fade.
I jogged in place, searching the air. Other than the mist, nothing seemed wrong. I shrugged off the feeling as paranoia. A bunch of fairies could have been doing aerials up there before I arrived. They liked playing around in the conflicting air currents.
I circled around the parking lot and back up the access road. Before turning for the Weird, I made a detour into the edge of Southie. The Tangle wasn’t known for its coffee shops, and a place around the corner made some excellent mud.
I came around the corner and almost barreled into Murdock and Janey Likesmith. Janey held a coffee-to-go cup away from her, checking to see if any had spilled on her while Murdock stared at the half of scone on the sidewalk that I had knocked out of his hand. “Can I expense that?” I asked.
“Please tell me you’re not being chased by a marauding horde of something,” Murdock said.
I stretched my hamstrings against the side of the building. “Nah. Went for a run. What’s up? You guys get a call over here?”
Awkward looks flashed between them, then Janey sipped her coffee. Murdock picked up the fallen scone and tossed it in a bin. “No. We…. uh…. met for coffee.”
I pulled my foot up behind me to finish the stretch. “Oh, are you going over the elf case?”
Janey started laughing and threw Murdock a wide-eyed expression. “Yeah, that’s it. Tell him about the case, Leo.”
Murdock blushed, and I finally got it. Janey and Murdock, together, having a coffee in a part of the neighborhood neither of them lived. Murdock was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Janey was wearing a long casual dress with a sweater over her shoulders. In other words, neither of them was working, and I was an idiot for not seeing it. “Oh…. um…. oh,” I said.
Murdock focused on wiping crumbs off his hands. “Yeah, um, Janey says there’s something up with that arrow.”
“Did you get a signature off it?” I asked. I cringed at the overly polite tone in my voice, like I had just met them.
Janey kept the wide smile on her face. “Several actually, mostly residual, but the odd part was that it wasn’t elf-shot. The charge sent through the arrow had some kind of solitary essence on it. Isn’t that right, Leo?”
Murdock smiled uncomfortably. “Yep. That’s what the report said.”
“The one I wrote. Right? Was there something about coffee in there?” asked Jane, then laughed.
“I don’t remember,” he mumbled.
“Did you get that ID I sent?” I asked.
Janey tilted her head, waiting for Murdock to respond. He slipped his hands in his pockets. “It’s unofficial, but I was able to confirm that Alfren was working for the Guild. Mostly, he passed information about the Tangle and movements of Eorla’s people.”
“Has the Guild taken over the case?” I asked.
He shook his head. “He’s still in the morgue. No one wants him.”
“That sounds like political dodgeball. I guess we wait and see who picks him up. That’ll tell us who has more to hide,” I said. I wanted to bite back my words, but they were out.
Janey could not keep the smile off her face. She was loving Murdock’s discomfort. “Maybe everyone should go out for coffee.”
Clearly defeated, Murdock eyed her with amusement. “Coffee is good for a lot of things.”
I decided to let them off the hook. “Speaking of which, I could use a cup. You guys want anything?”
“No, thanks. I’m meeting someone for dinner,” Janey said.
“Yeah, me, too,” Murdock said.
I rubbed my hands together. “Okay, then. I guess I’ll check in with you later. Let me know if something comes up.”
Janey lost it. She backed away, laughing. Murdock glared at me in a way that told me I would pay for that. Amused, I watched them walk away. When they reached the corner, Murdock held Janey’s arm above the elbow as they crossed the street.
I sighed and went into the coffee shop. It never crossed my mind that they had any interest in each other. I guessed I wasn’t good about predicting the future.
13
Late the next morning, a knock at the door startled me out of sleep. I was expecting Meryl for lunch, but it was too early, which meant that Ceridwen’s messengers might be rousting me out of bed for something. I had been avoiding Ceridwen since yesterday because I didn’t want to give her the answer she didn’t want to hear. I didn’t want to go to Ireland, at least not now. As she lay dying, I had promised to help her get revenge against Maeve, but that didn’t mean I had to do it her way.
I opened the door and cringed as my mother grabbed me in a full body hug. “Still an early riser, I see.”
“How did you find me, Ma?” I asked.
She entered the room, eyeing it with suspicious appraisal. “I asked.”
I closed the door behind her. “Mother, I’m in hiding. You didn’t just ask for directions to my apartment.”
She peered down at the seat cushion on the armchair. “Actually, I did. I asked Amos the Apothecary, whom I have known for years. He gave me the general direction and a contact on Ceridwen’s staff, who referred me to that rather disheveled dwarf who keeps the lookout on the water tower next door. He told me.”
I pulled my jeans on and sat on the bed. “And why would he tell you where I lived?”
With a deep breath, she sat in the chair. “I told him I was your mother.”
“And he believed you?” I asked.
She put on an innocent face. “I knew his mother. We played cribbage years ago. She stank at it.”
“You shouldn’t have come down here. It’s dangerous,” I said.
She pulled her chin in. “Is it? It looked rather shabby as I came through. Not like the old days. Do those trolls still live under the channel? They kept things lively down here.”
“There’s only one troll. He pretends to live under the bridge but has a nice underground apartment nearby,” I said.
She clicked her tongue against her teeth. “Only one left? No wonder there are so many feral cats around. Do you have any tea?”
I glanced at my empty kitchen. “I haven’t been shopping. Why don’t you give me a sec to wash up, and we can grab lunch?”
She waved her hand. “No need. I have a luncheon date already. I wanted to see you.”
“Is everything all right?” I asked.
She pursed her lips. “Hmm. Yes, of course, everything’s all right. I have spent half an hour sitting on top of a water tower talking to a lonely dwarf because everything’s all right.”
I sighed. It was going to be one of those conversations. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m worried about your father. This business with the Seelie Court has taken the wind out of his sails,” she said.
I was getting more lost by the second. “I thought the entire court was sent home.”
She brushed her handkerchief on the arm of the chair, draped it over, and rested her hand on it. “Yes, that was after he was shut out. Oh, he didn’t think I knew, but I’m no fool. He’s had a hard year. It started with him being dropped from the missions to the Continent. Then Maeve put him on desk work entirely. You know your father loves travel.”
I couldn’t believe I was hearing this. “So, um, what exactly do you want me to do?”
She waved her hand in the air. “I don’t know. Guy stuff. Get Callin to join you. He’d like that. All you boys together.”
I stared at my stocking feet. “Mother, I am never, ever going camping with Callin and Da again.”
“Well, what about bowling? You used to be quite good,” she said.
