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“She works in the city.”
“Have you tried calling her?”
“I don’t know her number.” He paused, and I heard footsteps and then voices. After a moment, I realized it was the TV—old episodes ofPlayschool, from the sound of it. He must have moved from where the phone was into another room. “Nanny had written your number down, so I called you. Do you know my nanny?”
“I might—what’s your nanny’s name?”
“Joselyn.”
Joselyn Hankins,has to be, Belle said.She’s a member of the gossip brigade and does indeed come in weekly for chats with her dearly departed husband.
I nodded, remembering her. She was a tall, neatly dressed woman with long silver hair that was always neatly pinned into a bun. Her being a regular customer explained why she had the café’s number, but not why she’d write it down for Brandon rather than that of his parents or even the rangers. “Do you know your nanny’s address?”
“It’s a big white house,” he said.
In a place filled with them. “Do you know the street’s name?”
“No.”
It’s okay, Belle said,Tala knows her address and has just texted it to me. She’ll meet us there.
Meaning Monty isn’t about to miss out on this adventure.
Indeedy, Belle said dryly.Pick you up in five.
“It’s okay, Brandon, I know where your nan lives. Me and some friends will be there in a few minutes, and we’ll help you find your nanny. Okay?”
“Okay.”
I hesitated. “Is the front or back door open, Brandon?”
“The back door is. Nanny even left the wire door open. She tells me off if I do that because it lets all the flies in.”
Did that mean she’d left in a hurry? Or was she in the thrall of a vampire and simply had no control of her own actions? “Don’t worry about the flies, Brandon, we’ll deal with them when we get there.”
“Okay,” he repeated.
“Stay on the phone, Brandon, just in case you need to tell me something.”
“I’m thirsty.”
“We’ll get you a drink and treat when we get there, okay?”
“Okay.”
I smiled, shoved my phone through a bra strap to keep it close in case he said something, then headed upstairs to grab my keys. Once I’d collected the backpack—which I hoped we wouldn’t need—I locked up, then headed out the front to wait. Belle and Monty turned up a few minutes later.
I jumped into the back seat and, as Monty took off, asked, “Did Joselyn come into the café yesterday with the rest of the group?”
“Yes, though she didn’t stay all that long. Said she had to get back home to mind her grandson, as her daughter was staying overnight in Melbourne for work.”
“You didn’t detect any problems or concerns during the spirit talking?”
While Belle didn’t make a habit of telepathically reading her clients, sometimes their concerns or emotions were so strong they were almost impossible to ignore. It was one of the reasons I was rarely present during spirit talking sessions, as my ability to sense emotions through touch had both sharpened and broadened with all the DNA changes the wild magic was making. On the few occasions Belledidneed to pull on my strength or psi senses for whatever reason, she usually gave me a heads-up so I could get comfortable somewhere.
“No.” She hesitated. “But I do think she has a latent skill for clairvoyance. It’s one of the reasons her spirit talking sessions go so well.”
“Is it possible, then, that she sensed something was wrong and went out to investigate?”
