went to the movies together.”
The three cops looked at each other with a knowing look.
“You think that’s it?” Caleb asked. “Do you think this kid is pushing drugs on her?” As Caleb asked it, he started to sound more sure of it himself, more optimistic that he’d found a neat answer to explain everything.
Caitlin sat there silently, just wanting this to end. She was burning to tell them all the real reason. But she knew it wouldn’t do any good.
“What’s his last name?” one of the officers asked.
“I have no idea.” Caleb turned and looked at Caitlin. “Do you?”
Caitlin shook her head, and turned to Sam and Polly. “You guys?”
They shook their heads.
“Maybe I can find out,” Polly said. “If they were friends on Facebook…” Polly began, then took out her cell phone and started typing. “I’m friends with Scarlet on Facebook. I don’t know what her settings are, but maybe I can view her other friends. And if she’s friends with him… ”
Polly typed, and her eyes lit up.
“Here! Blake Robertson. Yeah, this is him!”
The cops leaned over and Polly reached out and held up her cell. They took it, handing it one to the other, looking closely at his face, writing down his last name.
“We’ll talk to him,” Officer Hardy said, as they handed Polly back her phone. “Maybe he knows something.”
“What about Scarlet’s other friends?” another officer asked. “Have you contacted them yet?”
Caitlin looked at Caleb blankly, realizing they’d been too dazed.
“I didn’t think of it,” Caitlin said. “It never occurred to me. She wasn’t going to a friend’s house. She was sick. It wasn’t like she had a destination.”
“Do it,” an officer said. “Contact all of them. It’s the best place to start.”
“I have to say, from everything I’m hearing,” Officer Hardy concluded, ready to wrap things up, “this sounds like drugs. I think Bob’s right. Sounds like a bad trip. In the meantime, we’ll keep patrolling the streets. The best thing you two can do is stay put. Wait for her here. She’ll be back.”
The officers looked at each other, then all at once they stood. Caitlin could see they were impatient to leave.
Caleb, Sam and Polly stood, and slowly, Caitlin stood, too, feeling weak in her knees. As she shook their hands, as they all prepared to leave, suddenly, something came over her. She couldn’t remain silent any longer. She could no longer contain the burning desire inside her to tell these people what she knew. To tell them that they weren’t thinking about this the right way.
“What if it’s something else?” Caitlin suddenly called out, as the cops were about to leave.
They all stopped, in the midst of putting on their coats, and slowly, they turned back to her.
“What do you mean?” Officer Hardy asked.
Caitlin, heart pounding in her chest, cleared her throat. She knew she shouldn’t tell them; she would just seem crazy. But she couldn’t hold it inside any longer.
“What if my daughter is possessed?” she asked.
They all stood there and stared back at her as if she were absolutely crazy.
“Possessed?” one of them asked.
“What if she’s not herself anymore?” Caitlin asked. “What if she’s changing? Into something else?”
A thick, heavy silence filled the room, and Caitlin felt everyone, including Caleb and Sam and Polly, turning and staring at her. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. But she couldn’t stop. Not now. She had to plunge forward. And she knew, even as she did it, that this would be the turning point, the moment when the entire town no longer looked at her as a normal person, when her life here would change forever.
“What if my daughter is becoming a vampire?”
Chapter Two
After Caleb had seen the policemen out, he closed the door and marched back into the room, scowling at Caitlin. She had never seen him look at her with such anger before, and her heart sank. She felt as if her whole life were unraveling before her eyes.
“You can’t go speaking like that in public!” he snapped. “You sound like a crazy person! They’re going to think we’re all crazy. They’re not going to take us seriously.”
“I’m NOT crazy!” Caitlin snapped back. “And you should be taking my side, not theirs, and stop pretending like everything is normal. You were in that room with me. You know what you saw. Scarlet threw you across the room. Would a seizure cause that? A sickness?”
“So what are you saying?” Caleb retorted, his voice rising. “That means she’s a monster? A vampire? That’s ridiculous. You sound as if you’re losing touch with reality.”
Caitlin’s voice rose right back at him. “Then how do you explain it?”
“There are a lot of explanations,” he said.
“Like what?”
“Maybe it has something to do with her sickness. Or maybe, like they said, she was on some kind of drug. Maybe that kid Blake – ”
“That’s ridiculous,” Caitlin spat. “Blake is a good kid. He’s not a drug pusher. And besides, you saw how she outran us. We didn’t even stand a chance. That wasn’t normal. Don’t pretend you didn’t see what you did.”
“I’m not going to listen to any more of this,” Caleb said.
He turned and marched across the room, yanked his army coat off the hook, put it on and quickly zipped it up.
“Where are you going?” Caitlin asked.
“I’m going to find her. I can’t just sit here. It’s driving me crazy. I have to look.”
“The cops said the best place to be is here. What if she comes home while you’re out there?” Caitlin asked.
“Then you can stay here and call me,” Caleb snapped. “I’m going out.”
With that, he crossed the room, opened the door, and slammed it behind him. Caitlin listened to the sound of his boots quickly descending the porch steps, crunching across the gravel, then heard him get into their car and take off.
Caitlin felt like crying. She didn’t want to fight with Caleb – especially now. But she couldn’t let him convince her she was losing touch with reality. She knew what she saw. And she knew that she was right. She wasn’t going to let others convince her she was losing her mind.
Caitlin turned to Sam and Polly, who stood there, very still, eyes opened wide in surprise. They had never seen Caitlin and Caleb fight before. Caitlin herself had never seen them fight before – up until this moment, their relationship had never been anything but harmonious.
