Page 43 of The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid

I shook my head. ‘There was no evidence he was there,’ I said carefully. ‘But we couldn’t find him when we informed the family of the loss.’

‘He wasn’t home?’

‘We don’t know. We went to his boat but he wasn’t there either. We’ve no idea where he is. We’re going back later.’

Sigrid’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Patrice must be beside herself.’

Assuming Patrice was Mrs Finau, I nodded. ‘Yeah. She was a little … combative.’

‘I’m not surprised,’ Sigrid said. ‘So would I be if you accused my husband of murder.’

Sidnee was looking brighter. ‘This is good for me though, right? Mafu and his son-in-law were constantly bickering and I’ve heard Mafu threaten to kill him more than once. So have most of the town. Plus the mayor is a weird supernat and I’m not sure of his abilities. He could have teleported or had natural camouflage and that’s why I didn’t see him.’ She was grasping at straws.

‘What is he?’ I asked. I flashed back to our battle with the Knight Stalkers at the Reef Mine. The mayor had morphed into something I couldn’t identify; his bare skin had looked like tree bark and he’d grown in size. The staff he’d carried many times into the council chambers had extended and a billow of fog had come over him to hide his form. ‘Did you see any fog?’ I asked Sidnee abruptly.

She shook her head. ‘Maybe a little at the tops of the trees. Why?’

‘Because the mayor can summon it to hide himself. I remember that from our last battle.’

‘It’sweak as far as evidence goes,’ she said softly.

Sigrid interjected, ‘He’s a Toa.’

‘What’s that?’ I asked.

She shrugged. ‘Some kind of Tongan demi-god.’

That didn’t help much, not until I could research Tongan folklore, which was way down on my to-do list. But a demi-god? That was interesting. Maybe extreme strength was part of his powers? ‘As soon as we find him, you bet your ass we’re bringing him in for questioning.’

Sidnee smiled gratefully. ‘Thanks, Bunny.’

If there was one positive to come out of this whole mess, it was that Sidnee wasn’t currently freaking out about Thomas; she was too busy looking at her own dilemma – but what a shitty silver lining that was.

Just then Gunnar walked in. ‘The coast is clear.’ He looked at his wife and Sidnee and smiled softly. ‘Hey, ladies.’

‘Hey, Gunnar.’ Sid sent him a smile.

‘How are you holding up, kid?’

‘I’m okay,’ she said, though her smile was strained. ‘I know you’re on it.’

‘We are indeed. Mind if I steal Bunny away?’

‘No, you guys get back to work!’ She mimed cracking a whip. ‘I have Sigrid for moral support.’

‘That you do,’ Sigrid murmured.

I got to my feet and Gunnar let me out of the cell. After one last look at the women in my life, I followed him to his office and satdown opposite him. He had steepled his hands and his expression was dialled to ‘not happy’. Oh boy.

‘What did the king’s man want?’ I asked.

He looked grim. ‘To talk to the vampire officer.’

Shit.

Chapter 26

My mouth went dry. ‘Me? Why did he want to talk to me?’ Had he heard my heartbeat before I’d scuttled away? Surely not, or he’d have stormed in. I chewed my lip as I struggled to calm down.

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