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After taking a deep breath, I answered. “How’s my favorite Manteo police officer?”
“I need to talk to you, Ellie.” He was using his serious voice. The one that told me I was in trouble…but for the life of me, I didn’t know why. The spirits had laid low for the past few weeks, which meant that I had done the same.
“Well, I’ve missed you too, Tom, but it’s going to have to wait. I’m about to go out of town for the weekend.”
“Well, then it’s a good thing I caught you before you left.” His tone was far from friendly.
“Actually, Tom, I don’t have time to chat. David’s supposed to be home in less than thirty minutes. I’ll be back on Sunday night, so we can talk on Monday.” I almost added, ‘before I go to work.’ At least that wasn’t an issue anymore. Too bad it didn’t make me feel any better. And while David wanted to go to Charlotte on Monday, I’d see how things were going in Manteo before we decided.
“Actually, Ellie,if you leave town before you talk to me, I’ll put out a warrant for your arrest.”
I sank to the edge of the bed, feeling light-headed. “Why?What did I do?”
“You didn’t do anything, Ellie.” He sounded exasperated. And tired. “I just need to talk to you.”
“Then why can’t it wait until I get back?”
“Goddamn it, Ellie. Will you just do as I ask for once?”
My irritation was back. “Maybe I would if you asked nicely.”
“We both knowthat’sbullshit,” he grumbled. “You have thirty minutes to get your ass to the Manteo police station or I’m going to send someone to pick you up.”
I started to tell him off, but the dead silence in my ear told me he’d hung up.
Damn it. I didn’t have time for this, for any of it. If Tom wanted to talk to me, it could only mean one thing: the supernatural world was up to some serious shit again. The last time he’d grilled me was after multiple people had been murdered weeks ago, and he’d thought the murder had been baiting me. He’d been right, only I was pretty sure he’d never expected the murders to be demons.
I grabbed my weekend bag and took it downstairs with me, setting it by the side door before heading outside. I needed to tell David, but he would be worried. I had to admit thatIwas more than a little worried myself. But I’d kept enough secrets from him for one day. And if this made me late, I’d have to tell him what was going on anyway. I typed a quick text and hit send.
I need to talk to Tom Helmsworth before we leave. Don’t worry—it’s just a chat. I’ll be home as soon as I can.
I hoped to God the chat part wasn’t a lie.
I considered driving since it was a hot and humid August afternoon, but the car would have barely started to cool down by the time I pulled into the parking lot of the police station a few blocks away. Ten minutes later, I walked into the building and approached the receptionist’s desk, a hot sweaty mess. I lifted my heavy braid off the back of my neck. “I’m here to see Tom Helmsworth.”
The elderly female receptionist eyed me up and down, frowning slightly, as though she found me lacking. I knew I was a mess, but I couldn’t bethatbad. “OfficerHelmsworth will be with you in a minute.”
“I’m kind of in a hurry. Could you tell him I’m here?”
Her mouth puckered and she looked down her nose at me while she picked up the phone. “Officer Helmsworth, someone is here to see you. She didn’t give her name.” She paused. “Yes, that’s her.” She hung up and offered me a tight smile. “He’ll be here in a moment.”
A few seconds later, Tom appeared in the doorway holding a stack of files. Tom was a good-looking guy with dark hair and a toned body. We’d gone to high school together, although he was a couple of years older than me—making him twenty-five—but the last month had been hard on him. Dark circles underscored his eyes, and I even noticed a few crow’s-feet. “Come on back, Ellie.” At least he sounded a little less cranky than he had on the phone. He led me to a room and pushed open the door, motioning me inside. “Thanks for showing up so quickly.”
“Well, when you put a time limit on my arrival, I considered walking in twenty-nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds after your call, but I actually have things to do.”
He scowled and I wondered why I was being so hateful to him. Tom was just trying to do his job, and he wasn’t wrong in thinking that I had some connection to all the odd things that had happened since the reappearance of the colony. I just wasn’t sure how safe it was for him to know about it.
I entered the room and was taken aback when I saw that it was an interview room with a table in the middle and two chairs, one on each side. My heart lurched and my breath stuttered. “Am I in trouble?”
“Ellie, I just need to talk to you, and you haven’t exactly been cooperative in the past. This time we’re going to have an official interview.” He waved to the chair. “Why don’t you take a seat.”
I walked around the table and slid into the metal chair, folding my hands on top of the table. I tried not to look nervous, but I wasn’t sure how effective my strategy was. “What do you want to know?”
Tom sat down across from me, setting the files to the side of the table. His face was devoid of any expression. “Other than the usual public drunkenness, petty theft, and vandalism, things have been quiet on Roanoke Island for several weeks. Until this past week.”
I shifted my weight to the side, keeping my eyes on his face. So far, he wasn’t giving anything away.
“This week there have been four deaths in town—one every night for the last four nights. All four patients were ill, but none of them was in serious condition on the morning that they died.”
