Edwards was pleased about that, he might not push hard about Ingo’s involvement in the whole episode.

“Well, then. All’s well that ends well,” my mother concluded.

It would be if law enforcement operated that way. But, heck. My mother had worked her magic on Edwards when Nash had been in the hot seat. Maybe she could do the same now.

When she yawned and asked for coffee, I seized my opportunity.

“We’re all out. But there’s a great place in town for brunch. Great views, great service…”

Mom didn’t look interested, but she did perk up when I threwCute waitersinto her mind.

“You really must buy a decent coffee machine,” she grumbled.

Yeah, just for her and her infrequent, unannounced visits. I would make a note to add that to our list of priority expenses, right up there with the thousands we owed in property taxes.

I drooped at the thought. We’d solved our vampire problem but not our financial issues. My hopes of winning the $25,000 prize had died with Jananovich.

Ingo touched my back, reminding me to look on the bright side.

I threw him a grateful smile. Yeah, it had definitely been worth it.

“Brunch is a great idea,” Ingo told Edwards. “I could write a full report of the incident while you’re there. I mean, the little I witnessed,” he added quickly.

“It’s an all-you-can-eat brunch, and they have the best espresso in town.” I threw a pointed look at my mother.Ask for Conrad.

Her eyes glittered. “Maybe I will try it…”

I nodded eagerly. “You really should. Plus, it would give you a chance to catch up with Todd — er, Tom.”

I was operating on Pavlov’s principle, because it could come in handy for Edwards to associate our ranch with the positive reward of my mother.

Which struck me as ironic, but I supposed one man’s reward was another’s worst nightmare.

Edwards scowled at Ingo, but his longing eyes betrayed hope when it came to my mother. Finally, he grumbled and stood.

“I expect a full report in two hours.”

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