Page 16 of How to Stake a Vampire

“No problem,” Gavin hummed.

I looked around at his tone and swallowed a groan.

The dragon newt’s horns were now fully visible and his pupils were dilated.

Didi cursed and yanked his cup out of his hands.

“Hey!” the dragon newt protested. “I was drinking that.”

“And now you’re not, so zip it,” Didi hissed.

A headache started thrumming at my temples.

“What happened after that?” I asked the ghouls, pretending not to notice Gavin’s heavily smoking nostrils.

“The temperature dropped,” Steve said.

I stared. “The temperature dropped?”

Steve nodded. “Yes. Really dropped. Like, morgue-cold dropped.”

Barney leaned forward, pupils gleaming crimson for a worrying second.

“Did you see the intruder?” the vampire asked sharply.

“We caught a glimpse of him before he locked us up,” Bethany said. “He was tall, very pale. Dressed like he was heading to a nineteenth-century costume party.”

“What about his face?” I asked. “Could you pick him out of a lineup?”

“No.” Pete grimaced. “He moved so fast everything looked blurry.”

“Did he say anything?” Barney pressed.

Pete, Bethany, and Steve exchanged a glance.

“Not to us,” Steve said reluctantly. “But we did hear him humming while he was clearing out the place.”

6

COFFEE, MISTAKES, AND ALIBIS

That got everyone’s attention.

“Humming?” I repeated.

“Classical music,” Pete said, nodding. His head slipped slightly to the left.

“Beautiful melody,” Steve admitted. “Very haunting.”

Barney had gone very still. “What piece?”

I could practically feel the tension vibrating off the vampire.

“I’m afraid I don’t recall the name,” Steve said apologetically. “But it was lovely. Very dramatic. Had this famous singing bit at the end.”

Barney flinched. “Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony?”

“That’s the one!” Steve beamed.