“I’d say it was mutual.”

“It is,” Olivia said. “He knows I love him, and he understands the reasons I wanted to marry him. And he approved.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t been outed yet.”

Olivia shrugged. “We didn’t change anything. Didn’t see the need. We got married at midnight in Midnight! Our witnesses were two customers who happened to be in the pawnshop. The Rev registered it with the state, as he’s required to do, but the Davy paper doesn’t print marriage notices. We checked first.”

“I’m . . . flabbergasted. I hope you’re happy.”

This sounded so prim that they started laughing again.

“When did this happen?” Fiji asked.

“About six weeks ago,” Olivia said. “Before Lemuel started looking for sources for information about the damn books. And definitely before Christine made her appearance.”

“I guess that would put a cramp on any marriage,” Fiji said. “Having another vampire with super hearing and super smell right next door.”

Olivia nodded grimly. “Not that we were doing anything different since we went through the ceremony,” she said, with the air of one determined to be fair. “But now we’re not doing anything. Lemuel is weirdly straightlaced. Nudity doesn’t bother him one way or another, but any action between him and me is strictly private.”

“Then I hope she leaves soon, for both your sakes. If my guest bedroom were light-tight she could sleep in my house, but it isn’t.” She tried not to sound relieved about that, and she left a little silence to make it clear she was switching conversational gears. “We’ve strayed away from what we’re going to do about your buddy at the hardware store.”

“Now I’m certain that Teacher is being paid by my dad or his right hand to watch me. Teacher’s really been hands-off, so I guess his orders are to keep track of me in general. He doesn’t follow me when I leave town. I couldn’t miss that. The man I killed in Dallas, the one waiting to snatch me at Rachel Goldthorpe’s house? He was definitely working for Ellery McGuire. So I’m thinking Teacher is on my dad’s payroll.”

“But why would this Lucas Evans be situated so far away from Teacher? Seems like he’d be closer for convenience.”

“But then I’d be much more likely to see him,” Olivia said. “It’s only the chance of Teacher’s truck breaking down and him begging a ride from Manfred that tipped me off.”

That made sense. “So are you going to do anything about it?”

“Eventually. Now that I’ve spilled the news that I’m married, I suspect something will shake loose.” Olivia seemed pleased at the prospect.

They rode in silence for a while, each thinking her own thoughts. Fiji was worried, for her part. Olivia might “shake loose” something she couldn’t handle. If Olivia’s father was as powerful as she had said, even someone as capable as Olivia might not be able to stay on her feet if blow came to blow. Of course, Olivia’s father’s motives might be benign.

Then Fiji decided she would leave that worry to Lemuel and the future. She should be more worried about whether the planter would fit.

Luckily, it did.

21

That night, the visiting vampire, Christine, told Lemuel that in two days she would be finished translating the text written of the travelogue about Texas supernatural sites.

“It is hard work, translating this,” she said. She had not grown on Lemuel. Her thin face and lank black hair did not impress him, she had no charm of conversation or character to soften his opinion, and her presence prevented him from mating with his woman.

“Who do you think wrote it?” Lemuel asked.

“Arria Auclina, obviously,” Christine said, sounding positively snarky. Then she seemed to remember she was the underdog in the relationship. “She is the only Etruscan vampire I’ve heard of. She seems to have enjoyed writing this travel journal very much, and she wanted only other vampires to read it. Writing in Etruscan achieved that neatly.” Christine sounded proud of her maker’s maker.

“What point is there in writing a magical site guide for vampires in a language only three vampires can read?”

“I don’t think Arria Auclina cared,” Christine said, hardly listening. She looked exhausted.

“How can I find her? Is your maker in contact with his maker?”

“I have no idea. Dr. Quigley doesn’t share his life with me any longer. I know Arria Auclina hasn’t died the final death. I would have felt it. But that’s all I do know. Can I go out tonight? I must drink. I can’t subsist on the artificial stuff.”

Lemuel, who hardly looked at Christine in the normal way of things, realized she did look peaked.

“Tomorrow night, if you’ve finished translating the next chapter. Here are the rules,” he told her. “No one from this town. No one from Davy. Marthasville is the closest you can hunt. You can’t kill anyone or leave them in an ‘animal attack’ state.”

The visiting vampire looked rebellious. “Do you follow these rules yourself?” she asked angrily.

“When I take blood, I do,” Lemuel said. “And I know you have to be discreet in Dallas, since the massacre.” The Dallas massacre had impressed on all vampires the need to be discreet.

“I will follow your rules,” she said, with poor grace.

“If I didn’t need to work, I would take you to a good place myself,” said Lemuel. “Do you drive? You can borrow my car, if you like.”

“I’m not a good driver,” Christine admitted. “Maybe you or your friend could take me. Since you work at night.”

“We’ll make a plan,” Lemuel said.

“So after I translate this book, I’ll be free to go back to the nest?”

“Do you want to? I don’t think Joseph will pursue you if you decide to leave.”

Christine looked startled. “You would let me go?”

“After you’ve finished the translation, you are free to go wherever you want,” Lemuel said, making a sudden decision. In his opinion, he had paid more for Christine than she was worth, considering the intrusion onto his territory by the daytime servants. It would serve Joseph right if she chose to run, and Lemuel was sure it would not make Joseph really angry, since he clearly disliked Christine and had no respect for her.