“Hi, Mr Chester. I’ve just arrived in Caldborough and I wanted to call to check in to see if anything has happened since last time.”
“Ah, Amanda. No, there’s nothing new.”
Despite what she had desired to do, Amanda held back and refrained from informing the deputy about how annoyed she was with being in Caldborough. Instead, she adopted a different tact, one she hoped could at least help her through the job at hand.
“Well, okay. Is there anything else then, any leads that you think I should follow? I mean, I don’t even really know the town. Do you think there is somewhere here that he might have gone?”
“Amanda, I’d really like to help you, but we really have nothing. And about the town, well, I’ve never been there myself so it would be difficult for me to say.”
In frustration, Amanda let the hand holding her phone fall to her side for a second.
“Well what am I doing here then?” she said in frustration after bringing the phone back up.
“Look, I know it all might seem a little odd for me to ask you to carry out the search, and to get you to drive all the way up here, but there’s good reason for it. You see, I don’t want to send any of the students into town: I just don’t know what sort of relationship they might have with the boy, and it’s not as if the pool of those who can re-enter the world of the living is particularly large.”
“But what about the teachers?”
“The teachers are even worse! Yes, a few of them could pass for a normal person out there for a while, but not for long. They’re just not in touch with that world anymore, most have not really even been out there for decades. Goodness knows what would happen if one of them had to try and communicate with one of the locals to try and find out about the boy.” The deputy paused for a moment and Amanda thought she heard the sound of a door closing. “Amanda,” continued the man in a whisper, “of course I have the best interests of the boy in mind, but I also have to think about the school. If it were the case that those in the town, whose recent expansion has been a real cause for concern to me, came to know in any way about what the school is, it would be a catastrophe.
“In fact, I cannot emphasise this enough! While you are there, you must use all caution necessary to ensure that no one comes to suspect a thing. The ravings of a boy are one thing - nobody will believe him – but if that boy’s comments were backed up by something, such as the boy acting on his hunger or by something involving yourself, then who knows what could happen.”
“You don’t need to worry about me, Mr Chester. But I’m not responsible for the boy. If you want to find him sooner, I would still suggest that you get someone else out here.”
“Ms Blake, whatever gave you the idea that you are alone?”
“But you just said that the teachers and students…”
“Yes, I have not sent out any of the staff or student body to look for the boy, but you see, you are not the only former student on the school’s supplies. No indeed. If it makes you feel any better, I will tell you that there are two others looking for the boy. They are all I could spare, and I thought that if you also joined in the search, things would move along at a reasonable pace.”
“But, if there are others, does it not make sense for me to know who they are, to coordinate with them so we don’t just end up searching the same places or getting in each other’s way?”
“Perhaps later. But for now Ms Blake, I think it would be best for you to just get on with the search. I’m sorry if I have not been able to give you all the answers you want, but I’m afraid that this is where we are. I’m putting a lot of faith in you to get this done, Amanda. Don’t let me down.”
The deputy cut off the conversation without giving Amanda a moment to ask anything further about the others searching in the town. It was clear to her that the deputy was being evasive about something, but she was not sure what it was. Perhaps it was the case that there was no one else looking for the boy at all and the old vampire had just lied to placate her; perhaps it was something else, maybe the deputy had sent others out, but individuals the man did not wish the teachers from the school to see. What rot, she thought, and after shoving her phone back into the pocket of her jeans and reopening her polka dot umbrella, she started to make her way over to a police station she had spotted during the call.
After wandering through the building’s automatic double doors, Amanda quickly looked around for any sign of Brenden. She looked over at a young woman in uniform who she assumed must have been an enquiry officer for the station. At once, it became apparent to her that she was in the wrong place; she had no picture of the boy, no information on his relatives or anything apart from the vague description she would be able to supply
