The Single Undead Moms(93)

“Again, that’s a very peaceful word for it. ‘Gone.’ It’s odd, isn’t it, that you become a vampire and suddenly the man who was trying to take custody of your son is exsanguinated?”

“Yes, it does seem odd to me, since I can’t imagine doing harm to Les. And it makes even less sense to me that you seem to think that I, a recently turned vampire, would kill someone in a distinctly vampiristic fashion and leave him out in the open where anyone could find him. That wouldn’t exactly throw the suspicion off of me, now, would it?”

Sergeant Lane’s face went slack for a second, as if the blatant oversight of motive had just occurred to him. Sherlock Holmes he was not.

“And where were you last night around two?” he asked again.

“I believe that I’m going to refrain from answering questions until I’ve contacted my local Council representative, which is a right guaranteed under the Undead Civil Rights Act,” I responded.

An expression of extreme irritation flashed across Sergeant Lane’s features. I smiled sweetly, my lower lip dragging on my fangs.

“I’ve already called them and explained. They’re on their way,” Kerrianne yelled from the kitchen. I turned my head toward my babysitter, who beckoned me from the hall where Sergeant Lane couldn’t see. I nodded.

“If you’ll excuse me for a second.”

I crept down the hall to the kitchen, where Kerrianne was standing, wringing her hands.

“Kerrianne, what the hell?” I hissed.

“I didn’t know what to do, other than call the Council, but none of the reps was awake yet,” Kerrianne said.

“Sorry, I’m just being asked to absorb a lot of messed-up information at once. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right. Badges just make me nervous,” Kerrianne groused. “Wade’s been calling me all day, asking me to check on you, even though I reminded him several times that you were kind of literally dead to the world. He also said to tell you that he went back this morning and put everything away so those PTA witches wouldn’t fuss at you. Only he didn’t say witches. I’m assuming you know what he’s talking about.”

I nodded. Wade had taken the time to put away the stupid Pumpkin Patch games in the midst of all the chaos I’d dragged him into. I was going to have to be careful, or I was going to fall head over fangs for that man.

I paced around the kitchen, watching Kerrianne cook and listening to Danny’s cartoons while Sergeant Lane cooled his heels in the living room. After what he’d done, I wasn’t about to make him any more comfortable in my home. How could this be happening? Les was dead, and I seemed to be suspect number one. What if I went through all of this only to lose my son when I went to jail for a murder I didn’t commit? Should I just run with Danny? Take him away from everything he knew so we could escape the scrutiny?

Maybe it would be better for Wade and Harley—and Finn, for that matter—if we did leave town. Maybe they would be better off if we just ran far away so my crazy didn’t contaminate their lives like some horrible movie virus.

I was considering escape routes to Mexico when I heard footsteps beating a staccato rhythm across my porch. Jane and Dick didn’t even bother knocking on the door. They just walked right in. They looked windblown, as if they’d run all the way across town to get to me because driving would have meant breaking several traffic laws. Aw. That made me feel loved, as did the heretofore unseen murderous expression on Dick’s face when he looked at Sergeant Lane.

I would not want to be Lane at this moment.

“Sergeant Lane,” Jane said, her tone supremely frosty. “How have you not been fired by now?”

The lanky officer looked less than thrilled to see my local Council rep. And that made me sort of happy. He bristled, drawing himself up to his full height, which was still about an inch shorter than Jane. “I don’t think—”

“That’s the problem, Sergeant Lane, you don’t think. From what I hear, you’ve been questioning one of my constituents without a Council rep present. And you compounded that dumbassery by questioning that vampire’s child without his parent’s consent.”

“You’re just peeing all over the Constitution from both sides of the Undead Civil Rights Act, aren’t you?” Dick growled.

“I’m going to need you to come downtown with me to answer some questions,” Sergeant Lane said, attempting to grab my arm. I sidestepped him, sliding between Dick and Jane.

“You do realize that our police station isn’t actually downtown, right?” I asked him.