“Rachel, we’re just waiting for our
bags,” Derek said into his cell phone.
He sounded tired. “Two hours and
we’ll be home. How is everything?”
While Derek caught up on developments,
Merlin turned Nick aside. “I’ll stop off
at Paradise Drive an’ come to the island tomorrow.”
“You sure?”
“I can catch up on the mail, deal with
any problems, get a good night’s sleep an’ then .. I’ll be ready to help you out in the lab. And I wanna go see how Joseph’s doing. Y’know, little things. I can do ’em best on my own and know they’re
outta the way.”
He nodded. “Okay. Wanna take my
car? I can get a ride with Derek.”
Now it was her turn. “You sure?”
“I trust you,” Nick grinned.
“Thanks,” she said, taking the keys.
“Nick, Rachel says Carl has left some
artifacts for you to look at,” Derek reported.
“She also says she is refusing to mediate in any arguments which occur
as a result.”
Nick chuckled dryly. “Alex has already seen ’em an’ she’s a
pretty good judge of character. It’s
gonna be the three of us fighting over this.
Rachel’s smart an’ backing off before the fur starts to fly.”
“Tell me more,” Derek requested, his
eyes already gleaming with the light of battle.
*****
Joseph went for a walk and, pacing
himself, walked quite a long distance.
He had to admit, death was not at all
what he had expected. He hadn’t been
sure exactly what to expect but it had somehow involved clouds and silver light
and, maybe, learning to play a harp.
Instead, it was much the same as being alive but without the constant,
nagging pressure. If he didn’t want to
do it today, he didn’t. There was no
one giving him orders or instructions, or making even suggestions. His house was a strange amalgam of a cottage
and an apartment, but it was homey and he was settling in, filling it with bits
of furniture and pictures and ornaments.
And then, feeling a need for a break, he’d gone for a nice, long
walk. Exploring his surroundings. Getting to know his immediate and more
distant neighbors.
There were other houses. He saw people, working leisurely in their
front yards. There were expanses of
open space, some of it formed into parks, some left a little wild. There were roads with all kinds of
automobiles, and leafy country lanes.
Joseph was discovering that people got here what they expected to
receive.
It was a fine day. It had rained once but only a light shower
and the rainbow had been beautiful. The
best thing about the weather was that there was no fog.
“I think I might see if I can find
some camping equipment,” he mused out loud.
“Really explore. I wonder if
there’s some kind of Ramblers’ Association.”
He walked on and the day started to
become overcast, dreary. Clouds were
bubbling up, promising a heavier downpour.
There was a large wood just off the lane and he headed into it for
shelter and wishing he’d brought an umbrella with him. It was unthinkable! An Englishman out, without his umbrella?
Just as he reached the canopy of
trees, the clouds broke and rain lashed down.
Strange, he thought, standing there and watching it hit the ground so
hard it bounced. It isn’t cold. Just .. very wet. There’s hardly any wind.
I wonder if there are seasons here.
This is definitely summer rain.
“Joseph ..?”
He turned on his heel, not surprised
at hearing his name but startled at not recognizing the voice.
“Yes?
Who’s there?”
A tall, slender, dark haired woman
stepped from behind a tree. “You are Joseph?”
“Yes, I am. Who are you?”
“A messenger. Listen to me, and then swear you will tell
it exactly as I tell you.”
*****
Merlin parked the Mustang in the drive
and walked thru the mist to the front door.
Something was making her itch.
Something wasn’t sitting right .. somewhere. And she’d felt it first .. almost a week ago. It had faded, but now it was back.
Where was I almost a week ago? The faculty party. Why did it fade? Because
I went to England. Why is it back? Because I am. What connects all these things ..? Carl’s damn artifacts.
And I have a horrible suspicion that I really do mean damn artifacts.
She let herself in, dropped her bag in
its usual place – right next to the front door – then did the usual things
anyone did after being away for a while.
Then she made a cup of coffee and climbed the stairs to her office. This room was kept locked with a double set
of keys and had a triple seal warding it against evil. Inside, there was a state of the art computer
system, just about every electronic gadget she might ever need, and a set of
books. Some of these were incredibly
old. So old, she couldn’t read the
words but she could recognize the drawings.
She checked the answering
service. Profelis was now in Malaysia,
and having a great time. It was his
version of a postcard. Merlin smiled to
herself. The Enforcer view of ‘a great
time’ was rather more violent than the accepted view. Next, she booted up the computer and checked her messages there. She’d cleared this before leaving for
England and nothing new had come in while she’d been away.
She accessed the database, and
searched for instances of Sodom. In
those days, way back almost at the start, the Flamefalls had been more numerous
than they were now and they had still been growing. They’d had the advantage of going into battle alongside their
commander and the first Flamefall. So
it had been at the downfall of Sodom and its neighboring town of Gomorrah. But the instances she found told her nothing
new. It was a done deal. Lot and his daughters had escaped. Everyone else with no exception had perished
in one night of epic destruction.
Merlin was familiar with the Old
Testament version of events – Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah
brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heaven. And Lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a
furnace. And He overthrew those cities
and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew
upon the ground.
It ran close to the truth. She’d heard the true version of events from
her father as a bedtime story. And the
truth was that nothing had escaped, except for Lot and his daughters. Not a building. Not a single person. Not
one creature. And, most importantly,
not one artifact. When evening had
drawn to a close, the cities had been thriving. By dawn, the land had been swept and scoured clean, and drowned.
Merlin accessed the Internet, looking
for the ‘new research’ Carl had mentioned, and wondering if it were, in fact,
possible for something to have been excavated.
The entire area was now under
water. Divers couldn’t work there – the
Dead Sea was too dense – and so underwater excavation just wasn’t
possible. Could something have worked
loose in a small tremor and simply floated to the surface? Could artifacts have survived?
She read the article she believed Carl
had meant, and, while it explained things in a scientific manner and, again,
ran close to the truth, it didn’t conclusively answer her questions.
There were a couple of ways she could
find the answers. One was time consuming
and that was to find some ancient ancestor who had been there and done that,
bring him or her to view the artifacts and get a hands-on opinion. The other was quicker – she could take a
look for herself. Something would chime
in harmony with some ancestral memory if there was something there she should
recognize. She knew she’d have to see
these artifacts at some time. But she
couldn’t get around the fact that she felt itchy about it.
Ordinarily, going into combat was just
another day at the office for her. But
this … This was giving her .. well, the
nearest description was a hollow feeling of dread in her stomach.
This was what had started growing at
the faculty party, and was now growing again.
And then there was the big
problem. If the artifacts weren’t from
Sodom, Carl would be disappointed. But,
if they were, Merlin would have to destroy them. Disappointment could be overcome, in time, and at least he’d have
some ancient artifacts from the Holy
Land. Surely, that was better than the
alternative.
She switched off the computer, had a
very quick look thru the books and found nothing. Nothing had survived. Why
try and force it to be otherwise? She
went to her bedroom, lit a candle, put it in the window .. just in case, and
went to visit Joseph.
*****
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Alex demanded, arms crossed, eyes flaring.
For a homecoming greeting, it was just slightly on the cold side.
“Where’d you think?” Nick countered
with a ‘bring it on’ grin.
“You have work to do. The faxes have
been piling up for Derek. Background
checks need to be made. Security is
your province, after all,” she pointed out, smiling sweetly.
“He hasn’t made an initial assessment
yet,” Nick retaliated. “When he does,
I’ll start digging. Until then – ”
“Oh, but I’ve already made a start on
Carl’s artifacts,” Alex cut in.
Nick looked distinctly unamused at
that. “Tell me what you’ve discovered
and I won’t duplicate effort.”
They squared up to each other, each
face saying clearly they were not going to back down.
“I have an idea,” Rachel said from the
relative safety of the other side of the room.
They both glared at her. She held up her hands.
“Just a suggestion. Why don’t you try a team approach an’ work
together?”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t
mediate,” Nick accused.
“I’m not. I’m just .. making a suggestion.
You can ignore it an’ fight, if that’s what you really wanna do.” Rachel shrugged. “There’s three of you, all, I have no doubt, champing at the bit
about these things, and there are three artifacts. Why not take one each?”
She shrugged again. “Race each
other, if you wanna make it into some kinda contest.”
Alex regarded Nick. Nick looked steadily at Alex.
“Team approach,” she ventured.
“Works for me,” he nodded tersely.
They looked back at Rachel.
“Don’t mention it,” Rachel said with a
knowing smile.
*****
Merlin put her feet on the low table,
leaned back and closed her eyes.
“Peri .. must you do that?” her mother
commented quietly.
“Sorry.” She slid her feet to the floor.
“We weren’t expecting you,” Joe
remarked.
Merlin opened one eye and grinned
mischievously at him. “Now you know
what it feels like when you just turn up.”
“Ouch … ” he said.
“It’s okay, Dad. You get used to it. Anyway, I wasn’t planning on coming to see
you. But the guy I was going to see was out.
No answer at his door so, rather than waste the trip … ”
“A new soul crossed over?” Shauna
wondered.
“Yeah,” Merlin replied, sitting up
again. “You remember Joseph?”
“Hey, nice guy! He’s over here now? Jeez, what happened?”
“Accident,” Merlin said with a shrug.
“I’ll look him up. Maybe he’d like a round of golf sometime,”
Joe commented.
“Maybe. He did say he was gonna invite you guys to supper.”
“He’s a very good cook,” Shauna
considered. “And I know your great aunt
Maude was very impressed with him.”
Merlin grinned. “The social whirl over this side just never
stops, does it?”
“Don’t you worry about him. We’ll make sure he’s okay,” Joe said. “So .. just a visit?”
“Not exactly,” she replied, turning
slightly to face him. “Dad .. tell me
again about Sodom.”
“You’re a little old for bedtime
stories, sweet pea,” he remarked.
“Maybe I am but what’s that saying
about the past coming back to haunt you?”
Joe’s face sobered. “What’s happened?”
“Possibly nothing but perhaps ..
forewarned is better armed,” she replied.
“Did anything survive?”
“Not a bean.”
“Tell me the story again,” Merlin
requested. “I got an itchy feeling in
my trigger finger.”
*****
“And you’re quite certain this will
fill the specifications I requested?”
“Guaranteed.”
“At what range?”
“Closer the better. But .. at a push, you’d get ninety six,
ninety seven per cent reliability at a half mile. Drops off after that.”
“I see. Thank you. It seems to be
exactly what I need.”
A quantity of money was handed over,
counted, and slipped into a pocket.
“Pleasure doing business with you.”
“Likewise, I’m sure.”
The shadow stretched, became blacker.
*****
When it came to it, they didn’t do
very much that Friday. Derek was
conscious of the pile of faxes. Kat was
doing a lot but it couldn’t last. It
shouldn’t. And Carl Chang had, thru
Alex, said that time was not important and the answers were.
So, that Friday, feeling washed out
because, due to the eight hour time difference, they’d been on the move for
over twenty hours and it was still only five in the afternoon, they reined in
the impatience and contented themselves with merely giving the artifacts a
visual examination.
Nick had pulled on a pair of latex gloves
and unpacked the container to lay the three oddly shaped pieces on the light
box in the lab.
“I’m sure I’ve never seen anything
like this before,” Derek remarked.
“Me neither,” Nick softly agreed.
“See how the edges are rounded?” Alex
pointed out.
“Weathering?” Derek queried.
“Possibly … ” Alex nodded but with a
shrug to indicate she didn’t believe her own word.
“They look almost created like that,”
Nick commented.
“I said the same thing.”
“We can’t begin anything today,” Derek
decided. “Better to come at it fresh in
the morning.”
“Well, I have been thru the books and
the Legacynet and I cannot find anything even remotely close to this,” Alex
said.
“So we begin .. at the beginning,”
Derek replied. “See if there’s anything
organic we can carbon date. You say
Carl thinks this is from the Holy Land?”
“Yeah,” Nick nodded. “Some .. anonymous benefactor donated it.”
“Carl said there was a letter came
with it,” Alex added.
“Really. It might be useful to see that as well.”
Nick’s eyebrows rise. “Track down the anonymous benefactor an’ ask
some pertinent questions?”
“If we must. All valid leads. What I
thought was .. reading the letter and possibly between the lines of the
letter. Nick, would you call Peri? See if she can go to the university and
collect it, and the original packaging if Carl still has it?”
“Sure.”
Derek gave the pieces of pottery one
last searching stare. “Tomorrow,” he
declared. “For now .. I must continue
the ball rolling.”
“How was the funeral?” Alex asked with
a guilty jolt.
“Very good. Very .. calm,” Derek replied.
“Sometime we have to go clear out
Joseph’s apartment in Belvedere,” Nick added.
“Monday,” Derek nodded. “We’ll find some time after the weekend.”
*****
William Sloan looked around suddenly.
“What are you doing?” Patricia asked
quietly.
“Packing for a trip,” he replied, his
voice quite calm.
“When were you going to tell me?” she
continued.
“I just did.”
Patricia released a long sigh shadowed
with bitterness. “William, you know I
love you very much but .. this secrecy is starting to wear me down. For a long time, a long time, I have said nothing, just .. tolerated it. But not now. You have walked away from all that .. or I thought you had. It seems to have started again.”
“Patricia, my dear, it’s .. just a
short trip. Seeing some old colleagues
who have found themselves in the same situation as me. I’ll be back before you know it, and the
quiet life will resume.”
“And how long do you intend to be gone
this time?” she inquired, her voice cool, heavy with resentment.
“I’m not sure.”
“Can you at least tell me where you’re
going?”
William smiled. “No, I can’t. You know that. But ..
when I return, we’ll take a vacation. I
promise. Anywhere you like. You just have to say.”
Patricia sighed and shook her
head. She dragged her robe around her
like a shield.
“That’s bribery, William. It won’t work. Not any more. I am sick
and I am tired of all this. It’s gone
one thirty in the morning .. and you thought you’d simply pack an’ go while I
was asleep, and just .. what? Leave me
a note? Maybe call from the
airport? For God’s sake! Am I not worth more than that?”
He closed his eyes for just a
moment. “Patricia, this is something I
have to do. Once I’ve done it .. I’ll
be free.”
Her lips flattened. “Is he really worth all this effort? Can’t you leave the man in peace?”
William blinked. “Which man is that?”
“Derek Rayne!”
He smiled. “I’m not going to see Derek.”
“But you are going to San Francisco,
aren’t you? Face it, my dear,” she said
with a cold smile, “you will not rest until you’ve had your revenge against
some .. imagined slight.”
“I am going to San Francisco, yes, but
to see another very old friend. Someone
I’ve known .. most of her life. I may
run into Derek, that’s true, but he isn’t why I’m going there.”
“You’re deluding yourself, William,”
Patricia spat as she turned on her heel.
“You have no friends.”
*****
Merlin exhaled smoke as she stretched
a hand for the phone. “Yep?”
“Hi, babe.”
The tense, nervy feeling subsided as
if his voice had magically pressed a button.
“Hi yourself. Alex hasn’t punched you in the mouth yet
then an’ given you a split lip.”
She heard him chuckle quietly. “Was close for a while .. but no. We’re gonna try a team approach.”
“Novel,” Merlin commented. “Why are you calling me?”
“Derek asks if you can call by the
university tomorrow on your way in.
Apparently, there was a letter came with these things. Derek wants to look at it, an’ the original packaging
if Carl still has it.”
These words brought the feeling
flooding back.
“Okay, I’ll ask him for you.” She paused.
“You seen these things?”
“Yeah. Pretty weird. Three
pieces of .. they look like terracotta.
But they’re weird shapes, and they look crafted, not like
fragments. Okay, they could have
weathered after all this time. There
again, if they are crafted .. what
the hell are they meant to be?”
She hooked the phone on her shoulder
and poured a glass of wine. It was
going some way to helping her relax.
“I have no idea. I spoke with my Dad and went over the story
a few times, picked it to bits. Nothing
escaped Sodom. Nothing. The word was out, total annihilation, and
that’s what happened. The place was
rotten to its core. It had to be wiped
.. and it was.”
“So .. these things probably aren’t
from Sodom,” Nick commented.
Merlin hesitated again, unable to
reconcile the apparent facts with the feeling in her gut. “Probably.”
She listened to the silence. “You mean .. they could be,” Nick breathed.
“I just know I feel twitchy about
something. And there’s usually a very
bad reason for that.”
“So bad it’s evil?”
“Past experience says .. probably.”
“Okay. We’ll seal ’em up for now.
Derek’s gonna be doing something else this evening and we’re not looking
at ’em again till tomorrow.”
“Seal ’em up good, Nick,” she
warned. “Don’t take any chances, not
till I get there.”
“I’ll pass the word.” He paused again. “How was Joseph?”
“I found his place okay but he was
out. That tells me he’s settled in
fine. Gone off to explore. Mom an’ Dad said they’d keep an eye out for
him. Dad said he’ll take him for a
round of golf. And I think great aunt
Maude will be a more or less permanent fixture. She likes his cooking.”
He didn’t ask how Joseph had ever done
any cooking for great aunt Maude. Nick
was realizing that, by bringing Merlin into the house, things had started to go
on here he knew absolutely nothing about.
He laughed again. “Should I feel sorry for him?”
“I would. When are we going to Belvedere to clear out his apartment?”
“Monday.”
“All right. Well .. I’m gonna hit the rack.
See you tomorrow.”
“Sleep tight,” Nick said.
“And you. Bye.”
She hung up and looked round the
kitchen. Yeah .. definitely twitchy.
*****
“I have to leave around three
tomorrow,” Rachel announced.
There was something in her voice which
plucked a certain chord in Alex’s mind.
She looked round, her eyes sparkling.
“Oh ..?”
She watched Rachel blush slightly.
“You remember I told you about that
detective? In Tulsa?”
“I do remember, yes.” It was so rare to get Rachel on the ropes
and squirming uncomfortably that Alex gave in to the temptation to prolong it.
Rachel shrugged mildly. “He’s here .. for a convention. He called me yesterday.”
“I see.”
“I’m meeting him for dinner. He said he’d take some personal time next
week.”
“Personal time … ” Alex smiled. “I know how that goes.”
Rachel didn’t rise to that challenge
and Alex let her off the hook.
“Do you intend bringing him here?” she
wondered.
Rachel hesitated. “Tough question. I’d like to, if only to introduce him to everyone, but .. it’ll
mean prying into his background and .. if he ever found out … ” She shrugged expansively. “It isn’t as if this is long term. He lives in Tulsa! It would be easier all round if you could meet him in the city.”
“Rules are rules,” Alex pointed
out. “We’ve all gone thru it. Even Mark had to be checked out, and I’ve
known him a long time. Look on the
bright side, Rachel. He’s a
detective. He wouldn’t have gotten that
far in his career if he had a closet full of dirty laundry or any deep, dark secrets.
Okay, you might discover some things you’d rather not know, but, on the
other hand, you might discover nothing at all.”
Rachel nodded. “No matter how often you explain it to me, I
still feel it’s a gross invasion of privacy.
His, and mine.”
“It’s also saved lives,” Alex
remarked. “Does Kat know?”
“No.
I haven’t told her .. yet. But I
will. It’s a tough area to raise. No matter who the guy is, something in her
says he’ll replace her father. It’s
natural, and she becomes defensive. I
would do anything to protect her .. and yet this is my life. I can’t live it thru my daughter. I have to face up to the fact that, one day,
Kat will fly the nest and I will be alone.
Is it so bad that I’d like to have male friends? That doesn’t imply romance or remarriage ..
but she doesn’t see it that way.”
“What about Derek and Nick? They’re guys.”
“They are colleagues. Whole different ballgame,” Rachel commented
with a wry grin. “There’s a degree of
professional distance and Kat can see that.
And yet they’re more than colleagues – they’re family. When it’s guys from outside the charmed
circle … ” Rachel shook her head. “Still, it should get easier as Kat gets
older.” She rose from the sofa. “I think I shouldn’t put it off any longer. I’ll go tell her now.”
“Good luck,” Alex murmured
sympathetically.
*****
In his office, Derek sat reading the
faxes and watching the lines blur before his eyes. His eyelids were drooping and he was fighting to stay awake.
“Derek ..?”
“Yes, Nick.” His head reared, his eyes opening. “Did you speak with Peri?”
“Yeah, I did. She’ll go see Carl on her way in tomorrow.”
“Excellent,” Derek breathed. “Thank you.”
Nick lingered. “She also said to seal up those artifacts
till she gets here. She’s getting a bad
feeling about ’em.”
“Bad?
How?” he inquired, his voice a little sharp.
“They probably are from Sodom.”
Derek felt a frown grow on his
forehead. “I thought nothing survived
that.”
“She thought so too.”
“It’s a little early in the
examination to start ringing alarm bells .. but .. very well. Seal them in a container until
tomorrow. We’ll do as much as we can
without physically touching them. Full
protective measures, Nick.”
“Aye, skipper.”
“Did she visit Joseph?” Derek
inquired.
“She tried. He was out.”
“Hmm.
Maybe she should’ve called first,” Derek smiled.
“How you doing with the potential
candidates?” Nick asked. “Got any names
for me yet?”
Derek surveyed his desk. “I’ve narrowed it down to five, but I’ll
look again in the morning. I don’t feel
I’m doing anyone any justice.”
“Been a long day,” Nick commented,
grinning. “This morning, we woke up in
Marlow.”
“Mmm, yes.” He shuffled the papers into an orderly heap and put them in a
folder. “Enough. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“ ’Night,” Nick said, and went on to
the lab.
*****
Wheels were turning. The shadow clustered thick and black. A mind like his, rapier sharp, bright as a
blade, could do either great good or great harm. All stories start with ‘once upon a time’ .. and his was no
different.
Once upon a time, he had wanted –
yearned – to do great good. And he
had. He had put his skills, his
dedication, his mind to work. He had
achieved great things. And then ..
without warning, it had all fallen apart.
All his achievements had meant nothing.
They were not enough to give him any guarantees, hadn’t earned him any
favors. He had given of his life and it
had been tossed aside. He had lost his
sense of purpose, and the focus of his dedication changed. It hadn’t moved very far but it had become
sharper, narrower. Pinpoint
deadly. His mind had now focused again,
cutting thru the night, piercing the shadow which clustered around him, and he
could at last scent success on the breeze.
Wheels were turning. The hand of vengeance, mailed, armored, was
clenching into a fist, ready to smash down on defenseless heads. And they would be defenseless this
time. All of them. And he wouldn’t even be there when it
happened. The board was set up, the
pieces being moved into position. Soon,
the wheels would roll over them, grinding them into the dust of memory.
And then .. it would be done. He would be free again. Free to do one last thing – dance on the
grave of Derek Rayne.
“Why now?”
He looked up, smiling a gentle
greeting. “Why not?”
William Sloan sat down. “It’s hours till they call our flight.”
The smile widened briefly. “I like to be prepared. A failing of mine. One, I believe, you share.
And .. the easiest way to beat your enemy is to get there first and be waiting
for him to arrive.”
“Derek flew back yesterday morning.”
“Oh, I know that. It doesn’t mean I was not there first. The first caltrops have been strewn in his
path and he has already crippled himself.
The only path he can take now .. is the one I have laid for him. I know him, you see.”
“So do I,” William countered, his
voice mild yet barbed.
“Which is why you’re coming with
me. Don’t worry, William,” he
soothed. “Everything is going exactly
to plan.”
*****
“Kat ..?”
She looked up from her book. “Hi, Mom.”
“Can I come in? I need to speak with you.”
Kat frowned. “Have I done something wrong?”
“No!
No, you’ve done real good the past few weeks. It may not seem like much but .. you’ve helped keep this place
going.”
“Then why do you need to speak with
me?” Kat wondered.
“Well .. when I was in Tulsa an’
helping out an old patient of mine,” Rachel began, sitting on the edge of the
bed, “the detective who was investigating the case .. got to be a real good
friend. He found it very tough to
understand what was going on but he was there for me, Kat, when I really needed
someone. He’s in San Francisco at a
convention and .. I wanted to tell you that I’m having dinner with him tomorrow
evening.”
Kat regarded her. “Just dinner?”
“Yeah, just dinner,” Rachel
smiled. “He’s gonna be around till
maybe the end of next week. I’d like to
take some time an’ show him the sights.
He’s a really nice guy, Kat.
Would you like to meet him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“You think about it. If you want to, I’ll introduce you to
him. If you don’t, it’s okay. My friends don’t have to be your friends ..
but I’d like it if they were.”
Kat nodded. “I understand, Mom. You
get lonely sometimes.”
“Not often. Not when I’ve got a daughter like you.” Rachel hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “G’night, sweetie. Don’t read too late.”
“G’night, Mom.”
“See you in the morning,” Rachel
smiled. She left Kat to get ready for
bed and she nodded to herself. It had
gone better than she’d hoped.
*****
“What are you doing?” Alex frowned.
“Packing these away,” Nick
replied. “Alex .. when you’re near them,
do you .. get any strange feelings?”
“Only curiosity. Why?”
Nick shook his head. “Peri’s got a bad feeling about them. She wants ’em sealed away till she gets
here.”
“And Derek agreed? This is a Legacy investigation, Nick!”
“Actually,” he corrected, “it’s a
favor I’m supposed to be doing for Carl Chang.
It could turn into a Legacy investigation and it could then become an
Enforcer case. Why take any chances?”
Alex watched him carefully place the
terracotta pieces into a lead container and close the lid. She felt a surge of resentment.
“Because .. taking chances is what we
do,” she said, folding her arms. “The
Legacy isn’t safe. No one ever said it
was. And since when did you start
taking the cautious path?”
“Since Peri said she was feeling
twitchy about these things.”
“And that’s enough for you?”
Nick padlocked the lid and pushed the
key into his pocket. It wasn’t that he
didn’t trust Alex but he trusted Merlin’s instincts more. “Yes, Alex, it is. Is it so much to ask that we just hold fire for a while?” He looked into her eyes and saw the fight
there. “Don’t turn this into a re-run
of Colorado Springs,” he warned softly.
“You’d be the one standing on your own and it isn’t a nice place to be.”
She looked away, just for a
moment. “I’m sorry,” Alex sighed. “I guess .. I’m just a little obsessed.”
“It’s okay. We all get like that every so often. Me more than most,” he commented with a quick grin. “You called Mark yet?”
Alex glanced at her watch. “No .. it can’t be this late!”
He watched her hurry away. Maybe Mark wasn’t the one to go the distance
after all, he thought, not if he’s been pushed out by three pieces of old clay
pot.
*****
Joseph pushed open his door and went inside. He was still trembling and breathless, and it wasn’t from the long walk home which he’d done in record time. He closed the door and leaned against it, his eyes closing. The interior of his cottage was dim with the growing twilight but he didn’t switch on the lights, not yet. He needed some time to recover. Part of him swore he’d never go that far from home again. Yet another part of him was thankful that he had.
He laughed quickly, a reaction to the
day’s events. What had he thought
earlier? No constant, nagging pressure? How wrong could he have been? Perhaps that was for .. others. Those who had lived ordinary lives, done
ordinary things and died ordinary deaths.
People like himself, well, maybe they were different. Joseph’s day to day life had been normal,
blessedly ordinary, but he had worked among extraordinary people. Their influence had left an invisible mark,
a patina, possible some kind of aura.
And now his life after death was catching up with him, with a
vengeance. Literally.
A message.
Joseph sagged slightly, wringing his
hands. How could he get the message
across? He wasn’t a ghost. He couldn’t .. go back. He was on this side of the river now, and
that was it.
The woman … He hadn’t known her.
She’d never come to the house on Angel Island, at least not while Joseph
had greeted visitors, and his memory for faces was excellent. It was one of those unseen, unremarked upon
qualities which singled out the great butlers from the merely good. She had known him, or, at least, had
recognized something about him which had made him the right person for the job.
Is there a list pinned up somewhere,
he wondered, his thoughts in a spiraling storm. A list of new arrivals, or something? Is that how she knew I’d arrived? Has she been following me ..?
Dear Lord, does she know where I live?
He was sweating and he put his
trembling hands to his face. For the
first time since it had happened, Joseph wished heartily that he wasn’t
dead. Life had been simpler than this
rising, choking frustration. Turn up
for work, deliver the newspaper to the study, cook and serve breakfast, do the
dishes, deliver the mail, make the rounds, supervise the staff, prepare lunch
and serve it, do the dishes, work in the herb garden, prepare and serve dinner,
do the dishes, go home. Every day a
calm and ordered procession of events.
Everything precisely under control.
That gave flexibility for .. the other things.
And now he had a message to pass
on. He’d promised to tell it exactly as
she told him. A message of life and
death importance .. and he didn’t know how to fulfill his promise.
Joseph went to make a cup of tea. He prayed someone would come visit him soon,
someone who would be of use. If they
didn’t …
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