Chapter 71 #10
Beth ate because she was hungry and because she didn’t want the Arcana to think that their being there had killed her appetite.
The truth was, watching them examine her living space, she had the impression that on their own, they would have stripped the place of every single thing they could identify as hers—and they could have done it within an hour.
Had they done that when they’d helped Rachel Nightingale disappear?
The pizza had been devoured and most of the boxes had been carted down to the borrowed van well before Beth needed to return to work. As Jack picked up the last box, Beth said, “Jack?”
He turned toward her and waited.
“Is there a way to look for people who have gone missing in Wyrd?”
He gave her a long look. “Not for outsiders, but there are ways—if searching for them would be a step in fulfilling your own destiny. You couldn’t go alone.
But if that’s what you want to do, I’ll talk to Lucas.
He’ll decide. If he agrees, pack three or four changes of clothes, along with nightwear and toiletries.
These kinds of searches are rarely quick and easy. ”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Jack left. Beth locked up her apartment and returned to work—and needed the help of uniformed officers to get through the anti-Arcana protesters who had assembled in front of the precinct.
Bonnie Wilson listened to Beth’s cell phone ring. Oh, she’d stirred up trouble good and proper for that little bitch. There were reporters—important people—panting to hear what she had to say about Beth Fahey. She was going to be on TV tomorrow morning, and what she said would depend on…
Beth’s voicemail message kicked in. Well, that was fine. She didn’t really want to talk to the girl. “I want thirty thousand dollars now, or the story I’ll tell about you will crush you.”
She ended the call, satisfied that Beth would find the money. The girl just needed the right amount of incentive.
Bonnie’s cell phone chirped its little tune. The caller was unknown, but that didn’t matter. So many people wanted to talk to her now. “Hello?”
“Bonnie Wilson.” The male voice sounded cold and full of a violence that turned Bonnie’s bowels to water. “You betrayed your side of the bargain you made with us. Payment is now due.”
The call ended.
Bonnie dropped her phone and hurried to the bathroom. After dumping her soiled underpants in the waste basket and washing up a bit, she opened a bottle of whiskey from the minibar to steady her nerves.
They knew where she lived. They knew she was here. Maybe it had been foolish to go on TV, but she’d never thought they knew what she looked like or that they would track her to this town.
She’d had a losing streak at the casino.
Her credit cards were maxed out. The overdraft on her checking account was at its limit too.
She’d expected Beth to buckle in order to keep her precious status with the police, but the girl had refused to buckle.
Which meant Bonnie couldn’t pay for this hotel room, couldn’t buy a ticket on anything that would get her out of this town.
Couldn’t do anything. And she sure as hell couldn’t pay those bastards—whoever they were—anything either.
After all, you couldn’t get blood out of a stone.
Except…Maybe they could.
Beth thanked Ian Kuhn when he dropped her off at her apartment on his way home.
The protest in front of the 13th precinct had swelled during the day, led by the fathers of the boys Al Palmer had shot and killed.
She didn’t think Palmer was lying when he said he’d shot four dogs that were savaging one of his bitches, but blaming the Arcana wasn’t going to help anyone.
Then there was the boy who had been found dead in a cemetery in Lovecraft. And the boy who was still missing. And the five people who made the choice to go to unsupervised parts of Wyrd and disappeared.
All those people made choices, but someone was going to be sacrificed for their poor judgment—and she knew who that someone would be.
Beth did a quick search of her apartment, checking closets and the shower stall in case someone had gotten in. She even checked under the bed. She checked the locks on her windows and double-checked the locks on her door.
Finally convinced that she was as safe as she could be, she yelped when a call came in on her cell phone.
“Jack says you want to search for the people who came ashore and then disappeared,” Lucas Frost said.
“Yes. I gave Detective Castelletti my resignation letter today and said I would work out my two weeks’ notice, but I’m not sure the precinct is going to want me there.”
“I saw the news about the protesters.”
“The protesters are going to hassle the people who want to take the ferry over to Destiny Park.”
“That’s their choice.”
Something about the way Lucas said the words made Beth shiver.
“If the police have no use for you in Penwych, then pack what you’ll need and cross the river tomorrow to begin your search.”
“I’ll do that. If I’m not on the ferry tomorrow, I’ll let you know.”
“Be on the ferry tomorrow, Beth. Wyrd is not the only place that is a convergence of the uncanny, and things are in motion.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow.” She ended the call, pulled her suitcase out from under the bed, and packed everything she could fit into it because she wasn’t sure she would be coming back.
“Do you have her?” The voice on the phone was old and cold and filled with the kind of power and violence that could make the earth itself shiver.
It was a voice Lucas knew well.
“She’ll be crossing the river tomorrow,” Lucas replied. “She’ll be searching some of the neighborhoods for some missing people.”
“She’ll be safe?”
“She’ll be with Jack. She’ll be as safe as she can be while she meets her fate.
” Each place that was a convergence of the uncanny had a Sorcerer King.
The one calling him tonight was probably the most powerful among them.
“Is Beth Fahey connected to your branch of the Arcana?” To our branch of the Arcana?
“No. But she came from a branch of someone who was once dear to me.”
He’d suspected that much. The Greenwood and de Winter branches of the Arcana were like summer and winter—one balanced the other. But he had wondered if the interest in Beth Fahey was more…personal. Thankfully not.
“You are willing to let these humans meet their fate in whatever way they choose, regardless of the inconvenience to the Arcana.”
Most of the time, that was true, Lucas thought. But not always.
“I am willing to snap the thread that measures out their years when humans betray a bargain made with us,” the voice continued.
“That is your choice.”
“Yes, it is. And no stain of that choice will fall on you.”
“Do you want regular reports about her?”
“Will I need them?”
“No.”
“Then I will leave her in your hands.”
Lucas ended the call and sat back in his chair. He watched Justine and her sisters enter his office and stand on the other side of his desk.
“Is Beth coming soon?” Justine asked.
“Tomorrow.”
“Good,” Lysandra said.
“Why is that good?” Lucas asked. He felt unsettled by the phone call, so his voice was sharp.
Lysandra looked at Justine, who said, “She’ll be needed here.”
50
At first light, Beth called the number Ashley had given her and discovered it was the number for Richens Car Service, not a taxi. The person who answered the phone sounded a little sleepy but also seemed to be expecting her call.
Was this how it was when a person worked for the Arcana?
The car that pulled up in front of her apartment building was a shiny black sedan. The driver wore a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. He greeted her, stored her suitcase in the trunk, and opened the back door for her.
“My instructions are to drop you off at the thirteenth precinct, then wait for you,” the driver said. “Is that correct?”
“Yes. I won’t be there long. Then I need to catch the first ferry over to Destiny Park.”
“Very good. There are bottles of water if you’d like one, as well as some nibbles.”
“The water is enough,” Beth replied, taking one of the small plastic bottles.
Richens. Thinking about the woman who ran the little library in Wyrd’s Teeth, she wanted to ask if there was a family connection, but remembering why people lived in Wyrd’s Teeth, she appreciated the need to be very careful. “I didn’t ask about payment.”
He met her eyes in the rearview mirror for a moment.
Assessing. “They have an account with us. We were told to add your name. Anytime you need a ride in Penwych or need to go to any of the other towns around the Fate River, you can call us. We try to have one car available for flexible assignments—the rides that aren’t prebooked. ”
“How did you come to work for them? If that’s not too personal a question.”
Another assessing look. “They saved one of my aunts. My father’s sister. That was twenty, twenty-five years ago. A bargain was struck to get her out of a bad situation and keep her safe.”
Beth thought about Betsy Richens, who had a noticeable limp and needed a cane. Who had some nerve damage to her face that could have come from a severe beating.
“Do you ever get to see her or have any contact? Or is she in witness protection?”
He was wary now. “There are ways we can get together once in a while.”
Better not to admit to anything about the ones who needed to disappear—especially if there was still the possibility that someone wanted to do harm. “I’m not trying to pry. I met someone recently who lives in a closed community. I liked her. I’m glad to know she can stay in touch with friends.”
He pulled into the parking lot behind the 13th precinct. “Do you need your suitcase?”
“No.”
He got out of the car and opened the door for her. “I’ll park and wait for you here.”
“Thank you. I shouldn’t be long.”
Tom Castelletti was in before her, looking like he hadn’t had much sleep.