Bumble

by Connie Suttle

  "What good would it do?" Ashe said, following Sali. "It'll just get worse if somebody says anything." Ashe's burden of plants plunked down beside Sali's.

  "Yeah."

  "Boys, come on," Adele stood in the doorway, keys in hand.

  "Mom?" Ashe looked at his mother as he walked toward her.

  "Ashe, no questions," Adele lifted a hand to hold him off. "I have to talk to your father and Radomir tonight. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't say anything. Sali, will you ask your father to call Aedan tonight after sundown?" Adele's voice was weary and troubled.

  "Sure, Mrs. Evans," Sali nodded.

  "Good. Come on. Let's lock up and get out of here."

  Ashe itched to know what Randy Smith's mother had said. If he'd been there alone, he'd have misted inside his mother's office and listened. Now, he might never know what prompted the visit. And the missing button bothered him. He still had it in the drawer of his bedside table. Wondering whether he should take it to his father, Ashe remained silent on the drive home.

  "Sali, thank you for your help today," Adele said as Sali climbed out of the truck in front of his house. "I'll buy your lunch Saturday if you want to come in with Ashe and me."

  "Sure. Can we go to Betsy's?" Sali loved Betsy's fried chicken.

  "I'll buy at Betsy's," Adele promised. Sali waved at Ashe and went to the front door, letting himself in. Adele sighed as she watched Sali disappear. Ashe examined his mother's face; her expression was shuttered. He remained silent.

  "Honey, will you go downstairs and read or do your homework?" Ashe's mother asked when his father and Radomir appeared in the kitchen. The sun had disappeared below the horizon a few minutes earlier and Ashe heard his father's footsteps on the stairs.

  "Sure, Mom." Ashe stopped cleaning countertops and went downstairs, closing the middle door behind him. Knowing his father could hear his footsteps and the bedroom door closing, Ashe went through the motions, turning to mist immediately and flying through both doors to get back upstairs.

  "She walked into the shop?" Ashe arrived in the kitchen as invisible mist while his father asked the question.

  "Yes. She's been in Oklahoma City, hoping the investigation into Terry's death will yield results. So far there hasn't been anything; the Chief Medical Examiner's office hasn't released their final report and now that Megan Lindley is dead, she wanted to come and sniff around for herself," Adele shook her head in confusion.

  "Have the authorities come to any conclusions?" Radomir asked.

  "Nothing yet. They're still examining the girl's body."

  "Of course."

  "What did she want?" Aedan turned back to Dawn Smith's visit.

  "She wanted to know where the letter was and if the Pack has made a decision on Randy. I told her I didn't know anything about it. She knows the Pack doesn't hand out that information." Adele was clearly upset.

  "Did she say anything else about the letter?"

  "No. She said she didn't know anything about it until someone from Cloud Chief contacted her. When I asked who it was that called her, she wouldn't tell me."

  "Did she say what Terry was doing here?" Aedan asked.

  "He came to plead Randy's case with Marcus. He just never made it."

  "Did anyone know he was coming?"

  "I didn't ask her that." Adele heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry, Aedan, I was just so shocked that she walked into the shop, I couldn't think straight."

  "Mrs. Evans, do not concern yourself over that, we will get to the bottom of this," Radomir assured her. "Your husband used to be a fine Enforcer for the Council. Wlodek still holds hope that he will return soon."

  If Ashe could gasp as mist, he might have at Radomir's statement. His dad, an Enforcer?

  "Aedan has promised he won't as long as I live," Adele said stiffly, rising from her seat at the kitchen table. Ashe realized that Radomir knew that, somehow. Radomir was looking to the time when Adele would die, as all shifters did. If nothing happened, his father would live past that.

  "I did not intend to upset you, Mrs. Evans," Radomir apologized.

  "Oh, don't worry," Adele tossed up a hand. "Do you think I haven't thought of that, over and over again? That Aedan will live on when I'm dead?" Adele flung open the door to the stairs and walked through it, slamming it behind her. Ashe scooted through it, rushing toward his bedroom and materializing there, listening as his mother made her angry way downward.

  * * *

  Ashe was fingering the gold button later when his father knocked on his bedroom door. Hastily Ashe shoved the button into the drawer of his nightstand and shut it before sliding off the bed to answer the knock. "Dad?" he asked, looking up at his father's shuttered features.

  "Son, I want you to keep quiet about Mrs. Smith's visit earlier," Aedan said, taking Ashe's arm and leading him into the small bedroom. It always seemed smaller when his dad was inside it.

  "I will, Dad." Ashe sat on his bed and scooted forward until his back rested against the headboard.

  "Radomir and I spoke to Marcus. He says there's no need to worry the others with this. He knows Dawn was here, attempting to get information on her husband's death."

  "Yeah." Ashe nodded, ducking his head. He knew he ought to pull the button out of the drawer and give it to his father. He ought to. He just didn't. He wanted to ask his father about being an Enforcer for the Council, too, but couldn't. His parents held so many secrets. Now, Ashe had secrets of his own.

  * * *

  Sali must have gotten a similar talk from Marcus, because he didn't mention Dawn Smith's visit either. Ashe figured Sali might be about to burst over it, but held the information inside. Ashe blew out a sigh in Transformational Arts, picked up clothing as usual and went on to the next class. What Ashe knew that Sali didn't, though, was that someone from Cloud Chief had contacted Randy Smith's mother.

  When Terry Smith had come to Cordell, someone had killed him. Ashe wondered if it hadn't been a carefully laid trap. What he couldn't fathom, however, was why Terry Smith had been shot when James and Pat's hearts had somehow exploded. If the killer was capable of that sort of thing, why hadn't they done it to Terry Smith?

  "Come on, you're always slow to get to lunch," Sali dragged Ashe along the tiled hallway of Cloud Chief Combined, nearly running over a second-grader, who scooted out of the way at the last second.

  * * *

  Ashe's mother turned on the small television sitting on a corner of the kitchen counter. Ashe listened as she switched the channel to one of the news stations out of Oklahoma City. "Police fear they are dealing with a mass murderer in St. Louis," the newscaster announced. "Four children are reported dead, another is listed as missing," he added.

  "That's awful," Adele sighed at the report, which depicted photographs of murdered children. "I was hoping to get something on that girl who was killed. Megan—the one Marco knew. I heard they're not releasing the body to her parents yet." She got up and turned off the television.

  "Does Radomir have any way to check on that stuff? Or Mr. Winkler?" Ashe asked. "You said Mr. Winkler ran a security company. What about the werewolves in Oklahoma City?"

  "I think Marcus and Mr. Winkler are already pulling those strings, but we may not get complete information from them."

  "Because it's Pack business." Ashe stared at his plate. Adele had cooked chicken for dinner.

  "You have to understand that they're only trying to protect themselves."

  "But it isn't only werewolves that are dying, Mom."

  "I understand that, honey. That's why Radomir is here."

  "Mom, did Dad and Radomir talk to Old Harold before he died?"

  "They didn't. Radomir was holding off because he knew it would offend Old Harold if they questioned him. He wanted to gather as much information as he could before going to him. If Harold knew anything, we'll never know it."

  "Do they know anything more than they did, Mom? Do they?"

  "They have some information. They're not sharing all of it," Adele didn't
sound as if she appreciated that. Ashe understood completely.

  "I wish it would all go away," Ashe muttered glumly.

  "So do I. And I have to stay in town late tomorrow to get the tax papers back from the accountant. April fifteenth is Thursday."

  "Is it that late already?" Surprise showed on Ashe's face. The school year was nearly over—only a month was left. "Mom, will Marco bring Sali and me in again tomorrow afternoon?" Ashe worried about his mother staying late in Cordell, especially if she were going to be there alone.

  "Denise will take you home with her. I'll manage, stop worrying."

  "Mom, somebody is killing people. You don't have anybody in the store with you."

  "Hon, I have customers all day long this time of year. I won't be alone." Adele ruffled Ashe's hair, her brown eyes smiling at him.

  "Mom," Ashe moaned in despair. Why did adults have to be so difficult at times?

  "Denise will feed you dinner and you can stay with Sali until I come home. I should be home around sunset. It shouldn't take much longer than that to get the taxes sorted out. The accountant wants to go over a few things but that's all."

  "Please be careful," Ashe muttered as he rose to go do homework.

  "Your dad says exactly the same."

  * * *

  "Whatcha gonna do, empty, when you're human?" Chad Daniels growled at Ashe as they stood in the hall outside Transformational Arts. Chad, like many werewolves, had dark hair and brown eyes. Chad's sneer, however, was almost a permanent fixture, he wore it so often. Ashe, closely followed by a growling Sali, brushed past the older boy and slipped inside the classroom. Chad always made sure Mrs. Rocklin wasn't anywhere near when he threw insults at Ashe.

  "Pig," Wynn snapped at Chad before working her way around the seventeen-year-old werewolf.

  "Look, ponytail is getting involved. That empty your boyfriend?" Chad taunted Wynn. Jeremy walked up and laughed at Chad's latest comment. Jeremy Booth had lighter hair and hazel eyes, reflecting the colors of his Wildcat, but he followed in Chad's shadow much of the time, allowing Chad to select their targets for bullying.

  "Get to your classes," Mr. Harris walked over to warn the older boys. "Before I call Billings."

  "Billings is on our side," Chad muttered softly as he walked away. Most of the class didn't hear Chad's last words, but Ashe did. Ashe fumed over it as he sat at his desk. More than anything, he wanted to turn in class, just to show everybody he could. But he'd decided to keep that secret. He couldn't explain why, even to himself.

  "Dude," Sali swatted at Ashe, bringing him back to Earth with a jolt. Mrs. Rocklin was asking him to pick up Dori's clothing.

  Chapter 11

  "I'm about to go to the accountant's office," Adele told Ashe. He'd called her cell at five minutes past six. Ashe didn't know why he felt so shaky about his mother being alone in Cordell, but he did. His dad wouldn't wake until eight. Two hours. Ashe felt helpless, stuck as he was at the DeLucas' home. Sali was in the kitchen trying to wangle something to eat from his mother while Ashe borrowed the phone.

  Cori and Dori had gone home with Wynn's mother, so it was just the two of them in the house with Denise DeLuca. Mr. Winkler was in Oklahoma City on business. Ashe hoped the Dallas Packmaster was getting information from the Medical Examiner's office and from the OSBI Forensics department. Ashe also wondered where Marco was—he hadn't driven home after school. Denise DeLuca seemed annoyed about it but she wasn't going to say anything in front of Ashe.

  "Mom, just be careful, all right?" Ashe begged as his mother said good-bye.

  "I will. You do the same," she said. Ashe hung up the phone with a sigh.

  "How's your mom?" Mrs. DeLuca was putting pot roast together, setting carrots, onions and potatoes around the nearly cooked roast before slipping hand-shaped potholders on and returning the pan to the oven.

  "Fine. She's on her way to the accountant's to pick up the taxes."

  "I mailed ours off last Monday," Denise said, setting the potholders onto the counter.

  "I wish ours were already mailed off," Ashe said. If they were, then his mother would be driving home instead of going to Rory Dalton's office. "I think I'll go work on my essay."

  "Dude, you can't be serious," Sali said, coming away from the counter with four crackers spread with peanut butter. It was all his mother would allow him to have.

  "You could do the same, since you want to win the contest," Denise reminded him.

  "Crumbs," Sali muttered, stuffing a peanut butter-covered cracker into his mouth. "Did you have to mention that?" he said, chewing his food noisily.

  "I heard that," his mother shook a wooden spoon in Sali's direction. "And don't talk with your mouth full."

  Sali answered by grabbing Ashe's arm and hauling him away from the kitchen and down the hall leading to his bedroom. "What topic did you pick?" Sali asked, stuffing another cracker laden with peanut butter into his mouth.

  "I haven't. I've got a lot of possibilities, but none of them look good," Ashe pulled the notebook from his book bag and opened it to the proper page. At least fifteen possible topics were listed, some of those crossed through. A few of them marked through violently.

  "Dude, what's wrong with Living Among Humans? We all do it, just not all the time."

  "It just seems trite," Ashe grumped. It was one of the topics he'd crossed out. "Take it if you want. A better topic might be what the humans would do if they found out we weren't human."

  "I don't even want to think about that," Sali shivered. "How different do you think they are from us? Really?"

  "Think about it, Sali. Some of them hunt, just not in the same way. Before animals were domesticated, hunting ensured their survival. You eat vegetables, even though you don't want to sometimes. I hear it's the same with some of them. There are a few with medical conditions that keep them out of sunlight. It can harm those people; just like it can my dad. They just don't grow fangs or claws."

  "Or fur on the full moon," Sali nodded. "Mom's keeping my allowance for the next month because I jumped up on the back door last time and put scratches in the varnish."

  "Dude, isn't that the sixth time you've done that?" Ashe tore out the page of rejected essay topics and handed it to Sali. He didn't want any of them.

  "Maybe," Sali grinned and ducked his head. He couldn't help scratching at the door while he was wolf. He figured it was because he wanted out to run when the Moon was full. "Someday, Ashe, you're gonna buy a convertible and I'm gonna sit in the passenger seat while I'm wolf and let the wind blow through my fur."

  "No doubt you'll be leering at all the cars we pass, too," Ashe said dryly.

  "Goes without saying," Sali shrugged.

  "Dinner's done," Ashe said, closing his notebook half an hour later. He'd heard Mrs. DeLuca pulling the pan out of the oven. Denise DeLuca confirmed it, calling out to them moments later.

  "This is really good, Mrs. DeLuca," Ashe said. The pot roast had turned out perfectly and Marcus and Mr. Winkler had come in and sat at the table to eat with everyone else. Marco was still absent. Ashe noticed Mr. DeLuca's frown over Marco's empty seat at the table, but Marcus didn't say anything. Ashe imagined that Marcus wouldn't be silent once Ashe went home. He and Sali helped with the dishes afterward, even as Ashe began to feel strangely uncomfortable. His skin felt itchy-tingly, for some reason. He felt the need to call his mother as he hung up the dishtowel and followed Sali to his bedroom again. Ashe became more and more agitated as he walked until he wanted to crawl out of his own skin.

  "Sali," Ashe hissed, once Sali's bedroom door was closed, "you can't tell anybody about this. Promise me!"

  "Okay. Uh, tell anybody what?" Sali was confused.

  "About this," Ashe whispered and turned to mist. Sali's eyes were huge as Ashe disappeared and flew straight through the ceiling of Sali's bedroom.

  Floating above the DeLucas' home, Ashe took a moment to get his bearings before hurtling toward Cordell. His mother was in trouble, he just knew it. Something was h
appening and Ashe was frightened witless. Mr. Dalton's CPA office was near the bank on East First Street. Ashe was flying so fast as mist that the ground and trees were a blur beneath him, and he was speeding along in a straight line instead of following roads. It was just as Mr. Dawkins, Ashe’s Math teacher always said—the shortest distance between two points was a straight line. Ashe arrived above Cordell in a matter of minutes, only to find his mother's old blue Ford speeding westward on Highway 152. There wasn't any reason for her to be going in that direction. None at all. Ashe was following the truck in very little time, worrying that he wasn't going to catch up with it. Fear had him flying faster than ever, and he had no time to concern himself with how swiftly he might be going; he was focused and determined to reach the truck.

  * * *

  "I didn't see that, I didn't see that," Sali drew in the deepest of breaths while he murmured the litany to himself. Ashe had disappeared. Just went invisible, and now Sali couldn't find him. Didn't even know if Ashe was still inside the bedroom with him. "Dude," Sali whined, "please show up again. Please. I didn't see that, I didn't see that," Sali repeated.

  * * *

  "Adele is at the accountant's office, dealing with this year's taxes," Aedan said as he and Radomir walked through the garage. "Ashe is with the DeLucas, and Adele will pick him up. We can check the site Marco found yesterday," Aedan added, clicking the button on the garage door opener to close the steel door.

  "He seems sure James Johnson was killed in that wooded area?" Radomir asked.

  "Near the Johnson's pond at the back of their property," Aedan nodded. "How the body came to be behind our house afterward is still a mystery, but Marco says there were signs of a conflict on the eastern edge of the pond. He claims there are claw marks there, but the rain and the passage of time have obliterated the scents."

  "I doubt we'll find anything to substantiate this claim," Radomir said, climbing into Aedan's SUV. "But we will look anyway."

  "We're grasping at straws as it is. I'll follow any lead at this point." Aedan started the vehicle and drove toward the Johnson's wheat farm. "Paul and Jean Johnson are not only devastated at the loss of their son but they'll have to hire someone to help with the harvest."