‘Jesse will be handled,’ Anderson said. ‘She has pressure points, and I know how to apply them. She’ll do what I tell her when it counts, and she’s got little love for Amelie anyway.’

I knew all of a sudden exactly what that pressure point was … Myrnin. Jesse had a special little sparkle when she talked to him; she was fine with Oliver, but extra fine with Count Crackula. Dr Anderson would keep Jesse in line by threatening more damage to Myrnin. And it was all okay, because hell, they were just vamps, right? Didn’t matter if they got hurt. Lab rats.

I could feel the ghost of my dad nodding in agreement with that, and it made me feel sick, deep down. ‘Thought you and Jesse had some kind of friendship going,’ I said.

‘We did, once,’ Dr Anderson said. ‘And you of all people should understand that you can’t rely on a vampire for sentimentality. They just don’t have the wiring in their heads to really feel the way we do. It’s counterfeit, a mask they wear to draw their prey in and keep them close. They’re predators, pure and simple. They’re just extremely good at it.’

There were sounds in the hallway, and I heard some kind of vehicles pulling up in the parking lot. The fun was over now; Claire had made her play, I’d supported it, and now … now we’d see if Dr Anderson really believed us.

Patrick Douche Bag Davis appeared in the doorway. ‘We’ve got secured vehicles outside,’ he said. ‘We can manacle the vampires with silver, they won’t go anywhere. What about these two? Are they prisoners?’

I felt the weight of Anderson’s stare on me. I was hanging over the fire pit, for sure; she wasn’t kidding about getting Liz to blab that I was the one who’d kidnapped her, and that put me in federal prison, doing long time. I was used to Morganville’s jail cells, but this was something else.

‘I need a show of good faith,’ Dr Anderson said. ‘So, you’re going to show us where you left your friends Michael and Eve. We need to retrieve Pete and Liz, as well. For their own safety.’

That phrase made me grind my teeth, but I tried not to let it show. ‘Sure,’ I said. ‘I’ll take you there.’

‘Of course you will,’ she said. ‘Because if you don’t, I’ll find them anyway, and I promise you, the outcome won’t be quite so nice. I want Claire’s cooperation and support, and she’s clearly willing to offer it. But I don’t need yours, Shane. You can go missing just as easily as the vampires, and there are a surprising number of John Does who die in Boston every year. You could be one of them, donating your body to the medical school. Are we clear?’