Page 51 of The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee

‘Seven point two.’

‘Okay. I don’t want to be in another one,’ I said tiredly. ‘I’m done with earthquakes.’ I absently rubbed my shoulder but any bruise I’d got from tumbling out of bed had already vanished.

Sidnee laughed. ‘We’ll probably get some aftershocks, so be ready.’

I groaned. Just then, a siren started to wail. ‘What’s that?’ I asked anxiously.

‘Shit,’ Sidnee swore, fear lacing her tone. ‘It’s a tsunami warning.’ My blood ran cold. ‘Get to the high school as fast as you can. It’s on high ground.’

‘See you there.’ I hung up then threw on my clothes and yelled for Fluffy to grab Shadow. The high school was a brisk ten-minute walk, but I had no idea how much time we had. I wasn’t prepared for a fucking tsunami!

As instructed, Fluffy backed out from under the bed with Shadow in his mouth. My dog was smart: too smart. That was a worry for another day. I grabbed the kitten and shoved him in his carrier then picked up Fluffy’s lead.

We bolted out of the house and sprinted down the street. Some people were in their cars, others were on foot, but everyone looked anxious. They were more prepared than me – even the kids had their backpacks. Did they all have tsunami bug-out bags?

We were all moving in a sea of fear up the hill towards the school. Ahead of me, a little girl dropped her teddy. Her scared mum barked at her to leave it, grabbed her arm and tugged her up the hill. I picked up the teddy and ran to the school; I’d kept my eyes on the child so it was easy to find her to pass it back to her.

‘Squishy!’ she cried, cuddling it to her heart. ‘Thank you, Fanged Flopsy!’

My smile was a little strained; I’d really hoped that particular moniker wouldn’t stick. ‘You’re welcome.’

Her mother shot me a grateful smile. ‘Thank you, officer.’

The title was a reminder. I was an officer. It was time to start acting like one.

‘Everyone,’ I called. ‘Can we please move closer to the school to make room for new arrivals? I know we’re all scared but I’m sure it’ll be okay. Let’s stick together, Portlock.’

I spotted the toweringly tall Ezra standing nearby. He’d been one of the main voices at the protest, so I already knew he could work a crowd. ‘Ezra, can you help the people on foot? We need to make sure everyone stays close to the building. Has someone got keys to the school building so we can move inside if necessary?’ Hopefully Gunnar and Sigrid would join us soon and my boss could open the doors; if not, I needed a backup plan.

Ezra squared his broad shoulders. ‘Harold has the keys. He’s the caretaker,’ he said briskly.

‘Is he here?’

‘Just over there.’ He gestured to a guy with a trimmed beard and glasses.

‘Okay, speak to him and see if he has them with him or has access to a keybox.’

‘I’m on it.’ Ezra walked off purposefully, calling to people as he went, corralling them into helping with crowd management. The throng moved obligingly closer to the school, making more room for cars and newcomers.

I started to direct cars into the school car park, so at least we were panicking in an orderly fashion. It was the British way.

The sirens stopped abruptly and the silence was deafening. People turned to me for an explanation, their eyes hopeful, but I had nothing to tell them.

I pulled out my phone and called Sidnee again. Her ringtone blared close to me and I realised she was only a few people away. I ran over to her. ‘Any ideas why the siren stopped?’ I asked.

She looked towards the bay. ‘Tsunami warning must have ended.’ She hurriedly checked her phone. ‘Yup.’ She showed me her screen; the warning had been downgraded to a low threat level.

Thank goodness. ‘Does this happen a lot?’ I asked.

She shook her head. ‘No, it’s pretty unusual, hence the panic. We only get a tsunami warning once every few years if we get an earthquake that’s a seven or more.’

‘Has this town ever been hit with one?’

‘A tsunami? Yeah, in 1883, an earthquake caused a large landslide that set off a big tsunami. I heard it was pretty bad.’

‘Let’s get everyone home.’ I cleared my throat and raised my voice. ‘The tsunami warning has stopped and the threat has been downgraded. You may all return to your homes. Thank you for your co-operation and patience today.’

‘Yay for the Fanged Flopsy!’ the little girl whose teddy I’d rescued shouted.

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