Free Trust Me When the Sun Goes Down by Lisa Olsen Page B

“How long do you think it’s going to be before he shows up here in town when we can’t keep our kills out of the paper?”
    Unexpectedly, Felix’s voice took on a light of excitement.  “Maybe we can use these killings to our benefit after all?  If we can lure Carter here, then maybe we can stop him from hunting in our territory once and for all.”
    “Please tell me you’re not sanctioning these deaths as a means to trap Carter.”
    “No, not at all.  I’m just saying, we should take advantage of the opportunity it presents us with.  If we can plan where he’s gonna pop up next, it’ll make it easier to catch him.”
    I worried about the danger to Carter for exactly half a second until I realized he was more than capable of protecting himself.  “I wouldn’t be too sure of that, he’s been one step ahead from the beginning.  And do I need to remind you again that he hasn’t broken any vampire laws?”  It wasn’t forbidden for a vampire to kill another vampire, as long as he kept it hidden from public view.  Carter had made a career out of killing vampires who treated humans badly, the only reason Felix cared at all was because some of those vamps were powerfully connected in society.  If Carter had been killing off vamps in back alleys, he wouldn’t have cared less. 
    These days I felt more and more like I was on Carter’s side instead of my own government’s.  Except for the killing and all, I didn’t want anyone to die, but I had to admit, his methods were effective.  Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to try and contact him after all?  Trouble was, I had absolutely no idea how.  I put that idea aside for later. 
    “Listen, about the new magistrate candidate,” I asked.  “Do we actually have any candidates or were you blowing smoke up my skirt before?”
    “I got a few people in mind. I’ll send you over some files, like I said.”
    “Thank you.”  I paused, still uncomfortable with our earlier blow up, but wanting to end on a personal note.  “I’d better get going.  Give my love to Bridget.”
    “Will do.  Sorry about what I said before, boss.  I think you’re doing a bang up job, seriously, top notch.”
    For the first time I wondered if any of that was true, or if he was trying to handle me.  “Thanks, Felix.  I’ll talk to you later.” 
    I left a message for Detective Mathis to give me a call.  Mostly I wanted to pick his brains about the killings to see if there was anything for me to worry about or if I was getting worked up over nothing but a lot of media hype.  I supposed I could’ve contacted Mason or Frost about it since they had access to police records again, but I figured it was better not to tip the Order’s attention to the possibility that Carter might come calling, despite Felix’s wishes. 
    When I emerged from my office a while later to make myself a cup of cocoa, I was surprised not to find Rob back yet.  The night was more than half gone and I hadn’t heard a peep from him. 
    “Maggie, do you know where Rob is?” I asked on my way to the kitchen. 
    “No, sorry, I haven’t seen him.  Gunnar came back about a half hour past, I could ask him if you like.”
    “No, that’s okay.” I waved her off.  I didn’t want to make a federal case out of it.  He certainly had the right to go anywhere and do whatever he wanted, and I had pointed out that I wasn’t leaving home that night.  Still, it felt odd not having him around.  More than anything, I wanted to talk to him about everything going on and see if he thought I was making mountains out of molehills. 
    I loitered in the kitchen to drink my cocoa, avoiding my office, when Lee came strolling in.  He took one look at me and straddled a chair beside me. 
    “Got somethin’ stuck in yer craw?”
    Smiling over that colorful turn of phrase, I struggled for a moment how to articulate what had me down.  I felt like Buffy at the end of the musical episode asking – where do we