"Ms.Sulez, please, Sergeant. I have."
"Did you, in fact, lend your car to Mr. Honeycutt?"
"I did."
"And where is Mr." - there was a shuffling of paper - "Stefan Salvatore, the original owner of the car?"
He's not asking her where they bought it, Matt thought. He must know.
"My boyfriend is away from town right now," Meredith said, still in the same refined, unflappable voice. "I don't know when he'll be back. When he is, shall I have him call you?"
"That might be wise," Sheriff Mossberg said dryly. "These days very few cars are bought with cash on the line, especially brand-new Jaguars. I'd like your driver's license number, also. And, in fact, I'd very much like to speak to Mr. Salvatore when he returns."
"That may be very soon," Meredith said, a bit slowly, but following Elena's coaching. Then she recited her driver's license number from memory.
"Thank you," Sheriff Mossberg said briefly. "That will be all for - "
"May I just say one thing? Matt Honeycutt would never, ever remove stop signs or yield signs. He's a very conscientious driver and was a leader in his high school class. You can speak to any of Robert E. Lee High School's teachers or even the principal if she's not on vacation. Any one of them will tell you the same thing."
The sheriff didn't seem to be impressed. "You can tell him from me that I'll be keeping an eye on him in the future. In fact it might be a good idea if he stopped in the Sheriff's Department today or tomorrow," he said, and then the phone went dead.
Matt burst out, "Stefan's girlfriend? You, Meredith? What if the car dealer says the girl was a blond? How are we going to work that out?"
"We aren't," Elena said simply from behind Meredith. "Damon is. All we have to do is to find him. I'm sure he can take care of Sheriff Mossberg with a little mind control - if the price is right. And don't worry about me," she added gently. "You're frowning, but everything is going to be fine."
"You believe that?"
"I'm sure of it." Elena gave him another hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm supposed to stop by the Sheriff's Department today or tomorrow, though."
"But not alone!" Bonnie said, and her eyes were sparkling with indignation. "And when Damon goes with you, Sheriff Mooseburger will end up being your best friend."
"All right," Meredith said. "So what are we doing today?"
"The problem," Elena returned, tapping an index finger against her upper lip, "is that we've got too many problems at once and I don't want anybody - and I mean anybody - going out alone. It's clear that there are malach in the Old Wood, and that they're trying to do unfriendly-type things to us. Kill us, for one."
Matt basked in the warm relief of being believed. The conversation with Sheriff Mossberg had shaken him more than he wanted to show.
"So we make up task forces," Meredith said, "and we split the jobs between them. What problems do we need to plan for?"
Elena ticked off the problems with her fingers. "One problem is Caroline. I really think someone should try to see her, at the very least to try and find out if she has one of thosethings inside her. Another problem is Tami - and who knows who else? If Caroline is...contagious somehow, she might have spread it to some other girl - or guy."
"Okay," Meredith said, "and what else?"
"Someone needs to contact Damon. Try to find out from him anything he knows about Stefan leaving, and also try to get him to go in to headquarters with us to influence Sheriff Mossberg."
"Well, you'd better be on that last team, since you're the only one Damon's likely to talk to," said Meredith. "And Bonnie should be on it, so she can keep - "
"No. No Calling today," Bonnie pleaded. "I'm so sorry, Elena, but I just can't, not without a day of rest between. And besides, if Damon wants to talk to you, all you need to do is to walk - notinto the forest, butnear it - and call to him yourself. He knows everything that's going on. He'll know you're there."
"Then I should go with Elena," Matt reasoned. "Since that sheriff is my problem. I'd like to go by the place where I saw the tree - "
At once there was a protest from all three girls.
"I said I'dlike to," Matt said. "Not that we should plan for it. That's one spot we know is too dangerous."
"All right," Elena said. "So Bonnie and Meredith will visit Caroline, and you and I will go Damon hunting, all right? I'd rather go Stefan hunting, but we just don't have enough information yet."
"Right, but before you go, maybe stop by Jim Bryce's house. Matt has an excuse to stop by anytime - he knows Jim. And you can check on Tami's progress as well," Meredith suggested.
"Sounds like plans A, B, and C," Elena said, and then, spontaneously, they all laughed.
It was a clear day, with a hot sun shining overhead.
In the sunlight, despite the minor annoyance of Sheriff Mossberg's call, they all felt strong and capable.
None of them had any idea that they were about to walk into the worst nightmare of their lives.
Bonnie stood back as Meredith knocked at the front door of the Forbes home.
After a while of no answer and silence inside, Meredith knocked again.
This time Bonnie could hear whisperings and Mrs. Forbes hissing something, and Caroline's distant laughter.
Finally, just as Meredith was about to ring the bell - the height of discourtesy between neighbor and neighbor in Fell's Church - the door opened. Bonnie neatly slipped a foot in, keeping it from being shut again.