Yes, she'd worked in Jackson Square. He'd seen her reading tarot cards when he'd talked to Marie Lescarre.

"Who-" he began.

Her eyes flew open. She stared at him with huge, soulful eyes. "Oh!" she breathed.

"Oh..." Staring at him, she slowly smiled. He backed away, caught by the look in her eyes.

"Lieutenant, thank G.o.d!" she said. She lifted her arms to him. "Help me, help me ..."

"My G.o.d!" he muttered. Another woman Aaron had taken and made a prisoner. A future kill. A stockpile for his hunger. He had to get her out.

"Sean, no!" Pierre warned sharply.

And then he knew. Knew before she raged upward, fangs brilliantly white and visible.

Yet, as her hands caught his shoulders, her mouth closed. She doubled over, screaming in a rage.

He threw her back into the coffin.

"Don't hurt me," she whispered. "I'm old, really old, I've been around forever, I don't kill-" she said forlornly, her voice tremulous.

"You were about to take a good bite out of my neck," Sean said.

"He wants you dead. I'd happily kill you!" she hissed suddenly.

Sean gritted his teeth. She looked so alive. So natural.

Like Maggie. Was this murder? Was he killing the already dead?

"I will kill you!" she charged suddenly, starting to rise again.

Jack swept by him with a stake, lunging to set it against her heart.

And push it through.

She let out an unholy scream, loud, more shattering than the crack of thunder.

They stared at her. She must have been old, as she had said. She seemed to crackle and fade to dust as they stared at her. Her flesh leathered, stretched taut over her bones, cracked. Soon, she was little more than gray skin over bone.

None of them could pull their eyes away. They just stared.

Until they heard the sound of clapping.

They spun around.

Aaron Carter had emerged from the last coffin on the other side of the crypt. He was smiling, amused. "The great vampire hunters have killed a debutante. Bravo!"

"The tarot reader? Oh, yeah, poor girl. How many corpses can we accredit to her?" Sean asked.

"Oh, this century, she's not been here very long. She rids the streets of the homeless and runaways. Ah, but you have seen her before. Years ago, she was one of the freshest, sweetest little things you might have imagined. Rich, quite a catch. Ah, well ..."

"You're heartbroken, I can see," Sean said, his own heart slamming against his chest, his breathing coming fast and furious.

"She protected me; she adored me, you see. She served me well. She is another debt that you will pay. She never did understand about Maggie ... but you understand now, don't you, Lieutenant?" "Yes, I understand."

"By tonight you'll be dead, and she'll be mine."

"I don't intend to die," Sean told him.

"I think I'll get rid of the old geezer first," he said, referring to Pierre. "Then the young man. The emotional young Jack Delaney, your Irish lackey there. I think I've seen the boy before, and I think he's seen me, and he's been a fool at every go 'round-"

"Murdering a.s.shole!" Jack responded, staring at Carter with a violent rage.

"Watch it, Jack," Sean warned. "He wants you angry."

But Jack was watching Aaron as if he were staring into the face of pure evil. "This time, you die. We're prepared for you, you fool-"

"You're the fool!" Aaron thundered, his anger suddenly showing. "You're prepared, you're prepared! You know nothing."

Jack had done away with one of the undead; he was feeling confident-and acting from an uncontrollable anger. He raised a stake, flying heedlessly at Aaron with a cry of rage.

"No, we take him together-" Sean cried.

Jack never reached Aaron. The vampire ducked the blow, rose, and lifted one arm, sending Jack flying across the crypt. Jack cracked against stone, fell to the ground. Sean pulled his .38 and started firing, knowing that it slowed the vampire down. Aaron turned, coming at him. Sean dropped the gun, and raised a stake. Aaron grasped the weapon before Sean could drive it home. They struggled. Sean saw Pierre coming at Aaron; Aaron saw him, too. He turned enough to strike Pierre so hard that he flew against the old coffins and crashed down to the floor with wood splintering down on him.

Then Aaron turned his full attention back to Sean. The stake was a shaft between them.

Sean felt ridiculously like Robin Hood fighting with Little John to cross a bridge.

But this bridge meant life or death.

Grinning, Aaron used his superior strength and slowly pressed the stake downward. He opened his mouth. His fangs dripped. Still having to struggle with the stake, he was taking his time, but he nearly reached Sean's throat. He began to laugh; the sound was deep, husky, amused.

Then the laughter faded. Aaron Carter stopped. Sean felt the strength against him suddenly wane. Aaron was weakening. It was the garlic. Sean took the advantage, thrusting backward with the stake.

Aaron staggered backward against the wall of the tomb, shaking in fury. He started to cough, gagged, choked. Then he inhaled deeply, staring at Sean.

"By G.o.d, you'll pay, she'll pay! You don't know just how you'll pay!" he swore, shaking.

Then he turned, stumbling from the tomb. Sean pushed himself from the wall, following Aaron Carter out into the day. The clouds had come closer to the earth. The very air was gray. The rain began.

"Carter!" he cried.

But the vampire was gone.

Or so he thought.

The wind suddenly picked up. Like a ma.s.sive hand, it whipped against him. "You will die, Canady b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" he heard. A voice? A hiss on the wind. And that was all. He was slammed back against the stone of the tomb. His head struck.

He felt the intensity of the pain for just a moment.

Gray surged around him.

The sky grew darker, darker into an ever-deepened shade of gray.

And then it was black.

The phone was ringing. Maggie heard it, as if it were a long, long way away. She was so tired. She fumbled around to find the receiver.

"h.e.l.lo?"

"Maggie, my darling."

Instantly, she was awake. Aaron's voice. She sat up. Looked at the clock. It was day.

Sean was gone. Panic filled her.

"Aaron-"

"Maggie, my love, yes."

"Where's Sean?"

"Lover boy?"

"Talk to me. Quit mocking me, or I'll hang up on you."

"If you do, another Canady dies."

She clutched the phone tightly, biting into her lower lip. "Do you have a Canady with you now, Aaron?"

"Umm, maybe."

"Do you have Sean?" she almost screamed.

"I have a Canady."

"Which Canady?"

Maggie felt herself shaking. She didn't know where Sean was; he had tricked her to save her. Aaron wasn't dead. He sounded strong and well, and vengeful.

"Where are you?"

"Where am I? Well, I was resting nicely at my own home until I was disturbed by your friends."

"What happened?"

"To your friends? Why, nothing, as yet They destroyed my beautiful young creation, Lilly Wynn. But then, she was always a subst.i.tute for you."

"She was your own descendant, you fool! Where is Sean?"

"Oh, I imagine he's hurrying back to you. But that will do him little good."

"Why not?"

"Because you're coming to me. Now."

"How are you going to make me do that?"

"You'll come-when you figure out where I am. And who I have with me."

"Where are you?"

"Surely you've realized. I'm at Oakville. The Canady Plantation."

Maggie felt as if she turned to ice. "You haven't-" "Ah, what have I done? Well, so far, not much. I stopped by Montgomery Enterprises to pick up a few of your friends. Chocolate and spice. One is Angie, the other... Cissy, I believe. Black is beautiful. I told you there would be a double-header. And as to Canady, for the moment, I've just knocked the old man on the head. Daniel, that's his name, right?

If you're not here, alone, in half an hour, I'm going to do the girls first. My finest imitation of my Jack the Ripper days. Then I'm going to use my pinkie nail to slit a deep hole in the old man's carotid artery. I'm going to drink him dry. Then I'm going to leave a piece of him in every single room for his son to find. Naturally, as soon as I can, I'll kill Sean the cop as well. Maybe Sean's younger sister will show up as well with her little ones. Yum.

She can become my last kill in the Jack the Ripper mode- she can be my Mary Kelly."

Maggie listened in cold horror. She gave herself a shake. d.a.m.n Sean! He had given her something to make her sleep. She had to shake it off.

And she had to reach Aaron.

She swallowed hard.

"Aaron, I will kill you," Maggie told him.

"No, my love. This time, I think you will do whatever I say. Your thirty minutes have started. All right, well, I'll give you thirty-five. I'm going to be kind enough to allow for traffic."

The phone went dead in Maggie's hand.

CHAPTER 18.

Mamie was desperate.