Chapter 27
With a smile on his face, aimed at the woman behind the desk, Ollie handed over the clipboard with the form he just signed, his ID on top.
She stared down at it blankly, grunting, “One moment,” before rolling her chair over to her computer and typing away.
He looked around the small back hall of Westerly Heights Police Station as he waited.
He’d say it was pretty empty for a Monday, but he wasn’t sure it was ever super busy, aside from the times he’d been briefly arrested for alleged involvement in helping appraise goods of possibly questionable origins, so they could be sold to characters with less than stellar reputations.
While Ollie hadn’t been to this specific area of the station before—having mainly ended up in the interrogation rooms—he had to say it looked about the same as the rest of it.
Which meant beige walls that turned green in a harsh, straight line a little less than three-quarters of the way down, along with green-tiled floors.
Not that he hadn’t requested police files before. He just usually ended up at the larger stations nearby.
The area he was in, however, was a bit closed in, just a hallway that ended in a built-in brown counter, with a likely locked door to the right leading into it, and a glass shield on the top with about a four-inch gap between the counter and the glass to slip things through.
Written in gold, in the same bold font the police liked to use, on the side of the counter were the words ‘Department Records’, while the walls on either side held framed photos of officers, police-related awards, and more.
As he stood there waiting, his eyes trailing from one photo to the next, he suddenly found his gaze narrowing on one of the photographs on the wall, though he was unsure why the man in the center looked so familiar.
There was just something about the angles of his face, and his piercing dark-brown eyes.
Ollie had no memory of ever meeting the man, but he swore he knew him, or rather, he had seen him before, more than just in passing.
As it had to be more than just that for him to be recognizable in his mind…
So focused on the photo, at the first brush of something against his shoulder, he reacted without thought. A frightened yelp slipping out as his heart instantly started racing, Ollie banged back hard into the counter as he spun and cowered.
Staring wide-eyed up at the large and in-shape middle-aged man, it took his panicked brain a second to recognize him.
Slowly lowering his hand the moment he did, Ollie cleared his throat. “Uh…hello—ha—Detective Jamison, fancy seeing you here?”
Yeah, he really needed to ramp up his training on not getting snuck up on. Part of his problem may just be that he tended to get too focused on things, or rather, he zoned out, meaning he saw and heard nothing except whatever he was currently transfixed on. Which hadn’t been a problem before now.
Sure, he used to jump, no big deal. But unfortunately, after what happened with Mikael, his reactions were a bit too noticeable.
Like, he really couldn’t keep almost having a breakdown anytime someone came up behind him.
Though, to be fair, he seemed to have managed to ignore, or move past, almost burning someone to death, along with the whole Arcana…
possession thing. Was it a possession? Whatever, it was fine!
As long as he didn’t think for too long or hard about it.
Ah…perfectly fineee. It helped that Noble’s presence seemed to drive most of it away. The man made him feel safe.
Gordon stared silently for a moment, his eyes clearly filled with concern, before they narrowed suspiciously, as he bluntly asked, “What the fuck happened to you, Kid?”
“Ah…nothing?” he lied.
The man crossed his arms. “And the reason you never called the Fire Department, or…even filed any sort of insurance claim on the fire in that library of yours, is what? Just a coincidence?”
Yeah, with all he had done recently, not to mention the two dead bodies now on his record, it was probably not a good thing that someone in the local Police Department was keeping a close eye on him. One more thing to be worried about…yay…
Ollie faked a smile and did his best to lie his ass off, just as he had done with Elias multiple times already. “No point raising my rates for a little accidental fire now, is there, Detective?”
“A small fire, yet you closed for a week? Not buying it, Ollie. You may take questionable side jobs, but you have always been by the book when it comes to that library of yours.”
If it was a normal situation, he would have gone by the books, as the detective said, but unfortunately, it wasn’t.
For one, there was a body involved, and two…
well, the fire damage didn’t make sense.
Ollie wasn’t sure he could logically explain what was left behind without raising major red flags, and leading to a deeper investigation by the fire marshal.
It wasn’t worth the risk, not when it was safer and easier for Ollie to just pay out of pocket.
“Yes, well, a little fire in one room that's full of wall-to-wall books can generate a ton of cleanup.” Technically, not a lie. A little fire could do exactly that, even if the damage wasn’t severe.
He looked back towards the desk when the woman there cleared her throat. “Here’s your file, and ID.” She slid about a half an inch thick manila folder, with his ID on top, through the slot in the window.
“Thank you,” he beamed as he snagged his ID and quickly slipped it back into his wallet. Pocketing it, Ollie grabbed the file before looking to Gordon, and scurrying away as he blurted, “Well, my boyfriend is waiting for me, so see you around, Detective!”
“You keep out of trouble, Ollie!” Detective Jamison warned as he left.
Ollie hurried out of the station, heading straight to where Noble was parked in the lot. The man glanced over as he got in the passenger’s side.
Ollie waved the folder at him. “Got the file, but…new fear, the Police Department may be keeping an eye on me.”
Noble’s brow rose at that. “Why would they be?”
“May be due in part to my past involvement in appraising objects for mob-like individuals, but most likely it’s because this particular detective has known me since I was a kid, and an unreported fire, along with the lack of an insurance claim, would raise some red flags.”
The man tsked. “If I were to guess, I doubt they are actually physically following you. The person no doubt heard about the fire, and because they know you, they kept an eye out for a report, wanting to snoop. When they didn't find one, they probably looked a bit deeper paperwork-wise.”
“Possibly?” Ollie pursed his lips, before he had a more important thought, and smiled sheepishly as he asked, “So, before heading back to the library, could we maybe stop by one of my favorite antique stores? Like, I know it will mean I’ll miss the next storytime, but Winnie can handle it.
And it’s not like I didn’t warn her I may not be back in time.
I mean, there's nothing wrong with a little side trip, right?! And I got a message from the owner that they got a really cool shipment in yesterday, full of things I’d like.
Sunday is usually new shipment day, and I get to see things before they go out on the shop floor if I stop by.
Either way, if you think about it, with everything that’s happened, don’t I possibly deserve a little bit of retail therapy? ”
Noble chuckled. “Sure, where to?”
“Yay!” Ollie giggled happily. “Head to Seventh State Street, the place is called Old Bits and Bobs.”
Noble couldn’t keep the smile off his face as Ollie practically bounced with each step he took inside the antique store, talking away to the tall woman with long braided gray hair, wearing a jean jacket and a long flowery dress with low heels, who he assumed was the owner, as they followed her into the back.
The room consisted of dark-blue walls, beige floors, and dark wooden shelving. There were rows and rows of antiques, some behind glass cases, and just a lot of interesting-looking items hanging above and placed all around—from the floor to the walls.
“I can’t say I don’t agree. The internet may have made certain things far easier to track down, but when it comes to—oh!” Ollie suddenly gasped as he glanced back at him. “Janine, this is my boyfriend, Noble Vincent. Noble, this is Janine Bachelder, the owner of Old Bits and Bobs.”
He briefly shook Janine’s hand when she held it out. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” she hummed, before pushing open a back door and waving them in, while saying, “Now, Ollie, when I saw it amongst the lot, I just knew it had your name all over it.”
Ollie went in first, and he followed behind.
The back room was a large, open space that was similar in coloring to the front, but much more organized, and just…
less. The door they had just come through was situated to the right side of the room, but there was a set of double doors at the opposite end, on the wall taken up by counters, a sink, and cabinetry.
The other three walls were lined with shelves, all holding boxes.
In the center, with still a good amount of walking space around it, was a large, long rectangular table, and while there were a few boxes on it, most of the space was taken up by short, square white bins filled with items carefully laid out inside, with very little touching or overlapping.
Noble wasn’t sure what item Janine was talking about, but whatever it was must have been spotted by Ollie, as the man let out an excited squeal only a few steps into the room, rushing towards the left side of the large table.
After a long moment of staring down into the bin, his eyes practically glowing, Ollie finally said something. “A 1905 Bernhard Strobel garden gnome. Oh, it’s glorious!” As if hesitant to touch it, his hands hovered near the rather large, old garden gnome.
Its coloring slightly burnished, the gnome was pushing a wheelbarrow, had a pipe in his mouth, and a red cap on his head. He was also wearing a beige shirt, brown pants, and boots.
After a moment, Ollie pulled his hands back and asked, “Do we know if the paint has been sealed? If the authentication certificate isn’t wrong—and based on what I can see, it’s not—the paint is a worry. My eyes are saying clear sealant based on the condition, but—”
“Always good to be sure,” Janine finished for him. “Yes, there is some sort of encapsulant sealant on it. I’ve already tested a few spots, and they came back negative for lead. But, you know me, I’ll nine times out of ten always suggest freshening it up to be safe.”
“Always a good bet, and a safe one.” Ollie nodded. “I’ll take it!”
“Not even going to ask the price, my dear?” she giggled.
“By my guess, a little over two grand. But you know me, my budget is endless, so…?”
Noble choked on his own saliva at the price.
A couple grand, for a garden gnome!? Why did he have a feeling he didn’t want to know how much Ollie spent on things in a year?
He also had a feeling that despite how long he lived, his wealth was probably nothing compared to the witch’s.
Though, Noble was only guessing on that.
It could just be that he’d spent far too many of his early years broke that still, to this day, it made him hesitant to spend that much on a single item, unless he really had to. Even if he could easily afford it.
“Then pack it up, I will,” Janine chuckled. As she was already wearing gloves, she picked up the gnome. “You two feel free to look around while I get this wrapped, hmm?”
As she disappeared with the gnome through the double doors on the opposite wall from the one they entered, Ollie turned to him with a bright smile.
“It’s always fun getting to look at things before they are set out or privately auctioned off!
To note, avoid trying to go through any boxes, as those things are either currently unsorted, or things she has deemed possibly too dangerous to sell. ”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” he said slowly, with a hesitant laugh.
The man started to hum happily and walk around the table, his eyes glued to the bins.
Noble followed, as he wasn’t sure what else to do, but he barely managed to stop himself from running into the witch when he came to a sudden stop, as he excitedly pointed, and blurted, “Look! Look, stamps!”
Noble eyed the set of four stamps showing four different bears in their natural habitat. “They’re…cute?”
He really needed to try to develop at least half as much excitement as Ollie normally showed towards stamps. Because it was a hobby the man had given to him, and he should at least try, right?
“Aren’t they?!” Ollie giggled, his smile widening on his freckled face. “Let’s get them!”
He grinned back, unable to do anything else in the face of the man’s joy. “Sure?”
Noble wasn’t sure how much money he was about to spend, but…oh well…