Reuben rapped out an answer. I looked at Noelle for a translation.
'He says he was sent here to find something.'
'What?' I asked the poltergeist. 'Who sent you? And why were you going into Clare's room?'
More rapping. Noelle listened for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she concentrated. When Reuben's knocking came to an end she blushed a bit, answering us without meeting our eyes. 'He says he was sent by Pilar to find a statue of a bird. I won't go into why he was going into Clare's room other than to say apparently Reuben has some voyeuristic tendencies.'
'Ew,' I said at the same time Clare gasped in outrage. 'Who is Pilar?'
Noelle listened again to the raps. 'All he's saying is Pilar is the one who hired him. I don't think he can answer the question, Sam. I doubt if he knows more than that.' She lowered her voice. 'I don't think he's particularly bright.'
Reuben rapped once.
'This is the second mention of that statue,' Paen said thoughtfully, giving me a curious look. 'I'd like to see it.'
'It's locked up at Mila's sex shop,' I reminded him. 'We can see it tomorrow if you think it has some bearing on things, although I don't see how it's anything but a coincidence. An odd one, to be sure, but still a coincidence.'
'Possibly. It's difficult to tell,' Paen said.
'Is there anything else you can tell us about Pilar or why you were sent here?' I asked Reuben. The poltergeist shimmered a second or two before answering.
'He says no. He was summoned by Pilar, given instructions to search your flat, and sent on his way.'
'What does Pilar look like?' Paen asked.
Noelle translated the answer. 'Medium height, dark hair and eyes. He had a monkey with him, a small monkey.'
'A monkey?' I gawked for a moment.
'How very odd,' Clare said, peering around Finn's shoulder to look at Reuben. 'The man who shot me had a monkey. And you said you saw a monkey before, didn't you, Sam?'
'Yeah. What sort of a monkey was it?' I asked the poltergeist.
'Small monkey,' came the answer.
'Was its name Beppo, by any chance?' I asked, aware that Paen had moved away from me and was looking out the window to the street below.
'Yes.'
'Oooh,' Clare said, coming out from behind Finn. 'How eerie is that?'
'Not terribly eerie,' I answered, nibbling my lip for a moment. 'But I'm willing to bet my entire savings that this Pilar guy is one and the same as our two monkey men.'
Noelle looked surprised. 'You were shot?' she asked Clare.
'Yes. My Versace is completely ruined,' Clare answered, her chin rising in a militant manner. 'I'd like to meet this Mr. Pilar again. In a closed room. Just him and me and a garden hose.'
Noelle squinted for a moment at Clare, and then nodded. 'Oh. Faery. That explains it.'
'I am not!' Clare protested.
We all ignored her. A few more questions determined that Reuben had no more information for us, so Noelle dismissed him with the warning not to come back. She warded the doors and windows as an additional line of defense.
'It won't keep out a really powerful being, but it should help keep out any statue-seeking poltergeists,' she told us as she was leaving. She paused for a minute at the door, tipping her head to the side as she considered the four of us standing in the living room. 'Does this remind anyone of a movie?'
'Eh?' I asked, confused, my attention divided between making plans and watching Paen look out the window.
'A bird statue that everyone seems to want, a private investigator named Sam, a partner who was shot— doesn't that ring any bells with you?' Noelle asked.
'No,' Clare answered, frowning.
I smiled at Noelle, having watched more of a classic movie channel than my cousin. 'Just call me Bogey.'
She laughed and wished us all luck, leaving with a little wave.
'Now what do we do?' Clare asked, looking from Paen to Finn to me.
I stifled a yawn. 'I'll check the databases for any information on a man named Pilar, especially in relation to objets d'art. You can—'
'Go to bed,' Paen interrupted, finally turning away from the window. He picked up his coat, giving me a long look as he did so. 'It's late. You're tired.'
'I'm not,' I started to protest, but stopped when Paen tipped my chin up so he could look deep in my eyes.
His thumb stroked over my cheek briefly. 'Now there are dark circles under your eyes. You need to sleep before you try to do any more investigating.'
'Bed! What a wonderful idea. I wholeheartedly endorse it,' Clare said, pulling Finn backward into her room. 'We can work in the morning. Or later in the morning, since it's morning now.'
'You're leaving?' I asked Paen, a little shaft of pain turning in my chest. 'I won't deny I could do with a little rest, but I thought you… I thought we were going to…'
'Your flat is well warded, and Finn will protect you both from anything that manages to get past them,' he answered, giving his brother a quick nod before the latter was hauled into Clare's room, the door slamming behind them.
'I don't need protecting by any man,' I said grumpily. I wanted to pretend it was because I was annoyed at all the distractions, but the truth was that I didn't want Paen to leave. There was something about him that felt so… right. Like we fit together seamlessly. 'Besides, I think Finn's attention will be elsewhere.'
'Regardless, you need sleep, not sex.'
'Maybe I need both,' I said a bit tartishly, annoyed with his high-handed attitude.
He just gave me a look.
'Oh, all right, I admit I'm a little tired, but in defense I'd like to point out that the activities in which we were engaged ended up with me drifting off just as I've done every other time.'
'I'd only just started,' Paen said, looking annoyed as well. 'I didn't have a proper chance.'
'Mmm. Well, guess the point is moot since you're ordering me to bed.' I started toward my bedroom, pausing to look back as he opened the front door. 'Mind if I ask what you're going to be doing while the rest of us are sleeping?'
'Yes, I do,' he said, closing the door firmly behind him.
He smiled. Right into my head. It was such a sweet, gentle brush against my mind, I thought for a moment that I'd imagined it.
Chapter 8
'There you are. I wondered if you were going to show before noon.' I smiled at Clare as she bustled into the office, a fresh bouquet of mixed flowers in her hand.
'Of course I'm here! Where did you think I'd be?' She plucked out the remains of yesterday's mostly eaten bouquet and took the vase down the hall to the bathroom for fresh water.
'Well, given that you and Finn were at it all night, I'm surprised you're here at all,' I said when she returned.
'Hmph,' she snorted, plopping the fresh flowers in the vase. 'You're just jealous because your boyfriend left
