In the Teeth of It

by K A Miltimore

She headed upstairs, confident that she would hear the front door bell if anyone came inside. She’d scour her library of recipes to see what she could learn to compete with the scones of a dead Scottish grandmother.

  The library, dim even in summer mornings, was shadowy and cold. Hedy lit candle after candle so that she would be able to actually read whatever she might find. Soon enough the room was full of soft warm glow; it did nothing to change the chill in the air, but that was as likely due to Adelaide as to any problem with the furnace.

  “Adelaide, I’m looking for a recipe. Hopefully I am not disturbing you.” Hedy didn’t know what a ghost might be doing where she could be disturbed, but it never hurt to be polite.

  The candle flames flickered slightly in response.

  “I don’t suppose you know any secrets of Scottish scone makers, do you? Your family was Swedish, I believe.” Hedy ran her finger along the spines of several books, looking for a volume of The Best of Traditional British Cooking. She wondered if she had loaned it out to a neighbor, back when she lived in Portland. “I’m trying to impress Darro by replicating his Granny Raith’s scone recipe.”

  The book was definitely not where it should have been. The question was who she would have loaned it to.

  “Sweets,” Adelaide’s voice was soft but unmistakable in the quiet.

  “Yes, scones can be sweets, especially with Devonshire cream and jam.” Hedy placed her forefinger into the space where the book should have been. Maybe she had it up in her reading pile in the attic?

  “I like…” Adelaide spoke again, pausing. Hedy waited but she didn’t finish the sentence.

  “I like them too, Adelaide. We have that in common.” The candle flames flickered strongly, and Hedy worried they would be blown out.

  “But teeth, sharp.” Adelaide’s voice was now worried sounding, almost too soft to hear.

  “Sharp teeth? Whose? Are you talking about Ren?” Hedy waited and the candles continued to flicker. Did Adelaide know about the attacks on the farms? How could she? Hedy felt frustrated that she couldn’t just get a straight answer from the ghost.“Adelaide? Are you here still? Are you warning me or are we still talking about sweets?”

  She needed a better way to communicate with her spectral roommate.

  “Here. Watch...for teeth.” Her voice trailed off and the candle flames went still again.

  Whatever the ghost was trying to tell her, it was as cryptic and infuriating as ever.

  Chapter Five

  Yami was not one for rising or shining. She preferred late nights and lazy mornings. Her room was adequate, certainly better than many of the places she had stayed for assignments, but it didn’t suit her taste. She preferred minimalism and sleek lines; this room was all Victorian fluff and bother. Be that as it may, she slept surprisingly well given she was in a strange place and unsure as to what threats there might be. She managed to sleep through most of the morning before opening her eyes to the filtered light coming through the window.

  Her ears immediately picked up the sound of rustling downstairs. No doubt her host would be at work in her shop, which suited Yami just fine. She wasn’t in the mood for more small talk.

  More and more, she wasn’t finding this life fulfilling, and she kept longing to return home to Tokyo. Sure, the money was good, but she had plenty for now and her needs were small other than her lovely and incredibly expensive downtown apartment. She might just make this her last job. Her ties to the Tokyo underworld had been severed, quite literally, last year in a turf war and that left her without anyone demanding she work. She had only taken this job because Lyssa could be very persuasive.

  Yami stretched and lightly left the bed, tussling her bobbed hair as she did so. Lyssa had asked her for regular reports on the activities in this house and so far, there was nothing to report. The host baked, and that appeared to be it. Yami had thought it was some kind of cover for more devious activity, but after one day in the house, it was easy to believe that Hedy was in fact, just a baker. Sure, she was also a waystation host, but there seemed to be nothing else of note about her, nothing sinister or even interesting for Yami to report about. She had to wonder if Lyssa knew what she was doing with this assignment. Why did she need Yami to be her eyes and ears on this ordinary woman?

  She unplugged her phone from the charger and checked the latest news from The Japan Times. There wasn’t as much Christmas in the news in Japan as in the west; celebrating the new year was by far the bigger holiday. Yami had to admit that she liked to be on a job during December so she could visit somewhere with the traditions of the season. Despite her preference for empty spaces, she did find a fully trimmed tree to be rather pleasing.

  “Alright, time to begin.” She set down the phone and put on her usual work attire of black leggings and a dark grey tunic. She gave her appearance a quick scan in the mirror and then headed down to the hustle and bustle of the house. Time to keep her eyes and ears open.

  She made her way down the stairs, finding a huge fir tree now sitting in the hallway by the stairs. The scent reminded her of her work last night and she smiled. There was also the scent of baking, with the spices of cinnamon and cardamom easy to pick out. Yami’s keen nose also found the warm smell of rum and she checked her watch to see if it was too early for a nip. She entered the shop to find Hedy behind the counter with a younger girl who was rolling balls of dough in her hands.

  “Ah, there is our guest. Yami, please come meet Mel, a friend of the house.” Hedy had looked sad when Yami entered the room and though she was smiling now, she wondered what had been happening before.

  Yami approached the counter and gave a small bow to the young woman. They both had similar bobbed hairstyles. The girl was shorter than Yami and gave off the impression of someone bookish and quiet.

  “Pleased to meet you, Yami. I just help out in the shop. Right now, Hedy has me rolling rum balls and I can’t even sample them.” Mel gave Hedy a smile and Yami could tell that the girl was trying to cheer her up.

  “It is my pleasure to meet you, Mel. The scent from the shop is quite intoxicating, including those rum balls. I may just have to break my rule of no sweets and sample a bit. Everything smells so wonderful.”

  For the first time, Hedy looked appalled. “No sweets! What kind of a rule is that? My goodness, what would ever compel you to have that kind of rule?” Hedy paused in her work to fetch a plate for Yami.

  “In general, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. My tastes run to more savory flavors. I also find that too much sugar leaves me feeling…” she was searching for the English word for teimei, “sluggish. Yes, it makes me sluggish. I prefer to feel sharp.” Yami accepted the plate and took a seat near the counter so she could continue to watch them work.

  “Yes, I suppose too much of anything is bad, including sugar. I would find it very hard to face every day though if I had to bar myself from such a simple pleasure. I probably would benefit from adopting that rule now and then.” Hedy chuckled and returned to the rum balls.

  Yami took a bite of the cinnamon roll that was shaped like a snail and she had to admit, it was delicious. The baker definitely knew her craft.

  “So, what is on the schedule for you today, Yami? Hopefully you will be with us on Saturday so you can visit the Christmas market. There should be a good assortment of vendors and some festive performances. I’ll have a booth there.”

  “Yes, I suspect I will still be here, and it sounds quite interesting. As for today, I thought I would just take a rest day and stay around the house, if you don’t mind.” Yami took another bite of her cinnamon roll and smiled appreciatively at Hedy.

  “Of course, feel free to putter about as you wish. If you wouldn’t mind, I could use a hand decorating the tree today. Don’t feel like you need to say yes, but if you are so inclined, I’d be happy for the help.” Hedy watched Yami nod in response since her mouth was full. She very much liked the idea of having help decorating the tree.

  “Great. As soon as Mel and I
finish these rum balls, she will be leaving, and we can get to the tree. I have several boxes of lights and ornaments in the garage that I’ll bring in and we can get to work.” Hedy heard a tinge of excitement in her own voice and she hoped she wasn’t coming across as too desperate. The last thing she wanted to do was make her guest feel uncomfortable.

  “That sounds delightful. I can say this may be the first time I have ever decorated a tree. I’m often traveling in December and when I am home, I don’t decorate my apartment. This will be a first.” Yami saw the young girl smile, almost in gratitude, and she guessed that Hedy might be lonely this Christmas season. Yami would have to investigate that to see what advantage it might provide.

  A few more customers came in and Yami watched them order some of the Krampus cookies or fox tail donuts, which Yami found particularly distasteful; as if anyone should want to eat a dismembered fox tail. In between customers the rum balls were complete, and Mel was preparing to leave for the day. It would just be Hedy and Yami, at least until Hedy’s next visitor arrived.

  “ I’ll see you tomorrow.” Mel said, waving goodbye as she headed out the front door. She was relieved that Hedy had some company for the rest of the day, if for no other reason than to take her mind off the inspection with the visitor. Mel had to admit that she was excited at the prospect of an evening with nothing strange or unusual to prepare for, just selecting a Christmas tree with her family.

  The women headed to the detached garage to bring in Hedy’s decorations for the tree. Yami was glad of the opportunity to look around for anything of interest for Lyssa, but the garage looked like a dustier version of the house, with boxes and curios lining the walls. Though there was a blue Corvair parked in the center. Hedy maneuvered through the bric-a-brac until she found what she was looking for. There were three larger cardboard boxes marked “Xmas” on the side.

  “Here we are, this should be everything. I don’t think they are especially heavy, just bulky.” Hedy picked up a box, testing the weight, and found it was manageable. Yami took a box from the stack and they headed back toward the house. The sky looked ominous, as if yesterday’s rain was on its way back.

  “I hope the rain holds off until after Mel’s event tonight.” Hedy hurried up the porch stairs and held the door open for Yami.

  “Wouldn’t it be lucky if you were a weather witch and you could give her a little help?” Yami smiled as she set the box down by the tree and Hedy laughed.

  “Oh, no, no powers here. There have been times that I have wished that I did have powers, but no, the best I can do is just keep my fingers crossed for her.” Hedy headed back to the garage for the final box, leaving Yami to cross witchcraft off her mental list.

  There had to be something about Hedy that made her worthy of Lyssa’s attention, and more dangerously, her wrath.

  Yami opened the box and found strings of lights, rather haphazardly coiled, leaving them a bit tangled and difficult to extract. She began carefully drawing out a strand, trying to keep it from getting caught on the other bulbs while Hedy returned with the final box.

  “Hopefully the lights aren’t too tangled. We’ll need to put them on the tree first. I’m hoping four strings of lights will be enough; this tree is a bit larger than my last trees have been.” Hedy squatted down next to Yami and began pulling out a string of her own. With a bit of lifting and prodding, they managed to get all the strings out and into four separate piles. Hedy plugged in the first string and it lit up in a shimmering silver glow. One by one, they plugged the other strings into the first until they were all connected in one long line.

  With a pattern not discernible to Yami, Hedy wove the lights among the branches, starting at the base and tucking the strings in deep, near the trunk of the tree. It wasn’t long before the entire tree was lit with the silver glow.

  “OK, that should work. That looks like enough lights, don’t you think?” Hedy glanced over at Yami who was nodding slowly. “Now the fun part. Let’s get the ornaments on.” Hedy opened a second box and began drawing out what appeared to be glittering spiders and webs.

  “Hedy, forgive the question, but is it common to decorate with spiders?” Yami asked as Hedy opened her hand and offered one of the glass spider ornaments to Yami for placing on the tree. It was gorgeous, if quite strange.

  “Well, I guess it depends on what part of the world you are in. In America, yes, I would say it is unusual to have spiders on a Christmas tree. In Ukraine or Poland, most trees have a least one spiderweb, though I doubt most trees end up looking like mine. There is an old story about a poor family who couldn’t decorate their tree, so the spiders covered it in beautiful webs. I have always loved the story, so I collect spider themed ornaments.”

  Hedy had a large ruby red spider with glittering green legs in her hand and she was looking for a sturdy branch that could support the weight.

  “You seem to have traveled quite a bit. What’s your story?” Besides trying to find out more for her assignment, Yami found herself genuinely wanting to know about the strange woman pulling jewel spiders from her ornament box.

  “I have traveled, yes. It was something I wanted to do since I was a teenager. Life at home wasn’t always good so the first chance I had to take off for another place, I grabbed it. I’ve visited and even lived in a lot of wonderful places, and I hope to do more traveling at some point in the future. For now, I am happy hosting the waystation and having the travelers come to me.”

  “Did your work take you to all these places? I mean, not to be crass, but being a world traveler is an expensive hobby.” Yami hoped she wasn’t being offensive but she didn’t know how Hedy could afford such activity on a baker’s salary.

  “No, it’s a valid question. I’m fortunate in that my family has left me well situated. I am not rich, but I have what I need to support my life. I had an ancestor or two who were rather canny with their money and it helped the rest of us down the line.” Hedy wasn’t exactly embarrassed by the conversation, but she felt like it made her sound as if she wasn’t able to support herself, that she needed the family trust money to survive. It certainly was a help, but she had always worked, since she was eighteen years old.

  “I understand. And, of course, I meant no disrespect. I was just curious about how you managed to visit so many places. Your home is a monument to travel.” Yami glanced around the hall at all the curiosities lining the walls and gave a broad smile, which she hoped Hedy interpreted as appreciation.

  “I have been lucky to visit many of the places I have always wanted to see and to bring back some interesting things as mementos. I’m not sure if my travel bug made me a collector or the other way around. In any event, if I gather any more items, I will need a bigger house.” Hedy laughed as she rustled near the bottom of the box of ornaments. “Just a few more ornaments and then I have to figure out how to get the star on top.”

  “Oh, I can handle that for you. I can be quite nimble.” Yami found the star and quickly hopped up onto the top of the step ladder. She stood on one foot, almost en pointe, and reached her arm high above her head. She had just enough height to bring the star to the top of the tree and settle it gently. With a hop, she was off the ladder and back on the ground.

  “You must have been a dancer at some point. That was beyond nimble, Yami. Thank you.”

  Her guest bowed slightly and then stood back to admire the tree. Yami had to admit that the effect of all the jeweled spiders and silver spider webs was rather breathtaking against the cold silver lights in the branches.

  “Wait until you see it with the other lights turned low. It really is a beautiful effect.” Hedy placed the last ornament, a filigree silver web, in an empty space near the top, and then she too stepped back to take it all in. As much work as it was, the tree was always worth the effort.

  “It’s lovely, Hedy. Thank you for letting me assist you. I’m not one for taking pictures usually but if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to get a picture of you with the tree as a memento.” Yam
i always tried to take photos of her subjects while working on a job; they came in handy, though she had to be scrupulous in deleting them from her phone’s memory once the job was done.

  “Of course. I’ll take off my apron if you don’t mind.” Hedy removed the polka dot apron and Yami could better see the corduroy jumper and mustard yellow turtleneck underneath. She honestly couldn’t imagine where Hedy found her clothing.

  “Okay, here we go. Ichi…ni…san.” As Yami reached three and snapped the picture, the doorbell rang, startling both women. They both turned to find a visitor unlike anyone either had ever seen before.

  The woman seemed to be less than five feet tall and her frame was rather thin, although she was swathed in layers of black wool wrappings. The one hand she had exposed looked ancient, with deep crevasses and long, claw-like nails painted in pearlized violet. Her face was dominated by an enormous pair of dark black sunglasses.

  “Hedy Leckermaul.” The woman spoke sharply and without preamble.

  “Yes, that is me.” Hedy stepped away from the tree, coming a bit closer to the figure by the door.

  “I am Raluca Vaduva. I am here for your inspection.”

  Chapter Six

  The small figure faced the two women with a stern expression, giving Hedy the impression that she had already failed in some fashion. Hedy hadn’t mentioned any of this to Yami and now she would have some explaining to do.

  “Yami, we have a visitor from the Concierge head office. I’ll be closing up the shop early so that I can assist Miss Vaduva with her inspection.” Hedy stepped forward to close the door behind Raluca and she caught the unmistakable scent of metal - like copper or iron. She closed the door and switched the sign, gesturing for Raluca to enter the bakery.

  Yami watched the two leave the entry. What an interesting development to share with Lyssa. She’d have to hover in the hall on some pretext so she could be sure to learn more about this inspection. Perhaps the tree needed some adjusting.