I didn't even bother saying what I thought out loud, instead just giving her a look. She didn’t budge. Grumbling under my breath I leaned closer to the walls, checking the kitchen, the counters, brushing away the dust that clung to my fingertips.
“You can do some magic to make sure that nobody knew I was here, right?” I asked, poking around in the kitchen now.
“Yes,” Addie said. “Concerned about that, young woman?”
“If you mean the one who's determined to get me convicted, I do admit to being a bit concerned about her.”
Addie chuckled. “You have nothing to fear from Kerrity.”
“Strangely,” I said wryly, “that doesn't make me feel better.”
Another chuckle. “You have some common sense.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I think.”
Addie seemed to change topic, leaning forward and just entering my view. “Can you see it?”
“I don't know,” I said. I had a feeling we were working through her agenda, that she'd come to the shop with very specific plans in mind.
The sound of sirens sounded outside, drawing alarm from all of us. Addie went from curious to concerned. “And for now, your quest must be halted,” she said, and she sounded rueful.
I melded back into the shadows, glancing at the windows even though I couldn’t see out. “Who is it?”
There was a flash of sirens, and I could see the lights flashing through the small slots in the window blinds.
“Come,” Addie said, heading towards the door we had come down. “It’s best we don’t appear here.”
Following her, I headed upstairs, almost tripping over Mocha when I realized she was there.
“You’ve got to stop doing that,” I hissed.
“I enjoy it,” Mocha said, beating me to the stairs. Addie stayed where she was, as far as I could tell. Once I made it out the door to the coffee shop I headed down the main steps, going out the side door as quickly as I could.
Ethan was standing next to his police car, the siren off but the lights flashing. He was talking quietly to Miles, who had his eyebrows raised and seemed to be arguing some point or another. I could feel my heart racing, and I wasn't sure it was going to come down any time soon.
“There you are,” Ethan said, catching sight of me. He didn’t look pleased.
“Murder anyone tonight?” Miles cocked his head to the side, looking hawkish. There was something hunted about him, like it was a long, bad day for him and he just wanted it to be over.
“Miles,” Ethan said, clearly scolding.
“Yeah, yeah.” Miles moved to the side, his hands in his pocket. He wasn’t looking at me. I didn’t know what had happened, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
“How is your daughter?” I asked before I could catch myself.
Miles looked at me with some surprise, as if he hadn't anticipated I would remember his family. “She should be at home,” he said, somewhat acerbically. He seemed surprised by the venom in his tone. Pulling out his phone, he tapped at the screen for a second. “She’s my payback for being difficult as a child.” He glanced at Ethan, who seemed to be as surprised by this revelation as Miles was.
Miles cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. “I'll be watching you,” he said instead, shooting me a look. He patted Ethan on the shoulder. “I’ll check in with you later.”
He headed off at a run, although I couldn't see if he was headed to a car. Knowing him, it could have gone either way.
“That was interesting,” Ethan muttered.
“Which bit?” I asked, finding it a whole lot less interesting than he did.
He gave me a rueful look. “I'm sorry,” he said. “Miles isn’t the best welcome party.”
“It's definitely not a way to keep me here,” I agreed. Sarai, however, was different.
His smile was faint. “Listen, I didn't come to find you just because Miles was stalking you.”
I shot him a look. “Stalking?”
“Well,” Ethan waffled. “Following avidly could be a better way of putting it.”
Yet it still didn’t feel creepy. Obviously something was wrong with me. “He's not serious, is he?” I asked, not sure that was the way to put it, but not finding any other word for it.
Ethan seemed to think it over, although whether it was because he wasn't sure what I meant or wasn't sure of the answer, I couldn’t tell. “He does what he believes is right,” Ethan said finally. “But does his best to respect the law.”
“One of those renegade cops?” I asked, not necessarily thrilled with the idea.
Ethan laughed. “No, he follows the rules,” he said. “He just may make some of the rules when there’s no available protocol.”
That seemed like the definition of renegade, but if it wasn’t technically against established protocol, I supposed it didn’t qualify.
“Anyway,” Ethan said, as if it was the least important thing he wanted to talk to me about. Given the situation, maybe it was. “We got some of the autopsy reports back for Mildred.” His lips were tight. “She was poisoned. Kerrity's trying to get a search warrant for your apartment to check for any traces of the drug.”
Anger flared through me. “What the hell?” My aggravation spiked to uncomfortable levels. “What did I do to deserve this?” My words were dark and quiet, knowing it wasn’t Ethan’s fault, and that for all intents and purposes a rhetorical question.
“We'll get you through this,” Ethan said, sounding more confident than he had in a while. I wasn't entirely sure I believed him, but I wasn't exactly going to fight him at this point.
“I hope so,” I said, sounding more resigned than I intended.
Ethan winced.
“There’s more, isn’t there?”
“She's planning to serve this search warrant tonight,” he said, visibly reluctant.
“So I shouldn’t go home,” I translated.
“Depends if you want to get woken up in a few hours,” he said honestly.
I thought about what my life had become so far, regretting more than ever my decision to come to Elder. “I don’t even know what to say.” My words were frank.
Ethan’s smile was rueful. “I talked to my mother, and they got a bed made up for you at Lettie's house if you want it.”
I started to deny it, to say no, I could take care of myself. But knowing that the apartment that I temporarily lived in, that my mother had left me, was about to be gone through by police who thought I was guilty, I decided I could afford myself the comfort of going somewhere else. “That would be nice,” I said finally.
He seemed surprised but pleased. “Do you need a ride?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I’ll go after I run up to my apartment and get an overnight bag.”
He hesitated, as if he was going to say something, but the radio on his shoulder crackled and he was obviously distracted. “Text me when you get there,” he ordered instead, heading for the driver’s side of his police car.
“Will do.” That was more than fair. Mocha settled next to my foot, and we watched as Ethan drove away. At the moment, I wasn't sure what else to say about it. I wasn't sure if I could explain to someone what I felt, and why I felt it. Especially something like this, that seemed to burn up inside, without any necessarily coherent thought.
But she seemed to understand, licking my hand and trying to provide some comfort.
“Thanks,” I said, my voice breaking somewhat.
“You’ll get through it,” Mocha said with more confidence than Ethan.
I snorted.
“Worst case, I believe we would make excellent fugitives.”
I laughed, some of the tension easing from the tight ball in my chest.
“I can't imagine learning about this for the first time,” Mocha said softly, sounding almost sad. She actually seemed apologetic about it, which I had to admit I found sort of surprising. She didn't seem to be apologetic for much.
“It's not fun,” I said, heading up the
stairs. My words were more bitter than I would've expected, but I couldn't really blame myself, given the current situation.
“No,” Mocha said, trotting alongside me. “But things aren't quite as dire as you think they are. They’ll change.”
“I never thought you would be the optimistic one,” I muttered. I took a step back mentally from where I was and let out a long sigh. Yes, things weren’t great, but I was being pessimistic probably beyond some reason.
“They’ll care for you if you let them,” Mocha said amicably. “That’s what family does.”
I stopped at the top of the stairs, glad Addie wasn’t still there. My mind was in a dark place, wanting to give up and go hide in the dark.
“Yeah,” I said finally. There was something to it, underneath it all, that I couldn't put a finger on yet. I didn't know why, I didn't know what I was fighting for, but there was something keeping me from reaching for it, from trying to build a family.
Mom’s face flashed to my mind, the sadness and the happiness that had characterized her. “I don't want to replace my mom,” I said finally. Mom and I had been family. We still were family. She may have been related to them, somehow, but that didn’t mean I needed to accept them.
But, I would admit, I was being a jerk.
“They're trying to be a new family,” Mocha said, all too reasonably if you asked me. “They just want to get to know you. Has it occurred to you that you’re all they have left of a sister, or daughter? Someone they loved?”
I didn’t look at her, instead heading to the front door and opening it. “Has anyone ever told you you're too logical?” I asked, grumpy and aware I was.
“I get that a lot,” Mocha said, sounding not at all apologetic. There was a pause as we headed inside. “You'll get used to it,” she added, her voice warm.
“I still may not stay,” I said, although at that point, I couldn't have told her who I was trying to convince.
“And that's fine,” Mocha said, although I could tell she didn’t believe me. She could probably see exactly how token my protests were. I stopped in the kitchen, not sure what to say to her.
“Let's go get your pajamas,” she said before I could say anything. “Even though I don't understand this whole human notion of sleeping with clothes on.”
“I don’t like to sleep naked,” I argued back. It served as a nice distraction for the rest of the night.
Chapter Fourteen
I sat in front of the door to the coffee shop, staring pointedly at the hidden panel. It had been too advanced for me, but I was determined to figure it out. However, I’d been there for an hour and not made any progress besides giving myself a headache. I could operate most of the magic I had encountered in my apartment. It still amazed me, every time.
But this? This was beating me.
There was a shout from downstairs, and I scrambled to my feet, alarm setting my nerves on edge. Except then the shout echoed again, and it sounded familiar.
Addie’s door opened and she came out, looking fond and exasperated at the same time. “That child,” she said with a shake of her head. She was already heading to a door, although it wasn’t the one to the coffee shop. There were five doors in the hall total. I assumed two were the apartments, one to the coffee shop, one to her shop, and the fifth was still a mystery.
She stopped, a hand on the door. “Are you coming?” she asked.
“Oh.” I made sure my door was locked and then followed her down the stairs. These were less confusing than those to the coffee shop. Were they enchanted differently?
“Go let her in.” Addie shooed me towards the front door.
Obeying, I headed up front, navigating through the knick knacks that formed her shop. I still hadn’t figured out exactly what type of shop it was. It took me a few seconds to figure out the physical locks on the door, because I’d half expected them to be magical. Well, no, not half. I had expected them to be magical.
When I opened the door, Sarai was standing there, a hand on her hip. “You're not Addie,” she said. Then her face brightened up. “You're the murderer.”
I rubbed my forehead. “I don't know if that's a nice way to greet somebody.”
Sarai shrugged. “Nice is optional in my world.”
She definitely was her father's daughter.
“I'm here,” Addie said, her voice pitched high enough to carry. “Inside.”
“There you are.” Sarai sounded relieved, as if she had expected me to have done away with Addie or something equally strange.
Definitely would not have helped my status in the town.
“So,” Addie said, her head tilted. It took me a second before I realized she was talking to Sarai. “What's the story this time?”
“Boring,” Sarai said with a shrug.
There was a tsk in Addie's voice. “Sarai,” she said strictly. “Boredom is not an excuse for fumbling your education.”
“But it's really boring,” Sarai said, plaintive. I could see Addie fighting back a smile behind the stern expression.
“Well as long as it's really boring,” she said, shaking her head.
“Can I play with your dog?” Sarai asked, tucking her hands behind her back.
She was looking at me now, and I was busy trying to keep up with the rapid topic changes.
“She’s not here at the moment.” That was the truth. Where had she gone? I had no idea.
Sarai gave me a strange look. “Aren’t you supposed to know where she is?”
“Isn’t your father supposed to know where you are?” I said.
Sarai’s jaw snapped shut.
“Will Miles know to look for her here?” I asked Addie.
“Nope,” Sarai said, rocking back on her heels.
“Take her home,” Addie said, startling me. Sarai also seemed surprised, having stopped mid-motion with her lips thinning like she was pressing them together.
“Home?” She tilted her head, like the concept physically hurt her.
“I'm guessing you don't know her address, either?” I asked.
Addie hummed, looking way too innocent for my liking. “That’s not an answer,” I said pointedly.
“I’m sorry, my hearing is going.” Addie gave me an angelic smile. Sarai snickered.
“Really?” I asked, looking between the two of them. “We’re playing this game?”
Addie and Sarai exchanged a conspiratorial look.
Resigned, I checked my pockets for my keys and phone. I was walking into a trap and I knew it. I just didn’t know what it was. “Let's go,” I said to Sarai.
She didn't move anywhere. “Where are we going?” she asked suspiciously. “Why? When?”
Great. A taskmaster.
“I'm going to take you home,” I said patiently.
“Nah.” Sarai seemed to study me, and for a child of ten, her gaze was very deep. Then again, she had lost her mother. That could age a child.
It was easy to let that sneak into my decision-making, think that maybe, this one time, I could give her some allowance, let her do what she wanted to. Keep her here with Addie, enjoying a day off. But I had a feeling that the moment she was given an inch, she would take a mile.
“Have a good day, dear,” Addie said, pleasantly heading deeper into the shop and out of view. Sarai scowled, but she stayed where she was. Great.
“Right,” I said, clapping my hands together as if that meant something. “Let's get you home.”
“Uh huh,” Sarai didn’t look really convinced.
“Are you being stubborn on purpose?” I asked, sounding like every parent ever.
“Yep,” she said, popping the P.
“Right,” I said. “The police station, then.”
“Are you sure?” Sarai cocked her head to the side.
I hesitated a fraction, even though I knew I shouldn't.
“What if Kerrity is there?”
She knew way too much. I fixed her with a stern look. Or my best attempt at one, anyway. “Then I can tell her h
onestly that I'm returning a lost child,” I said. We headed out of Addie’s place, and I wasn’t surprised to hear the door lock behind us.
“Did you really murder that old lady?” Sarai asked, leaning against the wall just outside.
Out of curiosity, I double-checked and wasn’t surprised when the door didn’t budge. Magic.
“You look like you haven’t slept in a year.” It was a cheerful comment. “Do all adults look like you?”
“Only the exhausted ones.” I said, looking around for where I had parked my car. She was adorable when I wasn’t responsible for her. No wonder Miles was grumpy. I did like her spirit, and her tenacity. I would like it more when she wasn’t staring at me like that.
“Stay with me,” I said, fixing her with a look. “None of this kidnapping stuff.”
Sarai looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. I didn’t believe her one whit.
“I would never do something like that,” she said. I could practically see the halo over her head. Held up by devil horns, of course.
I rubbed my forehead. No wonder the kid escaped so many babysitters. They probably let her escape on purpose. Not that it was okay, I hastily reminded myself. No matter how tempting it was.
“Get in the car,” I said, unlocking the door to my small convertible.
Sarai did so, her face as smug as could be. Apparently in the game we were playing she'd won, even though I didn't know how or why.
“And how, exactly, did you ‘find’ her?” It was funny, the way every time I thought things couldn't get worse, they did. Kerrity stood there, Ethan flanking her in order to keep an eye on me. It wasn’t just Sarai trying to get me in trouble. This was the world trying to kick me down.
And by the world, I meant a ten-year-old who had a weird sense of humor.
“I wandered by and she picked me up!” Sarai clutched her hands to her heart.
I gave her a look. Even Ethan looked displeased.
Sarai scuffed the ground with her foot. “Well, I may have not told her my address…” she said.
Kerrity gave me a look. “So she didn't kidnap you.”
I could practically hear her adding ‘yet’ at the end of that sentence.
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