Clue and The Shrine of the Widowed Bride (Clue Taylor Book 1)

by Wendie Nordgren

  Smiling, she said, “Could you stack it on the front porch? There’s a bin.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  It took me longer to stack the firewood than it had to cut it. Afterwards, I swept the leaves and twigs from her kitchen door to her transport, put the laser saw away, and closed the basement door. Even in the coolness after the sun had vanished, I still felt sweaty, so the chill that swept over me took me by surprise. Worriedly, I looked around.

  At the back door, I told Mrs. Stone that I had finished. “Oh, thank you, Clue. Is that short for something, dear?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  Giving me a gentle smile, forty credits, and a bag of freshly baked cookies, she asked me if I could return the next day.

  “Yes, Mrs. Stone. Thank you for the work.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Clue. Be careful on your way home.”

  I nodded my head to the little old lady and began the walk along Cherry Street in the dark. I opened the bag and ate the best cookie I had ever had in my life. She had baked them with tiny bits of blueberry and mint. “Oh, yes. I might have to offer to work for cookies.”

  I ate another one but decided to have the others at home with a cup of tea. Again, I felt a chill as though someone was watching me, but no one was there. I stopped in at the diner on the corner of Cherry and Honjo. The same waitress was there.

  “Welcome back, sugar. Table for one again?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Most of the booths were taken, so she showed me to a seat at the counter. I drank the water down, and she refilled it before walking to check on another customer. The people inside were dressed mostly in sturdy work clothes. I assumed that many of the patrons were either employed at the orchard or at the wharf. However, a few of the diner’s customers looked as though they might work at the shops. I felt the creepy chill again and managed to catch my water right before it could spill. “What the heck?”

  “What was that, sugar?” asked the waitress.

  “Nothing. I’d like the broccoli and cheese soup and the stuffed flounder. Can I have some sweet tea?”

  “Sure thing. Be right back,” the waitress said as she took my menu.

  I felt eyes on me and saw from the corner of my eye a dark-skinned man watching me like I’d stolen something. I frowned and sipped my water. He was too well-dressed to work in the orchards or on the boats. He must be a Protect and Serve or one of Winks’ enemies.

  Aside from when he had been giving me gifts, I hadn’t paid much attention to Winks. I really wanted a picture of Winks to see if people could tell that I was his bastard child just by looking at me. I wondered if the residents of Eris Station had laughed about the irony of my name and if they had all had a clue about who it had been who had donated sperm to Momma. My thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of my meal. Seeing how dirty my hands were, I felt my cheeks begin to burn. The waitress laughed and handed me a warm wet cloth.

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. Next time, the restroom’s through there.” My eyes followed where she pointed. I nodded my understanding.

  Once all of my food was gone, I paid with my credit chip which showed that I had thirty credits remaining on it. I put it in my pocket, picked up my bag of cookies, and felt the same odd chill again. I stood almost falling as my foot caught on the chair’s foot rest. The dark-skinned man narrowed his eyes at me. I avoided his gaze as I walked out of the diner.

  Palming the door, the bars released, and I entered my house closing it behind me. I placed the cookies on the kitchen counter, got my clothes out of the cleaning unit, and went upstairs. I began filling the tub before I put my things away. I stripped out of my clothes and shoes while using the waste unit leaving a pile of dirty clothes on the floor. Then, I got into the tub sliding under the surface of the warm water. After a good scrub and a hair washing, and soaking until my fingers had shriveled, I began to doze. Suddenly, my shampoo bottle dropped into the tub splashing loudly and frightening me awake.

  Feeling the chill once again, I put the shampoo bottle back on the edge of the tub and scanned my surroundings. “Hello?”

  No one answered, but I didn’t feel like I was alone. Draining the water and wrapping myself in a towel, I got out and looked around the second floor. I checked the hidden door. Everything seemed right. I put on a gown, dried my hair, and went down to the kitchen where I made myself a cup of tea. I carried my tea and cookies into the living room and sat on the white couch. I looked up at the mantel.

  “I wish you could have seen this place. It sure would have been nice if we could have all lived here together.”

  My words echoed around the empty loft. We hadn’t been a family, though. Momma and Winks had had business transactions not feelings. Alone, I finished my tea and cookies, cleaned up my small mess, and went upstairs where I laid in bed with Daisy and told her about my day.

  A cold chill rolling all over my flesh woke me several hours later. The feeling was far more intense than before. I turned on the lights using the button I had discovered by the bed and scanned the room. Intense feral fear clawed through me when I saw Daisy sitting up on her own by my right knee seemingly staring at me.

  I screamed and leapt from the bed flattening my back to the wall. Daisy fell to the bed, and the chill left me. Stumbling into the closet, I grabbed my clothes and shoes and ran with them downstairs dressing in front of the door and leaving my gown on the floor.

  Closing the door behind me, I ran down Honjo Street to Tortoise Street where I ran as fast as I could. Feeling the chill once again all along my flesh, I sobbed as I paused to cross Swan Street. The sun hadn’t yet risen, but even in the darkness I felt eyes upon me. Pushing my legs to run faster, I paused briefly to check for traffic on Frog Street before making it to Wharf Street. In a full panic, I ran along the pier looking at boats and their names. The ones nearby appeared to be fishing boats that were being prepared to set out.

  Sobbing, I ran toward the marina where nicer boats were docked, and the quiet stillness was only disturbed by a circling gull and the soft pounding of my feet on the boards. The toe of my right shoe caught at a board, and I tripped to the walkway catching myself on my hands and knees as I skidded to a stop. I winced at the sharp pain in my hand seeing a dark splinter stuck deep under the skin of my left palm.

  The chill washed over me once again, and I began to cry realizing that I didn’t even remember the name of Cosmo’s boat. Slowly, I stood feeling additional stinging in my knees and scanned the names of the boats while trying to recall the name.

  “The Sea Hag, no the Sea Harpy,” I said aloud as I stumbled along.

  In the distance, I saw a man with black hair carrying a steaming cup as he walked on his ship’s deck. I picked up my pace to a careful jog and called out, “Cosmo?”

  The man looked up, put his cup down, and met me at the railing with his hand outstretched. With an expression of shocked worry and surprise, Cosmo asked, “What happened?”

  Blubbering, I said, “I keep feeling cold and like someone is watching me, and then Daisy was sitting up in bed watching me sleep, so I ran all of the way here, but it’s still watching me.”

  Cosmo helped me sit on a padded bench. “Hey, now. Slow down. You’re safe now. Why is your hand bleeding?” He asked as he took my left hand in his. Cosmo reached over to turn on an overhead light.

  “I tripped,” I answered through chattering teeth.

  “Stay right here.” Cosmo stood from where he had crouched before me. He wore only a pair of boxers. He went into the cabin. When he returned, he wore pants and carried a first aid kit and some waste paper. “Here. Blow your nose.” I did so while he opened the kit. Taking my left hand firmly in his, he quickly removed the large splinter, cleaned the wound, smeared ointment on it, and covered it with a band aid. “Now, let’s see those knees.”

  “What?” I asked as I blew my nose again.

  “They’re bleeding through your jeans. Stand up.” When I stood, Cosmo wrapped
a blanket around me. “Now. Drop ‘em.”

  I unfastened my pants with my right hand and wiggled out of them. My knees were really stinging now, and odd zingy sensations seemed to travel sporadically through my kneecaps. Cosmo told me to sit down and then proceeded to remove my shoes and then pull my jeans off of me. While dabbing at my skinned knees with antiseptic, he said, “So, Daisy was sitting up all by herself?”

  Nodding, I sobbed out a, “yes.”

  “Don’t cry. It’s okay, Clue, but we’re gonna have to ask Lord Tanaka for help. Shit.”

  Sniffling, I asked, “Who is he?”

  With serious brown eyes, Cosmo said, “Lord Tanaka is the law in Scorpius.”

  I snorted. “What’s he gonna do? Arrest Daisy? I don’t want to lose Daisy, too.” I felt another tear slide down my cheek.

  “You won’t.”

  “Cosmo, can I use your restroom?”

  “Sure, let me show you where it is.”

  I followed him inside. After using the waste unit, I took a cloth and washed my face careful not to get my left hand wet. After my time in the bathroom, I was feeling a little less freaked out. When I came out, Cosmo held out a pair of his shorts to me the kind with a drawstring in the waist. Carefully, I pulled them over my bandaged knees and put on my shoes. I put the blanket on his bed and figured out how to tighten the shorts so that they would stay up. Cosmo made me sit down, covered me again with the blanket, and handed me a hot cup of coffee. I watched as he lowered a plank and rolled his motorcycle off of the boat and onto the deck.

  The hot coffee chased some of the chill away, but I continued to see Daisy sitting up on her own over and over again. My head was beginning to hurt from crying. Meanwhile, Cosmo had dressed and now held his hand out to me.

  “Ready?”

  “I guess.”

  After I was on the dock, Cosmo put the plank up and gave me a helmet to wear. I climbed onto the bike behind him grateful to be near another person. Cosmo drove us to the Wisteria Hotel and parked at the curb a few lengths from the entrance. Together, we walked to the door.

  The dark-skinned man who had been staring at me in the diner was leaning against the building. He said, “State your business here, Lenox.”

  Angrily, Cosmo said, “The little miss here needs to speak to Lord Tanaka.”

  The man straightened from his leaning position. “Then, she can enter.”

  Cosmo squeezed my left elbow. “I’ll be right here waiting for you. Okay?” He gave me a smile of encouragement.

  My head began to pound even harder, and the chills returned encouraging me to run far from the danger that was the Wisteria Hotel. “You’re not coming with me? But, I don’t even know what’s going on.”

  Cosmo placed his palm against the back of my head. “Just tell him what happened this morning. I’ll be right here the whole time. Promise,” Cosmo said as he allowed his hand to drop.

  “Follow me,” the dark-skinned man said.

  At the early hour, not many of the hotel guests were awake, but of the few business types who were, I received some questioning looks. I was led into the hotel’s fancy restaurant. A slant-eyed man with black hair and dark eyes sat stirring his coffee while listening to a man of a similar description who stood beside him. Taking note of us, he tapped his spoon against the cup’s rim and then let it rest on his saucer.

  In a bored tone, he said to my escort, “What is this, Dorian?”

  My escort gave a quick bow. “Lenox brought her to see you, Lord Tanaka.”

  Lord Tanaka focused his dispassionate attention on me. He seemed to stare through me replacing the cold fear that had been following me with the desperate fear of being hunted. The man who had been quietly speaking to Lord Tanaka walked to a spot behind him, turned, and stopped as though guarding his back. I recognized the handsome man who had asked me if there was a problem when I had been arguing with Cosmo. I saw his eyes lower to my knees and noticed that they had bled through the bandages a little.

  I sighed. I was not making a good impression. Lord Tanaka motioned for me to come forward. Dorian stayed behind me.

  “Why have you come here?” Lord Tanaka asked in a bored voice.

  Momentarily confused, I said, “Cosmo said we could ask you for help.”

  Without taking his feral eyes from me, Lord Tanaka lifted his cup and sipped from it. Then, he followed the cup with his eyes as he lowered it to the saucer. When he raised his eyes back up to mine, quietly, he asked, “Why should I help the daughter of a thief and a whore?”

  I felt the blood drain from my face as my stomach fell to my throbbing knees. Then, my cheeks grew hot. “I can see it was a mistake for me to come here.”

  I turned and bounced off of Dorian’s chest. I took a step to go around him, and he blocked me. “Get out of my way.”

  He ignored me and prevented me from going around him to the left. I knew that I was about to cry and was desperate to leave. I’d just die if I cried in front of these conceited aristocratic bastards.

  “Move!”

  Dorian wouldn’t let me pass. Frustrated, I kicked him in the shin. However, instead of moving out of my way, he moved to pick me up and then placed me in the chair across from Lord Tanaka. Then, Dorian stood behind me with his hands on my shoulders. I stared at my lap and tried not to cry, but I couldn’t help it. Momma was dead, I didn’t know how I was gonna be able to continue going to school, Winks was dead and had been my father all along, Daisy was possessed, and Mr. Fucker Lordling over here was treating me like a piece of trash for needing his help when I didn’t even know how he could help. I really wanted to leave. It couldn’t be legal to force someone to stay somewhere against her will.

  I eyed one of the forks on the table and wondered if poking Dorian with it would gain me my freedom, not that I was eager to return to Daisy, and she was the only real comfort I had. I bit my lip, but a sob escaped me anyway. I scrubbed at a tear that had somehow ended up on the tip of my nose.

  “What is it that you want?” I heard Lord Tanaka ask.

  “I want Daisy back,” I said as I wiped at my eyes.

  Lord Tanaka tossed a napkin onto my lap. I used it to wipe my eyes. “Who is Daisy?” he asked in a bored voice.

  “She’s my doll.” I expected snickers but heard only silence.

  “Was she stolen?” he asked quietly.

  “No, when I woke up this morning, she was sitting in bed by me watching me.”

  I heard him sigh. “Begin with Daisy sitting up and go backwards. Tell me everything.” When I began telling Lord Tanaka about Mrs. Stone, he held his hand up. “Enough.”

  A waiter came to refill Lord Tanaka’s cup, and he poured me a cup as well. I took a sip, blew on the contents, and took another.

  “You attracted a mononoke away from Mrs. Stone.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Mononoke are mischievous entities who have been known to feed off of loneliness and despair. A well-fed mononoke can gain the strength to move objects or even cause its host to trip and hurt herself. The more frightened and alone you are, the more satisfied is its hunger.”

  “Is it hurting Daisy?”

  Lord Tanaka smiled. “No, it follows its host wherever she goes.” Worried, I looked around me. “It wouldn’t have followed you into my domain. What are your plans today?”

  I realized that I was wringing the napkin in my hands. “Mrs. Stone has more chores for me to do today.”

  Lord Tanaka nodded. “Good. Go to her. I will be watching and will free both you and Mrs. Stone from the mononoke. You may go.”

  Dorian pulled the chair upon which I was sitting back. Lord Tanaka’s attention had returned to the man to whom he had been speaking when I had entered. Dismissed, I followed Dorian from the hotel restaurant, into the lobby, and out to the sidewalk where he left me.

  As soon as we were alone, Cosmo asked, “How’d it go?”

  Looking down at my hand that still clutched the napkin, I said, “Hold on.” I went back to the
door and tossed the napkin to the doorman who raised an eyebrow at me. “After he finished insulting my parentage, and I beat up Dorian, he agreed to help.”

  Cosmo put the helmet on my head. “Do you want some breakfast or to hang out on the Sea Harpy?”

  “Neither. Can you drop me off at the end of Cherry Street?”

  Cosmo gave me an incredulous look. “Why?”

  “I got a job.”

  “How? You aren’t old enough to work in the orchards.”

  “Mrs. Stone hired me. Maybe I’ll get lucky, and she’ll pay me in cookies. If she does, I’ll share.”

  Grudgingly, Cosmo said, “Get on.”

  I was glad that I hadn’t had to walk with loose bloody bandages on my knees. Mrs. Stone had been watching out of her window for me and had stepped out onto her porch by the time I had removed my helmet.

  “Good morning, Clue. Who is your friend?”

  I looked from her to Cosmo. “Mrs. Stone, this is Cosmo. Cosmo meet Mrs. Stone.”

  “Ma’am,” Cosmo said.

  “Oh, dear! What happened to you?” Mrs. Stone asked.

  I looked down at my knees. “It’s nothing.”

  “Nonsense. Young man, help Clue into the kitchen,” Mrs. Stone commanded in an authoritative tone that left no room for anything but compliance.

  Cosmo obeyed. Mrs. Stone sat me down at her table and satisfied herself with cleaning me up and replacing all of my band aids while Cosmo watched in obvious amusement. “What happened? Did you fall off of that contraption of his?” Mrs. Stone asked in reference to Cosmo’s motorcycle.

  “No, ma’am. I was running and tripped.” She handed me a cup of raspberry tea.

  “Falls can be bad. I should know.”

  I sipped at the tea. “What do you want me to do today, Mrs. Stone?”

  “Maybe you should rest today.”

  Shaking my head in the negative, I said, “I’m fine. Really.”