by J L Collins
Neither of them had much to say on the subject, other than agreeing that I should take it up with Uncle G after all.
“He’ll want to know, believe me,” Aunt Ginevra said, closing her eyes for a moment and tapping the simple-looking cash register on the counter with her fingers. “All done. I’ve made sure it’s come from Tristan’s money, mind you.”
Aunt Bee simply smiled and winked at her. “Thank you, Ginny. And yes, Gwennie-Bee, you should talk to Gardner about it. My brother may be busy but he always has time for his family.”
I didn’t doubt it. I would make sure to get his take on the situation, plus it wouldn’t hurt to check in with him and see how the investigation was going, either. But that would have to wait until later. The last thing I wanted was to irritate him not even twenty-four hours into a murder investigation.
6
Girls Having Fun
By the time I made it back home after helping Aunt Bedelia with some of her inventory, Fiona-Leigh was home too. Tagging along with her through the front door, was Marina.
“And how was your day?” I asked, not-so-subtlety slipping in through the kitchen as if I’d been there the whole time.
Fiona-Leigh snorted. “Right. It was okay, I guess.” Plopping down on the sofa, she kicked off her shoes and closed her eyes. “We wanted to stop by here first before heading over to Sully’s and catching a ride to Marina’s place. I have to grab some stuff from my room. Plus, Marina nearly pounded some guy’s face in.”
“Seriously, Fi?” Marina hissed, tossing her backpack down by the recliner.
I raised a brow, settling in on the arm of the sofa next to Fiona-Leigh. “What happened now?”
Fiona-Leigh sat up a little, drawing her socked feet up under herself. “Grayson from our 8th grade class is in our homeroom this year too. And he kept yanking Marina’s beanie out of her backpack, tossing it around with some other guys before the teacher came in. They were being total jerks. She got sick of it.”
Marina mumbled something else under her breath before adding, “served him right . . .”
“And?”
“And . . . she may have taken her backpack and hit him with it.”
I groaned, suddenly remembering how Marina liked to keep her skateboard strapped to her backpack. “Please tell me your board was at least in your locker.”
Marina slid her beanie from her head, releasing the white-blonde pixie cut underneath. “It was. But my next class after homeroom is Biology. And Biology has two huge books along with it. Let’s just say the results weren’t pretty.”
“Oh, honey, what in the world were you thinking?” I asked, unable to stop myself from wondering what her parents knew, if anything. Marina’s parents weren’t exactly the most aware people on the planet. They pretty much let her do what she wanted, but luckily Marina had a pretty good head on her shoulders. If that weren’t the case then I wasn’t so sure I’d be letting Fiona-Leigh hang out with her so much.
“I’m tired of him always getting away with it! Every year this happens. Grayson somehow ends up in my class and then I have to put up with him mocking me, annoying me, being a jerk—all year. I didn’t really get into too much trouble . . .”
“Well, I mean yeah, you didn’t get expelled or anything,” Fiona-Leigh added.
“—right. That’s what I mean. I just got . . . you know, suspended. Which is totally unfair, if I might add!”
The two of them kept going back and forth, garnering the attention of Jax who had been snoozing soundly in his dog bed in the corner of the room. He opened a sleepy eye, assessing the situation was in dire need of his cuteness, and tottered on over wagging his little tail at Marina before she scooped him up and hugged him close to her chest.
“Hi, bud,” she whispered against his wiry white fur.
“Honey, would you mind helping me really quickly? In the kitchen?” I turned to ask Fi, suddenly remembering that I had my own rather crazy day of information to unload on someone, too.
She sighed and heaved herself off the couch, gesturing for me to go first. “Be right back,” she said over her shoulder to Marina. Marina was too wrapped up in baby-talking to Jax to even notice we were leaving the room.
Making sure that unknowing ears weren’t listening, I pulled Fi over to the table and leaned up against it. “So. Today has been a pretty long day for me, too. I went to Spell Haven—”
“Mmhmm. I knew it.”
“And not long after I got there, something happened.” Without getting into too much detail, I explained to her who Rourke was. “Aunt Bee and I went to this magical library where Rourke worked—”
“The Athenaeum of the Unseen,” Fi repeated.
“Right. And it was true. Rourke was gone before we got there.” I shook my head, still reeling from the image of Rourke’s lifeless body lying on the black and gold marbled floor. “They’re trying to figure out what happened, of course.”
Fiona-Leigh slumped against the table next to me, her eyes on the floor. “I’m sorry about all of that, Mama. It sounds like he was a really good guy.”
“He was. He was and it’s honestly a little unnerving that he’s not there holding down the fort. That was what his job was, you know. To keep all of the Athenaeum’s important information and relics out of the wrong hands.” I hesitated for a moment. “The Keeper of the Pages is the last defense against the kind of evil that threatens lives in Danann. I’m worried because without one, it leaves Spell Haven and the rest of the realm in danger. And I don’t like not knowing what happened and why. Then on top of it, the An Leabhar na Ciallmhar is possibly missing, and Merlin knows what someone could do with it. If I could just—” I cut myself off, realizing too late that I’d said too much. Mention any kind of powerful-sounding magical item in front of my daughter and you’re guaranteed to have her undivided attention.
Fiona-Leigh straightened up. “Wait. You’re involved in this, aren’t you? You’re going to work with Uncle Gardner on this case . . . on this investigation? Right? Mom, c’mon, I know you!”
“Well, I mean I do want to keep tabs on everything and I’ll already be there in Spell Haven during the day anyway.”
“Let me come with you! I could help look for whatever that thing was you just said. Something about ‘leaving her and killing her?’ What the heck is that, by the way?” she asked, her voice doing the thing where she’s really excited and starts talking a hundred miles an hour.
I held up my hand. “Uh-uh. No way. You’re not coming to look for the Book of the Wise. We don’t even know if it’s necessarily missing. It might just be, um, misplaced.”
She gave me a look like I’d lost my mind. “Something called the ‘Book of the Wise’ just happens to conveniently get misplaced after the very same guy that’s supposed to be watching over it is found dead? Yeah. I’m sure it’s fine. C’mon Mom.”
“Okay, okay. So, it’s probably stolen—even more of a reason for you to stay out of the way! I’m not even supposed to really be looking into it if I’m being honest.”
Fiona-Leigh groaned, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “How is this fair, then? You can go be nosy, but I can’t? Just let me go with you! I promise I won’t get in the way!”
“Who’s going where?” Marina asked, suddenly standing in the doorway, holding a squirming Jax.
“I, uh . . .” I started, fumbling.
“My um, mom . . . she’s got this new job assignment that um, I wanted to go with her to.”
“Yeah, a freelance assignment. Outside of the Gazette. Far away, in fact,” I quickly added, grabbing hold of the story. “And I’m trying to explain to your friend here, that she can’t go with me.”
Marina glanced between us, apparently pretty amused. “Okay. Well, Fi, since you can’t go wherever your mom’s going, why don’t you come and stay with me at Sully’s? I forgot to tell you guys that my parents just told me this morning that they are going out of town for the next couple of weeks, so I have to stay with him anyway. I’m
sure he wouldn’t mind if you stayed too. I mean, if you want to.” She stared at Fi who looked absolutely torn between the prospect of staying through the week with her best friend and arguing more about coming along with me.
“Maybe . . .” Fi agreed. “I mean, we already have to work on our Biology projects anyway. Might as well work together—okay, I’m sold! Please, Mom? We’d get to school and everything with no problem.”
“Yeah, Sully is like perpetually early to everything. He’ll make sure we get to school,” Marina quickly nodded, shuffling over to stand shoulder to shoulder with Fiona-Leigh. “Please?”
I took in a deep breath. As much as I hated the idea of not being here while Fiona-Leigh was supposed to be going to school… I could at least check in with her throughout the week by popping in here and there. Especially since I wanted to keep my eye on any other magical leaks that might happen. “I don’t know, girls. I don’t want to intrude on Sully.”
“But you won’t! I’m sure he won’t mind!” Marina pleaded. “Seriously. He’ll probably even be happy! She keeps me out of his hair, so it’s like a coupon or something.”
I imagined Sully standing over his gas range, stirring up one of his delicious meals I’d already had the pleasure of tasting. With his thick, curly black hair pushed behind his ears while he was taste-testing some kind of sauce… I cleared my throat, trying to shake the image in its glory out of my head. “We’ll see.”
7
Veggies and Cadavers
I stood at the end of the driveway trying my very best not to look as ridiculous as I felt. Caving in to my daughter’s begging didn’t exactly set up as the best parenting move ever. I didn’t know what was more impressive—the fact that she started out the weekend being in trouble and managed to end it with a full week’s-stay with her best friend, or that I wasn’t having a major freak out over it.
The steady rush of spraying water caught my attention, pulling me out of my poorly-constructed parental confidence. Stepping out into the road, I noticed it was coming from the very place I was headed off to: Sully’s house.
Sure enough, I could just barely make out the dark curls over top of his white picket fence. From the looks of it, he was messing around in one of his gardens.
Taking a moment to make sure my hair wasn’t showcasing my many cowlicks, I smoothed down the front of my shirt and walked directly over there, hurrying before the guy in the old Chevy pickup nearly mowed be down.
Stupid human drivers and their stupid motor vehicles. I’d gotten used to learning to drive after I found out how necessary it was to get around anywhere directly outside of town, but I still didn’t like the idea of having to share the road with anyone else.
Opening the gate, I let myself into the front yard, automatically zeroing in on the man kneeling in front of a thick latticed vine of cucumbers. From behind, I could see that Sully had very likely been out here under the hot Georgia sun for a while now—the thin white t-shirt clinging to the middle of his back in a way that had me doing my very best impersonation of Jax staring at a brand-new bone.
I cleared my throat before I ended up standing there for another five minutes leering all creepy-like at him. “Hey there.”
Startled, Sully jumped and landed right on his rather fine behind, the basket of large, fresh cucumbers toppling out of his hands and onto the grass.
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry, Sully,” I said, rushing forward to help pick up some of the vegetables.
He just laughed, straightening his glasses and pulling himself up to a stand. “It’s all right.”
Why is it so hard not to stare at his cute dimples? “I really didn’t mean to scare you. And in fact, I sort of thought that being a coroner and all you’d be less-likely to startle.”
He nodded, wiping the back of his forearm on his forehead. “Yeah, I guess you have a good point. I don’t usually scare so easy, but I was counting in my head.”
“Oh?”
“I’m trying to figure out how many of each vegetable I’m going to put together for the Union County Food Bank this weekend. I’m dropping it all off this Saturday, actually,” he explained, pointing to the basket. “So far, I’m looking at keeping fifteen cucumbers for myself here—gotta have enough for pickles and all. And the rest are going to the food bank. I’ve got the butternut squash, bell peppers, tomatoes, and plenty of fresh herbs done for the day. I don’t suppose you’d like any?”
I took a look at the other baskets Sully had neatly lined against the side of his house and laughed, shaking my head. “Not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but you know me and food outside of a box don’t mix well. I wouldn’t even know where to start with all of these.”
He chuckled, gathering up the basket from my hands. “Which is exactly why you should take some! I can maybe come over and show you some good recipes to throw these into. Squash is really versatile, cucumbers are great for salads of course, but I’ve made some of this homemade vinaigrette that I bet you’d love. Seriously. We should get together and do that some time. I don’t mind teaching.”
Why do I feel like he could teach me how to watch paint dry and I’d still hang on his every word?
“Just call me your student. I mean, you know, metaphorically speaking.” Which reminded me of why I made the short trip over to begin with. Wiping the goofy smile off my face, I oh-so-casually transitioned into real talk. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something else. I’m going on a, uh, freelance business trip quite suddenly, and I’m finding myself at a loss of what to do with Fi. I’m just not comfortable leaving her in the house all by herself for the next few days or so. Marina mentioned something about her staying here with you while her parents are out of town? I don’t suppose you would mind if Fiona-Leigh came to stay over with her?”
“I’m sure Marina mentioned it,” he said with a wry smile. “I don’t see why not. She can stay in the guest bedroom with Marina.”
The tension faded from between my shoulder blades. “Thank you. Seriously, I hate impeding on your time and I’m sure you’re very busy and all—”
“—Not at all. It’s been a pretty light week at work. But I doubt it will stay the same now that I’ve said something,” Sully said, wincing. “Sorry. We’re all just a bit superstitious about talking about work outside the office.”
“Nothing wrong with being a little superstitious.” Especially when you grew up on true stories revolving around them. My Great-Aunt Millie once broke a mirror and really did have a bout of bad luck for seven years—though that was probably because she got sucked into the enchanted mirror and had to spend seven years solving a riddle just to get back out again. Poor Millie was never really the same afterward.
“And of course, I’ll make sure that it’s not all BuzzFeed quizzes and sneaking snacks at midnight, either. I know Marina at least has some kind of big science project she needs to be working on.”
“Is that really what they do at night?” I laughed. I could imagine the two of them silently laughing as they crept into Sully’s kitchen to steal the goods.
“Ha, you’d be surprised. One time I overheard them taking the ‘Which SpongeBob Meme Are You?’ quiz.”
“Uh, should I know what a SpongeBob meme is?” I asked, thoroughly perplexed.
He waved me off. “No. It’s probably better off you don’t know. Anyway, I mean to say that Fiona-Leigh is more than welcome to stay over with Marina. What kind of freelance assignment are you working on? It must be something pretty cool. Probably much more interesting than which of our neighbors won the yard of the month ribbon,” he said, smiling as he looked to the house behind his. “Mr. Porter nearly took off my head, trying to shape his bushes along our fence line just to prep.”
Despite the ridiculous giggle that found its way out of my mouth, my mouth didn’t seem to want to work right. “I-uh, well, it’s not something I can really talk about. The work assignment, I mean. It’s just there are a lot of people involved and it gets all convoluted with what I’m al
lowed to say and not allowed to say,” I managed to string together. “Nothing terribly interesting though, I’m afraid. Definitely not as interesting as say, being a coroner.”
Sully gestured for me to follow him inside after gathering up two of the baskets of veggies. Propping the backdoor open for me, he set the baskets down by the sink.
Was it so terrible of me to wish for a daydream-worthy sequence where Sully, tired of the sweaty shirt sticking to him, strips it off in the brilliant sunlight, the light catching reddish highlights in his otherwise jet-black curls?
He cleared his throat, looking at me as if he were expecting something. “Is this the part where you ask about what kind of skeletons I must be hiding in my closet in order to work with dead people? Believe me, it wouldn’t be the first time someone’s thought I was a little crazy and I had to reassure them otherwise. I mean, unless being a little crazy does it for you,” he added, quirking the corner of his mouth up to reveal a dimple half-hidden in his dark beard.
Less paying attention to his facial hair, more actual listening.
“Crazy isn’t really the word I’d use . . .” I struggled trying to think if any of what he’d just said had actually sunk into my subconscious. “More like . . . unique?” Wait. Did he just indirectly ask me if crazy people were a turn-on for me? Had I really let that fly so high up over my head?
He seemed satisfied enough with this answer. “Yeah, I guess you could label my job as unique.”
My cheeks were burned as I tried to move on in the conversation. “What did make you decide to want to, you know, do what you do?”
Sully hung onto the question for a moment, a shadow crossing his face that made me want to rewind and never ask.
“Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I just sort of like seeing what makes people choose certain paths. I like knowing what makes people tick.” Leave it to me to put a guy on the spot in his own kitchen.