Robert stared at him. 'But people would report that.
Wives, husbands, parents, kids. Someone would call that in.'
'Maybe.'
There was a knock on the door frame, and Robert turned to see Jud and Steve standing in the hallway out side the office. 'What is it?'
'We found a girl's shoe in the drainage ditch behind
Basha's,' Jud said. 'We think it may be Pam Frye's.' 'Why are you here then? Why aren't you searching?' 'We found it an hour ago,'
Steve explained. 'We've been searching the ditch and the area behind the store since then and haven't found a thing.'
'Where's the shoe?'
'Tagged in an evidence bag. We thought you might want to call in the room, have her look at it before we devote any more time to that area.'
Robert nodded. 'Good thinking. If it is hers, we'll focus on that sector. If not, we can move on.' He looked at Woods, then back at the two officers. He cleared his throat. 'I know you may be thinking this already, but I just wanted to make it official: We're dealing with a vampire here. That's what we're looking for now.'
Steve nodded. 'what does Agent Rossiter say about that'
'Who gives a fuck what he says?' es, sir.' haven't told Rossiter yet. But I will.'
'It's punishment,' Jud said. 'Those people who died were punished for their wickedness and their sin. Maybe Pam Frye's been punished, too.
Maybe the whole town's being punished.'
Robert turned to face him. 'Where did you hear that crap?'
The policeman looked embarrassed. 'Pastor Wheeler. He says this is the work of God.'
'The work of God? And you believe that shit?'
'I believe in God more than I believe in vampires.'
Robert shook his head disgustedly. 'I can't believe you're stupid enough to fall for that.'
Jud's face reddened again, but this time from anger. 'We have freedom of religion in this country, sir, and I can go to whatever church I want without having to get my boss's permission. You can tell me what to do on the job, but no one tells me what to do in my real life.'
'You're right,' Robert said. 'Sorry.' He glanced again at Woods, who raised his eyebrows questioningly. 'Call Mrs. Frye,' he told the policemen. 'Have her come down and identify the shoe. Have Lee Anne ring me when she's here.'
Steve nodded. 'Yes, sir.' Both he andJud headed back down the hall.
Robert closed the door. 'What do you make of that?' 'Is that officer a religious man?' 'Didn't used to be.'
Woods put the unlit cigarette in his mouth. 'Wrath of
God. That scares me.'
'You buy it?'
'No. But it scares me that other people do.' He examined the map of Rio Verde on the wall opposite the window. 'It scares me a lot.'
Sue stood uncomfortably in the middle ofiJanine's living room, waiting for her friend to get out of the bath room, acutely conscious of Janine's mother lying passed out on the couch.
'One more minute!' Janine called.
Sue did not answer, not wanting to wake the snoring woman. She glanced slowly around the room. The interior of Janine's house looked like the office of a cut-rate travel agency, the paneled walls decorated with posters advertising the sightseeing attributes of various countries, the posters tacked up at off-center angles that were supposed to be artistic but instead looked sad. 'Early white trash,' Shelly called the decor. Sue could not bring herself to be quite that harsh, but she had to agree thatJanine's mother would not win any awards for interior decorating.
Janine walked in from the hallway, adjusting her tasseled cowgirl jacket. 'Thanks for coming. I don't know what I'd do without you.
'That's what friends are for,' Sue whispered.
'So says the song.' Janine nodded toward her mother. 'And you don't have to whisper. She's out like a light.'
'We'd better get going. I have a busy day ahead of me. I have to drop the car off for my father. I work at the newspaper in the morning and the restaurant in the afternoon. What time do you want me to pick you up to night?'
'I'll get a ride.' Janine straightened her hat. 'God, I hate car problems.'
'Who doesn't? 'They're talking about laying people off at the ranch, you knows. That's why I'm filling in today, to earn some brownie points.'
'Laying people off?
'They said it's because of the stories in your paper.'
Sue bristled. 'That's stupid. The paper printed an article about a murder, and now the Rocking D's immediately going to start firing people because the bad publicity might scare some people away next summer? That doesn't make sense.'
'No,' Janine admitted. 'But it sounded logical when Hollis talked to us. I mean, he has a point. Why does the paper always focus on bad and negative things? Why doesn't it ever show some of the positive aspects of our town?'
'The paper focuses on bad things? Since when? All the Gazette's ever had in it are ads and fluff stories about old people. You've said so yourself. Now people are being murdered, the paper's reporting it, and you think the coverage is too negative?'
'You're getting awfully fired up about the responsibilities of the newspaper lately.'
'Yeah, well.' Sue felt her face flush. She looked at her watch. 'We'd better get going. Or else we'll both be late.'
Janine followed Sue out the door, closing it and locking it behind her.
She put the keys in her right front pocket, and there was a clanking rattle as they fell through a hole in the pocket and down her pants leg onto the ground. She picked the keys up, putting them into her other pocket. 'So what are you going, to do with the extra money you're making at the paper?' 'I'm saving it for college.' 'Still?'
'It's expensive.' /' 'Why don't you break down and do something fun for a change? Celebrate. All you have is that old record player. Why don't you buy a new stereo? Put a CD player on layaway at Radio Shack.'
'Radio Shack? You expect me to trust that place? It's an electronics store, and they don't even know how to use a cash register. They still write everything out by hand.'
'I'm just saying do something fun for once. At least with your first paycheck.'
Sue shook her head. 'I'm not getting any younger.'
Janine nodded slowly as they walked out to the car. 'That's true.
Neither of us are.'
There was a resigned sadness in her friend's voice that made Sue think of the unborn baby, and she found herself surreptitiously glancing at the other girl's abdomen. Had she made a decision yet? Had she told her mother?
Maybe that's why her mother had gotten drunk last night and passed out on the couch.
Sue unlocked the passenger door; walked around the front of the station wagon. From down the street came the sound of a souped-up engine, roaring, growing louder. A red Mustang sped by.
'Go back to China' a male voice yelled.
There were hoots of encouraging laughter, and then the Mustang squealed around the curve of the road and was gone.
'Assholes,' Janine said.
'Who was that.
It looked like Bryant Taylor's car.'
'God, he's twenty years old, and he's still cruising around yelling insults at people?' Sue shook her head. 'When's he going to grow up?'
