The Accidental Vampire(101)

"No, that's okay," Elvi said. "I'll take them."

Karen bit her lip, and then admitted, "I don't think they're going to let you out of the

house, Elvi. They were plotting how to keep you here when I started upstairs."

"Oh, they were, were they?" Mabel said and both women turned to find her standing

in the bathroom door, still damp from her shower and wrapped in a bath towel. She'd

obviously heard everything.

" Mabel?" Karen gasped, staring at her with amazement. "You—You—"

"Not bad for an old broad, huh?" Mabel asked with amusement when Karen couldn't

seem to find the words she was looking for.

Karen sank to sit on the side of the bed and just stared.

"I gather the men didn't mention that Mabel had turned?" Elvi asked gently.

Karen just shook her head, apparently dumbstruck.

Elvi patted her shoulder, and then glanced to Mabel as the woman crossed the room

with determined strides.

"So the men are plotting, are they?" Mabel muttered as she moved to her closet and

began to rifle through her clothes. "Well, they're about to have a fight on their hands.

Mabel Allen and Ellen Stone do not lie down for anyone to step on. We—" She paused

suddenly, alarm on her face, and then cried, "I don't have a thing that will fit me

anymore!"

"I have clothes you can wear," Elvi said quickly, and then added, "And I have a plan

too; one that doesn't include the need for confrontation."

"No confrontation?" Mabel asked, sounding almost disappointed. She always had been

a fighter.

"Mabel, there are more of them and they're bigger than us," Elvi pointed out. "In a

confrontation, they'd win. Brains are better here."

"Brains." Mabel nodded. "We've got them beat already, then."

Elvi smiled and turned toward the door. "Come on. Let's go find you something to

wear. You too, Karen. We're definitely going to need your help."

"This isn't going to get me into trouble, is it?" Karen asked as she stood to follow.

"Trouble?" Elvi asked with surprise. "No, of course not. We're just going to the fair. It's

not like we're going to do something illegal."



Chapter Nineteen





"I'm sure they didn't steal your car, Teddy. Elvi said they weren't going to do anything

illegal."

Victor exchanged a glance with DJ as Karen Knight tried to soothe the outraged police

captain. Teddy Brunswick hadn't taken it at all well when—after DJ had returned from

checking on Mabel to announce that the women were gone—they'd all rushed out to

the driveway to find his patrol car missing. He'd cursed a blue streak as they'd piled

into Victor and Harper's cars and raced to the park where the fair was being held.

Karen had the unfortunate luck of returning to her car in the parking lot for another

box of pies as they pulled in. Spotting her, Teddy had leapt out of Victor's car and

charged over, practically foaming at the mouth.

"They were just going to come to the fair," Karen went on. "The plan was they were

going to sneak out through Elvi's sunroom and ride over in my car, but there wasn't

enough room, with all the pies in it. I wasn't sure what to do, but they said to go

ahead, they'd find another way to get here."

"And then they stole my car," Teddy Brunswick said furiously.

"I'm sure they didn't. Elvi said they wouldn't do anything illegal," Karen repeated

anxiously.

"Well, then she lied," Teddy snapped.

"That's kind of harsh, Teddy," Mike said with a frown, slipping a supportive arm around

his wife. "Elvi and Mabel aren't the sort to lie and steal. They probably just borrowed

it. They would have brought it back after the fair."

Seeing that Brunswick was winding up for another rant, Victor interceded. "Where are

they now, Karen? I presume they got here, all right? The patrol car is here."

"Oh, yes, of course." She smiled at him with relief, apparently grateful to turn away

from Teddy. "They're manning the booth."

"What booth?" DJ asked fretfully. "Mabel shouldn't be out of bed."

"Mabel was supposed to man the pie booth, but there was so much demand at Elvi's

booth, she ended up helping her over there and I took over the pie booth," Karen

explained. "They're really racking it up too, I can tell you."

"What and where is Elvi's booth?" Victor asked patiently.

"It's the Biting Booth, only it isn't the—" Karen broke off as Victor turned and headed

off into the park, the other men hard on his heels.

"I can't believe she's still biting when she knows it's against our laws," Harper said with