I moved around and pushed on it again, feeling the deformation stiffen and grow heavy with cold. I pushed harder and popped through it, tumbling into the chill, instantly swamped in the cold, writhing haze. For an instant I was disoriented and afraid, but I caught my breath and a whiff of weird chemicals and pushed my way back out. Mara put out a hand, as if that would help.

She looked me over. "That almost worked. Try it again."

I shook her off. "No way. Not right now. It's wearing me out. I don't feel so good around this stuff, anyway. It smells bad, it's cold, and it gives me vertigo. There's no up and down in there."

"Is it really that appalling? I had no idea."

"The difference between theory and practice I guess."

She laughed. "Ha! Hoist on me own petard! Still you should try—"

"I'll practice, but not right now. Thanks for the tips, though"

"Glad to. Should help you keep the beasties at bay. And there will be more. You're making waves, remember."

"I do, but I have one question. Why do they seem to go away when I'm in my truck?"

"Do they? They never really go away, so if you're not seeing the Grey, it's because the truck's material acts as a filter. It's got no connection to the Grey. It keeps them out, but it also keeps you in."

"That's fine. I can't start thinking about monsters from the Grey descending on me, or I'll start screaming. Even if I can make myself believe in them."

"But Harper.»

I waved through her words. "I know, I know, but it's one thing to say you do and see one or two bits of proof and another to get your head around the whole, enormous thing. I'm trying to keep my balance. I'm not used to this brand of open-mindedness. I'm a cynic by nature and training and likely to stay that way."

Mara heaved a sigh. "I know. But so long as you're fighting it, the Grey will be a minefield for you. Be careful. Learn to accept it."

"I'm working on it, Mara. I am."

I wished I didn't have to.

I was just ahead of rush hour all the way to Bellevue.

Nothing seemed to have changed at Sarah's house. The motorcycle parts still reposed outside, the lawn still played dead. Sarah answered my knock before I finished. I almost rapped on her forehead. She didn't seem to notice. She was grinning.

"Hi, Harper! Cam said you might drop by. Come on in. I've got some coffee on, if you want some, she added, holding the door So Cam got in touch with you?" I asked as I settled myself at the table.

"Yeah," she called over her shoulder as she gathered up the coffee things. "He came by kind of late last night. Like, about two a.m."

She brought the tray and sat down with me. "I was kinda surprised to see him. I mean, you said you thought you'd find him pretty quick, but I didn't expect it to be that quick. And then he starts telling me this crazy story, and I thought he was jerking my chain, at first. I mean, that is one weird tale. A vampire? Like I think that's likely…"

"What do you think now?" I asked.

"It sounds crazy, but I believe him. It… it kind of fits. Mom is not going to be cool with this, though. I'm still a little out of it on some of the details myself. Cam couldn't stay a real long time, y'know. He said you're making him call Mom tonight. Is that right?"

"I'm not holding a gun to his head. I told him it was the reasonable, responsible thing to do. If he had called her a month ago, I never would have gotten the case. Even if he'd made up some kind of lie to tell her, your mother would have at least known he was around."

"I know," she said, rocking her shoulders in a queer, rolling shrug. "It's just going to be hard to tell her the truth and get her to believe it. Mom's imagination is limited to interior design and party planning."

"We'll have to wait and see."

"Yeah, I guess. I got the feeling there's still some kind of problem, but like I said, we didn't have a lot of time. Is he going to be all right?"

"I think so," I replied. "Something needs to be resolved, yet, but once that's taken care of, things should be OK. But this is pretty strange stuff to be going through on your own."

"You got that right." She shuddered. "It makes me pretty creeped out to think about it. Edward could have gotten me, too, y'know."

I shook my head. "I haven't gotten a handle on this guy yet, but I don't think he would have done the same thing to you. You're not the same sort of person as your brother, and I think the personality clash made all the difference. At least, that's what I think right now. I could change my mind by this time next week." I didn't add that I suspected the natural path of Edward's games with Sarah would have led to the county morgue.

"In the meantime," I continued, "I'm going to try to help Cameron resolve his problem. Can I call on you if I need your help?"

"Sure," she said. "Anything you need." She got a notebook out of her purse and scribbled on a page, ripped it out, and handed it to me. "That's my boyfriend's cell phone number. He left it with me while he's in Italy."

I cocked a quizzical look at her. "You've had a phone all this time?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't going to let my mom know that." She grinned and became a very pretty girl with very ugly hair.

"I won't tell her," I promised.

"Thanks."

Back across the water, I stopped at the office to check my messages.

"Ms. Blaine, of course paying for information is no problem. Up t… five hundred dollars? This will be acceptable. Please keep me informed." Sergeyev really wanted this thing.

I wrote myself a note, then headed home.

I checked Chaos when I got home and found her sleeping, ignoring me with a will. I looked toward the chair and the narrow, awful-red cabinet and let them wait. I flopped onto the couch with a beer and indulged in total, potato-headed TV-watching.

I was fascinated by some kind of nature show about Australia when the phone rang. I answered and was ambushed.

"I just talked to my son, thank you," Colleen Shadley started, "and he told me some… cockamamie story about vampires and night-clubs and I don't know what. Now, you—you tell me what is really going on!"

"I'm not certain myself yet," I answered. "It's complicated."

"That's hogwash! Why is he doing this to me? Why is Cameron lying to me? I hired you to find my son and you seem to have found some kind of nut!"

"Are you saying that the man you just spoke to was not your son?" I asked.

"No, I am not!"

"So it was Cameron who called?"

"Well, it sounded like him. Except for this wild tale-telling. Now, you tell me the truth, damn it!"

"Well," I drawled, "I am pretty well convinced your son is a vampire."

"What!" she shrieked. "Have you gone completely insane!"

"No." My speech was like molasses. "I don't want to upset you, Colleen, but, as the Bard said, 'There are more things in heaven and earth… I wasn't inclined to believe it myself, at first, but Cam has said and demonstrated some things that convince me that he's… not factory spec anymore. And he still has some problems to resolve."

She barked. Well, it sounded like a cross between a growl and a bark, and it wasn't the sound I was expecting. "I want you over here— now!" She spat out the address and slammed down the phone. I pushed the disconnect button. The phone rang again before I could even put it down.

Cam sounded about eight years old. "Harper? Did my mom call you?"

"Yes. She just hung up."

"Is she still upset?"

"Upset would be a very mild description. I have been ordered into the presence at once. How 'bout you?"

"Me, too. Umm… do you want to go together? I could pick you up."

"I think separate cars would be better. There's no guarantee we'd be leaving at the same time."

"All right. I'll see you over there."

I hung up and went looking for my shoes. I tickled my computer and got it to spit out a copy of my bill, just in case.