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to two hundred than forty-two. What kind of shape is the old geezer in?
I detect the humor in David s voice, but somehow I can t bring myself to
laugh. Neither can I explain to David that Frey may in fact be two hundred
years old. I have no idea of the life expectancy of ashapeshifter . So, I
say instead, must be a mistake.
Don t school districts check that kind of thing?
They should. My hunch, though, is that he got his job here based on an
exemplary record inBoston . Who knows how thoroughly theBoston school district
checked his credentials when he applied there?Anything else? Any mysterious
disappearances around the time he left?
David s voice echoes with disappointment. Nothing. And Frey doesn t have as
much as a parking ticket on his record. Fact is,he has never applied for a
driver s license. How the hell does he get around inSouthern California
without a driver s license?
Good question.On all fours maybe? I ll be able to answer that when I see you
this evening, I reply. I plan to follow him when he leaves school. What
about Barbara Franco?
What he tells me is pretty much a repetition of what Chief Williams told us
this morning. One interesting coincidence, though, he adds. The Franco s
moved fromBoston about the same time as Daniel Frey. They lived in different
parts of the city, though, and of course Barbara would have been too young to
be one of his high school students.
What about a sibling?Any brothers or sisters?
Nope.Barbara was an only child.
I start to thank David and sign off when he interrupts by asking quietly,
Don t you want to know what I found out about Carolyn Delaney?
A muscle at the corner of my jaw twitches. I don t remember asking David run
a check on Carolyn, and his tone is less than positive. I have to swallow hard
to get the words out. Sure. What?
She s not going to win any Mother of the Year awards. His voice is guarded.
In fact, she s been in trouble with the law several times. Five years ago she
was caught shoplifting, and Social Serviceswas called because she had Trish
with her when she was stopped. She s been picked up for misdemeanor drug
possession and a couple ofDUI s . But so far, none of the charges have stuck.
He pauses as if waiting for a reaction. I don t have one, not yet, so I
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prompt, Go on.
This isn t the first time Trish has been reported missing. She s run away
before.Twice in the last year. The authorities found her both times, and since
she refused to say why she ran away and her mother took her back, there was
only routine follow-up.
I let this information sink in. I m getting that same feeling of uneasiness I
had when Mom first told me Carolyn Delaney was trying to get in touch with me.
Any way you can follow up on that with Social Services? I ask after a
moment. And on the Carolyn stuff, too?
Will do.
And David, when Max and I walked in this morning, you said you d had a call.
Do we have a job?
Not to worry. His breezy tone makes me imagine he s sitting back in his
desk chair, waving away my concern with a handful of paper. Nothing I can t
handle on my own.
Which means what?
Which means just what I said.I can handle this one on my own.
I don t like the sound of that. Who s the skip?
Nobody who will give me trouble.
David, who s the skip?
There s an exaggerated sigh from the other end of the line. JakeVerdugo .
Jake the Snake? As I say it, I get a chill. Maybe the name is literal.
He s a small-time hood. He s been spotted inLakeside . I figured I d run
down there this afternoon and grab him.
By yourself.
Why not?You don t think I can handle the little shit? He s barely five feet
tall.
Take Max.
I can t believe I said that, but once it s out, it makes sense.
Obviously, though, not to David.There s a silence at the other end of the
line so dense it s almost palpable.
David? Are you there?
No answer. He must really be pissed. I d better talk fast.
Listen. You know Jake s reputation. He may be small, but the .45 he carries
isn t. You ll take him down. Just use Max for backup. Please. Or I ll come
downtown right now and we ll go together. I can always follow Frey tomorrow.
He isn t going anywhere.
And what about your niece? he snaps. You goingto risk losing a chance to
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find her just so you can baby-sit me on a job?
He is pissed. I ll have to bring out the big guns. Baby-sityou? After what
happened a few months ago, I thought we decided we wouldn t take unnecessary
chances. Call me crazy, but going alone after a guy who knows this is the
third strike against him and has sworn not to be taken alive sounds like an
unnecessary chance to me. If you don t agree to let Max go with you, I m
coming.
It s an unfair argument. David is awash in guilt about the night we were
attacked by the man who turned me into a vampire. Of course, he doesn t know
that I was turned. All he knows is that a white-collar criminal who shouldn t
have given us any trouble knocked him out and assaulted me. It was during the
attack that I bit the guy and ended up drinking his blood-vampire blood.
There s a protracted sigh. How do you know Max will agree?
He ll agree. Give me five minutes to call him.
Be sure he understands I m only doing this for you, and that he s there
strictly asbackup . That s all. I can handle the rest.
I assure David that I will make Max understand his role in the operation and
hang up. When I talk to Max, he immediately agrees to help. He doesn t
question why he should or whine that David doesn t treat him well. He simply
says he ll call David as soon as we hang up and that he ll see me tonight.
It s one of the reasons I like him so much.
Once that s done, I sit back in Mom s desk chair and digest the information
about Frey, theFrancos , and most disturbing of all, Trish and Carolyn.
Carolyn left some salient points out of her story last night, like the drug
bust andDUI s . She also neglected to say anything about Trish having run away
twice before. She led us to believe Trish s drug problems came about because
of the bad influence of some new friends. Maybe those new friends weren t the
only ones responsible.
I grab a piece of paper from a pad on Mom s desk and scribble a hasty note. I
don t tell her where I m going, just that I ll be back before noon.
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