Magic Lantern

“Me? I was calling you.”

Annja would’ve smiled at that, but she was too worried about Edmund Beswick. “Still need the favor, Doug.”

“Fine. What did you find out from the police?”

“What?” For a moment Annja was thrown for a loop.

“I saw the pictures on Twitter. You and Detective Scarecrow.”

Annja couldn’t believe it. Then she checked herself. Doug Morrell lived for Facebook and Twitter. It only made sense that he’d be trailing any mentions of her or Chasing History’s Monsters. “His name’s Westcox.”

“Whatever. Man looks like an advance warning for a famine.”

“He’s not that thin.”

“Your perspective is skewed because you’re always looking at mummies and skeletons. Skinny living guys must look obese to you.”

Annja shook her head. “Let’s talk about the favor.”

“Let’s talk about Detective Scarecrow.”

“Westcox. Get his name right. The lawyer will need to know it.”

“Lawyer?” Doug’s tone changed immediately from irritated to anxious. “Did you do something?”

“No, but the chief inspector is threatening to deport me if I don’t stay out of his investigation.”

“He can’t do that, can he?”

Annja loved putting Doug on the spot. “Not if I have a lawyer. A good one.”

“We do have a good one.”

Curiosity got the best of Annja. “Why are you whispering, Doug?”

“We’re having a council meeting.”

“Who?” Then it clicked. Doug Morrell belonged to a group of would-be vampires. That was one of his hobbies and one of the interests that endeared him to the production company that underwrote Chasing History’s Monsters. “Right. You’re with the Bat Boy Legion.”

Doug refused to take the bait and stayed focused. “Did you find out anything more about Mr. Hyde?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because there’s nothing to tell.”

“Mr. Hyde just took his fourth victim.”

“I know. I was there.” Annja looked up and down the street for a cab. If the men who had kidnapped her hadn’t doubled back around and found her by now, she felt fairly sure they wouldn’t.

“Oh, yeah, the Twitter feed. And there are a couple YouTube videos up now.”

Annja groaned.

“In fact, I think maybe Chasing History’s Monsters—” Doug’s voice grew louder “—is the only program not getting video of your meeting with Scotland Yard.”

“Shhh, you’ll wake the baby vampires.”

“I’m just saying…”

“Westcox isn’t with Scotland Yard. He’s with Metro. And he called me over when he saw me at the crime scene to warn me away. Actually, warning is too soft. It was definitely a threat.”

“Well, we’re not going to put up with that crap. He’s not going to threaten us and get away with it. We’re going to follow the Mr. Hyde story no matter where it goes.”

“You do realize that I’m the only person in danger of going to jail, don’t you?”

“There’s Igor.”

“He’s missing in action tonight.”

“What? He should be there with you.”

Annja silently disagreed. The last thing she needed was Igor going all macho. “I need the favor.”

“What favor?”

“I filled out paperwork on Edmund Beswick.”

“Professor Beeswax.”

“I need his home address.”

Doug chuckled. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t get that from Professor Beeswax. I mean, c’mon, Annja. A professor of reading? That should have been a slam dunk.”

“He’s a professor of literature. Are you sure you went to college?”

“Business degree with a minor in video productions. Got the diploma on my office wall.”

“I haven’t seen it for all the action figures and comic books.”

“Hey! Graphic novels.”

“I need Beswick’s address from the file.”

“Do I look like a walking computer?”

“You don’t go far without your computer. Just look up the information for me so you can go back and play with the other vampires.”