Page 70 of How to Stake a Vampire

“It’s hard to describe. It’s like something’s interfering with the signal, but only intermittently.”

Didi arched an eyebrow. “It could just be technology failing us.”

“Or it could be our perp,” Detective Johnson said, frowning.

Samuel’s expression hardened. “Try and look into those glitches,” he instructed Nigel. “And if any of the cameras go dark, let us know ASAP.”

“Okay. Oh and Mindy wanted me to tell you she’s excited about her first field mission.”

Though we’d all had doubts on this subject, Barney had suggested bringing Mindy along since ghosts didn’t have a scent that vampires could detect. She was supposed to be our invisible advance scout.

“Where is she now?” Samuel asked warily.

“Inside the blood bank. She’s been possessing their security system for the past thirty minutes.”

That didn’t sound good. We traded another round of wary glances.

“Please tell me she’s not rearranging their filing system,” Didi said sharply.

Nigel’s silence was laced with guilt. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

There was a longer pause. The boogeyman came back online.

“She’s reorganized their appointment system by blood type and vintage,” he confessed sheepishly.

Didi cursed. “That damn ghost!”

Barney frowned. “I hope she didn’t mess with their inventory. That could lead to allergic reactions.”

I briefly wondered what an allergic reaction might look like on a vampire, before deciding it was too early to picture that stomach-churning possibility.

“She only color-coded it,” Nigel protested weakly. “The staff think it’s a Christmas miracle.”

“Jesus,” Detective Johnson muttered.

Bo stretched and yawned. “How much longer do we have to sit here?”

“However long it takes,” Samuel said between gritted teeth.

“But I’m bored,” Bo whined. “And hungry. And this van smells like Gavin’s lunch.”

I sighed.

“What’s wrong with my lunch?” Gavin asked defensively.

“It’s got tentacles in it,” Bo said with a shudder.

“Calamari is perfectly normal,” Gavin protested.

“For humans, maybe,” Bo muttered.

“You eat kibble,” Gavin pointed out.

“Kibble doesn’t have suction cups.”

“Will you two keep it down?” Samuel snapped. “We’re supposed to be conducting a covert surveillance.”

Bo huffed sullenly.