Page 9 of The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid

‘What was Essie wearing?’

‘Oh … she had on a pink sweatshirt with jeans, and her brown XtraTufs were rolled down to show the red fish pattern inside.’

‘Any logos visible on the jumper?’

‘Yes – it’s her favourite sweatshirt.’ Lily gestured to her chest and drew out the pattern. ‘It has a square picture in the middle with salmon in a circle around a picture of fishing boats. The top half saysAlaska, and the bottom saysfive salmon – ten names.’

‘What about her backpack?’

‘It’s the one the school issues with the school laptop. Black and grey. No logos.’

‘Does she have a phone?’

‘Yes, of course. It’s the latest iPhone. She has a bright pink case for it and a couple of stickers of ravens. She loves ravens.’

‘Do you have a tracking app on her phone?’

‘Oh my God, yes!’ She brightened as hope sparked. ‘Why didn’t I think of that? I’m an absolute mess.’ She instantly pulled out her phone to check.

My heart gave a solid thunk as she unlocked it and found the correct app. Maybe this case would be over before it even started.

Lily’s face crumpled. ‘Oh God,’ she whimpered. ‘It isn’t transmitting.’

‘Is that normal for her? Do you think she turned it off?’

‘No,’ she whispered, eyes wide with renewed fear. ‘She never turns it off because she tracks me, too. When you’re two women alone in the world, it pays to know where the other is. It’s never, ever not worked.’

Until now.

I felt awful for her but I maintained my professional face even as hers crumpled with despair. I cleared my throat; the quicker we were done, the sooner she could break down properly in private. ‘The Robertsons said Essie’s a shifter. Forgive me for asking but what exactly do you shift into?’

‘No offence taken – Essie’s safety means more to me than some stupid cultural practice. She’s always been special. Her father is Inuit and he’s a raven shifter. My family is from your neck of the woods – I’m a red fox shifter. However, for some reason Essie is something else. She’s a tizheruk.’

My face was blank. I had no idea what a tizheruk was.

Lily realised that a beat later. ‘Sorry, you’re British, aren’t you? You won’t know a damned thing about local folklore. Um … a tizheruk is like an Inuit sea serpent. They’re incredibly rare – I think they only see one pop up every two or three generations. Like I say, Essie is special.’

I’d look them up later or ask Connor about them. ‘Do you have a recent photo of her?’

‘Of course.’ Lily pulled out her phone again. ‘I’ve got one from a few days ago. If you give me your number, I’ll text it to you.’

When she forwarded the picture, I glanced at it. It showed a pretty native girl with thick dark hair cut shoulder length. She was in a car park – it looked like the one by the hardware store – and she was laughing.

‘If you don’t mind,’ I said gently, ‘we’d like to examine her room and anywhere else the girls were yesterday.’

‘Yes, of course. Anything.’

Connor and I donned gloves again and, with Fluffy’s help, spent the next hour searching. Like in Kate’s room nothing stood out, but at least Fluffy had the opportunity to bury his nose in some ofEssie’s discarded clothes. Hopefully he’d now recognise both girls’ scents.

Pressure tightened my shoulders. We’d searched both homes and we still didn’t have a single damned lead. This was all kinds of not good.

Chapter 6

Connor walked me to his truck and opened the door for me like the gentleman he was. Before I climbed in, I looked at him. ‘I have nothing, Connor. I don’t know if I’ll be able to find these girls in two days,’ I confessed.

He nodded. ‘I know, but it’s not your fault. You focus on the case and I’ll prepare for if the worst happens.’

‘Whatwillhappen? If your father comes here, I mean?’

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