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Exactly what John Paul was feeling, Destiny pointed out.Can you find the blankness of the mark of
the vampire ?
Nicolae was an ancient, far stronger than Destiny, one well versed in the arts of the undead. He was
certain he would detect the presence of a vampire had the creature touched Martin in some way, but
there was no evidence of such a violation. Nicolae stood up, drawing instant attention, holding out his
hand as Velda introduced him to the young man.
Martin did his best to be polite in spite of his distraction. Nicolae could see he was naturally a friendly
and outgoing person. His affection for Velda and Inez was obvious, as was their affection for the young
man they had seen grow to adulthood.
"I have heard such good things about you, Martin. You are an advocate for the elderly and have a new
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project you are working on with Tim Salvadore. Father Mulligan tells me it is a wonderful opportunity to
provide independent living in a safe environment for people on limited means. He believes you to be quite
brilliant. The two of you must be great friends." Deliberately Nicolae used the priest's name, kept his
voice soft and friendly and engaging. He knew the power of such a weapon. Few could resist the
invitation to talk.
Martin's shoulders sagged. "Father Mulligan's a great man. I've known him all my life." He lifted his head
and looked directly at Nicolae, anguish plain in his eyes. "Did he also tell you someone assaulted him?
Struck him over the head repeatedly and stole the box of money for the poor right out of his hands?"
Velda gasped. Inez shrieked. Both women crossed themselves, lifted a silver crucifix each wore and in
perfect synchronization kissed the cross. "That can't be, Martin," Velda protested. "No one would hurt
Father Mulligan."
"There's never any money in the poor box, is there, Sister?" Inez added, wringing her hands. "What is
this world coming to that someone would attack a priest in God's own house?"
"Maybe Inez and I will have to move to your community after all, Martin," Velda said. "If things have
gotten so bad in this neighborhood that a thief would harm Father Mulligan, no one is safe."
"Is the poor man going to be all right?" Inez asked. "Sister dear, we must make some of our famous
chicken soup and take it to him immediately." She tapped Nicolae's arm. "No one can make such perfect
chicken soup as dear Velda. Of course I have to remind her what she's doing or she wanders off on one
of her research projects. Velda hunts for proof that vampires and werewolves exist."
That snapped Nicolae to attention. He had been watching Martin closely for any reaction, barely
registering the conversation flowing around him. His dark gaze found Velda, settled there thoughtfully.
Velda patted her hair and smiled at him. "An old hobby of mine. I dabble a bit in magic spells, but I'm
not very good at casting. Inez is much more accurate than I am. Martin, dear, do sit down. You look like
you could use some feeding up. I'll make a double batch of my soup and give some to you. We'll have
you fixed up in no time."
Martin, still partially under the thrall of Nicolae's voice, slumped heavily into the chair Nicolae had
occupied, frowning up at him. "He thinks I did it. Father Mulligan thinks I bashed him over the head and
took the poor box." The confession came out in a rush, ended on a choked sob.
Velda and Inez instantly turned their attention to him, patting and stroking his hair soothingly and making
clucking noises. "Father Mulligan must have suffered a concussion. He knows you would never do such a
thing, Marty. I'll go talk to him at once," Velda said supportively.
"Oh, yes, Sister, we must go at once," Inez echoed. "Father must be hurt badly to accuse poor Marty of
such a thing."
Martin Wright stared at his hands. "What if I did do it? Father Mulligan would never lie to me, and Tim
said I came home covered in blood that night. He said I had the church box in my hands and I wouldn't
talk to him. That I just sat there, staring at the box." He looked up at Velda, tears shimmering in his eyes.
"I don't remember. Could I have attacked Father? I've never hurt anyone in my life."
"Martin." Nicolae hunkered down so he was eye-to-eye with the man. Distress was emanating from
Wright in thick waves. "What do you remember about that daybefore the assault on Father Mulligan.
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Where did you go? Who were you with? What did you do? Do you remember anything at all?"
"I did all the usual things. I went to work, I met Tim for lunch. We discussed the project like we normally
do. He had his astronomy class, so I went down to the project site to talk to the contractor. I was there a
long time. I remember thinking I wanted to show Father Mulligan the plans again because I was worried
about a series of steps and a ramp leading to the gardens from the west side. I was afraid some of the
residents might have a difficult time maneuvering them. The contractor insisted that the slope wasn't that
steep, but Father Mulligan knows a great deal about the hardships of people using walkers or canes
because he talks with the elderly on a daily basis. I wanted a second opinion."
"Oh, Sister!" Inez caught at Velda. "He did go to see Father Mulligan that night. You are right. There is
something going on in the neighborhood."
Velda nodded grimly. "Something evil is afoot. We should activate the neighborhood watch
immediately."
Nicolae winced inwardly. He had visions of little old ladies with shocking hair marching up and down the
streets with magic potions and garlic wreaths. "Martin, before you went to the church to see Father
Mulligan, do you recall going anywhere else? Did you stop to speak to anyone, even casually, or eat
dinner? Did you drop by the neighborhood bar?"
Martin frowned, rubbed his temples. "I must have. I left the work site just after six o'clock. Father
Mulligan was assaulted much later than that. He always goes to the church around eight-thirty or nine, I
wouldn't have tried to catch him before that."
When did you discover Father Mulligan? Nicolae asked Destiny.
It was close to ten, between nine-thirty and ten.
Nicolae turned once more to Martin. The sisters were fussing over him, leaving Martin somewhere
between amusement and tears at their staunch support of him. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]