Since I’d finished To Kill a Mockingbird, I woke up to find On the Road by Jack Kerouac and A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway along with a law book added to the growing stack of textbooks Ezra left for me by the couch. On the Road wasn’t as horrible as I’d envisioned it being, and I sprawled out on the couch to read it.
“How are you finding the book?” Ezra asked when he came into the living room to check on my progress.
“It’s okay.” I shrugged and sat up more, setting the book aside so I could talk to him. “How do you decide which books you want me to read?”
“I’m picking at random from the most critically acclaimed books of the last century.” He picked up the worn copy of A Farewell to Arms, flipping through it absently. “This is one of my favorites. I was hoping you’d pick that one first.”
“I read Old Man and the Sea in high school and almost died of boredom. I’m holding off on Hemingway, if I can.”
“Well, you’re going to read it.” He set the book back down on the couch and crossed the room to sit down on a chair.
“What about the law book? How did you decide on that?” I asked, gesturing to the new textbook.
“You didn’t seem that interested in anatomy. I thought law might suit you better.”
“So what’s your plan? Try everything until you find something that interests me?”
“My plan is to educate you.” He smiled. “It’s up to you to find out what interests you and what you’re passionate about.”
“Law might interest me.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.
“How so?” Ezra asked, sounding hesitant to know why it would interest me.
“The thing is…” I shifted, trying to think how I wanted to phrase it. “There’s word going around the clubs that a vampire is branding girls, human girls.”
“What reputable source did you hear this from?”
“You know I’ve been hanging around Olivia’s, and I hear things,” I said. “What does it matter where I hear it from?”
“It matters because I know you’re developing some kind of theory here, and it would be nice to know if that theory has any basis in reality.” Ezra leaned back in the chair, looking at me evenly.
“It does. Or at least I think it does.” I glanced down at the floor, not wanting to admit to Ezra that I wasn’t really sure how much I could trust Violet. Maybe she was just messing with me for the fun of it. I shook my head, deciding that I had to go with the only lead I had. “Look, for the sake of argument, let’s just agree that everything I say is true.”
“No,” he shook his head.
“Ezra!” I groaned. “Just hear me out, okay?”
“I’m presuming this is all about Jane, and I already told you that I can’t help you with that,” Ezra said, his eyes looking sad. “Nothing can.”
“A vampire is branding girls, okay?” I ignored his refusal. “Something about that just feels wrong to me.”
“I would hope so.”
“No, not just because it is wrong, but like…” I shook my head. “It’s a gut feeling. I think it’s connected, but I might be wrong. Before I go on a hunt for the vampire branding people, I’d like to know for sure.”
“And how would you find that out?” Ezra asked.
“If it is the same guy, he probably marked the girls he killed.” I took a deep breath. “He probably marked Jane.”
“That’s a hell of a leap.” He pursed his lips and looked down. “A lot of vampires are not nice. They do bad things to humans all the time simply because they can. Just because a vampire is branding humans doesn’t mean he’s a serial killer. And even if it does, it doesn’t mean he left a mark on Jane.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right,” I said, but I hated to admit it. “But something about this feels like a vampire. I went out looking at the crime scenes-”
“You what?” Jack asked, startling me so much I nearly jumped.
I’d been too focused on my arguments to convince Ezra that I hadn’t been paying attention, and Jack had snuck up on me. He stood off to the side of the living room, his blue eyes wide and disapproving. I swallowed hard and smiled sheepishly at him.
“I didn’t see you standing there,” I said.
“You went to the crime scenes? Why?” Jack asked.
“What do you mean why?” I looked up at him. “I wanna know what happened to Jane.”
“And what did you find out?” Jack asked.
“Nothing. I don’t know anything.” I lowered my eyes for a minute, then looked up, pleading with Ezra. “But you can help. I know you at least know somebody on the police force. You can ask them. I know they withhold some information. If she has any marks, anything at all-”
“You’re gonna hunt down the killer? That’s your plan?” Jack raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t really have a plan,” I admitted.
“Yeah, I figured that, since you think it’s a good idea to hunt a serial killer on your own.”
“I can handle myself, Jack.” I stood up. “Milo and I are stronger than you.”
“Maybe,” Jack shrugged, but he momentarily looked hurt. Physically, Milo had definitely become a lot stronger than Jack, but it wasn’t something he liked hearing. “But you don’t see me doing stupid stunts like you.”