Page 52 of The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee

Wonderful. The assembled horde burst into rapturous applause and I quickly grabbed Sidnee so she could stand next to me in the limelight. Thankfully the clapping stopped quite quickly; everyone was eager to get back to normal.

I found Ezra as he was leaving. ‘Thanks for your help.’ I held out my hand. After a beat, he took it and shook it firmly. ‘Can you make sure Harold locks up the school?’

‘Will do.’ He nodded and melted into the crowd. I knew very little about the man but he’d gone up in my estimation. He may not like the barrier but he cared for the people of Portlock and his heart was in the right place. These days, that was the best you could hope for.

I helped direct the cars back into town so that tempers didn’t flare if people didn’t take turns to drive out. If there’s one thing you can say about the Brits, it’s that we love a queue; being in a queue was second only to managing one.

I watched the last car go. My work here was done; now it was time for my real work to begin.

Chapter 30

Sidnee was back at the desk when I rolled in with Fluffy and Shadow. ‘Sorry I bounced,’ she said. ‘I didn’t want to leave the office unattended for long.’

‘No worries. What happened to Gunnar and Sigrid?’

‘They were at another gathering point. Gunnar’s already in his office.’ I hadn’t realised there was more than one gathering point but it made sense.

I checked my phone and grimaced when I saw I had three missed calls from Connor. I went into the break room to give him a quick call back. ‘Hey,’ he answered. ‘I was trying to check-in. You okay?’

‘I’m fine. I went to the high school.’

‘I figured you’d be there. You left your house unlocked so I secured it for you. I’ll swing by with the key.’

I flushed with embarrassment at being so careless. ‘Thanks, I appreciate that. I ran from the house.’ I paused. ‘What were you doing there?’

‘Checking you’d gotten out okay,’ he admitted. ‘It can be difficult to wake up when daylight exhaustion has you in its grip, even with the alarm.’

‘The quake woke me,’ I reassured him. ‘Did you go to any other vampire’s house to make sure they were gathering?’

‘No,’ he admitted, ‘but the vast majority live in the hills, mostly because of the tsunami risk. Under cover of the forest, they can evacuate their homes even in daylight because the canopy is so dense. In town they can’t leave their homes for fear of the sun. A tsunami might kill them but the sun definitely would.’

Connor lived in the hills and he’d left the safety of his home to come into the valley to check on me. That felt like a big deal. ‘Thank you,’ I said softly.

‘For what?’

‘Checking on me. I appreciate it.’ Ugh: I sounded so lame. He’d risked his life for me, and all I could say was ‘I appreciate it’? I face palmed, grateful he couldn’t see me.

‘Random question,’ Connor started. ‘What’s your favourite drink?’

‘Tea is my every day go-to, but chai latte is my real favourite. It’s full of syrup and sugar so it’s a “now and again” drink. What about you?’

‘Whiskey,’ he answered without hesitation. ‘A good whiskey on the rocks. What’s your favourite type of music?’

‘What is this? I asked, amused. ‘Twenty questions?’

A beat of silence. ‘I thought that maybe if we knew each other better, you’d feel more comfortable about us.’

His honesty often took me by surprise. ‘Anything I can dance to,’ I responded. ‘And you?’

‘Give me Mozart any day of the week – I’ve never fallen out of love with classical music. The heart-wrenchingly beautiful sounds humans can make never fail to astound me. Favourite colour?’

I laughed. ‘A nice soothing blue, I guess. What about you?’

‘I’m partial to sage green. It’s relaxing.’

‘It is,’ I agreed. I sighed and gripped the phone tightly. I hated how much I loved speaking to him. ‘I’ve got to go,’ I said reluctantly. ‘I’ve started my shift. I wanted you to know I was okay.’

‘Appreciate that. I’ll put your key underneath the plant pot by the door.’

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