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They took a minute to place their orders before Mark answered.
About the same things you did. But we did identify the five most likely spots for
attack. He pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and unfolded it on the table. He d
scribbled it out the night before, right after the run. You need more than just an
isolated house. There have to be trees for the beast to use as cover while it stalks the
house. And preferably an outbuilding garage, barn, whatever, where it can hide if it
needs to.
Sherry Barton s garage was filled with her refinishing stuff, Torres pointed out.
And the garage door hadn t been opened.
Mark nodded. But there are plenty of old trees around that house. The land
around it might be wide open but however this beast moves, it manages to conceal itself
in the dark and then blend into trees and buildings when it reaches its destination.
The deputy, introduced by the sheriff as Clete Noonan, cleared his throat. I
mentioned this to the sheriff while we were driving over here. He looked at his boss,
then back at Mark. You can tell me I m crazy, and I m not even sure I believe this
myself, but my family s been telling stories about the Chupacabra for generations. My
great-grandmother came from Mexico and brought the tales with her. I just never gave
it much credence.
Mark leaned forward. You can imagine the wild stories I ve picked up since& well,
since I ve been chasing this animal. I promise you I ve heard just about everything.
Clete fiddle with his coffee cup. Not this. It s so farfetched&
His voice trailed off.
Go ahead and tell them, Torres said. I m getting to the point where I m ready to
believe anything, even if it does sound like something from The Twilight Zone.
Noonan drained his cup, then looked straight at Mark. According to the old tales,
the devil beast is not only some kind of mutant, it& He shook his head. It has the
ability to shift into human form.
Every muscle in Mark s body tightened. The reports that Craig had shared with
them whirled through his mind. Night Seekers had wildly speculated that this mutant
could be some type of shifter. That its ability to assume human form was what allowed
it to move undetected. And also to wipe out traces wherever it was. But it was still all
speculation.
Should he say anything now?
The waitress busied herself delivering their orders and refilling coffee cups, giving
him a chance to gather his thoughts. He sipped on the hot liquid while he turned over
his alternatives sin his mind.
Clete, I m going to share something with you but I d prefer you not discuss it with
anyone. He looked at the sheriff. That okay with you, Leon?
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Lust by Moonlight
Torres shifted uncomfortably. Depends on what it is, Mark. I have a responsibility
to the people of this county.
And you don t want to scare them without having all the facts, right?
Torres nodded reluctantly.
Okay, then. I m part of a team called Night Seekers. There are eight of us. Well,
nine now. He allowed himself a tiny grin. Jonah Grey just got married. Anyway,
we re funded by a man with a lot of money and we have one purpose. To hunt down
and kill the Chupacabra.
The sheriff glowered at him. And you didn t feel it necessary to tell me this
before?
We hoped we were wrong about the devil beast coming back to this area. I didn t
want to alarm anyone if I didn t have to. And Night Seekers isn t exactly a group that
looks for publicity.
Besides, Chloe put in, you yourself know that most people don t even want to
believe this& thing exists. Look what happened when my friend Melinda disappeared.
Torres scrubbed his hand over his face. Like I told you. I m real sorry about that.
And we are looking for her now.
Pardon me for saying so. The bitterness in her voice was evident. We ll be lucky
now if we find her body.
All right, all right. Mark slid his arm around behind her and gave her a quick
squeeze. Chloe, I promise you the sheriff is having nightmares over how he handled
things, so let s move forward.
You re right. But she leaned into him a little closer.
Everyone in this group, including the man funding us, has lost someone to El
Chupacabra. We ve been able to obtain the remains of some animals that people have
sworn was the devil beast and autopsies have been done. The craziest thing is there s no
real identifiable DNA.
The sheriff s eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline. What? How is that
possible?
The scientists aren t saying too much because, frankly, I don t think they have too
much to tell us. First we re trying to get all the lab results from other sources, places
where bodies thought to be of the Chupacabra were autopsied, collected in one place.
Then they ll test to see if there s a DNA match across the board. He tried to phrase his
next words carefully. But they believe it means we re dealing with something that
hasn t been classified before. And three of the people who performed the tests swear it s
possible to create the thing in a lab. Combining different DNA strands. Possibly even
using some human DNA.
Torres stared at him. I heard you say it, I heard Clete s old tales, but I still say
that s bizarre. How is that possible?
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Desiree Holt
Mark shrugged. We don t know. And the man heading this project is spending a
lot of money to find out. So Clete? What you re saying may not be so crazy after all.
We can t let this get out. The sheriff took a bite of toast, chewed it as if it had no
taste. Washed it down with coffee. For one thing, everyone will think we ve lost our
collective minds. For another, we ll be bombarded by every whackjob tabloid in the
country.
Mark nodded. But we need to find a way to make them be alert and on guard. We
don t really know what form the devil beast will take when it initially shows up.
And that s the problem, Clete pointed out. We d have to give them a real
reason.
For a few silent moments everyone concentrated on their food, although no one
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