Page 8 of The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid

‘Yes, ofcourse,’ Faye murmured, but she clutched the pearls around her neck and looked at the door to see if her husband could hear us. Luckily, Connor was keeping him busy with questions. She continued, her voice low. ‘It’s a small ring she wears on her right middle finger. It’s silver with a small sapphire.’

I nodded, committing every detail to memory. ‘Do you have a tracking app on Kate’s phone?’

Most parents did, especially in families like ours. As a rebellious teen, I’d learned how to beat the system: leave the official phone behind and take a second one that my parents didn’t know about. Maybe Kate had done the same; with this level of wealth getting an untraceable burner wouldn’t be hard, especially if she had connections to the black market. Hopefully, she didn’t have that kind of imagination.

‘No. We didn’t need one. We trust her,’ her mother said.

Oh boy. You could trust your kid all you liked but that didn’t mean they weren’t getting up to all kinds of things behind your back. They wereteenagersand that’s what they did – pushed boundaries, figuring themselves out and testing the world on their own terms. My mum would’ve sworn I was an angel … right up until I left home to be a waitress and moved into a dingy tower block with peeling paint, dodgy plumbing and neighbours who held all-night arguments through the walls.

When I looked at Connor, he gave a slight nod to indicate he was done with Cobalt Robertson. I released Faye from my questioning and she rejoined her husband. ‘Please get me the maid’s contact information because I’ll need to speak to her,’ I instructed her. ‘We’ll need to go over this room with a fine-toothed comb, so keep everyone out.’

‘Of course. I’ll get you Jesse’s details,’ Faye promised.

The Robertsons left us alone and I turned to Fluffy. ‘Okay, boy, this one is all on you because we’ve got nothing so far. Fingers crossed for some strange scents lingering under all this fresh lemon.’

He set his nose to the floor but his eyes looked as dubious as I felt. The chances of finding cluesaftera maid had been through were slim to none, which meant our chances of finding the girls alive were also decreasing.

The clock was ticking. I feared that if Fluffy couldn’t sniff something out, we’d be trading search warrants for body bags.

Chapter 5

I found a discarded sock under the bed, so the maid wasn’t infallible. Still, with every speck of dust gone it was probably just a fluke.

Fluffy buried his nose in Kate’s bed and had a good snuffle, so I hoped he’d at least got her scent. Knowing what he was looking for, he sniffed around the room. At one point he whined, but until he shifted to Reggie I’d have no idea what that meant.

The room had been hoovered, dusted and polished; all the clothes and other teenage knickknacks were in their proper spaces. It was a completely sterile environment and there were no clues, which was depressing and worrying in equal measure.

I bagged the sock, but I knew that more likely than not it was just a miss from the cleaner. Kate’s laptop was still there so I took that as well; maybe if shehadbeen planning to escape, the information would be on her hard drive, though the broken wards suggested this was more than a teenage lark. When I checked in with Kate’s parents, neither of them knew her password.

We did a cursory search through the rest of the house, checking other points of ingress and exit, but the maid had done a thorough job and Fluffy didn’t whine again. Next, Connor and I lookedaround the outside of the property, checking under and around the window itself, but we found nothing of note.

I texted Gunnar to update him and let him know that we had not one buttwomissing girls, then Connor, Fluffy and I set out for the Kaleak residence to check if the girls were there. If they weren’t, I needed to question Essie’s mum, Lily.

The house wasn’t far away and still at this end of town, but in a much more modest area. The building itself was a slightly frazzled-looking bungalow. We pulled up and knocked. The door was answered by a woman who looked like she’d been punched in the gut. Her face was blotchy from crying. ‘Faye Robertson just called me,’ she started. ‘They’re not here. The girls aren’t here!’

‘I’m so sorry, Mrs Kaleak. May we come in?’ I asked.

Lip wobbling and clutching at her chest, she nodded and ushered us into a neat living area. It was tidy, compact and lived in, a bit worn around the edges but loved. There were pictures of Essie on every wall.

‘I’m sorry to question you at a time like this,’ I started, ‘but we need as much information as possible.’

‘Of course. I’ll tell you whatever you need to know.’

‘Thank you. Can I take Celestine’s full name and date of birth?’ I pulled out my pad to take notes. ‘What can you tell me about the events leading up to the disappearance?’ I asked, keeping my tone efficient and businesslike.

One of the things the academy had taught me was the importance of appearing calm, even if you were quietly freaking out inside. It felt harsh to present an impersonal façade but Lilydidn’t need a friend right now, she needed someone she could trust to find her daughter. And even without the threat of Connor’s dad hanging over us, I’d be doing everything possible to find Kate and Essie.

‘Essie – erm, Celestine – came home from school with Kate. She goes to night school with her. I work the night shift at the hospital and that way we can spend time together during the day.’

I nodded. A supernatural town ran by different rules than a human one; having two different sessions at the schools kept all the various types of residents happy. ‘What did the girls do before the sleepover?’

‘They went to Essie’s room. I don’t know exactly what they did, but they were planning a sleepover at Kate’s so I imagine Essie was packing her backpack. When they came out, Essie had it slung over her shoulder.’

‘Did they go straight out to Kate’s?’

‘No, they went into the kitchen and took some snacks to eat later. Faye doesn’t believe in letting Kate consume too much sugar so she sneaks it when she can.’

Despite everything Faye had said, Kate was used to going behind her parents’ backs to get what she wanted. Snacks were a minor infraction – but could they have led to a more serious one? Sneaking out to a concert, maybe?

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