“Charlotte!” he bellowed, blowing me back. “Stop! Just... stop.”
Sighing, Daniels pinched the bridge of his nose—dropping his head. Adopting that pose—he looked exactly as he did the morning after my sister was taken. He sat next to my hospital bed, listening to me bawling my eyes out, and looking like all he wanted to do was run away from my overwhelming grief...
...but he didn’t.
He stayed by my side, passing me tissues, and listening to me sob out every heartbroken regret over failing my sister. At letting those beasts snatch her away while I napped in the hedges.
I knew he was a good man—for all that he was young, rumpled, always smelled of coffee, and looked like he got even less sleep than I did. Even so, I knew he was committed to finding Dora.
“Charlotte,” he tried again in an even tone. “Putting your... theory... aside for a moment, I need to talk to you about what brought me here.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a slipof paper and unfolded it. “These fliers were posted all over town. You even helpfully posted it on the station’s message board. What were you thinking?” He waved the reward flyer at me. “Why on earth would you offer ahalf-a-million-dollarreward for news that leads to your sister’s rescue? Do you understand that posting rewards for money you don’t have is a form of fraud? You could be prosecuted for this!”
I waved that away. “No, I can’t. I’m not offering money I don’t have— Well, I am, but only because I don’t have it yet. I put the house up for sale.”
“You what?!”
“I put it up for sale,” I repeated calmly. “It’s the only thing I own that’s worth anything, and people have been telling me for years that I’d make a killing if I sold it. Well...” I took a deep breath and released it. “Now, it’s time. Whatever it takes to get Dora back.”
“Get her back? How is this supposed to achieve that?” Daniels flung the flyer at the desk. “Do you understand what’s gone on in the twelve—twelve—hours since you posted these? The station tipline has received over two thousand calls!” he belted. “All from crazies and wackos all claiming they know what happened to your sister. Some of them even claiming they took her in the first place!”
He growled, throwing himself down in my desk chair. “Instead of hunting down real leads, we’re wading through an ocean of false flags. Miss Hunter, I know you’re trying to help. I know youneedto help,” he confessed. “I’ve done this long enough to accept that telling a desperate family member to sit on their hands and do nothing is a waste of time. But as understanding as I am, Miss Hunter, I need you tostop. You are not helping. All you’re doing is running toward homelessness, and wasting police time.”
“But it’s not a waste.” I shot forward, leaning over the desk. “Didn’t you listen to a thing I just said? My sister was taken by demons, or some kind of hell beasts, so all you have to do is weed out any tip that doesn’t have to do with demons or the occult?” I threw out my hands, giving him aduhlook. “I’m going to bet eighty percent of those calls said the kidnappers were human, and for the first time ever, that’s the wrong answer. We can immediately exclude them.
“Just like we’ll exclude anyone who mentions aliens, unicorns, lizard people, and all the standard nonsense tips,” I said. “All we need are the ones who mention demons. That’s how we know we’re on the right track.”
“The right track? Are you hearing yourself!” he exploded. “Miss Hunter, there is no such thing as demons!”
“I know what I saw!”
“Do you?” he shot back. “Because you just got done telling me that you had a psychotic break and hallucinated the whole thing!”
My shoulders were fixed—my chin high. “I didn’t hallucinate getting thrown through the window. I didn’t hallucinate the pieces of cake stand covered in creepy frog skin. I didn’t hallucinate the shard of glass covered in the scorpion beast’s nasty black goo. Even you said running the sample broke your DNA sequencer!”
“I said the results were inconclusive,” he snapped, shooting up. “The sequencer breaking was just a—a—a coincidence!”
“Coincidence, my backside! I didn’t want to believe it either, but all denial has done is waste time Dora doesn’t have. Who knows what th-those things have been doing to her? Who knows if she’s still—still—” My throat clogged, eyes filling. “It’s been a month and we’re no closer to finding her, so if believing in the impossible is what it takes to get her back, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“There is nowe, Miss Hunter.” His voice was hard. “Now, I’ve been as patient with you as I’m going to be, but this insane bullshit ends now. This is my case, and at this point, you are officially interfering with a police investigation, so, I’ll say this once and only once.” He jabbed the flyer. “Take these down and withdraw the reward. Today.”
I balled my fist, jaw clenching. I didn’t want to blow up on the guy who stayed by my side while I ugly-cried for three hours straight. I really didn’t... but I was close.
“This is your case, is it? So how close are you to a breakthrough?” My tone was just as severe. “Did you identify that nasty black sludge that came from his body? And what about the patch? Aren’t you cops supposed to have a database of criminal gangs and clubs? Did Abaddon pop up anywhere on it? What about witnesses? Leads? Anything!” Suddenly, I was screaming. “Do you have any clue where my sister is or who took her, Detective Daniels? Huh? Do you?!”
His expression was stony. “There have been no significant breaks in the case thus far—”
“Exactly!”
“—but I’m not giving up,” he plowed on, speaking over me. “I promise you, Charlotte. I’m not giving up. No one is giving up on your sister. I am actively investigating her disappearance and will do so until all leads are exhausted, and even then I won’t stop.”
“But you’re ignoring this lead! The most important one. My sister was taken by demons—”
“She was not taken by demons!” Daniels bellowed. “Demons. Do. Not. Exist!”
“But—”
“No. No,” he sliced off. “Enough, Miss Hunter, and I mean it. One more word about demons and I’ll have you put on a seventy-two-hour psych hold. Do not test me.”
My expression didn’t change. “There it is. Took you long enough to call me crazy. I guess I should count myself lucky you humored me this long.” I turned away. “Just go, Detective. Believe me, we have no more to say to each other.”
