As I get in and do up my seatbelt, I catch sight of a flash of grey in the alley beside the café as we drive off and turn around, thinking I saw a vampire, but there's nothing there. Must have been a reflection, or lights flashing. Then I wonder if Michel hasn't been hanging around listening in to my meeting with Julien. Surely he couldn't hear our conversation from outside thecafé…
"How good are a vampire'sears?"
He glances over at me. "What do youmean?"
Should I saysomething?
"I thought I saw a vampire in the alley beside the café. If it was Michel, could he hear our conversation from outside thecafé?"
Julien laughs. "I wouldn't put it past him to spy on us. He's probably really worried that I'll say something Ishouldn't."
"Likewhat?"
"I can't say," he says. "Because Ishouldn't."
"That's not fair," I say, angry that neither brother is willing to tell me everything. "If you know something I should know, tellme."
"Life's not fair, Eve. Anyway, I know a lot of things. How do I know what's important and what isn't unless I know you muchbetter?"
He smiles over at me, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. When I frown, helaughs.
"Oh, Eve. Lighten up. I'm just having fun. If it was Michel in the alley, he could probably hear what we were talking about if he focused really hard. The older you get, the better you are able to focus yoursenses."
We drive through the city towards the FosterBuilding.
"What are you doing now?" I say, curious about hislife.
"Oh, I've taken some time off and have been living at the monastery outside of the city. I worked for the US military for a couple of decades once I left England after the Second World War. Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, you name it. Did a lot of bad things, saw a lot of shit happen, and I figure I deserve a break. Maybe a bit of redemptionmyself."
"You fought in Afghanistan andIraq?"
"Yep," he says, driving, one hand on the wheel. "Once a knight, always a knight, I guess. I was part of a clandestine team who did the really black ops. Black interrogations, renditions, assassinations. Us vampires make great warriors. Hard as fuck tokill."
"Where did you work mostrecently?"
"Basra, southern Iraq. That is, until my group of fellow warriors was taken out in an ambush, the whole lot of my men staked and decapitated, dumped in the Euphrates. After that, I basically came back and decided I'd drop out for a while. Went to live at themonastery."
Something about his story makes me frown. "They weredecapitated?"
"Only way to kill a vampirepermanently."
I turn to look at him and then I see it – a tattoo on his neck only visible because his scarf has fallen away. I feel a chill go through me. A LorraineCross.
"Tell me about yourtattoo."
He turns to me andfrowns.
"Oh, this?" he says and fixes his scarf. "It's the insignia of my unit. After the KnightsTemplar."
"Whythem?"
He shrugs. "Just a group weadmired."
I get the very strong impression he's not telling me everything. "Some of the bodies in the River Man case had thattattoo."
"Oh, really?" he says, his voice light. "Isn't that an interestingcoincidence…"
"If you know something, tell me," I sayquietly.