Page 34 of The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid

Chapter 20

Gunnar was frowning when he walked into the office. ‘I don’t remember this case, and I can’t believe I’d forget two missing girls.’

He leaned on my desk as he double-checked the date and it groaned under his weight. Suddenly he snapped his fingers. ‘I know why! That’s when Sigrid and I went to the Philippines and picked up Sidnee. Thomas was filling in for me.’

Thomas? We couldn’t askhimabout it since he was missing. What a shit show.

We pulled out the files but the notes were sparse: names, addresses and parents, a rough note of Cadence and Casiah’s last-known movements and the clothing they were wearing. Thomas had listed some of their friends that he’d questioned. There had been a singing contest in Anchorage and the girls had really wanted to take part despite their parents saying no. The theory was that they’d skipped town to go there, though no signs had been found of them in Anchorage despite posters and news bulletins.

‘I’ll get Sidnee,’ I suggested. ‘We need to talk to her on the record.’

Gunnar grimaced. ‘Yeah.’

I went into the back and unlocked her jail cell. ‘How are you holding up?’

‘I’ve been better,’ she admitted.

‘We need to interview you formally,’ I said apologetically. She held out her wrists but I shook my head. ‘I amnotcuffing my best friend. Come on.’

‘Thanks,’ she whispered.

In the interview room, Gunnar and I sat on one side of the desk and Sidnee on the other. ‘Well,’ she said, trying for some levity, ‘I don’t like being on this side of the desk.’

We smiled at her weak attempt at humour. ‘It’s going to be okay,’ I repeated for what felt like the millionth time.

I read Sidnee her rights because I sure as hell wasn’t making Gunnar do it. His eyes flicked to her bare wrists and he gave a solemn nod of approval. At least we were all on the same page.

Once she was Mirandized and the camera was on, I asked her about the girls. She gave me an odd look. ‘What about them? Didn’t you interview them?’

I shook my head. ‘Just tell me what you remember about them.’

‘One of them called the Nomo’s office and I went to find them. They didn’t know their location so they stayed on the line while I triangulated the call.’

‘Did they identify themselves when they called?’ I asked.

‘No – but it was a young female and she sounded distressed.’

Gunnar grunted. ‘Okay. What happened when you arrived?’

Sidnee chewed on her lip. ‘I saw the girls first – they were sitting on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs. They told me theirnames – Cadence and Casiah Lopez – and said they’d been kidnapped. They were so young that my blood just kind of boiled.’

She swallowed hard. ‘Next thing I know, I’m standing over a body and my hands have blood on them. I’ve been thinking about it all morning. I don’t think I could have lifted that metal rig even in mer form.’

Gunnar nodded. ‘I’m inclined to agree. Even I couldn’t move it.’

‘Did you untie the girls’ hands?’ I asked casually.

Sidnee blinked several times. ‘I must have done because they were standing with their hands free later,’ she said finally. ‘But I honestly don’t remember doing it.’ She swallowed hard. ‘Did they see what happened? Do they know if I murdered Donovan?’

That hit me in the gut. ‘Even if you did kill him – and I’m not saying you did – there were extenuating circumstances. You could have been acting in self-defence or in defence of the twins.’

‘Right. But what did the girls say?’

Gunnar and I exchanged glances. ‘Not a whole lot,’ he rumbled. ‘And then they disappeared. They were ghosts, Sid.’

Her mouth dropped open. ‘What?’

‘They were the ghosts of Cadence and Casiah who were kidnapped about seven years ago,’ Gunnar went on. ‘Something must have gone wrong. Their spirits are still trapped in the area where they died.’

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