“Did they come out this way?” she called.
“No one’s been in or out since you went in,” I responded.
She swore and started to re-enter the building.
“What happened?” I shouted desperately.
“We nailed one of them, but Vic got away. He’s loose in the building somewhere, and he’s got the girl with him.”
With that, she disappeared before I could make any further inquiries.
Terrific.
“Exciting, eh?” Pepe said. “I tell you, I could watch such a chase for hours.”
“Well, I can’t,” I snapped. “I’ve had it with sitting on the sidelines. Massha? I’m going in there. Want to come?”
“I dunno. Hot Stuff. I’d like to, but somebody should be here to plug this escape route.”
“Fine. You wait here, and I’ll . . .”
I turned to enter the building and bumped headlong into Vilhelm.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, not really caring.
The Dispatcher shook his head slightly to clear it. Being smaller, he had gotten the worse of our collision.
“I’m here with the witnesses, remember? I was supposed to bring them.”
“You were supposed to send them. Oh well, where are they?”
“Right here,” he said, gesturing to a sullen group of vampires standing behind him. “This is Kirby, and Paul, and Richard, and Adele, and Scott . . . some of the most respected citizens in town. Convince them and you’re home free.”
Looking at the group, I suddenly realized how Aahz had ended up on death row. If the jury had been anything like these specimens, they would have hung their own mothers for jaywalking. While I didn’t relish the thought of trying to convince them of anything, I found myself being very glad I didn’t have to deal with them on a regular basis.