“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Ginny said dismissively pushing her books across the counter for Allie to ring up. “You know how she is. She’s always taking off…last summer she was gone for almost a month. But she always comes back when she’s ready.”
“Ginny, I really think you should report her missing,” Allie said, quickly adding up the books with a frown.
“Oh Allie, you know how she is. It’s the selkie in her, it makes her perpetually unhappy wherever she is. Besides the Ashwood PD won’t investigate, not after the half dozen times they’ve looked for her already over nothing.”
Allie didn’t agree that it was Sasha’s selkie heritage that was behind the girl’s wandering habits, although now was definitely not the time for that discussion. She was certain that Sasha disappearing was important. So she took a deep breath and insisted, “Please Ginny, I know you think I’m being silly, but Jenny Silvan is missing too. Maybe Sasha did just take off again, but I know Jenny didn’t. I really think you should report it, and not to Ashwood’s police but to the Elven Guard.”
Ginny blanched at the mention of the Guard, but to Allie’s relief she didn’t immediately refuse. “Well, I don’t know. I wouldn’t even know how to get the…them involved. And I don’t want to get her in trouble if it is nothing. It’s not like that killer’s still running around.”
Allie felt a shiver of foreboding at those last words, and bit her lip, suddenly reminded of Syndra’s words in the dream, about going out to the ritual site. She felt a surge of panic and used every ounce of willpower to control it. “I can contact the Guard for you and tell them what you tell me, if that’s easier.”
Ginny hesitated, wavering, but Allie could see the beginnings of real worry in the other woman’s eyes. As much as she and her sister often didn’t get along they did love each other. “Well, alright. I guess that wouldn’t hurt.”
Allie busied herself for a moment finishing ringing out Ginny’s books and reached out to Jess with her mind, reminding herself that he kept encouraging her to do this. ”Jess? Are you busy?”
“Allie? What is it?” he replied after a slight pause. She could sense that he was sitting at his desk and had been talking to someone. The Gods only knew how he was going to explain this conversation…
“I think we have a problem, or at least a pattern,” she thought to him, trying not to let her own fear leak through. “One of my customers just mentioned that her sister, who she’s taking care of, is missing. Her sister is part selkie.”
“How old is her sister? How long has she been missing?” Jess asked. Allie could feel his interest and was relieved that he was taking her seriously. That relief was quickly replaced by embarrassment as he picked up on her feelings through their link and added “Never doubt that I trust your perceptions Allie. You often understand things in ways others are not aware of”
“Sasha is fifteen. Hold on I’ll ask exactly when Ginny saw her last” Allie thought back at him. Aloud she said, “Ginny, when was the last time you saw Sasha?”
“Hmmm. Let me think,” Ginny leaned against the counter, pursing her lips. “Sunday. I went in late and she was still at the house when I left. That would have been around 3 o’clock, I think. When I got up Monday she wasn’t there and her bed hadn’t been slept in. Her backpack was gone, so I just figured she took off for a while.”
Allie relayed that as quickly as she could, wishing for once that Jess could observe from her mind the way she could from his. To Ginny she said “And you haven’t heard from her at all since then?”
Ginny shifted slightly, frowning. “No. You don’t really think I need to be worried do you Allie?”
“I think it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Allie hedged, not wanting to be totally honest but unable to lie. To Jess she quickly thought “She hasn’t seen her since last Sunday.”
“And Jenny disappeared Thursday night. But she didn’t report her sister missing?” he thought back.
“Sasha has a habit of running away for days or weeks at a time. Her sister didn’t think it was anything unusual so she didn’t tell anyone. But I have a bad feeling about this, Jess. Something is really wrong here,” Allie thought back and then looked up at Ginny who was looking at her closely. Allie blushed, distracted as Jess responded in her mind.
“Is that usual? For her to have no contact at all?”
Allie dutifully passed the question on, “Does she usually not call or message you at all when she’s gone?”
“It depends. Sometimes she’ll call if she’s staying with a friend or thinks I’m worried. Or if she needs something,” Ginny made a face. “Sometimes she just disappears and then shows back up a couple days later. No explanation, no excuses. Once she called me from New York, if you can believe that, and I had to drive all the way down there to pick her up.”
Allie nodded, trying to look thoughtful as she told Jess “It seems that she usually does call, but not always.”
“Did she have a reason to leave?” Jess asked, his tone perfectly reasonable.
“Did something happen that day Ginny?” Allie asked, “Did you guys get into a fight? Was she upset about anything?”
Ginny frowned, picking at her nail polish. “No. I was a little annoyed actually about her taking off because things had seemed pretty chill Sunday. We weren’t fighting. And she’s been doing really well in school.”
“No reason to leave, no fight with her sister, no indication she was unhappy. Hang on a second” Allie quickly relayed, and then to Ginny, “Thanks Ginny. Let me write down your address and phone number and I’ll pass it on to the Guard.”
As she was reaching for a pen and paper, Ginny asked, her voice subdued, “Do you think I should call my dad?”
Allie hesitated. If Sasha had just taken off for a little while and this was all getting blown out of proportion, calling Mr. LaJardin would get her in more trouble than involving the police would. On the other hand, if this was part of something bigger, something more than just one girl going missing….Allie shivered slightly. “Yeah, Ginny, I don’t want to freak you out but I think maybe you should.”
Ginny wrote down her information and then stood there silently for a minute, holding the bag with her books in it. When she spoke again her voice was small and very young sounding, “Allie, you think she’s dead don’t you?”
The words caught Allie totally off guard and she shook her head violently. “I never said that Ginny. I just think there’s something strange going on here.”
“You never said it, but do you think it?” Ginny looked up, meeting Allie’s eyes. Allie licked her lips, putting everything she had into her shields.
“I don’t know what’s going on. I hope she’s okay, but whatever’s going on, wherever she is I think the Guard can find her,” Allie spoke very carefully.
“I think you can find her Allie,” Ginny said.
“Ginny…”
“Please Allie, try. She’s a pain in the ass sometimes and she’s a bitch, but she’s my sister,” she looked desperately at Allie, pleading with her eyes, “I don’t trust the Elven Guard, or the human cops for that matter, but I trust you. You found the guy who was killing the girls last time. You can find my sister. I know you can.”
Allie didn’t know what to say, but Ginny was obviously waiting for her to say something, “I’ll try Ginny. If I can find her, I will.”
Allie watched the young woman leave, feeling a wave of remorse for making her worry. She’d feel foolish if Sasha showed up at home…
“Allie? Allie, can you hear me?” Jess’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Yes, sorry I was just – wait, I can hear you, how are you doing that?” Allie thought back stunned. He had never been able to speak to her without her first opening the connection to him, not since she’d first established it.
She felt satisfaction and excitement from him in equal measure, “I have been practicing. When you speak to me I have been trying to…feel…what you do and then see if I can do the same th
ing. It has never worked before.”
Allie sat down on her stool, hard. She should have realized that given some time Jess would figure out how to replicate what she was doing. He was not stupid and he had enough innate magical ability to be able to follow her lead. The bond between them, whether entirely spell-forged or only amplified by the spell Allie had cast, was not a one-way connection; while she had created it in order to speak to him it had always been a two-way door. The implications were daunting, given how much she knew she unintentionally eavesdropped on him, although she only knew from this that he could reach out and speak to her, not that he could project himself fully into her mind as she could do to him.
“Allie?” he was worried now, and she rushed to reassure him, feeling like a horrible person for not liking to be in his position suddenly. The gods knew he had never complained about her invading his personal thoughts, so what right did she have to be unhappy that he had finally figured out how to initiate communication?
“I’m here. I’m worried about what this means Jess. Two missing girls, both mixed ancestry. It seems like a pattern.”
“Possibly, but we cannot be sure without investigating more about the second girl. She does have a history of running away. We should not jump to any conclusions at this point,” he replied gently.
“But we will investigate it right?” Allie thought back, her anxiety plain.
“Yes, we shall. And if a pattern is found, we will take it very seriously, I assure you,” he meant what he said, and Allie relaxed slightly.
“Good,” and then “Jess how are you explaining stopping to talk to me to whoever you were talking to when I interrupted?”
He laughed lightly in her mind, a sensation that tickled and made her laugh too, “I told them the truth of course.”
“Of course,” she agreed, shaking her head. Trying to block him she thought to herself Only elves could see the truth in this situation as a normal explanation – ‘oh sorry I have to take a minute to talk in my head to my girlfriend, she isn’t imaginary, I swear’. After a moment when he didn’t respond to that at all she decided she had blocked him successfully and felt a little bit of relief. At least some of her head would still be private, if she concentrated.
*************************
Allie walked out after work, her mind on the implications of a second missing girl – a second missing mixed-blooded girl – locking up and raising the wards reflexively. She turned towards her car and stopped, something about the car itself making her uneasy. She looked closely trying to decide what was wrong with the familiar sight.
She took a few tentative steps closer, peering intently at the car. The lines and curves of the hood and roof were the same. The color hadn’t changed and was unmarked. Finally it occurred to her; the car was sitting lower than it was supposed to be. Looking down she could see the closest two tires were flat. Not just low, but resting-on-the-rims-flat.
With a growing sense of inevitability she walked slowly around to the driver’s side. Both tires on that side were flat as well. She felt a surge of panic that was almost overwhelming.
“Jess?” she reached out to him at almost the exact same moment that he was speaking in her mind, his voice flavored with concern.
“Allie, what is wrong?”
“My car,” she thought to him, her eyes darting around the empty parking lot, suddenly feeling exposed. “Someone’s slashed all the tires.”
“You are at your store?” his voice in her head now was flat and grim. She felt her panic growing.
“Yes.”
“Go back in the building and lock the door. I am on my way.”
“No, don’t come all the way out here. It’s not a big deal,” she said irrationally, feeling afraid despite her brave words.
“I am already on my way,” he said. She knew there was no point arguing then and feeling oddly defeated she went back into the store and called detective Riordan.
The panic attack this time was not as bad as many of the other ones had been but it left her slumped on the floor in the back hallway, shaking and exhausted. When someone knocked on the rear door she fell over, face down on the floor, her heart racing again. Only when she recognized Riordan’s voice calling her name did she manage to scramble to her feet and get the door unlocked.
Riordan and Smythe were standing side by side. She stepped out to talk to them, wrapping her arms around herself. Riordan took in her shell shocked expression and glazed eyes with concern, “Are you alright Ms. McCarthy?”
“Yes, just upset. I don’t understand why someone is doing this,” Allie said, her voice hoarse from crying.
Smythe looked sympathetic. “I wish we could tell you something more reassuring-“
He was interrupted by the arrival of the distinctive green vehicle of the Elven Guard. Allie wasn’t sure if Jess had broken speed records getting there or if she had lost more time than she realized to her panic attack. The car parked near the detectives’ unmarked police car and as Allie watched Jess and Brynneth got out. She felt disproportionately relieved to see them both.
Jess crossed quickly to where Allie was standing, pulling her against his chest; she went willingly opening herself to his feelings. His worry and love filled her, soothing all the rough edges and sharp places left by her emotional collapse. Brynneth also came to stand close by her side, reaching out to touch her shoulder gently and extending a tendril of healing energy. That surprised her until she decided that he would count it as part of their bargain.
Jess turned to the two detectives, his expression aloof. “Detective Riordan, it is not displeasing to see you again. Allie tells me that you are handling the investigation into the disturbances going on here?”
Riordan blinked, “Yes, my partner detective Smythe and I are handling it together.”
Allie stepped back slightly from Jess, shifting so that his arms stayed wrapped around her but she was turned to face the human police. She tried her best to make the proper introductions, “Brynneth, Jessilaen you remember detective Riordan, this is detective Mark Smythe. Detective Smythe this is Commander Jessilaen of the Elven Guard and Brynneth, medic with the Guard.”
Smythe regarded both elves evenly without any discernable expression, “Nice to meet you both. I wasn’t aware that the Elven Guard were also investigating this.”
“We aren’t,” Jess said, his voice deceptively neutral. “Yet, although that may change. I am here to offer support to Allie, and Brynneth is here with me.”
“I see,” Smythe said. Allie doubted he had any idea what was going on. She was too tired to try to explain it to him.
Riordan cleared his throat, “Well, we were just about to tell Ms. McCarthy that this case looks like it’s more complicated than we thought it was going to be.”
“Why?” Allie asked, leaning back against Jess for support.
“We caught the person who broke your windows,” Smythe said, “or to be honest, he confessed. Guy named Corey Webster. You know him?”
“Yeah,” Allie said softly, “I know him. He’s a regular customer.”
“He said he got into a fight with you the other day,” Riordan said.
“Not with me,” Allie said, shaking her head, “With someone else in the store. Corey was speaking in a very, uh, inappropriate way to me and another guy who was here, a friend of mine, took offense and they got into an argument.”
“Allie?” she felt Jess’s voice like a whisper in her mind “What happened?”
“It was nothing. Corey was being rude and Jason called him out on it. Corey left mad. I didn’t think he was that mad though,” she replied. Out loud she said “I didn’t think he was angry enough to come back and vandalize my store over it.”
“He said he was drunk when he did it,” Riordan said. “Said it wasn’t planned, just a spur of the moment thing.”
Allie nodded. She could see that, given Corey’s personality. Confessing though didn’t seem at all like him. “And he just came forward and admitted he di
d it?”
“Mr. Webster was in a serious accident last night. He thought he wasn’t going to make it and wanted to clear his conscience. Although why he felt that admitting to breaking some windows was such a big deal I don’t know,” Smythe said. “But he was insistent about it.”
Allie looked down, tensing, remembering her spell. She wanted to ask about his accident, about whether he was going to be alright, but she was afraid. She really didn’t want to know the full extent of what she had done. Jess tightened his arms around her, but it was a cold comfort.
“The thing is,” Riordan said, continuing where his partner had left off, “he swears that’s all he did. Says he doesn’t know anything about any dead animals.”
“And,” Smythe added, “he obviously couldn’t have done this today, since he’s laid up in Memorial’s ICU.”
“So there is another person yet to be found,” Brynneth murmured thoughtfully.
“Looks that way,” Riordan agreed. “I have to be honest with you Ms. McCarthy after we talked to Mr. Webster last night I wasn’t sure if the thing with the animals was still a big concern. The animals weren’t marked up from what you said, and there weren’t any messages left with them. Makes it kind of hard to figure out. But with this happening it looks like an escalation of violence, and like a personal threat to you.”
“You don’t find dead animals left on her doorstep a concern detective?” Jess asked.
“Like I said Commander, it’s hard to figure.” Riordan said. “Usually when you hear about that sort of thing the animals are mutilated or left in a way that’s obviously a message – I heard of a case a couple town’s over where a guy’s ex was nailing kittens up to his door, for example. When it’s personal it feels personal. This feels weird. Different kinds of animals, no obvious signs of violence, left just lying out as if they died naturally. That’s weird if it’s supposed to be a threat to Ms. McCarthy. But now this – this jumps up the level of violence by orders of magnitude. From apparently non-violent deaths to slashing all her tires. It’s hard to follow. Unless there have been other things going on you haven’t mentioned?”
Lost in Mist and Shadow: A Between the Worlds Novel Page 18
