Captain Pelhan exhaled. With a surge of sound and motion, the room began to get back to normal. “It’s going to be one hell of a Halloween tomorrow,” he said, then his expression went grim. “Randy, I asked you to take Dr. Cambri to the break room. I have to finish a few things, and I’ll be right in.”
Trisk pulled out of Randy’s new grip on her with a jerk. “Am I under arrest for breaking curfew or for murder, Captain?”
Pelhan’s narrow face smirked at her even as he dialed a number by heart, one slow digit ratcheting around the dial at a time. “That’s what I’m looking into,” he said as he listened to it ring. “Unless you want to follow Jake down to holding?”
She shook her head, not liking the idea of being six feet underground with who knew how many vampires. But he’d already turned back to the phone, waving them off in dismissal.
“This way, Doctor,” Randy said, and she obediently followed him, appreciating that he wasn’t trying to manhandle her anymore. Silent, they went deeper into the building, passing dark offices that spoke of missing colleagues. The scent of angry vampire eased, and she shook off her feeling of angst. “Has that been happening a lot?” she asked, and Randy shrugged.
“Enough that we’re having a meeting tonight on how to handle aggressive vampires,” he said. “It’s almost easier without humans around.” Randy shook his head ruefully. “I never thought I’d say that.”
She frowned, not liking the idea of a world without humans, or that some people might want it that way. “Why?” she asked belligerently. “It just gives them the go-ahead to be as ugly as they want. You can’t tell me Jake would have done all that if he knew there was a human watching and he might be punished or killed for giving us away.”
“True.” Randy nodded. “But it’s easier when you can openly use magic. You saw how many people it took to down him physically compared to one circle.”
“So . . .” she hedged, feeling marginally better, “it’s not the humans being gone that makes it easier, just that you can do magic?”
Randy slowed at a wide archway. Beyond it was the break room, the tall windows showing sparkling bright day reflecting off the surrounding buildings. “What’s the difference?” he asked as he gestured for her to go in.
But she thought there was a lot of difference, and she scanned the small room, wrinkling her nose at the coffee slowly thickening on its burner. Coffee sounded good, but not the sludge at the bottom of that pot. There was a hand-lettered sign over the coffeemaker saying if you didn’t know how to work it, ask Sarah.
“Ah, if you leave me uncuffed, I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee for everyone,” she said. And clean the counter. Sweep the sugar off the floor. It looked as if no one had been in here to clean in days.
“Sorry, Dr. Cambri.” Officer Randy cuffed first the table leg, then her hand. She volunteered her burned one since she didn’t want to use it anyway, hiding the red skin behind her curled fingers. “If the captain doesn’t show up in an hour, just start yelling.”
“You’re kidding, right?” she asked as Randy gave her a mirthless smile and hustled out. “Great, just great,” she muttered, pulling at her cuff and feeling it clink.
26
Trisk sat at one of the long break room tables, her head pillowed on her folded arms as she waited for Captain Pelhan. The scent of tuna rose from the wadded up paper that had been wrapped around a sandwich someone had gotten for her, but she was still hungry. She had a feeling it might be a while before the captain showed, the efficient man clearly taking on more than he was used to and too married to protocol to delegate until he knew the men he’d assign new duties to would be good at them. Still . . . it had been an hour.
A scuff at the door pulled her head up, and she flushed when the incoming officer stopped short, his eyes on her cuffs. “Morning,” she said, pulling herself up even straighter.
“Are you supposed to be here?” he asked as he went to the coffee counter, blanched at the ugly sludge, and went for a tea bag instead.
Like spots on a tiger, she thought. “Captain Pelhan wants to talk to me.”
Nodding, the man poured the stale hot water over the stale, old tea leaves, and she shuddered at the imagined stale, nasty taste of it. “So he cuffs you to a table in the break room?”
She smiled cattily. “He’s the captain,” she said brightly.
The officer snorted his agreement. “Can I get you something? Tea? Coffee?” he asked, his shoes grinding the grit of sugar on the tile floor.
“Water?” she suggested, and the man set his brewing cup of tea down to find a water-spotted glass in the cupboard and fill it. The lukewarm feel of the smooth glass in her hand made her suddenly ten times thirstier, and she slammed it even before he’d taken his tea up again. Great. I’m going to need to use the ladies’ room in about twenty minutes, she thought as she wiped the last drops from her lips. “Thanks,” she said as she held it out for him to refill, and the man gave her a hesitant smile as he took it.