Page 20

Chapter 20

My phone rang exactly one minute after my alarm went off: Sidnee. She knew my schedule as well as she knew her own.

Still snuggling into Connor, I swiped to answer. ‘Hey, Sidnee, what’s up?’ I yawned into the phone. Shadow clearly had heard me move and padded into the room. The moment he appeared, he started to scream loudly at me; hungry cats were difficult to ignore. ‘Just a minute, buddy,’ I said to the impatient lynx.

Sidnee laughed. ‘I heard that. Give Shadow an ear scritch from me.’

‘Will do.’ I yawned again. Abruptly I realised why she was calling so early. ‘How did things go with you and Thomas?’

‘Amazing!’ The word burst out like she couldn’t contain it anymore. ‘Oh my God, he is so good in bed, Bunny. Like … the best ever.’

Connor rolled out of bed. ‘I don’t need to hear this,’ he murmured as he pressed a kiss to my bare shoulder. Sometimes vampire hearing was a pain in the ass; no phone conversation was ever private. He strolled buck-naked into the bathroom and moments later I heard the shower.

I stifled a grin and focused on Sidnee. ‘I am so happy for you. So are you and Thomas moving forward?’

‘Yes – and I have a plan.’

‘Yeah?’

‘I’m going to throw a fabulous New Year’s Eve party, and we’re going to out ourselves as a couple then the whole town will know.’

‘Is Thomas okay with that?’ I asked cautiously. He often struck me as a private man.

‘He is if it’s what I want.’

‘And is it?’

‘You bet! I want to scream from the rooftops that he’s mine.’

‘Okay. So, a party?’

‘Yes!’

I instantly visualised my best friend bouncing on her toes the way she did when she was excited, but I wanted to groan. At Sidnee’s last party, I’d made a complete fool of myself. I’d drunk too much and apparently treated the whole town to a table dance, complete with some karaoke-level singing. But since she was my best friend… ‘Sounds great. Do you need help with anything?’

‘Yes! What I need for you to do is to show up with your party on and bring Connor. I got the rest.’

Sidnee did love to throw a party and she was great at it. ‘That I can do,’ I promised. ‘Where are you holding it?’

‘The hotel. They have the best facilities.’ That was where she’d thrown the last one, too.

‘Can you get it all ready in three days?’ I asked incredulously.

She snickered. ‘I’ve had the idea for a while – about a New Year’s Eve party, anyway. I wasn’t sure if I’d follow through, but I booked it and started planning while we were in Sitka. I needed something to look forward to.’

I got that; the academy had been tough. Long hours, little-to-no down time, and a rampaging poltergeist. Yeah, a party was just what we deserved, a reason to let our hair down.

I laughed. ‘I hear you. I’m excited for it already.’

‘Me too!’ she said brightly. ‘Now, get ready and get your ass into the office. I need some coffee and girl time before the town wakes up and things get crazy.’

I laughed again; things always got crazy. ‘I’m getting up,’ I promised. ‘See you soon.’

If I hurried, Sidnee and I would cross over for a couple of hours. I fed my animals and jumped in the shower, which had been newly vacated by Connor. By the time I was dressed, he’d made us each a hot drink – coffee for him, tea for me – and several rounds of toast.

I held my nose and forced down some blood before wolfing his offerings, then Connor drove us all to the office, stopping to get us more drinks on the way and a takeout cup for Sidnee. He dropped me outside the office and drove off to Kamluck with a promise to see me later.

‘Thirsty?’ I asked Sidnee as I breezed in.

‘You read my mind!’ she exclaimed.

I stifled a grin; she had demanded that I get her a cup of joe on the way in so it was hardly surprising that I’d done so.

‘Let me dump this crap, then gimme!’

‘Any calls yet?’ I asked.

‘Just one complaint that the snow plough hadn’t been down their street. I don’t know what they want me to do – arrest the driver?’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Then nothing would get done.’

‘Can you imagine? The whole town would be calling to yell at us.’ I could tell she was bursting to tell me about Thomas. ‘Well?’ I finally asked, waggling my eyebrows .

She grinned. ‘Oh my God, Bunny! Why did I wait so long to get with him properly?’

‘Better to be sure, isn’t it?’ I pointed out. ‘And to be in a good place yourself.’

She smiled dreamily. ‘You’re right, and I am sure now. I worried at first that it was just a knee-jerk reaction, a rebound thing after Chris, you know? But it wasn’t. What we have, it’s real. He’s so patient with me, so kind.’ She licked her lips. ‘This feels anti-feminist to say…’

‘Hey! This is a judgement-free zone. Say what’s in your heart. I don’t care what label you want to stick on it.’

‘After all I’ve been through, I feel like he can protect me and I like that. He makes me feel safe.’ She made a face. ‘And I know I should make myself feel safe, I should be strong enough alone—’

I held up a hand to stop her. ‘There is absolutely nothing wrong about wanting a strong partner in life, feminist or not.’

She smiled. ‘Thanks, Bunny.’

Shadow was stalking around the office flicking a pen around the floor. His game was interrupted by the door opening, flinging the pen across the room. He chased it happily. The newcomer blinked, nonplussed at the sight of the unofficial Nomo cat. I stood up and went to the counter. ‘Mayor Finau, how are you this evening?’

Of all the council members, I saw him the least. I still wasn’t sure what supernatural creature he was, if any.

‘I’m well enough,’ he said, but his voice was tight with anger. ‘But I do have a crime to report.’

I found the clipboard and a pen so he could fill out a report and pulled out my notepad. ‘What happened?’

‘Someone has stolen my boat. If we hurry, we can follow him. I have a tracker on it.’

Water chases weren’t my wheelhouse. ‘Okay, let me call Gunnar. I can’t run a boat.’ I hurried to my desk to call my boss. The Nomo’s boat had recently been fixed after being dented by a pissed-off selkie and it was at our slip at the south harbour.

‘What’s up?’ Gunnar answered his mobile abruptly. The office never rang during our time off unless there was a problem.

‘Gunnar, we need you down at the south harbour. Someone has taken Mayor Finau’s fishing boat, and we have limited time to track it.’

‘Again?’ He sighed audibly. ‘On my way. Meet you there.’

Again ? I studied the mayor. Mafu’s nostrils were flared and his chin was up; he was battling his anger, but it was still riding him. ‘It’s probably too late anyway,’ he spat. ‘He’ll be miles away by now.’

‘He?’ I questioned, surprised. ‘ Do you know who took it?’

‘Yeah,’ he muttered darkly. ‘Damn right I do.’

I raised an eyebrow and waited for him to tell me. When he didn’t elaborate, I asked, ‘Well, who took it?’

‘My son-in-law.’

I blinked. Okay, this was weird. Family borrowed stuff from each other all the time, so why was Mafu so upset? ‘He took it without your permission?’ I asked carefully.

‘Damn right he did. That prick!’

‘Does he live in Portlock? Will he be returning home?’

Some of Mafu’s anger drained away and he gave a long sigh. ‘Yeah, the good-for-nothing prick lives here. He’ll be back.’ He grimaced and rubbed his forehead. ‘I’m sorry. I’m not thinking straight. Ring Gunnar, won’t you? Stand him down. This is a family matter, not a police one.’

His one-eighty took me completely by surprise but nevertheless I picked up Wilson, the office phone, and rang Gunnar back. He answered instantly. ‘Stand down?’ he asked, his tone resigned.

‘Yup.’

He huffed. ‘On my way to the office then, see you shortly.’

Mafu slumped into one of our plastic visitor chairs. I went round the counter and sat next to him. ‘What’s going on?’

The big man gave a sigh that seemed to deflate him completely. He shook his head. ‘Family drama.’ He slapped his hands on his thick thighs and stood up again. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have wasted your time.’

‘That’s okay,’ I said faintly. ‘No harm done.’ Plus, he was the mayor. ‘If you do need help, let us know,’ I offered lamely. He nodded briskly and walked out.

‘What was that all about?’ I asked Sidnee.

‘Beats me. I knew he didn’t like his son-in-law, but not enough to press charges.’

Soon afterwards, Gunnar came in the back. ‘Where’s Mafu?’ he asked, scanning the waiting area.

‘Umm, he left. He sends apologies,’ I told him.

He shook his head with annoyance. ‘He does this at least twice a year. Let me guess – it was his son-in-law?’

‘Yep,’ Sidnee confirmed.

‘Twice a year, I tell you, it’s his car or his boat or some tool. They fight like cats and dogs.’ He looked down at Shadow and Fluffy who were curled up together on the dog bed. ‘Or most cats and dogs.’

‘So do I write up a report?’ I asked .

Gunnar sighed. ‘Nope, let this one go.’ He grimaced. ‘Like all the others. But I am going to have words with the mayor because he can’t keep doing this. At least this time he changed his mind quickly – sometimes I spend hours following up before he drops it. It has to stop.’

‘Okay, no report.’ I hesitated a second and Gunnar saw it.

‘What?’ he asked.

‘I’m about to call Liv. She said she knew a lot about hags. Do you want to listen in?’

His face grew ruddier and his lips pressed together. ‘I do not. You can take notes for me.’

‘Okay, I’ll do that.’

Sidnee started to pack up. ‘I’ll leave you to it. Have a great night.’

‘You too!’

She grinned. ‘You bet I will!’

I waved my beaming bestie out then waited until Gunnar was in his office before I dialled our resident queen of death.