"Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake 03 - Circus Damned" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Laurell K)

The squad had originally been a pacifier for the liberals. See, weтАЩre doing
something about supernatural crime. But Dolph had taken his job and his men
seriously. They had solved more supernatural crime in the last two years than
any other group of policemen in the country. He had been invited to give talks
to other police forces. They had even been loaned out to neighboring states
twice.
тАЬWell, Anita, letтАЩs have it.тАЭ
ThatтАЩs Dolph; no preliminaries. тАЬGee, Dolph, itтАЩs nice to see you too.тАЭ
He just looked at me.
тАЬOkay, okay.тАЭ I knelt on the far side of the body so I could point as I
talked. Nothing like a visual aid to get your point across. тАЬJust measuring
shows that at least three different vampires fed on the man.тАЭ
тАЬBut?тАЭ Dolph said.
HeтАЩs quick. тАЬBut I think that every wound is a different vampire.тАЭ
тАЬVampires donтАЩt hunt in packs.тАЭ
тАЬUsually they are solitary hunters, but not always.тАЭ
тАЬWhat causes them to hunt in packs?тАЭ he asked.
тАЬOnly two reasons that IтАЩve ever come across: first, one is the new dead
and an older vampire is teaching the ropes, but thatтАЩs just two pairs of
fangs, not five; second, a master vampire is controlling them, and heтАЩs gone
rogue.тАЭ
тАЬExplain.тАЭ
тАЬA master vampire has nearly absolute control over his or her flock. Some
masters use a group kill to solidify the pack, but they wouldnтАЩt dump the body
here. TheyтАЩd hide it where the police would never find it.тАЭ
тАЬBut the bodyтАЩs here,тАЭ Zerbrowski said, тАЬout in plain sight.тАЭ
тАЬExactly; only a master thatтАЩs gone crazy would dump a body like this. Most
masters even before vampires were legally alive wouldnтАЩt flaunt a kill like
this. It attracts attention, usually attention with a stake in one hand and a
cross in the other. Even now, if we could trace the kill to the vampires that
did it, we could get a warrant and kill them.тАЭ I shook my head. тАЬSlaughter
like this is bad for business, and whatever else vampires are, theyтАЩre
practical. You donтАЩt stay alive and hidden for centuries unless youтАЩre
discreet and ruthless.тАЭ
тАЬWhy ruthless?тАЭ Dolph said.
I stared up at him. тАЬItтАЩs utterly practical. Someone discovers your secret,
you kill them, or make them one of yourтАж children. Good business practices,
Dolph, nothing more.тАЭ
тАЬLike the mob,тАЭ Zerbrowski said.
тАЬYeah.тАЭ
тАЬWhat if they panicked?тАЭ Zerbrowski asked. тАЬIt was almost dawn.тАЭ
тАЬWhen did the woman find the body?тАЭ
Dolph checked his notebook. тАЬFive-thirty.тАЭ
тАЬItтАЩs still hours until dawn. They didnтАЩt panic.тАЭ
тАЬIf weтАЩve got a crazy master vampire, what exactly does that mean?тАЭ
тАЬIt means theyтАЩll kill more people faster. They may need blood every night
to support five vampires.тАЭ
тАЬA fresh body every night?тАЭ Zerbrowski made it a question.
I just nodded.
тАЬJesus,тАЭ he said.