Free Skull Creek Stakeout (Caden Chronicles, The) by Eddie Jones Page A

about what people think of us. If I hear that you’re making Transylvania look like something it’s not, then I don’t care how sweet your aunt is — you’ll have me to deal with. Are we clear?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Thing is, you say
murder
and people go, ‘What? Where?’ Then after a few days they forget about it. You say
vampire
and I’ve got every news outlet in the country calling me. You get what I’m saying?”
    “I think so, sure.”
    “Good. Then we should get along just fine.” He released his grip on my shoulder and walked me into the hallway.
    I took a few steps, turned, and asked, “By chance, do you happen to have a picture of the deceased?”
    “I wish I could, but …”
    “It’s part of an ongoing investigation.”
    He winked. “If I hear anything from the oral surgeon, I’ll call. I have your number,” he said, thumping my business card against his knuckles.
    “Thanks again for your time, Lieutenant.”
    I worked my way back through the maze of cubicles in the gymnasium and out the front door. Standing on the front steps in the blinding white sunshine, I realized that nearly twenty-four hours earlier I’d been sitting in the Brown Derbywith my parents, trying to convince them to let me come to Transylvania. Now I stood neck deep in a murder investigation involving a vampire — or at least someone pretending to be a vampire — and I still did not have a solid lead on who had killed Forester and why.
    On top of that, the one case I had solved might not even matter because some judge let the killer out on bail. Things definitely weren’t going my way. Just then my phone buzzed.
    “Nick, oh my gosh, I can’t believe it. Something’s happened.”
    The voice sounded on the edge of panic.
    “Meg?” My mind went immediately to Aunt Vivian. “What is it?”
    “When I got back from lunch I found the door to the morgue standing wide open and the fridge we use to store blood samples cleaned out! Nick, Forester’s body is gone! I think our dead vampire escaped!”

CHAPTER EIGHT
DEATH THREAT
    I ’m a pretty fast runner. I know my parents think all I do is lounge around and watch movies and videos on my computer, but during commercials I do push-ups. Twenty reps if it’s a long one. And at least three times a week I sprint a mile. Not the whole mile, obviously. I mean, that would kill me. But I leg it out pretty good. I have no idea what my time is, but I’m no slouch. I’ve watched too many cop shows where the fat detective can’t catch the bad guy … or escape from him, and I don’t want to be dead like the dude on TV.
    Good thing, because as soon as I hung up from talking to Meg, I cut down an alleyway to get over to her street. I’d onlygone a few steps when I heard movement behind me. Whirling, I got my arm up just as someone clubbed me above the ear. The blow sent me sprawling face-first onto the pavement, and before I could fight back, a forearm clamped under my throat and wrenched my neck sideways in a choke hold.
    “You think this is a game?” the voice hissed in my left ear. “You think this is one of your television cop shows? I could kill you now, but where is the fun in that?”
    Oven-hot breath blew across my neck; fingernails clawed at my windpipe. I tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but squirming only caused the arm to clamp down tighter.
    “You’re so smart, so clever with all your questions and poking around where you shouldn’t. Can you guess what comes next? No? Let me give you a hint.” The voice fell to a whisper. “The monster you seek feeds at dusk and preys on the flesh of young women.”
    “Please, can’t … breathe.”
    “Leave now while you still can.”
    I clenched my left fist and brought it up over my shoulder as hard as I could, but the blow only thumped weakly off a muscled shoulder and fell away. The assailant struck back by slamming an elbow into my temple and planting my face into the pavement. As quickly as he’d pounced, he released