A Witch's Path (29 page)

"Hard to say. Those could be from the woods, the scuffle with Adder, or the house exploding."

"Any other injuries?"

I shook my head. She stepped away to talk to the ever present Officer Becker. Elron's EMT joined Martha and Officer Becker, leaving us alone.
 

Elron scooted over until he was next to me. Grateful for the support, I leaned against him.
 

"You have some explaining to do." I spoke softly.
 

"As do you."
 

"Can we explain later? I think we are going to spend the rest of the night explaining."

"As the lady wishes."
 

Leaning against him, I tried to sort my thoughts and emotions, but I couldn't hold on to them. The events were clear enough, but it felt distant, like I'd been an observer rather than a participant. Maybe the emotions and events would reconnect later, but for now I let it go and drifted.
 

Eventually, Officer Becker came over. "It's time to go."
 

I didn't need to ask where. This was the part where we got questioned about every detail of the evening. Elron and I ended up in the back of the car with Becker and Gudger riding shotgun.
 

At the police station, techs pulled me into a room. My clothes were bagged, my nails were scraped, and my injuries catalogued. They were smart enough to listen to me and bag the book without removing it from the cloth. I almost felt sorry for the poor person who got stuck doing this to Elron.
 

After they were done, I was given some sweats to wear. I gratefully pulled on the pants and shirt, glad to be clothed and warming up.
 

Becker took me to another room, and I sat in an uncomfortable chair, with a microphone pointed at me and a camera recording every moment. Before long, Det. Wells came in, hair sticking up at odd angles, and clothes rumpled.

I should've been surprised to see him, but I wasn't. Or maybe my surprise was used up.

Wells took the seat across from me, dropping a pen, pad of paper, and a slim file on the table.
 

"Ms. Oaks, I wish I could say it was a pleasure."

I didn't say anything.
 

He continued talking, "You know what happens now. I ask question, you answer them, and maybe we can all go home and get some sleep."

"Do you really think that's going to happen?" I could be wrong, but I had a feeling I was headed for booking.
 

"I would like it to go that way."

"I will tell you everything if you get the book out of evidence and into my hands." He didn't have any reason to agree, but I needed that book. The more the events ran through my mind, the more I was convinced that it was the book referenced in my dream.
 

Wells leaned forward, catching my eyes. "If you tell me everything I'll see what I can do for you about that book."
 

He shifted back in his seat, and for a moment one hand had six tentacles instead of fingers. My eyes returned to his face, and he slowly blinked one eye, a move that the camera would see as an eye irritation. I knew better. This man was on my side.

With the glimpse of his fingers I felt hope. Deep down, I knew it was going to work out.
 

I started at the beginning, the very beginning. I detailed every pertinent event of this evening. His expression didn't change when I explained my first phone call with Liam, or the subsequent conversation with Tiffany. He didn't twitch when I informed him of the second phone call. He might as well have been a statue for all the emotion he showed when I went through the events. I finished my explanation with Officers Becker and Gudger arriving.
 

By the end of the story, I was proud of myself. The only thing I'd left out was the dream, but that wasn't his business anyway.

He took a moment to think, and then the questions started. We rehashed everything that happened at Adder's house. This time he took notes, often asking me to pause while he got something on paper.
 

Then he asked one more question, one I hadn't expected.
 

"Ms. Oaks, was this worth it?"

"I think so. Amber is home. Adder won't hurt anyone anymore, and I may have a clue as to who is causing so much trouble in this town." It was worth it, even if I spent years behind bars.
 

Wells studied me. I didn't bother trying to determine his thoughts. I was too tired to care about my own thoughts. After minutes of silence he spoke.
 

"I believe this is a rather obvious extension of your duties relating to the suicides, which have been reclassified as murders. Since your actions, and that of your companions, were in service to this town, we are considering your actions an extension of your contract. As far as the department is concerned all of you, with the exception of Amber, were acting as independent contractors, confidential informants, deputized civilians, whatever it takes to make this go away and further the investigation into the murders."

"Thank you." I was fairly sure I said the words out loud.

"Let's go get a drink. I could use some coffee."

Wells ushered me out of the interrogation room, down a hall, and around the corner. We walked into a small room with a coffee maker and hot pot.

"Make something for yourself. I'll be right back."
 

I rinsed the hot pot and started heating fresh water. While I was waiting for it to boil, I found a thick paper cup, and a box of green tea. My eyes rested on the hot pot and my mind emptied. I'd been up for twenty hours and I felt every one of them. After pouring the water over my tea, I leaned against the counter and waited for Wells. There would be plenty of time to sort this out later. Tomorrow after I'd gotten some sleep would be good.

Wells returned with an evidence bag dangling from his fingers.
 

"I believe this is yours. After you've gone through it, I want to know what's in it. I want to see what's in it." He set it on the counter, and poured a cup of coffee.
 

Our trust only went so far, and I didn't blame him for wanting to check the evidence with his own eyes.

"You can see it when I'm sure it isn't dangerous." That was the best he was going to get from me. I didn't trust anything from that woman, and until I was sure the book was safe, I didn't want anyone around it.
 

He nodded. "You look like you're about to keel over. Considering you haven't gotten any rest since you looked at the bodies, I'm not surprised. I'll make this simple and try to answer the question you would ask."

I nodded, grateful to be able to keep my mouth shut. All the talking in the interrogation room had made my throat sore.
 

Wells continued talking. "I'm glad you rescued Amber. I've known since yesterday that Adder had her, but I couldn't find a way to act on it without risking the lives of the rest of the pack. The police can't exactly go out planning to kill someone. I knew that if we didn't get him when we rescued Amber, he could do a lot of damage before we captured him. I owe you on that one."

He took a swig of coffee and kept talking. "As for the rest, that's a bonus. It worked out well that Liam killed Adder and is the new alpha. The information about the woman, who may be related to the murders is a nice surprise."

"Detective, how often do these things happen? How often do we police ourselves, and you help pick up the pieces?"

"More often than you think. A mostly human style of justice doesn't mean much if you can live thousands of years or use a car as a baseball bat. Over time, the different species and races in this country have been bullied into adapting by their elders, wise ones, councils, or whatever. Do some research. We adopted their system. The stories passed down in my family say that we infiltrated the system to preserve human peace and hide our own brands of justice.

"I'm not recommending going after vigilante justice. These days, things have calmed down, and the human system does a decent job."

I didn't even attempt to process the information, going straight to my next questions. "Can I go home? Can all of us go home?"

*******

I wasn't sure where Liam ended up, but Amber, Tiffany, Elron, and I found ourselves back at the lodge. Landa, who was preparing breakfast, took one look at us before handing us a basket of muffins and fruit and sending us off to bed. Elron retreated to his apartment, leaving us girls to our sedate reunion party. After showers, we sat down at the dining room table, eating muffins and drinking tea.
 

"Amber, would you mind telling me what happened?" As curious as I was, I didn't want to push her into talking if she wasn't ready.
 

Amber looked at the two of us, and the flood gates opened. "It was the strangest thing. He was almost gentle with me. Oh, I should start from the beginning."

"I was putting on my jacket at the front door when men burst in from the back. I ran out, Tiffany tried to help, but they pulled me into the van. That was the roughest he was with me. Once we were inside the van and I stopped struggling, he put these soft leather cuffs on me and belted me into a seat. The drive was terrifying. I couldn't figure out what he was going to do."

She paused to take a sip of tea. "He didn't blindfold me or anything, but it was dark enough outside that I couldn't tell where we were going. When we got to the house, he helped me out of the van, snarling at any man who got too close. He took me to the bathroom, and then put me in that horrible room. He chained me to the bed, and left me with water and a sandwich.

"I couldn't settle down. I must have examined that room ten times that night. The window was creepy, but the outside was covered so I couldn't see what was past that. Eventually, I got hungry and ate. I settled on the bed, and fell asleep. The rest of the time passed more or less the same. He would take me to the bathroom, return me to the bedroom, and leave me with food. A few times he tried to talk to me, but I didn't say anything. I was too scared to say what I was thinking.

"Sometimes when he was alone at the house, he'd open the curtains and look in on me from the other room. One time when I was napping, I saw a woman looking at me. Early yesterday, I think it was, I tried to escape. He caught me, put me back in the room, and had me swallow some pill. Next thing I knew, you guys were in the room."

My food lay abandoned on my plate. I didn't take her experiences lightly, but it was at odds with the behavior Adder had displayed in other aspects of his life.

"Could you describe the woman?" I asked softly.
 

"Sure. She was an elf, a scar on one cheek, blond hair."
 

It was the same woman. Tomorrow I would take a good long look at the book. She was showing up in far too many places for her presence to be coincidence.
 

"What about Adder? Did you ever figure out what he wanted from you?" Tiffany asked.
 

Amber squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. "He wanted me to want him. It was almost like he wanted me to be his girlfriend for something. I don't know. When I wouldn't talk to him, he would leave until it was time for a meal or bathroom break."

We didn't talk much as we finished our food. Afterwards, I pulled the blinds down in the living room and pulled the sofa out into a bed. They settled down to go to sleep.

I retreated to my room and checked my phone. Three missed calls and two text messages from my mom. I quickly replied, letting her know I was fine, I'd been busy with a case.
 

After slipping the book into my night stand, I tucked myself into bed. This afternoon was going to be busy.
 

*******

By the time I'd slept off most of the night's activities, it was noon. Amber smiled, Tiffany laughed, and the world was better. It had been all I could do to get them to leave. They were sure my apartment was the safest place in town. If they only knew…

There was a quick knock.

"Open," I yelled.

Elron walked in, closing the door behind him.
 

"How are you?" I asked. In spite of the beating he'd taken, his walk was fluid and his posture relaxed.
 

"I have been better. How do you feel?"

"Tired, sore, depleted."
 

He nodded, frowning slightly. "I-I do not know how to proceed. I would like to talk to you about last night."

I'd known we would need to talk, but that didn't stop my stomach from knotting. "Would you like tea? I have a fresh pot."

"Please."

 
Elron followed me into the kitchen, where I poured two mugs of tea. I handed one to him and walked over to the sofa. He followed, sitting down next to me. We sipped our tea, in a comfortable silence.

So far, I'd managed to avoid thinking about Elron and myself. It felt like things between us changed last night. Those changes could be beneficial, or damage the relationship I was starting to enjoy.

"Michelle?"

I jumped. "Sorry, I was lost in thought."

He nodded, took a deep breath, and continued, "I do not know how people outside of my community behave as friends or when court—dating. To me, friendship is more than caring and loving. It is helping. I see dating much the same way. It is friendship with desire, for one another and for the future. If you do not see these relationships the same way, I need to know. I want to help you. It hurts when you deny me that opportunity."
 

"I'm sorry. I…" My voice trailed off. I didn't know what to say. I'd never intended to hurt his feelings. The humans I associated with often offered help, but I'd learned long ago it wasn't a sincere offer. Logically, I knew many races still considered such offers to be binding, but I hadn't processed it that way. I should've known better; elves honored their word.
 

I tried again. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hurt you. I've gotten used to doing things on my own and didn't want to take advantage of an innocent offer."