by Aimée Thurlo
She nodded. “But we’re adults now. What did she tell you, Charles?”
He leaned back, trying to appear casual, but his expression changed and he was obviously struggling with the words. Charles finally leaned forward and held their gaze. “Tanner really is a vampire,” he whispered. “Vampires are real.”
Diane rolled her eyes. “And Victor Wayne is really Victor Frankenstein?”
“Damn it, Diane, I’m not kidding—not now. Maybe he isn’t a blood-sucking undead demon with hypnotic eyes, but Tanner isn’t natural. Haven’t you noticed?”
Lee cleared his throat. “Okay, we’ve all noticed, and we’ve been reading in the paper that Tanner believes or at least claims he’s a vampire—of sorts. What did your sister say to make you believe it’s not just a madman talking?”
“The guy starts to smoke—his skin, not a cigarette—when he’s exposed to certain wavelengths of light. You looked in the lab where they kept him, I’m assuming. Didn’t you notice the lights were different? Lynette said that was to keep him under control. And, according to what I was able to scrape together, Tanner broke out when the electricity failed and the lights went out. And, he broke out, physically. The guy’s too strong for someone his size and weight for it to just be good muscle tone. And he heals almost instantly. Lynette said they cut his skin on purpose, then watched it heal right back within seconds. That isn’t natural.”
“Or believable, Charles. I know Lynette was honest and trustworthy, but where’s the proof?” Diane insisted, knowing already about the camcorders and visual records.
“She told me they were forbidden to take any photos or record what they saw. Hell, they couldn’t even bring a cell phone into the facility. Some of those have photo capability, and their boss—Victor Wayne, I guess—said it would compromise security.” Charles leaned forward. “You don’t have to believe it all, just accept that Tanner is extraordinary.”
Diane and Lee exchanged glances. Either Lynette didn’t know about the camcorders or, more likely, she’d lied to Charles about this important detail.
“Can Tanner see in the dark? Turn into a bat?” Lee asked.
“You really asking, or are you trying to bullshit me, Hawk? I don’t know the answer to those questions. The bat thing, I seriously doubt. Can you imagine a two-hundred-pound bat? But the ability to see in the dark, who knows? Lynette didn’t say anything, but maybe Tanner was able to hide that from them. Come to think of it, he did escape when the lights were out, didn’t he?”
Lee shrugged. “There was emergency lighting in the lab—battery-powered, of course. He wouldn’t need to have infrared vision to find his way out.” Lee didn’t recall seeing any such lighting, but Charles had no reason to lie to them about what Lynette had told him. Apparently the researchers, and maybe Victor Wayne, didn’t know vampires could see in the dark.
“Okay. You’ve encountered the man and I haven’t—yet. But understand something. When I finally catch up to Tanner, I’m going to shoot him, stab him, impale him, decapitate him, then burn the body up or toss it out into full sunlight. Whatever it takes to make the bastard disappear completely—for good. And don’t try to stop me, either, or I’ll be first in line to tell everyone about your little visit to Dr. Wayne’s apartment.”
Diane’s eyes suddenly went cold. “I don’t flinch from threats—I make them. And, vampire or not, Stewart Tanner isn’t getting out of this alive. We’ll see to it. It’s our job—our responsibility. Just don’t get in our way or you’ll end up in jail. If that happens you’ll be no use to anyone, and we could use your extra set of eyes. You have my cell number. If you see Tanner, or think you know where he is, call. You can’t take him alone.”
Diane took a sip of water, pushed her plate away, then looked over at Lee. “You think we should see what’s on that hard drive of Victor’s?”
“That’s what you’ve got in the case, isn’t it?” Lee said to Charles.
He nodded. “Let’s do this in private, okay? I thought I was being followed earlier, so I don’t want to risk anyone looking over my shoulder. Hacking is a very private pastime.”
Charles went with them, leaving his SUV in the parking lot, and they checked into a motel room a few miles away. Charles got to work immediately, and using extra connectors that allowed him to access the copied hard drive, he was soon going through virtually every one of Dr. Wayne’s files. Now that he had the passwords, no document was safe from their scrutiny. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much more to be learned, and even Wayne’s address book wasn’t any help. There were no names, only initials, and the only ones they recognized were for the dead researchers.
Finally Diane, who’d been watching Charles work from a chair beside him, stood and stretched. “We’ve got to get going, Charles. I need to touch base with the teams out searching, then discuss our coverage for tonight. Keep reading the files, if you want, but don’t get caught with that hard drive. It could put you in jail for twenty years.”
Charles nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a program that’s supposed to wipe the hard drive, then write over every byte with ones and zeros—makes it virtually unrecoverable even by the CIA. Once I run that, I’ll melt the thing with a propane torch just to make sure.”
“Stay in touch,” Lee said.
Charles stood, then nodded to both of them. “I know we’re not a team, but we’re working in tandem on this now, so if I can help in any way, give me a call.”
Diane gave Charles a hug. “We don’t know who Tanner will be attacking next, so stay safe.”
“You too.”
Once outside Lee looked around carefully to confirm there were no obvious surveillance people, then he and Diane walked to the unit. The moment they were in the car he brought out the sunblock from his pocket and began applying the lotion freely to his neck and hands.
“You okay?” Diane said as she slipped into the passenger’s side.
“Yeah. It’s been a while since I touched up, and I could feel the heat as soon as I left the room. Times like this I’m glad I’m not Tanner. Though I could use a tall mug of pig’s blood.”
“We just ate a ton of food, didn’t that help?”
“Yeah. Blood is more of a craving than a need.” He started the car, then pulled out into traffic. “We’re going to touch bases with the local honchos, right? See if they’ve found that gold Toyota?”
Diane nodded. “We also need to find out if anyone’s got a lead on properties Marci Walker owns—anything that might work as a hideaway. If that doesn’t pan out we’ll check the homes of her old classmates or friends.”
The drive through Farmington, with side streets dotted with fast food restaurants, mini malls, and the occasional old home remodeled into a small business, was uneventful. The midafternoon traffic was heavy, especially in the downtown area, which held many businesses in brick buildings that dated from the thirties and forties.
They automatically took closer looks at small gold cars and pickups of the right make and color, especially those with camper shells. Since half the vehicles on the road seemed to be big pickups, and there were quite a few metallic-colored compact cars as well, Lee and Diane were kept busy.
Diane used her cell phone again, and when she hung up, she sounded discouraged. “All of Marci’s known properties have been checked out—at least those with structures on them. There are a few empty lots, and a rural property east of the city. It’s an old orchard, part of a farm that had been broken up and sold to developers, according to the clerk working for FPD.”
“Might be a good place to park and stay out of sight. Any officers headed in that direction?”
“No, wanna take a look?”
Lee shook his head. “How about having a county deputy drive by? If they see a vehicle, or even a tent or shelter, word can be passed along to us. I have a hunch that the vampire and his girlfriend are still within the city. All the main roads are covered, and I’ve seen the agency helicopters checking the open areas and along the rivers.”
/>
Diane nodded, and made the call. Lee, meanwhile, got on the radio and contacted Detectives Shannon and Esterbrook, who’d been working the Walker residence where they’d left Victor Wayne.
When Diane ended her call, Lee spoke. “Victor and his man left the Walker house about a half hour ago. According to Detective Shannon, Victor made a point of saying they hadn’t found anything useful in the Walker home office or computer that might help track down Tanner’s location, and he shrugged off the news of Tanner’s afternoon attack on us in the parking garage.”
“Dr. Wayne doesn’t care about our safety. As a matter of fact, he’s probably hoping Tanner finishes us off. We know too much, and we’re in his way.”
Lee nodded. “You’re right. And apparently Victor made a show of leaving casually and unconcerned. But Esterbrook, who’d been outside, said Wayne and the federal marshal hauled ass once they were halfway down the block.”
“So Victor must have found something on the computer. Any hint about where he was headed?”
“The good doctor said they were going to grab a meal, then pick up some extra help flying in from Colorado.” Lee looked at his watch. “Detective Shannon checked. The next flight coming in from Colorado—Grand Junction, I think—is within the hour.”
“We can switch cars, stake out Victor, then see where he heads once his reinforcements arrive.”
“My thoughts exactly. But what did he discover on that computer?” Lee asked.
“I’ve got an idea. Let me talk to Detective Shannon again.” Diane started dialing.
Twenty minutes later, sitting beside the road in a recent model pickup they’d borrowed from a local state patrolman Lee knew, Diane got a call. From the expression on her face, Lee could tell it was good news.
Diane confirmed it immediately when she ended the phone conversation. “The detective went to the computer Victor was accessing, checked in the documents recently accessed, and got us what we need, or at least what Victor saw that got him motivated. The Walkers owned, until recently, a steak house out on East Main. Marci sold the place after her husband died. According to the detective, the place has been shut down, pending some remodeling. He gave me the address.”
“You know, there’s a good chance that the Walkers kept a key to the place. Even if they have to break in, Marci knows it’s unoccupied and off the radar now. There’s a good chance they might have decided to rendezvous there.”
“So, do we go and look, or do we stick around and see what Victor has in mind?” Diane asked. “I doubt he’s going to check on his own place to make sure we didn’t steal anything. Catching Tanner alive is his big concern, especially if he can do it with us not around.”
“Then let’s get Shannon and Esterbrook involved in this. They can watch Victor and his people and we can check out the restaurant. If we can beat Victor to the target, even better. He really got in the way at the Walker home.”
“If Tanner and Marci are there they’ll be keeping a close watch. Although Tanner has healed backup by now, my guess is that they’re going to be paranoid,” Diane said. “And their vehicles are going to be well out of sight.”
“If we expect to get close, undetected, we’ll need to change the way we look.”
“Good idea. Tanner already knows about us—a Navajo man and a Chicana. So we need to become someone else. How about if we get a child or two?”
Lee’s eyebrows rose, then he realized Diane was looking at two mannequins in the window of a clothing store. “Sounds like a plan.”
“You’re too pretty to be a guy.” Lee glanced over at Diane, who’d removed all trace of makeup, had her hair stuffed up into a cap, and was wearing a glued-on mustache.
“How do men cope? This mustache itches. Hopefully no one will get close. If they do, they’ll know in a flash it comes from a Halloween makeup kit.”
Lee reached back and adjusted his long ponytail. “Hey, bro. Maybe we better watch this masculine identity talk in front of the kids.”
Behind them in the jump seats of the pickup were two well-behaved dummies of grade-school-aged children. They were realistically painted, articulated, and fully dressed. The talented shop owner had placed them in very natural poses—the girl dummy had on headphones, and the boy seemed to be playing a handheld game.
“I hope this isn’t a waste of time.” Lee adjusted the bandanna he wore. “And I hope no Indians see me. I look like a Hollywood stereotype.”
“Maybe you should have kept the cowboy hat.”
“Too small. One of these days, they’ll come up with an adjustable model, like that baseball cap of yours.”
“Okay, time to look casual, like we’re talking about trucks, sports, and our ole ladies. I can see the restaurant up ahead, on the left,” Diane said.
As they drove by the two-story building—a brick structure that probably had been a shop at one time—Lee noticed a sign on the front entrance that read “Reopening Soon Under New Owner,” but though he could see chairs on tables beyond the café curtains, no one was visible inside. There was a small parking lot in front, but only a big trash bin occupied any space, and it didn’t appear to have anything inside it. Apparently, no remodeling had taken place as yet.
“Let’s try the alley. I saw a sign about more customer parking in the rear,” Lee said. As they circled the block and neared the entrance to the alley, they could see a parking lot used by several businesses, judging by the number of cars there.
Diane kept going, and they were able to view the building from the rear across the parking lot. No suspicious vehicles were in the alley beside the former restaurant, but Lee, able to see into shadows and darkened rooms, spotted someone standing by an upper window.
“There’s a woman in there, or else a man with long hair.”
“Good! But there’s no truck, gold Toyota, motorcycle, or anything,” Diane said.
“They may have hidden both vehicles inside a garage close by. Ditching the car would be easier, so let’s see if there’s any building around tall enough to accommodate a pickup with camper.”
Diane circled the block completely, but to avoid being seen passing by again so soon, she went around an adjacent block and came up from another direction. “Look—ahead on the left. Sam’s Auto Clinic. They’ve got an oversized garage beside the main building. Big enough to hide both vehicles and then some.”
As they passed by, Lee noticed that the building was a former gas station that had gone out of business. The separate garage was a large, ugly, corrugated metal building with two enormous doors.
“You wanna check it out now, or come back if we don’t find anything else?” Diane asked.
“Let’s circle the adjacent blocks, just in case they decided to pass up the obvious solution. From what we’ve seen already, I’d be surprised to find more oversized garages, but we don’t want to make a move on the wrong place. If that was Marci Walker watching and she sees us creeping around the neighborhood, she and Tanner could be out of there in a hurry and we’d never see them go.”
“Maybe I should keep an eye on the woman while you check out the neighborhood,” Diane suggested.
“Tanner’s too damned dangerous for you to risk a confrontation alone, Diane, even in the sunlight, and he’s still got the pistol.”
“Tanner won’t be able to sneak up on me across an open area. If I find a spot where I can watch the back of the restaurant with a pair of binoculars, at least I’ll know if Marci tries to leave. We can’t risk losing them if there’s a chance we’ve actually found out where they’ve holed up. And Dr. Wayne and his people might be coming straight from the airport. It isn’t that far from here, either.”
Lee thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. Let’s find a spot to drop you off, but stay in touch via cell phone. Avoid the radio network because Victor could be listening in.”
Diane pulled up against the curb one block south of the restaurant, took the binoculars Lee handed her from beneath the seat, and got out on the driver�
�s side. “Be careful,” Lee said, sliding over to take the wheel.
“Where are you going once you check out the neighborhood?” she asked, looking toward the restaurant.
“I’ll park out of sight of the store—over there.” He pointed to a spot two buildings west of Sam’s Auto Clinic. “You can keep watch or join me then, whatever we decide.”
She nodded, so he drove off, circling to the left now, to check the area west of the restaurant. Setting his cell phone on the seat beside him, he operated the vehicle automatically, having spent so much of his ninety-year lifetime on the road, patrolling New Mexico highways.
A few blocks away from Main Street, homes and apartments stood adjacent to businesses, like laundries and convenience stores. What he missed most these days were the mom-and-pop groceries that had been a fixture during his early years. The small stores had once been on nearly every major street in Farmington back in the fifties, but now, after having been slowly driven out of business by the big chains, were only found in the smallest of communities.
There were few multistory buildings in this area except for the apartments. He swung the pickup back to the east, taking a quick look behind him to verify that the dummies hadn’t tipped to the side despite their seat belts. Having children in the vehicle, even those made of plastic, felt odd. Lee hadn’t been around children since he’d been a kid back on the Reservation, and he didn’t have any idea what it was like being a father. Of course, being sterile, it wasn’t something he’d thought about since his wife had died.
Vampires had notoriously good memories, and his late wife Annie’s image was still vividly implanted in his mind. The memory was bittersweet—along with the good, it served as a constant reminder of what a moment’s carelessness could do to the ones he loved. As if on cue, the cell phone sounded. It was Diane.
“Lee, the woman in the window hasn’t moved at all. I think she’s related to our children.”
“A mannequin? That’s just too coincidental.”
“Not when you notice that the store next to the restaurant is a boutique. I remember seeing women mannequins in the window.”