"Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake 01 - Guilty Pleasures" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Laurell K)

тАЬHey, IтАЩm here to give you money. To become a client.тАЭ
I glanced up at him, avoiding his eyes. His tie tack caught the overhead
lights. Real gold. Willie had never had anything like that before. He was
doing all right for a dead man. тАЬI raise the dead for a living, no pun
intended. Why would a vampire need a zombie raised?тАЭ
He shook his head, two quick jerks to either side. тАЬNo, no voodoo stuff. I
wanna hire you to investigate some murderers.тАЭ
тАЬI am not a private investigator.тАЭ
тАЬBut you got one of тАШem on retainer to your outfit.тАЭ
I nodded. тАЬYou could just hire Ms. Sims directly. You donтАЩt have to go
through me for that.тАЭ
Again that jerky head shake. тАЬBut she donтАЩt know about vampires the way you
do.тАЭ
I sighed. тАЬCan we cut to the chase here, Willie? I have to leaveтАЭтАФI glanced
at the wall clockтАФтАЬin fifteen minutes. I donтАЩt like to leave a client waiting
alone in a cemetery. They tend to get jumpy.тАЭ
He laughed. I found the snickery laugh comforting, even with the fangs.
Surely vampires should have rich, melodious laughs. тАЬIтАЩll bet they do. IтАЩll
just bet they do.тАЭ His face sobered suddenly, as if a hand had wiped his
laughter away.
I felt fear like a jerk in the pit of my stomach. Vampires could change
movements like clicking a switch. If he could do that, what else could he do?
тАЬYou know about the vampires that are getting wasted over in the District?тАЭ
He made it a question, so I answered. тАЬIтАЩm familiar with them.тАЭ Four
vampires had been slaughtered in the new vampire club district. Their hearts
had been torn out, their heads cut off.
тАЬYou still working with the cops?тАЭ
тАЬI am still on retainer with the new task force.тАЭ
He laughed again. тАЬYeah, the spook squad. Underbudgeted and undermanned,
right.тАЭ
тАЬYouтАЩve described most of the police work in this town.тАЭ
тАЬMaybe, but the cops feel like you do, Anita. WhatтАЩs one more dead vampire?
New laws donтАЩt change that.тАЭ
It had only been two years since Addison v. Clark. The court case gave us a
revised version of what life was, and what death wasnтАЩt. Vampirism was legal
in the good of U. S. of A. We were one of the few countries to acknowledge
them. The immigration people were having fits trying to keep foreign vampires
from immigrating in, well, flocks.
All sorts of questions were being fought out in court. Did heirs have to
give back their inheritance? Were you widowed if your spouse became undead?
Was it murder to slay a vampire? There was even a movement to give them the
vote. Times were a-changing.
I stared at the vampire in front of me and shrugged. Did I really believe
what was one more dead vampire? Maybe. тАЬIf you believe I feel that way, why
come to me at all?тАЭ
тАЬBecause youтАЩre the best at what you do. We need the best.тАЭ
It was the first time he had said тАЬwe.тАЭ тАЬWho are you working for, Willie?тАЭ
He smiled then, a close secretive smile, like he knew something I should
know. тАЬNever you mind that. MoneyтАЩs real good. We want somebody who knows the
night life to be looking into these murders.тАЭ