Chapter 19

We drove the car off the top of Mulholland drive and back into the Other Side with a thump. I wound my way through the cobblestone streets to the police station.

I walked into the holding office and plunked the baggy full of drippy clothes on Lacy’s desk.

“Sorry, I’m afraid I caught him more dead than alive.”

She gave me a heavy sigh, “Do you know the extra paperwork this is going to cause me?”

“That’s why they pay you the big bucks, Lacy.”

She got up and sashayed her way over to the register to fill out my proof of vanished-but-still-taken-care-of corpse delivery.

“Hey, Lacy?” I asked.

“Hmm?” she replied.

“Any word on weird stuff going on with the vampires?”

She ripped out the receipt and brought it over to me, “You been living under a rock?”

“Evidently. What’s going on?”

“New leader just took over. Something about promises to unite them and restore them to a position of pride and dignity. Blah blah blah.”

“Huh. So who is this leader?”

“Vampires aren’t too forthcoming about giving names and, personally, I try not to spend too much time in their company,” she said as she placed a meaningful blue finger on my shoulder.

“Lacy, when did you get shy?” I replied. “You’ve always been my ear to the ground. My person-in-the-know. My go-to-hell gal. I need you to live on the edge.”

She grabbed a stack of papers and plunked them in front of me, “And I need you to fill all this out in triplicate and return it to me by close-of-business Friday.”

Lacy sure knew how to ruin a gal’s day. I should have let those vampires turn me. I wouldn’t have to fill out the twenty-page Form 168A staring up at me.

Lacy leaned her elbows on her desk, “Listen, you didn’t hear it from me, but you should head down to the Wagon and Cock. They always seem to know what’s going on.”

“Thanks, Lacy. What would I do without you?”

“Die.”

“That’s about right.”

I stepped into the car and turned on the engine.

“Any good word?” asked Killian.

“Got a nice little lead,” I replied. “How about you let me buy you a drink?”