The Kelpie's Curse (book #1 in the Kelpie's Entrapment trilogy)

Day 14 pt. 9

"Where could she be?"

"Should we call the police?"

Kaloria and Evelyn asked each other simultaneously as they passed each other in their frantic pacing. It was well past two o'clock in the morning and still Renestrae had not returned. This was not like Ren, at the least she would have called to let them know right? Then again Ren could be highly absentminded at times.

"Maybe she just forgot to call us." Evelyn said as she turned for another lap. Even to her ears it sounded like she was grasping for straws but there had to be a reason, right?

"With a killer on the loose, come on Ev, Ren might be a little absentminded at times but she's not stupid."

"Then maybe we should call the police." Evelyn suggested, she was trying every trick she knew not to panic, because once she started panicking she wouldn't be able to stop until someone slapped her.

"You mean the same cops that have tried to arrest both you and Renestrae? Besides they're not going to be up, we're the only ones crazy enough to be up at this hour."

"Crazy with worry but you have a point." Evelyn conceded. "If she's not home by morning we drive into town, report her missing and demand that they do their job for once." Evelyn was seething as she thought about everything the Constables hadn't been doing to solve these murders. It's like everything was just getting swept under the rug.

"Agreed, but first I think we should stop by that sporting goods store Renestrae took us to, to get our bows."

"Why?" Evelyn asked nervously, not even bothering to try to hide the slightly scared tone to her voice.

"If they don't have iron shafts I'm sure they'll have iron arrow heads, we should pick some up."

"That's crazy, why would we do that before reporting Renestrae missing?!"

Kaloria looked pointedly at the bar of iron from the fence that Evelyn was still holding tightly.

"Ev, I haven't seen you put that down since I got home. Go ahead and think that Renestrae is one hop away from entering the funny farm all you like but if you hold that iron bar any harder you'll be hopping along with her."

Evelyn looked at the bar for several long moments before she sighed and her shoulders sank in defeat. "Fine but we have to make it quick, time is of the essence after all and according to all the police shows I've seen the first forty-eight hours are crucial and-"

"Whoa, slow down there." Kaloria said as she held her hands up in a classic sign of stop. "We don't even know if Ren is missing there's no need to go all Nancy Dr-"

"What do you mean we don't know?! It's past two in the morning and she still hasn't come home! Not to mention there's a killer on the loose and I-"

"And her staying the night with Dageus hasn't crossed your mind even once?" Kaloria asked as she lifted one blonde eyebrow in question. "Come on Ev, you have way more experience in affairs of the heart than I do and even I've thought of that."

"She would have called." Evelyn protested.

"And if they are otherwise occupied? Evelyn you know Ren, you know that she's impulsive and leads with her emotions and you know that she likes this Dageus MacArtair. Like I said we will report her missing tomorrow if we haven't heard anything, but only after getting those arrow heads."