Hard Times (A Sam Harlan Novel Book 2) (15 page)

I gritted my teeth and turned back to the doorway that led to the front. Mary Kate approached and whispered, “The light switch is on the right.”

That was all I needed to hear. I stepped through the curtain separating the gun room from the rest of the pawnshop, flicked on the switch, and prepared to blast away at anything that moved. The overhead fluorescent lights blazed on.

The pawnshop was empty.

Mary Kate sighed with relief. “Watch the front,” she said. “I’ll take care of Tommy.”

I turned sideways, watching the front door from the corner of one eye, while keeping the other on the room with the guns as Mary Kate took Mueller’s service weapon, emptied the round from the chamber and dropped the magazine, then refilled them with silver nine millimeter rounds from a box behind the counter.

She thrust her hand at him. “Give me your spare magazine.”

He nodded and removed it from his belt. He watched as she emptied it and then filled it with silver ammunition. She handed his service weapon and the spare magazine back to him and he traded it for her .38 revolver.

He nodded gratefully before turning to me. “What do we do now?”

“Watch the front,” I said. “I’m going to get Callie’s shotgun from the truck.”

He nodded.

I left him with Mary Kate, who was loading more magazines with silver ammunition for Tommy. In the back, Lori, Colden, and Carrie were sitting on the old couch I had recuperated on hours before. Lori held a spare .38, a twin to Mary Kate’s, but by the way it wavered I suspected it was her first time with a gun.

Callie stood in front of them, clutching her crucifix. I pointed at the alleyway door. “I know you love that crucifix,” I said, “but I’ll feel better when you get something more lethal in your hands.”

She shook her head sadly and followed me to the back door. I took a deep breath, opened it, and stepped quickly to the back of the truck. My eyes roved from the alleyway to the rooftop on either side, half-expecting the vampire to drop from above, but I made it to the back of the truck and opened the topper and tailgate. Callie’s Remington 870 was in the four-foot-long toolbox, and I grabbed the shotgun and the boxes of shells and shut the tailgate and topper before hightailing it back to the pawnshop.

It was only twenty feet, but it took an eternity to bridge that gap.

Callie stood in the doorway, trying to watch in every direction, and she slammed the door behind me as I ran inside.

I handed her the Remington and the shells. The Remington 870 was like the one she had used for practice, but with the addition of an assault stock, pistol grips, and magazine extender. She loaded the silver double-aught buckshot into the chamber and then filled the tube magazine. It now had seven rounds, plus one in the chamber.

Hopefully that’s enough.

“I remember getting that for Jack,” Mary Kate said from behind. Callie and I turned and found her holding her .38 to her side, a sad smile on her face. “I ordered it from Brownells and did the conversion myself.”

“You work on guns?” I asked.

Her smile widened. “Surprised that a woman could be a gunsmith?”

“Surprised that you didn’t mention it before.” I squinted at her. “You’re nothing like I expected. I see what Jack saw in you.”

“He wasn’t like any man I ever met,” Mary Kate said. “Not even my husband. I was lonely after Robert died. Jack was … well, Jack was different.”

I snorted. “You got that right.” The rest of the Glicks were watching, and I called out for the deputy to join us. Soon, we were all in the storeroom.

I spoke first. “Vampires are real, they’re dangerous, and one is here. You saw it. I’m pretty sure it has the girls. I think it’s been here for a while. Callie, do you remember the crucifixes in the Mendozas’ home?”

Callie nodded, her eyes widening. “She was trying to protect her family.”

“Right,” I said. I addressed the others. “Crucifixes don’t work, not unless you have a certain … lineage.”

Mueller frowned. “Why not?”

“Deputy,” I said, “if I knew the answer, we would be a hell of a lot safer. I only know that the Sister here is the exception. She has what it takes. Maria Diaz didn’t have a chance in Hell of stopping that thing.”

“Sam, please,” Callie said, a pained look on her face.

I sighed. “Sorry, Sister. Anyway, we saw that thing kill Maria Diaz. It killed her before she could tell us anything useful. I think it messed with her mind—”

“Wait,” Colden said. “They can do
that
?”

“Yes,” Callie said, her voice rough. “They can twist and pervert human will.” She shuddered, her face growing cold. “I’ve seen it.”

My mind flashed back to the basement of the Chinese restaurant in Peoria where a vampire named Larz Timm had calmly stated that Katie was his meat treat.

“We spoke with Juan Mendoza this morning. He didn’t know anything.” I hesitated. “He was fixing a door, repairing the damage the vampire did, but he didn’t know why. He couldn’t remember. He didn’t know about his daughters. Physically he was there, but mentally there was no one home. It messed with his head.”

“What about the rest of the family?” Mueller asked.

I shook my head. “I think it got to them, too. Everyone but Elias. He seemed—”

“Elias said he was spending nights at his girlfriend’s house,” Callie said. “If the vampire needs to maintain the compulsion, perhaps it’s wearing off?”

“Could be,” I said. “He didn’t seem quite as … vacant … when we asked about Elena.”

Colden spoke up, voice full of pent-up frustration. “How does any of this get Elena back?” His mother attempted to wrap her arm around him, but he yanked free of her grasp. “What are we going to do?”

I cleared my throat. “First, we need to know if the police are going to muck it all up. Did someone call about the gunshots?”

“Someone called it in,” Mueller said, “but I told them I investigated and it was a car backfiring.”

I shook my head. “They fell for that?”

Mueller bit his lip. “I took care of it,” he said, “like you ordered.” He looked queasy. “I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. What was I supposed to do? Allow officers to show up and get killed? I know these men. They’re my friends. I couldn’t have that on me—”

“Fair enough,” I said. I understood how he felt. Everything he believed had been turned upside down. Now, I was going to ask him the questions that got to the heart of the matter, the questions that might shatter our temporary alliance. “Let’s talk about Olivia.”

Mueller’s head snapped up. “What do you mean?”

Colden gave Mueller a look both sad and menacing. “I thought after all the things you said about Elena—”

“He didn’t mean them,” I said. “It’s time to lay our cards on the table. You fell in love with Elena, didn’t you?”

Mueller’s mouth open and closed, like a fish gasping for air. “I—It’s not—”

“There’s no point in denying it,” I said.

Everyone was staring at the deputy.

“Yeah,” he finally admitted. “I liked her. Maybe I liked her a lot. But it didn’t matter, because she fell in love with Colden.”

“And Colden was your friend,” I said. “Instead of making a play for Elena, you drifted away, acted like a jerk. You insulted the Mendozas. Maybe pushed Colden around a few times.”

Colden’s mouth dropped open. “
That’s
why you were such a dick.”

Mueller hitched his thumb at his chest. “Hey, I’m right here.” He shook his head. “It wasn’t all an act. I was pretty angry. You and Elena got along so well, and the Academy was stressful. I may have acted like a jerk—”

“Colden,” I interrupted, “he stepped aside. For you and Elena. He may have been a dick, but he had the best of intentions.”

Mary Kate shook her head. “Oh, Tommy.”

I snorted. “Don’t feel too bad for him. He wound up with Olivia.”

Mueller turned to stare at the hallway leading to the front of the pawnshop until Callie finally broke the silence. “Olivia contacted you,” she said. “Didn’t she?”

Mueller turned back to us. “I didn’t chase after her, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he said. “She chased after me. I stopped at the restaurant to get coffee. We chatted. At first it was little things. Just general stuff, like what was it like being a cop. Then—”

“She started asking about
you
,” Mary Kate said. “She wanted to know how
you
were. And you talked.”

“Yeah,” Mueller said. “It was like that. She’s so similar to Elena in so many ways, and in others not at all. I started having feelings for her, like a kid sister, then it became more. I guess…” His voice trailed off and he turned to stare at one of the shelves. “I guess I fell in love.”

“Why keep it a secret?” Mary Kate asked. “Why didn’t you just tell everyone?”

I had known these people for less than two days, but even I knew the answer. “It was too late, wasn’t it? Who was it? Leticia? Juan? Franco?”

Mueller shrugged his shoulders. “All of them.”

“I don’t understand,” Callie said, squinting at the deputy.

I almost laughed. “He pretended to be such a dick that as far as they were concerned, he was the
last
person they would accept. Colden? He was free to marry Elena, but Tommy here? Not a chance. They would
never
let their daughter be with him.”

“Then why go to the diner today?” Callie asked. “What did you hope to learn from them?”

Mueller glanced around helplessly. “Olivia’s been acting weird. We were supposed to meet last night. When she didn’t show up, I thought her family finally found out. I didn’t know about the”—he gulped—“vampire. I came to talk to Colden. I hoped he might be able to help figure out what’s going on.”

I wanted to laugh. “Love triangles and human stupidity almost got us killed,” I said. “You led it right to the Glicks’ doorstep.”

“How was I supposed to know?” He turned to Lori Glick. “Ma’am, you have to believe me. I wouldn’t place you or your family in danger.”

“The vampire must think you’re a threat,” I said. “Mrs. Glick? What time does your husband get off work?”

“He’s working overtime,” Lori said with alarm. “He should be getting soon.”

“Does he have a cell phone?”

She nodded.

“Call him,” I said. “Tell him to come here. Don’t make up a story, just tell him whatever it takes to get him here. The last thing we need is the vampire going back to your house while he’s there alone. At least we have guns here with silver. If nothing else, the Sister can keep it at bay.”

“I didn’t bring my cell with me,” Lori said.

Mary Kate approached her sister-in-law. “There’s a phone in the corner.” She helped Lori to her feet. Lori reluctantly released her death grip on her daughter, Carrie, who had been listening intently. Carrie wrapped her arms around her chest and sank into the couch, looking lost.

As they went to the corner of the storeroom, Callie placed her hand on my shoulder. “What are we going to do?” she asked.

I leaned in and whispered in her ear. “You’re going to stay here and I’m going back to Toledo.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

For a moment, I smelled the scent of her, a deep and musky smell under the hint of antiperspirant, and it reminded me of the night I’d spent huddled with Katie. They were alike in many ways, but while Katie had been soft and fragile—her faith shaken after her ordeal with Larz Timm—Callie was hard and flinty, her face sparkling with religious fervor.

“I can’t protect everyone,” I said. “I’m beat.”

She shook her head, the faint dusting of freckles across her cheeks shining under the fluorescent lights. “We’ve got silver now.” She nodded to Mueller. “The deputy can protect us. Mary Kate and Lori can help.” She glanced down at the shotgun in her hands. “
I
can help.”

“You might get lucky and hit it with enough silver,” I said, “but more than likely you’ll just hold it off for a while. That’s not enough.”

I turned to watch the Glicks. Lori and Mary Kate spoke quietly, and Carrie was curled up in a ball on the couch, desperately trying not to appear afraid. Colden sat at her feet, green around the edges, and looking like he might faint.

I nodded at Carrie and Colden. “Maybe you should speak to them.”

Callie frowned. “Maybe
you
should speak to them.”

I blinked. “Why me?”

“Because you’re the one who saved them,” she said. “Speak with them. Reassure them.”

I hesitated. “I hope I know what to say.”

“You’ll think of something.”

I nodded. “Right.” I turned and made my way to the couch.

Colden looked up as I approached. “What are we going to do?” he asked.

“You’re not going to do anything,” I said. “I’m working on a plan.”

Carrie uncurled long enough to stare at me. “A plan? What plan?”

I only had an idea, but didn’t want to admit that to her. “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Everything is going to be fine. Things will be right as rain in no time.”

She shook her head. “Right as rain? What are you, forty?”

“I’m twenty-eight,” I said. “Right as rain is a fine expression.”

Colden turned to his sister. “Would you shut up? We’re in trouble here. You always run your mouth when you should be listening.”

Carrie looked like she was about to kick her brother, but I cleared my throat. “Look,” I said, “I know things seem rough, but I promise, you’ll be okay. I’m going to protect you. You can count on me.”

Carrie rolled her eyes and hugged herself tighter. “I just want to go home.”

“You will go home,” I said. “Soon. You two have to pull together. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.” I paused. “I know this sounds corny, but you’re family and family is all that matters. I just need you two to pull it together, just for a while longer.”

Some of the life had returned to Carrie’s eyes and Colden was sitting up straight. Colden nodded and stroked absently at his goatee. “We’ll do what you tell us,” he said. “Won’t we?”

Carrie nodded slowly. “Like we have a choice.”

“Carrie,” Colden said.

“It’s not her fault,” I interrupted. “She’s scared. She needs her big brother to protect her. Can you do that?”

He started to spit out a retort, stopped himself, then nodded. “Of course. She
is
my sister.”