Dangerous Creatures (Book 3, Pure Series) (13 page)

              Eventually, the two of them came back in.

              "Well, the situation seems straight-forward enough at the moment," Officer Hale said, but he shot a suspicious glance at William. "I'll be talking to the neighbors, of course, but you say you saw no sign of violence or a break-in, and I believe you. And you're sure your grandmother didn't take any prescription medication?"

              "No," I said. "GM's one of the healthiest people I know. She didn't take anything at all."

              "I just need to be sure," Officer Hale replied. "Folks have been known to wander off before if they've forgotten to take their medication or perhaps have taken a little too much. If you do happen to remember anything of that nature, or anything else suspicious, be sure to give me a call. Sometimes these things have a way of coming back to people after the fact."

              "I will," I said.

              Officer Hale gave me a serious look. "Do you have anyone you can stay with? Family? And I don't mean boyfriends."

              "I don't have any family apart from my grandmother," I said. "But I can stay with the Krstics."

              Officer Hale nodded. "I know the Krstics. They're nice people. I'd say that's a good idea. Give me a call when you make it over to their house. I want to be sure that you're safe."

              "I'll do that," I said.

              Officer Hale gave William one last significant look and then left.

              William stayed with me until school ended for the day, and then I called Simon.

              He picked up quickly. "Hey, Katie."

              "Hey, Simon."

              "What's going on?"

              I glanced over at William. I was hoping he might change his mind at the last minute, but his expression remained the same.

              "Simon, I was wondering—you remember how you said I could stay at your house?"

              Simon was instantly hopeful. "You want to stay at my house?"

              "Yes—if it's all right with your parents."

              "Of course you can stay with us. My mother will be delighted. You know she loves you. Where are you right now?"

              "I'm at home."

              "James and I drove in together, so we can pick you up in a few minutes. Will that be okay?"

              "That'll be great."

              "Okay, then. We'll see you soon."

              "See you soon."

              I put the phone down.

              I went upstairs to pack a few things and then came back down to wait with William until Simon arrived.

              The two of us waited quietly.

              But I was already planning what I was going to do.

Chapter 10.

By the time Simon and James arrived, I had decided that it was better for me to take GM's car, so I simply followed their car back to their house and parked in the street. And I took William's weapons with me—the light bomb, which I took out of its case, and the crossbow. I'd wondered if William would object to the weapons—and wonder what I was up to—but he was, instead, relieved and approved wholeheartedly of my taking them. And though it was a tight fit, I managed to get both weapons into the glove compartment.

              I had dinner with the Krstics, and then Simon and I settled into the living room to watch a movie. But it was hard for me to pay attention—I was too busy worrying about GM and William, and wondering when everyone else was going to go to bed so that I could sneak out of the house.

              As the movie continued to play, Simon kept glancing over at me, and I tried at first to pretend that I didn't notice. But he continued to look over at me, and eventually, I had to look back at him, too.

              Simon smiled. "I'm really glad you're here."

              "Thanks for having me," I said. "I really appreciate it."

              "Everything's going to be fine, Katie," Simon said. "The police will find your grandmother. You'll be a family again soon."

              "Thanks," I said. "I appreciate your words of encouragement."

              "I really mean it, Katie. I believe she's okay."

              "I hope you're right."

              Simon's mother joined us then, and she sat down in a chair next to next us. Mrs. Krstic was very blond, just like her sons.

              She regarded me with sympathetic eyes. "You can stay with us as long as you like, Katie. We're always happy to have you in this house. I remember when you and Simon were little and you used to run around under the sprinkler in the backyard. Do you remember that old sprinkler, Simon?"

              Simon shifted uneasily. "Yes, mom. I remember it."

              "It was always at this time of the year that you two wanted me to get it out—even though it wasn't summer yet. You would say, 'Mom, it's warm enough. Can't we get the sprinkler out?' And I would say 'yes,' and then, Simon, you would run upstairs and put on your swim trunks with the little frogs on them. Do you remember those swim trunks, Katie?"

              "I'm sure Katie doesn't remember those, Mom," Simon said.

              I couldn't help smiling. "I remember those swim trunks."

              "See that, Simon? Katie remembers. Katie, what kind of bathing suit did you wear?"

              "I had a couple different ones," I said. "I remember I had a pink one with hearts—I really liked that one. I had a blue one, too, with a butterfly design."

              "That's just the thing with Simon," Mrs. Krstic said, looking fondly at her son. "Once Simon decides he likes something, he never lets it go. He hung onto those swim trunks for as long as he could fit into them. Eventually, they fell apart, so I had to get rid of them. But I do believe Simon would have held onto those scraps if I had let him."

              "Mom," Simon said, "is there any chance we could drop the topic of my old swim trunks?"

              "Of course, honey," Mrs. Krstic said. "But there's no reason to be embarrassed. Katie's an old friend—she saw you in those swim trunks hundreds of times. It's not like I pulled out old pictures of you wearing them to show to a new girlfriend."

              "Mom, please," Simon said.

              "All right. I'm done," Mrs. Krstic said. "I just thought it would be nice for Katie to talk about some happy memories rather than have her worrying about what's happening now."

              She sighed. "I just don't know what's happening in this town. First, there was last year—the disappearances. When James was taken from this very house—"

              Mrs. Krstic stopped suddenly. Last year, Gleb Mstislav had kidnapped James and a number of other people and had taken them to Russia. Miraculously, James had escaped the encounter unharmed.

              Mrs. Krstic blinked, as if willing away tears, and she gave me a watery smile. "But we shouldn't dwell on the past. James is all right now, and that's all that matters. But now that the disappearances have started up again, it's hard not to think—"

              "Again?" I said sharply. "The disappearances have started up again?"

              Mrs. Krstic looked at me wide-eyed. "Why, yes, dear. You of all people must know about them."

              "I know about my grandmother, of course," I said. "And I know Bryony Carson's grandmother is missing, too. Are you saying there are others?"

              "Yes—to start with, there's Ambrose Fehr from your school," Mrs. Krstic said.

              "Mr. Fehr, the Social Studies teacher?" I said.

              "I don't know what subject he teaches," Mrs. Krstic replied. "I don't think that was in the paper. But he's definitely missing. And so is that nice young woman who works at the ice cream parlor. I can't remember what her first name is. I know it's something that's strangely appropriate for her work."

              "Her name is Candy," Simon said.

              "That's right. Candy Mitchell," Mrs. Krstic said. "And then there's the man who runs the retirement community—I think his last name is Stubbs."

              She frowned. "There was someone else from your school, too, but I don't remember the name. I think it was a woman who worked in the cafeteria."

              "That's a lot of people," I said, as a sense of unease settled over me. I'd known that Mr. Fehr hadn't been in class for a few days, but I hadn't realized that he was actually missing.

              "I'm surprised that we didn't hear anything at school," I said. "Not officially, of course. But there are always rumors going around."

              "Well, I'm not surprised now that I think about it," Mrs. Krstic said. "All the missing people are a bit older than you. And their disappearances haven't been that sensational. Not like last time. There's been no violence so far—so there are no exciting details to go around."

              She shivered. "You know, I don't know why I got us onto such a depressing topic. I do apologize. Let's think of something a little nicer. What's this movie you're watching? It looks really familiar."

              A flush began to creep up Simon's face. "It's called
Realms of Night
."

              "Oh, I know that movie," Mrs. Krstic said. "Haven't you seen this quite a few times already? It's based on those video games you're always playing."

              She turned to me. "Simon has comic books that go with the games, too. And some dolls—no, figurines. No, that's not the word, either. What do you call those toys you collect?"

              Another flush began to creep up Simon's face. "They aren't toys. They're collectible action figures. I don't actually play with them or anything."

              "No, of course not, dear. Heaven forbid those things should actually come out of their boxes."

              Simon put his head in his hands, and I tried very hard to suppress the smile that tugged at my lips.

              Mr. Krstic joined us a little while later, and after
Realms of Night
was over, we watched another movie.

              Then, at long last, everyone was ready for bed.

              Mrs. Krstic showed me to the guest room, which was done up in soothing shades of cream and pink, and she turned back the covers on the bed for me.

              "Sleep well, dear," she said. "Everything will look brighter in the morning."

              She moved to the door, and Simon appeared in the doorway over her shoulder.

              "Mom's right," he said. "You'll feel better in the morning."

              "Thanks," I said.

              Mrs. Krstic closed the door, and I was left alone.

              I sat for a time on the bed, listening to the sounds of the household as everyone settled in for the night. I had a feeling that James, who had retired to the mud porch after dinner, was still out there and probably would be out there for a while. I figured I could sneak out without his noticing.

              When I was sure the way was clear, I hurried down the stairs as quietly as I could and slipped out of the house.

              I ran down the driveway and got into GM's car. Then I drove over to the Neverovs' house.

              My plan wasn't entirely clear—but I wanted to get a look at that basement that Maksim was supposedly sleeping in—maybe I could find something William had overlooked. And then after that, I was going to go to the cave—and I wasn't going to leave until I found something.

              At the moment, however, I didn't know how I was going to get into the Neverovs' house—I had been there enough times to have noticed a sign on the front lawn proclaiming that the house was protected by a security system. And I certainly didn't know how I would get past that.

              But as I reached the house, I realized I was in luck. All the lights were on, the street was all parked up, and a steady stream of people was moving toward the house. The Neverovs were clearly having a party.

              I parked at what I judged to be a safe distance from the house, and then I walked around to the back of it—I doubted very much that I'd be able to get in through the front door.

              At the back of the house, I found a tall gate, and since no one was in sight at the moment, I climbed to the top and then jumped down to the other side. I quickly ran up to the house and concealed myself in the shadows that surrounded it.

              I waited, but no one seemed to have seen me climb over the gate. I decided then to risk a look into the nearest window, and I found myself looking into a large, busy kitchen.

              There were a number of people in white working away on stoves and counters, and as I watched, servers in aprons came in and took away trays of food.

              A door next to me opened suddenly, and I quickly ducked back into the shadows. I held my breath as a server came out, deposited a trash bag into a nearby trash can, and then went back into the house.

              I waited a few moments, and then I went inside.

              I found myself in a long hallway, and I could hear talking, a few shouts, and the clanking of pots and pans. From where I was standing, I could see the door that led into the kitchen.

              A woman hurried out of a door across the hall from the kitchen, and she stopped abruptly when she saw me.

              I knew I had to improvise. "Sorry I'm late."

              "Late?" The woman stared at me in disbelief.

              "Yes," I said. I had a sudden, terrible feeling that I was just about to be thrown out for trespassing.

              "You're more than just late," the woman said. "You were supposed to be here hours ago. If we didn't need the help so badly, I'd tell you to turn around and march right out of here."

              "I'm really sorry," I said.

              "Save it for later," the woman said. "Right now, I need you to get to work. Come on."

              I followed her down the hall, and we passed a man hurrying back toward the kitchen.              "Look who just showed up," the woman said to him.

              The man stopped and looked at me. "Hey, it's the missing girl. Melissa, right?"

              "That's right. Melissa," I said.

              "Do we have any extra clothes?" the woman asked. "She shows up late, and she's not even dressed properly. I told everybody, white on top, black on bottom. I can't possibly send her out there in jeans."

              "Yeah, we have extra clothes," the man said. "We always bring a few things, just in case. Somebody always manages to spill some sauce or some wine. The stuff's in the pantry."

              "Thanks," the woman said.

              "Hey, try not to be too hard on her," the man said. "I was young once, too. I bet it's all the boyfriend's fault."

              The man gave me a wink and moved on.

              "Come on," the woman said.

              I followed the woman to the pantry, and she began to rummage around in some boxes by the door. Soon she came up with a white shirt, a black skirt, and an apron, which she pushed into my hands.

              "Put these on. And get out there."

              The woman hurried out of the room and shut the door.

              I changed quickly and then hurried into the kitchen. I grabbed a tray and followed the server in front of me into a room full of guests. I set the tray down on a nearby table and grabbed a passing server.

              "I need to get more wine," I said quickly. "Which way is the cellar?"

              The server pointed out the way for me, and I hurried back down the hall to the cellar door. I glanced around quickly, and then I opened the door and ran down the stairs.