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.“I can see the headlines: Zombie Prosecutor Fights for the Living Dead.”Riley said nothing.I glanced out the window.Zombies were already starting to fill the streets.There were pretty zombies and scary zombies and ninja zombies.I’m sure there were sober zombies there, but I’d betcha there were a whole lotta drunk ones, too.I frowned.Were we putting these people in danger? No, I decided.Jones would be there, whether we were or not.Besides, the police and the FBI were on this.These streets had probably never been safer.Riley and I were the only ones Jones was after right now.I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.My hair was white and bigger than a Tina Turner afro.My skin was pasty.I wore a long sleeved white button up shirt.The buttons didn’t line up, and there was a rip in the sleeve.But the shirt would perfectly conceal the wire beneath it.They’d also placed a tracking device in the back pocket of my jeans.Adams finally stood from the recliner.“We’re getting out of here now.We don’t want to be too obvious.But you’ll have eyes on you at all times.If Milton Jones tries to get you, we’ll be right there.”I nodded.My emotions weren’t high.In fact, I felt rather numb and subdued.I wasn’t sure the feeling could be called “peace.” I just knew this was what I had to do, and I was ready to accept this challenge.I wasn’t sure if that made me wise or if it made me a fool.I guess we’d find out in another hour.***“That’s disgusting.” I turned away from the food that vendors were selling along the zombie-infested street.Sausage that looked like intestines.Cupcakes that looked like brains.Drinks that looked like blood.Gross.But everyone who was here loved it.They were eating it up.Who knew what an enterprise zombies could turn into?I glanced around me, shielding my eyes from the setting sun.Everyone blended in with each other.If you’d seen one zombie, you’d seen them all, I supposed.But I did spot a few uniformed officers.I thought I recognized a couple of the guys from the police station dressed for the party, but I couldn’t be sure.In the background, a zombie band named “The Grateful Undead” played Michael Jackson’s Thriller.Riley placed his hand on my back, zapping me back to reality.“You okay?”I nodded, not feeling all that okay.Would I even recognize Milton Jones if he was here? I’d seen his pictures.I’d talked to him at that crime scene.I’d felt him immobilize me at my home.But if he was dressed like a zombie, I might never spot him.This event could be a crazed killer’s best-case scenario.A ruckus down the street caught my attention.Squeals and laughs as people chased each other eased some of the tension in my chest.But it was like the calm before the storm.The quelling of my anxiety only lasted a second before coming back even stronger than before.It looked like a game of tag had started down the street.I stayed away.The last thing I needed was for someone to grab me and for me to think it was Milton Jones.A figure across the way caught my eye.He was dressed like a zombie.But I’d recognize that Roman nose anywhere.Officer Newell.I was certain that Adams had told me the rookie was on desk duty.Was it a coincidence that he was here tonight? Had he just intended on having fun? Or was he somehow connected with Milton Jones as well?“What is it?” Riley asked.“It’s the rookie,” I nodded in the distance.“Newbie—I mean, Newell.”Just then, Newell looked up.He spotted me.His eyes widened.He took off in the opposite direction.Running made him look guilty.He was acting guilty, for sure.If he was our man, we needed to catch him.Now.***“What’s going on, Gabby?” Adams said in my earpiece.“Officer Newell is here.Is he working the event?” I pushed past two creepy lovebirds who were eating “intestines” like Lady and the Tramp ate spaghetti.As I brushed past, their food fell to the ground, and they called out an insult.I didn’t have time to apologize.“Absolutely not.He’s to remain hands off in this case.”“He was taking pictures at that crime scene, Detective.Are you sure he’s not in cahoots with Jones?”I couldn’t hear what he had to say over the blare of “Walk Like a Zombie,” a catchy number that paid tribute to the Bangles’ song, “Walk Like an Egyptian.” The crowds jostled around me as Officer Newell disappeared somewhere in the direction of the Mexican restaurant Riley and I frequented.“Can you still see him?” I yelled to Riley.“He’s still running.Come on!” He grabbed my hand and pulled me after him.I ran into someone with a “blood slushy” and red liquid covered my shirt.We pushed farther into the crowd, closer to the game of tag.Riley stopped and surveyed everything around him.“I lost him.”I grabbed the arm of someone walking past.“Did you see this guy? This.this.” How did I describe Newell? “.zombie with a Roman nose?”The girl stared at me with dull eyes.Finally, she muttered, “Brains!”I grumbled beneath my breath.Riley and I continued to push through the crowds.Where had Newell gone?We stopped in our tracks just in time to see a uniformed officer grab Newell and handcuff him.The officer said something quietly, and they walked away.“We’ve got him in custody,” Adams said in my earpiece.“We’ll handle this.You just stay put.Don’t call attention to yourself.”Too late for that.The game of tag pushed our way.“Gabby.?” Riley pointed to my shirt, his eyes wide with surprise and concern.I shook my head.“Blood slushy.”He pulled me toward him in a quick hug.“I can’t handle this,” he muttered into my ear.Just as he stepped away, a mob scene was on us.People chanted “brains,” “long live the dead,” and other absurdities.I lost all sense of direction as people surrounded us.Somehow, I lost my grip on Riley.Hands reached out.People bumped into us.Grabbed at my hair.My clothes.My sanity.They squeezed in tighter.Their movement reminded me of being captured in a riptide and unable to escape.Chaos.Pure chaos.My gaze swiveled around me.Riley? Where was Riley?I glanced across the crowd, but each face blended into the others.Music blared.People pressed in, swallowed me.I craned my neck to the left.To the right.Turned around.Finally, I saw him.The crowds had rushed between us, separating us.I tried to move but couldn’t.My heart raced.This wasn’t supposed to happen.It had been one of those worst case scenarios that I’d refused to think about.I had to get to Riley.I had to find a police officer.I had to do something.I began to push through the squeezing, suffocating mass of people around me.As I did so, something pricked my neck.Suddenly my body was electrified.The air left my lungs.My muscles cramped, became rigid, then numb.My arms drew in toward my body.Heat filled me.And then I lost total control and collapsed on the ground.I’d been tasered.As the movement of the crowd became more frantic, I realized that was the least of my problems.I was about to be trampled [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]