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away from Samuel’s looks, the scar only added to his mystique and aura of power. When he smiled, he could light up a room. When he was displeased, even other vampires went on guard. He was wearing his usual sunglasses. Behind them, Samuel’s eyes were milky from being blinded by the man who’d sold him into slavery as a young boy. But when Samuel had been turned into a vampire, his sight had returned unexpectedly, clearer than ever, even as his eyes still appeared to be blinded. Samuel La Croix looked as though he were in his mid to late thirties and spoke with a steady, commanding voice with a hint of an accent, not unlike Keleta’s.
    “The boy is from Eritrea,” Samuel informed them. “His name is Keleta Kibreab. He’s quite educated and speaks Tigrinya, which is an Eritrean language, as well as Arabic and Amharic, the language of Ethiopia. He does know some English, and it was coming back to him in bits and pieces as we spoke, but mostly I communicated with him in Amharic.”
    Madison put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her cupped hands. “Could he tell you anything more?”
    “As far as I could determine,” Samuel continued, “he’d come to California with some friends for a holiday. A woman invited him back to her place. They had another drink when they got there, but it must have been drugged, because the next thing he remembers was the pain of being branded.”
    A collective shudder ran through everyone in the Dedhams’ kitchen just thinking about being branded. Especially Doug, who had already been through the painful process.
    “Reminds me of that Holloway girl in the news,” said Madison. “She went on vacation and disappeared.”
    “Oh.” Dodie’s hand shot up to her mouth in dismay as Madison’s comment flashed clarity on Keleta’s situation. “His poor parents. They must be frantic.”
    “After that, he’s blocked most everything out,” continued Samuel. “He doesn’t remember being turned but understands he’s a vampire. He remembers nothing about the stake in his chest or about being brought here.”
    “And what about Annabelle Fogle?” asked Notchey. “Does he remember her?”
    Samuel shook his head. “He claims he never heard the woman’s name, just that the woman who turned him was older than him. She had long red hair and was very beautiful. The name Annabelle Fogle wasn’t familiar to him either.”
    Doug shook his head. “Sure sounds like Annabelle.”
    “Any reason why she’d show up now and do something like this?” Samuel asked.
    Doug ran a hand over his lined face in frustration. “Like I said, Samuel, she doesn’t need a reason. She does what she wants as the mood strikes her. The last time I saw her was right before Dodie and I married. Annabelle tried to talk me out of it.”
    “Talk you out of it?” Dodie’s voice became shrill—another unusual occurrence. “She tried to kill me!”
    Everyone turned to Doug as if he were a witness fudging important testimony. He nodded, confirming Dodie’s accusation. “That she did. That was sixteen years ago. We haven’t heard a peep from or about her since.”
    “She wants you back, Doug.” Dodie’s face screwed up in anguish.
    Doug went to his wife and took her in his arms to comfort her. “Now, now,” he cooed to Dodie. “That’s never going to happen, and you know it.” Keeping his arms around Dodie, Doug turned to Samuel. “Could just be a little dramatic statement.”
    “Dramatic is right.” Dodie looked up at her husband. “She tried to murder another vampire just to get attention.”
    “We don’t know if she meant to kill Keleta, sweetheart.”
    “Why are you defending her?” Dodie pulled away from Doug, her usual spunk returned. “She drove a stake into his heart and left him in the daylight. If that’s not attempted murder, then what is?”
    Madison’s eyes popped out of her head. She’d never heard the Dedhams have cross words, let alone fight, though she had to side