Night of the Vampires by Heather Graham

thoughts….
    And was surprised when Cole once again took her hand from where it lay on her knee and squeezed it.
    She was more surprised, at herself, when she leaned against his shoulder to rest.
    He didn’t move away.
    Â 
    T HEY ARRIVED AT THE BOARDINGHOUSE to find that the rest of their party had had an uneventful day. Cody and Brendan had scoured the churches with burial grounds, but had run out of daylight time to go on to the other cemeteries.
    Brendan Vincent announced he would head to the small office of the Pinkerton agency, which dealt with many secret matters of state, so as to see that the cemetery was cleaned of the evidence of combat before morning.
    Before letting Brendan go, Cody hunkered down by his wife and asked, “Alex, do you think that it’s safe?”
    Megan was surprised by Cody, Alex and the question.
    Alex hesitated before answering him. “Cody, you know that—that I can’t see things on command.”
    He nodded. “I was hoping that you might have a sense.”
    â€œI’m not feeling that it’s unsafe. I was worried when you all left this morning, but that was quite natural, don’t you think? I can’t conjure a vision of the cemetery, but…I don’t think we have a choice, do we?”
    Cody looked at her awhile longer, smiled and nodded. “All right, Brendan. We don’t have much of a choice.”
    â€œOne of us should go with the crew,” Cole said. “Me, I suppose. I know where…I know where the corpses lie.”
    â€œWell, that’s foolish. If we did miss any of the creatures, you’ll be as vulnerable as any of the men,” Megan told him. “I can go.”
    â€œYou were falling asleep on the way back,” Cole said. “I’ll go. You must have realized by now that I do know exactly what I’m up against and how to fight this enemy.” He was irritated when he first started speaking, but she supposed, even if she did have a natural immunity, she ruffled his pride when she suggested that he wasn’t competent—or that he didn’t have the strength. He spoke more gently when he added, “You were fighting that bunch several minutes before I reached you. You have to be far more worn-out. I’ll go.”
    Megan frowned, wanting to protest, but Cody put an end to that. “He knows what he’s doing, Megan. Let him handle the situation.”
    Cody left with Brendan. Alex rose. “I have a plate of supper for you, Megan. I saved a plate for Cole, too, but…anyway. You need to have dinner. And sustenance.”
    Sustenance appeared to be a steaming cup of tomato soup; she knew that it was not. But though Megan hadn’t thought that she was hungry, she was famished.
    Cody went out while she was eating. Alex stood looking out the window in the boardinghouse kitchen; there was an actual kitchen building behind the house, but Martha had put in a sink with a water pump and a stove when she had begun letting out rooms. Megan knew that when she wasn’t cooking breakfast for a household of guests inside the house, she prepared food for her children and herself in the kitchen building out back.
    Alex seemed anxious as she peered out.
    Then she turned and smiled. “Cody is taking a few precautions. He’s setting up an alarm system, arranging crosses, sprinkling holy water around Martha’s little carriage house, as well.”
    â€œThank God,” Megan said.
    Alex smiled at her, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. “You knew Martha before you were brought here, didn’t you?”
    Caught off guard, Megan nodded. “I was afraid to say so. Brendan Vincent is so staunch a Unionist, I was afraid he would think that Martha was a Confederate spy if I let on that we knew each other.”
    â€œIs she a spy?” Alex asked.
    â€œNo,” Megan said, with a stone-serious expression Alex could not misinterpret.
    Alex smiled and took a seat at