The Book of Death (Bourbon Kid 4)

the
vampires before he had actually become one. The syringe had been used to
administer the injections of the serum.
    ‘I’d better pack this,’ he said
waving the liquid and syringe at Kacy.
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Because, well, it’s pretty rare
stuff. And who knows when we might need it again?’
    Kacy pulled a face. ‘I can’t
imagine any reason we’d need to use it.’
    ‘Well neither can I right now,
but things do have reasons, you know.’
    ‘ Do they?’ said Kacy
sarcastically.
    ‘Yes they do.’
    ‘So give me a reason why you
might need the serum. Go on, give me a good one.’
    Dante scratched his chin and
looked deep in thought, not a look that he used often. Eventually he spoke,
albeit somewhat tentatively. ‘What if we get the Eye and get cured? If we were
human again we might need the serum to escape from the vampires in this city?’
    Kacy gasped. ‘Oh my God. You
just said something sensible.’
    He frowned. ‘I did, didn’t I?’
    ‘Yeah. That’s gotta be our cue
to get outta here. Who knows what other miracles might be about to happen!’
    Dante tucked the syringe in a
pocket inside his jacket, then slipped the small bottle into a pocket on the
front of his jeans. ‘Come on, let’s get outta here. You got everything?’ he
asked, zipping up his suitcase.
    Kacy took one last look around
the bedroom before zipping up her own suitcase. It was relatively tidy and
there didn’t seem to be any evidence of any wrongdoing on display. The only
possible problem was that some of Robert Swann’s clothes were left behind, but
that didn’t seem significant enough to worry about.
    They headed back down the stairs
to reception. By the time they reached the bottom Kacy was complaining about
the weight of her suitcase.
    ‘Can you carry mine for me?’ she
whined as they strode into the reception area.
    ‘Are you kidding? We’ve got
about a fucking two-mile walk to the Swamp.’
    ‘Oh God. I can’t walk all that
way.’
    ‘Okay, so why don’t I go pick a
car from the parking lot? Save some time and energy.’
    ‘I’m all for that,’ Kacy agreed.
‘Don’t know about you but I’m feeling kinda weak. Could really use another
drink, if you know what I mean?’
    Dante did know what she meant.
The thirst for human blood was hitting him again too. Was this what it was
going to be like as a vampire? Constantly craving the thrill of drinking blood?
‘I’m thirsty as hell,’ he said, leading the way out to the rear car park.
    Once they were outside in the
car park, Dante surveyed the vehicles available. The car park was pretty full.
Cars were lined up in rows of twenty stretching back about ten rows.
    ‘See anything in particular you
like?’ he asked.
    ‘Are you kidding? They’re all
covered in snow. They all look the same.’
    ‘Fair enough. I’ll choose then.’
    He picked out his car of choice
very quickly. ‘Wait here and keep an eye out for any cops’ he said to Kacy.
‘I’ll be back in a sec with a car.’ Dropping his own suitcase at her feet he
vanished in between the rows of cars.
    Kacy knew that Dante was a good
at breaking into cars. He might well be pretty stupid and lacking in such
simple skills as discretion, but he could break into and hot-wire a car in less
than thirty seconds. Her confidence in him was proven correct when after less
than a minute she heard the sound of a car engine starting up. Moments later
she saw a car moving through the rows, heading towards her. She slapped her
forehead in frustration when she saw Dante’s smiling face behind the wheel on
the driver’s side.
    He’d picked a police squad car.
    The car crawled through the snow
and pulled up alongside her. Dante wound down the driver’s side window.
    ‘Chuck the luggage in the back
and hop in,’ he said, accidentally sounding the siren momentarily as he wound
the window back up.
    Knowing that there was no time
to argue or point out the stupidity of stealing a police car, Kacy jumped in
and soon they were heading out of the hotel car park and out into the icy streets
of the city.
    ‘You couldn’t have found
anything less discreet?’ she asked.
    ‘Always wanted a cop car.’
    The police radio crackled into
life as they headed down the main street towards the Swamp. A voice came
through loud and clear.
    ‘This is
Detective Sanchez Garcia. Request for backup. I’m on the fourth floor at
Remington Tower on 54 th   Street.
I’ve got some unidentified dead bodies here. And there’s blood