Chapter 71 #2
She needed some help, and she needed advice—and she needed to keep this as quiet as possible in her own precinct, at least until she received that advice.
Struggling to remain calm, to be a cop and not a wife, Sheina called Captain Grace Russell at King’s Hill.
35
After confirming that she was scheduled for two consecutive days off, Beth called the hotel at Destiny Park and booked a room for an overnight stay.
The hotel had a website of sorts—a single page that provided basic information—a phone number, room rates, and a mention that the hotel had a restaurant, a spa, and a fitness center.
In the months she’d been working in Penwych, she hadn’t found any other credible information about the Isle of Wyrd.
Apparently, the only people who had phone numbers for any of the Arcana worked on Captain Forrester’s team, which was the most likely reason why police in the other towns—and other precincts in Penwych—called Forrester when they had to deal with something that looked connected to the strange or uncanny.
Feeling like a trap was slowly closing around her—a trap that would consume her life because it was only a matter of time before Bonnie lashed out in an attempt to extract more money—Beth dithered over what to take with her to Wyrd. It was just an overnight, for pity’s sake, but…
She finally decided she would look like any other woman who couldn’t leave home without packing a dozen extra outfits that she wouldn’t need.
Pulling out a small wheeled suitcase and a large soft-sided bag that was meant as an overnighter, she packed several sets of underwear, clean pajamas, a fresh pair of jeans, T-shirts, a couple of sweaters, and her toiletries, along with two of her favorite comfort-read paperbacks.
The wheeled suitcase also held a tailored pantsuit and her favorite dress in case the hotel restaurant was a dress-up kind of place.
She added semi-opaque tights, pumps, and a shawl in case the restaurant was chilly.
Her e-reader and chargers went into the cushioned pocket designed for protecting electronic devices.
Underneath the clothes, she carefully packed the sketchbook that held drawings of the Arcana and, hopefully, held some kind of answer to her own past.
Checking and double-checking that she had everything she might need, Beth squeezed in two more paperbacks—new ones she’d been saving for a rainy day.
With nothing else to do, she set her alarm and tried to sleep.
The next morning, Beth tried to reason with herself.
The hotel check-in time wasn’t until early afternoon.
But other guests must arrive early to walk around the park and get their cards read or whatever else they did.
Surely the hotel had a secure room to store luggage just like hotels did on this side of the river.
If she couldn’t get an appointment to see the Ladies Three until tomorrow, what would she do with herself all day?
Explore. Breathe. Simply be without feeling…other.
Would that be true?
Wasn’t it true?
In the end, she waited in line for the first ferry—the one that mostly held people employed by the hotel or park, and the people who worked at the food stands.
She scanned the men and women who chatted with one another about sports or the latest miniseries on TV—casual friends who might not connect otherwise but made this trip across the river almost every day.
Spotting a patrol car, Beth looked away, hoping she wouldn’t be recognized. She held her breath, waiting to hear the bloop of the siren or someone shouting her name—or worse, one of the officers getting out of the car and coming over to ask what she was doing.
Then one of the ferry’s crew removed the sawhorses at the end of the pier, and people began making their way to the money exchange shack and the person who set the price for a ferry ride.
Beth sighed with relief and moved with the rest of the people to exchange her money and pay her fare.
She didn’t look back to find out which cop had spotted her and would, no doubt, report her to Captain Forrester.
36
Lucas opened the door of Rachel’s cage, put his hand in with his fingers extended as a perch, and said, “Enough, Rahele. I know you miss Faulkner, but he would be the first to tell you that you’re wasting the opportunity to experience being in a different body if you just sit in the cage day after day.
Kia Dance offered to stay with you this morning so that you can spend time outside.
She’ll be here in a minute. You have months before your own transformation back to human.
You had the courage to make this choice. Now have the courage to live it.”
She didn’t step up on his fingers to come out of the cage.
Had it been a mistake to give her a few days to feel sad about the loss of her friend?
When the Arcana were looking after more than one human who had made a transformation, most of the time the forms weren’t harmonious enough to get along and were kept in separate areas of the park.
He’d like to think that Rahele’s curiosity about her new form would have engaged on its own, but she’d had Faulkner to lean on rather than having to try anything by herself.
*Frost.*
Lucas withdrew his hand from the cage, alert to potential danger. *Ferryman?*
*The police female is on the ferry. With luggage. Not police business. I thought you should know.*
*I’ll meet her at the dock.*
He wasn’t surprised that Beth Fahey would come to Wyrd to spend some personal time, but…luggage?
He nodded to Kia Dance as she walked through the door that led to the Arcana’s private part of the park, then headed for the public section of the pavilion.
He glanced into the room where the Ladies Three dealt with the visitors who came for more than entertainment—and froze for a moment when he saw the look on his wife’s face.
He strode across the room, stopping when he reached Justine’s table. “What is it?”
Lysandra turned her sketch pad so that he could see her drawing.
An older woman at the top of the page, her face twisted with ugly emotions as she threw lightning bolts at a tower that had split with the force of her fury.
Falling from the tower was Beth Fahey, her expression fearful yet defiant.
Lysandra had lightly sketched the proof of Beth’s heritage rising from the young woman’s head.
“A life torn asunder,” Lysandra said.
Zerah held up a card that showed Death riding a dark horse. “Endings and beginnings.”
“If Beth Fahey asks, we will tell her what we can,” Justine said. “We will show her the truth.” She paused, then added, “And we should offer her sanctuary, even before she asks, so that she knows the possibility exists.”
“All right,” Lucas replied. “We’ll know soon enough what she seeks. She’s on the ferry.”
He walked out of the pavilion and reached the dock just as the ferry arrived.
Many of the people who worked at the hotel and the food stands were three-season workers.
From spring through fall, the Arcana provided assistance or information to the humans across the river.
Winter was the fallow season when his people tended to their own business.
Oh, the hotel was still open with a reduced staff, and a couple of the food stands, whose owners lived on the island, opened for a few hours each day and carried a limited menu.
But the people who came for a reading—or came to use the internet—were residents of Wyrd, not visitors from across the river.
Summer was a busy time of year, both for legitimate visitors and for fools who thought they were knowledgeable enough to ignore the rules that gave humans a little protection when dealing with the uncanny.
As for Beth Fahey, he would find out soon enough what brought her to Wyrd on the day that Justine and her sisters foresaw the woman’s life being torn apart.
37
Beth saw Lucas Frost at the end of the dock.
Well, what had she expected? She was usually here in her capacity as a detective, so she shouldn’t be surprised that the person in charge of Destiny Park would want to know what she was doing on the island—especially since she hadn’t called ahead to let him know she was coming.
He eyed her suitcase and her soft-sided bag.
“The hotel’s website didn’t say anything about a dress code for eating in the restaurant, so I came prepared,” she said by way of greeting.
“I see.” He looked amused. “I’ll mention that to the hotel’s management. It might keep the ferry from sinking under the weight of visitors’ luggage.”
“Ha ha.”
He reached for the wheeled suitcase. Her hand clenched around the handle, a physical reaction to needing to protect what was inside. What if the suitcase rolled off the dock and into the water? What if…?
“You brought something precious with you?” Frost asked.
Beth nodded. With an effort, she released her grip on the suitcase’s handle.
Frost lowered that handle and lifted the suitcase by the other grip. “I won’t be careless with it.”
“I’m staying at the hotel,” she said as she followed him from the beach to the path that led to the hotel.
“Really?” His voice was dryer than dust.
“I guess you figured that out.”
“The second piece of luggage was a clue.”
She stifled a laugh.
“Would they let me store my stuff somewhere until the room is ready?” she asked when Frost opened the hotel door for her.
“If necessary,” he replied.
It wasn’t necessary. A room was available, and the woman on the desk was quick to point out that Beth would only be charged for the one night. Taking her key, Beth followed Frost to the second-floor rooms.
He set her suitcase beside her door and stepped back, watchful.
Beth hesitated, then turned to look at him. “I need to make an appointment to see the Ladies Three.”
Frost nodded. “Come down to the pavilion when you’re ready. They’re expecting you.”
Chilled by the words, Beth nodded.
“Go in,” Frost said quietly.