At first Klaus was sure it was a joke. But then he remembered that he had never told anyone that they were missing. There was no one to tell. He was alone. A strong fear embraced him as he realized that if it wasn't a joke there was someone out there who knew about everything.

Someone who knew where Violet and Sunny were. His sisters. His family.

It would be foolish to ignore this opportunity.

But if it was a joke . . .

And he fell for it . . .

What would happen then?

The sound of the phone ring broke his train of thought. He picked it up before the second ring.

"Hello?" Klaus's voice was hoarse from being silent so long.

"Hi, I was wondering if you could please reserve a copy of Blood and Chocolate for Meredith Stevens?"

Thoughts about the email he had received the previous day had apparently taken him away from his work at the library. He hesitated before answering. "Um, sure. Absolutely."

"Thank you so much."

"No problem. Have a good day."

"You too." Klaus waited for the click on the other line and then hung up the phone. He always waited for the person on the other line to hang up. Always.

Klaus was so excited. He had just been hired as the head librarian for The Evanston Public Library. He loved the idea of sitting in a library all day, being immersed in the smells and the feel of it all. He had grown up in his parent's library, and had read nearly all of the books it had contained. He read Black Beauty at the age of seven and Les Miserables at ten. And now as he sat taking his lunch break at his desk on his very first day, he was so involved in his thoughts that he jumped out of his chair when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey stranger," said a familiar voice on the other line.

"Hey," Klaus replied, wondering what she was wearing.

"So watcha doing?" Isadora asked.

"Eating," Klaus paused, "thinking 'bout you."

"Is that so?" Her voice was challenging and flirty. "Well guess what? Same."

Klaus smiled. "I thought so."

Klaus could hear the smile in her voice. "Well I gotta go."

Klaus tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "Ok. Bye." He waited for a click but heard none. "Isadora?"

He could hear her laughing on the other end. "I always wait."

"Me too." Klaus smiled and laughed. "All right, one, two, three." He slammed the phone down, laughing so hard his ribs hurt.

Tears ran down his cheeks as he knelt down on the floor and pretended to pick up a pen. He used his navy blue shirt sleeves to wipe his eyes and sat back up on his chair. Better go find that book, Klaus thought standing up and making his way to the Young Adult section. His older sister had read Blood and Chocolate so he knew where it was in the library. He tried not to think about Isadora as he made his way up the last flight of stairs to the fourth floor of the library.

The Young Adult section took up the whole fourth floor of the library. But Klaus remembered where the book was. Violet had checked out Blood and Chocolate so many times that the librarian, Mrs. Lewis insisted that she take it and not bring it back. Mrs. Lewis was nice. Klaus had liked her a lot before she passed away. It seemed like everyone he cared about was disappearing.

Here it is, Klaus thought, Blood and Chocolate. The was something in the book separating the pages. Klaus opened it and pulled out a slip of paper.

Four more days. Hurry Klaus time is running out. Each day that passes is another day that your two sisters remain missing, isolated from the world. Gone.

Hands shaking, Klaus slipped the piece of paper into his pocket and headed downstairs with the book in his hand. How had the person known . . . was Meredith Stevens the pursuer?