“There is someone.”
“Is. Was. I don’t know if he’ll be waiting when I get back.”
“Oh, hun, I’m sorry. I told Etienne not to bother you. We had this all under control.”
“My Clan Chief practically ordered me to come here so there wasn’t much choice.”
“He did?”
“Well, not in so many words, not with Laurent standing right there. But he said proof was the most important thing and I couldn’t think of any other way of getting it.”
Marnie had ushered her into the kitchen and settled her at the table. “I’ve got soup, good thick pea soup, and homemade bread, and then a country ham with vegetables and some baby potatoes from the garden for dinner tonight. For now there’s crepes, as much as you can eat.”
“It sounds delicious and smells even better.”
Once they were seated and served, Marnie said, “So tell me about your Clan Chief and Laurent. We knew Laurent was leaving town for a few days, but that’s all we were told.”
“Etienne showed up a few weeks ago claiming there was trouble in the clan and he was looking for proof of something. He claims Laurent is working with The Human Order. Before he could find proof, Laurent showed up in New Orleans looking for Etienne. Remy wants to get to the truth of the matter but he didn’t want to offend Laurent either. So I’m sort of guessing at his orders but here I am, looking for proof.”
Marnie nodded and opened her mouth to say something but the front door opened. “Sure smells good in here Marnie!” Etienne called as he took his shoes off and set Jane’s bag by the front door.”
“Help yourself to crepes.”
“You were going to say?” Jane prompted.
Marnie looked at her then gave her head a shake and smiled. “I was going to say that whatever the reason, it’s good you’re here. There are some people who’d like to see you, I think. I’ll let you get settled and later we’ll do some visiting. I only hope... well, there’s time for the serious discussions later. Tell me all about you. You’re all grown up now.”
They talked and ate and laughed together while Etienne sat at the end of the table watching them, keeping oddly quiet. Finally, when Jane could eat no more, Marnie said, “Did you get any sleep on the plane?”
“Some.”
“Well, you’re welcome to lie down a bit, or help yourself to the shower.”
“I might do that, in a bit. I think I’ll go for a run.”
Marnie paused, a dirty plate in each hand. “You’re heading up the road, aren’t you?”
Jane nodded. She respected Marnie too much to lie.
“New people living there again. Second family since Laurent put it up for sale. I told him he shouldn’t have done that. I told him to hold onto it, that you might want it someday.”
“I don’t,” Jane said. “I’m not planning on staying.”
“It was your home. I know he tried to raise you, tried to do right by you, but he sold your home without asking your opinion, nor anyone else’s, and then you left and he wonders why. If he wanted you to stay, wanted this clan to be your home, he shouldn’t have taken your home from you.”
“Marnie, it’s okay. I didn’t leave because of the house. A house is just a building. I just need to see it. I did leave in a rush.”
“Well, Luc still lives down on the corner if you want to stop in for water or whatever.”
“I’ll wave if I see him but I’m not quite ready to face everyone.”
“Is tonight too soon?”
“You already called everyone, didn’t you?”
Marnie’s grin was sheepish. “Can you blame me? We’ve had so many leave these last few years and so few of them come back. I know, I know, you’re not back for good, but at least we get to see you. Can you blame any of us for wanting to get a look at you?”
“No, I guess not.”
“I can call ‘em all back.”
“No, Marnie, it’ll be fine.” Jane smiled and was surprised when she didn’t have to force it. “But I am going for that run to stretch my legs and clear my head.”
“And you?” Marnie said, turning to Etienne as Jane headed to the door to lace up her shoes.
“Me?”
“What are you going to be doing between now and dinner? It’s a whole day.”
“I don’t think you have a bed for me,” he said. “So, I think I’ll head home for a few hours. I need to sleep, check my emails, all that. But I’ll take you up on dinner. Thanks for breakfast.” He followed Jane out the door. He almost offered to go with her but there were footsteps on the porch and a quick glance over this shoulder told him Marnie had followed them out. Instead he waved to Marnie and smiled at Jane. “I’ll see you later. If you need anything, Marnie has my number.”
Jane nodded. She had stopped to stretch her legs and now she waited for the car to back out.
As Etienne was leaving, Marnie said, “Of all the ones that came back, may’ve been better for that one to stay gone.”
Jane’s head snapped up but Marnie was already heading back inside.
Jane tried to shake the feeling of unease but it wasn’t going anywhere so she jogged to the end of the driveway and turned right, away from Etienne’s quickly disappearing taillights, and headed down the road.
The old house looked much as she remembered it. Whatever updates they’d done over the years had been pretty basic. It probably had a new roof, the curtains in the windows were a different color, and there was no way to know what they’d done to the inside. But from the road it looked just the same and the tears quickly overwhelmed her.
She brushed them away with the back of her hand and turned back towards Marnie’s. There was nothing for her here. She couldn’t change the past no more than she could in her dream.
* * *
Marnie’s house, though cozy, was built for entertaining, and even though more and more people kept coming through the front door, most without knocking, it didn’t feel overly crowded. The house was full of talking and laughing and the smells of gravy and butter and garlic.
Clan meetings in New Orleans consisted mostly of take-out and beers. Jane had almost forgotten what a good, old-fashioned potluck was like.
As soon as Marnie hollered that the food was ready, everyone lined up to grab a plate and the noise died down a little. They settled round Marnie’s giant dining room table and dug in.
Jane was bombarded with questions about New Orleans and Remy and what it was like shifting in a warehouse. Didn’t she miss the woods? An awkward silence had followed that question and then Marnie said, “So you know.”
Jane nodded.
“Well, least no one has to pussy foot round the truth anymore. Told Laurent to tell you sooner.” Marnie shook her head. “Someone slide the gravy this way.”
As conversation resumed Ginette said, “So, anyone special waiting for you in New Orleans?”
Luc rolled his eyes. “Leave the poor girl be. Sounds like she’s been too busy for that nonsense.”
“Actually …” Jane blushed.
“Oh, darling you have to tell us everything,” Marnie insisted.
“Not much to tell, really.”
“What’s his name? How’d you meet? How long you been together?” Marnie said, her food forgotten.
“Is he cute?” Ginette added and everyone laughed.
“Bryce, at work, a month, and yes,” Jane said.
Conversation moved on as people got up for seconds, and thirds. Except Etienne who sat picking at his plate.
“What’s wrong? Suddenly you don’t like my potatoes?” Renee said. Renee was Ginette’s older sister. Though not a werebear herself, she’d married one and they already had four kids. The oldest was still a few years off of his first shift, if he was going to become a bear. Jane remembered her as this curvy teen and as a twenty-something newlywed, but now she was nearing thirty and had a motherly roundness to her cheeks. She sat between her husband and her sister, but in such a way that her shoulder was almo
st always touching Ginette’s.
“I love your potatoes,” Etienne said, drawing Jane’s attention away from the sisters. “I just don’t feel well. I think it’s just the jet lag still.”
“Your loss,” someone else said. “Pass the gravy back.”
“Why don’t we have two gravies?”
And so it went until everyone was leaned back in their chairs patting their stomachs and a contented quiet settled over the room.
Jane took a deep breath. “Just how bad is it?” she asked the room.
People glanced at each other and Jane could see real concern on their faces.
Marnie broke the silence. “Bad. Look around. You can see there’s faces missing. Chased off by The Human Order and our Chief just sent ‘em away. For their own protection he says, but I haven’t heard of other clans doing the same. Other clans are fighting to protect their people. And, well, it’s just not good any way you look at things.”
“I know about the marriages,” Jane said. “I know what Laurent planned for me and Etienne. I’m guessing there were others.”
“You were one of the others,” Luc said. “Before Etienne. There was another. He was older than you by about ten years. Laurent made the arrangement almost as soon as became Clan Chief. You were months old at the time.”
“Did my parents know?” Jane said.
Marnie nodded. “But they didn’t find out until you were a bit older. They wondered why Laurent insisted this young man be their on-call babysitter.”
“Him?” Jane stared at each face around the table in turn. Most of them wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“He went away to school just before your parents died and said he wasn’t coming back. Met a girl out wherever he went and fell in love. Guess he didn’t want to wait ten years for you to grow up. That would have been the end of it but Laurent started making noise about finding you a new mate …”
“I was eight.”
Marnie nodded. “That’s how your parents felt about it. They were leaving. Had their transfer request ready to send to the council.”
Jane turned to Etienne. “Did you know about this?”
“Some of it, but not the transfer. I didn’t know that.” He took a deep breath. “Look, I really don’t feel good. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He pushed away from the table and headed for the door.
Marnie put her hand over Jane’s. “I’m sorry sweetie, this must be so hard for you.”
“And my parents were human when they were shot?”
Marnie nodded.
“Is there …” She couldn’t put the question into words because she didn’t want to know the answer. She’d lived with Laurent for ten years. Did he really have something to do with her parents’ death? She swallowed hard. “Etienne said he was looking for proof about Laurent and The Human Order. Is there some connection there?”
“I don’t know,” Marnie said. “It would make sense but I just don’t know.”
Ginette and Renee both stood. “I need to go send the babysitter home,” Renee said. “I’ll leave Phil and the car. Ginette will drive me home.”
“You’re all dropping like flies,” Luc said. “Something going around?”
“No, we feel fine,” Renee said. “Just don’t want to be out too late.” She smiled but it looked thin, forced. “Goodnight everyone.”
“Is it just me,” Luc said when they’d gone, “Or did they look scared?”
“What would they have to be scared of?” Phil asked.
“I don’t know,” Luc said.
* * *
The third time Jane’s phone call went straight to voicemail, Bryce let off a string of curses. Whatever emergency had called her away had put her out of cellphone range. Or she had it off. Or she’s just ignoring you. She did have that other guy staying at her place. Maybe this is just her way of blowing you off. He sighed. If she was still showing up at work, he might believe that, but she hadn’t shown up there either and Carter said he’d gotten a rushed phone call from Jane claiming the family emergency had blown up and she needed a few days off.
Maybe she went home. Maybe she’s moved back to Quebec and didn’t want to tell you.
It was hard not to think that way when she’d left with hardly a goodbye and no explanation. He’d driven past her apartment but her car was gone and when he buzzed up, no one answered. He didn’t have contact information for any of her friends and no last names, so he couldn’t even look Jules up.
Briefly he’d considered calling the Mayor’s office to talk to Brock but he was pretty sure he’d be shut down before he could even successfully explain who he was. How many people call with these weird stories trying to get in to see the Mayor? Hi, I’m sort of dating this girl, Jane, who says she’s a werebear and says she knows you. They’ll either arrest me for stalking or arrest me as a member of The Human Order. Jane did say she wasn’t out yet.
No, there was nothing to do. Jane was gone, at least temporarily, and he had no way of contacting her or knowing when she’d be home. Or if she’ll be home.
Karl was in overdrive with the house, so between picking up Jane’s slack at work and the renos, Bryce was able to drown most of his worries in work. Driving nails into baseboards and hucking garbage out the second story window was almost therapeutic. The guys had asked after Jane and had teased him a bit the first day or so, but when they saw the head-down, single-minded, get-shit-down way he was working, they soon stopped and let him alone.
No one teased him at work but it wasn’t any better there. At work it was more obvious she was missing, for one thing. For another, Carter was on a rampage over her sudden and unexplained disappearance. At least she’s not picking up the phone for him either, Bryce thought. The nurses smiled at him a lot and told him not to worry, that everything would be fine, and Jane would be back to work soon, tired and maybe a little emotional, but safe and sound nonetheless. It wasn’t reassuring at all. It only made him miss her more.
He missed her puttering in his kitchen. He missed waking up beside her, even if she was a bed-hog. He missed the sound of her voice, which may be why he kept calling her phone. At least she’d put a personalized message on her voicemail and he could hear at least a recording of her voice.
The whole situation with Karl didn’t make things any better. Bryce had tried to talk to him about what he and Jane had seen, about what they suspected, but he wouldn’t listen. Jeff and Jason didn’t know anything about it, beyond the fact that the renters really liked their privacy, and they hadn’t bothered to ask questions beyond that. The money was good after all. When Bryce mentioned drugs to them, they both shrugged. “We’re not involved,” they said. “This isn’t on us.”
“It could come back to hurt you both. And they could really hurt Karl.”
“He’s stupid,” Jeff said with a shrug.
Jason was a little more sympathetic. “Look, he’s our cousin, I get that. But he’s an adult, Bryce. He’s in charge of these projects. And we have no proof that it’s drugs at all. What did Karl say?”
“Karl won’t talk about it, except to tell me I’m making a big deal out of nothing.”
“There you go. It’s nothing. Come on, we have to get this house finished.”
Saturday night he couldn’t sleep. It had only been a few weekends since they’d started dating, but already Jane felt like a fixture in his life, a necessity, and when she wasn’t there, his sleep suffered. The worry was making it even worse and she’d only been gone a few days.
He threw back the covers, tossed on his work clothes, and headed out. He wasn’t quite sure where he was going except that he had to move, had to shake off some of the restlessness. He considered going for a jog, just around the block a few times, it wasn’t so bad a neighborhood that he couldn’t be out late at night on his own. He hesitated in the parking lot and then headed for the car instead.
He drove towards the rental and parked down the block where he and Jane had parked a few weeks earlier. He locked the doors and headed up the fron
t street at a steady jog. The lights in most of the houses he passed were out. The odd glow from behind curtains highlighted other night owls. Colicky babies and their worried parents, video game junkies, people coming or going to odd shifts at work, insomniacs. Tonight he shared the world with them.
All the lights were out at the rental, which was a good sign since no one was supposed to be there. The houses on either side looked quiet as well. If anyone was up, they had good thick curtains or they weren’t in a room with a window. You don’t need lights on to be up this late, he thought, thinking once again of Jane.
At the end of the block he turned and came back up the alley. He missed the house the first time, with the deep shadows and not being familiar with it from this angle, and had to jog back. He double, triple checked that he was in the right place, and let himself in the back gate. No need to upset someone over a misunderstanding. Or wake up someone’s dog.
He hadn’t thought to bring a light but he had one on his cellphone. He pressed it, and his face, against the window of the garage, trying to peer inside. There were boxes piled high enough that he couldn’t see past them, and the windows were filthy, inside and out. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for. If there was something illegal in there it wasn’t going to be left lying out in the open to be spotted by anyone glancing in. And it wasn’t going to be written on the side of the box.
He sighed in resignation, ready to take a step back and go back to his car, when the hand landed on his shoulder, making him jump.
“Can I help you?”
It wasn’t Karl’s voice.
“No. It’s okay. I was working on the house earlier and forgot something here. I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d swing by and pick it up but of course the house is locked up tight. Thought there might be a spare around, you know, an emergency, but I can’t see one.”
“Hey, weren’t you the one snooping around here the other day?”
“Uh, I work on this house almost every evening and weekend so I’m here a lot.”
“Yeah, and you were here when you weren’t supposed to be, just like you are now.”
Jane: Big Easy Bears III Page 13