Page 22 of The Shade of Things
“That’s a fair assumption,” I said. “It answers my question about why they aren’t taking people at the fringes of society whose absence wouldn’t be reported immediately or noticed at all.”
“They want strong players with a shot at winning.”
I doodled on a pad, thinking aloud. “It implies that these Sapiens were scouted by their abductors beforehand. Ian said the players came from all over the world. That’s an impossible amount of people to whittle through to find suitable candidates.”
“True, but don’t forget, the people behind these games are double-dipping. Both Ian and Teresa came from Vancouver. That implies a set number of cities they’re drawing from.” Eli scribbled a note, then threw the pen down and rubbed a hand over his bald head. “We don’t have time to find the way into the race by narrowing any connections between the players, and Nav couldn’t help us.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “You’re going to see Tatiana and Ryann… What about the vamps? Who else could you pump for information?”
I imagined bargaining with Yoshi over info again, or worse, the ravens, and shivered. “I’ve got no one unless it’s a last resort.”
He gave me a tight nod. I could deal with his unhappiness so long as it came with the acceptance that if I said it was too dangerous, he had to abide by that. It’s why he’d brought me on, after all.
“I’ll go see Tatiana bright and early tomorrow morning.” Yawning, I stood up.
Eli shot to his feet. “You’re just going to let this girl spend another night trapped in this game, fighting for her life against God only knows what?”
“I,” I said, “am not leaving Sadie again.”
Eli nodded, tension leaving him. “Right. Sorry. Stay with the kid. I’ve got to remember the seventy-two-hour rule isn’t necessarily relevant here.”
The first seventy-two hours of any missing person case were the most critical. After that, investigators had a harder time preserving evidence and following up on leads because people’s memories faded. Generating as many tips and as much awareness as possible with the general public also slowed down after that timeframe.
“Night, Mir.” Eli left by the back door, his shoulders falling back into a slump. He’d come back from work on a few memorable occasions when a missing person wasn’t found fast enough and the original case became a homicide for his unit to handle.
Even if three days hadn’t passed, between her abduction, the reveal of magic, and fighting off vampires and shifters, Teresa might already be dead.
