And they were barely moving.
“Sandy, thanks—can you let me out here?”
“Sure,” Sandy said. She pulled over.
Quinn hopped out of the car. “I’ll have my cell—call me, if anything. Please.”
“Of course!” she assured him. “And you call me—“
“I will.”
He headed over to Duval at a lope, then down toward Front Street. He saw the little sign advertising the bar just down a side street and he hurried there.
It was quiet. Almost deadly quiet. But, he saw a number of the film crew sitting beneath the thatched roof area by the secondary bar.
“Hey!” Andrew Bracken said, rising to meet him.
The girl introduced to him as Sasha—the one playing the monster in Lucinda--was with Andrew at a table. A number of other extras were there nearby, but he didn’t see Vanessa Green or the leading man, Joe Tybalt.
“Quinn!” Andrew called to him, surprisingly glad to see him. “You’re here—you’re not fleeing like the rats in such a hurry to get out of here.”
Quinn refrained from reminding him that rats were smart enough to flee from a sinking ship as he walked over to join him and Sasha at the table.
“Hey,” Sasha said.
“Hey,” he returned, and then he asked, “Andrew, Sasha, have either of you seen Danni?”
Andrew nodded. Relief flooded through Quinn.
But then Andrew said, “She was at the beach. You know, she’s a stunning woman. I wish she’d take part in the film. Actually, wish you’d take part in it, too. We have a scene coming up—once Kathy is back to do some writing—that involves a couple touring the cemetery. Before they get killed, of course. It has lines and everything. Oh, ooh—very bad taste at this moment, right?”
“Andrew, where is Danni now?” Quinn asked.
Andrew shook his head. “She was with us and then the girl came out of that pine forest screaming—I’m sorry, bad taste or not, that’s some footage, reality, you know?—and then she was super smart. I heard she’s the one who told the cops to look back in the pines when everyone was heading for the girl. They found one, you know.”
“Zombie-nun,” Quinn said.
Andrew nodded sagely. “After that, I don’t know. Hey, you have an in with the police, right? Maybe you can find out what’s going on. They’re going to have to talk to the public—if they want to have any tourists left!”
“Maybe I’ll do that. Where are your stars?” he asked.
“Hanging tight together—deciding on a place for dinner. I think that the natives are mostly staying—I mean, they have no homes outside of here to go to, right? They’re all going to need whoever is still in the city. Man, this place is going to go down like a lead sinker if they don’t fix things fast!”
Andrew Bracken sounded almost cheerful.
Because the publicity could make his little cult flick a huge success.
“Ah, yeah, well, when you find out what you’re doing, will you give me a call?” he asked. “We’ll join up with you—once I find Danni.”
“Sure,” Andrew said cheerfully. He smiled. “Maybe I’ll take you into the film world.”
Quinn smiled.
Not in this lifetime, buddy!
He waved and headed out on to Duval. There were people scattered around the various bars on the street—all staying together.
All talking about the attack by the zombie-nun.
He searched through the crowds, stepped into every bar.
He’d been back in Key West nearly two hours now.
There was no sign of Danni.
Where the hell was she?
***
“All right. You’re going to tell me everything—absolutely everything—you know about these attacks,” Detective Ralph Mason told Danni.
They hadn’t gone to his station; they’d gone to his house on Angela Street. The officer who had driven was sitting in the living room reading a magazine.
He’d made her sit there for well over an hour, walking around, making tea—feeding his bird!
Detective Mason had Danni seated at his little yellow breakfast table. He paced around her and paused now and then to put his hands down on the table.