"Yeah, but I wasn't in there" Jahlil pointed at the house. "There were more of those vampire dogs running around the yard up there, too. We'd need an army to make a move on that place. You and I couldn't do it."

"Yeah" Jackson spat again. "Makes a lot of sense"

"We should go back to the station and hit up that guy David and the woman, Nia. We need them to help us come up with a plan. They've figured out all of this stuff already. Later, we can round up some people and storm the Mason crib to get Dudu, if he's still alive."

"Smart plan, but I hate to leave my man in there"

"Then try him on the radio," Jahlil said.

Jackson clicked on his walkie-talkie. He called for the deputy. Several attempts yielded only flat static.

"He's gone," Jahlil said. "I hate to say it, Dad, but I can feel it."

Jackson put away the radio. "All right, we're gonna follow your plan. But we're coming back later for my deputy."

Jahlil was about to say something when he looked behind Jackson. His eyes grew as large as golf b.a.l.l.s.

Jackson turned.

The dogs were stirring. Their legs trembled, their jaws clenched and unclenched, and their eyes blinked as though they were awakening from a nap.

But the blood was still damp on their gunshot chests.

A numbing coldness came over Jackson.

"That ain't possible," Jackson said. "It ain't. I plugged each one of 'em in the heart with a twelve gauge"

Groaning, one of the dogs drew its legs under its body, preparing to stand.

Jackson and Jahlil ran to his car.

"Look at that," Jahlil said, when they were locked inside the cruiser. "All of them are getting up "

Jackson saw it. And it hit him-really, hit him-that they were dealing with something supernatural. He couldn't dance around the subject and put a nice, acceptable label on it. He had flattened those dogs himself, and now they were on their feet. Resurrected.

How am I gonna protect folks against this? he thought. They didn't talk about nothing like this at the police academy.

The hounds gathered together and faced the car. They growled. Fresh saliva drooled from their lips.

"Let's get out of here!" Jahlil said.

The dogs took off toward them.

Jackson hit the gas, and they didn't look back.

"That is quite a story," Franklin said. A spasm of coughs racked his body. It took him a minute to speak again. "I believe you and Miss James have cleverly solved the puzzle of the vampires that have arisen in Dark Corner."

David was pleased to win Franklin's approval. "We took your ideas and ran with them, that's all. We couldn't have done it without you"

"It's too bad Chief Jackson doesn't believe us," Nia said. She sat near Ruby on the other side of the bed, her lips curled in disdain. "What a bull-headed man"

"He'll come around," Franklin said. "He won't have any choice. Events will soon be building to a head."

"What makes you say that?" David said.

Franklin closed his eyes. His voice lowered to a whisper; he seemed to be in a trancelike state. "I am changing. Oh, yes, I am. I sense Diallo's desires, the way a servant intuits the ambitions of his master. Diallo is cultivating a fearsome army that he will unleash on this town, very soon."

David bent forward. "How can we beat him?"

Franklin's eyes snapped open. He blinked. "What did you say?"

"How can we beat the vampires?"

"Pardon me, I don't know what I was saying, must've lost my bearings for a moment" Franklin appeared confused. He sighed. "I suggest that you speak to Pearl. With her talents, perhaps she can discover a way."

Doubt must have colored David's face, because Franklin clutched David's hand.

"You are going to prevail, David. You were brought here to fulfill your family's legacy. It is your destiny to succeed."

"Franklin ... I don't know. We've pieced together a lot, but at the same time, I feel like we don't have a clue about how we'll beat this thing."

"Let go of your doubt. Everything will become clear, you must have faith." Franklin's eyes drilled into David. His weary voice was only a weak imitation of how it used to be, but the underlying, grave seriousness of his tone could not have been more riveting. "Listen. You originally came to Dark Corner to unravel the mystery of your father, and you have learned little about him that satisfies you. Why? Because you do not need to understand your father in order to be complete. You will not discover any keys in your father's life that will unlock secrets in your own heart. Let go of doubt and worry. Let it go, son. G.o.d is lighting your path and will grant you all that you require to fulfill your destiny and lead a life of which you can be proud. You aren't half a man, David, as you once called yourself-you're all the man that you will ever need to be. You will prevail."

David bowed his head. Franklin's words sliced like a paring knife into his heart. He'd been given similar pep talks before, from his mother and relatives, intended to make him feel good about his fatherless life. When he was a kid, it was common for him to hear praise such as: You're a great boy. Don't let your father's absence bother you. It's not your fault. You're going to be a success without him. Then, as he matured into adulthood, the compliments became: You're a strong, responsible man who's made your family proud. You did it without your father. Be proud of yourself, because we are.

And David was proud of what he had become and accomplished. But occasionally, doubts surfaced. What had he missed by growing up without a father? Would he be a better man if his father had been there for him? If he ever had a son of his own, would he know how to be a father to his child?

In spite of the nurturing his family had given him all of his life, those doubts festered like weeds in his soul. It took coming to Dark Corner to delve into his father's life ... it took being compelled to fulfill a terrifying family duty ... it took hearing an exhortation from Franklin Bennett, a man he had known for only a brief time, a man who exemplified the virtues that David held dear, a man poised on the edge of a supernatural metamorphosis ... it took all of those things for David to break down, at last. David wept, and they were tears of purification, tears of release.

Comforting hands rested on his shoulders. Nia. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, his wet face dampening her blouse.

"We're going to do this," she said softly. "You and me, together. Watch us"

David dried his eyes, sniffled. "I'm okay. Really, I am. I needed to hear that. Thank you, Franklin."

Franklin smiled weakly. "I want you to promise me one thing, David."

"Whatever it is, I'll do it," David said.

"Promise me that when I become a vampire, you will destroy me yourself."

"Franklin, I can't "

"Please" Franklin squeezed David's hand. "Promise me"

"It's not going to come to that," David said. He exhaled a deep breath. "But okay, I promise."

"Thank you" He released David's hand.

As if a b.u.t.ton in his brain had been pressed, Franklin immediately fell asleep. Head turned to the side, lips parted, arms slack, he looked, to David, like a corpse in a coffin.

He's gone, David thought. When he opens his eyes again, he isn't going to be a man anymore. G.o.d, I don't want to see him like that.

Ruby dabbed her eyes with a Kleenex. She knew it, too. Her sense of her husband's pa.s.sing human life would be sharper than David's. Living with someone for over forty years would have forged a psychic bond.

"Ruby," David said, "do you think it's safe for you to stay here?"

"I won't leave my husband," she said.

"We understand," Nia said.

"This hospital won't be safe by the evening," Ruby said. "Eight patients were admitted this morning who've been bitten."

"Eight?" David said.

"More still are probably in their homes," Ruby said.

"Doctor doesn't have a clue as to what's happening to them. He thinks it's a strange kind of virus."

"In a way it is, " Nia said.

"You two better get on getting on," Ruby said. "You're going to have your hands full by tonight."

They hugged Ruby, asked her to call if she needed anything, and left the room.

In the parking lot, David and Nia got into the SUV.

"Where are we going next?" Nia said. "Or do I already know the answer?"

"You do," he said.

"Okay. Pearl's place is only ten minutes away."

On their way back to the station, Jackson drove, and Jahlil used his cell phone to try to call the Hunter boy or the James girl. Jackson had wasted enough time sitting around with his thumb stuck up his b.u.t.t. It was time to make plans and take action.

"Neither one of them are home, Dad," Jahlil said. "Now what?"

Jackson tapped the steering wheel. "Try the hospital. Have 'em buzz Doc Bennett's room"

Jahlil got Ruby Bennett on the line and handed the phone to Jackson. She didn't sound good at all.

He felt like an a.s.s for doubting the story the kids had told him this morning. While Ruby was suffering at the bedside of her sick husband, he'd been sitting there in the office, denying the obvious.

"David and Nia are on their way to visit Pearl," Ruby said. "They left a short while ago"

"Got to find them right away," Jackson said. "Thank you, Ruby. I'm praying for Doc Bennett."

"So am I, Chief," she said.

Jackson tossed the cell phone into Jahlil's hands. He executed a U-turn in the middle of Main Street.

"Where are we going?" Jahlil said.

"Going to see Pearl."

"That psychic woman?" Jahlil said, eyes wide.

"Yep "Why?"

"Hunter and James are gonna be there"

"What're they going to see her for?"

"Guess we'll find out when we get there"

"Do you believe she's a real psychic?"

Jackson glanced at Jahlil.

"Right now, son, I'm ready to believe d.a.m.n near anything."

"I knew you would be coming again, David Hunter," Pearl said. She invited them inside her house. "I knew Nia would be with you, too"

"Is there anything you don't know?" David said. This woman continued to amaze him.

Pearl's face darkened. "Knowledge can be a frightening thing, sometimes. Ignorance can be bliss, if only for a short while."

"We know what you mean," Nia said. "We've learned more than we wanted to know about what's happening in this town"

Pearl beckoned them into the living room. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. We will have more guests soon"

"We will?" David said.

"I'm preparing a pot of chamomile tea," Pearl said, avoiding his question with a gracious smile. "It will be ready in a moment"

She vanished into the kitchen. David and Nia traded puzzled glances. They settled on the sofa.

It was a small but comfortable living room. Furniture in soothing earth tones, gla.s.s tables, bra.s.s lamps. African masks adorned the walls, and intricately carved wooden statues stood on the end tables and floor. A faintly sweet incense scented the air.

A clock on the wall ticked away the seconds. It was a quarter to eleven, only late morning, but David felt as though time were racing. He dreaded the thought of nightfall and what it might bring.

Pearl returned carrying a silver tray on which stood five ceramic mugs and a tea kettle. She placed the tray on the coffee table and began to pour tea.

Outdoors, a car pulled into the driveway. Through the thin curtains, David glimpsed the shape of a patrol car beacon.

"Is that the chief?" Nia said. "I don't believe it."

Pearl smiled mysteriously and went to open the door.