Page 33 of Be A Detective, They Said. It’ll Be Fun, They Said

“Yet,” I said. “There are no missing children yet. And Bigfoot’s real. Why wouldn’t aliens be, too?”

“Do you think Agnew or Cooper have something to do with the missing kids?” Marty asked. “I mean, who else would be stealing cleaning supplies? And if they are, why are they stealing supplies?”

I bit the inside of my lip. “I don’t know. Neerie didn’t make that connection. We’re making that connection because we have nothing else. They could be two completely unrelated things. I think we need to talk to Agnew and Cooper and see what they have to say. Maybe Neerie asked them about the missing supplies?”

“Hang on, incoming call from one of the parents on FaceTime,” Nina said.

We rushed to Nina’s computer, smoothing our hair as we pulled our office chairs to her desk. The call was from Chester Godfrey’s parents, Dinah and Gilbert Godfrey, in Virginia.

“Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey, thank you so much for taking our call. I’m Wanda Jefferson, this is Nina Statleon and Marty Flaherty. We’re investigating a missing parent at our school. We know this is an incredibly difficult call for you, but we’re hoping you can answer some questions for us?”

As I looked at Dinah’s weary face, her pale skin and the tremble of her lip, my heart clenched in my chest so tight, I wanted to keel over.

Dinah pressed her closed fist to her mouth. “We know about you from your group—OOPS, is it? Have you found something about our…our Chester?”

When her voice cracked, mine almost did, too, but I decided keeping it together was the only way I could find out if these children had anything to do with Neerie’s disappearance, and if one of them had been the child who’d called out for help.

I swallowed hard. “As of right now, we’re still investigating, so I have nothing definitive for you. We’re simply asking questions about Chester’s disappearance and hoping you can fill in some of the details.”

Gilbert, at least a head taller than his wife, bookish-looking with similar pale skin, horn-rimmed glasses and a button-up vest, cleared his throat. If he were near, I know I’d smell his anguish.

Vampires can’t cry, which I know from Nina can be incredibly frustrating, and Gilbert looked on the verge of an emotional breakdown he couldn’t set free.

Gripping Dinah’s hand, he nodded. “Please, ask us whatever you need to, if it will help your investigation. We don’t want any more parents to suffer what we have.”

Marty looked at the pad with the questions we’d written. “What are the circumstances surrounding Chester’s disappearance? Where was he when he went missing?”

Dinah’s eyes grew sad and dark. “He was at school. According to his teacher, he’d asked to go to the boys’ room. Chester is very bright, and because he’s so bright, he can become overwhelmed by too much stimulation. As you know, he doesn’t need to use the facilities, but he often asked to be excused from class to find some space—some alone time. Almost a half an hour went by, but he never returned to class.”

I inhaled as quietly as I could. It was a parent’s worst fear. “Are there no cameras in the school? I know Chester wouldn’t show up on them due to his vampiric nature, but was there anyone suspicious nearby when he went missing?”

“No one,” Gilbert said, his tone almost angry. “It’s what has us most puzzled. There was no one in the halls during the time he left the classroom. No one any…anywhere. It was as though he disappeared into thin air.”

“So maybe another vampire?” Nina wondered. “They could easily avoid detection because you can’t see us on camera.”

Dinah shook her dark head. “We thought the same, but there was no scent at all. I thought my nose might fall off from sniffing that school from top to bottom. Nothing. Just…” Her voice hitched. “Nothing.”

“Do you know if he ever talked about anyone approaching him? Anyone who made him feel uncomfortable? Did any of his classmates ever have an encounter with someone they didn’t know, who made them feel uncomfortable?”

Gilbert’s nose flared. “Never. Not once. We talked to all of his friends, his classmates, everyone who knew him. None of his teachers had anything unusual to report. It’s almost as if…as if he never existed.” His voice broke then, almost breaking all of us, too.

“And no suspects? No one at all?” Nina asked in disbelief.

Dinah’s face became a mask of pain. “The council investigated, talked to everyone—and I do mean everyone, from teachers to crossing guards. We talked to everyone, too, and there wasn’t a trace of foul play. There was just nothing.”

I can’t say why this particular piece of whatever we were calling it had stuck to me like glue, but the school supply thing wouldn’t release me from its grip.

I fought the urge to scream, instead clenching my fists in my lap. “I know this might sound strange, Mr. Godfrey, but please indulge me. Was there ever any talk of missing school supplies at Chester’s school? Cleaning supplies? Pencils, iPads…anything at all?”

Dinah blinked, pressing her fingers to her mouth. “Coloring books!” she shouted, making me jump. “I know it sounds crazy to remember something so unimportant at a time like that, but in the midst of the search for Chester, I heard the school librarian mention the coloring books Chester favored of some anime animals had gone missing—a bunch of them, in fact.”

You see? There’s a connection. I know there is.

Hot-diggity.

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