He nodded, pushing his hair back impatiently. “There are eight families on the list with children; a total of fifteen kids, since some of the families have more than one child.”
“Gah,” Baba said, letting out a discouraged noise that startled a nearby bat into flying crooked. It banged into the side of the Airstream and clung to the windowsill, stunned, before taking off again, wobbly-winged, into the encroaching darkness. “That’s a lot.”
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Liam said, holding up one sheet of paper. “Some of the kids are too old to fall into her pattern, I think. So hopefully they’re not vulnerable. But that still leaves us with seven children, which is definitely too many to try to watch. I thought maybe we could talk them over and figure out a way to narrow the list down a little.”
“Do you think Peter Callahan knows anything?” Baba asked. “I’d be happy to try to beat the information out of him. I could wear my motorcycle helmet and jacket, and we could blame it on Maya’s theoretical assailant.” She gave a happy smile at the thought, and Liam flinched.
“I’m never sure if you’re joking, or if you’re really as bloodthirsty as you make yourself out to be,” he said. “But no, I don’t think beating up Callahan is going to help us any. I’m not sure if he is a willing participant or if Maya is just using him; the jury is still out on that one. But he must have at least an inkling that all those people in trouble came from his files. How could he not?”
“Willful ignorance is a typical Human failing,” Baba said, shrugging. “But you’re probably right—trying to coerce him openly would no doubt just set Maya off again. If she’s being quiet for the moment, I’d just as soon keep her that way. Maybe we’ll come up with a plan in the meanwhile.”
Liam ignored the insult, most likely because as a lawman, he’d seen the effects of willful ignorance all too often. “Well, then, we’ll just have to figure it out ourselves.” He took another sip from his beer. “I know all the families who have lost children, and there is one thing I’ve noticed: all these kids are particularly well loved, just like Gregori said. Take Mary Elizabeth, for example. She’s her mother’s and grandparents’ treasure. Her father was a drunken idiot, but the rest of her family loves her enough to make up for any three fathers.”
He scowled into the dimming light of the fire pit as if the fading orange fire could give him answers to impossible questions. “Would someone really be so cruel as to purposely choose the children who would be missed the most?”
“Maya would,” Baba said grimly. “She could have kidnapped any number of kids from homes where they weren’t wanted. She’s not only picking her victims from the list of people Peter Callahan wants to pressure into signing over drilling rights; she’s intentionally taking the ones whose loss will cause the most pain. Maybe as some kind of twisted revenge for the damage Humans are doing to the water that is so precious to her.” She sighed. “I take back everything bad I’ve ever said about human beings. Otherworld creatures can be much, much worse.”
“Hmmm. Maybe we can use that,” Liam said. He held the list up to the light. “There are two kids out of the remaining seven who stand out as unusually cherished. Davy is the only child of an older couple who tried for years to have kids, and finally succeeded after sinking every penny they had into in vitro fertilization. The other one is the only survivor of a car accident that killed her brother and twin sister; if her parents lost Kimberly, I think it would destroy them.”
Baba tapped her fingers on her thigh. “Either one sounds like a perfect target for Maya. Of course, if we’re wrong, then we’re leaving the other five kids vulnerable for nothing.” The crystal stem of the wineglass in her other hand snapped in two. She dropped it on the ground before Liam noticed, sucking on a small cut until it closed. Damn it, she did not want Maya to get her grimy supernatural paws on one more child.
“Well, I could have deputies patrol near all the kids’ houses, but there’s no good way for me to explain why I think those children are at particular risk without admitting we burgled Callahan’s office.” Liam grimaced. “And if I did that, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be giving orders to anyone.”
“Yeah, there’s that,” Baba agreed. “So we have the Riders keep an eye on the five we think are less likely to be her next victims, the best they can anyway, and you and I each watch one of the two kids we think she’s most likely to grab next. She’ll probably make a move soon; I’m guessing her attempt to get me locked up was because she’s worried that I’ll discover the location of her secret doorway. She must be feeling the pressure even more now that we’ve thwarted her again.” She straightened. “Which kid do you want me to take?”
There was a palpable lack of response from Liam’s direction, and when she looked over at him, his eyes slid away from hers.