Page 87 of How to Stake a Vampire

My chest tightened. “Has there been another attack?!”

Nigel shook his head. “No! It’s Mindy. She thinks she’s found something.” The boogeyman shone brightly, causing us to squint. “And you’re never going to believe where!”

26

UNDER THEIR NOSES

I frownedat the building in front of us.

Though it was daytime, the Chamber of Commerce still looked the same as it had the last two occasions I’d been there—imposing, official, and soul-crushingly boring. Which, I realized grimly as we approached the main entrance, was probably part of its appeal as a hiding spot.

“Thisis where he was hiding all along?” Didi asked skeptically.

Mindy had been trying to track down the wraith all weekend. No one had been more surprised than Barney at the location where she’d identified a trace of its passage that morning.

The ghost had already confirmed Ludvik was currently not on site.

Samuel frowned. “It kinda makes sense. The building’s warded against unauthorized supernatural intrusion, but?—”

“If you know the ward patterns, you can get in fairly easily,” Barney said darkly.

“Plus, there’s all that human and supernatural traffic,” Detective Johnson observed thoughtfully.

Gavin nodded, horns popping out slightly. “There’d be different supernatural scents every day. They’d make for a perfect cover.”

Bo’s tail wagged. “It’s like hiding in plain sight.”

“How long does Mindy think he was down there for?” I asked uneasily.

“At least two weeks,” Nigel replied. “Possibly longer.”

I lowered my brows. Two weeks of Alliance meetings while Ludvik sat in the basement, probably listening to every word. In fact, he was probably in the building the first time I came here.

Barney clenched his jaw. “He’s been playing us from the start.”

A different security guard from the usual guy emerged from the building as we reached the doors. He had a clipboard in his hands and a busy expression. He frowned at the sight of us.

“Building’s closed for maintenance,” he called out. “Come back tomorrow.”

Detective Johnson flashed his badge. “We’re here on police business.”

The guard squinted at it, then at our group. His gaze lingered on Gavin’s smoking horns, Barney’s stony face, and Bo’s overenthusiastic expression.

“Yeah, I’m gonna need to see some paperwork,” he said slowly. “Official authorization and all that.”

Samuel narrowed his eyes. “We don’t have time for paperwork. And you know damn well who I am.”

The guard straightened to his full height. “Rules are rules, Mr. Hawthorne. I can’t make exceptions for—” He stopped abruptly, his eyes rounding. A choked gurgle left him. He dropped his clipboard and backed away several steps.

We looked around. Detective Johnson paled.

Half a dozen tentacles writhed semi-menacingly around Nigel’s head. His face had sprouted five extra pairs of eyes.

“We really need to get in there,” the boogeyman said, chin jutting forward. “The fate of this town rests on it.”

The guard fumbled for his keys, his back pressed so hard against the wall he looked like he was about to climb it.

“Yeah, okay, whatever you need!”