“Fun, fun!”
“Not really, but I’ll survive,” she admitted shutting the door behind her.
I wiped the fog off of the bathroom mirror. Old, but still not too shabby for my age, I reflected. Touching my face I realized, I needed a shave. Tri hadn’t commented on it this morning. One of her pet peeves. I chuckled to myself. Soon Jenson and Starla would either want to move in together or get married.
If, it was meant to be. He seemed right for her, but it was too soon to tell. I reached for my razor when the door opened.
“I got a call from work. There’s some sort, of inventory emergency. Help yourself to food. In fact, take some to Rascal. He’d probably appreciate it,” Tri said.
“Sure,” I answered, picking up the can of foaming gel.
“Ah, I was going to mention that to you.”
“Shaving?”
“Yes.”
I leaned over the sink and quickly kissed her. “Be safe out there. I’ll see you later tonight. We should have dinner this evening all of us. Man, before this trial. We need a family dinner.”
“OK, call Starla, Megan will be home after school. If you can pick her up, that would be great! If not call her, she’ll take the bus,” Tri answered.
“I thought you were against cell phones?”
Tri shuffled to the door. “I am, but I have to keep in touch with them. Don’t worry. I got this!” she exclaimed, and shut the door.
She was right. She’d been mothering them for years while I’d been in and out of their lives. That is until now. I finished shaving. Then washed out the sink with the hand towel, replaced it and tossed the used one in the hamper. I went to the kitchen and put the muffins in a basket. That should keep them warm on the way to Rascals. What would we discuss? When I saw him at the meeting, he’d acted like the whole trial was a joke. A fiasco! It made me think he thought the case was useless. Du-Vance was his son. Didn’t he want justice?
I had managed to put the basket of muffins over my arm. That way I could carry the gallon of orange juice in my hand, leaving my right hand free. I shut the car door, making my way up the porch steps. Then stopped to knock on the door. It wasn’t long before I heard him inside. He rambled toward the door. Then peered out of the small square window.
“Give me a minute I need to grab my robe!” he hollered.
The orange juice grew heavy on my arm, to elevate it, I placed the muffin basket in my right hand. Then carefully maneuvered it into my left. By that time Rascal had opened the door.
“What have you got there?”
“Tri told me to bring over some breakfast. She thought you might appreciate it,” I answered.
“Ah, well come in. It’s still a bit chilly. Only a few more weeks til this cold blast disappears. Let’s go into the kitchen. Do you want to hang your coat up?”
“Nah, I’ll leave it on,” I replied.
“That’s fine. It does get awfully drafty sometimes. Old house, but you know, that already.”
“I sure do,” I answered trailing him. He turned towards me and held out his hand for the orange juice.
“Thanks. I’ll put the muffins on the table,” I said taking a seat.
Rascal nodded to me. Then moseyed over to the counter placing the orange juice container on it. He brought out two cups, then poured us juice. He came over and set them down. Then chose a place beside me. “I suppose you’ve stopped by to see if I’ll be at the trial tomorrow.”
“I did. The appearance you made the other night was brief. Didn’t you believe it was important to be there?”
“Ah, Cavin can handle it. I often enjoy being a background observer. That way he asks me fewer questions. I was grilled enough by the sergeants during the investigation.”
“True enough,” I said, taking a muffin out of the basket, I pushed it over to him.
“Blueberry! Your wife is amazing. Not sure how she knew these are my favorite.” He began unwrapping it. Then took a large bite.
I grinned, “Yeah. Things are working out well.”
“Really?” He chided me, his mouth still half full of food.
“Yeah, how about you and Nuria since you’re changing the subject?” Rascal finished chewing and then answered me.
“She’s been busy helping Cal. Also, poor Minder.”
“What’s going on with her?” I asked. Then bit into my muffin. Wow, these are better than I remember. I chewed slowly and swallowed. Then took a drink of my juice.
Rascal smiled, “See I told you they were awesome. Now, Minder, she’s just frazzled about the bandits. She hasn’t gone near the containment area since Sika injured her.”
“I can’t say I blame her. I assume Cavin’s bringing them in for questioning in cuffs. It doesn’t seem safe to leave them able to fight.”
“Obviously, he’s in no mood for mischief as you’ve discovered. I'll definitely, be there. I don’t plan on testifying. I wasn’t there when...” Rascal paused, then looked at me. “Bad enough that I thought I had lost Nuria forever.”
“I can relate to that, a bit. It’s not entirely the same, though,” I replied.
“You got that right. At least you knew where your wife was.”
“Definitely,” I acknowledge, grabbing another muffin.
“If all you came for was to see about me going. I have some things to tend to.”
“Do you need any help while I’m here?” I volunteered.
“No, just tell Tri thanks for the muffins. She can have you drop em off anytime. I’d sure enjoy a visit from Starla and Molly too! It’s been a while. I guess the next time I see em will be in court. Gah, poor girls. Cavin though always has to be fair.”
“He sure does,” I said, standing up from my seat. I pushed it in grabbing one more muffin for the road.
“You can take em home if you want,” offered Rascal.
“No, you finish them. Tri would want you to. She can bake them for me whenever. I’ll try not to be a stranger.”
“Certainly, as long as you bring me goodies, I’m teasing,” he jested.
“I’ll let myself out then. I have to meet Jones at four today.”
“Ah, well tell him hello for me. Make sure to thank Tri,” he reminded me again.
I assured him I would, then left with an urgency to set things in motion for the hearing.
Chapter 43
(Starla, Thursday evening.)
Jenson stopped the car near the steps to our apartment door.
“Are you sure, you’re going to be OK?”
“I’m drained you get it right? Going from Denny’s to talking to Molly about her dilemma, our assignment for Jones, and the trial. Maybe I should go in and lay down for a while,” I said, unclipping my safety belt. After I was free, I leaned over to him and pulled him into a hug. Then gently gave him a kiss, leaving a smile on his lips.
“Call me tomorrow?”
He nodded to me, then pulled away. I reached for the car door, pushing it open.
“See ya,” I said, shutting it behind me. I turned back for a second and waved goodbye.
Standing on the sidewalk, I bit my lip agitated at the thought of Jone’s paper. Then strolled towards our entrance. I’d have to make due with what I had. There must be a way to be analytical about it without revealing the clan to the human world. I dug into my pocket for my keys. Odd, I swear they were there. Well, maybe someone will be home. I peered in the window. My keys sat on the side table where I’d forgotten them. Darn! I lifted my hand now in a fist and knocked several times. Fritz started barking wildly. He advanced to the door and jumped up on it with a huge smile on his face. My sister came bouncing down the stairs. Then opened the door. Fritz sniffed me and ran into the kitchen.
“Thanks! Ah, not sure how I forgot my keys this morning,” I said.
Megan rolled her eyes at me. Afterward, she stepped aside to let me into the hall. I set down my knapsack. Then took a deep breath.
“Is mom cooking spaghetti? It’s only five O’clock.”
“I’m sure we’ll find something. Anything new going on?” I asked. We passed the kitchen turning to the living room on the right. I flopped down on the couch, grabbed the controller and handed it to her as she sat down beside me.
“Hey, check the weather,” hollered Tri.
Megan groaned switching on the television. She tuned into channel nine. Then took her shoes off throwing them beside the couch. She lifted her feet up sprawling out.
“Do you have to do that? You’re invading my space,” I complained.
“I have to relax. I'm hyped up, and not fond of mom hearing. You don’t want her getting her hopes up for me or upset that she has to deal with another one of us having a boyfriend,” Megan remarked sarcastically.
“So, tell me!”
“Chaz and that chic hit rock bottom. They were holding a shouting match in the hallway after bio. Mrs. Kurt came out of her classroom to find out what the trouble was. She told them they’d better get to class.”
“Did you see anything else?”
“Nah,” she shrugged, then leaned back into the pillows near the armrest.
“It certainly does sound promising,” I added, turning back to the television.
“You’re really, going to watch this?”
“Shhh, we might be getting rain! I’m so over snow,” I commented.
“Well, I liked going ice skating the other week. After all, the chaos, you’ve been involved in,” complained Megan.
I gave her an annoyed look. Then turned back to the television.
“Hey, girls,” said my mother as she held onto the door frame and leaned into the room. She glanced at the T.V., then joined us on the sofa.
“We’re looking at some warm weather! Can you believe it! Friday we’ll see some rain and snow mix. Then Saturday we’ll have a high of 35 degrees,” said the newscaster. His name was Frank.
I hoped he was right. I’d had enough of Eskimo land. Not that I’d been there. I’d only seen them on PBS. My mom nudged me with her elbow.
“Yeah, what’s up?” I asked, leaning my head against her shoulder. I stared at Frank. He was kind of cute but old. Ugh, did I just think that? I shuddered.
“Nayla wants you to meet with Minder for a quick reprise on training in the morning. Cal will be there. I’ll get you up around 5 a.m. You need to be there at 8.”
“What! When did you talk to her?” I asked, sitting up.
“I went over there, briefly after work today, she wasn’t happy. I decided to run over, fox form you know.” Mom winked at me.
“Jez, Mom! It’s been how long since Nayla let me transform outside of training. You said yourself it wasn’t safe with Fern and Earl around,” I grumbled.
“At least you two have something in common,” whined Megan.
My mom placed her arm around my sister, drawing her near. She pulled away but didn’t get up and run to her room like I assumed she would.
“What about planting that garden we talked about?” Tri suggested lifting an eyebrow.
“Can we even have a garden here?”
“Yes, I talked to Fern the other day. She said, if you wanted to, she would help us plant some seedlings. She offered to buy some tulips,” said Tri.
“I guess it might be fun, not as exciting as solving mysteries,” she commented.
“How much do you know about what's going on?” I asked her.
“You’re attempting to find out who killed Martin Du-Vance. It's not only that you've shared most of this with me, but Dad left his notebooks on the kitchen table,” said Megan.
“You didn’t!”
“I read them, so what? It’s not like I’m not a part of this. I may not be a fox, superhuman, or hybrid but I am someone!” Megan shouted.
She ran out of the living room. Mom and I listened to her stomped up the stairs. “Dad, left his paperwork out? That isn’t like him. When was it?”
“Not sure, if he did, it was picked up in the morning. It probably happened the night he moved in,” Tri answered.
“I know you don't want to lose both of us to the clan. Still, we should introduce her after the trial. Then she’ll see there’s more work to being, a part of this than she knows. Plus, she was talking about that boy she liked today.”
“What boy?”
“His name is Chaz mom. Mums, the word. You’re not supposed to know. It’s not like they’re dating,” I pressed.
“OK, let’s get the table ready for dinner. Your dad should be home any minute now.
Chapter 44
(Dan)
I turned right into Hunter’s Park and took the first parking spot available. Afterward, I glanced around to see if anyone was visiting. It appeared deserted. No Jones in sight. Would this meeting be as uneventful as the one with Rascal? It didn’t seem as, if anything, could be done before tomorrow. I pulled the keys out of the ignition taking off my safety belt. The clock on the dashboard read, 4:35 pm. I was late! Besides that Tri wanted me home for dinner. I’d better make this meeting, brief. I turned to open the door and saw Kaya. I grabbed the handle and pushed it open, then stood to shut it behind me.
“Hey, I wanted to go out for a stroll. It’s been forever since I’ve been outside of the woods,” she said, glancing round. Then smoothed out her long skirt. A white shawl covered her shoulders.
“Aren’t you cold,” I commented while the door slammed shut.
“Nah, I’m used to the weather. It’s pretty quiet today.”
“I noticed driving in. Are the prisoner’s still in place. Minder OK? Star? Nothing’s out of order, is it? I was going to meet Jones,” I stated, rambling over to where she stood.
Kaya smiled and patted me on the back. Then placed her hands underneath her shawl. “Let’s walk and talk.”
“OK,” I replied.
We wandered towards the pine trees. She raised her head to indicate Ranger Mike’s station to the right of us. “Owl’s been considering taking over the park. He told me so today. I ran into him while he was on his way home from class. Jones has them doing a paper for the last project.He was a bit frazzled, said that Starla’s struggling with it. That hopefully the wolf would appear again?”
I shook my head, frowning. “Yeah, not sure on that one. Especially if it is, truly being held magically by someone.”
We turned into the pines leading in the direction of the huts. Kaya must be taking me here for a reason. With any luck. Jones wouldn’t be ticked, I’d left him hanging.
“Look, the kits are out training. Star’s with them,” said Kaya. We jogged ahead to see them.
When we’d stopped Kaya stepped back, letting me observe what was happening. The two young foxes appeared to be chasing something near a bush. They crept on all fours towards whatever they were hunting. Perhaps it was too small for me to see. Abruptly they leaped out of the wooded area and pounced! A tail hung out of one of their mouths, and it crunched the creature in its jaws. I immediately turned away.
“It’s merely a field mouse,” said Star, coming towards us.
“What about the other kit?” I asked.
“Oh, he already caught a mouse. I had to press him to let his sister give it a shot. Did you hear? Sika’s been ranting and raving about how he needs to be let out. He’s going mad!” exclaimed Star. She threw her paws into the air. Then let them fall to her sides.
Kaya’s face began to turn a beet red. Her lips tightened and nostrils flared. “Shhh! Gosh, let the cat out of the bag,” she shouted, slamming her fists at her sides in frustration. “I’m taking him to meet with Cavin.”
“Sorry,” she commented, turning back to the kits. Without a word, Star ran off with them deeper into the woods. We continued walking towards the huts.
“So, Sika is upset about, what?” I asked.
“Not sure, Gavin and
the Gladiator have been trying to settle him down. It only upsets him more. They are his cronies so them giving him orders would be irritating. If you think about it.”
I stopped a few feet away from the huts ahead of us, rolled my shoulders back, then stretched out my arms to the sky. I brought my hands back to my sides.
“You OK?”
“Yeah. I’m getting old,” I answered.
Kaya laughed, slapping me on the back gently. “Come on, Cavin’s probably stewing,” she said, opening the door to the hut. She closed it behind us. Then motioned with her hand for me to go ahead.
I paused at the dining hall door and placed my hand on the knob. Then twisted the handle pushing it open. I couldn’t see a thing! It was pitch black in here! Advancing cautiously, I called out, “Hello?”
I tried to adjust my eyes to the darkness. Evidently, no one was here. Perhaps they were in the reflection room? Where was Jones? If I was correct, it was usually only used by the women for meditation. The men inhabited the gym unless it happened to be a co-ed meditation or workout session. I wasn’t on the up and up on everything nevertheless I’d been working with the clan for a time. I knew some things. Wrapped up in my thoughts I turned to leave.
“Ah, ha! You’re here!”
“Jones! I was hoping I’d run into you.”
“If I remember correctly, you were supposed to be meeting me today,” he commented.
“Yes, but Kaya came. She brought me here.”
“It’s alright. There's a lot, going on. I’ve been attempting to pinpoint the problems surrounding this entire case. Cavin’s caught me up on the details. Now, if we can get Sika to calm down enough for tomorrow’s trial.”
“He’s here? Cavin let him out of his cage!”
“Come on. I’ll bring you to the reflection room. Sika's in handcuffs and sedated. He’s not going to hurt anyone. I imagine he’s beyond that.”
“Does this mean there will be no trial?” I asked.
“No, there will be. Oh, I can assure you of that. I don’t think the immunity Nayla spoke of will be a possibility. I anticipate there will be a punishment of some type.
Spirit Guide (Myth-Series Book 2) Page 21