Blood Trail

Then I lost it. Sorry."

    "Would you know it again?"

    "I think so."

    "Okay, if you do come across it, tell me immediately. This guy is dangerous."

    "Hey," he protested. "I know. It's my dad that got shot."

    Vicki wondered if she should tell him that the person who'd shot his father and the person who'd tampered with Henry's car weren't likely to be the same man - the actions were far too different - and in her book this new threat, with no pattern to make it predictable, was a lot more dangerous. She decided against it. What good would it do?

    Celluci watched until Peter and Rose had gone inside then he backed out of Dr. Dixon's driveway and headed downtown. "It's hard not to like them, isn't it?"

    "What's not to like?"

    "This from the woman who once said that teenagers should be against the law?"

    "Well, they're not exactly your typical teenagers, are they?"

    Celluci glanced sideways at her. "All right, what's bothering you? You've been in a mood since we left the garage."

    Vicki shoved her glasses up her nose and sighed. "I was just thinking ..."

    "That's a first."

    She ignored him. "... that if someone's taking the trouble to try to kill me, I must know something I'm not aware of knowing. The killer thinks I'm getting too close."

    "Or you weren't the target, Rose and Peter were. You were just there."

    "No, there's already a system set up to kill the wer, why change it? It's still working. I have a feeling this was aimed at me."

    "A hunch?"

    "Call it what you like, but if you call it woman's intuition, I'll rip your face off."

    As he had no intention of saying anything so blatantly suicidal, he ignored the threat. "So let's go over what you do know."

    "Shouldn't take that long." Knees braced against the dash, Vicki ticked the points off on her fingers. "I know Barry Wu didn't do it. I know Dr. Dixon didn't do it. I know Arthur Fortrin didn't do it. Anyone else might have, up to and including a chance acquaintance either of those three might have bragged to in a bar. Once Barry tells me who around London is capable of that kind of shot, well, I'll make some comparisons with those lists of the people who use the conservation area regularly. Hopefully we can decode these directions to his apartment before he leaves for work."

    Celluci plucked the sheet of paper off her lap, scanned it, and tossed it back. He had complete faith in his ability to find his way around in spite of the morning's scenic tour of the countryside. "And if Barry doesn't know?"

    "Someone knows. I'll find them." She smoothed the map out on her leg. "Oh, and it isn't Frederick Kleinbein either."

    "Who?"

    "Technically, I guess you could call him their nearest neighbor. He informed me that the Heerkens have a deep, dark secret." She grinned. "They're nudists, you know."

    "Nudists?"

    "So he tells me. Apparently, the locals prefer to believe in nudists over werewolves."

    He shot her a sour look. "Hardly surprising. I am, however, surprised it hasn't brought flocks of young men out armed with telephoto lenses."

    "I got the impression the 'dogs' took care of that problem."

    Celluci who had been on the receiving end of one of those "dogs" in action could see how it might discourage a casual voyeur.

    Vicki interpreted his grunt as agreement and went on. "The only other people I've really talked to are Carl Biehn and Mark Williams."

    It took him a moment to place the names. "The two guys this morning?"

    "That's right."

    "So maybe it's them."

    "Not likely." She snorted. "Can you see someone like Williams taking the time and trouble to become a marksman? Uh uh. The way I read him, it's instant gratification or he's not interested."

    "And the older man? The uncle?"

    Vicki sighed. "He's a vegetarian."

    "He's not eating the wer, Vicki, he's just killing them."

    "And he's a deeply religious man."

    "So are a lot of nut cakes. It's not mutually exclusive."

    "And he gardens."

    "And you like him."

    She sighed again, flicking the air-conditioning vent open and closed. "Yeah. And I like him.
    He seems like such a basically decent person."

    "Another feeling?"

    "Piss off, Celluci." Between the bright sunlight, yesterday's injury, and the lack of sleep, she was developing one mother of a headache. "Having a slime-bag for a nephew is hardly grounds to accuse someone of multiple murders. I am, however, going to ask Barry to check out Mr. Williams for priors, just in case. If you want to be helpful, and the wind is in the right