“The trial!?” I snapped, abandoning my efforts to collect my wits. “You mean the trial’s already been held?”
The vampire nodded.
“That’s right. Needless to say, your friend was found guilty.”
“Why do I get the feeling he didn’t get a suspended sentence for a first offense?” Guido growled under his breath.
“As a matter of fact, he’s been slated for execution at the end of the week,” Vilhelm admitted.
That got me out of my seat and pacing.
“We’ve got to do something,” I said needlessly. “How about it, Vilhelm? Can you help us out at all? Any chance of getting the verdict reversed or at least a stay of execution?”
“I’m afraid not. Character witnesses alone wouldn’t change anything, and as for new evidence, it would only be your word against the existing witnesses . . . and you’ve already admitted the defendant is a friend of yours. Mind you, I believe you, but there are those who would suspect you’d say anything or fabricate any kind of tale to save your partner.”
“But can you personally give us a hand?”
“No, I can’t,” the vampire said, turning away. “You all seem like real nice folks, and your friend is probably the salt of the earth, but I have to live here and deal with these people for a long time. If I sided with outsiders against the town legal system, my whole career would go down the drain whether I was right or not. It’s not pretty and I don’t like it, but that’s the way things are.”
“We could fix it so you like it a lot less!” Guido said darkly, reaching into his coat.
“Stop it, Guido,” I ordered. “Let’s not forget the help Vilhelm’s already given us. It’s a lot more than we expected to get when we first came into this dimension, so don’t go making enemies out of the only friend we’ve got locally. Okay?”