watch. It was as if the watch shocked him, brought him more to life than the sun or the 
water. And he made a quick search of the room, of the hallway, and, finding nothing and 
no one, he settled again into the chair. Then, drawing a small white pad out of his 
pocket, and a pen, he set these on the table and touched the button of the recorder. The 
tape spun fast backwards until he shut it off. When he heard the vampire's voice, he 
leaned forward, listening very carefully, then hit the button again for another place, 
and, hearing that, still another. But then at last his face brightened, as the reels 
turned and the voice spoke in an even modulated tone: "It was a very warm evening, and I 
could tell as soon as I saw him on St. Charles that he had someplace to go . . .'"
  And quickly the boy noted:
  "Lestat . . . off St. Charles Avenue. Old house crumbling . . . shabby neighborhood. 
Look for rusted railings."
  And then, stuffing the notebook quickly in his pocket, he gathered the tapes into his 
brief case, along with the small recorder, and hurried down the long hallway and down the 
stairs to the street, where in front of the corner bar his car was parked.
  



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