Page 41 of The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid

Liv ignored him and ducked inside the cabin. Visibly torn, we waited, Gunnar was so mad I wouldn’t have been surprised to see steam coming out of his ears but, like me, he waited to see what Liv would find rather than stopping her. Yeah … this was why you shouldn’t investigate a case involving someone you were close to. Gunnar and I were breaking rules but it was for Sidnee, and I couldn’t bring myself to feel bad about it.

Eventually Liv came back out. ‘No Mafu, no girls tied up in the hold. Now if you’ll excuse me, I amdone.I’ve been here, there and everywhere, everyone’s little lackey,’ she harrumphed. ‘I’ll sign the warrant tomorrow. I’m going home and I’m going to have aerobic sex with my masseuse, Dimitri.’ She gave me a weird look I couldn’t decipher.

‘That’s too much information,’ I muttered.

She winked. ‘No information is ever “too much”, darling.’ She sauntered off. She must have been feeling tired because not once did she mention her bill.

Gunnar pulled out his phone and called Mafu. No answer. He pressed his lips together. ‘This isn’t looking great for him.’

‘No, but Haavale was leaving Donovan. Why kill him?’

‘You heard her mom. They’d been planning to support her financially but now they won’t need to.’

I winced. ‘Good point. Do you want to stake out his house?’

He thought about it then shook his head. ‘No. Let’s inform the Lopez family that we’ve finally found their daughters. We can try back at Mafu’s later.’

‘You mind if we pick up Fluffy on the way? He’s been home alone for a long while.’

‘Sure thing.’ Gunnar paused. ‘How is Reggie doing?’

I sighed. ‘Not great. I’m not sure if therapy is helping.’

‘Theysay it gets worse before it gets better. You’ve just gotta ride the storm.’

‘I guess so.’

We collected Fluffy before heading over to the Lopez’s home. It was a square, two-storey house typical of the area, complete with a porch and a detached garage. I’d called ahead to check they were in but hadn’t said why we were calling.

The door promptly opened after only one knock. I’d brought Fluffy because he could be a comfort to people if they appreciated a dog – and Haavale’s tears were fresh in my mind. ‘Mrs Lopez?’ I asked.

‘Yes?’

‘I’m Bunny Barrington, an officer with the Nomo’s office. This is Gunnar Johansen, the Nomo. I called ahead.’

‘Yes,’ she said. She started wringing her hands. ‘You’d better come in.’ She stood back. ‘My husband will be here in a minute. Do you mind if we wait for him?’

‘Not at all,’ Gunnar said softly.

Her eyes filled with tears: she already knew what we’d come to say. Fluffy padded over and laid his head on her lap. Almost without conscious thought, she raised her hand and started to stroke him.

We sat in painful silence, waiting for Mr Lopez so we could tell them the awful truth together. Finally he walked in, breathless like he’d been running. Where the mum was petite and blonde, her husband was dark and stocky. The girls favoured both parents: dark like Dad and petite like Mum.

Mr Lopez stood in front of us, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He pulled off his cap and twisted it in his hands. ‘You found their bodies,’ he stated.

I swallowed and nodded. ‘Yes, we believe so. I’m sorry. We’ve found remains which we believe are your daughters. They were wearing the same jumpers your daughters were said to be wearing at the time of their disappearance, and they were found with what we believe is Casiah’s backpack.’

Mr Lopez sat heavily on the couch next to his wife. He looked more relieved than devastated. ‘Thank you for giving us closure,’ he murmured. ‘When will we get the girls back so we can bury them properly?’

‘There’ll have to be a forensic examination, but assuming it doesn’t throw up any red flags they’ll be given back to you within two weeks,’ Gunnar assured them.

Mr Lopez closed his eyes. ‘We knew, you see, the second it happened. It was like a rubber band tightened around our hearts. The feeling of loss nearly destroyed us.’ He looked up at me.

I didn’t know what to say. Their grief and loss was palpable.

Mrs Lopez threaded her fingers through her husband’s. Tears were falling freely from her eyes but she didn’t sob, didn’t wail. I suspected she’d already done that many a time over the years. ‘We just need them to be put to rest,’ she managed.

‘Of course.’ I thought back to the girls’ last words:let us rest. I understood. Years of not knowing for sure, of not having the bodies, nothing physical to mourn; it had to be torture for their parents.

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