by Lily Webb
Like a scolded child, I skulked past her hulking, reptilian frame into the relative warmth and safety of the town hall and found myself face-to-face with Heath sitting with the other council members and Grandma. He bounded from his chair at the sight of me and stomped forward. I’d hoped for a few minutes to catch my breath and get my story straight before our confrontation, but no luck.
He stopped to cross his arms over his chest and scowled at me. “Where have you been?!”
“Heath, I can explain, I—”
“We thought you were the next to go missing! I gave you explicit orders to go to your house and return quickly and discreetly! Your house isn’t that far from here, so what took so long? Where did you go? What did you do?”
I looked past him and Grandma raised her eyebrows above her widened eyes. I’d never seen Heath this angry at anyone before, and I didn’t like it.
“Can we talk about this in my office? It’s sensitive,” I said, and though Heath’s face turned purple with fury, he swallowed whatever he wanted to say and stormed down the hall away from everyone.
“Good luck,” Grandma mouthed to me as I followed. Heath left my office door open, so I ducked in and shut it quickly before he had the chance to explode again within earshot of everyone else. He stood in front of my desk with his back to me, his arms still crossed, and his fingers gripped his sides so tightly that their tips had turned white.
“Look, Heath, I know you’re angry with me, and based on everything that’s going on around here lately you have every right to be, but before you tear me a new one, hear me out: I got some very useful info out of Julien during my visit.”
Heath whirled on me. “You went to the president’s mansion?! Are you out of your mind, Zoe? You could’ve gotten yourself kidnapped or worse! No amount of information is worth that cost. We’ve gone months without a Head Witch and Moon Grove has paid the price; I don’t intend to lose you mere weeks after your election!”
“I know, I’m sorry. It was beyond reckless, but I tried to be as safe as I could. Besides, I had the gargoyles with me.”
“Yes, well, as you’ve seen in Blaine’s office tonight, not even gargoyles are indestructible.”
“But that’s why I did what I did! We need answers, Heath, we can’t keep sitting here and waiting for whoever’s after us to attack. We have to do something!”
Heath sighed and looked around the room like he’d just woken from a trance. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you, but I’m afraid. We all are. We don’t have a clue what’s happening or why.”
“You mean we didn’t until tonight.”
Heath lowered himself onto the edge of my desk. “What do you mean?”
“Julien told me he spoke to Christian for an interview, and during their conversation, Christian said he had also interviewed Dawn the morning she disappeared.”
Heath expression burst to life and he shoved himself off my desk. “What? So someone saw her?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure Christian was the last one. What I don’t understand is why he wouldn’t have spoken up about it.”
“You don’t think he might’ve hurt her, do you?”
“No, I don’t. Honestly, I think he’s just a scared young reporter in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn’t tell us he’d talked to Dawn to protect himself. If I were in his shoes, I can’t say I would’ve acted any differently.”
Heath shook his head slowly and scratched his chin. “I suppose that means we need to speak to him. Do you think he’s still at the Messenger this late?”
“Even if he was, it wouldn’t matter. We’re in lockdown, remember? It wouldn’t make you look very good if you stepped out after berating me for doing the same thing. I can call and find out, though.”
“No, that won’t work. I don’t want anyone to know we’re all gathered here.”
“I won’t tell him anything about the lockdown. He’d have no other way to find out.”
“But what if he does? There’s no guarantee that Christian will keep his mouth shut.”
“He isn’t like that, trust me.”
“And you’re sure he’ll talk to you about Dawn?”
“I don’t see why not. Julien told me Christian seemed upset about the whole thing which to me implies he’s looking for a sympathetic ear. Besides, I think he likes me, so it seems like a winning combination all around. What do we have to lose? We can either sit here all night burning the midnight oil and wait for another attack, or we can act.”
Heath walked circles around my desk, his hands jammed into the pockets of his robes as he thought everything over. I stood waiting what felt like forever, my anxiety growing with each lap he took, until at last he flopped down in my chair and nodded.
“It’s risky, but I think you’re right. I doubt I can convince the rest of the council members to stay more than one night here anyway, and I can’t blame them for wanting to leave.”
“So you’re saying I can call?”
“Yes. Speak to Mitch first — ensure that word of what’s going on here won’t get out from him or from Christian.”
“You won’t regret this, trust me.”
Heath pushed out of my chair and strode to the door. “I hope not,” he said and stepped out. The door gently clicked closed and I stood in a daze staring at the phone on my desk.
I sat down and picked it up, and though my fingers hovered above the number pad, I froze. What was I supposed to say to Mitch? I didn’t doubt that once Christian heard I wanted to speak to him, he’d tell me whatever I wanted to know, but Mitch would see through me immediately; nothing got past him. Normally, that was a good thing, but in this case, I wished it weren’t true. Oh well, I’d just have to wing it and roll with whatever happened.
I punched in Mitch’s number and waited with bated breath as the phone rang.
“Yeah, this is Mitch,” he answered as terse as always.
“Hey, it’s Zoe.”
“Wow, you’re calling late. You up to something?” he asked, and I took a sharp breath. Busted already.
“No, I’m not. Listen, I was wondering if Christian was still there? If he is, I’d like to talk to him about the interview we did a couple days ago.”
Static crackled on the line as Mitch considered my words. “Funny enough, he is. I think he’s transcribing his notes from his chat with the new vampire president earlier today. You want me to get him?”
“If he isn’t too busy, yeah.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll drop whatever he’s doing if he hears you want to talk to him. He hasn’t stopped going on about you since the interview. You know, I gotta say, the story he wrote about you is pretty darn good. Maybe he could give your legacy a run for its money someday.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
Mitch chuckled. “I’m just kidding you. I miss having you around, Zoe. Christian’s a good reporter and I’m glad to have him and all, but things haven’t been the same in the newsroom since you left.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I couldn’t deny that a big part of me missed my old job, but simultaneously, I didn’t want to go back to it. As a student, I’d gotten into journalism with the idealistic notion that I could somehow change the world, but after spending a couple years in the profession, that idealism had quickly gotten stomped out of me. Now that I was in a position of leadership in Moon Grove, I felt like I could make real, meaningful changes happen — but that said, I definitely missed Mitch and the rest of the staff at the Messenger.
“Yeah, what are you doing with yourself now that you don’t have me there to yell at for sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong?”
Mitch snorted. “Now that you mention it, I can’t say I miss that part. Anyway, gimme a second, I’ll put the kid on.”
“Thanks, Mitch. I owe you one.”
“You owe me a lot more than that, but that’s a story for another day,” he said and I never got to reply because his receiver clattered down and I
heard him screaming across the newsroom for Christian.
Mitch returned a few moments later in a flurry of sound as he put the phone to his ear, but before he could say anything, Christian had picked up on the line from another phone in the office. “Zoe? Is that really you?”
I couldn’t help laughing. “Yes, it is.”
“Stay out of trouble, you two. I know that’ll be hard for both of you,” Mitch said and hung up.
“As happy as I am to hear from you, I have to say, I’m surprised. You’re working late.”
“Really? I would’ve guessed you saw it coming after our run-in at the vampire’s mansion earlier.”
“Oh, right, I forgot about that,” he laughed. “I’ve been so busy over the last couple of days; it just hasn’t let up. And I mean, I’m not exactly the most organized guy in the first place, so things slip my mind.”
“Hey, you won’t find any judgment here. I’m just as scattered. But it sounds like you’re managing well, if what I heard about you from Mitch is true.”
“Oh no, was he talking about me to you? I hope he said good things,” Christian groaned, and I pictured his boyish face crumpling in dismay.
“Definitely. Actually, he said that the profile piece you wrote on me rivaled my work,” I said, hoping it would butter him up for the difficult questions that were coming.
“Really? Wow, that means a lot to me. Oh, that’s another thing I forgot. I should’ve sent you the draft, but it hasn’t gone to print yet, so there’s still time if you want to make any corrections.”
“No, that’s okay. I’m sure you and the eagle-eyed editors over there got everything right.”
“Then what’s the reason for the call?”
We’d reached the moment of truth — or maybe not, depending on how Christian played things. I didn’t think he would lie to me of all people, but it was possible.
“Well, I spoke to Julien after you did tonight on official business, and he told me you seemed upset during your interview with him,” I said. The line fell silent.
“Oh, Lilith, that’s embarrassing,” Christian groaned. “I knew President Delroy would be perceptive, but I thought I had my emotions in check.”
“It’s okay, you’re still learning. Give it a few months; you’ll be as jaded and cynical as the rest of us. Anyway, Julien said Councilwoman Bloodworth’s disappearance upset you. Is that true?”
Christian hesitated. “I-I… Yes, it is.” His voice cracked and though it was difficult to tell without seeing his face, it sounded like he’d started to cry.
“It’s okay, you’re not in trouble or anything. It’s just that Julien told me you’d interviewed Councilman Bloodworth the morning she disappeared. I think you might’ve been the last person to see her before she vanished, and I wanted to ask you about your meeting with her.”
“Okay, but I swear, Zoe, I didn’t do anything. I wouldn’t hurt her or anyone else, I—”
“Slow down, Christian. It’s okay, really. We can just talk. Can you do that?”
“Y-yeah. Anything I can do to help, I will. I’d give anything to rewind time so I could tell someone I’d met with her that day. I feel awful about it. What if I could’ve prevented it, you know? What if I’d stayed and talked with her just a little longer? It might’ve meant she was late crossing paths with whoever abducted her,” he said, beating me to the punch. I was grateful I didn’t need to string him along. The poor kid had a guilty conscience, just like I’d figured he might, and I didn’t mind being a shoulder to cry on.
“You’ll make yourself crazy thinking like that, so don’t beat yourself up. You weren’t at fault, but I’m curious: why didn’t you tell anyone you’d met with her that day?”
“I was afraid, honestly. I mean, put yourself in my robes: I just moved here and this is my first real job out of school. I worried that if I told anyone I’d seen the Councilwoman before she disappeared, they’d think I had something to do with it. At first, I wasn’t even sure she was missing. I thought maybe she’d just wandered off somewhere or was busy in a meeting she didn’t tell anyone about, but when I realized someone must’ve abducted her, I still didn’t want to say anything because I was sure the cops would find her on their own. I dunno, I panicked. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“No one would in that situation. I don’t blame you for being worried about your career, that’s a normal thing to do.”
“Thanks, I appreciate you saying that, though I still feel awful about it.”
“Well, the only way to fix it is to find her, right? So why don’t you tell me everything you remember about your meeting with her. When and where was it? You were at the Council meeting on the day of the big vote, so you must’ve spoken to Councilwoman Bloodworth just a couple hours prior, right?”
“Yeah, exactly. We met early that morning on her way to work at a cafe near her house.”
I sat up straight in my chair. “Which cafe?”
“Witch’s Brew,” Christian said, and my skin prickled. Regan, Dawn’s husband, had told Heath and me that the owner of the Witch’s Brew said they hadn’t seen Dawn the morning of her disappearance. Had he lied about that? “Why? Is that something noteworthy? She told me it’s her favorite cafe in all of Moon Grove, so I thought nothing of it.”
Though I wanted to share with him, I decided not to. The fewer people who had the details on Dawn’s disappearance, the better.
“Not really, no. I was just curious. Anyway, what did you two talk about?”
“We met for an interview about the vote to expand the Council. To be fair, I contacted all the council members to ask for a comment like Mitch advised me to, but she was the only one who got back to me.”
He hadn’t really contacted all of us — I’d never gotten a message from him, and he hadn’t asked when we crossed paths in person — but that didn’t mean he hadn’t tried. Grandma might’ve answered the phone when he called and forgot to tell me, or he could’ve sent a p-mail that got buried in my inbox. Things like that happened from time to time. And in person, he might’ve been too nervous to ask me directly.
But that didn’t explain why Dawn was the only one to answer. His request couldn’t have fallen through the cracks for all thirteen council members, though it probably did for a few, so my colleagues must’ve thought speaking to him about the vote was a bad idea. Given the weight of the vote and what it might do to their careers, it probably was. If Christian had asked me, I would’ve turned him down too just to be safe.
“Why do you think she wanted to talk to you?”
“I dunno, but she seemed really motivated to make it happen,” he said, and I couldn’t help wondering why. Did she have something she wanted to say that she didn’t think she could share with anyone else — or was there another motive? “Obviously, I wasn’t going to say no to her, as nervous as I was. I mean, interviewing you was way more nerve-wracking, but Councilwoman Bloodworth is intimidating too.”
“I know what you mean. So, what did she say about the vote?”
“She was really torn about it, and worried what might happen to Moon Grove no matter which way the pendulum swung.”
“She wasn’t alone.”
“Yeah, I bet. I can’t imagine the pressure all of you must feel to be in that position.”
“Did she give you any sign which way she was leaning?”
“Not really, she was cagey about it. I guess I don’t blame her for that. She probably didn’t want her opinion out in public before the vote.”
“Yeah, that was a smart move,” I said, though it disappointed me to hear. “Did you two talk about anything else?”
Christian paused.
“Christian? Are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. I just don’t know if it’s appropriate to share what she told me with you. I don’t think she planned to say anything about her personal life, but she did.”
My throat tightened. Whatever it was, I needed to know because something told me it would point me in the right di
rection. “I don’t mean to pressure you, but if you can share, you should. Anything you tell me might help us track her down or find out who’s responsible for her disappearance.”
Christian sighed. “Okay, but please don’t let it get back to her I told you this. She’ll never speak to me again.”
Given that she’d never speak to anyone again if we didn’t find her, I didn’t see the harm in agreeing. “You’ve got it. Anything you tell me stays with me, reporter’s honor.”
“She said she’d been having problems at home with her husband, Mr. Bloodworth.” It wasn’t a blockbuster disclosure — Blaine had told me the same thing — but I found it interesting that Dawn had shared it with Christian. Maybe it was his boyish face that made her feel like she could open up to him; he was definitely disarming in that way.
“What problems?”
“They were fighting a lot about the Council expansion. Mr. Bloodworth desperately wanted her to vote in favor of it, but she wasn’t so sure. She said he’d warned her repeatedly about the way it would make them look in the public eye and how the voters would throw her out of office if she voted no.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. Regan told me the last thing Dawn said to him as they went to sleep the night before her disappearance was that she couldn’t vote yes. I didn’t want to believe that he’d harm his own wife, but if what Christian said about meeting Dawn at the Witch’s Brew was true, Regan had lied to me, so what else was he capable of? Maybe he knew his wife would be the swing vote so to save his image, he might’ve taken matters into his own hands.
Further, both Blaine and Regan had made it clear they weren’t fond of each other, so what if, after removing his wife from the equation, Regan went after Blaine next? I didn’t remember seeing him at the self-defense course, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there — there were at least a hundred attendees, he could’ve easily slipped in without me noticing — and since they were friends who spent time together outside of work, Blaine wouldn’t have turned Regan away from his office, nor would Nazarr.
