she watched their nice old neighbor lady take Dr. Anderson by the

arm and lead her off through the far door, patting her and mur-

muring in a calm, grandmotherly sort of way. If the last scorching

glance Dr. Anderson sent back toward them was any indication, it

wasn’t working.

“I’d apologize for that, but it appears to me that there might be

some justification for how much she dislikes the three of you,” Fallon said. “Would you like to tell me your side of it? Or shall I just take her at her word? If I do that, you may very well be on your way to jail, charged with murder.”

“We didn’t murder anyone,” Claire said quickly, as Eve took in

a hot breath, ready to start yelling. “We were abducted. We were

held prisoner, at gunpoint. We fought our way free, and yes, peo-

ple died, but we didn’t have a choice.”

“They tortured Michael,” Eve said. “They were going to kill us

all when they were done with us. They were using Myrnin, Oliver,

and Jesse as lab rats, too.”

“But you did kill them,” Fallon said.

“Ever heard of self- defense?” Shane asked. He sounded as calm

and measured as Eve was angry. “It was a bad scene, and trust me,

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whether they were friends of yours or not, they were not good peo-

ple. They kidnapped Claire’s roommate, who didn’t have diddly to

do with anything, and nearly got her killed in the process. They did kill another guy who was just in the wrong place at the wrong

time. A human guy.”

Fallon considered that for a moment, then looked at Hannah,

who shrugged. “We’ve only got their word versus Anderson’s,” she

said. “Irene may be a friend of yours, but I know these kids, and

they generally try to do the right thing. I’m inclined to believe

them.”

“Sweet. Does that mean I get to hold the shotgun?” Shane

asked.

“Perhaps some other time,” Fallon said. “In any case, whatever

crimes were committed, they were not committed here, and thus

would be outside of Chief Moses’s jurisdiction. But please don’t

misunderstand; I take the deaths of my people seriously, and it

counts against you. Your earnest cooperation is required to avoid

any further unpleasantness. Because if there happens to be any

trouble here in Morganville, it will not be so easily overlooked, do you understand? These are not the old rules, the Founder’s rules.

These are rules of law, and justice, and they will be enforced re-

gardless of who you are or who you know.”

Fine words, Claire thought. She wondered if that was what had gotten Hannah on board his train. “I see that your rule of law and

justice doesn’t extend to vampires,” she said. “Seeing as how you’re willing to have them shot on sight.”

“Non- fatally, you might have noticed.” Fallon’s voice was mild,