Always the Vampire

“Still, using our power to kill is out of the question,” Cosmil declared.

“Then how about making a couple of bombs that will distract Starrack long enough to give us an advantage?”

“A diversionary tactic?”

“With a punch of shock value.”

“That we could do. What else is on your mind, Francesca?”

“Did you get Legrand’s tissue sample from France?”

“This morning,” Cosmil confirmed. “The sample does carry the Void smell, but has not added sufficient potency to our spell to overcome whatever cloaking Starrack is doing. Not yet. Be assured we will not give up.”

“Then it’s even more critical that I train with Saber and Triton. I know my primary role is to suck bad guy energy, but I have to be ready for the spells Starrack might throw at us in case I need to take up the slack. Fireballs, laser fingers, freeze zaps. Whatever he has up his sleeve.”

Lia raised a brow. “You’re resigned that the confrontation may take place on Friday?”

“I know when not to fight the tide.”

“Very well,” Cosmil said. “You will train together.”

“We also,” Triton put in, “need to know if you and Lia will be with us. Will you physically help out with counter spells?”

Cosmil nodded slowly. “We had planned to be present for the confrontation but out of sight.”

I snorted. “Then you better count on a be-invisible spell because there isn’t much cover on the roof of the parking garage. I have photos you need to see, and Saber got security video of Starrack.”

“You did?” Triton asked.

“Thanks to your phone calls. Two of the four stores that had missing ouzo also had video. The clips are fairly clear, so they’ll help ID Starrack when the time comes.”

Saber set up his laptop and inserted a DVD. Though I’d already seen the footage, I crowded behind Triton and Lia for another look at what the sketch hadn’t shown us. Starrack appeared to be shorter and huskier than Cosmil, but the shape of the chin, cheekbones, and eyes bore out the family resemblance. At one point in the first clip, he looked straight into a low-mounted camera he didn’t seem to know was there. In the footage, his eye color showed up as more of a flat, rainy-day gray than Cosmil’s brighter blue gray eyes. Starrack’s gunmetal gray hair was also different, cut in a shorter style than Lia had depicted.

In each piece of video, Starrack moved with supreme arrogance, whether he wore casual jeans and a polo shirt, or dressier slacks and a button up shirt. His clothing was the only detail of his appearance that changed from store to store, so perhaps he wasn’t into disguises.

“Tracking his thefts, Starrack has hit liquor stores from Daytona Beach and Palm Coast to Palatka and St. Augustine. The incidents have been happening for about two weeks are usually on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.” He paused to look at Cosmil and Lia. “Does this pattern mean anything to you, other than he’s run out of booze?”

Cosmil shook his head. “It means nothing that I can think of, but it does set him up to strike again on Friday.”

“It also proves Starrack was in town when I shifted,” Triton said.

“He had to work fast to hire those thugs who beat up Triton.”

Lia shook her head. “Starrack could’ve easily attracted shady characters merely by offering a large sum of money to the criminals.”

“Cesca, show them your photos now,” Saber said as he ejected the DVD.

I fished my camera with its combo charger and download cord from my workout shorts pocket, and plugged in. When the photos flashed up on the computer screen, I saw they had turned out better than I’d feared they might. My dinky digital rocked.

I pointed out the elevator and stairwell towers, the traffic ramp, and the four-foot safety walls blocking the ramp. With a few clicks of the mouse, I also pulled up a professional aerial shot from the Internet for comparison before clicking back to the pictures I’d taken.

“By Friday night, the light on this level might be brighter because we’ll be nearer to full-moon time. Barring cloud cover.”

“I see what you mean about the lack of places to hide,” Lia said. “What about concealing ourselves in the stairwell?”

“The door does pull inward, but your view of the entire lot would be restricted. Of course, you’d be able to hide in the truck,” I added with a gimlet eye at Triton, “if someone would agree to stage a dead-battery hook up.”

Triton shook his head. “Cesca, the safety walls are too high for them to observe and react.”

“They could stay in your truck until the action starts,” I said, pointing at the screen below where the ramp opened into the topmost lot, “then take cover behind the wall.”

“If we do set up a roadblock, we should stage it farther down the ramp.” Triton slashed a finger across the spot he had in mind. “Less chance of a stray driver stumbling into the battle.”

“You’re right. That’s a much better place. Do you want to be the jumpee or the jumper?”