Page 25 of The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid

‘I’m not calling for an update.’ He interrupted me, his tone harsh. ‘I don’t know why MacKenzie insisted on calling the Nomo. This is a vampire issue.’

‘It is clearly not,’ I said firmly. ‘Essie was alsotaken.’

‘Collateral,’ he grunted. ‘I’m bringing in my own team of experts. Stay out of their way. And for the record, I don’t appreciate you talking to my wife without me present. I also didnotgive the Nomo’s office permission to search my grounds.’

I reeled back in my chair. Some people were unbelievable – I was looking forhisdaughter. ‘I was granted permission by your wife. We were following a trail left by the kidnapper,’ I started hotly.

‘I’ll be making a formal complaint to the council.’ He hung up.

What an utter wanker. I was sure the council would be as confused by Cobalt Robertson’s attitude as I was; I was more worried about what he’d say to Connor’s dad. Our forty-eight hours were nearly up, and the thought of Hamish MacKenzie coming here was enough to slide cold fingers of fear down my spine. Connor was trying to contain his emotions but it was obvious he viewed his father as a threat both to Portlock and to himself.

‘I gather that wasn’t good news?’ April asked.

‘Not good,’ I agreed grimly. ‘But certainly interesting. Did you ever think a parent with a missing child would be angry that I'm doing my job?’

Her nose wrinkled. ‘Not unless they’re hiding something.’

‘That’s what I think too. Time to do a deep dive on Cobalt Robertson.’

‘I’m happy to help with that.’ She smirked. ‘He’s always swanning around town with his nose in the air. He’s definitely got skeletons in his closet.’

‘Then dig them up for me, April.’

‘You got it. And talking of deep dives, Gunnar and I searched back five years on missing girls. Found a couple but they seemed to be resolved so I’m not sure if they help or not. I’ve collated our findings.’ She handed me a couple of printed pages. ‘I sent them to your email as well.’

‘Thanks.’ I put them on the top of my ‘to-do’ stack for when I was back in the office. For now, I had to pick up some doughnuts for Matilda. Meeting the hag without sugary treats would be a rookie error.

I left Fluffy and Shadow with April and went to the bakery. Matilda was meeting me in the carpark at Kamluck and I’d forgotten to warn Connor to make sure the area was clear. I called his office from the car: Bluetooth was a miracle. How the hell did it work? It was close to magic – not just Bluetooth but phones in general. You took one voice and you connected with someone else who somehow sent back their voice instantly. Total witchcraft. Maybe one day I’d read a textbook and demystify the process– but today was not that day.

My call was answered promptly. ‘Kamluck. Connor speaking.’

‘Hey. It’s me.’

‘You called the office phone,’ Connor said in surprise.

‘I needed to make sure someone picked up. I’m meeting Matilda in your car park – could you make sure the area is clear? I don’t want to spook her.’

‘Sure. Anything for you.’ He sounded distracted although his answer was spot on.

‘What’swrong?’ I asked.

He hesitated and I knew I wouldn’t want to hear what he had to say. ‘We’ll talk after you’re done with Matilda.’

Idefinitelywouldn’t want to hear what he had to say. I rubbed my arms to tame the goosebumps. ‘Okay, but you’re making me nervous.’

‘Well, that makes two of us,’ he said drily. ‘See you soon.’ He hung up.

I wished Fluffy was with me; heck, even Shadow would have been a comfort at that moment. I loved my sweet kitty but he was downright terrifying most of the time; even so, I needed every ally I could get.

That thought reminded me just how many others were already helping. The town had rallied to find these girls but we all knew that the longer they were missing, the slimmer their chances of survival were.

Time was against us and we were running out of it fast.

Chapter 15

I turned onto the Kamluck road with my bakery box. As Connor had promised, the car park was deserted. I parked up, climbed out and held out the box of doughnuts like it was Baby Simba inTheLion King.

I did a last check to make sure no one was near then called, ‘Matilda, Matilda, Matilda!’

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