In the Teeth of It

by K A Miltimore

  “Aren’t you a sight all decked in red and white? Quite fetching, that.” Darro gave her a smile as Hedy grabbed her cape from the coat rack.

  “Thank you, Darro. I like to be festive. Shall we go?” Hedy stepped quickly into the shop to see Raluca. “I’ll be at the market for a while but there is barley and mushroom soup in the crockpot behind the counter, if you care for a bowl. Help yourself to anything you’d like. I’ll be back this evening with Anahita.”

  “I shall see you then,” was Raluca’s reply, without a glance out of her book.

  Hedy switched the sign to closed and locked the front door behind her without noticing Yami coming down the stairs.

  Darro’s truck had the stale aroma of pot, which always reminded Hedy of a skunk. It also was badly in need of shocks, so they jostled and bumped their way along the road until they reached the fairgrounds and expo hall on the eastern edge of town, with Darro breaking it up with more Scottish Christmas songs.

  “Here ye are. Looks like quite the gathering already.” Darro pulled into the dirt parking area, which already had quite a few vehicles.

  “Must be the vendors getting set up. The event opens to the public in ninety minutes or so.” Hedy carefully stepped from the truck, trying to keep her boots from getting dirty in the damp soil. There were patches of grass that served like stepping stones for her.

  “I brought a dolly, so I can load up the totes and get you started while I bring in the pyramid. I’ll meet ye at the entrance.”

  Hedy maneuvered her way through the cars and the wet dirt, finding her path to the front. A frazzled woman was there, checking names off a list and pointing as she spoke. Hedy reached her as the last vendor left her table.

  “Yes?” The woman didn’t look up from her list.

  “Checking in. Hedy Leckermaul, The Gingerbread Hag.” Hedy had a flash of annoyance. Would it really take that much energy to say hello?

  “Ummmm, oh yes, here you are. Booth 53. You are on the west side of the hall.” She took her red pen and made a giant circle on a paper map. “The table is numbered. Make sure you are set up before the event starts and no take down until 7:00 PM.”

  Finally, the woman looked up to hand Hedy the map, and her eyes opened a bit wider.

  “Aren’t you festive? That’s what we like to see, costumes.”

  Hedy took the map she offered, without comment.

  She paused at the entrance for Darro, who was pulling the dolly through the dirt. The hall was a huge barn like structure, with no doors on either end, and large overhead lights illuminating the space. During the summer fair, it housed the vegetable competitions, prize winning pies and 4 H displays.

  “All set?” Darro had reached her, drawing his own share of looks as he pulled the dolly through the line.

  “Yes, Miss Congeniality over there gave me the booth number. We are 53, on the west side.” Hedy led the way into the hall, scanning the tables for her number. Many of the booths were already set up or well on their way; she worried that they had cut things too short.

  “Looks like they have you grouped with the sausage vendor and that farm that sells the goat cheese and lotions. There’s 53, right on the corner. That’s a good spot.” Darro spotted it first and he was right. The pyramid would be visible from two sides, which would really make it stand out.

  “I’ll start bringing in the wood pieces if you can handle the totes, yes?” Hedy nodded and Darro trudged off toward the entrance. He would have to make the trip three times to get all the pieces in.

  Hedy started to unpack, and she was glad the first tote had the tablecloth. Most of the treats were going to be stacked up on the pyramid but she did bring several three-tiered stands so she could have samples of everything close by for viewing. With the table covered, she set up the stands and placed the eerie snowflake elves near them. She also set up the wooden tray stacked with napkins. The lockbox for making change was hidden within a tote under the table but she expected most customers to use their credit cards; no one seemed to have cash anymore.

  “The Gingerbread Hag.” A woman, stepping back to view her own display nearby, read the vinyl banner slowly aloud with what seemed to be disbelief. “That’s a strange name indeed.” She finished by flashing a tight smile at Hedy.

  “Yes, indeed. Strange, much like my treats. I cater to customers who like interesting things, not run of the mill.” Hedy flashed her own smile, hoping she matched the woman’s tone. Hedy had no interest in people who were rude.

  “Well, let’s hope you have good luck with the sales today. Hard to say with a crowd like this. You know, down to earth people.” She gave Hedy a scanning look and moved away from the table. Hedy couldn’t understand people who thought they were that superior to others.

  “Hmmm, well, we will see, won’t we?” Hedy took a deep breath and turned her attention back to unpacking.

  Darro finished hauling in the last of the pyramid pieces and, faster than she expected, Hedy was looking at the finished product. It looked just as impressive as before, especially when he turned on the small motor that made the propeller turn slowly.

  “There she is. Everything looks good and ready for your wares.” He turned off the motor so the pyramid would be still for Hedy to load it up.

  “It really is great, Darro. I’ll get it loaded up with the treats and then we’ll be ready to turn it back on. Thank you for everything. You have been such a big help.” She gave him a quick squeeze on the arm.

  “My pleasure, lass. Now, unless you need me, I am going to take a quick stroll through the place and then head home for a bit. I’ll be back before the end though to help with taking her down.”

  “See you later.” Hedy watched him head back toward the main door, taking the dolly with him. He grabbed a sample of sausage from the nearby table as he went.

  She wouldn’t have much time to get everything arranged but Mel should be there any minute with Anahita. Hedy pulled out the paper doilies and covered the three shelves of the pyramid, so that none of the underlying wood was visible. With her tongs in hand, she unpacked plastic boxes of treats and arranged each row of the pyramid. In short order she had stacks of Krampus cookies, peppermint bark brownies, bags of reindeer kibble and rum balls, and the highlight, her Pfeffernüsse cookies. Pleased with the lay out, she flipped the motor switch and the whole thing began to turn very slowly.

  “Well, that’s quite the display, I must say. You will put the rest of us to shame.” She recognized Michael’s voice and turned to see him standing near the table, holding one of the snowflake elves.

  “Yes, I had a great deal of help from my friend, Darro. He built the pyramid. You look dapper in your Christmas vest, Michael. And I see you found my elves.” Hedy smiled and watched him place the figurine back carefully near the stand.

  “Yes, it gave me the idea of a snowflake fascinator hat. And you look marvelous in your new dress. It was just the right choice. It suits you perfectly.” Hedy’s cheeks flushed slightly.

  “Well, my compliments to you for selecting it. I was told I look like a Christmas elf from 1965 and I think that is rather accurate.” She chuckled.

  “Santa should be so lucky to have such a pretty elf. Sorry to leave so soon but it looks like they are starting to let people into the hall, so I better get back to my booth. I’m across the way, on the other side, booth 12. Look for the mannequin wearing the green velvet cocktail dress; you can’t miss me.” Michael gave her a wave and snatched a cookie from the tray in front. “You said I could have a cookie, remember?” he called back to her over his shoulder.

  Chapter Eighteen

  With Hedy gone, the house was quiet. Yami came down the stairs and opened the wooden gate that kept general customers away from the upstairs. Despite the squeaky floors, she had a light tread and she would be surprised if the old woman would hear her approach. She had zip ties and a small scarf in her hand to bind and gag her.

  In the quiet, she noticed the rhythmic ticking of the grandfather cloc
k. It sounded strangely loud when so often it was drowned out by the constant noise of the shop. Yami actually found it rather soothing, like an undercurrent or pulse for the house. Perhaps she should get such a clock for her apartment in Tokyo.

  She came around the corner to see Raluca engrossed in her book, a cup of tea sitting near her on the table. The old woman looked small and hardly a risk for Yami. She had handled far bigger and more dangerous targets in the past.

  “There you are. I was wondering when you would come down. Have you ceased your nocturnal activities, Kitsune?” The old woman looked up from her book to give a skeptical eye to Yami. Did she know what was about to happen?

  “I have a job to do here, although it is almost done, I am glad to say. My employer hired me to cause havoc in this town and now she insists on meeting you. I hope you will come willingly. I would hate to make this unpleasant.” Yami spoke evenly, keeping her voice low and without threat. She wasn’t very familiar with Moroi and what they might be able to do, even an old one such as this.

  “Your employer? I see. So, you are here beyond just traveling, there is some ulterior purpose. Well, I suppose that makes more sense than a kitsune risking exposure to attack some random animals. And just who is your employer?” Raluca closed her book and folded her hands on top of the cover.

  “Her name is Lyssa. She is the one who brought you here, since you are investigating the events from a few months ago. She is quite interested in meeting you and has commanded me to bring you to her. As I said, I don’t want this to be unpleasant. Will you come willingly?”

  This time, Yami brought the zip ties out from behind her back.

  “Naturally. There is no reason for violence. I will meet her. Why doesn’t she just come here? It would be easier than dragging an old woman to some meeting.” Raluca’s eyes were black pins staring through slits.

  “Lyssa, as you know, was wounded in her last encounter. It has made her…more dangerous, frankly. I suggest we get in the car and make our way to her now. There is no reason this needs to be unpleasant for anyone.” Yami placed the zip ties in her pocket, keeping her other hand on the small knife she had concealed in the other.

  “Oh, no, let's keep things civil, by all means. Lead the way, Miss Hayashi. Let’s get this over with, as I have things to do before I leave.” Raluca stood up slowly and walked toward the front door, keeping a wide berth from Yami.

  In her youth, it would have been nothing to dispatch this kitsune with a simple grip on her arm, sucking the very life energy from her. But now, Raluca wasn’t so sure she would win the encounter. Easier to see what this Lyssa wanted.

  “We will borrow Hedy’s car. I’m sure she won’t mind. It isn’t far from here. Do I have your word I won’t need to tie you up or restrain you in any way? I would really dislike it if you tried something while we were driving.” Yami’s last words edged with steel.

  “You have my word that I will go willingly to meet this creature. Let’s get this over with.” The old woman found her pashmina on the coat rack and wrapped it tightly around her. The kitsune opened the door for her, which she found oddly polite for a kidnapper.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Even in a large hall like this, it started to get noisy quickly, with the sound of kids and adults coming in through the front entrance. The large open space and metal walls reverberated the sound and in no time, it was difficult for Hedy not to pick up snatches of conversations as people came by.

  “Did you see all the windows boarded up on Wells Street? Someone smashed them out last night.”

  “Hit almost every store for two blocks. Glass was everywhere.”

  “Did they catch anyone?”

  “I heard one of the shops had a surveillance camera, but they were wearing masks. Looked like kids.”

  The voices floated by, but Hedy was struck by the thought of all that damage. Michael’s shop was on Wells, but he didn’t mention anything happening to The Red Bat. She would have to ask him about it when she went to see his booth.

  “Looks like you could use a hand.” Hedy heard Mel’s voice and turned to see both her and Anahita coming toward the booth. It had only been a few months since Hedy had seen the girl, but she went out and gave Ana a huge hug.

  “It is so good to see you. We’ve missed you around here. How is Seattle?”

  Anahita returned the hug and gave Hedy a quick peck on the cheek. “Good to see you, too. Seattle is fine. I found an apartment near the University and I’m settling in. It’s nice to be back in town, though.”

  Ana gave Mel a meaningful look and Hedy couldn’t help but smile at the two girls.

  “Well, things look like they are starting to pick up, so if you don’t mind helping out for a bit, I wouldn’t say no to the help.” Both girls nodded and followed Hedy behind the table, pausing to look at the giant spinning pyramid.

  “Oh, my goodness. Look at that! Did you make that, Hedy?” Ana had never seen anything like it; she had no frame of reference for the design of it.

  “No, that was all Darro. He made it, based on one a small one in the entry of the shop. It’s modeled on a Weihnachtspyramide, a German Christmas pyramid. I’ll show you a real one later. Amazing, huh?” Hedy was as proud of it as if she had made it herself.

  “It’s tremendous. And, nice that it moves everything slow enough that we can get the treats off easy enough,” Mel piped up and grabbed one of the aprons that Hedy brought. It was a bright kelly green with red diamonds.

  “Would you look at that, Willie? Would you like a cookie from here? I bet they have good cookies.” A grandma had the hand of her grandson who appeared to be about three years old and was in awe, but also a little scared of the sights before him. He hovered close to her knee.

  “Hi there, Willie. Did you know that anyone named Willie gets a free cookie today? I have gingerbread or sugar cookies or an iced chocolate Krampus cookie. What kind would you like?” Hedy bent toward the boy, who had his eyes fixed on the pyramid behind her.

  “Choco,” was his small reply. His grandma gave his hand a squeeze.

  “He’s a shy boy. He wouldn’t sit on Santa’s lap earlier today, just broke into tears.”

  “Oh, I understand. Here’s a cookie for you, Willie. Don’t worry about Santa. He will still bring you something nice.” Hedy handed the cookie to Willie and his eyes lit up.

  “Anything for Grandma?” Hedy saw the woman’s eyes linger on the gingerbread.

  “Yes, I’ll take a dozen of the gingerbread to share with his parents. You have a wonderful display, by the way. And I love your costume.” Hedy smiled to herself as Mel and Ana bagged up the order. The woman would be embarrassed if she knew this wasn’t a costume.

  “Enjoy the gingerbread. It is an authentic Pfeffernüsse recipe from Germany. And here’s our card, please come visit our shop on Griffin Avenue.” Hedy swiped the woman’s credit card on the small card reader she had bought for the market. It was amazing how you could go through life never actually handling cash.

  “Thank you, I will. Come on, Willie. Let’s go see what else we can find.” She tugged at Willie’s arm and he slowly followed, not wanting to take his eyes off the spinning pyramid, crumbs of chocolate Krampus on his face.

  “So, you have a visitor, I hear,” Ana spoke up once the pair were out of earshot.

  “Yes, an inspector from the Concierge. She is here to investigate what happened up at the cabin. She wants to talk with you.” Hedy watched a pair of elderly people smile and point at the pyramid, but they didn’t approach.

  “Yes, I received a call from someone, letting me know she wanted to meet with me. I told them I would come to Enumclaw since I was already planning to be here this weekend. It’s weird that they even had my telephone number since it is a new one.” Ana shrugged and then greeted a family that walked up to the booth.

  “How is your cousin, Mel? Things back to normal?” Hedy could tell by Mel’s expression that it wasn’t.

  “No, not at all. Things are worse,
if that is possible. He is supposed to be grounded right now but he slipped out of the house after breakfast. I’m keeping an eye out for him or his little hell-raising friends. Honestly, I don’t know what is going on with him.” Mel tried to keep her voice low so the customers wouldn’t hear but she was really worried about Dylan.

  “I am sorry to hear that. I heard in passing that some shops had their windows broken. You don’t suppose he was involved, do you?”

  “Oh, I hope not. If he was involved, my uncle will go ballistic. Plus, how will he get into college with a juvie record? It’s a nightmare.” Mel brushed back the start of tears. She had to focus on what was happening right now and not think about all of that. Plus, she didn’t want to ruin Ana’s visit. There was time for tears later.

  “What were you two talking about?” Ana turned back to them now that customers were gone.

  “Oh nothing, just some family stuff. I’ll fill you in later. Do you want to walk the market before it gets too busy? Hedy, do you mind?” Mel already knew the answer from Hedy’s smile.

  “Go, check it out. And keep your eye out for a booth for The Red Bat. That’s where this dress came from. I want to check it out later.”

  Mel and Ana nodded and took off down the row, Mel not even taking off her apron. They were just so happy to be together, and it delighted Hedy to see it.

  ✽✽✽

  “Quite a big event, isn’t it?” Ana whispered into Mel’s ear to be heard above the din.

  “Yes, it is a highlight of the year in town. Gives everybody a chance to buy some stuff from unusual shops from around the area. There should be carolers, some food wagons out back, and probably a strolling Santa Claus.” Mel gave Ana’s hand a squeeze, but she didn’t hold on to it. She still wasn’t sure about being very open of her feelings out in public. She wasn’t ashamed, she was just shy.

  “All the focus on buying around Christmas baffles me. Why is the holiday all about what gifts you can get? I thought it was about celebrating the birth of Christ? All the talking snowmen, car ads with giant ribbons on top of them, and piles of presents seems at odds with that, no?” Ana wasn’t trying to be flippant; she really didn’t understand how all of it fit together.