“It was that crazy woman’s.” Mike’s voice was thick with tears, but audible. “The lady ghoul. Then the other one, Ray, he said he’d hot-wire a motorboat once the bars closed and no one would ever have to know. So Kyle and I just grabbed a bottle from the bar and started drinking.” Turning his head, he wiped his nose on the sleeve of his T-shirt. I rose to fetch a box of tissues and handed it to him. “Thanks.”

“And these . . . ghouls?” Jim Vanderhei pronounced the word with profound distaste. “They’re to be charged with my son’s death?”

“No,” I said. The chief hadn’t gotten to that part in his narrative. “They were both killed in the course of the raid.”

Thad’s father eyed me with disbelief. “That’s awfully convenient. You’re protecting them, aren’t you?”

“For what they did to the rusalka?” My temper stirred. “No, sir. Never. Not in a thousand years. I assure you, they’re dead.”

“But I thought that was impossible,” Sue Vanderhei said in a faint voice, surprising me. “I thought they were condemned to eternally prey on the sufferings of others.”

Everyone looked at me. “Nothing is impossible,” I said. “There are weapons that can kill even a ghoul.”

“I give you my word, ma’am,” Cody added. “I saw it with my own eyes. They’re dead and gone, and they’re never coming back.”

“So what happens now?” Kyle’s father demanded. “What happens to our boys? Are they being charged?”

“They could be,” Sheriff Barnard said bluntly. “Concealment of an accidental death is a punishable offense. But given the fact that they were subject to unnatural influences at the time, I’m not inclined to bring charges against them.” He glanced at Jim and Sue Vanderhei. “Unless the victim’s parents insist on it.”

Jim Vanderhei hesitated.

“No!” his wife said vehemently. “I won’t have it, Jim! I won’t have Thad’s name dragged through the mud.” She pointed at Mike and Kyle, her hand trembling. “These boys didn’t make Thad climb in that awful tank with that unspeakable thing, and they’ll have to live with the memory of what happened for the rest of their lives. Don’t you think that’s punishment enough?”

Reluctantly, he nodded.

“Then I think we’re done here,” the sheriff said. “Thank you for your time, Mr. and Mrs. Vanderhei; again, I’m sorry for your loss.”

Unfortunately, Sue Vanderhei wasn’t finished. She stabbed a manicured finger in the chief’s direction. “None of this would have happened if he didn’t tolerate a demonic element in Pemkowet’s midst! Chief Bryant should be dismissed and that unholy underworld razed to the ground!”

“Amen,” Mr. and Mrs. Huizenga murmured in unison.

My tail thrashed, and I could feel the air tightening around me, the scent of ozone rising. I fought to keep a lid on my temper.