“I’ll work on Tee,” Zoe said. “I still need to-” Her gaze flicked to the crate with the penknife. “-give her what I promised. If I get anything from her, I’ll call you.”

Negotiation

CLAY HAD INSISTED ON MEETING THE OTHERS HALFWAY, mumbling something about being careful with his arm. In other words, if it was a setup, he didn’t feel comfortable protecting me alone.

I took Jeremy aside and told him what happened with Jaime.

“I’m really sorry,” I said. “If I’d known this woman was a necromancer-”

“You couldn’t have. Even if you had, I doubt we could have dissuaded Jaime. She’s-” He brushed back his hair. “She wants to help, and the uglier it gets, the more insistent she becomes. I’ll speak to her. The rest of you continue on to the crime scene.”

Fifteen minutes later, we were huddled a half block from the crime scene, waiting for Jeremy, having seen and heard all we needed.

“I’m sorry,” Hull said as we huddled to the side of the scene. “I’ve tried to keep quiet, but I cannot. This-” He waved an agitated hand toward the taped-off alley. “Surely, I can’t be the only one who sees this for what it is. The girl in there, the pregnancy, the physical resemblance-”

“We saw,” Clay said.

“Then you understand the significance-”

“I said-”

“We understand that it’s a message,” Antonio said slowly.

“Could it not be more than that? The resemblance, the location, the timing.” He looked at Clay. “If Shanahan sent this beast here, on orders, knowing your wife was near, and he saw that young woman, is it not possible that he mistook-”

My knees buckled, and only my grip on Clay’s hand kept me steady. What if that woman died-her baby died-because I’d been near, only a block away?

“Enough,” Antonio said, voice hard.

“I’m only saying she should be kept safe. If Shanahan gets hold of her-”

“No one needs to remind me of that,” Clay snarled. “I’m taking care of my wife and-”

“But you’re injured, are you not? If you can’t protect her-”

Antonio caught Hull ’s arm and propelled him backward, out of Clay’s reach. Clay didn’t move, though, just fixed Hull with a look that said he wouldn’t waste the energy on him.

“I think-” I began, then noticed a familiar face bobbing through the crowd. “Oh, here comes-”

I didn’t even get Jeremy’s name out before Hull had wriggled out of Antonio’s grasp and was scampering across the road to his protector.

“Where’s Jaime?” I asked as Jeremy reached us.

“She went back to the hotel. She insisted on coming to the end of the road, but when she found the victim was-” A quick glance at Hull, as he realized he had to becareful what he said. “-gone, I persuaded her to head back for a rest.”

My cell phone went off. I glanced at it and saw a hospital name flash across the screen.

“Hold on,” I said. “It could be Tolliver.”

A moment later, I returned to the group.

“It’s him,” I said.

“And?” Jeremy prompted.

“He has Shanahan,” I said, and handed Jeremy the phone.

“You cannot be serious,” Hull said, staring at Jeremy as if he’d just announced plans for a mission to Mars. “After-after this?” He waved in the direction of the crime scene. “You cannot negotiate with these people. They aren’t people at all. They-they’re monsters. In league with Satan. Go to that meeting if you must, but I pray to God it’s to kill them.”

“If it comes to that, yes,” Jeremy said. “But we gave our word to Tolliver that we would negotiate in good faith.”

Hull ’s eyes bulged. “Faith? You’re a good man, Mr. Danvers, but creatures such as that will never act nobly. They will lie to you, and cast magics against you. Negotiation? Annihilation is the only way to treat such beasts.”

“Antonio, please call a taxi for Matthew. I want to be sure he arrives back at the hotel safely.”

Hull shook his head. “No, if you go, I go-”

“That isn’t open for negotiation. This is dangerous business, and you need to keep out. You deserve to live long enough to enjoy your new life.”

Antonio left to hail a cab.

“But that madman could come after-” Hull began.

“Me,” I said. “That’s what we just finished discussing, right? That this murder suggests I’m still the primary target. So you’ll be a whole lot safer at that hotel than hanging out with us.”

Hull looked from me to Jeremy, openmouthed and wide-eyed. “Surely you don’t plan to take her to this meeting? After what just happened? If you need any further proof that she’s in danger-”

“I don’t,” Jeremy said. “And I didn’t before. But the safest place for her is with us.”

Jeremy had wanted a private, wide-open place, to avoid the possibility of being ambushed by the zombies. Tolliver still insisted that Shanahan wouldn’t know how to control a zombie if someone handed him a user’s manual, but he’d suggested a small community center where he coached an after-school soccer program. It was closed for the summer, but he had access.

The community center was indeed tiny-little more than a gymnasium, changing rooms and a meeting room. The property was a decent size, though, with basketball courts, soccer fields and a thickly wooded strip in the back. When Jeremy saw that small forest, he was much happier with Tolliver’s choice. If things went bad, we could get Shanahan to our turf quickly.