There was hope. "Do you have the tax records for the write-off?"

"No. All that stuff's with his tax guy."

"Could you find out for me? My client really wants that organ. He might be willing to pay you a fee for the information."

"Oh? I don't like to sound greedy, but I could sure use the money. Tell you what. I've gotta go down to Bremerton Thursday. I'll call the guy and see what he says. If he's got the stuff, I'll swing across and drop it on you then. OK?"

I agreed, gave her my numbers and address and hoped she'd come up with something. I left a message for Sergeyev asking if he'd pay for information from Fabrette.

I blew the rest of the day in mundane tasks, like billing, meeting with a lawyer who needed to find a witness, and making more phone calls and trips to the county records office—professional meat and potatoes that were strictly hamburger and home fries.

I finally stopped for some dinner and returned to my office. Cameron drifted in just a step or two behind me. I sat behind my desk and waved him to a seat, straightening up a few things as he sat down.

"All right," I started. "You want me to act as your agent in attempting some kind of reconciliation between you and this other vampire, Edward. Is that right?"

"Um… yeah. I mean, I don't care how Edward feels about me— that's not the issue. I just want the information and help that he should have given me, and I don't want to be a pariah with every other vampire in Seattle. I don't care if Edward helps me, or if he passes the job to someone else," Cam explained, "so long as I get some kind of help."

"What makes you think I can do this job?"

"Who else is going to believe me and not be on Edward's side? You're neutral. And I don't know who else to ask. And even if I had other options, I'd rather work with you. You're… you're tough."

I laughed at that. I felt as tough as wet Kleenex. "I'm new to this world myself, Cameron. You've already exhausted all my contacts among the undead." And if I took this case, I would have no choice about associating with the Grey and its residents.

"I'll give you some names. I think they'll talk to you, just because they're bored. I know I can't expect you to work a miracle, but, hey, it's worth a shot. I'm not doing so great at it."

"Why would Edward even be willing to negotiate with me? What can I offer him?"

"Well, that's what I'm hoping you can figure out by talking to the others. Y'know, maybe once you have a better idea of what the others think, then you'll know what Edward's buttons are and we can push them."

"You've got a lot of confidence in me," I observed.

"Why not? You tracked me down."

"That wasn't as hard as you seem to think. This idea of yours is a different situation. I'm also not quite finished with your mother's case, either. There's still the matter of informing her of your situation," I reminded him.

Cameron squirmed in his chair. "Can't that wait a little longer? Until after we fix this?"

"Have you ever heard the word 'unethical, Cameron? We have no idea how long it will take to solve your problems with Edward and the rest of the local bloodsucking brotherhood."

"Hey, they're vampires, not lawyers," he joked.

I gave him a thin smile. "I'm willing to try this, but you have to help me with your mother first."

"That kind of sounds like blackmail to me. Isn't that unethical?" he demanded.

"No. It's a contractual obligation. You're the subject of an investigation right now. Until that status changes, I'm not inclined to do anything for you. You want to change that, you need to call your mother and tell her you're all right."

"But that's not true!" he protested.

"Didn't Mara tell you to learn to lie? Start now. It's true enough. But whatever you choose to do, I am going to call Colleen first thing in the morning and tell her I've found you and you're OK. Technically, as your trust's executrix, she's not entitled to more than that. As your mother… that's another matter. You're over twenty-one and not of diminished capacity, but morally… What you choose to tell her is up to you, but you'd better come up with something satisfying, or she'll be on you worse than me."

"Thanks a lot, Harper! What am I supposed to say? 'Hi, Mom, I'm a Vampire?" he shouted at me.

I shook my head and pushed myself deep into my chair. "Cameron, sometimes you are a whiny little brat, you know that? You're spoiled. Oh, and there's something else you should deal with," I added, stabbing a finger at him. "Sarah. You did all this for her, remember?

"Leaving her thinking you might be hurt or in trouble is cruel and selfish. And don't start in on another pity-wallow with me. Of all people, Sarah is the most likely to believe your story. She could have ended up the same way. Or worse. If you go and tell her the truth, not only will you be helping yourself, you'll be helping her. She doesn't understand what Edward did, and she's beaten herself up about it. You got into this by playing hero, so play on or take a hike."

He started to say something, then shut his mouth with a click and looked at the floor. "All right. You're right. Do you know where she is? I haven't seen Sarah since this started. I assume she's not staying with Mom."

"She's living in Bellevue, over by the mall."

"At Grandma's house?"

"That's the place. No phone, so you'll have to go there in person."

"I'll go. Right after we're done, I swear."

"Good. She might have some suggestions about talking to your mom, too."

He burst into a megawatt grin. "Yeah, she might!"

"And when you call your mother, ask her to call me," I said.

"You don't trust me?"

"Not one hundred percent. Not yet. Trust isn't a gift, Cameron. You earn it, and it's not cheap."

He shook his head and looked at me sideways. "You are tough."

"So I hear," I said. "Now, give me your list of names and how to get in contact with your vampires. I'll start working on it as soon as I hear from your mom."

He gave me a short list of names and places and we worked out a contract for the job. I shoved my copy in a file and returned my attention to Cameron.

"All right. Now tell me what put the wedge between you and Edward." He looked anywhere but at my eyes and began to fidget. "If you think I'm a bigot who's going to be offended that you went to bed with a man, you can forget it. Half this town's gayer than Paris in the spring."

"I'm not gay," he protested.

"I don't care," I pointed out. "Do you want me to repeat that?"

"No, I get it." He took a deep breath he didn't need and launched in. "He's an arrogant ass."

"How very diplomatic of you to tell him so."

"I did, too."

"Was that all?"

"No. I didn't say that much more, but it was all pretty much on the same theme. I mean, I had figured out that he was weird, kinky, sadistic, and a major control freak before I even got close to him, from what Sarah told me. It took me a while to get how psychotic he is. He just doesn't believe that the consequences of any of his actions are ever going to boomerang on him. He's beyond arrogant. He's a sociopath. Nobody's rules apply to him."

I gave a slow nod. Maybe sociopathy was in the eye of the beholder, in this case. If you're not a mortal, why care what they think? I started mulling the implications, then stopped. Cameron was staring at me, as if he could see the processes revving up in my head. He made a bitter little stretching of his mouth and went on.

"He didn't give a damn about what he'd done to Sarah. It was five minutes' diversion for him, and then he forgot it. He didn't give a damn what he did to me or what he's done to me. He never asked for anyone's consent."

"You said you went along with him willingly in exchange for Sarah," I reminded him.

"I did, but I didn't understand the whole thing. How could I? But he knew I didn't know what I was getting into. I was stupid for jumping into a situation I didn't have a real handle on. But what happened was not what I agreed to. Somewhere along the line, he changed his mind. I didn't know he was going to—to turn me into a vampire! I don't think he meant to, at first. But he just went ahead with what he wanted and he didn't care about what I thought.