‘I suppose as the youngest son you didn’t have much choice either.’
‘I had a choice,’ he replied after a moment, ‘I just made the wrong one.’
‘Well lucky you,’ she answered briskly as she unlocked the car, ‘you’ve got something a lot of people would kill for.’
‘What’s that?’
‘A second chance.’
She slipped into the driver’s seat and leaned over to pop the lock on his side, watching as he climbed in and closed the door, looking around at the interior of the car.
‘Sorry, it’s a bit of a mess,’ she apologised, ‘put your seat belt on.’
‘My what?’
‘Here,’ she smiled leaning over him and grasping the belt she clipped it in place.
She smelled so good, was all he could think. Her glossy dark brown hair brushed against his face when she leaned over him. He couldn’t quite place the fragrance but it held a hint of familiarity, something about it tugged at him. It was something dark and earthy, with a smoky undertone and when she glanced up at him from under her thick dark eyelashes it made him think of fire and flame and ash.’
Breaking his gaze she glanced across the parking lot and froze. Theo followed her gaze as he felt the tension in her body.
‘Damn it,’ she muttered under her breath.
There was a man propped up against the fence, watching her intently.
‘Who is he?’ Theo asked suspiciously.
‘The Chief of police,’ Olivia leaned back into her seat, her gaze hardening.
‘I don’t like the way he’s looking at you,’ Theo’s voice was low and threatening.
‘That makes two of us,’ Olivia replied as she fired the engine and backed out of the parking space.
‘Is he in charge of the watch?’ Theo asked as they pulled out into the light evening traffic.
‘We don’t have a watch anymore,’ Olivia tried to find an easy way to explain it. ‘Back in your time, the policing system was based on the English structure brought over by the original colonists, which incorporated a ‘watch’ made up of around six watchmen and several volunteers who would patrol at night, lead by a constable or a sheriff. But as the towns, ports and cities began to grow society increasingly needed a more complex and wider reaching law enforcement body.
By the 1700’s a lot of people had settled into the towns opening shops and businesses, which in turn meant more work for the watch especially in the sea ports. Taverns were built to serve cheap ale and entertain sailors. The problem was it then caused public drunkenness, brawls and prostitution. Police work became much more difficult and time consuming. Before the watch had always been voluntary but less and less men would volunteer so a mandatory service was introduced with fines issued to those who didn’t show up for their duties. Problem was this ended up punishing the poor, who were least able to pay. So in order to combat this some towns and cities started introducing a paid watch.’
Olivia took her eyes off the road to look at Theo who was watching her carefully, the corner of his mouth curved in amusement.
‘Am I boring you yet?’
‘No,’ he smiled; he enjoyed the prim tone of her voice when she lectured him.
‘Okay then,’ she continued, ‘by the mid 1700’s wardens began to appear, these officials had the authority to hire watchmen but the law enforcement system still required change. During the industrial revolution, we’ll cover that later by the way; the number of buildings, factories and the population surged and thanks to this boom in industrial growth the overcrowding brought more crime, riots and general disorder. The solution was a new system first implemented by England in the early 1800’s. This new system was a more centralised police force designed to prevent crime instead of simply react to it. Philadelphia was the first to organise an independent twenty four hour police force, later Boston followed with a day police and night watch working independently. New York followed sometime afterwards, well back in your time it was called New Amsterdam. Anyway, these new police departments were headed by police chiefs appointed by political leaders. Although it is still flawed, this system still closely resembles today’s police force. We still have Sheriffs but they are appointed by the county rather than the cities.’
Theo wasn’t sure he understood everything that came out of her mouth but he managed to get most of it and he certainly enjoyed listening to her smooth cultured voice. The car slowed down and Olivia pulled up and parked.
‘Come on, we’re here.’
As they got out of the car Theo watched her check her surroundings as if she expected to be followed, then she popped the trunk and lifted out a stack of books. Her face had lost some of the carefree laughter and now held a wariness that set off alarm bells. She may not need saving as she’d insisted earlier at Riverside but something was definitely wrong and he was determined to find out what it was. They crossed the sidewalk and a small communal garden, entering a small apartment complex. As they approached one of the larger ground floor units the door swung open and a tall well built guy with dark blonde hair opened the door. His eyes held the same wariness as Olivia’s and his mouth was set in a thin guarded line.
He stepped aside and allowed them to pass through the door; he gave one final scan of the outside as he shut the door behind him and turned to face them both.
‘Jake, this is Theo, Theo Jake,’ She introduced them both.
The two men nodded, each one sizing up the other, Jake opened up an interior door and motioned for Theo to enter.
‘The living room is through there,’
Theo moved into the room but as Olivia went to follow Jake caught her by the elbow and held her back.
‘A word if you don’t mind Olive,’ he frowned.
‘Jake are you mad with me?’ She tilted her head slightly as she studied him.
‘No, I told you over the phone earlier I’d help you, but are you absolutely sure the guy is who he says he is?’
She nodded.
‘Yes I am,’
‘Shit’, he swore ‘that’s a hell of a head fuck, How is he dealing with it?’
‘Disturbingly well,’
‘Olive,’ He sighed I’m really not sure this is a good idea with everything else that’s going on. I still think we should have left him at Riverside at least until we know more about him.’
‘I know what I’m doing Jake,’ she insisted.
‘I don’t think you do,’ He shook his head. ‘He is a Witchfinder, have you considered what’s going to happen when he finds out what you are?’
‘I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,’ she frowned. ‘Look, I’m sorry I dragged you into this but there just isn’t anyone else I can trust.’
‘It's okay,’ he conceded quietly, ‘to be honest I’d rather he was here than at your place. At least here I can keep an eye on him.’
‘Thank you.’
‘There are some other things you should know though.’
‘What?’
‘The Chief is keeping me out of the loop as much as he can, but from what I’ve been able to find out he’s having you followed.’
‘I figured as much,’ she sighed. ‘There’s not much I can do about that except wait for them to get bored.’
‘It’s more than that though; he’s having the woods by your house searched,’
‘Have they found Brody yet?’
‘No,’ Jake shook his head, ‘and given how long he’s been missing it doesn’t look good. After what happened to Adam they are concentrating on the area where his body was found.’
Olivia fell silent, her eyes troubled.
‘What?’ Jake asked suspiciously, ‘what is it Olive? What are you not telling me?’
She hesitated.
‘Olive?’
‘There’s something in the woods,’ she whispered.
‘What?’
‘I don’t know, but I’ve felt it a few times now, Jake I’ve never been afrai
d of the woods before, I played there countless times as a child,’
‘I know, we all did.’
‘It’s different now,’ she breathed out slowly.
‘Different how?’
‘Something stirs, something dark and I’m afraid’
‘Of what?’ he whispered, ‘what are you afraid of Olive?’
When she turned to look at him her eyes were deep liquid pools of amber, her voice was low and carried with it a hint of warning.
‘I’m afraid of what happens when it wakes.’
Chapter 11.
Olivia woke with a start, breathing heavily and heart racing, as the dream began to fall away from her. She couldn’t quite remember what she had been dreaming about but even now a restless unease slithered across her skin like a serpent, making the tiny hairs on her arms stand on end. Untangling her legs from the twisted sheets she swung her legs over the side of the bed, wincing as her bare feet hit the cold wooden floor. She pulled her heavy hair back from her neck and a clammy bead of sweat rolled lazily down her spine.
Dragging in a shaky breath she reached out towards her nightstand, her trembling fingers grasping for the glass of water but as she brought it to her parched lips she frowned realising the glass was empty. Her throat was rough and dry and her tongue felt as if it were stuck to the roof of her mouth, whatever she’d been dreaming about it had obviously shaken her up pretty bad. Shivering as the cold sweat on her body began to dry, with a sigh of resignation she stood slowly and grasped her robe pulling it on over her nightdress.
Glancing across at the blinking red numbers on the clock by her bed she groaned, 2 a.m. and she wasn’t likely to get back to sleep anytime soon. Grabbing the empty glass she headed out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen, thinking that as long as she was up she may as well make herself a cup of tea. Standing in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil she tucked her hair behind her ear in irritation and dropped the teabag into her favourite mug. She hated waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep, it messed with her concentration all the next day and she really needed to get the finishing touches to her project and get it sent over to her publisher. She was already coming up on her deadline and with everything that had happened recently she was running behind, which just burned her ass. She had always prided herself on her professionalism and her ability to keep to tight deadlines but now she just felt drained and frustrated. She’d already decided she was going to take a break after this project was wrapped up.
Deep in thought she crossed the kitchen and yanked the refrigerator open to reach for the milk. Suddenly her hand froze and she straightened abruptly, sure she’d just heard something on her porch. Letting the refrigerator door swing shut behind her she headed out of the kitchen and down the hallway towards the door. Glancing out of the peephole revealed nothing. Taking a deep breath she slowly unlocked the door. Stepping out into the freezing night air and onto the wooden porch she cursed lightly, wishing she’d put some shoes on. Casting her eyes around she couldn’t see anything out of place, but she could still hear something. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart hammering wildly in her chest as she heard the creak and groan of the wood again. This time she could have sworn she heard a shallow scratching sound. Creeping silently forwards she edged past the porch swing as it moved and creaked lightly in the breeze, and headed towards the end of the veranda.
A shadow moved in the corner and she leaned in closer, her eyes narrowing in the darkness. Suddenly a small furry creature shot out from under the bush which had grown through the wooden railing of the veranda. Olivia fell back against the side of the house and laughed breathlessly. Her heart had leapt into her throat and was pounding in her ears. Damn squirrel she swore, pushing herself back to her feet, and leaning against the rail as she slowed her breathing and tried to calm her erratic pulse. The cold wind wrapped itself around her body like a lover tugging at her nightdress and robe, blowing her long hair back over her shoulder.
Wrapping her arm around the post she glanced out towards the woods. She felt like she’d lost something, her head fell against the post tiredly and she sighed. The woods had always been hers, she’d run wild there as a child, always closely followed by Louisa and Jake. It had been a place of magic and wonder and no matter how deep they went she’d always felt safe. That feeling was gone now, as she reached out to the woods she could feel the oppressive weight of darkness nudging at the edges of her consciousness. She wouldn’t venture out into the woods on her own now, it wasn’t safe, that much she knew.
She shivered against the cold air and breathed deeply. Turning back towards her front door, she caught a flicker out the corner of her eye. Staring hard into the woods she frowned; she could have sworn for a moment she’d seen a light through the tree line. She must have been more tired than she thought; she was seeing things now and shaking her head she once again turned back towards the door.
Passing absently by the porch swing which was still swaying slightly in the breeze, she froze. Her frantic racing heartbeat returned as she gazed down at the small rag doll propped against the seat, its button eyes lifeless and unseeing as it rocked innocuously back and forth with the rhythm of the swing. Adrenalin surged through her veins like jagged shards of ice; her breathing shallow and erratic as she reached out with trembling hands. Her fingers closed around the soft body of the doll and lifted it up into the light spilling from her front door. Recognising it, her head snapped up and her gaze darted frantically around the area immediately surrounding her property. Clutching onto the doll as if her life depended on it she ran back through her front door and slammed it behind her, shooting the deadbolt and hooking the chain.
Her back pressed against the door as she looked down into her hand. The doll was hand stitched with dark hair and black buttons for eyes; it wore a red dress with black and white striped socks. No longer pristine and new, it was tatty and stained, part of its hair and face were singed, the material now ridged and blackened. Its body held the ominous dark brown stain of dried blood and it smelled of smoke.
She closed her eyes and she could still remember clearly the Christmas she had been given the doll. She hadn’t seen it in twenty years, not since the night her mother died. She remembered clearly creeping down the stairs in her nightgown clutching her doll when she heard raised voices. Clamping down the wave of nausea that rose in her throat she ruthlessly squashed the memories threatening to surface. She did not want to think about that night. Taking a deep breath she moved through the house double checking all the locks and windows. She had no doubt who had left the doll for her to find and she was not going to give him the satisfaction. Whatever her father’s game was she was not going to play, she was not a scared eight year old kid this time.
Making her way back into the library she stuffed the doll down into the top drawer of her desk and slammed it shut. She knew she should probably call Jake but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She’d asked way too much of him already and caused him trouble with a job he loved. No, she wasn’t going to tell him about this. He was already worried about her being out here on her own, if he knew her father had left her a sadistic little memento of her childhood he’d physically haul her ass out of the house and have her stay with Louisa.
Pulling the drapes to close out the night, she grabbed the soft chenille throw from the couch and curled up on the deep creamy coloured pile rug in front of the fireplace, wrapping it tightly around her body to shut out the chill which penetrated deep into her bones. The fire burst into flame at her presence and crackled merrily as she stared into the flames, unable to find the peace of mind required for sleep and there she stayed, contemplating the fiery threads of gold, yellow, orange and red until the first pale rays of dawn began to creep through the crack in the drapes.
By the time the sun had fully risen she was already showered and dressed. She knew Jake was on the early shift so she wouldn’t have to run into him but she needed to see Theo
. They’d spent the last several days together at Jake’s when she hadn’t been working, trying to help him assimilate three hundred years of a changing world. To her surprise and pleasure he was doing extremely well; was able to precisely recall dates and events as he ploughed his way through book after book. Given the level of knowledge he was able to retain after only a few days Olivia had a sneaking suspicion that he had an eidetic memory and not only that he was highly intelligent. He seemed to understand complex ideas that were well beyond his time and education level; in fact she was sure that if she were to have him tested they would discover he had a genius level IQ. Everything about him was intriguing, he was quiet and unassuming but she could tell by the look in his eyes, he missed nothing. Even when she wasn’t sure he was listening he was taking it all in.
Swallowing down the last mouthful of coffee she glanced down at her watch. She realised it was still a little early but Theo was an early riser, his body clock was naturally set to rise with the dawn so it was a good bet that he’d already be up. Rinsing out her cup and placing it in the sink she gathered up the new pile of books she’d put together for him and picked up her purse. Heading out of the door she double checked the locks behind her and jogged down the steps from the porch to where she’d parked her car.
She drove a few yards down the road from her property before stopping and stepping out of the car, leaving the door open and the engine running. Swiftly she knelt down at the side of the road holding her hand out over the ground. A silvery light appeared and seemed to rise up from the ground and disappear into a fine mist. Olivia stood, chewing her lower lip thoughtfully, her protection wards still held strong so how the hell had her father managed to cross the line to leave the doll? It just didn’t make sense.
Frustrated she climbed back into the car and headed into town. A few miles down the road she noticed her telltale shadow following behind her and fought down a fresh rush of annoyance. Stupid cops, didn’t they have anything better to do? There was nothing like having her hard earned taxpayers’ dollars following her every time she left her property. Parking at the curb outside Jake’s she picked up the books and headed towards the door, pulling out the spare set of keys he’d given her. She smiled to herself, that would give them something to talk about, unfortunately it would probably also make things more difficult for Jake at work.
Mercy (The Guardians Series 1) Page 18
