by Raven Snow
Lady snorted. “You don’t sweat?”
“Nope,” Otsuya confirmed brightly.
“Sure.” Lady didn’t believe her on principle. If she didn’t sweat she would be even worse off in all this heat. Then again, she was walking at a perfectly brisk pace and Lady didn’t see a bead of sweat on her. Maybe she was telling the truth.
***
“Do you mind waiting out here with Lion?” Lady asked once they arrived at the library. She shrugged the tote bag from her shoulder and held it out to Otsuya.
Otsuya’s mouth immediately twisted into a frown. “I will not! Lion and I are both going in.”
“I’m not sure animals are allowed in the library… Or, you know, you.” Lady remembered the last time she had gone into the library with Otsuya. Crispin had immediately shooed her out. She stole books, so…
“I’m going in.” Otsuya announced and began to stroll purposely toward the door.
“Hold on!” Lady hurried after her. “Here, hold him.” She held out her bag with Lion in it.
“I told you. He and I are going in.”
“I heard you.” Lady knew it probably wasn’t going to go over well, but it wasn’t like she could stop Otsuya. That and she didn’t like the idea of leaving Lion outside on his own. “We’re going in together. Just hold him and trust me.”
“Why?” Otsuya asked slowly. She took Lion anyway.
Lady came up behind Otsuya and wrapped her arms around her waist. “There. Your arms are full, and I have you contained. You can’t steal books like this.”
“I don’t steal books. I check them out. I always return them.”
“When they’re due?”
“Due dates are silly. I’ll return them all when I’m finished with them.”
“That’s basically stealing.” Lady kneed Otsuya in the thigh. “Now get going. I bet it’s cool in there.”
***
It was indeed cooler inside of the library. Unfortunately, Lady felt too awkward holding Otsuya to really enjoy it. The door had banged shut, and they had both made it a few steps before Crispin poked his head out of an aisle of books “Hi there. Can I help—” He stopped when he saw Otsuya. “Get out! You know you’re not allowed in here. What are you—”
“It’s okay!” Lady interrupted him, going up on her toes so that Crispin could see her a little more clearly. “I’ve got her! She won’t steal anything on my watch.”
Otsuya just shook her head. “This is all so embarrassing. Ridiculous. Just ridiculous.”
Crispin scanned the situation as if confused. He smiled and couldn’t seem to help but let out a laugh. “Come down to the front desk. I’ll be ready to leave in just a minute.” He headed for the stairs. Lady knew from her last visit that the front desk was on the left side of them. The whole library was in an old church. It was a gorgeous place, but she couldn’t imagine how hard it was to keep up.
“You can let me go,” Otsuya grumbled as they shuffled along.
“Let’s get to the front desk and then we’ll talk about it.”
Otsuya noisily groaned but didn’t argue. It took them a couple of minutes to get to the desk. Crispin wasn’t there when they arrived. Instead Dom was sitting there. He had several stacks of books lined up before him. He was looking at the spine of each and typing something into the computer. He paused and glanced up when he noticed Lady and Otsuya. “Well, hey there.”
“Hey,” said Lady. Otsuya grumbled something that might have been a hello.
“I didn’t know the two of you were a thing. That’s… cute.”
“We’re not,” Lady said quickly. “No offense, Otsuya.”
“Some taken.”
“I’m trying to keep her from stealing.”
Dom shook a rolling chair beside him. “Come around and sit here. I’ll keep an eye on you.” He probably meant that literally. Dom’s particular talent seemed to be using his third eye. Lady didn’t really understand what all that entailed, but she knew Dom saw a lot.
“Whatever,” sighed Otsuya.
“Hand me Lion.” Lady wasn’t sure she trusted Otsuya to sit by a stack of books with a tote bag.
“Fine.” Otsuya gave the tote bag to Lady. She then walked around the desk and sat next to Dom. “This sucks.”
For the most part, Dom ignored her. “So, you brought Lion along, huh?”
Lady looked down at her tote bag. “Yeah. He wanted to come. Don’t worry, though. He won’t cause any trouble.” That was something of a stretch. He tended to cause trouble when it suited him, but she left that part out.
“I believe it. He never seems to go too far from you if he can help it. You can take him out if you want.”
“You wanna come out, boy?” Lady held the tote back open and close to the desk. It wasn’t long before her orange tabby walked out onto the desk top. It occurred to her that maybe she shouldn’t have done that. “Oh! I can get him down from there. I probably shouldn’t let him scratch up the wood by walking on it.”
Dom shook his head. “I don’t think he’ll hurt it much. Besides, the desk is about a million years old, and I’m the one who does repairs around here. So, Crispin can’t complain too much.”
Lion walked to Dom and Otsuya’s side of the desk. He must have assumed he would get the most petting if he went over there. He was right.
“So, I hear you went to my grandmother’s funeral.” It wasn’t posed as a question. It was just about the most awkward thing Dom could have asked then and there.
“I did, yeah.” Lady answered, even though a question hadn’t been asked of her. She felt like she needed to say something. “It was… um…”
“Horrible, I hope.” Dom went back to scanning books. He was a big, broad-shouldered man. He didn’t look as well suited to scanning books as Crispin did.
Lady remembered that Dom hated his grandmother. At least she didn’t have to sugar coat anything. “Whatever you’re thinking of, I can almost guarantee you it was worse than that.”
Dom smirked. “Yeah. Crispin filled me in on everything that happened. Sounds like a good time.”
“Do you think she was murdered?” Otsuya asked bluntly.
Dom shrugged. “I dunno. On the one hand she was always a drama queen. On the other hand, plenty of people hated her. It was kinda weird. She was a shut-in for most of her life, and then she up and wants everyone at her funeral. I mean, sure she was a drama queen but she was never a social one.”
“I don’t think I ever met her,” Otsuya chimed in.
“You might not have.”
“Why didn’t you come to the funeral?” Lady regretted asking as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She followed them up quickly with another question. “I mean, Destiny said it was because you hated her but you might have inherited a lot of money.” Lady winced, realizing that follow-up probably hadn’t made things any better. “I’m sorry.”
Dom shrugged again. “It’s fine. She’s right. I hated her and didn’t want her money.”
“You could have given it to Crispin,” Lady pointed out carefully. It was a rude thing to say, and Dom already made her nervous. She couldn’t keep herself from asking anyway.
That time, Dom stopped what he was doing. He put down the book in his hand to give Lady a long, hard look. “Yeah,” he said bluntly. “I could have.”
Crispin chose that moment to step out from a door behind the main desk. Otsuya and Lady both jumped a little. “All right! I think I’m all set.” His smile slowly faded as he scanned the people around him. “What’s, ah… Did something happen?”
“Naw.” Dom put on a smile as he turned to face Crispin fully. “We’re all good here. You have fun on your wild goose chase.”
“All right,” Crispin said slowly, looking from one person to the next before his eyes landed back on Dom. “You’ve got your cell, right? Remember you can call me for anything, like if this place gets too busy.”
Dom raised one dark eyebrow. “How long have you been working here? Have you ever
seen things busy?”
Crispin frowned. “You know what I mean,” he grumbled.
Dom chuckled and shook his head. “I really don’t.”
“If you need to take a break or if you need to go somewhere else, just give me a call. Otherwise I’ll be back-”
“I don’t have anywhere else to be today. You don’t have a curfew. Just go on. You’re allowed a day off every now and then, you know? I wouldn’t spend mine like you’re about to but, hey, that’s your choice.”
Crispin rolled his eyes but clapped Dom on the shoulder in thanks. The two of them couldn’t have been more different. Soft, bespectacled Crispin and hard, bearded Dom. Hipster Viking. That was how Lady always thought of Dom. His musculature looked silly with his flannel and tight black jeans. His curly hair with its undercut was at odds with everything. He pulled it all off, but Lady couldn’t explain how.
“You guys ready?” asked Crispin walking around the desk. He paused when he spotted Lion. “Who’s that?”
“Lion,” Otsuya answered immediately. “He’s Lady’s super cool cat.”
Crispin looked from Otsuya to Lady and then back to Lion. “Is he, uh, coming with us?”
“I think so.” Lady laid her tote bag on its side. “Do you still want to come with us, Lion?” In response, Lion hurried into the bag. “Yeah, I think he’s coming with us.”
“Is that a good idea?” Crispin asked carefully.
“He’s a good cat.” Otsuya spoke with a frown while she aimed a glare at Crispin.
“He’s usually pretty chill. I might have to let him out to use the bathroom or buy him some water or something.” Lady was already hoisting the bag over her shoulder. “If he’s a problem I’ll take him home and won’t bring him next time.”
Crispin was quick to shake his head. “No, if you say it’s all right, I’m sure it’s all right.”
“He’s her familiar,” said Dom. He had said that once before, though Lady still hadn’t figured out what he meant by it. She knew what familiars were in theory; she just wasn’t sure how Lion qualified as one.
It must have made more sense to Crispin than it did to her. He paused and gave a thoughtful, “Hmm,” before turning back around to face the door he had come from. He patted the bag that hung from his own shoulder. “No need to buy him anything. I’ll grab a couple more bottles of water from out back.”
***
Lady gave Lion some water before they left. She always carried a couple small bowls in her tote bag just in case. She poured a little water in and Lion promptly scrambled to get in her tote bag before finishing a third of it. Lady poured the remainder outside.
At least the rest of the trip wouldn’t be so unpleasant. Crispin had a car they could ride in.
“The air has been acting up,” he warned them before rolling down the windows a crack. AC or no, the wind still felt heavenly coming in like it was. It was a million times better and faster than walking under the scorching sun.
They had decided to head to the police department first. Detective Conners would probably fill them in on what was going on. Given that he was Ms. Comfrey’s son. She was another one of the witches in Dark Lake. he seemed predisposed to trust people involved in witchcraft-practicing families. Lady figured working for Ms. Poole made her, at least, witchcraft adjacent.
Otsuya got the front seat. That relegated Lady to the back with Lion. She would rather have been sitting next to Crispin, but there wasn’t a whole lot she could do about it. She sat in the back holding Lion and leaning into the breeze. She had nearly managed to fall asleep when the car stopped.
“We’re here,” Crispin announced as he put the car into park. He reached for the door handle but stopped. “Uh-oh.”
Lady and Otsuya both froze as they reached for their own door handles. “What?” asked Lady.
“I just realized that Shannon might be working the front desk.”
Lady snorted. “Really?” She tried to remind herself that judging people for the stupid things they said was probably the prime reason why she’d always been so bad at finding friends, much less someone to go out with. “This is where she works. I mean, I’m not sure she’ll be here what with her mother’s funeral being yesterday. I figured that was part of why we were here—on the off chance that she might be in today.”
Crispin shook his head. “I was just coming to talk to Detective Conners. I didn’t even think about Shannon. I don’t know why. My head was just somewhere else, I guess.”
Otsuya nodded sagely. “That happens to me sometimes. My head goes somewhere else.” The way Otsuya said that made it sound like she meant her head literally went somewhere else. Crispin turned to look at her with a concerned frown.
“Come on.” The longer they sat there in the car, the hotter it was getting. Someone had to give them all a kick in the pants. Lady popped her car door open and stepped outside. “You stay quiet,” she said softly to Lion. “I’m not sure cats are allowed in the police department.” Lion meowed softly from inside the bag, and Lady took that as an agreement.
Otsuya got out of the car as well, followed by Crispin who went reluctantly. Lady led the way through the front door. Her eyes went immediately to the reception desk. Sure enough, there was Shannon sitting behind it without the usual smile on her face. She didn’t even seem to hear the door opening. Maybe her head was somewhere else.
“Hey, Shannon,” Lady said as she approached the desk.
Shannon jumped at first. She pressed a hand over her chest before sinking back down into her seat. “You startled me! Goodness. I’m sorry. I’m not being the model employee today.”
Lady shook her head. “Don’t apologize. Who could expect you to be at peak performance given everything that happened yesterday? I’m surprised you’re even here.”
“I was told I could take the day off, but I want to keep busy. I can’t stand the idea of just sitting around at home, waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Lady wasn’t sure she understood what Shannon was getting at. “The other shoe?”
Shannon waggled a hand like it was too much for her to explain. “Oh, you know. All that will nonsense. I don’t know what mother was thinking, honestly I don’t.”
Lady could feel Otsuya and Crispin at her back. She pressed for a little more information anyway. “Do you think she was murdered?”
Shannon made a scoffing sound and rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I can’t imagine. Can you imagine?”
“I didn’t really know her.”
“That’s just it! Hardly anyone did in the end. What reason would anyone have to murder her?”
“So why worry? Your mother dying is terrible and everything, but if you don’t think she was murdered, you don’t have anything to worry about in regard to the money, right?”
“I certainly wish it was that easy.” Shannon sighed wearily. “It’s just thrown a wrench into things, hasn’t it? This will all be dragged out, and our fool of a lawyer will probably make a mess of things… I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to go on and on. There must be some reason why you’re here.”
“We’re here to see Detective Conners, actually.”
That got Shannon to raise an eyebrow. Perhaps she suddenly suspected them of trying to solve the potential murder of her own mother. She would be right of course.
From within Lady’s tote bag there came a soft meow. Shannon’s eyes darted from Lady to the bag. “What… Is there a cat in there?”
Lady could feel her face heating up. “His name is Lion. Sorry, I wasn’t really thinking. Animals probably aren’t allowed in here, huh?”
“Oh, we have a couple of police dogs. They’re allowed in here all the time even though I’m allergic.” Shannon held out her hands and flexed her fingers, willing Lady to hand her Lion.
“You wanna come out and meet Shannon?” Lady lowered her tote bag to her desk. Lion was quick to climb out and go straight to Shannon. He purred loudly and nuzzled her hand as she petted him.
Shannon cooed. “O
h, isn’t he just the cutest?”
“He is,” Otsuya agreed.
“You’re precious,” Shannon told Lion. “You’re already the best part of my day.” She looked up at Lady. “I’ll keep this sweet boy, if that’s all right. You three can go on back and have a word with Conners.”
“I really appreciate it,” Lady said, intending the words more for Lion than for Shannon. He was a very helpful cat on occasion.
Lady pushed deeper into the police station, Crispin and Otsuya at her heels. “Either of you ever been arrested?” Lady asked playfully, glancing over her shoulder at the other two.
“No,” Crispin said reflexively.
“Maybe,” said Otsuya.
“Maybe?” Lady repeated.
“She’s definitely been in jail,” Crispin confirmed for the both of them.
“I don’t think it was over anything big,” said Otsuya. Crispin neither confirmed nor denied her assumption.
They didn’t pass many officers on their way back to Conners’ office. There was a guy making coffee in a paper cup and another tapping away at his keyboard. Neither looked up as they passed by. They must have heard Shannon chatting with them up front and decided it was fine letting them on back.
Lady stopped outside of Conners’ door and gave it a knock. “I’m not leaving you on the clock so you can go get your mug from home. Leave one here like everyone else does.”
“It’s me… Lady. I’m not here about mugs.”
There was a considerable pause on the other side of the door. Lady heard Conners give a huge sigh before finally responding. “Come on in.”
Lady pushed open the door and held it ajar until Otsuya and Crispin had entered. She came inside alongside them both and carefully closed the door behind her.
“Hmm.” Conners was seated behind his desk. His eyebrows raised as he looked from face to face. “You brought friends this time.”
“Yeah. Sorry. You know them, right?” Lady felt certain Conners knew Crispin and Otsuya better than she did.
“Of course I do.” Conners motioned to the two chairs in front of the table. “Crispin and I were in some of the same classes as kids. And Otsuya… Well, it’s hard not to know Otsuya. Sit down.”
