17)

I headed back to the kitchen to see Alfonzo and his buddy finishing up.

“All done Mr. Lathe, and don’t worry, we’ll haul off the wreckage.’

I inspected the work, or at least as best as I could with no clue what all putting it in had involved, but it seemed to be solidly in place and looked good, plus I trusted the company.

“Looks good Alfonzo, let’s settle up.”

He shook his head with an amused look as he began filling out the bill. "I really wish you would just call me Al Mr. Lathe."

"And like I told you before, how often do I get to be on a first name basis with an Alfonzo, I'm not passing that up, and besides, it's John, so you started it."

I added the two hundred dollar tip with a reminder it was for both of them and watched them haul over and strap down the wreaked door frame before giving them a wave as they pulled away. The automatic sensors would open the outer gate for them, as long as I didn’t lock it down.

Which I did, after unlocking it to let them out, then back on after I saw them clear the gate.

Then I turned on the intercom for the whole house. “Time for a late lunch in twenty, Sara get down here now before you shower, time to learn how to clean fish.”

For some reason, they all showed up.

I set up an old aluminum camping table out on the terrace since I didn’t want to make a mess descaling and cutting up the fish inside the kitchen or on the workbench in the workroom behind the garage.

Since I mainly wanted her just to see what was involved, I wasn’t going to make her cut up and clear the fish herself, but I did make Sara bring over the bucket with the bluegills to their final destination, well final if you don’t count the frying pan.

Sara stayed steely eyes after I explained the process and did the work, Ami left halfway through the first fish, and Aran alternated between looking grossed out and fascinated.

I definitely needed to lock up the library, and that reminded me. "Did you put the naginata back?”

She nodded, “Yeah, but it’s actually a ko-naginata, you got the one for girls.”

“Lucky you, but it was deliberate, I watched something on TV a long time ago showing a group of women practicing with them, so that’s the one I got, plus it was on sale.”

That got me an odd look for some reason.

She ended up wanting the fish baked instead of fried, and hers without any breading, but I did up a small bowl of batter for what was left after setting aside enough for her.

I put the three of them to work cleaning up the mess on the terrace while the fish baked, much to their disgust and complaints.

Aran ended up eating as much of the battered fish as I did, and I put a garden salad together for Ami after she declined to try the fish and to help fill up the other two.

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“That ought to hold you three over until I can get back with some takeout, probably burgers, most places have salads of some sort for Sara."

I thought about the fact that I was leaving these kids alone at my home, while people were looking for them, while I was meeting with the Sheriff who might have become aware of them and might just be drawing me away while she had someone else go after them.

Plus the danger from whoever had decided to put out a silver plated bear trap on my property.

I was really not feeling good about leaving them alone, but I did not want to have the Sheriff coming back here because I missed meeting up with her, and I needed information.

I made a call to my lawyer.

"Hey Charles, this your uncle John, I'm giving your number to a girl named Sara, no time to explain but she's family and if she calls, it trouble with the local Sheriff’s department so take it as seriously as a call from me. Gotta go."

He managed to say “Huh...” before I hung up.

I liked Charles, no questions, for now at least. But if the girl calls saying someone is in the house, or trying to get in, a lawyer is going to get the state police here a lot quicker than just some little girl and a reminder that everything on the property is being recorded to the internet may stop any shenanigans on the Sheriff’s part.

I looked over at the questioning looks on two of the kids' faces, "Come with me."

I led all three of them to the library, "Yes Ami, that is real, it's called a Gatling gun, and if you keep touching the glass Aran, I will make you clean it. Did you wash your hands after lunch?"

Sara piped up in defense of her brother. “You didn’t give him a chance, you rushed us over here.”

“Seriously, it’s somehow my fault? How much time do you spend with your grandmother?’

“What do mean, and which one?”

“Nevermind, it’s probably universal for women.”

I ignored her confused “Huh?” and showed them how to open the secret door, and how to lock it from inside.

Then I gave Sara a set of keys for the house, one of my extra phones, and keyed her into the system.

"If the motion sensors kick in, the screen should open to a snapshot of whatever set them off. I will turn on the alarms after I head out the gate. Don’t let anyone in and don’t answer the intercom. If someone bypasses the gate or tries to come in, get your sister and brother and lock yourself in here, you got a bathroom and there are some snacks in the lower drawer of the desk. Aran get away from the comics, your hands are sticky.”

The last got me a hurt look, the rest produced a panicked look on Sara’s face.

Ami took the phone out of her hands. "Sara will get us to the room Grandpa, I'll take care of talking to...she looked at the contacts, "Shyster Charles?”

I nodded while Ami began pushing buttons and looking at the apps. Sara looked relieved then gave me a shamed glace.

Not sure what to do here, try to reassure her, or would acknowledging the situation just make it worse?

Guess I'll go with not talking about it in front of her sibling. Plus I'm running out of time.

So, herded the kids out of the library, locked the door, and plopped them down in front of a TV with the Disney channel on. Now I just had to take a quick shower, floss and brush, then grab some fresh clothes…

Should I use deodorant?

The Sheriff’s sense of smell should be as good as mine, so would it be better to cover up my personal odor with a deodorant, or would a fake smell be offensive like I'm being deceptive or just irritating to a super sensitive nose?

I took a sniff of the discount store “Sport” scented roll on, and it wasn’t bad, just kinda chemical.

So, split the difference, use the salt crystal roll on to kill the smell, and a light swash of "Sport" to show I was making an effort.

And maybe to cover up some subtle clues an experienced werewolf might be able to pick up by scent, or again, show I was making an effort to block that sort of thing without dousing myself.

I looked at the “good” blue jeans and “don’t embarrass the family when we eat out” shirt I had picked out to wear and considered how much effort I was putting into smelling nice.

Great, now Ami has got me worried that I was going to end up making the Sheriff think that I thought this was a date.

Better wear my work boots to keep it casual.