Wizard in a Witchy World (13 page)

He scooped it up and held it, still watching his show.

"I'll need a receipt," I said.

Absentmindedly, he scrawled out a receipt and handed it to me. "Have a seat. We'll bring it right up."

I raised an eyebrow but didn't push it. I was in his domain and didn't need to cause trouble. I sat in one of the ugly orange-cushioned, metal chairs. The smell of things I didn’t want to consider assaulted me as I did and I stood back up and paced.

When the sound of a commercial didn't pry him from his chair, I approached the counter again.

"If you give me the keys, I'll just grab it," I said.

"Can't. Insurance," he said, not looking up.

"Forty bucks?" I asked, pushing him mentally.

This got his attention and he looked squarely at me. "You trying to bribe a public official?"

"Look, Hal," I said, reading the nametag sewn into his overalls. "I just want my truck." I wasn't going to point out to him that he was far from being a public official.

He reached under the counter and I readied myself for action. Who knew what this guy might be packing under there. Fortunately, he only tossed my keys onto the counter.

"Leave your money on the counter. I'm just effing with you," he said.

I scooped up my keys, dropped two twenties in their place and walked out the back door into an empty mechanic's bay open to the yard. I scanned rows of tightly-packed vehicles and finally found my truck. Fortunately, it was on the end and not trapped, but I had to climb through the passenger's side to get in. I wasn't surprised to see the contents of my glovebox dumped onto the seat.

Finally, I backed out and made my way to the exit. Hal waved me down as I approached. He’d dropped a bar across the drive. I rolled the window down but didn't turn off the truck.

"What's up?" I asked.

"You're not cleared," he said. "There's a hold on your sheet."

"From who?"

"Doesn't matter. Get out of the truck," he said.

"No," I said. "Who has the hold?"

"That's not how this works." He pulled his puffy brown vest aside showing a pistol in his belt.

I wouldn't be effective pushing him again, so I did the next best thing. I waved my hand, undoing his belt. The weight of the gun pulled his pants to the ground.

"How'd you do that?" he stammered, frightened. I was impressed he actually attributed the action to me.

"I'm trying not to hurt you," I said. "Tell me who put a hold on the truck."

"Don't know. I received five hundred in an envelope," he said.

"Give me my forty bucks and open the damn gate," I said.

With shaking hands, he reached into his pocket and handed me the entire wad of bills. I peeled off forty and gave the rest back. I didn't want anything to do with his money, but I'd take mine back. I gassed my '77 Ford through the gate as he hastily opened it. It was more for show than effect as the truck made a lot more noise, but didn't go much faster. As it was I was frustrated that a little girl had been kidnapped and I had been entirely ineffective in finding her. That, however, was about to change.

First stop was the grocery. I needed food for Maggie. While I was there, I bought a few folding city maps of Leotown, along with a ball of yarn and a package of stick pins. I was disappointed, but not surprised, that I couldn't find a compass. It wasn't the sort of thing that attracted the attention of kids anymore, I guessed.

I ended up driving across town to a sporting goods store to find a compass. Back in the truck, I pulled my Shaggy compass out and set it next to the mundane compass. I wrote down Shaggy's direction and my cross streets. On the way back to the apartment I took several more readings.

By the time I got home it was noon. I pinned a Leotown map onto the wall behind my couch, then placed a pin at each location where I'd taken a reading on Shaggy. To each pin, I tied a six-foot piece of yarn and stretched them out according to the compass heading I'd taken. Individually, the accuracy of each reading wasn't great, but with the number of readings I'd taken, I had a darn good idea of where he'd spent the morning.

After clearing the books from the kitchen table, I spread a second Leotown map out. I circled the area my strings had narrowed and oriented the map to match the mundane compass. I placed the Shaggy compass on top of where my apartment was and pointed it at the neighborhood I'd circled. If the compass moved, he was changing locations. So far today, however, he hadn't.

Part of me wanted to rush right up to where Shaggy was hiding out, but I knew better. So far, I'd barely scraped by on our interactions. I needed to learn everything I could about lycan in order to get the best of Shaggy, but also to see if there was any way to help Lozano.

An hour later, a knock on my plywood front door startled me. I looked first at the Shaggy compass. The needle had moved, pointing more to the north than it had been. It was moving on a slow arc. Shaggy was on the move, but he wasn’t at my front door. I checked my phone - four o’clock. The knocking came again.

"Just a minute," I called back.

"It's Andy."

Ah, new doors! I got up and pushed through the plywood. Andy had a quick smile and extended his hand.

"What happened to the door this time? And the garage is really messed up too."

"Police cut through the casing and siding to get in," I said as I peeled the plywood sheet back.

"That's a messed up way to break down a door," he said. "Sorry to say, we're looking at fifteen hundred, give or take."

"I really need it to look good. Landlord wasn't happy," I said.

"Yeah. Damn shame. Kelli filled me in. I can't believe they think you had anything to do with Clarita," he said.

"When can you get started?" I asked.

"Right now. I need half up front, though," he said. "I need to get supplies."

I handed him my credit card. "Just use this. We can square up later."

"You're pretty trusting, Mr. Slade," he said.

"Call me Felix and I'm a pretty good judge of people."

He waved the card at me as he turned back down the stairs. "I'll have Kelli bring dinner over, that way I might be able to get you closed in by tonight. Back in a bit," he called over his shoulder as he jogged down the stairs.

I followed him down. I needed to check on Mrs. Willoughby. As I approached her door, a pungent smell assaulted me. I crouched defensively and turned slowly. It smelled of lycan, but somehow different - more toilet, less wet dog. Then it struck me. Shaggy or one of his crew had marked this house. My heart leapt into my throat and I lunged for Mrs. Willoughby's door.

"What's all the excitement, Felix?"

It had taken Mrs. Willoughby several minutes to answer her back door and I'd been on the edge of breaking it down when she finally arrived.

"You didn't answer. I was afraid…" I stopped talking. I couldn't tell her why I was concerned.

"It just takes me a few minutes to get around is all," she said.

"I wanted to see about your hand," I said. The smell of fresh baked bread wafted out and for a moment I was back in Judy's kitchen.

She smiled. "That's very thoughtful and your timing is perfect. I've just finished baking bread. Would you take a loaf with you?"

She laid her hand on the rickety kitchen table that was no bigger than a card table. I sat next to her and gently peeled off the gauze. The salve I'd applied had soaked in and the burn had lost much of its angry redness.

"That's quite an improvement, Mrs. Willoughby." I gently tugged at the edge of the wound to see how flexible it was.

"That's Katherine, Felix."

I opened the jar I'd left on her table and spread more on the wound. "I need to talk to you about something, Katherine."

"Oh dear, this sounds serious."

"Somehow I've become mixed up in something bad. There are people who are trying to hurt me," I said. "I'm moving out as soon as I can find another home."

"Is it drugs? You're such a nice young man. You shouldn't be getting involved in that sort of thing," she admonished.

"No. It's not drugs and I've not done anything wrong. Promise me you won't let strangers into your home," I said.

"Pish posh." She waved me off with her free hand. "If someone wants to break into my home, they will. I have nothing of value here."

"These people might hurt you to get at me," I said. "Please tell me you won't let anyone in."

"For seventy-two years I've taken care of myself," she said.

"Katherine, please."

"Yes, yes," she said, patting my hand.

"I'll try to find a new apartment by the end of the week," I said.

"You'll do no such thing," she said, giving me a warm smile. "I'll be careful, but you shouldn't run from your troubles. Face your problems head on. They will find you regardless. Might as well be on your terms."

I just sat there, looking at her dumbfounded. She was entirely right. I'd been in reactionary mode, waiting. Katherine stood up from the table and handed me a loaf of bread. It was still warm and uncut.

"You didn't need to," I said.

"True enough, but you didn't need to check on me either," she said. "I knew you'd be coming, so I made an extra loaf. Did your tall friend like the cookies?"

I thought about it for a minute. She had to be talking about Amak. "She said they were the best she'd had in years."

Mrs. Willoughby laughed softly. "Oh, I don't know about that, but it's nice of her to say." She had walked to the back door and was holding it open for me. "Now you get along. I don't want to hear about you leaving until I'm good and ready to kick you out."

I took my cue. "Be careful, Mrs. Willoughby."

Once I was on her back porch, I punched in Gabriella's phone number and headed for my truck.

"Hello, Felix," she answered after the third ring.

"Shaggy's on the move. Are you in a safe location?" I asked.

"I'm about to leave work," she said. "And how do you know he's on the move?"

"I'll pick you up. I might have an idea where they're keeping Clarita," I said.

"I'll text you the address of our condo. Meet me there in forty minutes," she said.

I hung up and dialed Lozano's cell.

"Lozano," he answered.

"You working?" I asked.

"Who's this?"

"Slade," I answered.

"What do you want?"

"I might have a line on the guy who bit you," I said.

"Just tell me where. I'll do the rest," he said.

"Doesn't work that way. He might be holding that little girl."

"I'll be extra careful," he said. I was surprised at the callousness in his voice.

"No. You want a shot at this guy, we do it my way. I don't want any more casualties," I said.

"I could just bring you back down to the station. Lieutenant Dukats figures you're good for the murders and kidnapping. I'm sure we could make something stick," he said.

"Shit, Lozano. I'm trying to help you and you're busting my balls. What's it going to be? You want in or what?" I asked.

The pause on the phone lasted long enough that I started to question if Lozano had hung up on me. He finally responded. "It's… You're right. I don't know what's going on. I just got suspended and Jen said she needs to talk. My whole damn world is falling apart." He sounded like he was about to break.

"Lozano, pull yourself together. We can figure this out," I said.

"How?" The pain in his voice wrecked me. "I'm turning into a fucking monster."

"You can't believe your grandmother," I said. "She doesn't know everything."

"You think there's a cure?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know. Maybe we could find something to help," I said. "You have to fight this thing."

"You suck at this; you know that? If this were AA, I'd be headed to the bar right now," he said.

"You in?"

"Yes. Where do you want to meet?"

"I'll send you a text," I said.

***

"Joe, meet Gabriella. Gabriella, meet Joe," I said as Gabriella climbed into the back of Joe's four-door pickup.

"You think this is a good idea?" Gabriella asked. "I can smell him from here."

"Joe is the officer Shaggy bit," I said. "He's got a lot invested in this."

"Crap. Sorry, Joe, that's a bad break," Gabriella said.

"What are you?" Joe asked. "You have a funny smell."

"Interesting. Does she smell like me?" I asked.

"I certainly hope not," Gabriella answered too quickly.

Joe looked at me, raised his eyebrows and laughed out loud. I hadn't intended to be funny, but it had broken the tension.

"Different, but there are similarities. For the record, you mostly smell like soap, Gabriella, but you both smell like my grandma. Are you a shaman?" he asked.

"Something like that," I said. "We're not supposed to talk about it."

"Or what? You keep saying that. Is there a club? It seems like I'm in it now," he said.

"I'm a witch. Slade's a wizard," Gabriella said. I didn't appreciate her outing me. "And, yeah. Think of it as an exclusive club. One where bad things happen to the families of people who talk about it."

We sat there for a moment as he stared at Gabriella. Finally, he responded. "Are you threatening my family?"

"Not me. And I've never seen it happen, but my previous coven leader has. It's real. Don't mess with it."

"That never works," Joe said. "Only criminals can keep secrets and even most of them can't."

"I'd agree with you, but have you ever heard of a witch who could actually do something real?" I said. "Did your Nanna actually ever show you her magic?"

"No. She's just a crazy old lady," he said.

"You just keep telling yourself that," I said. "The woman I met is a very powerful shaman. And, before you tell us we're all crazy, watch my hand." I ignited a small flaming wizard's ball.

He blinked a couple of times and then remembered to breathe. "What the hell?"

"That's magic, Joe. It gets worse. There are things that go bump in the night and now you're one of them," I said.

"That's not helping," he said.

"You need to take ownership of it, Joe," I said. "If you don't, you'll end up hurting your family, or worse."

He sighed. "At least I know why you smell like Nanna. Where are we headed?"

"Happy Hollow Boulevard and Dodge," I said.

Joe fired up the truck and did a U-Turn, which was quite a feat as his truck was about as long as it could get. As he did, I pulled the compass from my satchel and checked Shaggy's position. We were headed almost directly away from him - a good sign.

Twenty minutes later we'd arrived in a beautiful old neighborhood. There were heavily wooded areas to the west and large, well-maintained homes to the east, and a grassy boulevard separating two lanes of traffic.

"I need more details," Joe said as he pulled through the intersection I'd given him and onto a side street, parking behind an expensive sedan.

"I've been able to narrow it down to this." I placed a map on the console between us.

Gabriella unbuckled and leaned forward to get a better look.

"How did you get this?" Joe asked.

"Magic," I said.

He looked at me skeptically for a long minute, finally shrugging and looking back at the map. "You couldn't dial it in any better than this?"

"No, but Shaggy and his friends ride bikes. They shouldn't be too hard to find in this neighborhood," I said.

"So, what? You want me to drive around and look for a biker gang on Happy Hollow?"

"Only inside this circle," I said, tracing my finger around a ten block radius.

He picked up his phone and dialed.

"Who are you calling?" Gabriella asked.

"My partner, Sandy. I'll see if there've been any complaints."

Gabriella and I listened to the one-sided conversation. Apparently, Sandy was concerned about his recent behavior and suspension and kept asking Lozano if everything was alright. After several minutes he finally hung up.

"Not a thing," he said. "If they're here, they're keeping a low profile."

I opened my bag and checked the compass. As far as I could tell, Shaggy hadn't moved much. Joe apparently caught what I was doing and grabbed my left arm.

"What's in the bag, Slade?" he asked, which got Gabriella's attention.

I was busted, so I pulled out the specimen jar complete with floating cork and needle. I set it on top of the map.

"I call it my Shaggy Compass," I said.

"What's it do?" he asked, picking it up.

"Points at the guy who bit you," I said.

"Bullshit," he said. "How does it work?"

"It's an enchantment, which is what I do," I said. "Trust me. This thing points at Shaggy."

"He's not lying," Gabriella said. "After the last few days, is it that much of a stretch for you?"

"So what? We just sit here and wait for him to come back?" Joe asked, ignoring Gabriella’s question.

"You have a better idea?" I asked. "I'd hoped we'd be able to figure out exactly where Shaggy’s hideout was from my map. But, at least we're close. Now, we just need to wait for Shaggy to come back and hopefully follow him to Clarita."

Joe tapped the top of the bottle. "We should just use your little toy here and go grab him."

"And then what?" Gabriella asked.

"Sweat him for the location of the girl."

"Even if we could grab him, he'd never talk," I said. "We've got nothing on him and believe me, he's not going down without a fight."

"I'm a cop. We carry guns."

"Guns don't stop werewolves for very long," Gabriella said. "Trust me."

"Guns stop everyone," Joe said, starting to get hot.

"Let's just wait. See if he shows up," I said. "There's a bar on Dodge. We can wait him out there."

"Fine," Joe agreed, pulling away from the curb.

My phone buzzed with an incoming text.

AMAK: What's the plan tonight?

SLADE: I'm with Gab and Lozano. Headed to Goldberg's on Dodge.

AMAK: Meet you there. Who's Lozano?

SLADE: Lozano's that cop who got bit.

"Who was that?" Joe asked.

"Amak. She's going to join us," I said.

"Another witch?"

"No, but she's in the know," I said. I wasn't about to tell him she was a troll.

"I don't see why you're dragging her into this," Gabriella said.

"What's your problem with Amak?" I asked.

"She reports to Camille. We don't need that kind of attention."

"We aren’t in a position to turn down help," I said.

Joe pulled into a parking lot behind the bar.

"You guys going to fight all night?" he asked.

Gabriella opened her door and jumped out without answering and we followed her in through a back entrance. Goldberg's was more upscale than most bars I visited. The place looked like they catered to the dinner and casual drinks crowd more than the late night scene I was used to.

A waitress seated us at a booth and I slid in next to Joe, with Gabriella on the other side. I set the Shaggy compass on the table and used a grease marker to note where it currently pointed. I made another mark, roughly in the direction we'd come from.