by Peter Glenn
Isaiah threw up his hands. “That’s as good a lead as any, I guess.” He got into the driver’s seat and buckled his seat belt. “So where to, occult investigator extraordinaire?”
Now that was a title I could get used to. Isaiah sure was loading up on the flattery today. That probably should have sent my danger detector into overdrive. But instead, I lapped it up.
“Umm…” I pulled up my maps app on my phone. I’d been there several times now, and somehow, I always needed to be reminded of the exact address. “Sixth and Olive,” I said, reading it off my screen as I settled into my own seat and buckled my seatbelt. The seat cushion was nice. It felt almost like new. Smelled new, too. You never could replicate that new car smell. “It’s a little brown building on the Eastern side of Sixth.”
“Got it.” Isaiah fiddled with his rearview mirror for a moment, then pushed a button to start his car.
Ooh. His car had one of those fancy push-button start features. I liked those; it meant you didn’t have to take your keys out of your pocket, which also meant there was less chance of dropping them on accident and losing them somewhere.
And considering how clumsy I was, that was a very good thing.
I wondered if Sevin’s new car had a push-button start thingy. I hoped it did, for his sake. He deserved a nice ride.
“So, who are we going to see that lives at Sixth and Olive?” Isaiah asked.
I snorted. “He might as well live there, what with how much time he spends there. But no, he just works there.”
“Works there?” Isaiah scrunched his nose. “And he won’t have gone home by now?”
A lot of “normal” people did go home by five o’clock, so it was a fair question.
“Oh he’ll be there, all right. If I know him at all, he’ll still be at his desk working away for another hour or two at least.”
Isaiah nodded. “So who is this mystery man you trust so much with our quest?”
Trust with our quest? That was very formal language for something as simple as an office chat. I was starting to wonder about this Isaiah guy. It only just now occurred to me that I’d never really spent much time with him.
Whatever. It was all good. A wry grin crossed my lips. “Let’s just say he’s a good old friend of mine and leave it at that.”
Isaiah glanced at me, then back at the road. I could tell he wasn’t completely okay with me keeping the guy’s name under wraps, but he let it go. He turned the wheel hard to the right, and the car peeled into oncoming traffic.
“An old friend, huh?” he said at last.
“Uh huh. We go way back, him and I.”
Okay, not that far back. Almost a year now, though, which was a long time for some people. People that didn’t live for centuries. Was Isaiah one of those people?
I took a better look at the guy. To be honest, I didn’t really know that much about him. He looked to be about forty, but I wasn’t sure if he, like me and several others, aged the same rate that a normal human did. Did his magic extend his life, or was he really a forty-year-old? It felt like the kind of thing I should already know. Like the kind of thing he would have brought up before when I more than likely wasn’t listening. So I didn’t ask.
“Well, if he’s as knowledgeable as you’ve talked him up to be, then I’ll be in for a treat,” Isaiah said, breaking my stream of thought.
“No worries there. He’s the best.”
And he was, too. He’d helped me out on a few different occasions now. Once, when an evil Celtic queen had kidnapped Mei, once with a wrongful murder charge, and then again on a few smaller cases. Always dependable, even if he protested heavily while he did it.
Isaiah looked in my direction again for a half second as if gauging the accuracy of my response, then finally nodded. “Sounds like quite the guy.”
I was about to say something else, but my ears detected a familiar song on the radio that made me smile. “You listen to 98.4 The Click!, too?”
My companion nodded again. “Of course! They play the best mix of 80s and 90s music.”
“Do you mind if I turn it up?”
“Feel free.”
It took me a second to find the right controls on his car, but I found the volume button and turned it up several clicks. The sweet-sounding tones of Bonnie Tyler filled the car as she belted out her classic Total Eclipse of the Heart.
“Turn around...” I heard a second later, but not from the radio. It was from Isaiah. He was singing along with the song.
“Bright eyes,” I finished along with him.
We both smiled and went into the next verse, singing in unison at the top of our lungs.
As the song played on and we did our best to sing along, though slightly off-key, I felt the tension start to leave my body. I hadn’t even realized I’d been tense until that moment, but truth be told, I’d agreed to go with Isaiah without really thinking about it too much. I’d been a little too eager for the prize of the Jade Jaguar and its lure of infinite money to really think things through.
Like, where did Isaiah come by all his trinkets? Was he just a really good treasure hunter, or did he steal them?
Not that I could judge too much. A big part of my job involved breaking into places. I’d taken my fair share of artifacts without paying for them, but always for the sake of the client, and I’d always done my best to pay it back afterward.
Isaiah, though? Did I really know him at all, past the image he portrayed at the bar of a hard-working, treasure-hunting mage? Could I really trust him long enough to pull off this job? What if it all turned out to be a con? What would LaLuna and Grace think?
Darn it all. I was starting to think about their opinions on my dealings. That was the last thing I needed. How could I work with a clear conscience if they were in the back of my mind?
Loving people had its downs, apparently.
But all that aside, sitting there in Isaiah’s car, singing along with him to 80s classics, the man seemed like a decent enough guy. Maybe I hadn’t made a huge mistake trusting him. Maybe Isaiah was a good guy after all. I mean, we had the same taste in music. That had to count for something, right?
Several minutes later, we got out of Isaiah’s car and made the short walk to the entrance of the office building at Sixth and Olive. There were no lights on outside, but it wasn’t quite dark yet, so that wasn’t really shocking.
The door was unlocked, which was the important thing, so we entered the building easily enough. Inside, it smelled heavily of industrial cleaners, like the janitorial staff had gone through quite recently and wiped down everything. Most of the workers would have left by now, so I supposed that made sense as well.
We made our way down the slightly cramped hallway and passed by several wooden doors until we finally came to our destination—Richard Veinne’s office.
I tried the handle, and it turned easily enough. Good. Rick was still in his office like I’d thought. I would have been pretty embarrassed if he’d been absent after the way I’d gone on about him earlier.
But nope, good old trusty Rick was right where I expected him to be.
I opened the door fully and beckoned for Isaiah to come in after me. He followed close behind. The inside of Rick’s office was just as much of a mess as it always was, with stacks of papers strewn about everywhere on the desk. And this was just the secretary’s spot.
Rick usually employed a young secretary. I always figured it was a student of his that wanted extra credit in one of his classes or something. I never had caught her name. Next time I saw her, I’d have to ask.
Tonight, though, she wasn’t here.
I frowned a little bit. I’d always enjoyed my verbal exchanges with her. Or rather, not so verbal exchanges. She usually just waved me on through to annoy the heck out of Rick. The two had some sort of weird thing going on with each other where she completely ignored his wishes and did her best to make his life uncomfortable. It was a wonder he kept her at all, really.
Still, it was odd see
ing her absent. She must have gone home already.
The lights were off in Rick’s office, too, but the door to his inner office where he spent most of his life was slightly ajar. So I felt pretty confident that he hadn't just forgotten to lock up for the evening.
I motioned for Isaiah to follow quietly, and we made our way over to the inner door. I gave it the lightest of pushes so it would hopefully open without alerting Rick to our presence. I didn’t want to spoil the surprise too early. Once the door was open enough for me to see inside, I burst through it, face beaming, with a glint in my eye.
“Good evening, Rick!” I called out as I pushed my way into the small inner room.
Rick looked up from a stack of papers that lay in his lap, a scowl on his face. He did not look happy to see me. Couldn’t blame the guy, really. I always came unannounced and with a big problem to sort out. I could see how that would upset the guy.
But this time was different. Isaiah could afford to pay him. Well, I assumed he could. He’d offered to pay me...
Rick’s inner office looked much like the outer one. Most of it was taken up with a large wooden desk that he sat behind. The desk was covered in papers and folders filled with papers. It all looked so haphazard I couldn’t imagine how he kept it all straight.
Other than the desk, there was a bookcase on the right-hand wall that held several leather-bound tomes whose names I couldn’t make out, and a pair of wooden office chairs with plush red cushions so people could sit across from him.
Rick himself looked just like I’d seen him last. He was in his mid-forties, with brown hair that was just starting to grey at the edges. His face was almost pale white—not that unusual for Seattle, seeing as we didn’t get a lot of sun—and just a tad wrinkled around the eyes. He was wearing a light brown button-up shirt and a pair of dark brown slacks. A matching brown suit jacket hung off the back of his chair.
In short, not much had changed. The guy really liked his brown stuff.
“Hello Damian,” Rick said in greeting. It sounded strained, like I was the last person in the world he wanted to see just then. “What brings me the honor of your presence this evening?”
Okay, that was laying it on a little thick, and we both knew he was being fake about it, too. Though I wouldn’t have minded if he actually did feel that way on occasion.
I gave him the biggest smile I possibly could. He was always so dour. I had to be happy for the both of us. “Can’t a guy just come see his best friend in the world for no reason?”
Rick grumbled and said something under his breath, but I didn’t catch it. “I suppose a friend could, but you are not my best friend, and you never come all the way out here just to talk to me.”
Well, he had me there. I guess he knew me better than I thought.
“Oh, come on, Rick. Surely, you’re at least a little happy to see me?”
Rick returned his attention to the stack of papers in his lap and sighed, then placed them on top of another pile of papers on his desk. He got up from his seat and put on what I could only describe as a fake smile.
“Of course I’m happy to see you, Damian.” His voice sounded tired, like he should have been in bed two hours ago. He turned his attention to Isaiah. “And you are?”
Isaiah jumped just a little. Up until this point, he’d just been standing slightly behind me, saying nothing with an amused expression on his face. I could only imagine what was going through his mind at this whole exchange.
The magician wedged his way fully into the room and past me. He extended his hand in greeting toward Rick, who accepted it. “The name’s Isaiah,” he said. “I’m a magician, and I’m trying to track down an artifact.” He nudged his head toward me. “Damian is helping me out with the hunt.”
Rick’s eyes went from Isaiah to me, then back to Isaiah. “Helping you out, eh?”
Isaiah nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
Rick let out a long, slow sigh. “Very well. What can I do for you gentlemen?”
It was Isaiah who spoke first. “We’re looking for a magical artifact known as the Jade Jaguar. Ever heard of it?”
Rick frowned and rubbed his chin. “Jade Jaguar, huh?” Isaiah nodded again. “Hmm… maybe. There are lots of artifacts that are made from jade. I don’t recall a jaguar specifically, but there could be one.”
“Any information you could provide on it or maybe something similar would be a huge help,” Isaiah said with a grin. “We’re pretty much at a loss at the moment.”
“Won’t you two sit down?” Rick motioned toward the empty office chairs as he slumped back down into his own rather lavish one.
“Thank you,” Isaiah said. He made his way over to one of the chairs and sat gingerly in it. I followed suit, taking the other chair.
“What else can you tell me about this artifact of yours?” Rick asked. He still looked rather thoughtful and still had a semi-scowl on his face. It was an odd look.
Isaiah leaned forward in his chair. “Not much, unfortunately. No one’s even completely sure about what it does, though there are several solid rumors.”
“Such as?”
“Well, there are three main theories. The first says that it’s some kind of super-powered good luck charm. The second says that it’s a font of endless money. The third says it’s some sort of key to the underworld.” Isaiah let out a sigh of his own. “Not much to go on, I know.”
Rick rubbed his chin again. He was rubbing it so hard I wondered if skin would come off. “You’re right, that’s not much. Still, I suppose it’s better than nothing.” He looked down for several moments. “Is there anything else you can tell me about it?”
Isaiah bit his lip. “Well… I can’t say for certain on this next part. It’s just a rumor. But then, everything about this piece is just a rumor.”
Rick eyed him cautiously. “Go on.”
“I shouldn’t even be saying this, to be honest.”
At this point, I leaned forward as well. He was about to spill new information. What could have been important enough that he wouldn’t have mentioned it at the bar?
“But, well…” Isaiah continued, “I know someone who’s supposedly seen it in person.”
“Really?” both Rick, and I said in unison.
“Yeah. Only, they disappeared soon after they told me about it, and I haven’t seen them since, so I can’t be certain as to whether or not their information is on the level. Nor do I understand why they wouldn’t have just taken it for themselves if they really had seen it.”
I had to admit, that was a fair point. If someone had seen this mythical artifact up close, why hadn’t they taken it for themselves? That didn’t make a lot of sense.
“Just spill it anyway,” Rick urged. “Whether it’s accurate or not, it’s at least something to go off of.”
Isaiah nodded. “Valid point.” He took in a deep breath. “Very well. Supposedly, the guy that found it said it was buried deep under the jungles in southern Mexico, under some old ruin. But like I said, I’m not sure how accurate that information is, so take it with a grain of salt.”
“No, no, that would make sense,” Rick said. “There are a lot of old ruins in the southern part of Mexico that date back more than a thousand years. There could easily be secrets out there that we’ve never uncovered.”
“Yeah?” Isaiah said. He looked genuinely interested.
“Mm-hmm. Tons of stuff. If you listen to ancient astronaut theory at all, then you’d know that that area was often visited by aliens back in the Olmec days. Some of their statues even look like people in space helmets.”
Isaiah scoffed. “Ancient astronaut theory?” He glanced in my direction. “Damian, did you really take me to one of those people for information?”
I reared back in my chair and threw my hands up. “News to me. Heck, up until about a year ago, the guy didn’t even believe in magic, so I didn’t take him for an alien conspiracist.”
“Didn’t believe in…” Isaiah’s voice trailed off. “Just what is g
oing on, anyway? Where did you take me?”
“Relax,” I insisted, waving my hand dismissively. “He believes in it now, don’t you, Rick?”
Rick nodded. “That’s right. I believe in all of the occult now. Every last bit.”
Isaiah shook his head. “Ancient astronaut theorist. Pfft.”
“Hey, it’s a valid archeological theory!” Rick countered. “How do you think they moved all of those giant stones to build the pyramids in Egypt? With water and logs? And where did they get the logs? There’s not a lot of wood out there in the desert!”
“Duh, they used magic to help lift them,” Isaiah said matter-of-factly.
“Yeah, well… huh.” Rick frowned. “Yeah, I suppose that’s possible, too. But none of us really knows for sure!”
Isaiah looked down at his feet. “Whatever. Just… what do you know about ancient ruins in the south of Mexico? Maybe we can just leave it at that.”
Rick looked a little incensed, but he went back to slumping against the back of his chair. “Well, there are several Olmec ruins in that area. They’re the oldest known civilization in the Mexico region, and they worked a lot with jade to make various figurines. Some of their jade masks and figures are actually on display at the local museum, in fact.”
“Ooh, that sounds cool,” I offered.
Rick nodded. “For sure. But anyway, if I were looking for a jade artifact in the south of Mexico, I’d look at the Olmec ruin sites. Especially the ones where there aren’t tour groups visiting every day. If there’s anything to be found out there, that’s where I’d say you’ll find it.”
Isaiah lifted his head and stared straight at Rick for a moment. “Well, I have to admit, you have a point,” he said at last. The words looked like they’d physically hurt him to say it.
“Of course I have a point. I’m a bit of an expert when it comes to ancient cultures, you know.” Rick grinned broadly, regaining some of his composure.
“Sure,” Isaiah said. He didn’t look like he really believed it. “Well, thank you for your time and information,” he added a moment later. He got up and stuck his hand out again. “You’ve been a huge help, Rick. Really, you have.”