Covet (Clann)

height, maybe a few inches taller.”
    Emily frowned. She knew something.
    “Who do you know that looks like that?” I asked her.
    She shook her head. “Nobody.” But there was something in her voice, deep down, the tiniest hint of uncertainty so faint no one but family would have caught it. And again when I tried to read her mind, her thoughts were barred to me.
    “And you said you didn’t get his license plate number?” Officer Talbot asked me.
    “No, I said I never saw his vehicle at all.”
    “Did you hear him arrive?”
    “No. I just saw him walk around the side of the house to the backyard.”
    Officer Talbot and Dr. Faulkner shared a look.
    “What?” I asked.
    “If he was a vamp, he could have walked in from anywhere,” Officer Talbot said.
    Except that didn’t seem right. “A vamp would have had a hard time getting past the vamp wards in the clearing without a descendant’s help, wouldn’t he?”
    “Unless your father was attacked outside of the clearing and then crawled within the wards’ protection just before dying,” Officer Talbot said.
    “I don’t know.” I shook my head. “Something about this just doesn’t seem right. Dad should have fought back, whether his attacker was human or vamp. He would have read a human’s thoughts in advance and been able to stop them. And he never would have let a vampire get that close.”
    “Not even if he knew and trusted that vamp?” Officer Talbot asked, and I didn’t like the way his eyes narrowed. He had someone specific in mind.
    “Like who?”
    “Oh, I don’t know…how about our local resident vamps?”

CHAPTER 32
    “Savannah and her dad? No way would they have hurt my dad, or helped anyone else to do it, either.” I didn’t know what had happened to Dad, but this much I knew for sure.
    “All the same, I think I’d better pay them a visit, see where they were this evening,” Officer Talbot muttered, his hand moving to rest on the butt of his gun at his waist.
    “She had nothing to do with it,” I growled. “She wasn’t even here. Read my mind, see for yourself.” I forced my mind to stay open to them so they could see the truth in my thoughts.
    “How would you know if she was here?” Officer Talbot said.
    “Because I would have sensed her,” I snapped, completely out of patience now. If this prejudiced idiot couldn’t get over his stupid hang-ups, he would miss following the real clues and the true killer would continue to get away with murder.
    “How do you sense her?” Dr. Faulkner asked.
    “It’s like a punch to the chest or gut.”
    “Does this happen only when you see her?” Officer Talbot asked.
    “No. She can be anywhere within a few hundred yards and I’ll know it.”
    “Interesting,” Dr. Faulkner murmured. “Could be a heightened survival mechanism of sorts.”
    “Or something else.” Officer Talbot’s mouth slowly stretched into a smirk.
    “Hey, unlike some people, I’m not letting my emotions color the situation,” I said. “Whether you like it or not, I’ve told you the truth. I would have known if Savannah was anywhere around here. And her dad would never go after mine, either. He’s a former council member. He values the peace treaty too much to risk another war.”
    “He’s still a vamp,” Officer Talbot spat out. “Which means older vamps could order him to kill and he wouldn’t be able to stop himself.”
    This was ridiculous. I grabbed the house phone off the kitchen wall and dialed Savannah’s number from memory, hoping she hadn’t changed it since our breakup.
    She answered on the fourth ring with a hesitant “Hello?”
    “Sav—” I started to say.
    Officer Talbot grabbed the phone from me. “Where were you and your father tonight between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m.?”
    “Who is this?” she asked, her tone firmer now.
    “Just answer the question, please,” Officer Talbot said.
    “We were home. Why? Who is this?”
    Officer Talbot ended the call. “I still think we should bring them in for questioning.”
    “Look, either you can waste time and explain yourselves to my mother tomorrow, or you can try to find whoever really did this. Now, the guy looked college-aged, so maybe you could start with the local colleges and seminary—”
    “And tell them what, son?” Dr. Faulkner said. “We’ve got nothing to go on. No name, no vehicle description or license plate number. He could have been from anywhere. And bringing in a sketch artist would only open this can of