"However she does it, it's totally objectionable. And I intend to tell her so after she has helped me lovate Vigo." If I told her beforehand, she might very well refuse to help.

"I'll check her tour dates. I know she isn't coming to Chicago until November, but she might be somplace else we can get to." She turned back to the computer and clicked around some more before saying, "She'll be signing in New York City next weekend. That's a long way, but it's manageble. We could take a bus."

I nodded. "New York City it is. I am most eager to make Elizabeth Howard's acquaintance."

...

Once again my search through the city had proved fruitless. I hadn't been able to so much as catch a murmuring of a possible last sighting for Vigo. However, I could not allow myself to be overcome by the feeling of hopelessness that so often drags men down, resulting in unpleasant outcomes.

I had spent a little extra time that morning familiarizing myself with the city, and by the time I arrived back at Amy's apartment she had already left for her school. Her mother and sister were gone as well, so I made myself a hastily put together breakfast before sitting at the table with the maps laying around me. I slowly worked through them, crossing off the areas I had checked and come up empty. Once that was done I grabbed the book about my Chicago and wandered into the living room to read before needing to sleep.

I found myself in a section of the book told through Vigo's perspective. Hopefully this one would prove useful, unlike the short section in the first book which had only been about his, demented, reasons for rampaging the city.

A few hours later I slammed the book shut. Informative, indeed.

Not only had Howard blew Vigo's escape strategy straight out of the water, but she had brought to light many helpful pieces of information. Such as the fear he has of me, which is very helpful indeed. Yet also troubling if Vigo ever finds out.

I picked up the home phone Amy told me to use if I ever needed to contact someone, and the number she gave me to reach her. The phone made a ringing noise a few times before her voice came through the plastic contraption.

"Hello, this is Amy! I'm busy at the moment, so please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Have a good day!"

I frowned as the phone beeped. Pulling it away from my ear I tried again, and this time when she answered I immediately started talking.

"Amy, I found some interesting-" but instead of stopping to listen she repeated the same message as before and left again.

With a sigh I tried one more time.

"Amy, it's Alexander."

When that didn't work I put the phone back and put on my new running shoes. I would just have to venture to her school and speak to her there.

...

"Hello, Miss. I am here to speak to Miss Amy Hawthorne."

The woman behind the desk looked up at me over her glasses. Her eyebrows furrowed as she sat back and adjusted the lenses on her nose.

"Your name?"

"Alexander Smithson." It would not do to give the name of, apparently, a famous book character.

She hummed. "Alright. We will have to talk to Amy first, seeing as she's a minor, and her permission is needed-"

"Oh, that shan't be necessary," I said. "I just spoke with Amy yesterday evening, and before that yesterday morning, and for the past few days. This will not be of much surprise to her."

The woman raised her eyebrows at me and pursed her lips in an agitated manner.

"Even so, we must follow policy and get her permission before we can allow you to see her."

"Why is that?" I asked.

She sighed. "Because she is a minor, and it's policy."

This lady was putting up too much of a fight, and wasting time. Didn't she know how important communications could be? Searching for a way to allow me to speak to Amy, I came across one that always allowed someone to see another.

"Amy is my fiancée," I supplied. "And I have important matters I wish to speak with her about."

The woman's eyes momentarily blew wide before she rose with an angry huff.

"Stay here. I'll go speak with her."

"Madam! I-" Before I could finish, she had strode out of the office.

I turned to the other woman in the office, situated behind a desk further back in the room.

"Excuse me, may I-"

"No." She said firmly. "Wait here, please. She's going to find Miss Hawthorne and ask if she wishes to speak with you, and if she says no then you are going to have to leave."

"Ah, well then in that case I will not have to leave, because she won't say no." This was proving to be incredibly difficult. In my Chicago I would have already been in and out, on my way back to the apartment by now. Did they even have a valid reason for this- this ridiculous waste of my time?

"Sir, please calm down." The woman replied.

"I apologize. I am calm. There are just time sensitive matters I need to discuss with my Fiancée, and I assure you, madam, that she will be quite happy to see me."

"Yes, but since she's under eighteen and you're not her parent, we can't let you speak to her without her permission."

"Hi, um, honey."

I turned at the familair voice, a victorious look on my face. "As you can see, my fiancée is delighted I am here." I offered.

The second woman who still sat behind her desk turned a stern look to Amy before handing my a tag she pulled from a drawer. "You need to wear this as long as you're in the building. School policy."

...

After speaking with Amy about the things I had discovered in the book, and dropping off the visitors card in the office, I started back to the apartment.

The air outside was refreshing after the false chill from inside the school building. I thought back to how even after I said Amy was my fiancée, the two women would still not let me in. Amy had said it was because no one her age got married here, which is yet another odd custom that did not carry over into my world. I did not understand why they didn't marry at that age here, as it didn't seem like something that would be changed by the absence of vampires. Which, so far, had proven to be the only reason for differences.

However, it did somehow ease something I hadn't noticed before, that she wouldn't be married any time soon. I didn't bother to wonder why, and instead hurried my pace. It was growing late, and I still needed to sleep before going out to hunt Vigo once more.