Chapter Twelve
Julie and I started the next morning making noise like we were going to stay home, just in case. Katie and Mary were indignant, like we didn’t think they could take care of themselves. It’s not like we’d had a heated argument or anything, but they shut down that line of thinking before either of us could truly muster a good offense. Katie said we’d be more of a pain in the ass if we stayed home, fussing around, bored and cranky. It was hard to argue against that. Besides, we both really wanted to work.
And how right they were. The work proved a balm to our frayed nerves. We worked two small farms with a mix of mules and horses. The work was hard, the way I liked it, and satisfying for the effort. Julie handled the clients, who looked at me askance. Once they saw me with their animals, they went from frosty to friendly. We plowed through the work with efficiency and good humor. By the time we broke for lunch, I was feeling a ton better.
It was so damned strange that just the night before we’d been attacked by mercenaries. Frankly, I’m surprised that I wasn’t giving off some death funk/psychic residue from killing half of the bastards. The horses and mules didn’t seem to notice anything, so who was I to argue?
Still, if these normal folks knew what my life was really like, they probably wouldn’t let me anywhere near their animals. I’m honestly surprised how well we both handled the day despite the recent chaos. A year ago, I’d have been jumpy all throughout the day.
Reminded me to call Charlie, though. See what he knew, if he was involved in any way. Went to voicemail, and I told him to call me. No idea if the line was secure on his end.
I may be getting jaded but taking out the mercenaries didn’t really throw me off my game. I’d done enough fighting to almost shrug it off. Not totally, but close enough for government work.
The thing that kept cropping up in my mind all day was how Edith Sorenson had behaved. Oh, I must’ve known on some level that she was deeper in to this weirdness than one would expect for an elderly widow. The stuff with that witch last night came out of left field. My brain was having a difficult time jiving the fact that sweet Mrs. Sorenson, who looked after Jai Li when Katie and I were out of pocket, was also an efficient and knowledgeable witch killer.
That needed some unpacking.
We stopped at the County Line to “knock the dust out of our throats,” as Julie would say, and scarf down a couple of burgers. Working horses built an appetite. We had one more farm before we could knock off for the day. They had a dozen horses, but not all of them needed shoeing. Mainly this was a scouting mission. We’d see how they treated their animals, and they’d eyeball us to see if we could work together. They were a referral, so that eased things a bit. Once we got a good handle on the place and their needs, we may work a couple of horses, but most likely we’d be scheduling a follow up. Farm that size would be a full day’s work. Would make for a relatively early afternoon, which was nice.
Of course, Katie had taken Jai Li out to Black Briar for the afternoon.
My visits to the County Line were a mixed bag. I’d been in fights here, gotten drunk, and done some very stupid things. Honestly, I’m surprised they let me back in after that first incident with those two cowboys, but the owners were a forgiving sort. Being with Julie helped. That woman exuded calm and professionalism that spoke to these folks. With her around we were not likely to get drunk and start a fight or anything. We liked the County Line. It was our kind of kick-back-and-relax joint. I liked the clientele. They were real working stiffs who just wanted to wind down after a hard day’s work.
Of course, my cell phone rang halfway through my beer. Julie was on high alert as I fished it out of my pocket. The song was “Problem Child” by AC/DC.
“Skella,” I said to Julie, who smiled in relief.
I grabbed my beer and walked toward the bathrooms. That hallway was fairly soundproof from the open bar, being two turns past the kitchen. There used to be pay phones down there, back when you could find such things.
“Sarah?” Skella asked. “I was talking to Gletts this morning. Can we talk?”
“Sure, I’m at County Line with Julie. Want to pop over?”
“I’ll be right there,” she said. “Is the bathroom clear?”
I walked into the women’s room and looked around. “Empty.”
“On my way.”
I stood in the hall, blocking the door, just in case anyone showed up. But I didn’t need to worry. The door opened behind me and Skella stepped out.
“Cool, let’s go.” She was bouncing.
I led her back to our table, and Julie looked up.
“What an interesting surprise,” she said, giving me the side-eye. “Something important going on?”
Skella shrugged. “Just needed to talk to Sarah about some things. About the Hamsters and such.”
Julie looked at us strange, so we explained about the kids Skella had been hanging out with, why she called them Hamsters, and how they were working on the movie shoot.
“Sarah promised she’d talk to them,” Skella said, her voice solemn. “They’ve been hit pretty hard by all the suicides in Bellingham.” She turned to look at me, her eyes glistening with tears. “The latest suicide was a tenant in the boarding house Sprocket and Dante live in.”
I hadn’t heard that. I looked at her, surprised, and she grimaced.
“Two nights ago. They just found his body this morning at one of the motels near the airport. Dante and Sprocket are taking it pretty hard.”
“I’m sorry. Did you know him?”
She shrugged. “No, met him once when I was visiting. He kept to himself a lot. Nice enough guy, very shy.”
“Lot of suicides up that way,” Julie said, poking me under the table. “Anything we should be worried about?”
I didn’t want to be involved. Just because I was there when Ginny went over the balcony didn’t make them my responsibility.
“I think Sprocket has a theory,” Skella said, leaning forward. “You should definitely talk to him.” She sat back and drank the glass of water that had sat in front of me. “That Mimi who runs the boarding house knew all those kids,” she continued. “Even Ginny. Mimi teaches over at the University. Something in the theater department. Helps run plays or something.”
Was it wrong of me to wonder if she could help out on the Cheerleaders shoot instead of worrying she was somehow involved? Maybe so. Still, it was interesting news all the same. Mimi had seemed harmless when we’d met her after Ginny’s funeral. Just a drag queen with a killer voice.
“You think she’s involved with the suicides?” I had to ask. If she was involved in any way, I wanted to know who I was exposing my friends and family to.
“I really don’t think so,” she said, “but there’s something about Mimi’s boarding house. The place is amazing. I’ve been there dozens of time. It’s safe, homey. But there is a power there. Something I can’t define.”
“What did you talk to Gletts about?”
She looked exasperated and picked at Julie’s fries. “He thinks there’s a portal there. You remember back when he was running around the Sideways?”
I remembered all too well. His spirit had been knocked out of his body, similar to how Katie’s spirit had been hiding there in the body of a pregnant rabbit. Long story. But Gletts had been sure he could find a portal back to Alfheim, the elves’ true home.
“Could it be the portal he’s been on about?”
She shook her head. “Not that I’ve been able to figure out. I’ve checked all the mirrors, snuck into all the rooms. Really the only thing odd about the place is Mimi, and that’s only in the some-people-are-strange vibe she gives off. You remember how she was at karaoke after Ginny’s funeral?”
Totally. Her singing had tripped a few chords with me. Not—danger—as much as—wow, holy crap, she’s amazing—that type of thing. It sure felt like there was magic there, similar to the magic Katie used when she sang.
“Yeah, I remember.”
Julie watched us with mild interest. I knew she’d be grilling me to fill in the gaps later.
“Mimi loves running the boarding house. There’s something about the way she mothers everyone, looks out for them, you know?”
I shrugged. I didn’t really know, but I could imagine.
“All the Hamsters hang out over there. It’s a cool place. But I haven’t found anything out of the ordinary. I’m not sure it’s the place Gletts is looking for, but I think it’s close.”
“Maybe we should go check it out.”
She smiled big at that, changing her face from sullen and pinched to open and pretty. I bet without all the makeup she’d be cute. Not that I was into changing people’s appearances. God knows I’d had enough of that as a kid.
“There’s a concert next Friday,” she said. “You remember Scarlett and Brian? He’s in a band.”
I remembered. “Yeah, cute blond with the two kids: Thing One and Thing Two.”
She laughed. “Better not let Scarlett hear you call them that. Sprocket barely gets away with it.”
“Cool, what kind of music?”
She grinned at me, really pleased. “Punk show with some band out of New York. Brian’s band is opening for them.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said. “I’ll talk with Katie and we’ll probably make it. Can you get us tickets?”
“Brian has some comped tickets. We’ll hold back a couple for you and Katie.”
Julie asked Skella a question about the movie shoot, just to be polite, I’m guessing, and I let my mind wander.
I didn’t like the news about another suicide. Skella was gesticulating madly about some hilarious event at the shoot when my phone rang again. This time it was “Dragula” by Rob Zombie. They both turned to me and stared. Julie had a pinched look on her face. Definitely not her style of music. Skella’s face went neutral, a mask to cover the fear I saw in her eyes. She knew the significance of the ringtone, apparently.
I stared at my phone for a couple seconds, dread crawling up my back. “Qindra,” I said and answered it while I slid out of the booth.
“Beauhall.”
“Sarah?” Qindra’s voice was annoyed, maybe even a little afraid. “I need you.”
Shit. “When and where?”
“I’ll text you an address. I’d appreciate if you could engage with that lovely elf friend of yours and get a ride. This is urgent.”
I sighed, letting my tense shoulders drop. What were the odds? “She’s here as we speak.”
“Good. We’ll pick up her fees,” she said. “Extra for the rush job, but I need you here ASAP. Bring the sword. I’ll text you the address. We have a mirror set up already. Don’t dawdle.”
She hung up before I could say more. Julie gave me one of her mentor looks that was part concern and part frustration. “You are allowed to rest, you know.”
I almost laughed. “I need to go meet her.” I held up my phone as the text chimed and saw it was an address in Bellingham. “This just keeps getting stranger and stranger.”
I tossed a tenner on the table. “Come on, Skella. I need a ride.”
She nodded and scrambled after me. We walked to the truck and rifled through my gear, pulling Gram’s case out from under my coveralls and lunch box. Julie was walking out of the door when we walked back in to hit the mirror in the ladies’ room.
“I’ll grab my stuff when I get back to Circle Q,” I said, smiling at her. There may have been a couple of empty coffee cups and two or three empty water bottles in the back of her truck that were mine as well. “Promise.”
She grunted, holding the door for us. “You could wash it too.”
She was smiling, but I knew she was only half-joking.
I punched in Skella’s number as Julie drove away. Some days are weirder than others.
As it worked out, Skella knew the address. It was the no-tell motel where Sprocket’s friend had committed suicide. Wasn’t that all kinds of special?