I can’t believe I’ve been so slow. Ivy dared a glance at her sister. But I can’t tell Olivia. Not yet. Her twin had been so impressed by Holly. Now she looked so disappointed, just because Holly had told her one lie. Ivy could only imagine how badly Olivia would react to the suggestion that Holly might actually be the blogger who’d caused the vampires so much trouble. It could turn into the biggest fight they’d ever had.
No, Ivy would need real proof before she let Olivia even suspect what she was thinking. In the meantime, though . . . Olivia is smart, Ivy thought. All I have to do is encourage her to follow the clues that she’s been ignoring. She’ll figure out the rest of it herself – and then we won’t have to fight about it !
‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘We shouldn’t bother Holly right now. Do you have your netbook on you? There might be some fun things to look at soon. You know, if Holly has photos to share.’
‘Oh! That’s a good idea.’ Olivia practically glowed with relief. ‘I bet Holly’s uploading her snaps of the book-signing right now! She’s always putting up her photos on some social networking site.’ She sat down on a bench and unzipped her shoulder bag. ‘If we take a good look at her pictures, we might find some clues to the mystery blogger. There might be a stranger lurking in the background of a shot, or something like that!’
Ivy had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. How could Olivia be so determined to miss the obvious?
She plopped down on the bench beside Olivia. ‘What is going on?’ she groaned dramatically. ‘Why are so many people convinced that book was inspired by real vampires here in Franklin Grove?’
‘It is strange,’ Olivia agreed. ‘You guys have lived in secret all these years without attracting any trouble.’
‘So what could have gone wrong?’ Ivy said. ‘What could have changed ?’
She looked meaningfully at her sister, willing her to think it through . . . to ask herself who the newest person in town was, the one whose arrival had just happened to coincide with the blog.
But Olivia was busy sliding her netbook out of her bag. ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Let’s go sit in a café. It’ll be easier to work on a table.’
Ivy followed, biting back her frustration. It wasn’t until they’d ordered their drinks and sat down that Olivia finally answered her question.
‘I don’t know,’ she said, and shrugged, her large eyes clear and innocent. ‘I have no idea what could have changed. It’s a mystery.’
Oh, come on ! The truth was right there in front of Olivia’s face, but she was refusing to see it.
‘Here it is,’ Olivia said brightly, leaning over her netbook. ‘Holly’s social networking profile.’
‘Let’s see.’ Ivy leaned over her twin’s shoulder.
Sure enough, Holly had been uploading photos on her profile page, along with lots of plugs for the book-signing.
‘Look!’ Olivia gasped. ‘Even Holly’s heard about the blog – she’s linked her captions to it! The vampire hunter – whoever it is – must be going viral.’
Ivy raised her eyebrows and tried to trade a look with Olivia, but her twin didn’t meet her gaze.
Biting her lip, Olivia clicked through the link to the blog without a word.
‘Oh no,’ Ivy moaned. ‘What a nightmare!’
Now the blogger was asking for tips to flush out vampires! Worse yet, people all over the world had responded with their suggestions. Some of them were ridiculous . . .
‘Rope a giant wooden cross to your car roof,’ Ivy read out loud in disbelief, ‘and vampires will dive for cover ! Are these people serious?’
But there were other tips too close to the truth to be ignored.
Olivia’s voice was a bare thread of a whisper as she read the worst out loud: ‘Mix garlic paste in your ice-cream and make everyone sundaes – your vampire enemy will faint!’
‘Ouch.’ Ivy swallowed hard. ‘At least they’re not all spot-on. Check out this one – See who looks most ridiculous wearing fake tan – sure to be a vampire ! Honestly.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘There sure are some idiots out there.’
‘They’re not all idiots,’ Olivia said, scrolling down the list of suggestions. She was looking almost as pale as Ivy now. ‘Some of these could really work.’
‘Maybe,’ said Ivy, ‘but Holly has done us a favour by leading us here. Just look – the vampire-blogger wants all these tips for an exposé they’re planning tonight. This means the blogger is in Franklin Grove mall right this minute.’
‘Really?’ Olivia’s mouth dropped open. ‘How do you know that?’
Ivy couldn’t stop herself from grinning as she pointed at the corner of the screen. ‘Look here, silly.’
‘Oh.’ Olivia flushed. ‘A “Where Am I?” app . . .’
‘ . . . Showing us all exactly where they are on an interactive map,’ Ivy finished with satisfaction. ‘And the blogger is in the mall right now!’
Sitting back, Ivy watched as Olivia took a deep breath, staring at the screen with a horrified expression. Finally, Ivy thought. Was the penny dropping for Olivia? The blogger was in the mall and Holly was online – how much more obvious could it be?
As the silence stretched out, Ivy frowned. If Olivia had finally caught on, why wasn’t she saying anything? She couldn’t actually be trying to protect Holly, could she? A chill crept through Ivy at the thought. Would Olivia really choose this girl over the safety of her own family?