Page 57 of Be Still My Unbeating Heart

The mob surged forward, the crowd larger than before, easily twenty men and women, their faces grim, teeth clenched. At their front, Matteo looked like he was ready for blood. His eyes were hollow, his lips thin. His right arm was in a plaster cast, thanks to his previous encounter with Bastian.

While Bastian had overpowered him then, he wasn’t sure he could do it again now, with the sun beating down on his shoulders and pricking his eyes. Besides, he didn’t want to fight. He wanted todance. The sun kept urging him on, like a mother pushing a kid to the front of class.

Bastian knew the feeling.Sun sickness. He had to get a grip before it took over. He struggled to his feet with De Luca’s help. As he steadied himself, De Luca put himself between Bastian and the mob.

“Matteo, whatever you’re thinking,” he shouted, “I urge you to reconsider before it’s too late.”

Matteo’s stare gleamed with hatred as he spat, “Still protecting the murderer. You don’t deserve to wear that badge.”

“You will not attack this man,” De Luca said.

“He’s not a man, he’s a vampire! He killed Luna and Emilio.”

“He’s innocent!” Whitby cried, and the crowd exchanged confused glances, apparently unsure who had spoken. The cat jumped into Bastian’s arms, and he held her tight, grateful that she was there to help center him. He wished there was something he could say to pacify the crowd. To show them he was innocent. Maybe another song on the piano?

His head was spinning. One second he felt elated, basking in the warmth of the sun; the next he was certain he felt his skin cracking. Drying. Wicked of moisture. He whetted his lips, watching heat waves ripple around him.

“Everybody, listen to me,” De Luca said, addressing the crowd. “Matteo is wanted for questioning in relation to the deaths of two Vernazza residents. I suggest you disband immediately and let me do my job.”

“Me?!” Matteo cried. “Are you crazy?!”

“Where were you the night Luna was killed?” De Luca asked.

Matteo looked like he’d been slapped. “I loved her. I would never hurt her!”

“Answer the question.”

Matteo spat on the ground. “I was at Pinocchio’s. Ask anybody.”

“Did he just say he was at a puppet’s house?” Bastian asked.

“Pinocchio’s,” De Luca said. “It’s a bar in town.”

That made more sense. And also it put a pretty big hole in their original theory that Matteo was the killer, if witnesses could place him at that bar.

If he wasn’t the killer, though—

“Listen, Zappa junior, if you really are innocent, your life could be in danger,” Bastian said. “Your colleagues are both dead, and you could be next.”

Matteo reeled back. “Did everybody hear that? The vampire just threatened me.”

The air filled with outraged cries. Bastian spoke over them.

“Both victims worked at Micio Micio. Somebody could be targeting you—”

“You don’t scare me!” Matteo yelled. “We won’t let you kill anybody else. GET HIM!”

The mob surged forward. De Luca raised his hands in a placating gesture, but a couple of guys seized his arms and dragged him to one side.

“De Luca!” Bastian cried, but the mob tightened around him, and he lost sight of the inspector.

“Run, Bastian!” Whitby yowled, her claws piercing his right shoulder as she watched the townspeople at his back.

“No, not without De Luca.”

Bastian cast his gaze around the mob, but the air was shimmering, making it difficult to see.

“This isn’t going to fix anything,” he said. “If you’ll just—”