by P. N. Elrod
Barrett waited until the other car had turned, then vanished and poured through the driver’s side window. When he was solid again, he reached across to unlock the other door.
“Thought you’d be too tired for that,” I said.
“I am, but it’s my only way inside. The keys are in my overcoat, which is still at Brogan’s nightclub if I am not mistaken.”
“You’re not. But the club’s closed.”
“Which presents no difficulty to us.”
“Never mind, just get outta the car.”
“Why?”
“So I can get under the dash and hotwire this buggy. You can get your coat some other night.”
He opined that to be a good idea and vacated the seat. I showed him how to start a car without a key and got the motor running, then slid over so he could drive.
Barrett explained why he liked the idea. “Returning Miss DeLeon’s wrap gives me a reasonable excuse to call on her again, and yes, you have my word of honor I will be considerate of her feelings.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You’re the one who said I should get out and do something.”
“Just remember: make her cry and I will hurt you. So will Clapsaddle.”
“I will keep that foremost in mind, Mr. Fleming.”
He damned-well better.
“Though if this is your idea of a typical night on the town then my seclusion is preferable. Look at that—this was one of my best suits.” He put a finger through a bloody bullet hole in his coat’s upper shoulder.
“Welcome to my life,” I muttered.
“Good God in heaven, Mr. Fleming,” he said with a visible shudder. “I hope not.”
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The author hopes you enjoyed this novel of The Vampire Files and invites you to check out more of her books and ebooks at her website, vampwriter-dot-com.
The original draft of this novel contained a chapter about Jack Fleming’s train trip on the 20th Century Limited, but the author decided it slowed the flow of the story and removed it.
That chapter, now a short story called Drawing Dead, appears in the P.N. Elrod Omnibus. It is available on Smashwords, Kindle, and PubIt!.
Preview samples of it and all the other stories in that collection are on the vampwriter-dot-com website.