Page 35 of Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters
Zacchini shrugged. “You just look more attackable. Seriously. Carr, if you were gonna pick a victim, who would you go after?”
“Oh, Kyle, definitely,” Loveless drawled from where he sprawled in the corner. “He’s just so nice and compact.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Everyone wants to take a crack at the short jokes these days. I’m average. The Internet says so.”
“Of the four of us, you’re the closest to the profile,” Vikash said reasonably.
“Great. You can call my mom and tell her I was turtle food.”
“You could just absorb it,” Loveless said with an airy wave.
“Doesn’t work like that, Carr.”
Vikash nudged him. “We’ll be right there with the net.”
The Kyle-as-bait thing wasn’t a shock. He’d talked about it with Vikash earlier in the week and he was griping out of habit and nerves. Hell yes, the whole thing unnerved him.
“It won’t get a chance,” Vikash whispered to him. “I won’t let it.”
Kyle couldn’t help a little smile in the darkness of the back seat. No officer wanted to see one of their own go down, but he had more than that. Someone was fiercely concerned just for him.
Lieutenant Dunfee pulled over on Kelly Drive near the end of the boathouses and turned in her seat. “Last chance to back out, Monroe.”
“I got this, ma’am. I mean, they’ve probably got Lourdes playing bait on the other end and the monster’ll come after her first. And then get the shock of its nasty life when cars and Dumpsters start smashing into it.”
There were a few grim chuckles as the team piled out. Lieutenant Dunfee had her finger pressed to her earpiece. She spoke a few words, glanced up, and jerked her head at Kyle. “They’re in position. Go.”
Kyle gave a jaunty salute and sauntered off down the river trail. A shiver made him hunch and shake his shoulders out as he passed the Sedgely Club. The trail was well-lit here and the lighthouse cast its beacon out onto the water, but he couldn’t help recalling the badass leather jacket’s sighting of the monster. Maybe he hurried past a little faster than he should have for someone who was supposed to be putting out a strolling, come-and-attack-me vibe, but he did breathe a little easier and slowed his steps when he cleared the Sedgely’s well-kept and river-exposed lawn.
After the Sedgely, he didn’t expect anything to happen this far up where the boathouses sat closer together. The Snapping Turtle of Doom would have a far better opportunity later again. He’d worn white sneakers and a white T-shirt under his much-faded jean jacket, all the better for predators of any sort to spot him. There were a few people out, couples walking close, a few loners walking quickly, but for the most part, the river walk wasn’t as well-lit or as populated as he would have liked.
I hope I don’t get mugged before the damn thing shows up.
He had the ridiculous urge to rush back and give Vikash a kiss, like some hero going off to battle, but he managed to restrain himself. Really, he needed to have a talk with his brain about agreeing with his baser urges too often. He’d bring pie charts and graphs to the meeting and be terribly stern.
Instead, he gave his partner a thumbs-up and meandered downriver along the trail.Just a late-night stroll. Taking in the moonlight. Got no place to rush off to.
Past the tidy stone and red tile building for the Philadelphia Girls Rowing Club, past the Undine Barge Club that had always reminded Kyle of a medieval castle, past the smaller, more practical Penn AC and College Rowing buildings.
As he approached the Vespers Boat Club, he tensed. The Tudor-style building with its turrets and balcony railings cast odd shadows in the moonlight. The trees overhung the trail here, blocking out much of the light, and Kyle strained for the sound of a splash over the crunch of his steps through fallen leaves. There was a broad stretch of lawn between Vespers and Lloyd Hall with no fencing between the water and the river trail. The perfect place for a snapping turtle ambush.
I hate this. God, I hope the damn thing is down by the Waterworks.But no splash sounded, as Caitlin had described. Kyle was almost past the open lawn, almost to the relative safety of Lloyd Hall, when a hiss and a rustling came from the right.
“Shit!” Kyle yelped and leaped back as a huge beaked head lifted from the shadows beside the trail to snap at him. “Fuck, oh, fuck!”
He backpedaled toward the street, the monster coming after him much faster than stumpy-clawed legs should have allowed. A smaller shadow flashed by him, heading toward the monster. Carrington flung himself between Kyle and the snapping beak, and tossed one end of the net over the monster’s head. The mesh caught and the vampire yanked hard, trying to pull the massive head around and away from Kyle.
“Grab an end!” Carrington yelled. “We have to get the rest of the beast tangled in the net!”
Kyle was already diving for the trailing end of the net, pulling it out and over the turtle’s back where it managed to get one foreclaw tangled in mesh. Running footsteps pounded down the path, Amanda and Vikash catching up to them.
We’re gonna do this. It’s going to be okay.
Just as this premature triumphant thought crossed Kyle’s brain, everything went to hell. There wasn’t even a handbasket in which to toss the pieces. The monster reared up, as no turtle should, ever, and pulled Carrington off his feet. It jerked its head, flinging him so that he flew several yards through the air. Now there was a splash, though only indirectly caused by the turtle.
“Carr!” Amanda dropped her part of the net and raced toward the water.
“Damn it, Zacchini! We need you here!” Kyle shouted, but she didn’t slow down.
