Feral Dust Bunnies (Offbeat Crimes Book 4) Read online

  “I’ve never heard of anything like it.” Erasmus took his pencil up again. “What did it say to you? Or, ah, throw at you? If it’s something you don’t mind telling me.”

  Carrington struggled to recall all the flying words, but the shock of the moment had driven most of them away. “I’m afraid I can’t give you verbatim. There was definitely eel-skin involved. And bull’s pizzle.”

  Erasmus snorted and choked, holding up a hand while he coughed himself back under control. “I’m sorry. It’s not really funny.”

  “Yeah. Pretty sure it is,” Amanda said, though she hadn’t cracked a smile.

  “Hold on. It sounds Shakespearean.” Erasmus typed rapid fire on his phone. “Yes. It is. Henry IV, Part 1.”

  “With Falstaff?” Carrington took the offered phone, and there it was, the exact quote that had leaped at him, in the context of its scene in the play. “Yes. Hal and Falstaff trading insults. That’s what the book threw at me.”

  A smile so bright had lit up Erasmus’ face at Carrington’s character recognition, one would’ve thought he had said something enormously clever and original. He understood, of course. To cite a literary reference and have someone understand? Worth a smile.

  “It might help track the book down, if we know what the contents might be.” Erasmus scribbled on his notepad, completely alien letters as far as Carrington could tell. There might have been an ‘H’ in there somewhere. “Can you describe the book’s appearance? Size? Cover?”

  Carrington dredged up everything he could recall to the accompaniment of furious illegible scribbling.

  Finally, Erasmus glanced up again. “That’s certainly something to start with. I’m not familiar with this book and I can’t make any promises. But I’ll run it by everyone and we’ll look into it for you.”

  Carrington stood and held out his hand, receiving a warm, firm handshake. “Thank you, Mr.— Erasmus. We appreciate your time.”

  “No problem. Thank you, Officers.”

  Amanda was definitely fighting a smile. “What for?”

  “For coming to us. To Rare Books. This is really exciting.”

  Carrington handed over his card with the promise that they would be in touch. “Call if the department comes up with anything, please. Anything at all.”

  As they made their way back out of the library, Amanda kept her gaze forward and murmured, “He seemed nice.”

  “Manda. Don’t start.”

  “What? He did. And my gaydar was off the charts.”

  “I have no doubts, and I’m sure he’s a lovely man. He’s just not at all my type, in any regard.”

  She poked his shoulder as they walked out into the drizzle. “You could try something different, instead of your usual stupid type.”

  “There has to be some charge, some chemistry! And you’re one to talk. Ow!” The second poke had been a lot harder.

  “I’m not the one who gets dumped every week. At least I take breaks in between.”

  “My last one was weeks ago. Are you coming up?”

  “Nah. My car’s over there.” Amanda waved toward the parking spots past his building. “I’ll pick you up in the morning.”

  Right. Day shift tomorrow. For safety reasons, he wasn’t allowed to drive during day shifts. Carrington waved goodnight and went up to his condo to have a cocktail, which for him was a glass of washed red blood cells with a parasol stuck in it.

  Ah, the wild and wicked life of the vampire.

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  About the Author

  The unlikely black sheep of an ivory tower intellectual family, Angel Martinez has managed to make her way through life reasonably unscathed. Despite a wildly misspent youth, she snagged a degree in English Lit, married once and did it right the first time, (same husband for almost twenty-four years) gave birth to one amazing son, (now in college) and realized at some point that she could get paid for writing.

  Published since 2006, Angel’s cynical heart cloaks a desperate romantic. You’ll find drama and humor given equal weight in her writing and don't expect sad endings. Life is sad enough.

  She currently lives in Delaware in a drinking town with a college problem and writes Science Fiction and Fantasy centered around gay heroes.

  Email: [email protected]

  Angel loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.pride-publishing.com.

  Also by Angel Martinez

  Wild Rose, Silent Snow

  Boots

  Offbeat Crimes: Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters

  Offbeat Crimes: The Pill Bugs of Time

  Offbeat Crimes: Skim Blood and Savage Verse

  50’s Mixed Tape: The Line

  With Bellora Quinn

  AURA: Quinn’s Gambit

  AURA: Flax’s Pursuit

  AURA: Kellen’s Awakening

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  Legal Page

  Title Page

  Book Description

  Dedication

  Trademarks Acknowledgment

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  New Excerpt

  About the Author

  Publisher Page