The Night Beat

that would mature in hours.” We went over to Ralph, who seemed about done with the digging. “What has Mommy’s precious puppy found?”
    He gave me a dirty look, in more ways that one -- his fur was covered with grime and loam. “About what you’d expect. All the usual insects with some specials thrown in. I figure we got here just in time -- another thirty minutes and the first of them would have hatched.”
    I trotted back to the S-Class and rummaged through the trunk until I found what I needed. Went back and tossed a can each to Freddy and Sexy Cindy. “Spray everything Ralph’s dug up and anything that looks like maybe he should have dug it up.”
    Sexy Cindy looked at the can. “Insect Repellent -- for bugs so tough you’d swear the Devil made them do it.” She snorted a laugh and shook her head. “Who names these products?”
    I grinned. “Put it this way -- he knew the power of words and hype when he was alive and beings don’t change that much over time, not even undead beings. Though he insists that, these days, one’s born a whole lot more than every minute.”
    Freddy laughed. “P.T. Barnum?”
    “One and the same, the greatest showman on the face of the Earth.” I liked P.T. He was a fun undead to hang around. I’d heard his hype for a long time now, but it never got old to me.
    “Will we meet him?” Freddy asked.
    “Not likely, not on this case, anyway. He doesn’t do field work, he’s R&D.”
    “Research and development?” Sexy Cindy sounded confused. “Why would a circus man do that?”
    “He’s not just a circus man, or one of the greatest marketing minds around. He’s an artist, but with words and images and things, and their effect on humans, demons, and many other beings. He teaches upper level classes at the University sometimes.” And I’d taken every one. Okay, I was a Barnum groupie. Was that so wrong?
    Jude and I had fought about what he called my unhealthy fascination with P.T. and I called mild hero worship. It had never bothered Ken. I considered this while we sprayed a goodly portion of what might really be Nero’s side yard. Amanda thought it was because Ken was from a time when marketing had already permeated the human experience, and Jude wasn’t. I wasn’t so sure. I’d always gotten the feeling that Jude was jealous of my attraction to P.T. in a very boyfriend-jealous way. Which was funny. I wasn’t attracted to P.T. sexually -- I just loved how his mind worked. And he was an astute student of the human animal and what drove it, and that was something you needed to have a good grasp of if you were going to be any kind of good cop.
    While we sprayed Ralph sniffed the rest of the grounds. He came back as we finished up. All three cans were almost out of juice, there was that much to destroy.
    “I think this was the only area,” Ralph said as he sat on his haunches. “Can’t figure out why, though.”
    I looked around and studied the area. There wasn’t much of an obvious reason as I looked at street level. But I happened to look up. I pointed and the others looked the way I directed.
    “Huh. Well, I think Nero might have concentrated here because it’s such a clear flight path up to the top of the hill.”
    “And right to the Little Church,” Sexy Cindy added.
    Ralph was growling and I was close. “Let’s go ask Nero some more questions, shall we?”

Chapter 50
     
    We stormed inside the house, to hear Nero finishing up his homeowner’s tour. “So, you can see, I’ve really made this place my own.”
    Jack looked bored out of his mind, and also frustrated. I raised my eyebrow and he shook his head. “He has the right papers to prove ownership. Could be forged or magically created, I can’t tell.”
    “Well, real homeowner here or not, I’m sure the local Homeowner’s Association has a lot to say about the planting of dangerous pests with intent to send them right up to the big house of worship on the hill.”
    Nero feigned innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    “Oh, I think you do. But, to be fair, we’ll take you in for questioning and let some of the beings more adept and dragging information out of suspects have some alone time with you.”
    Nero looked nervous. “I think you need a warrant.”
    “If I were arresting you as part of the Prosaic City P.D., yes, I would. Since I’m arresting you as part of Necropolis Enforcement, however, I need nothing more than the fact that I don’t like