Page 67 of The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid

‘And the potions?’

He read one of the labels. ‘This one is an illegal memory-wiping potion. Just having it in your possession is an automatic sentence.’ He read the back of the bottle. ‘It says it wipes a half hour to an hour, depending on the supernat you give it to. Humans could lose up to half a day. This is the sort of shit rapists use. It’s a recent purchase – it’s still got over a year of shelf life. The instructions say it just needs to be inhaled, not even ingested.’

‘Don’t drop it!’ I said sharply. Gunnar sent me a flat look and carefully sealed the bottle in an evidence bag. ‘Sidnee’s memory loss…’ I started. I’d assumed she couldn’t remember because of trauma, but maybe there was more to it than that?Someonehad ridden the quad bike home. Had Bob happened on the scene at the same time as Sidnee, freaked out and fled on it?

‘Yeah,’ Gunnar agreed grimly. ‘I reckon he used it on her and left while she was disorientated.’ He picked up another bottle. ‘This one is a standard potion for those struggling to get to sleep.’

‘It may be standard, but I’m betting that’s what was in those cookies.’

‘I wouldn’t take that bet,’ he rumbled. ‘We’ve got him dead to rights.’ His smile was wide; Gunnar had been waiting a long time for this, but Bob’s day of reckoning had finally come.

Chapter 41

When the going got tough, the tough got going. Bob was not tough and he didn’t rise to the challenge; he crumpled like a poorly cooked soufflé.

Much to our delight, he sang like a canary. He said Donovan had broached the subject one night about a little side hustle and the next day had taken him on a job. Bob claimed he didn’t know what was going on – but by then Donovan was shoving the girl in the van and Bob was driving off, supposedly an unwitting accomplice.

I didn’t buy it at all but I didn’t need to, not yet. We told Bob he’d been ID’d and the only chance he had of a commuted sentence was to co-operate. That was when he told us about Cobalt Robertson, that he was the boss, the one with connections in Anchorage to move the girls. Robertson got the order for one type of supernatural or another and they sourced it. Sometimes it was a local girl, sometimes they went further afield to other supernat towns.

Bob was just the muscle, he said. Just a hired hand. He didn’t do anythingwrong;he was only following orders. He made me feel sick to my stomach.

‘And what about Cadence and Casiah?’ I demanded, when I couldn’t take his shit anymore. ‘What’s your excuse for raping and killing them? Was that under orders too?’

He licked his lips. ‘I think I want a lawyer.’

We pushed back from the interview table and stood. ‘Sure. We’ll get right on that,’ Gunnar said flatly. ‘In the meantime, make yourself real comfy in your cell.’

I marched out to the office and almost missed my step when I found Sidnee there in uniform complete with badge. ‘Hey!’ I rushed to her and hugged her. ‘You’re supposed to be off duty.’

She snorted. ‘There is no off duty in this place.’ It was hard to argue with that. She sighed. ‘I’m going crazy. Give me something to focus on that isn’t me or Thomas.’

‘All right. How about coming with me to arrest Cobalt Robertson?’

She grinned. ‘Now you’re talking. That’s the exact shit I need.’

Gunnar emerged. ‘Good to see you looking fighting fit, Sidnee.’ He turned to our admin queen. ‘April, great work on spotting Bob amongst all the other reprobates Donovan spent time with. You were bang on the money.’

April beamed. ‘Thanks, boss!’

‘We got him in the tank. Are you okay to stay a while longer while we bring him a friend to keep him company?’

‘My husband is out late today, but I can get the kids to come here to do their homework.’

‘That would be great, but if you do need to leave just tag in Sigrid. This shouldn’t take us long.’

‘Do youmind if we drop Shadow home first?’ I asked Gunnar. Plus, I wanted to check in on Reggie post-counselling.

‘No problem.’

The lights were on in my house when we stopped outside. I picked up my cat, ignored his protesting yowls and went inside. Reggie was sitting on the sofa with the TV off. I must have looked shocked, because he looked up and said gruffly, ‘I promised the counsellor I’d be Reggie for twenty-four hours.’

I put Shadow down and he immediately went to Reggie and jumped on his lap. Reggie ran his fingers through the lynx’s silky fur. ‘Hey, bud,’ he murmured, his eyes softening. The cat started to knead his legs, purring loudly. Reggie leaned down and planted a kiss on his head then looked up at me. At least Shadow had given me enough time to rearrange my face to what I hoped was my usual, non-shocked expression.

‘That’s cool,’ I squeaked. Trying to think of something neutral that wouldn’t drive him back to being Fluffy, I asked, ‘Are you hungry?’

‘Not really.’

I bit my lip. ‘I’m heading out for an arrest. You want me to make you a cup of tea and find you some biscuits before I go?’

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