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Annalise nodded.
“Yeah,” I said. “That sounds like something our attacker might be into.”
“Something odd strikes me about the person doing this, though,” Annalise said. “I think he believes he is doing good in preventing these affiliates in using their abilities. People like that are more dangerous than a deranged person doing the same.”
“I’ll take that into consideration. First, we have to find him, though. Who’re we looking for? And where? We need to get ahead of this.”
“Don’t you think I’ve already checked if this affiliate is safe?” she said, sounding a bit insulted. “Apart from abilities, the profile doesn’t fit,” she continued. “It’s not a he, it’s a she.” She still seemed worried about telling us, but she knew that not doing so could end up worse for this woman.
“Her name is Eloise,” Annalise said, “and she celebrated her eighth birthday last week.” She shook her head as my heart sank at the realization. You couldn’t use children as bait, but as it was, I saw no other way out of this. I guess it was a small comfort that Hansen didn’t immediately protest. Even he could see it. We hadonechance at this. And we could not fail. If we did, this girl would end up in a living nightmare of her own. One that was impossible to escape from.
Chapter 13
“You know,there’s actually a bigger chance of us being noticed than the attacker trying something here.” Hansen looked at his phone, now dead to the world. He put it back in his pocket with the battery and sim card still taken out. Smart choice. My guess was that Larkin wasn’t too happy with either of us.
I looked back at the gated school. High fences, lots of children and grownups outside in the schoolyard as it was recess at the moment. No way would the attacker be crazy enough to try taking a child from there.
“So you’re agreeing with Annalise?” I asked, despite doing so myself. There really was no point in sitting around until the kid’s school day was over.
“Sure. She’s a…peachylady.”
I snorted at that and then saw who I was looking for. “That’s her, isn’t it?” I said, pointing at a little girl who was engrossed in a game of tag with several other children. Dressed in purple pants and a yellow sweater, her light-colored pigtails didn’t exactly scream dream-monster.
Hansen looked at the photo of the girl that Annalise had printed for us and nodded. “That’s her. Doesn’t look like a killing machine, though.”
“Not at this age, no,” I said and started the car. “That usually depends on how these kids are raised and treated in life.”
Since Hansen didn’t have stashes of clothes around town like me, and his car with extra gear was still parked near Mona’s house, I followed his instructions and drove to his place. It was closer than Mona’s.
He lived in an apartment building about ten minutes from the town center, a nice area, but pretty much every area in Ashport was nice. That didn’t tell me much. I have to admit to curiosity as he unlocked and opened the door, but a bark and a flurry of white fur caught me off guard as two paws landed on my shoulders. I looked straight into a sharp-toothed canine mouth that kept barking in joy as I staggered back a bit, trying not to fall on my ass.
“No, Kona,” Hansen yelled. “Down.”
The dog did as told, and let me go, her front paws now on the floor as she backed into the apartment. I followed and bent down to greet her better, seeing her happy movements, tail wagging at high speed.
“Hello, girl,” I said, guessing on account of her name. “You’re beautiful aren’t you?” She really was. Bigger than what I was used to from that breed. Her fur almost exclusively white though with some hint of a golden tone.
“I swear if someone ever breaks in here she’ll give them a guided tour of the place.” Hansen shook his head at the dog that was licking my face while I scratched her behind her ears.
“Maybe you should have trained her different,” I said, glad he hadn’t. The dog clearly liked people.
“I didn’t,” he said. “She was delivered fully altruistic.” He scratched her head absentmindedly.
“Well, good for you, Kona. If this guy had trained you from a puppy you would have been a total bitch, wouldn’t you? Yes, you would.” Kona gave a short bark at that. I laughed and saw him stare down at me, eyebrows raised a little before shaking his head.
“Okay then,” he said, “give me a second. Don’t steal my dog, and there’s probably food.” He headed further into the apartment. I sat with the dog a couple of minutes. She calmed down after a while and enjoyed being petted.
“I’m so tempted to steal you,” I said to her, “but I think your owner would catch on as to who did it.” Kona double-barked at that. “Yep,” I agreed. “Not as stupid as he looks.”
I looked around then and sat on the floor for a moment. What I had expected was something off-white, neat and orderly, almost like a hospital. But the home I was in actually had colors in it. Light colors on the walls, yes, but blended with hardwood floors and mostly differing tones of blue. It gave off a pleasant atmosphere. Not as many knickknacks as I had. It was tidy, of course. If it hadn’t been I would have been shocked. With Kona by my side, I walked on into the next room, which was the kitchen. It was dominated by a big ass kitchen island, barstools placed on one side. White walls in there, but the stone counters and backsplashes dominated the room. They had a deep-gray color with lighter veins. It was all neatly put together, and I stared in surprise before remembering that cooking was this meditative thing for him. Of course, he would live somewhere with a large kitchen.
With nothing better to do, I opened the fridge and saw what put my own to shame.
“Probablyfood?” I mumbled. It was fully stocked, making me a little ashamed that mine had only contained expired milk and a few ingredients for scrambled eggs along with other things that might soon walk away on their own.
I was hungry but felt more like an intruder than anything. I had a glass of orange juice, enjoying the strong flavor, while Kona kept me company. I noticed that both her food- and drinking-bowl were filled. Her owner had not been the one doing that these last twenty-four hours. In fact, a happy, healthy dog like Kona, was one that was walked, fed, and talked to on a regular basis. I caught myself wondering who did that for him. Wondering if it was a girlfriend, then reminding myself that was none of my business. It would be weird, though, my treacherous mind kept on musing. He really wasn’t the type to be sleeping around with others if he was in a relationship. Although, you could never truly tell with anyone.
“Come on, Margaret,” I mumbled to myself. I had told Annalise there was nothing to worry about. There wasn’t. No one on this planet was without some curiosity. Perfectly natural.
