Emily sipped the coffee, looked up. Her voice was surprisingly calm, eerily devoid of emotion. "Elvis Presley killed Pam. We were walking home from her piano lesson, and we saw him waiting under a streetlight at the corner of Ocotillo and Indian Hill. Pam recognized him first.
Then he ran toward us, and I thought he was going to tackle us both, but I just felt a... a rush of air, and then both of them were gone."
"Elvis and Pare? ....... "Yes." Emily leaned forward in her chair, and around her neck Robert saw a gold chain and a square of green. A jade pendant.
He stared at the chain around her neck. "May I see that?" he asked.
She frowned, fingering the necklace nervously. "This?
What for? Pam gave that to me last Christmas." "Humor me."
She unhooked the necklace, handed it to him.
"What did Elvis look like?" Woods asked. "Did he look like he was dead? Did he look like a ghost? Do you think it might have been an Elvis impersonator, someone dressed up to look like--"
"It was Elvis, and he was dead, and he looked like he did the day he died."
Robert was examining the jade. It was a simple square with some sort of Chinese character carved on it, He handed it back to her. "All right," he said. "We've searched that area of the town, and my men are combing the rest of Rio Verde with Pam's picture. We'll get a posse together and search the surrounding desert if we have to, but we need as much information as you can give us."
"That's it. That's all there is."
Let's go through it step-by-step, from the moment you left the house to take Pam to her lesson." your
An hour later, they were all exhausted, Emily was crying and they still had no new information. Robert dismissed Emily, thanking her, promising they would keep her informed, and dispatched Ted to take her home.
Robert sighed, popping out the tape and carrying it out to Lee Anne
"Type up a transcript and fax it to Rossiter, okay?"
She nodded. "Okay."
Stu walked in, limping.
"What happened to you?"
"Nothing." He moved behind the counter and sat down at his desk, painfully grimacing as he stretched his right leg out in front of him.
"Charley horse."
"Great. People are dying and Elvis has come back to life and my officers are incapacitated by charley horses." "I'm not incapacitated." He frowned. "Elvis?"
Robert waved tiredly. "Have Lee Anne explain it to you while she types. We have a missing person. You're going to be out there searching next shift."
He walked back to his office. Woods was seated at his desk, contorting his face. "My mouth tastes like I've been gargling with sewer water."
"Really? That's nice. Get out of my chair."
The coroner stood. "Medusa Syndrome," he said. "I'd bet money on it.
She saw the vampire kill her daughter, or abduct her daughter, and the shock was too great. Now she thinks she saw Elvis."
"You never heard of the Medusa Syndrome a month ago. Now you're an expert?" "
"Let's call in Jacobson, have him look at her."
"He still hasn't gotten through to Vigil."
Woods took a cigarette out of his pocket, looked at it. "The only thing I can't figure out is how come the vampire didn't take her down, too. Why just the daughter?" "The jade."
"What was all that about? I was wondering why you wanted a peek at that necklace."
"According to the Chinese, jade scares vampires away. Works like a cross is supposed to."
"So we have ourselves a Chinese vampire here?" Robert shrugged. "I don't know. Could be."
Woods put the unlit cigarette in his mouth. "Clifford and the horses were cremated Monday. They won't be coming back."
"Good."
The two of them were silent for a moment. "I think people are missing," Woods said finally.
Robert didn't respond right away. He kicked his shoe against the floor, trying to dislodge a small rock pressing against the sole of his foot. "What people?"
"I don't know. It just seems to me that there are fewer people around town than there's supposed to be. I went into the pharmacy yesterday, and while it's never the most happening place in town, it seemed downright deserted. Even the Basha's parking lot looked kind of empty."
It was true. Robert had not wanted to admit it, might not have even noticed it on a conscious level until Woods had brought it up, but now that he considered it, Rio Verde had seemed unusually quiet since the weekend. With the absence of the recreationers and the coming of the cold weather, it was as if the town had emptied out, leaving only a skeleton crew of citizens.
"Maybe people are scared. Maybe they're leaving." "Maybe," Woods said doubtfully. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means most people around here have a tough time just making their car payments. You think they can slid demy decide to take a few weeks off work and stay at a hotel in Scottsdale because they're scared of a vampire? You think they're packing all their belongings, calling moving vans, and heading off for California?" The coroner shook his head. "That looks great in movies, but real life economics ensures that that won't happen here." "What's your explanation, then?"
"People are staying home, not going out. They're frightened. Many of them might not even know why. But they're scared. It's in the air now, Robert. It's not working behind the scenes anymore. It's out in the open." He took the cigarette out of his mouth. "And I think some people have.. disappeared. Like Pam Frye."
Robert stared at him. "But people would report that.
Wives, husbands, parents, kids. Someone would call that in."
"Maybe."
There was a knock on the door frame, and Robert turned to see Jud and Steve standing in the hallway out side the office. "What is it?"
"We found a girl's shoe in the drainage ditch behind
Basha's," Jud said. "We think it may be Pam Frye's." "Why are you here then? Why aren't you searching?" "We found it an hour ago,"
Steve explained. "We've been searching the ditch and the area behind the store since then and haven't found a thing."
"Where's the shoe?"
"Tagged in an evidence bag. We thought you might want to call in the room, have her look at it before we devote any more time to that area."
Robert nodded. "Good thinking. If it is hers, we'll focus on that sector. If not, we can move on." He looked at Woods, then back at the two officers. He cleared his throat. "I know you may be thinking this already, but I just wanted to make it officiaclass="underline" We're dealing with a vampire here. That's what we're looking for now."
Steve nodded. "what does Agent Rossiter say about that"
"Who gives a fuck what he says?" es, sir." haven't told Rossiter yet. But I will."
"It's punishment," Jud said. "Those people who died were punished for their wickedness and their sin. Maybe Pam Frye's been punished, too.
Maybe the whole town's being punished."
Robert turned to face him. "Where did you hear that crap?"
The policeman looked embarrassed. "Pastor Wheeler. He says this is the work of God."
"The work of God? And you believe that shit?"
"I believe in God more than I believe in vampires."
Robert shook his head disgustedly. "I can't believe you're stupid enough to fall for that."
Jud's face reddened again, but this time from anger. "We have freedom of religion in this country, sir, and I can go to whatever church I want without having to get my boss's permission. You can tell me what to do on the job, but no one tells me what to do in my real life."
"You're right," Robert said. "Sorry." He glanced again at Woods, who raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Call Mrs. Frye," he told the policemen. "Have her come down and identify the shoe. Have Lee Anne ring me when she's here."
Steve nodded. "Yes, sir." Both he andJud headed back down the hall.