Skin Trade(7)
“What you need to ask yourself, Shaw, is did he do it on purpose, to make my job harder, or did he not give a damn about the effect it had on you and your men?”
“You know him better than I do, Blake. Which is it-on purpose, or didn’t give a damn?”
“I don’t know this vampire, Shaw. I know his victims, and the vampires he left behind for killing. I thought he’d resurface because most of these guys can’t stop once they get to a certain level of violence. It’s like a drug, and they are addicted. But I never dreamed he’d send me presents or special messages. I honestly didn’t think I’d made that big an impression on him.”
“We’ll show you the crime scene when you land. Trust me, Blake, you made an impression on him.”
“Not the impression I wanted to make,” I said.
“And what was that?”
“A hole in his head, and a hole in his heart big enough to see daylight through.”
“I’ll help you do it.”
“I didn’t think undersheriffs did fieldwork.”
“For this one, I’ll make an exception. When can you get here?”
“I’ll have to check the airline schedule, and I’ll have to check the regulations for my vampire kit. Seems like the rules change every time I have to fly.”
“Our marshal didn’t carry anything special on him that you couldn’t get on a plane with if you’ve passed the air marshal test.”
I thought to myself, Maybe that’s why he’s dead. Out loud, I said, “I’m bringing phosphorus grenades if I can get them on the plane.”
“Phosphorus grenades, no shit.”
“No shit.”
“They work on vampires?”
“They work on everything, Shaw, and water makes them burn hotter.”
“You ever seen a man dive into water, thinking it will put it out, but it just flares?” Shaw asked.
I had a sudden picture in my head of a ghoul that had run through a stream trying to get away. He, or one of his pack, had killed a homeless man who’d fallen asleep in the cemetery where the ghouls had come out of the graves. They’d never have attacked him awake, but they still ate him, and that still earned them an extermination. I’d just been backup for a flamethrower team of exterminators. But ghouls that are brave enough to attack and kill the living rather than just scavenge the dead can turn deadly. Which means you don’t send civilians in without badges to back them. It’d been the first time I’d used the grenades. They worked better than anything I’d ever used on ghouls. When they go bad, they are as strong as a vampire, faster and stronger than a zombie, immune to silver bullets, and almost impossible to kill with anything but fire. “I saw some run through a stream. The phosphorus flared up around them like a hot, white aura everywhere the water splashed. So bright, the water sparked in the light.”
“And the men screamed for a long time,” Shaw said.
“Yeah, ghouls, but yeah, they did.” I heard my voice utterly cold. I couldn’t afford to feel anything yet.
“I thought modern phosphorus didn’t do all that,” he said.
“Everything old is new again,” I said.
“I’m beginning to see why the vampires think you’re scary, Blake.”
“The grenades aren’t what make me scary, Shaw.”
“What does?” he asked.
“That I’m willing to use them.”
“It’s not being willing to use them, Blake. It’s being willing to use them again.”
I thought about that, and finally said, “Yeah.”
“Call me when you have your flight arranged.” His voice was unhappy with me, as if I’d said something else that wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
“I’ll let you know as soon as I know. Give me your direct number, if you’re my go-to guy.”
He sighed loud enough for me to hear it. “Yeah, I’m your go-to guy.” He gave me his extension and his cell phone number. “We’re not going to wait for you, Blake. If we can catch these bastards, we will.”
“The warrant of execution died with your vampire executioner, Shaw. If you guys kill them without me or another executioner with you, then you’ll be looking at charges.”
“If we find them, and we hesitate, they’ll kill us.”
“I know that.”
“So what are you telling me to do?”
“I’m reminding you of the law.”
“What if I said I don’t need a fucking executioner to remind me of the law?”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. I have a friend with a private plane. That’s probably the fastest way to get to you.”