She sighed. “I was there to...” Her voice trailed off. She averted her gaze. “You might not like this, okay? But keep in mind—at least I’m not a murderer.”
“Just tell me already,” I begged.
“I was there to rile him up a bit,” she said. “Sarin smuggled me in for two reasons: the first was to hassle Carlisle for giving the Lazy S Inn a bad record. I got right down to business on that one. I trailed you guys up to his room, and then waited a while for him to get settled in. Then I snuck in, and spotted him in the bathtub. I figured it be a perfect time to catch him off guard.”
“You like to do that, don’t you?” I asked, recalling the way she’d snuck up on me in the woods.
“It’s a tactic Sarin teaches,” Kitty said with a wave of her hand. “Basic stuff. I entered the master bath. He was in the tub, with his eyes closed. I figured I could give him a good start, which would be a nice way to begin a round of hassling.”
“What do you mean, hassling?”
“Oh, you know... psychological warfare. It’s another thing Sarin teaches. I was going to critique him, in just the way that he critiqued our inn. Usually, Sarin asks us to use psych warfare to convince people to stay at our inn, but on occasion we also use the same tactics to get even. It’s no big deal.”
“So you were going to... critique him,” I said slowly, trying to grasp what she was saying.
She nodded. “I had a whole list prepared. I was going to start with his figure, move on to his thinning hair, and then hit him where it really hurts—his career.” She smiled, as if fondly thinking about all the things she was going to throw at Carlisle.
“That’s it?” I ask. “You were in his bathroom to insult him—all because Sarin was upset about her bad record?”
Again, Kitty nodded. “That’s it,” she said. “I was about to really startle him, when I heard someone enter the room. I have excellent hearing—above average, I’m sure. I didn’t want to be spotted, so I hurried over to that little toilet closet. I slipped in, and closed the door behind me.”
“And?” I asked, eager to hear more.
“And I heard a big splash, a few minutes later. A quick scream of pain. Then silence. I didn’t move. I was afraid to. Then I heard a man say, ‘time to pay up.’ A few seconds later, I heard the door to the suite close. I waited for a few minutes, but it was so quiet—I suspected Carlisle was dead. So I got out of there as fast as I could. I didn’t want anyone to associate me with Carlisle’s death.”
“Wait—a man spoke?” I said. “Are you sure about that?”
“Absolutely positive,” she said. “Like I said, I have excellent hearing.”
“And he said, ‘time to pay up’,” I repeated.
“That’s it,” she said. “That’s all he said.”
“Kitty, you should have told me all of this earlier,” I told her.
“I didn’t want you to do something silly, like jump to conclusions and arrest me,” she said. “I can’t stand the thought of being here on Earth for longer than necessary. It’s just awful here.”
“You mentioned that already,” I said. “How long do you have to be here, anyway?”
“Just until the end of the weekend,” she said. “I’m hoping to go home tonight. But I’d really like to complete the second part of my mission before I go, since I failed the first part through no fault of my own.”
“What’s the second part of your mission?” I asked.
“You,” she responded. She looked around the greenhouse. “Nice greenhouse you have here,” she said. “I hope you know that you have to water these plants.”
“Me,” I said. “You mean you’re here to recruit me, don’t you?”
She moseyed past me, trailing her finger along the end of the table in the middle of the room. “These plants are dry, Marley,” she said. “They’re barely alive. You have to maintain a watering schedule.”
“I’ll add it to my list of things to do around here,” I said, following after her.
“If you don’t take care of them, they'll die,” she said. “Just like everything around here on Earth. Everything is falling apart. It’s up to you to keep it all glued together, so to speak. Isn’t that exhausting?”
I didn’t answer.
“You want to know where it’s not like that?” she asked.
I knew what she was going to say. “Let me guess,” I said. “The Lazy S Inn?”
“Exactly,” she said. “That’s one of the many reasons I like it there so much. There’s nothing to be done. Nothing to take care of. Nothing to maintain. You can simply sit back and relax.”
I had to admit, it sounded nice. I felt myself becoming tempted by her, and I didn’t like it.
“I have to go,'' I said. “I have a murderer to catch.”
“It’s always something, isn’t it?” she asked slyly.
I hurried past her, toward the greenhouse door. It was too hot in there, and a bit creepy to be surrounded by so many dying plants. Plus, Kitty’s words were getting under my skin, and I didn’t like it. I felt like if I was trapped in that room with her any longer, she might just convince me that booking a stay at the Lazy S Inn was the way to go. And what would happen then?
Once I had a taste of the lifestyle that Sarin advocated, would I ever want to return to my life on Earth?
I burst out into the crisp, spring air, and took a big gulp of it in.
“Everything okay?” Skili asked as I continued to take in deep breaths of air.
I nodded. “I think so,” I said. The air refreshed me greatly, but I still felt disturbed by Kitty’s words. I just couldn’t process everything I was feeling just yet.
“You need some space,” Skili observed. “And I need to hunt.”
“Go,” I said with a wave. She has a sixth sense about when I need my space, and I know she was feeling my “leave-me-alone-so-I-can-think” vibes at that moment. She flew off, and I was left with my own thoughts as I crossed the lawn that led me back to the center’s front entrance.
Bits and pieces of the conversation I’d just had flitted through my head.
Psychological warfare. Tactics. Missions.
The gray threads in my pocket placed Kitty Ghupta in Carlisle’s room, and she even admitted to being in there with him when he died. Was there a chance she was lying to me?
My feet slowed.
She also admitted that she was trained in the art of psychological warfare. She was manipulative—I’d felt the effects of that, only minutes before. Maybe she was using her psychological warfare tactics on me. Maybe she was manipulating me into thinking that she was innocent, when, in fact, she really was the killer. Maybe she made up the bit about the male voice, just to throw me off of her scent.
I couldn't just take her word for what happened. “It’d be foolish to trust her,” I muttered to myself, as I stopped in my tracks.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw her exit the greenhouse. She headed away from the center, toward the woods. Why is she hurrying off into the woods? I wondered. She was moving quickly; her hood was up and her cape trailed out behind her.
I turned and followed her.
Chapter Sixteen
I started jogging toward the woods. Kitty had disappeared quickly amongst the thick, dark trees and I knew I had to move fast if I wanted to have a chance of catching her trail.
I don’t trust her, I thought as I ran.
I caught sight of the tail of Kitty’s cape as she rounded a bend on the footpath. The path was narrow and wound through the trees. I picked up my pace, careful to keep my footsteps light so that she wouldn’t hear me behind her.
The trail started to climb, and we reached a long straight section. I had to hang back, just in case she looked behind her over her shoulder for some reason. Once I saw that she’d turned the corner after the straight section, I started hiking up it.
When I reached the turn, I heard Kitty’s voice. I stopped, and hid behind a tree. I couldn't see her yet, but it sounded like she w
asn’t far off.
I carefully made my way toward the sound of her voice by darting between the thickest trees I could find. By the time I scurried over to the fourth or fifth tree, I caught sight of her.
Her back was to me, and she was talking to a transparent bundle of light that looked just like Sarin. There was a little square on the ground underneath the bundle of light, and all of the light looked like it was emanating from that square. It took me a moment to figure out that what I was seeing was likely a hologram of Sarin.
Kitty was talking to it. “...a few minutes of privacy before I go back,” she said. “I’m out in the woods.”
“Good,” Sarin said. “Tell me how it’s going.”
“I tried to get ahold of you yesterday,” Kitty said.
“I was tied up,” Sarin said.
“And I tried on Friday night, too,” Kitty said.
“Stop stalling,” Sarin said. “And please do as I asked and tell me how it’s going.”
“Not so good,” Kitty said. Her tone was meek and frightened sounding as she spoke to Sarin, instead of bright and cheerful like it usually was with me. “I couldn’t give Carlisle a hard time about his lousy review of the Lazy S,” she said.
“Why not?” Sarin demanded. She sounded quite upset.
“Because...” Kitty fiddled with the edge of her cape. “He was killed. Some guy came into his room and threw a hairdryer into the tub with him. I hadn’t even had a chance to critique him like you asked me to do.”
“Carlisle... murdered... now that’s interesting,” Sarin said, narrowing her eyes. She was so transparent that I could see the trees behind her, but other than that, the hologram was very clear. It was easy to pick up on her expressions. “Who did that?” she sounded genuine.
She didn’t know I was watching. Why would she ask Kitty that, unless she really didn’t know?
Maybe my theory about Sarin putting Kitty up to this was entirely wrong.
I continued to watch the scene unfolding before me.
“Like I said, just some guy,” Kitty reiterated. “I don’t know who.”
“Perhaps another one offended by Carlisle’s harshness,” Sarin said.
“Maybe,” Kitty said. “Who knows? I am sorry that I failed you.”
Sarin pursed her lips. If she accepted Kitty’s apology, she didn’t say so.
Kitty hung her head.
Sarin spoke. “At least tell me you’ve succeeded with the girl,” she said. “Marley Greene.”
This made Kitty lift her chin. “I think I have,” she said hopefully. “I used the seed-germinate tactic. It was easy to plant the seed with her.”
“Is she one of those ones that it takes a while for the thought-seed to settle in, or did she accept it into her mind readily?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Kitty said,
This clearly displeased Sarin, and Kitty fumbled to make up for her lack of certainty. “I mean, I studied her features like you trained us too. She’s interested in the Inn, that’s for sure.”
“Curiosity is an absolute requirement,” Sarin said with a nod. “And a very good sign.”
Kitty nodded. She was encouraged. Her voice sounded a bit more confident as she went on. “Yes, yes, she was very curious. I mean, I can see that the idea of being a passerby resonates with her. She wants to sit back and observe. She’s a dreamer—”
“As all are, who we recruit,” Sarin said with approval. “She should be here on Cloud 9.”
“I told her she would enjoy a stay, and I mentioned that the rates are lower if she books a long-term stay.”
“My preference is that she stays for the rest of her life,” Sarin said.
“Yes, yes, I know,” Kitty said hurriedly. “But she is very attached to things here. I didn’t want to frighten her off.”
“Well, you did get through my recruiter psych training program,” Sarin said. “I suppose you know what you’re doing.”
“I felt I had to tread carefully,” Kitty said. “If I told her that she was invited for life, she’d probably freak out and say something ridiculous about responsibility or purpose or her silly group of friends here on the Earth Realm.”
Sarin frowned. “Friends, hm? Hopefully they aren’t too special to her. Special relationships can really muck things up, as you know.”
“Oh, she has lots of special relationships,” Kitty said.
“Are they severe?” Sarin asked.
“Very severe,” Kitty said. “She’s attached to these other beings like glue. I followed her on Friday night, and you should have seen how lovey-dovey she was with her boyfriend. He’s some musician fellow with one of those silly man buns and a few tattoos. I guess he’s handsome, if you go for that type. I’m more interested in—”
“Kitty!” Sarin interjected. “What’s my first rule of behavior?”
Kitty lowered her chin. “Oh right...” she said. “Nothing personal when I’m on the job,” she mumbled.
“Or ever,” Sarin said. “There’s no need for personality here at the Lazy S Inn. Now, can I trust you to finish the job?”
“Yes, Sarin,” Kitty said glumly.
“Cheer up,” Sarin demanded. “I know it’s heavy there on earth, but you’ll be home in no time... with the girl, I hope—or at least, with a stay for her in the books. Hopefully, she remembers how to reach for me.”
“I’m sure she still has your card,” Kitty said. “I’ll approach her again later tonight. She was intent on kicking me out of here, so I’ll just let her escort me to the portal gate tomorrow.”
“See you then,” Sarin said. “And don’t mess this up. She should be an easy recruit. At least, her mother was, and so was her grandmother. Remember when the two would come stay together? And then Marley was just a child, her mother ended up booking a stay... She was with us for over nineteen years! One of the easiest recruits I’ve ever had. From what I can tell, the girl is just like her grandmother and her mother. She doesn’t belong here on Earth. She’ll be much better off with us.”
With that, the hologram snapped off.
Without the light of the hologram, the patch of woods was dark with shadow. I pulled my head back, so that I would be out of Kitty's line of sight if she turned to move back down the path toward the center.
I leaned back against the tree to brace myself. My knees felt weak. Though I was standing still, my heart was pounding as fast as if I was still hiking up the trail. My mother stayed at the Lazy S Inn?
And my Gran Catori did, too?
As I internalized the information I had just overheard, I began to feel nauseous, as though a ball of metal was sitting in my gut. My mother stayed at the Lazy S Inn for nineteen years? I thought.
When?
Why?
My mother left home when I was just a child. At first, I didn’t talk about it with my father. I saw him crying sometimes, when he thought I was asleep or out of the house. I remember how much it hurt me to see him cry like that. I knew he was hurt that she’d left town. I never wanted to bring up her absence, because I didn’t ever want to make him cry.
When I was in my late teens, I got brave enough to have a somewhat honest conversation with him about her.
It was right after I graduated high school. Dad had just sold our house. He was about to move to California. I’d decided to stay in Hillcrest.
“Dad, why did Mom leave? Was it something that happened between the two of you?” I’d asked him. It was evening, and he’d just loaded the last of a stack of boxes into his car, in preparation for his move.
My childhood home stood vacant behind us, like a distant third party listening in to our conversation.
“It wasn’t our relationship that caused her to leave,” he said. He motioned for me to follow him. “Come on. Let’s sit. This is something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about for a long time, but I didn’t know how to bring it up.”
I followed him up to the porch swing. When we sat, he placed a hand on my knee. “And it wasn’t you
, either, Sport.”
He always insisted on calling me Sport, though I hated the nickname. On that night, though, I didn’t protest. I just listened. He went on.
“She loved you, and I know she would have wanted you to know that. She loved you very much. It was this town...” He looked out to the street, veiled in twilight. “She didn’t belong here,” he said. “Your mother was very sensitive. Very different. This town was too restrictive for her. She longed for something else—something that family life here in Hillcrest just couldn’t provide for her.”
“What?” I asked.
“She tried to explain it to me once,” my father said. He shook his head a little bit. “I’m afraid I just didn’t understand.”
“What did she say?”
“She said this wasn’t her home,” my father said.
“But it is,” I said. The house we were sitting just in front of, on the porch, and the little box canyon town surrounding it, with its towering peaks and quirky neighbors, had always been my home. I didn’t understand how my mother could possibly feel like it wasn’t her home, too.
I remember the way my father shrugged. “I don’t know. Like I said, sometimes I didn’t understand the things your mother said. She was different.”
The memory faded, and I felt an uncomfortable knot forming in my gut. Sarin said that my mother stayed at her inn for nineteen years. Did that mean that my mom left me, when I was just six, to go for a stay at the Lazy S?
The thought made my cheeks burn with anger. I was just a child. How could she abandon my father and me like that?
Kitty walked past me, just a few feet from where I hid. She was oblivious to my presence.
I waited for her to get ahead of me, and then I started down the trail, too.
It was difficult to make progress. All I wanted to do was sit down and release the knot that had now traveled up to my throat. I wanted to let the big, hot tears that I was swallowing come rushing up.
I felt betrayed. Here I was, doing my best to fulfill my duty, and my mother had just walked out on her duties and responsibilities. Then again, what was the point? What was the point of my retreat center? Maybe I was kidding myself in thinking that it would actually make a difference in the world.
The Strongman's Spell Page 14
