Relics

by Wilson, Maer

  “Cara Thompson won a pageant at her church. Some summer thing they did. Her dad is Will Thompson and a deacon at the church.”

  “And daddy dearest wasn't above buying a stolen locket? Charming.”

  “Nope. We have an appointment with him at three today.”

  “Really. How did you get his number?”

  “From the church.” Thulu dimpled at me. I stared at him. I didn't want to know what story he'd told. I wasn't going to ask. I really wasn't.

  “Okay, what story did you tell them to get his phone number?”

  “That we were new to the church and he was going to help with some marriage counseling and I'd misplaced his number. I used a variation on that theme when I called him.” I gave him a mock dark look that clearly said he was going to need marriage counseling. He dimpled again.

  “He owns his own business and said he'd be happy to meet with us. It would give him an excuse to leave his office early.” I rolled my eyes. I was not going to be charmed by my charming husband. I wasn't.

  “I'm going to make a sandwich,” I stated grumpily and left the room.

  “Make one for me too, please,” he called after me.

  “I'll think about it,” I mumbled from the hall. I took a few steps, stopped and sighed. “What kind?”

  I heard laughter from the other room. “Whatever you're having is fine.”

  I threw together a quick, cold lunch of salad and ham sandwiches and sodas. I loaded everything up on a tray and took it back into the study.

  “What are you looking for now?” I asked as I passed the study door on my way to the family room. I set the tray down on the coffee table in front of the sofa and turned on the TV.

  Thulu shrugged as he followed me in. “Just looking. Seeing if I could get something on any of the other stuff.”

  “Did you?”

  “Nope,” he said. He moved over to join me on the sofa and turned on the TV. We sat munching, watching TV. Thulu liked to stay current with events, but I hated the depressing stories and seeing other people's pain. I thought we dealt with enough of it in our job.

  Soon it was time to go and we got ready to leave for the Thompsons' place. I stuffed the receipt, picture and order in a folder and slipped it into my bag. My tablet and gun were still there.

  Since traffic was light, it didn't take too long to get to the Thompsons'. They lived in a condo in a nice area, close to their church.

  We had a bit of trouble finding parking and eventually settled in a spot a couple of blocks away.

  Thompson answered the door with a big smile and a bigger belly. He clearly didn't believe in denying himself the pleasure of food.

  His wife poked her head from the living room, where we could hear some inane game show on the TV. She also gave us a big smile and welcomed us. I doubted we'd be welcome for much longer.

  He led us down a short hallway that ran next to the staircase and into a small den. It was rather cramped, with a desk that held a laptop, a chair and a loveseat. What it lacked in decor, it made up for in being neat and clean.

  Thompson invited us to sit. Instead, I pulled the folder from my purse and handed it to him. He was puzzled as he took it and opened it. He looked up, guilty and embarrassed.

  “As you can see, Mr. Thompson, the locket was ordered by Jane Andrews. The 'Cara' it was designed and purchased for is a doctor. Her grandmother is now deceased, but it was her wish that the locket be recovered and given to her granddaughter.” Thulu's voice was almost gentle.

  “We're prepared to simply take the locket and let it go. There's no reason to call in the authorities.” I gave him my “You are so screwed” smile. He turned gray, but nodded.

  “My daughter is upstairs.” He hesitated. “What am I going to tell her?”

  “Tell her the jeweler made a mistake and gave you the wrong locket. That her locket will be finished soon, but we need this one back now.” I was firm.

  Thompson nodded again. “I'll call her down here. It will be better that way.”

  He opened the door and called up the stairs. When there wasn't any answer he pulled out his phone and sent a text message to her. A minute later a door opened upstairs. Light footsteps came down the staircase.

  “What's up, Daddy?” she said in a purring tone.

  Cara Thompson was beautiful. She was going to give her daddy all kinds of grief, if she hadn't already. Cheerleader blonde hair, brown eyes, china doll face, a great figure. Yep, this dad definitely had his hands full.

  “These people are from the jeweler, where your locket was made.” We hadn't said that, but it worked, so we let it go.

  She turned her smile to us, gaze lingering on Thulu.

  “Hi, nice to meet you.”

  No one spoke. I looked at Thompson, and he was staring at his daughter. I could see panic building in his eyes. Hiding my sigh, I turned back to Cara.

  “There was an error with your locket. The person who gave it to your father made a mistake. She gave him a locket that was designed for another Cara. That Cara would like her locket.”

  Cara looked at me blankly for a moment, but her expression hardened as she glared at me. “It's mine. It has my name in it.”

  “It has the name 'Cara' in it, yes, but it wasn't the one your dad bought for you. We need to have it returned, please.”

  Her face darkened even more as she put one hand on a shapely hip. “Fine, then give me my locket.”

  Thulu smoothly inserted, “I do apologize, but your locket isn't ready yet. I'm sure your father will be receiving it soon.” He gave Thompson a significant look.

  Thompson was no dummy. He joined right in. “Absolutely, pumpkin, they had to special order something for it and it's taking longer.”

  “Special order what?”

  “Now, it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?” His attempt at joviality fell flat. Cara looked at him suspiciously.

  “May we please have the locket?” Thulu was sweetness itself.

  “Whatever. I'll have to go get it.” She gave a long, drawn-out sigh.

  “Oh, you don't wear it? Where is it?” I was not sweet.

  “It's upstairs,” she said in a very exasperated tone. I'd only asked because she'd made it sound like it was halfway across the planet.

  “Thank you, we'll wait right here.”

  Cara turned and flounced out. Her steps were not quite a stomp, but they were not as light as her trip down had been. Thompson blew out a sigh in relief. I think I knew why he had wanted us there.

  We waited a couple of minutes before she returned, locket clutched in one hand, fine gold chain swinging from her fist. She handed it to Thulu, who handed it to me.

  “It's okay, it was crap anyway.”

  Thompson choked.

  “It's gorgeous and those diamonds are of a wonderful quality.” I felt duty bound to defend Jane's present.

  “Oh, I thought they were rhinestones. They didn't look like diamonds to me.”

  Yeah, chick, I'm sure you're a diamond expert. I kept my mouth tightly closed.

  “Besides,” she continued, “it had some cult symbol in it. I should have known it wasn't mine. Daddy doesn't put up with cults.” Her voice was smug.

  I opened the locket and stared at Cara with shock.

  “What the hell did you do to it?”

  “I scratched out that devil sign. Those snakes were creepy.”

  Thulu leaned over to look inside the locket. He started tugging me by the arm.

  “Thanks, we'll be going now,” said Thulu.

  “It isn't a devil sign, you stupid, little bitch. It's a caduceus. It's a doctor's symbol.” I remembered Jane telling us she'd had that put in.

  Thulu was tugging away, Cara was speechless at being called a “bitch,” and Thompson had settled into shock. I turned to him, furious.

  “You deserve everything this little bitch dishes out to you over your lifetime, and I hope you both have very, very long lives. Good job, dad.”

  I reached
over and snatched the folder from his hands and stomped past Thulu, who followed right on my heels. He didn't let me slam the door.

  He caught up to me on the sidewalk. I was so mad, I was in tears. Thulu took my hand as we went back to the car. Once inside, he took the locket from my clenched fingers. He examined the inside closely. The caduceus had been almost gouged out. I was surprised she hadn't gone clean through the gold.

  I knew enough about jewelry to know that it was more than a simple repair. At least the diamonds were intact. Hopefully it could be resurfaced on the inside. If not, maybe it could be melted down and remade, but it wasn't the same, somehow. I felt awful, but I consoled myself that Cara would never know. Jones would foot the bill to have the locket remade, if need be. I'd make sure of that. I wasn't planning on telling Jane either, although I wondered if she was watching, invisible. If so, she wasn't making her presence known.

  Mindless destruction irritated me. It's a definite hot button with me. Book burning or destruction of property was something I simply didn't understand. I could understand if something was ruined beyond repair, but the locket really was gorgeous.

  Thulu took the folder from me and looked inside. He started the car and pulled smoothly into traffic. He's a good driver, my Thulu. I don't think most people are. They're too distracted and make me nervous. Working with the dead has made me all too aware of my own mortality. Thulu shared that with me and didn't have to prove how cool he was. He drove fast, but safely.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, since he had not made our turn.

  “To the jeweler.”

  I nodded, pulled out my phone and called Jones. He answered immediately. I explained what had happened to the locket and that we were on the way to the jeweler. He agreed to pay for it to be repaired or remade.

  Thulu and I quickly agreed on what we would tell the jeweler. Simple is always best.

  The jeweler was downtown. There was a small display window, tastefully arranged. The door was inset and covered with a small canopy. A camera was angled above our heads. To our right, a sign asked us to please use the buzzer. We did and it was several moments before we were allowed in. I was sure we were being inspected.

  The door unlocked with a metallic click, and Thulu opened it and stood aside for me to go in first. We were greeted immediately by a young man in a business suit. We asked for Mr. Richards, whose name had been on the emails. The young man picked up a phone and spoke into it quietly.

  I looked around at shining glass. Jewelry sparkled at me, seductively. I refused to answer its call, though. It was just a minute before a middle-aged, balding man came through the door behind the counter and introduced himself as Mr. Richards. He wore glasses perched on his nose, a dark blue suit and a smile.

  Thulu pulled out one of our business cards. He explained that Jane's house had been broken into before her cruise. Several items had been stolen, along with the locket. She'd hired us to retrieve the locket for her before her trip. He added that we were staying in touch with her via email. We showed Richards the folder with the documents he had emailed Jane.

  “Ah yes, I sent those to Jane. How may I help?”

  I pulled the locket from my bag.

  “We were able to trace the locket and get it back, but it's been severely damaged, possibly beyond repair.” I handed it over to Richards. “Can you salvage the gold and diamonds and remake it?”

  He opened the locket and gasped. “What happened?”

  “The person who ended up with it thought it was a cult symbol,” I said in utter disgust. Richards looked at me in disbelief, shaking his head.

  “We haven't told Mrs. Andrews that we found it. I was hoping we could get it repaired or replaced and she'd never have to know. She's such a nice lady, I hate telling her.” I gave him a sweet smile.

  Richards was intently looking at the locket under a magnifying glass.

  “I might be able to resurface it. Or possibly remake the one side. I can reach you at these numbers?” He was looking at our card. We nodded.

  “I'll let you know what I can do. I'll keep the repair costs down, too.” He hesitated. “I hate deceiving a client, but for now I will not say anything to Mrs. Andrews, either.”

  “Thank you.” My gratitude was sincere.

  “We appreciate that,” Thulu chimed in.

  Chapter 24

  We had barely walked in the door carrying pizza when my phone sang to me.

  “Turn on the TV. A world news station. I'll call back.” Jones. His voice was grim, and he quickly hung up.

  I told Thulu what Jones said, and he looked at me questioningly. I shrugged and took the pizza box with me into the family room, while Thulu went to get wine and plates.

  I set the pizza box on the coffee table and turned on the TV. Thulu came back in as I found the international news station. He carried the tray with plates, glasses and a bottle of wine.

  A reporter stood in front of a statue. The caption on the bottom of the screen said, “Miles Reed, London - Hyde Park.” The camera cut to a white horse grazing on the grass. Then the view zoomed in on its head where a horn gleamed.

  Thulu and I exchanged looks. I turned up the volume as we each got a slice of pizza.

  The camera panned to a taped off area guarded by police. We could see grass and a pulsating circle of light in the air. It seemed a couple of feet across and about three feet off the ground. Its colors were iridescent, with shades of pinks, blues, yellows and other pastels shifting through it in slow swirls. Rays of light emanated from its edges. I recognized the portal from the times I'd seen ghosts go into a similar one. The difference was the Light ghosts went into was brighter, larger, more stable and, of course, white.

  The camera moved to catch it edge on. It seemed to disappear, with only a faint glow showing where it was.

  “Portal,” said Thulu, unnecessarily. I nodded and set my slice of pizza back on the plate.

  The camera panned back to the reporter. “As you can see, a unicorn has come to visit London. The police have cordoned off an unknown object here in Hyde Park, while nearby a unicorn grazes on the grass.” Shot of the circle again. “As we said earlier, we are not sure what time this circle of light actually appeared. The unicorn was spotted less than an hour ago. No one has been able to approach the animal without it shying away.” The camera continued to move, showing the light, the unicorn, reporter and growing crowd. Yellow tape was wound around trees to mark off the area. Police stood inside it.

  “It has to be what two, three in the morning there?” I asked Thulu.

  “Eight hours difference, I think, so almost two AM.”

  The camera showed lights being set up on the perimeter.

  “What at first appeared to be a prank has now begun to be taken seriously. Eyewitnesses report that a man, whose identity has not been released, attempted to corner what he thought was a horse. We have Katy Rogers with us. Katy, please tell us what you saw.”

  The camera panned to a young woman, maybe in her late teens, early twenties. She wore a shiny, silvery top, a short skirt and heavy black eye makeup. She seemed excited and anxious at the same time. Her British accent, while heavy, was easy to understand.

  “We were walking along the footpath and heard a chap shouting. We looked over and could see a big animal on the other side of the trees. He was close in, so we decided to have a peek at what was going on. We saw this bloke chasing the unicorn, but he couldn't catch it. We all saw that circle thingamijig then. I don't know if it was there before. Didn't notice it anyhow. The chap went over and looked at it. He put his hand up to it. I think he had to be barmy or pissed 'cause he put his head in and he just disappeared. That's when we ran and got help.”

  “Did you see or hear anything else?” asked Reed.

  “Nah, disappearing blokes was enough for us. We ran.”

  “Thank you, Katy.” The camera closed in on Reed once more, then went back to cycling through the area, showing the circle, unicorn, crowd and Reed.

&
nbsp; “We were able to get a few words with the ranking officer currently on scene. Inspector Daggett, you were one of the first to secure the area, were you not?” The camera pulled back to show a London police officer, a young woman in her late twenties, I guessed. She was dressed in a business suit.

  “I was.” She was very serious.

  “Would you please tell us what you saw?”

  “Just what you see now. That circle over there and the horse grazing.”

  “You call it a horse and not a unicorn?”

  “We have no evidence that it's a unicorn. Until we get close enough to see the horn for ourselves.”

  “Well, yes, but what about that circle of light. It exists, doesn't it?”

  She gave him a slightly exasperated look. “Well, obviously it exists, since we can all see it.”

  “Do you know what it is?”

  “No. We threw a rock in and it disappeared, so we are treating it as potentially dangerous, at this time. Until we have a chance to get the experts in, I'm afraid there isn't much more to tell you.”

  “Thank you, Inspector, for your time.” Reed turned back to the camera.

  “That was Inspector Daggett updating us. It seems that now we wait for the experts to come in –” He was interrupted by shouts, and the camera quickly shifted to the circle.

  The portal was about five feet in diameter now and growing in pulsating ripples. Soon it was large enough that another unicorn could come through – which is exactly what happened. On camera. For the entire world to see. Or at least those who were watching. But it would be repeated over and over the next few days.

  My mouth dropped open as I looked at Thulu. I think we both had the same thought.

  “Reo's 'genie,'” he said.

  Reed's voice came over loud and clear as he exclaimed, “Oh, bloody hell. Did you see that?” He seemed to remember he was still on the air, since he continued in a slightly more professional tone. “Uh, the circle has grown to over twelve feet and another unicorn has come through. And there's another!”

  Reed seemed at a loss for words after that. The camera continued to show unicorns coming through the portal.