Polar (Book 1): Polar Night by Julie Flanders

all.”
    Amanda pushed a strand of blond hair behind her ear and stared across the table at Danny. “So what do you want me to say? I already told you what I know and you made it clear that wasn’t good enough. So you’re gonna have to tell me what you want me to say.”
    “I want you to say what happened to you when you were almost abducted.”
    “I did.”
    “You gave me the Cliff’s Notes. I want the whole story.”
    Amanda looked down at the table and continued to fiddle with her hair. Danny could see her hands trembling.
    “I’m honestly not here to upset you,” he said.
    “You’re not? You have a funny way of showing it.”
    “I just want to know what happened to these women. And I think you do, too. That’s why you went to Detective Cobman when Anna went missing.”
    Amanda rolled her eyes. “Right. And as you so graciously reminded me, he thought I was a kook.”
    “Whatever he thought, I’m not him. And believe me, there are a hell of a lot of people who would call me a kook.”
    Amanda sighed and leaned back in her chair. She crossed her arms across her chest, and clutched the cross around her neck with her fingers.
    “You’re big on that cross necklace, aren’t you?” Danny asked.
    “What? Why do you ask?”
    “Because you’re always clutching at it or playing with it.”
    “Nervous habit.”
    “Yeah, I’ve got some nervous habits, too. Or one, anyway. I drink alcohol.”
    Amanda lips spread into a thin smile. “That’s probably a better cure for calming the nerves.”
    Danny nodded. “Sometimes.”
    For what felt like an eternity, the two sat in silence, with no sound in the room but the ticking of the clock on the library wall.
    “This cross is what saved my life that day,” Amanda said, her voice barely above a whisper.
    Danny sat up and folded his hands in front of him on the table. “How so?”
    “I just happened to have it around my neck. My aunt gave it to me and I thought it was pretty, even though I wasn’t even religious. But I wore it that day, and now I’ve worn it every day since.”
    “How did it save your life?” Danny asked again.
    “Because it scared him. Or burned him somehow.”
    “Burned him?”
    Amanda nodded. “He’s not human.”
    Danny suddenly understood the late Detective Cobman’s reaction much better.
    “He’s not human,” he said, repeating Amanda's words. “So what is he?”
    “I'm not certain, but I think he’s a vampire. That’s why the cross burned him.”
    “Oh, Jesus.”
    “It’s the truth!”
    Danny forced himself to keep from rolling his eyes. “Of course it is.”
    “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
    “Well I’m sorry, but you have to admit it’s a little far-fetched.” He glanced around the rows of books lining the walls. “Don’t tell me, you read Twilight? Ann Rice novels, maybe?”
    “You don’t believe it’s possible.”
    “That some guy’s a vampire? No, I don’t.”
    “I didn’t either. But when I was trying to get away from him I looked at him and somehow I just knew he wasn’t a person. Something told me to grab the cross and push it against his face and it worked. He screamed and leaped away from me.”
    Danny sighed and rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t believe he had waited all day for this.
    “It was like it totally shocked him,” Amanda continued. “He was holding onto his cheek and staring at me like he couldn’t believe it. I started screaming, and ran away from him as fast as I could. Some customers from a gas station across the street heard me screaming and came towards me, asking if they could help. I guess that scared him off, because when I got over to the gas station I looked back towards the lot and he was gone. There was no sign of him anywhere.”
    Danny nodded. “So what happened then?”
    “I asked the people in the gas station to call the police. I was just screaming and crying, I don’t know exactly what happened next, but the police came pretty quickly.”
    “And when