Bloodsucking fiends: a love story

next to the two vampires. Tommy had put Jody in a leotard before he applied the paint. He'd dressed the vampire in a pair of his own jockey shorts. It was amazing how fast the vampire had healed after drinking Jody's blood. The worst part had been waiting – waiting outside the bedroom where Jody had carried the vampire, waiting for them to go out at sunrise, listening to the soft murmur of their voices. What had they been talking about?
    Overall, the vampire looked pretty good. Almost all the damage to his body had healed by morning. Jody, even bronzed, looked beautiful. The finishing touch had been to drill ear holes through the thick bronze coating so he could talk to her.
    "Jody, I know that you're probably really, really mad. I don't blame you. But I didn't have a choice. It's not forever, it's just until I can figure out what to do. I didn't want to lose you. I know you wanted to just go away and I think you would have, but he wouldn't have. He would never have let me live."
    Tommy waited, as if he would get some response from the statue. He picked up the grocery bag of money from the floor and held it up.
    "By the way, we're rich! Cool, huh? I'll never make fun of Lash for studying business again. In less than a day he fenced the art from the yacht and got us ten cents on the dollar. Our cut's over a hundred thousand. The guys flew to Vegas. We tried to give a share to the Emperor, but he would only take enough to buy a meal for Bummer and Lazarus. He said that money would distract him from his responsibilities. Great, huh?"
    He dropped the money and sighed.
    "Those two cops believed you. They're going to leave us alone. They reported that the killer was on board the yacht when it went up. Lash gave the gate guard some money to back up their story. I couldn't believe they were going along with it. I think the big cop kind of likes me.
    "I'm going to write a book about this. I came here to find adventure and being with you sure has been that. And I don't want to give it up. I know we're not the same. And we shouldn't feel lonely when we have each other. I love you. I'm going to figure I something out. I've got to sleep now. It's been days."
    He got up and went to Jody. "I'm sorry," he said. He kissed the cold bronze lips and was turning to go into the bedroom when the phone rang.
    "It's probably the Animals calling from some casino," he said as he picked up the phone.
    "Hello."
    "Uh, hi," a man's voice said. "Could I speak to Jody, please?"
    Tommy pulled the phone away and looked at it, then put it to his ear and said, "Jody's… well… she's deceased."
    "I know. Can I speak to her?"
    "You sick fuck."
    "Is this C. Thomas Flood? The guy from the paper?"
    Who was this guy? "Look, buddy, that was a mistake. They got the guy who did those murders."
    "Look, my name is Steve. I can't tell you my last name. Not until I'm sure it's safe. I'm a med student at Berkeley. I spoke to Jody the other night. We were supposed to meet the other night at Enrico's, but she never showed up. I'm kind of glad, I met a nice girl who works at the Safeway with you. Anyway, when I saw Jody's name in the paper I took a chance and looked up the number."
    "If you saw the paper, you know what happened to Jody," Tommy said. "This isn't very funny."
    The line was silent for a moment, then Steve said, "Do you know what she is?"
    Tommy was shocked. "Do you?"
    "So you do know?"
    "She is, I mean was , my girlfriend."
    "Look, I'm not trying to blackmail you or anything. I don't want to turn you in. I talked to Jody about reversing her condition. Well, I think I've found a way to do it."
    "You're kidding."
    "No. Tell her. I'll call you back tomorrow night. I know she's not up during the day."
    "Wait," Tommy said. "Are you serious about this? I mean, you can make her human again?"
    "I think so. It will probably take a few months. But I've been able to do it with cloned cells in the lab."
    Tommy covered the mouthpiece and turned to the statue of Jody. "There's a guy here that says he can help you. We can be…"
    Vapor was streaming out of the ear holes in the brass and swirling into a cloud in the middle of the room. Tommy dropped the phone and backed away from the cloud. He could hear Steve's voice calling for him on the phone.
    Tommy backed against the counter in the kitchen. "Jody, is that you?"
    The cloud was pulsating, sending out tendrils, or were they limbs? It was as if it was condensing into a solid shape.
    Jody thought, Oh Tommy, you can't