From MORTAL TOUCH by Inanna Arthen:
Regan blinked in surprise. “Why are you asking me about Hiram Clauson, Mr. Standish? We’re not working together anymore.”
“Yes, I know.” There was another long pause. “I hate to feel like I’ve been played for a sucker. But I’m wondering now if that’s been going on.”
Regan looked at Jonathan and cleared her throat. “What do you mean, Mr. Standish?”
“This Clauson. He called me up, right after the news came out about Veronica. Said he had some information that might relate to what happened, information about you, Mr. Vaughn. I’d just gotten that letter, and…” he sighed heavily. “I wasn’t thinking straight. Anyway, we met a couple of times, and…” Jerry Standish shook his head. “All kinds of nutcase crap. Vampires, he was talking about. He claimed he meant it in some kind of clinical sense, but I sure didn’t get that from the way he talked about it. All I cared about was finding out what happened to my daughter. I listened to him because I thought he had something that I could use to get to the bottom of that. But now, I think he was just taking me for a ride, hoping to get me to fund some kind of…vampire hunting team. I couldn’t finance a cup of coffee, or who knows what the hell he’d have dragged me into.”
“A vampire hunting team?” Regan stared at Jerry Standish, aghast. “He had other people involved?”
“He didn’t come right out and say it. But I got that idea, yes.” There was another pause, and then Jerry Standish shrugged. “That’s all. But I’d watch my step if I were you, Mr. Vaughn. This Clauson is a few sandwiches short, in my opinion.”
“I appreciate the heads-up.”
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