Page 31 of The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag

I pulled out my phone and dialled Helmud’s father but there was no response. I left a quick message requesting a call back then put Helmud’s effects away and returned to my desk. I started researching chromite; I knew very little about it and it was time to rectify that. I’d done a quick Google before, but I needed to go deeper.

If someone was trying to send a message, what would that message be? Was it environmental? Mines could be controversial for putting toxins into the environment, but Thomas had said the mine tailings weren’t toxic. Was it about money? Almosteverythingwas about money, so I pushed that to the top of my list of motivations.

My shift was nearly up and I’d had no email from Leif. Tired and fed up, I toyed with the idea of calling Liv butfigured she’d take my head off after having only four hours sleep. I’d call her later when I woke up.

I was yawning when April came in. The bear shifter gave me a warm smile and bustled over to give me a hug. ‘Morning, Bunny!’

‘Morning, April. How are you doing?’

‘Great, thanks.’

‘How’s Russell?’ I asked. Her son Russell had been tangled up with some drugs and unsavoury characters, including Sidnee’s slimeball ex, Chris Jubatus.

She gave a bright smile. ‘He’s doing much better, thank you. He’s been talking to me so much more lately.’

‘I’m glad to hear it.’

She’d put her son in counselling. He’d gone through some horrible stuff: his friend Skylark had been kidnapped and Russell had felt partially responsible despite the blame not lying at the adolescents' doors. It was promising that he was keen to take responsibility for his actions; he’d even come to the office a few times with his mum and helped her do some filing.

I held up my pile of pink slips and ran through them, as well as doing the rest of the hand-off items; there wasn’t much because the night had been painfully slow. Next I rang Connor to let him know I was finishing on time thengrabbed my coat and walked out with my cat pram and dog into the dark snowy morning.

The brisk walk did me good, pumping some fresh life into my veins. I was glad to see Connor’s truck and the lights on when I got home, and the warmth rolled out when I unlocked the door. He’d even turned on the heating for me. ‘Hey,’ I called out.

‘In here,’ he shouted, from the kitchen. I hung up my coat, kicked off my boots and padded into the house. The sun had yet to rise and Connor had lit the kitchen solely with candles. ‘Well now,’ I said approvingly. ‘Isn’t this romantic?’

‘That’s what I was shooting for.’

‘Objective achieved,’ I confirmed.

‘I hope pancakes are okay. I figured we’d had a big lunch.’

I brightened. ‘Absolutely. Pancakes are fantastic!’

He’d already made the batter and now that I was home he started frying pancakes like a pro. He knew I preferred them thin like crepes, rather than the thick American-style ones. He made us one each and filled them with fruit, chocolate sauce and cream whilst I fed the animals.

‘Yum!’ I said happily as he laid the plate before me. The candlelight flickered, casting a soft glow in the room, and I realised that this was the perfect day. Okay, so theheadless talking-corpse thing had been a bit grim, but I had a mystery afoot and a date with the most delicious guy ever. How had I got so lucky?

Fluffy and Shadow had taken themselves off for a snooze in the lounge, discreetly giving us some privacy. After we’d eaten, Connor made us another crepe each and we wolfed them down. ‘More?’ he asked.

I pushed back my plate. ‘No, that was perfect. Thanks so much.’

‘You’re welcome. I love to see your face light up when you eat.’ He grinned impishly. ‘I love seeing pleasure on your face, however I put it there.’

‘Yeah? You got any other ideas on how to put it there?’

His smile widened. ‘One or two.’ He snagged the can of whipped cream from the kitchen counter. ‘Come on. It’s time to communicate.’

‘Communicationisimportant in any relationship,’ I agreed primly as I followed him.

Connor paused on the way to switch the TV on for the pets. ‘Soundproofing?’ I murmured.

‘Sometimes we communicate loudly,’ he replied with a wink.

I was laughing as he tugged me into our bedroom.

Chapter 20

My phone rang exactly one minute after my alarm went off: Sidnee. She knew my schedule as well as she knew her own.

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