He looked past me to the men to either side of me. They stood, so I did, too. As I stood, I banged the back of my heel against my hover board. My helmet rolled off of my board to stop at the tip of the man’s shiny black shoe. Bending, I quickly retrieved it. My competition for the job each snickered at me.
“Nice helmet,” The red-headed one to my right said snidely.
“Yeah, thanks, asshole,” I said to him with a bright cheerful smile.
He looked at me in shock. “How dare you speak so profanely in front of Mr. Tavora?” the red-head asked.
“Well, it might require courage on your part to use an expletive, but for me it’s natural. Do you wish to express anymore righteous indignation on Mr. Tavora’s behalf or are you done?” The blonde at the desk laughed. Mr. Tavora shook hands with the red-head and stared at me. “He started it,” I said quietly.
“Put on your helmet, go to the shoe store on Swan, pick up a package for me, and bring it back immediately,” Mr. Tavora said to me.
I gave him a mock Protect and Serve salute and left. I rode to the store with my hands in my pockets. Even with leggings on under my dress, my butt was cold. The lady working at the shoe store smiled when I entered. She had been working on the day that I had accompanied Mrs. Stone.
“Good morning. May I help you?” She had her grey hair up in a high bun and had a blue pearl necklace showing over the neckline of her pale green sweater.
“Yes, ma’am. Mr. Tavora sent me to pick up something.”
“Oh! I’ll get it right away.” She returned from the back with a large bag containing three boxes of shoes and handed it over to me.
“Thank you,” I said before leaving.
When I made it back to Tavora Shipping, I went to the blonde secretary. “Back so soon?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am. Where do you want me to put these?”
She pointed to Mr. Tavora’s office. I held my board under my arm and knocked. “Just go in,” the secretary said.
When I entered, I gazed up. Mr. Tavora stood on a second floor loft with his back turned to me and his hands clasped behind his back. Stairs of plasti-glass and metal were at the center of the room and led up to the loft that went from the center of the room to the far wall and spanned the room. The far wall gave a clear and unimpeded view of the ocean. The loft floor was constructed of plasti-glass as was the protective railing around it. It gave the effect of taking a step outside. A large wooden desk and three chairs were the extent of the furniture upstairs. I stood upon the same stone flooring as that in the front office. To my left was a large oval wooden table with eight chairs and a decorative painted silk screen of bamboo. The other applicants were gone. Feeling awkward, I decided to put the bag of shoes on the table and leave.
“Come here, and we will discuss your salary,” Mr. Tavora said.
I looked up from where I had placed the bag to find him looking down at me. I put my board down, removed my helmet, and climbed the stairs.
“I require an assistant to run errands and perform other mundane tasks. I want things done quickly. Posturing and obsequious behavior annoys me. If I wanted cronies to pat me on the back, then that is for what I would have advertised. Why do you want the job?”
Surprised by the question, I answered, “I’m bored. Classes don’t start for a while.”
Mr. Tavora stepped behind his desk and motioned for me to take a seat in one of the chairs across from him. “I am a private man. I do not wish for any of my activities to be discussed. Do you have any qualms about discretion?”
While taking a seat, I said, “No, sir.”
“Good. This is a non-disclosure agreement.” He pushed a pad over to me that required a palm scan. I pressed my hand to it. “I will pay you two hundred credits per day. You will report to me here promptly each morning for your assignments. You will take orders from me alone, not my secretary or any of my other employees. Enter your account information.”
At a loss, I looked at him. “Account information?”
“Don’t you have an account at the bank?”
“No, sir. I have a credit chip.”
“Yes, but how do you fill it?”
I shrugged. “Mrs. Stone pays me with disposable credit chips. That’s all I’ve ever used.”
Incredulously, he said, “You’ve only used pre-loaded chips? Don’t you have savings?”
I shook my head. “I’ll have to get my father’s permission to open an account.”
“I’ll see what I can do. For now, I want you to go to the Harbor Master. Give him this. Tell him that I expect an update by nightfall.” Mr. Tavora slid a rectangular package covered in brown shrink wrap across the desk to me. I took it and left.
The Harbor Master’s office was out on a pier amidst a fleet of fishing boats. Fishermen crowded the area repairing nets, working on their boats, or grabbing food from the venders who fought against the squawking seagulls that tried to steal food. I got the occasional whistle, but word had spread that Tadashi Shimizu was courting me. None of the gossips seemed concerned with Cosmo Lenox or Gregory Finn. There was a line at the Harbor Master’s door, so I got into it amongst scruffy cheeked middle-aged men.
“Are you lost, Miss?” one of them asked me.
“Is this the Harbor Master’s office?”
“Sure is.”
“I’m here to make a delivery.”
He grunted at me. While waiting in line, I listened. Apparently, the fishermen were having problems getting parts for their ships out of Dorado. Getting parts from elsewhere on Cassini might cause delays for setting out come spring which would mean hard times for everyone. Finally, it was my turn.
“What can I do for you, young lady?” The Harbor Master was a tough looking older man with light blue eyes and a short white stubble covering his head.
“Mr. Tavora told me to bring this to you, and he said he wants an update by nightfall.” Talk in the room ceased. He stood and took the box from me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Miss?”
“Clue Taylor,” I answered holding out my hand.
While shaking hands, he said, “Miss Taylor, in the future there is no reason for you to wait in line. Please, just come inside.”
“Thank you, sir. Do you need for me to take anything back?”
“No, I apologize for having you to wait in the cold.”
“No worries.” I smiled, waved, and sped back to the office.
Next, I was sent to the Hover Currier with a bag full of shrink wrapped packages that were addressed to businesses in Hyperion and Dorado. After a day filled with similar errands, I was dismissed until the next day. As I rode my board along Wharf Street, I heard Cosmo’s motorcycle, so I stopped and waited for him.
“Hey, Cosmo!”
He stopped, pulled off his helmet, grinned at me, and said, “What are you all dressed up for? You sure do look good enough to eat.” Cosmo leered at me.
“How about I tell you over a seafood dinner? It’s my treat.”
“It’s a date. How about Perry’s?”
I nodded and started moving forward. Perry’s was a restaurant built on a pier out over the water. The windows would be shut to block out the cold, but the food would be amazing. By the time I got there, Cosmo had parked his bike and was waiting for me under the restaurant’s covered awning.
“Here. Let me carry that for you,” he said of my board and helmet. A waitress gave us a table by one of the large picture windows in the back and then went to get our drinks. Gazing deeply into my eyes with his brown ones, Cosmo said, “You dressed up and then searched for me on the docks after realizing that I’m the man of your dreams.”
I crossed my eyes at him. “I was on my way home from work, ran into you, and now we are having a small family dinner.”
“Think of how nice it will be when we have dinner here with a few highchairs around the table for our kids,” he said as he blew me a kiss.
“Kids? Gross. They’re sticky and smelly.”
&
nbsp; Cosmo laughed. “So, who hired you? Your birthday isn’t for another month.” He shoved a fried oyster into his mouth from our appetizer tray. I made a face. I didn’t like oysters either. I imagined they tasted like chewy snot. I took a skewer of grilled shrimp.
“I am the new personal assistant of Mr. Elan Tavora,” I said proudly. Cosmo began to choke. I got up and whacked him on his back.
“Are you fucking nuts? Winks is going to flip.”
I handed Cosmo his drink. “Why?”
“They have a history.”
I rolled my eyes. “He has a history with everyone.”
“Clue, Tavora is a powerful man. I’m not sure he cares too much about legitimate operations either if you know what I mean.”
“Huh. You’d think that would be reason for them to get along. Well, I’m getting two hundred credits a day to run errands.”
Cosmo scowled at me. “I don’t like it. What if he knows you’re different?”
“Sorry. I need something to do.”
After dinner, I met Cosmo back at the house. When he went up to his room to shower and change, I decided to do the same thing. Then, I waited in the hall for him to come out. It surprised him. “Hey, let’s go snoop in the basement.”
“No way. Winks will know, and he’ll get mad.”
“I want to see what’s missing. Where did he go? What’s he up to? Are you coming with me or not?”
Cosmo groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. Then, he followed me down the hidden stairs in my closet. I began looking around and trying to figure out what was missing.
“It looks like all of the tech and weapons are here. What do you think he’s selling?” I turned to ask Cosmo, but he was still at the other end of the basement near the stairs. He looked pale. Cautiously, I approached him fearful that a snake or something had gotten into the basement. I followed the path of his eyes to the wall of the first partitioned room. “Oh, shit, Winks.”
“Oh, shit, indeed,” Cosmo agreed. The moon painting was gone. “Let’s go to bed and pretend we were never down here.”
“Good idea, Cosmo.”
Chapter Three
The next day, I wore black pants, boots, and a sweater under my blue and black plaid jacket. After all, if I was going to be running errands all day, I should be warm. A few mundane errands later, I was warming up in the office anticipating my next task when Kiyohime and her two male servants walked inside. I swallowed my spit and slowly stood. Kiyohime bypassed the secretary and came straight at me. Today, she and her men wore white suits. Her red stilettos matched her eyes.
“Little Mouse, what a surprise,” Kiyohime said by way of greeting.
“Lady Kiyohime, you are more stunning each time I see you,” I said with a bow. I wondered if the serpent demon knew I meant she stunned me with fear. Her wicked smile told me that she did.
“Lady Kiyohime, do you know my assistant?” Mr. Tavora asked having silently entered the room.
Red eyes flashed angrily to Mr. Tavora. “Your assistant?”
“Has Miss Taylor offended you in some way?”
Kiyohime turned to face Mr. Tavora, and when she did her eyes glowed red. “It is you who have stolen my servant from me. Why would I be angry with my mouse?”
Mr. Tavora gave Kiyohime a cold smile. “A tiny mouse can easily slip away. Perhaps, I have tastier cheese.”
Affronted, Kiyohime turned her slit-pupiled red eyes to me. The mantra, “Please, don’t eat me,” was stuck on automatic replay in my head.
“Lady Kiyohime, I believe we have business to discuss.”
She turned and preceded him into his office. I entertained thoughts of running away and eagerly anticipated Mr. Tavora shutting his door. Unfortunately, her servants had remained in the waiting room and were staring at me. I put on my helmet and held my hover board to my chest. An hour later when their meeting ended, Kiyohime had a satisfied look on her face.
“I will be seeing you, Little Mouse. Come,” she commanded her servants.
I blew out the breath I had been holding when the office door closed behind them.
Early the next morning, a strange pink glow filled my room waking me. Frowning, I looked around my room and down the hall to see if Cosmo had turned on a light. However, the source of the strange glow came from the floor and from within my Big Bubba’s reusable grocery bag. I grabbed my spyglass from my bedside table and used it to lift an edge of the bag. Inside, the odd tile I had found on the beach was emitting a faint yellow light. Backing away from it, I put my spyglass on my bed, and trudged down the hall to Cosmo’s room. He was asleep on his back with one arm over his eyes and the other arm flung out over his pillow. His chest was bare, and his covers had slipped down to his hips. I decided to shake him awake.
“Cosmo,” I whispered. In a whirl of blankets and warm sleepy man, I ended up in Cosmo’s bed, in his arms, with him cuddled around me. Now, I knew how Daisy, my doll, must feel. “Cosmo, this is not funny!” Then, I realized he wasn’t playing. He was sound asleep. “Cosmo, wake up!” I said more loudly as I tried to wiggle free.
“I love you, baby. You’re safe,” he mumbled against my hair.
“Who do you love?” I asked curious about whom he might be dreaming but also annoyed at being trapped when there was a paranormal crisis in my bedroom. He hugged me tighter and threw a leg over me. I groaned. “Cosmo, from now on when I need to wake you up, I’m throwing things at you.” I felt a change to his breathing and in another part of his anatomy.
“Clue, how may I be of service?” Cosmo asked as he snuggled closer to me.
“I have an emergency in my room. Get up.”
“You wound me. I am up,” he said as he nudged my hip.
“Cosmo, you had better get up and come and help me right this minute, or I’m telling Daddy.” Cosmo’s lower anatomy deflated.
“What’s wrong?” Cosmo rolled over me and pulled a small blaster from under his mattress. Freeing myself from his blankets, I took his hand, and walked toward my room. He changed places with me in the hall to walk ahead of me. “What the heck?”
“I found it on the beach, but it wasn’t glowing at the time.”
Cosmo slid the blaster into the waistband of his jogging pants. “Whatever it is, we need to get rid of it. Get dressed. We’ll take it back to the beach.”
I got tennis shoes and exercise clothes out of my closet and went into my bathroom to change. When I came out, Cosmo was dressed and ready. I carried the bag and followed him to the garage. Folding up the bag, I hid it inside of my jacket as I climbed up behind Cosmo. It was dark and quiet as we rode to the wharf.
Cosmo slowed. “Where did you find that thing?”
“About two miles down the beach.”
“We can’t take the bike that far. Come on,” Cosmo said as he parked and waited for me to dismount.
I kept the glowing pink bag hidden inside of my jacket so no one could see it as we walked along the beach. “Do you think this is far enough?” I asked.
“Yes, no one can see us this far out and in the dark.”
I pulled the bag out from underneath my jacket. It seemed to glow more brightly either because it was closer to me and my spirit energy or to the ocean. I reached inside of the bag and closed my hand around the strange tile. At the same time, I felt a sharp prick to my palm. I had forgotten about the fishing hook. Once my drop of blood made contact with the tile, images flashed through my mind. I was trapped in a dark cave all alone. No one could free me. The occasional fish swam inside keeping me from starving. Loneliness ate at me. It gnawed away at my soul worse than my unremitting hunger. Despair was my only company. I was too weak to break free and too far from reach for the spirit sustenance of the even sirens to reach me. My flesh was battered from my hopeless attempts at escape.
“Clue! Clue!”
The tile fell from my hand. It was still in the bag, glowing and sliding across the sand. I ran after it.
“Clue!” Cosmo said as he chased after me.
With wide shocked eyes, I turned to Cosmo. “This belongs to someone who is trapped and alone. It’s a message, Cosmo. We have to help him or her.” I rolled up the bag and shoved it back inside of the front my jacket.
“What did you see?”
Quickly, I told him everything. Then, we returned to his motorcycle and went to a small café on Wharf Street to warm up with hot coffee and some breakfast.
“Underwater caves are all over the place.”
“Will you take me to look?”
“You want to sail out on winter seas searching for something we can’t see?” I nodded. In resignation, Cosmo said, “Sure. Whatever makes you happy. We need someone to help with my boat. I don’t want to go out on the Sea Harpy with just the two of us in this weather.”
The café door’s chime sounded admitting new customers. “This is all Palena’s doing,” I said as my eyes met Gregory Finn’s blue ones.
Gregory rushed over to me and kissed my cheek. Careful of chairs, tables, and other customers, Mrs. and Mr. Finn followed. I introduced them all to Cosmo. They joined us for breakfast, and I shared with my suitor and his parents the events of the morning along with my suspicions of Palena’s involvement in giving me the mission.
“The Goddess of the Ocean Waves is as mysterious as the sea,” Gregory said. “Please, allow me to assist you, Cosmo. It is my duty to aid my Goddess’ handmaiden.”
Cosmo nodded his acceptance, but I could tell he was jealous of Gregory. I couldn’t tell Cosmo not to worry with Gregory and his parents right there. Tadashi had warned me that Palena was probably using her handsome priest as bait to keep me near her. I suspected that he was correct. However, it did seem that when Palena manipulated me, it was in order to right a wrong as in the virgin bride and her sailor.
Clue and the Sea Dragon (The Clue Taylor Series Book 2) Page 2