by Raven Snow
“You brought me all the way out here to tell me that?”
“I brought you all the way out here for several reasons. One of those reasons was for a conversation that you, apparently, don’t want to have.” She shook her head and began to stand.
“Wait.” Jasper reached out and grabbed Margo by the arm. He opened his mouth to say something as she was jerking it away but was silenced when his phone rang. “Please just wait,” he begged her before answering it.
Margo waited. She crossed her arms and leaned back on one heel. She glared at the modern art statue as if to say that it was only because of Rowen that she was waiting. They hadn’t learned anything valuable, and she wanted to get out of there.
“I don’t know,” Jasper said into the phone. “I haven’t talked to her in a while. Why?” He was silent for a while after that, the silence punctuated only by the occasional, “Oh,” or “I see.”
There was a nervous quality to Jasper’s voice that got even Margo’s attention. “Is everything alright?” she asked.
Jasper shook his head. “I don’t know. Probably not, but… Apparently, my sister is missing.”
“Missing?” Margo repeated. “How do they know she’s missing?”
“She was supposed to be home by now.”
“And she never stops anywhere before she goes home? She’s never late?”
“She didn’t call them, and they can’t get in touch with her. Her phone just goes to voicemail.” Jasper hit a few buttons on his phone, likely trying to call Amber himself. It didn’t look like he got an answer.
“Where was the last place she was supposed to be?”
“She volunteers at a homeless shelter around this time,” said Jasper. “But that’s the weird part. When they couldn’t get in touch with my sister, my parents called the shelter. They said that she didn’t show up tonight. They said she didn’t even call ahead and tell them she wouldn’t be coming in. That’s not like her.”
“Are you sure?” asked Margo, probably overstepping her bounds with that particular question. “Do you all keep close tabs on her schedule?”
“It’s not like her, all right?” Jasper snapped. “I know my own sister. I certainly know her better than you do, at any rate. If I say this is weird for her, it’s weird!”
Margo held her hands up in defeat. “Okay, okay. You’re right. I’m sorry.” She fell silent, watching Jasper press some buttons on his phone in silence for a while. “Does she have any friends? Is there anywhere she likes to go?”
“She doesn’t have a lot of friends outside of family.” Jasper said that in such a way that implied she had no friends. Rowen wasn’t surprised. The way the Stonewalls influenced Tarricville to like and not fear them; it would be difficult to keep something like that going with someone you saw regularly. Individuals who got very close would undoubtedly have an easier time seeing through the cracks in the facade. Amber probably just had some acquaintances from her volunteer work.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” asked Margo. That was unusual for her. She wasn’t typically the one to offer to help. Mostly, she was just roped into it. Rowen couldn’t tell if she was offering to do so to help Jasper or Rowen’s own investigation into the Stonewall family.
Jasper seemed distracted. “No,” he said finally. “But thanks. I should… I should go. I’ll talk to you another time. I’m sorry.” He stood to leave, surprising Rowen. She scrambled back from the bush, trying to get behind the modern art again. At his full height, he’d be able to easily see over the shrubbery.
Rowen was too late. He must have seen the movement. “What in the world?” Jasper took a few steps toward the edge of the sidewalk as Rowen got to her knees in defeat. “Who- Rowen?!”
Rowen didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t counted on this. Her gut had told her that Jasper would say something incriminating. Margo must have told her the same or else she never would have come out here. How could they both be wrong? Rowen stood, trying to work out a response. Everything she might have said stayed on the tip of her tongue.
“Rowen?!” Margo echoed. “What are you doing here?” She stormed past Jasper. “Are you spying on me now?!” She gave her a shove hard enough to knock Rowen back down into the grass.
Rowen stared up at both of them. Her face felt hot. For a second there, she was sure Margo was mad at her, too. Then she got a good look at Margo. She could see her working up the tears necessary to put on a show. She must have seen her do it hundreds of times when they were kids. “I’m sorry,” Rowen blurted. “Rose mentioned you were meeting with Jasper and I— I didn’t think it was safe.”
The tears started streaming down Margo’s cheeks. She turned to Jasper once they were. “I didn’t know she was going to do this. I’m so sorry. I know how this must look.”
Jasper’s initial shock waned a bit. He put a comforting arm around Margo. “It’s alright.” He glared at Rowen. “I don’t know why you’re so suspicious of my family, but this has to stop. I don’t want to get the police involved, but I will.” He nudged Margo along the path. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
At least he hadn’t put her through the second degree. Rowen wasn’t sure what else she could have said. ‘Sorry, I was out late jogging and just happened upon you guys.’ No, better he thought the truth. That she was spying on him. He still trusted Margo, and he might even share what happened with the rest of his family. Knowing that they were under suspicion could well cause them to screw up. Maybe that would provide more answers. Either way, Rowen had to wait a few minutes before making her walk of shame back to the parking lot.
Chapter Thirteen
“I need a favor,” Rowen said to Eric as he came downstairs. She had made pancakes for breakfast and was standing there in that silky red robe he liked. He had been asleep when she had come home the night before.
“Oh?” Eric raised his eyebrows and sidled up to the kitchen bar in just his boxer briefs. “What kind of favor?” he asked, unable to hide the beginnings of a smile.
“I need you to do me a favor and not say I told you so or anything like that.” Rowen didn’t feel like last night had warranted an ‘I told you so.’ She had found out an interesting tidbit. Amber was missing! It didn’t get much more suspicious than that.
“I make no such promise.” Eric got himself a plate of pancakes, leaning down to scratch Chester between the ears as he went. The old dog had gotten up with Rowen. Now he was just lying there on the kitchen tiles being lazy. “What do you need to tell me?”
Rowen groaned. “Why do you have to be so difficult? Fine. Last night I found out that Amber was missing.”
“Okay.” Eric motioned for her to continue. Apparently, this news didn’t particularly bother him either way. “At what point am I supposed to avoid ‘telling you so’?”
“Jasper caught me spying on him and Margo.” She held up a hand before he could say anything. “That doesn’t actually hurt my investigation. If anything, it helps.”
“How in the world could that help?” Eric asked, his fork frozen halfway between plate and mouth. “You know he could call the police on you if you keep this up, right? This could really get out of hand.”
“I’m not going to do any more of that,” Rowen promised. “Though, I do think it’s good that we have them on their toes. The next part of my plan involves you.”
“I’m not sure that you can call it a plan if you just make it up as you go.”
“It’s a plan,” Rowen insisted. “And it’s one you’re perfect for. Amber is missing, right?”
Eric watched her for several long seconds before he realized. “They’re not going to ask me to look for her.”
“That’s why you’re going to go to them!”
“They’re not going to go for it. Especially not after last night.”
“But you’re a private investigator and you’re family!” It was just too perfect. “Talk to your great grandparents first. They can soften up the parents.” Rowen felt certain that w
ould work. “Come on. This isn’t just because I need to investigate a murder. An innocent girl is missing, right?”
Eric frowned across the bar at his wife. He picked up his entire plate and left the kitchen for the living room. Apparently, he just wasn’t going to have this conversation with her.
“Don’t be like that.” Rowen followed him into the living room. Chester followed at her heels once he noticed that both his humans were leaving. “Do you really trust the Tarricville police to this? You don’t even know the Tarricville police.”
“I don’t even know Amber. Not really.” Eric sat down on the sofa. He grabbed the remote from the coffee table.
“But she’s family. You can’t just abandon family at a time like this.”
Eric turned on the television. He stabbed the volume button with his finger, turning it up to tune Rowen out. “Oh, come on!” Rowen shouted at him. “Are you really going to ignore me on this? I’m not even asking for anything crazy.”
Eric sighed and pressed the mute. “It’s always something crazy,” he said. He didn’t need a response from her. “What do you get out of it?”
“More clues.” Rowen shrugged. “And I get to know that Amber is safe. That’s enough reason to want you to find her, right?”
“Do you even want her safe if she killed your grandmother?”
Now that gave Rowen pause. Did she? She had thought about this for a while now. She wasn’t sure what she would do when she caught the one responsible for Grammy’s murder. The cause of death had been magic. What did you do then? “I want her safe until I can ask her why. After that… I don’t know.”
Eric sighed. He nodded. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll give them a call around noon. You know, there’s a decent chance that she’s already made her way home by now. Grown adults do spend the night away from their parent’s house every once in a while.”
***
As it turned out, Amber had not made her way back home. Eric got Ferris on the phone. His great grandfather was very open to the idea of Eric searching. It made him feel better to have family on the case, he said. He offered to pay, but Eric refused. “I can’t make family pay, can I?”
Ferris didn’t have many ideas on where Eric should start looking. The Stonewall family had collectively used all magical methods available to them. Those hadn’t produced any results, which was worrying.
“I think he was just trying to be polite,” Eric said once he had hung up the phone. “I don’t think he actually expects me to find her.”
“How does he think she’s going to be found?” asked Rowen.
“Maybe he thinks she’ll just show up on their magical radar or something.” Eric shrugged. “I don’t know how these things work. I know what I would do in any other case, though. I’d start with the places where she volunteered. I’d ask around about her. I don’t buy that she spends all her free time with her family. Someone that outgoing has to have at least one close friend. Maybe even a boyfriend.” Eric held up a pad of paper. “I’ve got a list of all the places she volunteers. I hate to even involve you in this given your, uh, ulterior motives… but if you want to help me by taking half this list and checking-”
“I have a better idea.” Rowen didn’t like interrupting him, but she didn’t want them wasting precious time when they didn’t know what was going on with Amber.
“What’s that?” Eric almost sounded like he didn’t want to hear.
“We go to see my aunts and get them to help look for her using magic.”
Eric rolled his eyes. “They already tried that.”
“Yeah, but my family is better at magic.” Rowen shrugged. “It’s just a fact.”
“Is it a fact or an extremely biased opinion?”
“It’s a fact. It’s definitely a fact.”
“And aren’t they still mad at you?”
“I’m sure they’re over it by now.” She wasn’t actually sure of that. They might be a little annoyed that she was bringing Eric over to expressly help look for a Stonewall. She was banking on them still being mad at Margo, though. Of course, they would be even angrier at Rowen once the truth about Grammy came out. She still hadn’t told them about the murder. If she was lucky, Margo wouldn’t spring that on them until she was finished with her investigation. Rowen couldn’t even imagine how much her aunts would get in the way of that.
Eric relented. He said this was Rowen’s idea after all. He wouldn’t be looking into Amber’s disappearance if not for her. He let her drive him to Odds & Ends. That would be where her aunts were at this hour. The big neon pink palm that promised “TAROT READINGS” inside meant that Rowen’s mother was even there.
The staff in the little New Age store greatly outnumbered its customers. It usually did. There were only a couple of teens milling about in the incense section when Rowen and Eric entered. The little bell above the door rang and Uncle Norman looked up from the front desk. Aunt Lydia poked her head up from behind a shelf where she was likely stocking something or other.
“Well, isn’t this a nice surprise,” Uncle Norman announced before Aunt Lydia could say anything negative. “What brings the two of you here?” They had no doubt walked in on him slacking on the job. He stood up from his stool when greeting them, putting a little more effort into a “hello” than he would normally. The last time he had seen them, they had been in hot water with the family. Granted, after that she had royally screwed over Margo in order to make herself look better. At least he didn’t seem to be holding a grudge for that.
“We came because we need your help on a case,” said Rowen, glancing in Aunt Lydia’s direction as she did so.
Aunt Lydia was still watching them over the top of a shelf. There was a frown on her face but restlessness behind her eyes. She wanted to hear about this case they needed her help on. She might not appreciate them keeping secrets from her, but she liked the excitement of local drama more than just about anything. “Who does the case involve?” she asked.
“The Stonewalls.” Rowen knew Aunt Lydia couldn’t resist that, and she was right. Lydia stepped out from behind the shelf. She dropped the box of candles she was stocking on the front counter.
“Let’s go into the back. It’s not appropriate to talk about things like that out here.” Lydia glanced back at the completely disinterested teenagers still browsing. She turned her gaze to her brother. “Will you keep an eye on things out here?”
Uncle Norman shrugged and sat back down on his stool. “Sure.” Norman was decidedly more chill than Lydia. He must have figured he would hear about all of this at length later on. He could wait.
“Stock the rest of those while I’m away.” Aunt Lydia pointed to the box of candles as she pushed back the curtain to head deeper into the store.
“Sure,” said Norman, pulling a paperback from beneath the counter. It didn’t really sound like he had any intention of actually working outside of manning the cash register.
In the back, there was a small, dark room before the stock area. It was a room that was kept dark at all times, lit by only candles or a dimmer switch on the wall. There was a round table in the center where Tiffany told fortunes. At least that was where she divined the future when she was around. When she wasn’t there, the room wasn’t really used for a whole lot. Divination was sort of her thing and no one else’s.
Tiffany was there today. Rowen almost wished she wasn’t. She was sitting in Clarence’s lap and the two of them were so busy kissing, they didn’t realize they had company until Lydia cleared her throat. Tiffany jumped, nearly falling out of Clarence’s lap in the process. She scrambled into a standing position when she realized she had company. “Oh! Sorry. Didn’t hear you come in there.”
“No kidding,” said Rowen, glancing at Clarence and that clueless expression of his. There didn’t seem to be a shred of modesty in that guy.
“Hey, Rowen. Hey, Eric,” said Clarence, leaning the chair he was in back on two legs. “Long time, no see.”
It hadn’t been all that lo
ng since they had all been together. “What are you doing here?” asked Tiffany. “Not that we’re not all glad for the visit I just…” She shot her sister a dirty look. “Knock next time, will you?”
“Save the make-out sessions for home next time, will you?” Lydia shot back under her breath. She motioned for Eric and Rowen to come in the rest of the way. “Now, let’s hear what you came here for.”
Rowen looked around. Aunt Nadine must not be working today. They didn’t always work at the same time. “Amber Stonewall is missing, and Eric was hired on to help find her.”
“Well, hired is a strong word,” said Eric. “I agreed to help find her.”
“Because she’s family,” Lydia muttered.
“Stop that,” snapped Rowen, giving her aunt what she hoped was a very mean look. She didn’t want her mad at Eric for something he had no control over.
