Page 2 of The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee

I realised I was smiling. ‘I’m fine. It took me a moment to work out what was going on, but then I was okay. Your call is well-timed – I just got off the line with Sidnee.’

There was a pause. ‘I rang a couple of times but I couldn’t get through. You guys can sure chat.’

I grinned. ‘How many times did you try?’

He gave a barely audible sigh. ‘I’m trying to play it cool,’ he complained.

‘Five?’ I guessed.

‘Seven,’ he admitted.

My grin was now ear to ear. ‘That’s so cute. Thank you.’

‘Cute?’ He sounded outraged.

I laughed. ‘Sorry, what I meant to say was “that was so manly and tough of you to dial repeatedly until you knew I was okay”. Very tough.’

‘Is this the right time to confess I’m panic-driving to your house because I couldn’t get hold of you?’

‘Well turn yourself back around! I have to get ready for work and I don’t have time for distractions!’

His voice dropped an octave. ‘Do I distract you, Bunny?’

‘More than a fake shipwreck does a goldfish,’ I said, entirely too honestly.

It was his turn to laugh. ‘Good to know. Okay, if you’re sure you’re safe, I’ll head to the council chambers. Speak soon.’

‘You got it!’ I hung up. You got it? Ugh. I was the least sexy thing since assless chaps were invented for cowboys. And now I was thinking of Connor in assless chaps and re-thinking their previous un-sexy status.

Shadow crept out from under the bed, his yellow eyes studying me. ‘Hey, bud,’ I said softly to the frightened lynx. ‘It’s all over. You can come out now.’ He gave a plaintive squeak, darted over and climbed on my lap. I stroked his head for a minute until he nipped my finger to let me know he was done with being affectionate. Then he barrelled off in search of a mouse, or a box to climb into.

The calls and snuggles had made me late so I got ready lightning fast. I’d bought Shadow a little animal pram and a carry cage and, after a few minutes debate with myself, I persuaded him into it. He could come with me and wreak havoc at work; I didn’t want him alone and scared if another earthquake came. Gunnar would be fine with it, I told myself. He was a dog person, which meant he was an animal person. A cat was an animal, so it would be fine. Logic.

When I walked in with the pram, the lynx and the dog, Sidnee was packing up her things. She flashed me an amused look. ‘Is it bring your pet to work day?’

I sighed. ‘I know. I’m ridiculous. But Shadow was really scared after the quake and I worried about leaving him all day. You think Gunnar will mind?’

‘Not at all. Weird things were happening tonight. The cat will be the least of his worries.’ She looked away. ‘Trouble is stirring.’

That was ominous. My scalp prickled. ‘Something else happened besides the earthquake?’ I asked tentatively.

‘Yeah. There’s another protest going on at the barrier, and we’ve had tonnes of calls about people seeing it flashing. Gunnar had to call Liv to get her witches to check on it.’

I tried to inject some humour. ‘You think the barrier needs some attention? What does a mooning barrier look like?’

Sidnee rolled her eyes. ‘Stick to crime. Stand-up is not your forte.’

I held a hand to my heart. ‘You slay me.’

‘Not yet,’ she said drily, ‘but I’ll be tempted to if the dad jokes continue.’

She was teasing but there was a tension in her that had been there ever since her boyfriend Chris had betrayed and abandoned her. She was dealing with it, but slowly and badly; mostly she was shoving it in a box and ignoring it, like I would have done. It might not have been the healthiest coping mechanism but I didn’t have another solution to offer. I was there for her; when she was ready to talk, I’d be there to listen.

‘Gunnar had to call Liv? Does that mean he’s in a bad mood?’ I asked.

‘Yes, he is,’ Gunnar bellowed from his office.

I grimaced. ‘Oops.’

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