Chapter 71 #19
“Sir.” She wasn’t certain if he wanted her to use his name in front of the boy. “This is Colin Forrester. He was waiting for the bus that would bring him to Destiny Park, so Jack and I offered him a ride. I was going to get him a hotel room for the night.”
“In the private wing,” Lucas said.
His voice was deeper, more resonate. More primal. More powerful. A sound remembered by the old forests of the world.
“He can have the room next to yours,” Lucas added. “You will choose something to eat; the food will be brought to your rooms.” He looked at the boy. “You are welcome here, Colin Forrester, as long as you abide by our rules.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you,” Colin replied.
Lucas focused on Beth. Having spent several hours in a vehicle with Yaron Kali, Beth wanted to fumigate her clothes and take a long shower. It wasn’t comfortable having Lucas Frost give her such a thorough, assessing look. Nothing sexual, but definitely not casual.
“Call Tom Castelletti,” Lucas said.
“And Captain Forrester?” Beth asked.
Lucas nodded.
“Sir?” Colin waited until Lucas indicated he should continue. “Is it all right if I tell Detective Fahey about the neighborhood where I was staying?”
A beat of silence before Lucas said, “Once she completes her work for your father, Beth will be working for me, so you can tell her anything.” Another penetrating look at Beth.
“Tonight you need rest. We’ll talk in the morning.
But understand this, Beth. No matter what Castelletti says or wants, you will not cross the river without my consent—and I do not give my consent. ”
Lucas walked away.
“Here is your key, Mr. Forrester,” the woman said.
Since Colin still held the box of gifts for his folks, Beth took the key, then looked at the suitcase she’d carried into the hotel. Colin’s suitcase.
Ashley appeared at her side, carrying two menus from the restaurant. “I’ll give you a hand. Jack brought your purse and luggage up from the car and left them outside your room.”
Beth sighed, finally appreciating how exhausted she felt.
“That’s good because my room key is in my purse.
” Along with the nine mil on loan from Ethan.
She’d been so focused on getting Colin up to the hotel and into a room before the boy had to deal with the truth about the Arcana, she hadn’t given her own things a thought.
Besides, she didn’t think she could have carried her purse and weekender to the hotel along with Colin’s suitcase. Not tonight.
“This isn’t the usual room service menu,” Ashley said, leading them through the hotel corridors. “But tonight you can order anything you want from the hotel’s full menu.”
When Ashley pressed the spots in the wall mural that unlocked the door to the private wing, Colin whistled softly. “Is this like a secret place in another dimension or something?”
Ashley smiled. “Or something.” She opened the door to Colin’s room, dropped the menu on the bed, and walked out.
Beth looked at the weekender and purse that had been left to one side of her door, where anyone could have taken them or rifled through the contents. Except this was Wyrd and this was the private wing.
She found her key, opened the door, and used the weekender to keep it propped open.
“Problem?” Ashley asked.
“Just trying to flog my brain into making a mental list of what I need to do tonight,” Beth replied.
“There are laundry bags in the closet. Put your clothes in one and leave it outside your room. We’ll wash what can be washed and leave the rest to air overnight. The boy’s things too.”
Colin leaned against his open door. “Really? Awesome. Is there time to take a shower before eating?” Now he looked uneasy. “And there’s something else.”
Remembering that he wanted to talk to her, Beth said, “The shower comes first for me. Let me know what you want to eat. I’ll call down with the order after my shower.
I have some calls to make.” She looked at Ashley.
“Would that cause a problem for the kitchen?” She didn’t want to wait a couple of hours for the food, but if she had to, better to order now.
Ashley gave her a strange look. “Anything requested from the private wing receives top priority.”
Because the guests in the private wing were people the Arcana didn’t want other guests to see.
Ashley left. Beth left her door open until Colin gave her his order. Then she brought in her things, closed the door—and stripped off the clothes she’d been wearing. She filled the laundry bag with the dirty clothes and opened the door just wide enough to shove the bag into the hallway.
She showered once, sniffed herself, then showered again before she felt clean. Remembering that she had a teenage boy waiting for her to order their meal, she skipped drying her hair and dressed in leggings and a tunic. Casual but acceptable for a meal with friends.
She called the restaurant and placed the order, noting Colin’s restraint in not ordering half the menu. Then again, she wasn’t sure who was expected to pay for his room and food, so restraint was a good idea.
Having settled herself as best she could, Beth picked up her cell phone, saw all the missed messages and voicemails that had been left over the past couple of days, and called Tom Castelletti.
“Fahey?” Castelletti sounded frazzled. “Are you all right?”
“Tired. It’s been a long couple of days. Did you get Yaron Kali across the river okay?”
“He tried to jump overboard halfway across the river. What happened to him?”
“He was obsessed with seeing one more piece of Wyrd and wasn’t happy about being cornered into going home.”
A pause that felt heavy even over the phone. “Some things have happened while you were away. Detective Gibson wants you to come in tomorrow to answer some questions.”
“About what?”
“Four men broke into your apartment and trashed the place.”
She sighed. There went her deposit. “Anti-Arcana?”
“Yeah. The fathers of the boys Albert Palmer killed.”
“That’s better than what they might have done if I’d been home.” It made her sharply appreciate that Lucas’s offer of a job and a place to live would give her a safety she would no longer have across the river.
“Beth, there’s more.”
Castelletti calling her by her first name? That couldn’t be good. “Just say it.”
“Bonnie Wilson was killed in your apartment. Killed and mutilated. Whether it’s true or not, indications are that spine crackers working for one of the casinos where she owed a lot of money found where she was hiding and came after her.
Finding her body at your place is one of the things Detective Gibson wants to talk about.
You should come in first thing tomorrow. ”
“I can’t.”
“I can send the patrol boat.”
“Doesn’t matter. I was given orders not to cross the river.”
“Frost gave you orders? You’re a cop. You don’t take orders from him.”
“I’m a Penwych police officer for a few more days. After that, he’s my boss. I’ll be staying here.”
Silence. “Are you sure about this?”
“I’m sure. Look. I need to call Captain Forrester and then get something to eat. I’ll call you in the morning after I check in with Lucas.”
“The captain already knows about the break-in and murder.”
“I’m not calling him about that. Colin Forrester is with me.”
Castelletti whistled. “You found him?”
“More like he was already on his way to Destiny Park, and we just gave him a lift.”
“You taking orders from Frost isn’t going to go down easy with the brass.”
“I’ve made my choice. Good night.”
Beth ended the call and answered a knock on the door. Not the food.
“Can we talk?” Colin asked.
“You’re just in time.” Beth stood aside to let him into the room. “I’m about to call your dad.”
“Maybe wait?”
“No.” Thinking about what was going on in Penwych, even if the boy had no idea what had been happening, she could guess what he wanted to say.
“Look, your family is on vacation. If your dad doesn’t have to cut it short, they’ll be gone for another week.
I know you’re smart and responsible, but you can’t go home and stay on your own.
Things are a bit…fraught…right now. I’ll talk to Lucas in the morning and see if he’ll agree to letting you stay for a few days. ”
Colin looked relieved—and eager. “Maybe I can do some chores to help pay for room and board? I helped out at the trading post, so I know how to do some retail now. Or maybe help to maintain the park. There must be a gazillion people working to keep the place tidy.”
“Well, we’re set for the night, so let’s call your dad before I have to recharge my phone.” Beth called Captain Forrester’s cell phone. It barely rang before he answered.
“Beth? Are you all right?”
“Why is that the first thing everyone has said to me?” It wasn’t really a question because, looking at it from the point of view of everyone who had waited for her to make contact, it would have been the first thing she would have wanted to know too.
“Castelletti told me what’s going on,” Forrester said.
“He just told me too. I’ve been out of touch for a couple of days, so you probably know more than I do. But that’s not the reason I called.”
An indrawn breath. A father bracing for news that would change his life. “Colin?”
“He’s here with me at the hotel. We got in an hour ago. He’d like to talk to you.” Beth handed Colin the phone. She would have left the room to give him some privacy, but the boy latched on to her arm.
“Dad?” A pause. “Yeah, I’m fine. The friend I was staying with said there were signs that I needed to come back to Destiny Park, so that’s what I did.
Well, I started to when Detective Fahey showed up in that town and offered me a ride.
We’re waiting for room service.” Another pause.
“You don’t have to come back just for me.
Detective—” Colin glanced at her. “Beth thinks I’ll be able to hang out here for a few days, like a halfway house between where I was and home. ”