Page 48 of The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee

He studied me. ‘You have nothing to apologise for. Understandably it was a shock.’

‘Yeah, it was.’ He turned to leave.

‘I’m processing it,’ I blurted. ‘I feel less shocked already.’

He gave me a slow smile. ‘I’m glad to hear it. Take all the time you need. I promise I’ll be waiting.’ He walked out.

I sagged in my chair. At least he didn’t seem angry, even if he was giving me more space than I wanted. Truthfully, I wanted zero space between us but I was trying hard to think with my head and not my hormones.

‘Bunny!’ Gunnar shouted. We really needed an intercom system.

I went into his office. ‘You hollered, boss?’

‘The council won’t give us that warrant without more evidence. Do you have any of your out-of-the-box ideas?’

I leaned against the door jamb. Nothing was coming to me. Absentmindedly I looked down at my hands; I hadn’t had a manicure since my Welcome-to-Portlock party a month or more ago and they needed work. I needed a nail appointment.

Something clicked in my brain. Nails. ‘Gunnar, it might be nothing but I’m calling the salon for a nail appointment.’

He gave me a strange look. ‘However your process works, I guess.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘The fingernail under Aoife’s body…! There can’t be that many places in this town to get your nails done. The nail technician might be able to tell us whose it was!’

‘And you’re booking an appointment because…?’

‘Because technicians chat freely while doing nails,’ I explained. ‘He or she will be relaxed and I’ll get more than I’d get from an interview at the station. Unless you want to go instead?’

Gunnar guffawed. ‘Uh, no.’

Good, because – and this was the important part – I also really wanted a manicure.

I got on the phone. Sure enough, there was only one nail salon in town and they had an appointment for the next day. I thought about going over and trying to interview them immediately then and there, but in the end I made the appointment. I didn’t want to be rushed and dismissed because I was making their customers wait.

Besides, good things come to those who wait.

Chapter 28

As I hung up from the salon, the office phone rang. ‘Nomo, Officer Barrington speaking,’ I answered briskly.

‘Bunny, grab Gunnar and meet us at the barrier closest to the Grimes’. There’s a breach, a big one. We’re going to need Gunnar’s brand of magic.’ Liv’s voice was grim. Before I could reply, she hung up; cockily certain that we’d come running because she’d summoned us. Annoyingly, she was right.

A breach? Big enough that they were struggling to close it? My blood ran cold. I bellowed at Gunnar, ‘There’s a breach by the Grimes’, we’ve got to go!’

I heard him get out of his chair so quickly it hit the back wall and met him at the door, Fluffy at my heels. I looked down. ‘No, Fluffy, it’s not safe.’ He barked; he didn't think it was safe for me either. I looked at Gunnar uncertainly.

‘Bring him, he can stay in the car,’ Gunnar said.

I didn’t want Fluffy that close to the beast; if it had breached the barrier, it could already be through and making its way into town. That thought nearly made me piss myself – but there again, if the monster was careening through town, nowhere was safe.

Fluffy made up his own mind, ran to the door and burst through as soon as Gunnar opened it. Close behind him was Shadow. I didn’t have time to take my menagerie back, so I scooped up the lynx kitten and set him on the back seat with Fluffy.

Gunnar drove like a madman and we made it to the barrier in record time, bad roads and all. Shadow crawled under the back seat, hissing after a particularly bad pothole, while Fluffy yipped in surprise as he bounced up and down on the seat. Maybe I should keep their kennels in the SUV for emergencies, but I’d never intended for them to come with us in the first place.

There were three vehicles and several people milling about when we arrived. Gunnar and I shot out of the SUV, trying to shut our doors before the animals could escape. Fluffy didn’t like that and barked a protest as we dashed away.

Liv and four others were frantically working at the barrier, facing it with their hands up and chanting. The spot that Gunnar, Thomas and I had dived through when we’d found the dead hunters was gushing smoke and I recognized the inky air that was wafting towards us.

It was the same smoke that the beast had sent through the barrier after us. Fear made my mouth dry; my bulletproof vest wouldn’t save me from the monster. The magic users seemed to be stopping the beast from physically intruding, but they hadn’t managed to push it’s smoke back through the hole.

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