Page 25 of Top Secret Vampire

“If confronted, she might confess.”

“That would be perfect, but I doubt it.”

So did I.

She called the detective and left a message for him to stop by when he had time. With a sigh, she leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. “What do you need from me?”

I started down my list of suspects. “Wilber Blight. He showed up not long after someone crept from your house.”

“You said you thought the person was a witch. I doubt Wilber is.”

“We’ll see.” I continued reading my notes. “He’s running for state legislature, and you have information that could damage his campaign. Plus, there’s something suspicious about his mother that I need to research.”

“It could be something silly.” Taking a nail file from her desk, she sawed it across one of her nails. “Random fact. When we were young, he couldn’t go out in sunlight.”

An interesting detail I wrote down. “Why not? Did he ever say?”

She tossed the file onto her desk. “I think I remember him saying he burned easily. He was kind of hyper about it in elementary school, hiding in the building’s shadows. Kids can be mean. He still went out during recess back then, but he always wore long sleeves, a hood that covered his face, and even gloves.”

“That must’ve been hot in the summer.”

“But effective. One of the mean girls, and there were too many of them, sadly enough, loved to run behind him and yank his hood down, exposing his face. The poor guy would cry. The teachers were pretty good about it, though. They’d rush over andcover him up fast. But by the end of the school year, and I think this was third or fourth grade, he would stay inside even during recess.”

“Were his parents the same?”

“I know where you’re going with this.” She tapped her chin. “Monsters emerged into human society only a few years ago, but I assume vampires have always lived close to their prey—us.”

“You’re correct.”

“I’m trying to remember if I ever met his parents, but I don’t think so. He didn’t participate in any sports or school activities. I would’ve seen his parents if only in passing if he’d done band, for instance. Or acted in plays. I did a lot of that. It was fun. Sad that he didn’t.”

“I’ll look into it. Wilber could have a skin condition, or he could be a born vampire. My family is ancient, which means, over time, we’ve acclimated. Most of my family can remain in sunlight for long periods of time. Other families are not as fortunate.”

“How ancient are we talking about?”

“Let’s just say that my tour of the Egyptian pyramids would come with details passed down from close relatives who lived during that time.”

“Wow. You really are old.”

My cryptic smile grew. “Please don’t call me daddy.”

Her snort rang out, and she rose from her chair. “I’ll keep that in mind. I’m going to grab some dinner. Do you eat food?”

“Sometimes. We don’t digest it like you do, but it doesn’t make us sick. I still enjoy a good tenderloin. Extra rare, of course.”

“Grim, Wolfie,” she said with a trilling laugh as she scooted out of the library. “Very grim.”

The next morning, I finished planting traps outside her home while she did some work in her office. I joined her, taking my usual place on her sofa with my pad of paper in front of me. When she’d finished, we continued going through the rest of my suspects.

“Flint Prospect,” I read.

“Really?” She sat at her desk again, the chair turned to face me. “Why my old professor?”

“He appeared jealous of your success. He hired your assistant; one might even say that hestoleyour assistant. And we don’t know if he did so before or after she quit.”

“I doubt either one of them will tell you if you ask, though I’d start with Flint. At this point, I don’t care if I ever talk with Tracy again. Good luck to her if she hopes to get more than employment dates out of me for a future reference.” She sighed. “Although, I need to wait until after the local law enforcement looks into it. Maybe she wasn’t involved.”

“She’s the most likely suspect. She was angry with you yesterday. She quit without giving notice, and she had access to your accounts. You said no one else did.”

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