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

by Wendie Nordgren

  “Clue, are you alright?”

  “I’m fine. I don’t know what has happened to my father. I guess I need to find Cosmo and see if he had any luck.”

  In a soft voice, Gregory said, “That’s not what I meant. I can tell that I’ve hurt you.”

  Refusing to look at him, I said, “Can you drop me off at the marina in Scorpius?”

  “Clue, you deserve to be courted. I’ve never given you flowers, taken you to dinner, or more importantly asked your father permission to do those things.”

  “Well, that may not ever be a possibility if I can’t free him.”

  Scooting away from Gregory and off of the end of the bed, I went out of the door, onto the dock, and carefully climbed into the boat. I sat in the passenger seat and fastened the safety belt. I stared at my knees. Then, when Gregory climbed into his seat, I stared off to the right at the water and sky. When we arrived at the marina, I pointed out Cosmo’s boat. Gregory took me straight to it. I stood on the speedboat’s bow and climbed a ladder at the stern of Cosmo’s boat.

  “Thank you for all of your help. I’ll replace your mother’s gown and send it to you by currier.”

  Gregory’s expression was full of worried concern. “Clue, please talk to me. I don’t feel right leaving you alone like this.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’ve been alone for the past year. Anyway, don’t you need to return that boat? Thank you for all of your help, Gregory. May Palena, Goddess of the Ocean Waves, keep you safe.”

  Gregory stared into my eyes. Then, he turned the boat and sped away. I watched until he became a speck. I wasn’t sure if I felt more heartbroken or stupid. There was no sign of Cosmo or his motorcycle. Nothing was out on his deck, not even an old pair of shoes. The cabin was locked, so I couldn’t even leave him a note. I didn’t look forward to walking on the pier without any shoes. The splinter I had gotten had hurt.

  Frustrated, I lowered the plank and walked across. Then, I closed it back up and began my slow careful walk. Once I made it to Wharf Street, I got a fishmonger to call me a transport thankful that I had a credit chip hidden in my jacket.

  “Where to, Miss. Let me guess. You need a ride to Dr. Benjamin’s office,” he said with concern.

  “No, take me to Swan Street. I need some clothes.”

  Walking barefoot into a boutique wearing men’s exercise clothes and a leather jacket with a broken nose, two black eyes, and several scrapes and bruises earned me stares and raised eyebrows from the two ladies operating the store. Each of them wore well-tailored clothing, had perfect hair, and appeared fastidiously clean.

  “May I help you, dear?” one of them asked with a forced smile that made her face look like it might break.

  I showed her my credit chip. “I need a complete outfit from undergarments to shoes preferably in black. The pants need to have some stretch, and I need to be able to run in the shoes.”

  She smiled and showed me to a dressing room. Minutes later, I emerged fully clothed. Another good thing was that the only parts of me showing were from the neck up and my hands. The solid black matched my mood. Tightly, I rolled Gregory’s shorts and shirt stuffing them into pockets. The last thing I wanted to do was carry a shopping bag.

  As I left the store, I felt like I had won a thousand credits when I saw the transport driver had waited for me. “Where to?” he asked when I got in.

  “The diner on Honjo and Cherry.” I paid him and went inside.

  “What the hell happened to you?” Nadia asked.

  Shaking my head, I said, “It’s kind of a long story. I’m starving. Can I get chicken strips, fried potatoes, and sweet tea?”

  Nadia walked me to my favorite booth across from the Hover Currier business. I got up and went to the restroom. When I came back, a plate with a mound of chicken and fries waited. I took a gulp of tea and then ate like a starving person.

  I had almost finished and was debating which of Winks’ blasters to take with me to Dorado when the sound of a fancy pair of heels against the floor coming toward me caught my attention. I had just taken a big bite of chicken when the black expensive stilettos stopped beside my table. I followed them up a gorgeous set of legs to a black skirt that began an inch above a pair of un-scraped knees. I could see a black lace bra through the thin black silk shirt. A large egg-shaped pink pearl set in a gold pendant hung from a thick gold chain around her neck. Her skin was pale, and her black hair hung down her back. Her eyes were their same blood red with their black vertical pupils. Lethal looking men in black suits stood slightly behind and to each side of her. I recognized their human eyes.

  “Kiyohime, you are looking well. Would you care to join me?”

  The other customers had scrambled from the diner, even the burliest of them. I saw Nadia and the cook go to hide in the kitchen both with terrified expressions. I began to wonder what the fuck I had been thinking when I had returned Kiyohime’s pearl to her. Unlike the widowed bride, Kiyohime didn’t seem joyous and free. She looked like a pissed off demon ready for revenge.

  Kiyohime smiled showing me a glimpse of the long glistening fangs that took the place of a normal person’s incisors. “No, thank you. I’m still digesting the lovely meal you left for us on my beach.”

  Scrunching up my forehead in befuddled confusion with a piece of fried chicken poised to enter my mouth, I said, “I don’t remember leaving anything.”

  Kiyohime smiled and the sight filled my blood with ice. “He won’t be bothering you again, my pet,” she said to me with a hiss. Suddenly feeling queasy, I dropped my chicken onto my plate. “Oh, good. Are you finished? You are going to show me the man who wanted to destroy my pearl.” Kiyohime’s eyes seemed to glow with an inner rage. Slowly, I stood. “Pay for her food,” she ordered one of her servants.

  When he approached Nadia, she said in a quiet shaking voice, “No charge.” He stared at her for a long moment before opening the diner door for Kiyohime. Terrified, I followed behind her with her other servant at my back.

  The diner’s former patrons were huddled together across the street on Cherry. Kiyohime climbed into a long black transport. One of her men stared at me until I got in behind her. Then, he shut the door leaving the two of us alone together. They had eaten the man who had attacked Gregory and me. I shivered. Kiyohime gave me a slow evil smile.

  “Where?” she whispered.

  I cleared my throat, but my voice shook on my answer. “Dorado.”

  Her servants took their seats in front. The transport darted forward as quick as the strike of a snake.

  “Now, tell me everything you can remember about your encounter with my enemy.”

  Obediently, I began with getting struck by the transport. By the time we arrived in Dorado, they knew the basic layout of the building, the man’s description, and everything else of which I could think down to the décor. “That’s it!” I said when I spotted the building.

  I was terrified but hopeful that Winks was alive inside. Guards armed with blaster rifles blocked the entrance to the basement parking garage. Kiyohime’s driver sped up. Drawing in a sharp breath and with wide startled eyes, I bounced up hitting my head on the transport’s roof as he drove over the men. From inside the transport, I could hear their screams of pain. Those screams became louder as Kiyohime’s driver opened her door and held his hand out to her to assist her from the transport. She smiled seductively at him as she placed her black stilettos on the concrete.

  I scurried out the other side and attempted to run into the lift. Her other servant halted me with a hand against my chest. His long tongue darted out making me jump. My fear pleased him causing him to smile. My heart stuttered in fear.

  “Stop that, little mouse. You’re making him aroused. Maybe later.”

  Backing away from him, I ran for the stairs, but before I made it to the doors, more gangsters armed with blasters streamed past me. I turned in time to see Kiyohime snapping the neck of one of the men who had been foolish enough to try and grab her. Shuddering and with
my pain forgotten in panic, I ran up the stairs. I just wanted to find Winks and get out of here.

  Exiting the stairs, I searched for the room in which Winks had been held. My throat sunk into my stomach when I heard blaster shots and screaming. Slowly, I followed the sounds. Peeking inside of a room, I found dead men in pools of blood and footprints in the shape of stilettos leading away from them. Kiyohime and the bald man who I recognized as Winks’ captor faced each other. I turned my head to the plasti-glass prison and found it empty.

  Rather than waiting around to ask questions, I decided to run. I made it down the stairs and into the parking garage. Men with sightless eyes littered the ground. Their heads faced away at odd angles. Stifling my screams, I ran from the building past the transport mangled guards.

  Panicked, I didn’t know what to do or where to go. I decided to make a run for Mr. Julian’s store. A familiar hum of sound filled my ears, and two helmeted heads turned my way from the back of a motorcycle. The driver pointed toward the beach. I followed them at a dead run. I watched as the motorcycle sped out of sight toward the docks. I ran as hard as I could until a sharp pain in my side had me hunched over and dragging in painful breaths. Then, suddenly, the motorcycle returned, did a 180 degree turn beside me, and paused for me to get on.

  I slid my leg over the seat and clutched Cosmo tightly around the waist. He sped to the docks, slowing only a little on the pier. Then, he drove over a wooden ramp and down into a slightly larger speed boat than the one Gregory and I had used. Without removing his helmet, he secured the bike with cords, hopped into the driver’s seat, and pointed for me to secure myself into the small bench seat that was behind his and against the side. As soon as I was latched in, the boat shot forward.

  The bow of the boat lifted, sending my weight to my right side. Had it not been for the safety belt, I would have fallen from the boat. The cool spray of the water against my face was the only thing preventing me from retreating into the belief that it had all been a nightmare brought about by eating too much spicy food.

  Chapter Eleven

  An hour or so later, Cosmo began to slow the boat as we approached an island. He took us, at a speed of which Mrs. Stone would have approved, into a flooded cave. Cosmo turned on the boat’s lights and steered us to a small U-shaped wooden dock where he secured the boat. Then, Cosmo took off his helmet and passed it to me. He reached over and removed the helmet of his passenger revealing Winks.

  I let out a long suppressed sob. I dropped the helmet, fumbled out of my safety belt, threw my arms around Winks, and cried. “Hey, now. Don’t cry, Clue. It’s alright,” Winks said weakly as he patted me with one hand.

  “Clue, he’s exhausted. Let’s get him settled,” Cosmo said quietly.

  He went to Winks’ side of the boat, and together we helped Winks onto the dock. Cosmo put Winks’ arm around his neck and held him around the waist. I followed closely behind them as the dock gave way to a sandy tunnel that I felt was at an incline. It opened up into a room made of concrete blocks with a set of concrete steps leading up. The room we entered was some sort of bunker. It held cabinets full of emergency rations, food, medical supplies, and weapons. There was an opening and a tunnel in each wall.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up and to bed, Boss,” Cosmo said.

  I followed them into the short tunnel on the right which led to a bathroom. While Cosmo helped Winks undress and get into the corner shower, I tossed his clothes into the cleaning unit in the corner next to it. I went into the main room and sat at the table. It was the only actual furniture in the room and was the type that folded up for use outdoors. I’d seen families using stuff like it at the beach.

  Cosmo helped a clean and underwear clad Winks from the bathroom, past me, and into the opposite tunnel. I followed. The room had a small table with a light against the wall across from the entrance, two bunks on each wall, and a storage cabinet to either side of the entrance. Cosmo helped Winks into the bottom bunk on the left. I hurried to cover him up.

  I felt a warm strong hand on my right cheek, and a thumb wiping away at a tear there. “Don’t cry, Clue. It’s alright. Everything’s fine now. I need to rest. Don’t go anywhere.”

  I sobbed out, “I won’t leave you. I promise.” I kissed his forehead, but he was asleep.

  In disbelief, I sat and stared at his face. Winks only looked about forty years old. When I had found his picture, I hadn’t paid attention to his date of birth. Now, I figured he must have been around my age when he got Momma pregnant. She’d been over forty when she had me. No wonder he’d let her keep me. Winks’ hair was a dark rich brown, so I thought I had gotten that from him. As I inspected his face, he really didn’t seem very old, and I placed him closer to thirty-five. It was the exhaustion and ill treatment that had him looking older. He had always seemed so tall on Eris Station, but then I had grown a few inches over the past few years.

  From the entrance to the room, Cosmo said, “Thanks for the diversion. It came right when I needed it. Who helped you with that anyway? They made a mess.”

  I tucked the blanket under Winks’ chin, stood, and walked to the main room with Cosmo. “You won’t believe me if I tell you. Is there anything to drink?” I sat at the table and cradled my head in my hands. Cosmo placed a bottle of sweet tea from Big Bubba’s in front of me.

  “Why don’t you go take a hot shower, and I’ll find you something to wear to sleep.”

  I downed half of the tea. “Okay, I could use some sleep. Cosmo, do you think they’ll come looking for us here?”

  “I hope not. I’ve already set up our security, and I’ve got the doors sealed between here and the cave. Try not to think about it. Instead, think about how you’re not an orphan. You just got to see Winks again.”

  My eyes began to swell up, so I nodded quickly and rushed off into the bathroom. Cosmo had placed Winks’ clean clothes on the shelf, so I emptied my pockets of Gregory’s shorts and shirt, and tossed all of my clothes inside of the cleaning unit.

  As the hot water doused me soaking through to my scalp, I began to feel the sand and salt under my fingertips. It made me think of deep blue eyes, wavy black hair, and rosy lips. That made me sad because Gregory didn’t want me. I squeezed shampoo into my palm and scrubbed my hair.

  “I’m leaving something for you on the shelf,” Cosmo called.

  “Thanks.”

  I felt gritty sand in my ears and washed them carefully. The hot water managed to get some of the tension out of my shoulders but not much. I turned off the spray and dried off. Boxers and an old T-shirt awaited me. I put them on and went into the main room.

  Cosmo shook his head when he saw me. “You look even worse than the last time I saw you. Go get in a bunk and go to sleep.”

  I took the bottom bunk across the room from Winks so I could watch him as I fell asleep.

  Later, waking up seemed to be a monumental mistake. It even hurt to blink. Enough light came into the bedroom from the main room for me to see that Winks continued to sleep, but I couldn’t help having to get up and make sure he was breathing. Once I was satisfied that he was still in fact alive, I hobbled into the main room where Cosmo sat up with his feet propped in a chair. I kept walking and made use of the bathroom. When I came back, Cosmo wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and placed a hot cup of coffee in front of me. He waited until I had drunk half of it to speak.

  “So, who was behind that slaughter?”

  I stared into the cup. Cosmo had just confirmed to me that it hadn’t been a bad dream. “Kiyohime,” I whispered and looked up at him with a furrowed brow. “Oh, Cosmo. I screwed up big time.”

  “Tell me what happened.”

  I told Cosmo about Gregory, the Shrine of the Widowed Bride, and how I had returned the large pink pearl to Kiyohime. Then, he held his hand up for silence, made me a fresh cup of coffee, and put a bowl of oatmeal in front of me.

  “Not another word until you eat.” It didn’t take me long to make the oatmeal disappear. “So, mak
ing a legendary serpent demon more powerful may not have been the best thing to do, but if she hadn’t distracted that bastard who was holding Winks captive, Winks wouldn’t have been able to pop himself out of that trap so I could grab him.”

  I stared at Cosmo. “Thank you. I never would have gotten him out without you.”

  “Hey, don’t cry. It’s all over now.” Cosmo moved from his chair to kneel beside me.

  “Lord Tanaka is supposedly so powerful, but he wouldn’t help me. Tadashi and Dorian wouldn’t help either. You were the only one who would help me get him.”

  Cosmo placed his hands to each side of my head. He brought his face in close to mine and pressed his lips to each of the tears that fell from my eyes. “I’d do anything for you, Clue. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

  I met his sincere brown eyes with mine and knew he meant it. Cosmo brought his soft warm lips to mine kissing me with a tender passion. My thoughts swirled.

  “Get your hands and anything else you want to keep off of my little girl,” an angry voice said.

  Cosmo froze and ended our kiss. “Winks! I didn’t mean any disrespect!”

  “Well, what did you mean having your hands all over my daughter and kissing her like that? I haven’t given you my permission to court my baby.”

  Cosmo stood and moved away from me. Winks made himself a cup of coffee and sat beside me. He wore a T-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants. I assumed the storage cabinets in the bedroom contained clothing. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You had a priest take you out to the shrine, entered it, reunited the sailor with his bride, broke the island’s curse, and the ghosts led you to the Eye of Kiyohime?”

  “Yeah, that about sums that part up,” I said.

  Winks glared at Cosmo. “My baby girl entered the shrine. If I look at you and even think you’re having thoughts about kissing her, well, use your imagination.”

  Cosmo paled. “I meant no disrespect to Miss Forester. I swear.”

  Winks scowled. “That’s changing as soon as we get back to town.”