Blood Song

double order of tomato soup.

“Not al of it, but yes. A little old lady came by and dropped it off, along with a pair of diamond earrings.

She said her name was Dottie and I needed to make sure you got the message right away, that it was

very important.”

No kidding. Ya think? “When did she give it to you?”

“About a half hour ago.”

Wel , it wasn’t as if the vamp hadn’t told me as much. But dammit anyway.

“She also said to tel you she was very sorry, she hoped you didn’t mind, but she showed those men

your vision. They were most insistent. And they took your earrings. She couldn’t stop them. So she

brought you these to replace them.” Dawna paused. “It looked like she had been crying.”

Aww. They made a sweet old lady like her cry? It had to have been Dee and Dum. So that’s how they

got hold of my memories. Jerks. No, more than jerks. Assholes. “She didn’t have to replace the

earrings. They weren’t that valuable.”

“I said you’d feel that way, but she insisted. And you should see these things. They’re like a carat

each.”

That didn’t make me feel any better. Worse, actual y. “Jeez. Yeah, wel , she shouldn’t have. She’s on

a fixed income, for crying out loud.”

“Wel , judging from the wear and tear on the box they’re in, they may be ones she already had. But if

you don’t want them—”

“Not a chance. I’m giving them back.” Poor Dottie. It real y ticked me off to think of Dee and Dum

intimidating that sweet little old lady. I say again, Assholes. “Did she leave a number?”

“No. She said she’d decided to go away for a while. She didn’t want to be around if anyone else came

looking for her. But I was supposed to tel you it can stil work out al right, but you need to be very

observant and remember your schooling. Oh, and she said, ‘Thank you.’”

“For what?”

“She didn’t say.”

Since I hadn’t done anything nice yet, I had to assume it was typical clairvoyant stuff. Vicki had

always been commenting on or thanking me in advance of things I was going to do. It was confusing

and sometimes frustrating but part of the package. And while I would’ve liked to talk to Dottie again, if

only to reassure her about the earrings, I was kind of glad she’d decided to go into hiding. I’d have felt

worse than I already did if anything were to happen to her.

Dawna broke the silence that had grown while I was lost in thought. “So, spil . What’s with you and

Bruno? I could feel the tension between you. Hel , even Ron commented on it.”

I didn’t see how Ron could’ve noticed anything. I mean he’d only seen Bruno and me together for

maybe a minute and a half while the guys trooped upstairs.

“There’s nothing going on. He’s here for work.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Dawna.” My voice held a warning.

“Fine, fine. Whatever you say. He’s stil smokin’ hot. Feel free to bring him by anytime so I can drool

on him, if you’re not interested. Are you going to be in today?”

I shook my head, even though she wouldn’t see it. “Not today. It’s already after one. I’ve got to go

spread some ashes, and then I have a doctor’s appointment. And I’m going to my gran’s church right

after. I want to be in sanctuary before dark.” I didn’t tel Dawna that I wasn’t planning on going to the

office unless it was absolutely necessary until this mess cleared up. The office and the estate were the

first places the bad guys would look for me. Ergo, they were the last places I wanted to be. As long as I

wasn’t there, Dawna and the others should be safe. There were wards. And Bubba and the other bail

bondsmen in the building were real hard cases. Nobody’d want to bother them if they didn’t have to.

Staying away was the best I could do for them. Not nearly enough, considering the company I’d been

forced to keep over the past couple of days. I cringed at the thought of the severed hand of our

murdered pool boy.

“Celia … are you okay?”

Apparently I’d let the silence drag on too long again. I forced a smile that I hoped she’d hear in my

voice. “Just tired. It’s been a long couple of days.”

“Amen to that.”

“I’l cal in for messages.”

She sighed and I knew she realized I wasn’t coming in. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything. And

be sure to eat.”

“I am, I am.” I was, too. Maybe not every four hours, but as often as I could manage. Hence the

tomato soup.

We hung up on that note, and I dialed the next number on my list. Bruno answered his own phone this

time, on the first ring. His “Hel o” sounded irritable. Not the world’s best patient, eh? I fought down a

snicker, even though I actual y had some sympathy for the nurses. Dealing with the DeLuca clan was

so going beyond the normal cal of duty. Particularly Mama Rose. That woman is scary.

“I cal ed ’cause I’m going to need to borrow some of your clothes. My stuff got ruined in the vampire

hunt.”

“Which clothes?”

“Wel , I need some trousers, a clean shirt, and a hat.”

“A hat.” He said it like he’d bit into something sour. I wasn’t surprised. In fact, I found myself grinning

for the first time this morning.

“Wel l …” I dragged the word out. His response was worth it. Pure Bruno DeLuca. It made me smile.

“Dammit, Celia! The only hat I’ve got there is my Mets cap. Don’t you be touching my Mets cap.”

I tried being reasonable, glad that he couldn’t see me laughing at his expense. “I don’t have any

sunscreen here, Bruno. I can check down in the gift shop …” I paused for a long moment, letting my

grin build. I knew the gift shop didn’t sel them. I’d already checked when I cal ed for the soup.

He growled, but I could hear that he wasn’t serious. He was teasing, too … mostly. “I’m going to want

that back before the game tomorrow night.”

“You’re going to the game?” I’d been going to ask him to come with me. I don’t trust people easily, and

I probably trust Bruno more than anyone else in the world. If I was meeting the king, I wanted somebody

solid by my side. But if Bruno already had plans, I didn’t want to ruin them. Trust him to get tickets that

were al but impossible for anyone else to come by. Yeah, the locals were rooting for the Angels, but the

world was rooting for the Cubs. I mean, come on, they hadn’t won a championship since God was a

baby and dirt was new. Even the scalpers were having a hard time getting tickets.

“Bonus from the boss. Four seats, in the stands by first base. I’m bringing Sal and Joey. I was gonna