“Officer Lush is keeping his options open. All right, Reeds. What are we going to do about the frogs?”
Jean plopped down onto my loveseat and draped the towel across the back of it so she could rest her wet, colorful head on it without staining the furniture. She stretched her legs straight out in front of her. “I put them in a nice shallow bath of cool water, closed the toilet seat and shut the bathroom door.”
“Are they all okay?” Delaney asked.
“Hard to know, but since they all look like healthy frogs, I’m gonna say we’re still in the clear.”
“Any idea why they didn’t turn back into humans when the vortex closed?” Ryder asked. “You said the thrall was broken as soon as it shut. The whole crowd shook it off and went about their day. And that dad and daughter…”
“The Carlbergs,” I supplied.
“Right. They snapped out of it as soon as it shut, correct?”
“Yep,” Jean said.
“So why not the frogs?”
“Good question,” I said. “The only thing different is the frogs were people who touched the vortex. Right, Jean?”
“That’s what I think happened.”
“Think?” Delaney asked.
She nodded. “I was getting ice cream across the street when I saw the vortex form. I called Myra as soon as it started. By the time she got there, and she got there quick, every human who was in eyesight had taken off at a run toward it. I tried to stop people, call them back, but they wouldn’t listen.”
“Then what?” Delaney leaned forward, picked up a couple crackers and some grapes, then sat back and split them with Ryder.
“The vortex was black,” Jean tipped her face toward the ceiling and closed her eyes. I knew she was trying to dredge up any detail that might make a difference. “There was movement inside it, like smoke, but thicker. More solid. And I saw eyes.”
“Yellow?” I asked.
“Yeah, yellow. And those eyes weren’t anything I’ve seen before. It felt evil, old school evil.” She shrugged her shoulders and opened her eyes. “Those people threw themselves into that thing like…you know how koi go crazy at feeding time?”
We all nodded.
“Like that. It was a frenzy. They would have torn each other apart to get to the vortex.” She rubbed her hands up and down the fuzzy pj pants on her thighs. “They ran at it and hit it. Hard. Like smacking into a brick wall. It sounded like that too. Soft flesh and bone crunching. Totally gross.”
Ryder passed her the mug of whiskey. She drained what was left before passing it back to him.
“I ran down there, but instead of finding a bunch of concussed idiots bleeding on the sand, there were all these frogs jumping around.”
“Did you actually see people turn into frogs?” I asked.
“I saw people jumping into the vortex, hitting it, and bouncing back as frogs.”
“Is there a chance those frogs in the bathroom aren’t the people? That maybe the frogs broke through the vortex at the same time people disappeared?”
“What are the odds on that?” she asked. “More likely those Kermits in the bathroom are people.”
“We need to know for sure,” Ryder said. “Who do we call?”
“Than?” I suggested. “He was there.”
“Yeah.” Delaney reached for the coffee. “He’s one of those people who wouldn’t bring something important to our attention because he’d just assume we already know it. Call him. Find out if he thinks the frogs are people. We don’t have much time before their friends and family realize their loved ones are missing.”
I pulled out my cell.
“Death has a phone?” Jean asked.
