12 Stake Out - My Sister the Vampire (9 page)

‘But what am I supposed to do while you’re off playing fan-girl with Holly?’ Ivy asked. ‘Considering that I hate the book
and
I don’t have a camera with me?’

Olivia shrugged, scrolling through her cell phone’s address book to find Holly’s number. ‘Maybe you can . . . erm . . . look for more clues?’

‘Oh, great.’ Ivy rolled her eyes, but Olivia could see the amusement in her face. ‘Good excuse, sis.
I
see what’s happening. You’re off to have fun while I do all the real work, huh?’

‘It’s not like that!’ Olivia said. ‘I just want to do something nice for Holly, since she’s been feeling so left out. You’d be so good, with your flair for investigation.’

‘All right, all right,’ said Ivy, and nudged Olivia teasingly. ‘You know flattery always works on me. Call Holly.’

‘Thank you,’ Olivia said, flashing her sunniest smile.

Ivy might act the big grump, but Olivia knew that if she could just talk her sister into letting down her guard, she could finally persuade her to see Holly’s good side – and no one was more loyal than Ivy once she’d accepted a new friend. Olivia was determined to make that happen. Even if they did have undercover bloggers to track down, there was no reason why they couldn’t be nice to Holly at the same time.

She looked at her phone – then scowled. ‘Oh no! The reception here is terrible.’ She waved it in the air hopefully, but nothing worked. ‘Drat! I need to go outside to make the call. Do you want to come?’

‘Are you kidding?’ Ivy was already starting for the door, looking like she’d just won the lottery. ‘I would
pay
to get some fresh air right now!’

As they stepped outside into the sunlight, Ivy took a deep, long breath. ‘Ohhh, that’s better . . . Hey, wait a minute.’ Her eyes narrowed, and she pointed across the street. ‘Is that our grandparents?’

Olivia shaded her eyes and looked in the direction of Ivy’s pointing finger. ‘Uh-oh.’

The brightly dressed couple was definitely the Count and Countess in full-on bunny disguise . . . and they were tearing posters for
Bare Throats at Sunset
from shop windows and telephone poles all along the street. Their enormous Florida-style sunglasses made them look even more suspicious as they glanced shiftily up and down the street before ripping down each new poster and tucking it under their arms.

‘Um . . . should they be doing that?’ Olivia asked.

‘Those posters
are
covered in pictures of vampires,’ Ivy said doubtfully. ‘And the less focus on vamps in Franklin Grove, the better . . . but you’re right. I really don’t think it’s a good idea.’ She sighed. ‘Will you come with me to talk to them? I don’t think they’re in the mood to listen to me about anything right now.’

Olivia gave her twin a sympathetic smile and slipped her phone back into her shoulder bag. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘Let’s go.’

The twins crossed the street together, and were greeted by bright smiles from both of their grandparents.

‘What excellent timing,’ the Countess said. ‘You can help us hunt down all the rest of these posters!’

‘Grandma . . .’ Ivy began. She looked uncomfortable, and Olivia knew that she was dreading another argument.

Quickly, she said, ‘Why don’t you leave those posters in place, Grandma? Actually, why don’t you come to the book-signing yourselves? It’ll give you a good clue to who’s vampire-mad in town.’

‘That’s right,’ Ivy said, brightening. ‘It could work like a trap, to draw them in. And you never know – one of the book fans might even be the blogger.’

‘My goodness,’ the Countess said. She exchanged a glance with the Count. ‘That is an excellent idea!’

Ivy glowed at the praise, and the Count beamed down at both of his granddaughters, dropping his stack of posters into a nearby bin. ‘Obviously, you girls have inherited your detective skills from my side of the family.’

‘I beg your pardon?’ The Countess raised her eyebrows. ‘Do I have to remind you that it was
my
family line that included Giovanni, the famous Vampire Investigator of old?’

‘Now, now, my dear.’ The Count’s eyes glinted with mischief as he baited his wife. ‘You can hardly claim a
nineteenth
cousin!’

Olivia stepped aside to make her phone call, but she was so drawn into watching the humorous bickering between her grandparents that she barely noticed that Holly’s phone had gone to voicemail. ‘Holly, this is . . . oops.’ A beep sounded, signalling that she’d been cut off.

Never mind, I’ll just send her a text.

She typed it in quickly, as Ivy warned their grandparents about the garlic issue in the mall.

‘If you want to stay out here to keep safe . . .’ Ivy began.

‘Absolutely not.’ The Count set his jaw proudly. ‘Now that we’ve been warned, I can take it.’

‘And I came prepared for every eventuality,’ said the Countess. She reached into the pocket of her green-and-orange golfing trousers and pulled out a tiny bottle of Chanel No. 5. ‘There!’ She spritzed a cloud around her neck and hair. ‘Safely shielded.’ She gave the Count a stern look. ‘And I warn you, dear, if you make any more claims about your great-aunt Helga, I’ll spray you with it, too!’

The Count and Countess were still bickering over ancient family history when they reached the bookstore. S. K. Reardon – a tallish man with a mop of blond hair – sat at the front table holding a gold pen ready to sign his books.

Unfortunately, Olivia could see that there was no queue of eager readers waiting to have their books signed, the way there had been at Jackson’s event.
There are hardly any customers in the shop at all! Poor man
, Olivia thought.

As she stepped inside, her eyes locked with Reardon’s for an awkward moment. Desperate hope flashed across his face. He lifted his pen in anticipation.

Oh no
, Olivia thought. ‘Quickly!’ she mumbled to the others. ‘Pick up a book, pick up a book!’

‘What? Oh, yes. Of course.’ The Count quickly scooped up a copy of
Bare Throats at Sunset
from the towering – and previously untouched – pile at the front of the store. ‘Er.’ He coughed and hurried towards the table, where S. K. Reardon was watching them intensely. ‘Would you mind?’

‘Of course not! I’d be delighted.’ Reardon snatched the book from his hands before the Count could even finish his request. ‘I hope you enjoy . . .’ His words trailed off as he looked up and found the Countess giving him a death-glare from over the Count’s shoulder. The author’s pen froze before it even reached the page.

She looked him up and down with obvious disdain, and he visibly gulped, the pen sliding out of his grip. ‘Ah, can I help you with anything else?’

‘Just tell me this, S. K.,’ the Countess said icily, as the Count picked the unsigned book back up and began to flip through the opening pages. ‘Do you happen to have a
blag
 
?’

Oh no
, Olivia thought. She wanted to do something, but she was frozen with horror. Ivy had already moved away, circulating through the shop with a watchful gaze.

‘An, erm, what?’ The author looked confused.

‘You know!’ The Countess waved one hand impatiently, nearly hitting him on the nose. ‘Are you a blagger?’

S. K. Reardon stiffened in outrage. ‘I have been called many things, madam, but a
blagger
is not one of them!’

‘Hmmph.’ The Countess sniffed. ‘Well, I suppose you’re no real danger, then.’

‘Excuse me?’ He stared at her.

‘I wish you well with your little . . . book,’ the Countess said stiffly, turning away.

She bumped into the Count, who had been completely absorbed by the novel. With his vampire speed-reading, he had nearly finished the whole thing. ‘I say!’ He looked up at the author, wide-eyed. ‘This book is fantastic!’

‘It is?’ S. K. brightened, looking pathetically hopeful.

‘It really is! Although of course no
real
vampire would –’

‘Grandpa!’ Olivia finally managed to find her voice. She scooted over and took the book from him. ‘Don’t you want to get it signed?’

‘Of course, of course.’ The Count smiled broadly as the author retrieved his gold pen and signed the copy with a flourish. ‘Do you like pizza, S. K.? I can give you a great pizza recipe.’

Olivia couldn’t believe it. She knew the Count adored pizza, but offering to share recipes with an author? This book really must be something special.

‘Er . . . thank you.’ S. K. looked even more confused now. ‘I actually have a recipe of my own I like. But thank you . . . both . . . for your attention.’ He loosened his collar, perspiring as the Countess sent him another icy glare.

Olivia mouthed to Ivy across the store. ‘
Help
 
!
’

‘Come on, Grandma,’ Ivy said, hurrying back to them. ‘Let’s go.’

Just as they moved away from the signing desk, a huge crowd of excited VITs burst into the bookstore.

‘Look!’ the first one yelled. ‘There’s the vampire author!’

Suddenly the signing table was surrounded by people in long trench coats shouting questions.

‘Did Franklin Grove really inspire
Bare Throats at Sunset
 
?’

‘Is it true that you based the lake scene on the local duck pond?’

‘How did you
know
about the secret of Franklin Grove?’ a girl gasped, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

One man clutched a copy of
Bare Throats at Sunset
to his trench coat. ‘Will this book really reveal the “secrets of the shadows”?’

‘I’m sorry?’ S. K. Reardon looked bewildered. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about!’

Hmm
, Olivia thought. Maybe she was just being naïve, but she believed him. He looked as stunned by the sudden attention as if a truck had just ploughed into him. He certainly didn’t look prepared for any of the questions being shouted at him.

‘I don’t – I mean, I don’t know where you heard any of that, but –’

‘Oh! Of course. You mean we shouldn’t be talking about it here in public.’ One of the men who’d been shouting questions stopped and looked over his shoulder anxiously, scanning the room. He dropped his voice to a stage whisper. ‘You’re right, we have to be careful. After all,
they
could be anywhere!’

He threw Ivy a quick glance, taking in her sweatpants and sneakers. Then he shrugged, turning back with an embarrassed look. ‘Or, well, you know, maybe the threat isn’t
so
immediate. But still! They could be in one of the other stores.’

Ha
 
!
Olivia had to cover her mouth to hold back her laughter, even as S. K. Reardon shook his head in open disbelief.

The author looked as if he thought everyone around him had gone crazy, but Olivia was thrilled by the VIT’s reaction. Ivy’s disguise was certainly working – no one would take her for a vamp in a million years! Right now, Olivia’s twin looked like nothing more than a regular tomboy. She wasn’t in danger of discovery at the moment . . . but the mystery was getting more complicated than ever.

‘What are all these people doing here?’ Ivy muttered, as they shifted back to accommodate the last few VITs crowding into the store. Despite her perfume shield, her cheeks were starting to turn slightly green from the intensity of the garlic stench trapped in the store. ‘I thought they were all busy trying to track down vampires with their ropes of garlic? Why should they care about an author signing?’

‘It
is
odd that so many of them turned up at the same time,’ Olivia agreed.

‘Obviously they’ve all been reading the blagger,’ said the Countess, gazing speculatively at the circle of trench coats. ‘So maybe that scoundrel is behind this too.’

‘I guess it is a nice coincidence for this author that a load of vampire fanatics happen to be in town when he’s here promoting his novel.’ Olivia shrugged. ‘Do you think the two events are linked?’

Ivy was frowning hard now. ‘Could be . . . It would certainly help explain why this mystery blogger highlighted the mall.’ She turned to Olivia. ‘Perhaps there’s more to this than meets the eye.’

Olivia stood on tiptoes to peer through the crowd. S. K. Reardon was surrounded by VITs, but she couldn’t see any sign of the biggest fan she knew: Holly. Maybe she still hadn’t gotten the text.
I need to try again
, Olivia thought. If Holly could infiltrate the queue of VITs, she might be able to overhear something. Of course, Olivia couldn’t share the vampire secret with Holly, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask a few innocent questions about anything her friend might have picked up from the crowd of book-buyers.
You never know. It might work
.

‘I’ll be right back,’ Olivia said. Ivy nodded, but neither of their grandparents bothered to reply. The Countess was busy watching the VITs with a raptor’s predatory gaze, while the Count was re-reading
Bare Throats at Sunset
and happily murmuring to himself as he read.

Olivia just caught the words, ‘Now what
I’d
do if that happened . . .’ as she slipped past him on her way out of the store.

At least S. K. had gained one
real
vampire fan!

Once Olivia was outside the mall again, with a working signal, a beep sounded on her phone almost immediately. It was a text from Holly, sent only a minute earlier:

Oooh, I might be too shy. I’ll think about it
. . .

She’d obviously received Olivia’s text about the signing. But, Holly – shy? This was the girl who’d stood up to Garrick in front of all the Beasts, telling him to go home and take a shower!

Olivia sighed. Maybe big crowds
were
scarier than the Beasts. Or maybe Holly was just wary about being around Ivy after the baking party that would almost certainly go down in Franklin Grove history as ‘Garlic Day’.

Her shoulders slumped. Oh well, it looked as though she wouldn’t be able to get Holly in amongst the VITs. But worse than that – how was she supposed to prove to Holly and Ivy that they ought to be friends if they never hung out together again?