by R. L. King
Stone shook his head, waving Jason off.
“Okay. Yeah…maybe so. I’ll tell him. Hey, give us a call or a text or something more often, okay? Let us know how you’re doing.” He glanced at Stone again. “Yeah. Okay. Love you, V. Talk to you later.”
He put the phone back in his pocket and sighed. “So, that was awkward.”
“Why?” Stone asked. “It’s not exactly unusual that your sister would call you.”
“That’s actually the first time she’s called in a while.”
“And how is she doing?” Stone kept his voice brisk, even though he knew he wasn’t fooling anybody.
“She’s…good. She’s in Virginia now. Said she’s taking it slow, working her way toward Chicago for the Symposium.”
“Brilliant.”
“She said to tell you she didn’t think it was a good idea to talk right now, but she hopes you’re doing well and she’s looking forward to seeing you again when she gets back.”
Stone glanced up, and didn’t miss the looks both Amber and Jason were giving him. He shrugged. “I’ll be glad to see her too. I assume you didn’t get much detail about what she’s been up to on such a short call.”
“No, not really. Al—”
“Right, then,” he said quickly. “I’m off. I’ll let you know what I find out in Dallas tomorrow.”
It looked as if Jason was going to say something else, but he didn’t.
11
Stone got an early start the next day—early for him, anyway. He’d been having trouble sleeping lately, so he figured he might as well get something accomplished.
He drove down to Sunnyvale at ten a.m. A Passage to India wasn’t open yet, but he found Marta in the kitchen, conferring with her head chef Nikhil over the day’s menu. The whole place smelled of spices and fresh-baked naan bread, making Stone wish he’d paused for breakfast.
“Hello, Alastair.” She brightened when he appeared in the doorway, then glanced at the wall clock. “This is early for you, isn’t it?”
“Heading out to do a bit of investigation.”
“Oh, are you still helping Jason with his case? I heard on the news that the boy was found. Thank God for that!”
“Yes, absolutely. But we’re still trying to track down who took him, given that the mundane authorities won’t have any idea what happened.”
She smiled. “Good for you, luv. I’m glad you’ve got something to keep you occupied. Is there anything I can do to help?”
He almost said no, but then a thought occurred to him. “Marta…do you keep in contact at all with the other portal keepers? Is there some sort of network?”
“You mean the other public portals?” When he nodded, she frowned. “Not…really. It’s not like we get together and have regular meetings or anything.”
“But do you know who they are?”
“Of course. Most of them, anyway.”
“Can you get me a list?”
She tilted her head. “What are you looking for? Are you afraid this man might do this again?”
“No idea, but there’s no harm in putting the word out. If he’s using the portals to avoid the authorities, alerting the other keepers and asking them to be a bit more vigilant might cause him to reconsider his plans.”
“That’s a good point. All right—I’ll get you a list together. Will you be back today?”
“Should be back in an hour or so. I’m just planning to chat with whoever handles the portal in Dallas, since the boy was found about twenty miles from there.”
“Ah, yes. I’ve met him. His name is Jasper Lewis. Lovely older gentleman. The portal in Dallas is on the outskirts of the city, in the back room of a motel just off Interstate 30. He and his family have owned the place for years.”
“Good to know. Thanks, Marta—and thanks for the list.”
“I’m happy to help. Terrible thing, someone kidnapping children. And if you’re coming back in an hour, maybe you can stay for lunch.”
Most of the public portals Stone had used to travel were similar, and the one in Dallas was no exception. It was in a small, mostly empty room—because many mages used them and liked their privacy when coming and going, public portal spaces didn’t encourage anyone to linger by providing seating, decorations, or anything else that might make someone want to pause. Even though it was rare to encounter another mage at the same time you were traveling, getting in and getting out fast was the generally accepted etiquette.
He stepped out through an illusionary door labeled STORAGE into an unused hallway carpeted in standard motel style. Another door at the end of the hall said EXIT, so apparently the standard procedure was to come out of the portal room and leave through the back door, probably to a rear parking lot. Very efficient, very discreet. Most mages used disregarding spells or illusions so they’d be even less likely to be spotted.
Stone didn’t head for the exit door, though. Instead, he chose the other direction, where the short hallway opened to another one, and then out into the motel’s small lobby. This area was significantly more homelike and tasteful, decorated with country-style wooden furniture, comfortable couches, and framed prints of horses. A young woman behind the front desk glanced up at him, then went back to what she was doing.
He approached her. “I’m looking for Jasper Lewis,” he said. “Is he here?”
She smiled. “Did you need a room, sir?” Her light, lilting accent marked her as a likely native of the area. Stone wasn’t nearly as good with American Southern accents as he was with British ones, though, so for all he knew she could be from North Dakota.
“Er—no.” Marta had said the place had been in the family for years; he wondered how many of them were in the know about what they were concealing in their back room. “I had something…travel-related…I wanted to discuss with him.”
She brightened, and her smile widened. “Ah, I see.” She got it. “You just have a seat over there and I’ll call him. There’s coffee and tea if you want them.”
Stone didn’t sit; instead, he paced around the room examining the framed prints. A couple guests came through and headed to an elevator to the right of the registration desk. They gave Stone a sideways look as they passed, and he supposed wearing a long black coat in Texas this time of year must look odd.
“What can I do for you, friend?” came a deep, pleasant voice from behind him.
He turned to see a man in his middle sixties coming out from a doorway behind the desk. “Ah. Mr. Lewis, I presume?”
“Jasper Lewis, that’s right.” He didn’t offer to shake hands, but his smile was friendly and not at all suspicious. “How can I help you today?”
Stone gave him a quick once-over. He was of medium height, with graying hair, a luxuriant and carefully tended mustache, and an impressive paunch that hung over a big belt buckle. His green polo shirt had the motel’s logo over the pocket. His aura was bright blue, strong and steady. He reminded Stone a bit of a Texan version of his old friend Walter Yarborough. “Is there somewhere we can chat in private?”
“Sure, sure. We can talk in my office.”
He led Stone around behind the desk and through the same door he’d entered from, indicating a small, neat office. “Have a seat. Getcha anything?”
“No, thank you. I won’t take much of your time.” Stone took the offered seat and glanced around the office. A framed, autographed photo of a Dallas Cowboys football player hung on the wall, and several sports trophies lined the front of the desk. Football, baseball, soccer, and basketball were all represented.
Lewis caught Stone looking at them and grinned. “My kids. They’re all older now, but I’m real proud of them.”
This might be easier than Stone thought. The guy obviously cared a lot about children, which might make him more likely to cooperate or remember useful information. “Mr. Lewis, my name is Alastair Stone. I’ve come here from California.”
Lewis chuckled. “You sound like you’re from a hell of a lot further away than California.�
�� Before Stone could answer, he waved it off. “But never mind that—I can see you’ve got something on your mind, so let’s hear it. Maybe I can help you out.”
“I hope you can. Have you heard about Tyler Ellerman, the boy who was kidnapped from California and turned up behind a convenience store twenty or so miles from here?”
His expression sobered. “Sure did. That’s a scary situation. Couldn’t help thinkin’ how I’d have felt if it was one of my kids. I’m glad everything turned out okay.”
“Yes, well, I’m not so sure it did. Not completely. The boy is all right, but I’m not convinced the danger is over.”
“You think somebody might grab him again?” Lewis’s eyes widened. “Mr. Stone, I’m not sure what this has to do with me, except obviously you’re interested in the portal somehow.”
“That’s exactly what I’m interested in. And no, I don’t think anyone is likely to grab Ty Ellerman again. But I’m not so sure our man will give up with one boy.”
“What makes you think so?”
“I’ve got a friend back in California—a private investigator. He was hired to track the boy back when his parents thought he might have run away. He asked me to help with a tracking spell.”
“You tracked him here to Texas?”
“No. We tracked him to an area not far from where he was taken, but it’s possible we might have spooked the kidnapper into moving him. We’re certain he used the public portal in the area.”
Lewis narrowed his eyes. “You can’t track people through portals…can you?”
“No. But I do think it’s a bit coincidental that the boy was taken through a portal, and turned up in an area near another one. Don’t you?”
“Now that you mention it, I do.” Lewis stroked his chin thoughtfully, then settled his gaze on Stone. “Never thought for a minute there might be magic involved. That’s…not good. What are you asking of me, though? We don’t track people coming through the portal. If you came through yourself, you might have noticed we’ve got it set up so travelers can be ensured maximum privacy. Nobody likes bein’ observed.”
Stone sighed. “Yes, I assumed that. The one in California is similar. But I was hoping perhaps you or one of your associates might have spotted something suspicious.”
“Suspicious how? You mean like a guy comin’ through with a kid? We definitely would have noticed that. Nobody brings kids through portals.”
“Would you, though? You just told me you don’t observe travelers.”
“Not formally, is what I mean. We don’t watch the portal room to see who comes through, and we don’t have security cameras. But there’s enough people around here that it’s hard for somebody not to notice.”
“How many of your staff members are aware of the magical world?”
“My family, for sure. Della, my daughter, works the front desk, and we’ve got a couple of cousins who work in maintenance.”
“Are they mages?”
“Nope. Only mages here are me and my brother Rafe, but he’s not around much.”
Lewis must have caught Stone’s look of disappointment, because he held up a finger. “Hold on, though. Let me ask around a little bit. Can you stay for a little while? Half-hour or so? I can make some calls.” He frowned and indicated the trophies. “I love kids, Mr. Stone. The thought of one of us messin’ with any of ’em boils my blood. If there’s anything I can do to help you catch this guy, I’ll do it.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lewis. I can’t stay long, but—”
“Give me half an hour.”
Stone didn’t like the plan; he’d have preferred to question the employees himself, but reluctantly conceded it was probably better to let the man they knew do it. Even so, by the time Lewis reappeared in the motel’s tiny coffee shop, he’d already finished one cup, caught up on his email, and was pacing like a cat in a cage.
“We might be in luck,” Lewis said. He had a middle-aged woman with him, dressed in an SMU sweatshirt and jeans. She looked nervous, fidgeting from foot to foot.
Stone hurried over. “You’ve got something?”
Lewis shepherded them all into the empty shop. “This is Rosa Pérez. She’s one of our housekeepers—been with us for years. She normally works the night shift, but she agreed to come by when I gave her a call.”
“Thank you, Ms. Pérez,” Stone said.
“Tell him what you told me, Rosa,” Lewis urged gently. “What you saw that night.”
Rosa Pérez didn’t meet Stone’s gaze. She stared at her hands as if expecting him to accuse her of something.
“It’s all right,” he said. “I promise, you’re not in trouble about anything.” He wondered how much Lewis had told her.
She hesitated, then her eyes came up. “It was a pretty quiet night. I finished my rooms and went out back on my break to have a smoke.”
Stone nodded encouragement, but didn’t speak. Instead, he watched her aura. It was yellow, with faint flashes indicating her unease. He suspected she normally did her best to be as unobtrusive as possible, and didn’t like being singled out for anything.
“I was sittin’ in my car, havin’ a smoke like I said, when I saw the back door open again.”
“Is that unusual?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Sometimes people go out that way, but not often. Mostly it’s the employees, ’cause that’s where we park.”
“But whoever this is wasn’t an employee?”
“Nope. Never seen ’em before. There were two of ’em.”
Stone leaned forward. “Two? Was one of them a child?”
Rosa shook her head. “No, no kids. A man and a woman. Small woman, but definitely not a little girl.”
“What did they do? Where did they go?”
“That was the weird part,” she said, glancing at Lewis. “I figured maybe they’d get in a car and leave—like maybe they parked back there for some reason. But somebody drove up and picked ’em up, almost like they were expectin’ them to be there. I didn’t really think nothin’ of it—people do weird things out here all the time—but after Mr. Lewis was askin’ about it, I figured I should say somethin’. What’s this about, anyway?” Her eyes narrowed. “Are you a cop?”
“No, Ms. Pérez. Just…looking for someone I think might have been here. I’m helping a friend who’s trying to find someone.”
“It’s okay, Rosa,” Lewis said. “I promise, you’re not in trouble for anything. Just tell him whatever you know, okay?”
“Did you get a look at the man?” Stone asked. “Either of them, really? Or the car that picked them up?”
“Sort of. They walked under a light, but it was a ways away. I don’t think they saw me in my car.”
“What did they look like?”
She thought about it. “The guy was white—maybe like fifty or so. Tall, wearin’ regular pants and a dark jacket. Blue, maybe, or black.”
“What about the woman?”
Now she looked uncomfortable. “I…can’t remember.”
“Try hard, Rosa,” Lewis urged. “Anything you can give us—hair color, what she was wearin’, anything.”
“That’s just it. I know this is gonna sound loco, but…I can’t remember any of that stuff. It’s like every time I looked at her, I ended up lookin’ at something else.”
Stone sighed. It sounded like a classic disregarding spell, probably coupled with an illusion. He wondered if the man used an illusion generator to hide Ty’s appearance. “Okay,” he said. “That’s fine. That’s good. Can you remember anything about the car, or the person driving it?”
“Not really. I couldn’t see the driver at all. The car was dark…I think it was a nice one. Like a Lincoln or a Mercedes or something. Sorry, I’m not very good with cars.”
Apparently not, since a Mercedes didn’t look anything like a Lincoln. “All right, Ms. Pérez,” he said, standing. “Thank you very much. You’ve been very helpful.”
“You can go now.” Lewis patted her shoulder. “Thanks, Rosa.
We’ll see you tonight.”
After Rosa Pérez left, he turned back to Stone. “So, did that help?”
“I think so. A couple of things stand out for me—first, I’m almost certain that’s our man, and he’s probably using both illusions and disregarding spells to keep anyone from spotting Ty. That means he’s got to be at least a middling mage.”
“What’s the other one?”
“He had someone pick him up, which means he’s not acting alone.” He frowned. “I might be blowing this whole thing out of proportion, since we’ve got no evidence he’s done this before, but I’m inclined to think he might have. If I hadn’t been tracking him with magic, he’d have got through the portal and made a clean escape, and no one would have noticed. Which could mean he’s done this any number of other times.”
Lewis grunted. “Damn.” He pounded his fist lightly on the table. “It pisses me off to think one of ours is messin’ with kids. Almost makes me want to install a security camera on the hallway outside the portal room.”
“If you’re willing, that’s probably not a bad idea.”
“You think he’ll come through here again?”
“Haven’t got a clue.” He pulled a business card from his pocket and offered it to Lewis. “But please give me a call if you notice anything else suspicious.”
Lewis studied the card. “I’ll be damned. They got mages teaching at Stanford now?”
“Far as I know, I’m the only one.”
Lewis tucked the card away. “Well, I promise I’ll call you if I see anything. No promises if I catch the guy in the act, though—you might get him back a little the worse for wear, if you catch my meaning.”
12
Stone called Jason as soon as he got back to Sunnyvale. “Have you had lunch yet? I’ve got some information.”
“Good. We do too.”
Stone took Marta up on her offer, suggesting they meet at A Passage to India. Jason and Amber showed up twenty minutes later. The place was starting to fill, but they found a table near the window and ordered the daily special.
