Knack (Benjamin Brown Book 1)

by Tom Twitchel

  Curses, foiled by little old men and teenaged girls who would blow away in a strong wind.

  “Whatever,” I grumped.

  Linking arms with Breno and me, she beamed. It was a long walk to the bus stop, made longer no doubt by the fact that I had to get my wounded pride back in its cage.

  We got to Canal Park in good time and Breno was content to stand off to the side once I convinced him that his big six-foot-plus presence might scare my audience away. What would have bored anyone else out of their mind had no effect on him. Several times, I glanced in his direction and he seemed equally as interested in my act as the people I was performing for. Since it was overcast, we chose a place that backed onto the water so that I had the best light to work with and being close to a bike trail, we hoped for a lot of people dropping in throughout the afternoon.

  Maddy turned and dug in her purse. “I have something for you.”

  She pulled out a small mask that looked like something Robin, the Boy Wonder would wear.

  I looked at it suspiciously. “Uh huh. And what am I supposed to do with that?”

  “Wear it silly. That way anybody shooting pictures of you or creeps trying to track you down won’t recognize you or share photos of you.”

  Reluctantly, I tried it on. It fit comfortably, but I felt like a gigantic nerd.

  Sensing my obvious discomfort, she laughed. “You’ll get used to it. Besides, it’s my condition on you working in public.”

  I groaned. “Yeah? Who appointed you my guardian?”

  “Nobody appointed me anything. I just happen to be your best friend in the world. Now shut up and get magic-making silly boy!”

  Hard to argue with that, not that I seriously considered it.

  Even though it was gray and cloudy with some chill in the air, it hadn’t discouraged a good sized crowd from turning out. Maddy had an enthusiastic audience whipped up in short order. Her infectious spirit and bubbly personality practically had people putting tips in my hat before I got rolling.

  It felt good to be out and in a setting with some good memories. After I got over a minute or two of performance jitters, I settled in and had fun with the audience. My newer illusions were crowd pleasers and the improved control of my telekinetic knack made my cards look like they were flying because they pretty much were. Flicking them into the air, I could then use my knack to send them anywhere I wanted. I recognized several faces in the crowd, including little Mika holding up her Barbie, who still thought shorts and a skimpy t-shirt were all-weather apparel.

  It was a good two hours before sunset when I started to get tired. Maddy read it quickly and started the “closing up shop” patter that encouraged tips and indicated that the show was just about over. I performed one more trick using my telekinetic gift and had a card land in Mika’s waiting hands. Happy screams from a child never hurt the tips.

  As the crowd started to disperse, I began packing up when a brand new, unwelcome experience crashed the party. Someone silent spoke to me without me speaking first.

  Bueno magia, niño.

  Looking up sharply I spotted Oso immediately. He was standing twenty feet away and pointedly not looking in my direction. I touched the mask I was still wearing.

  Si, I know you. Cuidado. Don’ look me. I don’ wan’ personas see us habla, whisper-talk.

  His grammar was still atrocious, but interestingly his accent was non-existent on the silent speak frequency.

  Are you here to hurt me? There’s someone here to protect me.

  Dummy? I no scared him. Don’ worry, I no hurting you. Yo necesito habla you, y quit look at me. I don’ wan’ anybody know we talking.

  I was afraid to go back to the park where you took my money. I got hurt really bad. I got mugged. I’ve been healing for a long time. I came here first because I feel safe here.

  I slowed down putting things in my pack while Maddy talked with Mika and her mother. Breno had moved a little closer but was still content with just watching. As much as it made the middle of my back itch, I forced myself to turn away from where Oso stood.

  No lie, niño. If I want you at Rogers, I know where you live.

  Then why are you here? Money?

  ¡Stupido! No, I don’ want your dinero! You don’ remember, but I knew you especial primero tiempo. You whisper-talk me primero tiempo.

  The first time?

  Fah. So, pero tu necesito comprende: Don’ come, Rogers. My homes, the 13s. We run there. I knew why you gone. But I need you stay away. Mi companeros y mi chica sabe, they know you. They don’ know me. They don’ comprende my magia.

  ???

  The whisper-talk and one other thing I do, they my edge. Sabe? You know “edge”? My secret. I don’ wan’ them know it.

  That’s why your girlfriend had to drag you to watch me that first time?

  Si.

  But why did you take my money the last time? Why did you tell me to come back and work for you?

  My homies solo comprende blood. One way. If you my bitch then they comprende. I let you go, they curioso. No bien por mi.

  But what if I came back like you said? What then?

  ¡Ah, muchas más preguntas! I follow you niño. To tell you stay away.

  Followed, but…?

  No mas preguntas! You, me, we the same. But not the same. I don’ wan’ hurt you. Es posible we…hermanos, but not. I don’ know. Just stay away from Rogers. Comprende?

  Okay. Is that the reason you were looking for me? Just to tell me to stay away?

  Si. I try tell tu en su casa, but too many people see. The dummy, he watches for you.

  Breno? He’s not…well, it’s not nice to call him that.

  ¡Fah! Just stay away hermano menor. I don’ wan’ you there.

  Okay.

  You better now? The medicó fix you?

  Yes.

  Bueno.

  ???

  I took my time messing with my backpack. By the time I thought it was safe to turn around, he was gone. I took off the mask and dropped in with my other props.

  Maddy walked up to me with a small frown on her face. “Here.” She handed me a crumpled fifty-dollar bill.

  “Late tips? That’s pretty generous.” Taking the bill from her, a suspicion formed in my mind.

  “Yeah. This scary Mexican dude just walked up to me and said to tell you ‘Good magic.’”

  My scalp tingled with a sense of wonder mixed with a little fear. What in the hell had just happened? Oso being able to silent speak to me was a first in my experience. The disjointed details of our conversation started to connect. He’d followed me that day. He had to have seen…

  “Benny? You all right?” Maddy asked me. She looked up at me while she linked her arm in mine, her black hair peeking out from under her hood, her pretty green eyes trying to read my mind.

  “Just tired.”

  Breno followed close behind us.

  “I like those trick cards, Benny. That man watching you, he liked the trick cards too. He’s natural, huh?”

  And that was not what I wanted to hear at that precise moment.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Riding a bus in Seattle when it starts to rain usually makes me smile. I love the rain and watching it streak the windows, pushed by the wind; it looks like thousands of fish racing along a river.

  My smile was busy somewhere else while we rode home. Breno was back to his talky self, and I didn’t feel the least bit guilty that Maddy was the one he was fixated on at the moment.

  I had other things on my mind.

  Several unsettling things had happened at the park and I was wrestling with all of them. Breno’s reference to “natural” dredged up the half-forgotten comment he had made to me earlier in the year. There was no mistaking now that he connected it to knacks. So, now I had a crapload of questions. Could he sense knacks, or “naturals,” or had he been guessing about Oso? Was his use of the word a coincidence, or had he learned it from Mr. Goodturn?

  The fact that he worked for Mr. G
oodturn shaded the answer to that question. And he had said he had been “natural” once but wasn’t anymore. What did that mean?

  As if all of that wasn’t enough to lose sleep over, I had Oso and another can of worms to worry about. How he had tracked me down to Canal Park wasn’t hard to figure. He knew I put on a show at Rogers. It wouldn’t have been difficult for him to put two and two together and check other parks in the area.

  No, there were plenty of bigger issues.

  I remembered my first confrontation with him and I recalled something leaking out of my head, a silent speak plea when he was flashing his gun and threatening people. He must have picked up on it. More disturbing was that he had followed me the night Mike had tried to kill me. When Mike had been aiming that final kick to my face, I had seen him jump sideways. Mike had died and now I had a good idea who the mystery vigilante was; I also thought I knew who had been trying to break into my apartment building. How he had figured out where I lived was less upsetting than knowing a murderer had been trying to make a house call.

  In some screwed up way, he thought we shared a kinship, a bond. But he was afraid of his own gang figuring out he had knacks and wanted to keep me away from them, and them away from me. The fifty-dollar tip he gave Maddy was a message. He was returning the fifty he had taken from me that day and telling me that he didn’t want anything from me. He wanted me gone.

  Now, I had information on a murder suspect, and just what was I supposed to do with that? Given a few more uninterrupted minutes, Mike would have killed me.

  I owed Oso my life.

  The biggest immediate concern I had was who to talk to. It wasn’t an accident that I had procrastinated, avoided and plain forgotten a handful of significant things I needed to confront Mr. Goodturn about. I didn’t want to do it. He had helped me in dozens of ways, taught me more than anyone else in my life and never treated me with anything less than kindness. Some of the things I should have been asking him could produce answers that would change our relationship in ways I wasn’t willing to risk.

  Maddy—she wouldn’t judge me, but she might start to worry about Mr. Goodturn if I told her everything. Knowing what I knew might compel her to ask me to do things I wasn’t willing, or ready, to consider. She knew he mentored me, but there were details, most of them concerning his past, that I hadn’t shared with her.

  So, all in all, it had been just another light-hearted day in the park.

  “All right mister, that’s enough brooding,” Maddy said as she dropped into the seat next to me. Breno was sitting ramrod straight in his seat, eyes glazed with the ghost of a smile on his lips.

  “I’m not brooding, just tired.”

  Arching one eyebrow, she said, “Fixing all of the world’s problems then?”

  I laughed in spite of myself. “No. I thought that was what you and Breno were doing.”

  “Oh, absolutely,” she said, with mock seriousness. “You know, comparing the relative merits of peanut butter sandwiches and Cheetos. Like, one’s mushy and sticky and the other is crunchy and dusty. Stuff like that,” she snorted.

  “Sounds pretty heavy. You sure you’re up for that kind of an intense conversation?”

  She landed a playful punch on my shoulder. “You’re just still pissy about him coming along. Mr. Goodturn and I just weren’t okay with you going out on your own—yet. Or is it the mask I made you wear? What’s the matter, Robin? Or should I say, Batman?”

  Shaking my head, I replied, “Do not call me that. Either one!” I laughed. “Nah. I’m glad he came. I didn’t feel like I had to look over my shoulder. But ultimately he can’t protect me.”

  “True. It made me feel better though. Will you at least allow me that?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I appreciate you worrying about me, but there’s only one more week before school. I need to get out one more time between now and then.”

  “My parents are back in two days so I won’t be able to get away next weekend. Will you promise to take Breno with you if you go?” Her hand rested on my sleeve while she locked in with those green peepers.

  “I promise. As long as he can manage to get away too.”

  “Oh, I’ll make sure of that.” She looked over her shoulder at Breno. He hadn’t moved; he was just staring blissfully ahead.

  At that moment, I envied him.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The following day I got up early and decided to travel over to Freemont Park. I hadn’t been there in a long time and I wanted a change of scenery. Breno had been nowhere to be found and I just couldn’t force myself to track him down to be my babysitter. And, let’s be honest, I was being rebellious. My independent streak was cranked up a little after all the well-intended meddling. My body wasn’t the only thing that needed healing. My bank account was still pretty sickly too.

  I even broke down and wore the mask Maddy had bought me, but cloudy skies and intermittent sprinkling reduced the crowd and my business so I was forced to cut it short. My take for the day had been light as a result and I decided that I would have to wait for better weather.

  It was during the bus ride home that things got weird.

  Traffic was moving slowly and there were a lot of weekend travelers. The bus stopped often and it was almost full. On again off again rain never developed into a good steady downpour. With no rain to streak the windows and distract me, I tried to content myself with counting out-of-state license plates.

  When we stopped about four miles from my apartment, a light touch on my shoulder made me turn and look up—right into a pair of lavender eyes.

  “Is this seat taken?” Miss Hoch asked.

  Panic stricken, all I could do was shake my head. She smiled pleasantly and sat down with her purse in her lap—and proceeded to ignore me.

  What the hell!? At first, I just sat there shaking and stared out the window looking away from her and hiding my face. But I couldn’t stand it and kept turning just enough so I could see her out of the corner of my eye. There wasn’t the slightest indication that she had recognized me. That was impossible. I had looked at her right in the eyes and I hadn’t changed that much in the years since she had last seen me.

  My not-so-furtive glances finally made her look in my direction. Keeping my mouth shut, I just stared at her, completely overwhelmed with the no-win scenario staring me in the face. I had nothing.

  “Do I know you young man?” she asked, not unkindly.

  “You don’t know me?” I asked. Brilliant.

  She chuckled. “I’m afraid not. Do I look like someone you used to know? I get that a lot lately.”

  The insides of the bus seemed to elongate and tilt slightly. I felt a little dizzy.

  “No, ma’am. I thought you looked familiar, but maybe I was mistaken.”

  “Well, don’t worry about it.” She turned and stared straight ahead with no hesitation, no frown and no wide-eyed moment of recognition.

  I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I knew it was she and besides, how many people have eyes that color? But she didn’t know me. I was only sensing mild confusion in her and nothing like suspicion at all.

  “Ma’am,” she turned to look at me again; her brows rose questioningly. “Did you used to work for CPS?” So help me God it was out of my mouth before I could make myself stop. Why was I tempting fate and trying to sabotage myself?

  Her eyes opened wide. “What a strange thing to say!”

  Now I’d done it. That was probably the only trigger she needed to place my face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. Please forget I asked.”

  She touched me lightly on the arm. “No, dear. It’s not that. It’s just that you are the third or fourth person to ask me that. I’ve never worked there, but I did change jobs recently. I decided I needed a change. I’m sorry that I’m not who you think I am.”

  It felt as though I had stepped right into some sideways daydream. There was no question it was she. “Oh. I thought I remembered you from there.” My mouth was painting me into a
corner every time I opened it.

  She frowned slightly. “No. Maybe you met someone else, but not me. To be honest though, I don’t recall all that many people from my last job. I’m not very good with names or faces. “Forget and move on.” That’s what I always say; at least, I think that’s been my philosophy. Maybe you met my twin. You know what they say, everyone has a twin somewhere.”

  Her scrambled conversation made my neck tingle. There was something in what she had said that bothered me. “Yeah. I’ve heard that too.”

  “But, I have had some problems remembering things lately, so it’s possible that we have met and I just don’t remember it.”

  In the back of my mind, in a dark area, a very troubling thought started swimming to the surface.

  “Well, do you work around here? Maybe that’s where I saw you and I’m just confusing it with seeing you somewhere else.” I just couldn’t shut up. Maybe Breno was starting to wear off on me.

  Her brows furrowed a little deeper. “Yes. I work for an insurance company close by, but that can’t be it because I just started there a few months ago. I would remember you.” She put a hand to her forehead, wincing.

  “Did you…?” I started.

  Patting my hand, she shook her head. “I’m sorry. Please don’t think this rude of me but I’m getting a little headache, and I think closing my eyes will help.”

  So we sat together until she got off a few stops later. I watched her walk unsteadily out onto the street. She didn’t look back and she didn’t pull out a discreetly hidden casebook to write down notes on our unlikely encounter. She just walked away, like any other person on their way to wherever it was that they needed to go.

  Miss Hoch hadn’t seemed like the kind of woman who would change careers and forget details that she had been so passionately pursuing.

  The worrisome thought in the backwaters of my mind broke the surface.

  She hadn’t forgotten all of those details by herself.

  CHAPTER TEN

  All of the clues and mysteries surrounding Mr. Goodturn were scratching at my conscience. I was pretending they would disappear if I left them alone, but I was really just running away from something that would never stop pursuing me if I didn’t confront it.