Author's note: Here is your daily chapter folks, enjoy.
P-S: For those who are wondering who our red haired guy is, I did leave a tiny flag somewhere...I wonder how many caught it?
P-P-S: poor Isabel, nobody luvs her :p
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Ah, the glittering lifestyle of a police officer, the instant respect from the masses, the easily resolved cases where the villains are always punished, the sky-high pay…not!
It truly would be a dream if the job could be like what is cast on TV, and not the hours upon hours of grisly research under the disdain, if not outright hostility, of those we swore to protect. Hm? In Port Marianne you say? I’m on my way!
Inspector Leroy introducing a rookie to the job
Two very hard pair of eyes turned in my direction. It is a nice to see the guys getting along instead of having territorial issues. It would be even nicer if they wouldn’t try to coat us in bubble wrap.
“Absolutely not.”
“It’s too dangerous!”
Ignoring the spluttering men, I cocooned the blood spider inside the rag I used to isolate it from the table, putting it back in the bucket. I’d burn the lot once we’d be done here, no point taking any chances.
I thoroughly washed the table, allowing mom to bring the tea and mugs only when it was disinfected and squeaky clean, followed by a quick trip to the imp. She had fallen asleep under the lilac tree, crashing after the end of the crisis. I covered her under a plaid, making sure not to smother any pixie, before sitting back at the kitchen table.
Only then did I look back at my father.
“Unless you plan to tie me up, lock the room and post a pair of guards over me, I will be coming along. I will not cower in a corner while my home is threatened.
If you think it’s too dangerous, then we’d better ramp up my training instead of wasting time in pointless arguing.”
“I could put you to sleep for the next couple years.”
“And risk someone finding a defenseless me, or destroying the relationship we’re building? I don’t think so.”
“If you truly want this, I’ll have some conditions. Either you accept them, or I will put you under lock and key.
First, you’re not going anywhere outside the house without either Storm or me in tow, same goes for Kate.
Then, if we need to fight, you follow my lead to the letter. If I tell you to run, you better race quicker than a rabbit with a pack of wolves on its tail, no questions asked.
Last, since you so kindly offered, we will go harder on your training. You’ll go take an unpaid leave from your work, I’ll take care of the expenses.”
Storm looked ready to murder someone, his knuckles whitening around the mug, albeit on the other side of the table mom’s eyes were betraying her mirth at our bickering. She was probably already plotting matchmaking schemes, since she so obviously took a liking to Storm’s personality. I could totally see her engineering situations where he’d have to keep me company in the future.
Half of my next batch of cookies will go to her.
I nodded to my father, agreeing to his terms for the moment. On the running issue, I would see if it ever popped up, albeit I was not telling that.
“Now back to the issue at hand, we need to decide what to tell the P.I., and possibly the policeman.”
Mom paled a little, her dark eyes swimming in complex emotions.
“We’ll use my life story.”
“Are you sure Maggs? You didn’t even tell me when we first met.”
“Yes, it is more than time I let go of the past. I won’t let my secrets harm my girls. Tonight’s events could have ended in disaster without you and Storm, so it’s only right you get to know everything, since the probability of my parents being the culprits is increasing steadily.”
I listened with a rapt attention. I had never heard about mom’s circumstances, only that she had left home when she was barely sixteen to travel over the world.
“I was born Margaret Ortiz, from Isabel and Adan Ortiz, old blood Marqués of Spain with hands in many, many pies. Think power couple on steroids.
From a young age I almost never saw my parents, being brought up by servants. I was not harshly treated, being given anything I needed, although I was not loved either.
My mother’s eyes particularly, on the rare occasions I’d see her, were so cold I always felt she hated me.
I could have lived like that, if not happy, at least content, if I had not been raised in a secluded mansion without any contact with the outside. I think what got to me the most was the boredom. There is only so much to do in a mansion, as big as it may be.
I started ditching my guardians and escaping at night when I was 12, but soon found out we were far from any villages.
So I prepared. I read all I could find about the outside world and its people, asked for jewelry for my birthdays and Christmas that I could later sell, and when I turned 16 I was ready to go. Desperate to go would be more precise. I was suffocating, getting more restless by the day.
The servants had been tightening their surveillance on me, I never knew why, so I resorted to putting sleeping pills I’d stolen from a maid in their food.
I stole all the money in the mansion and a bunch of easily sold trinkets, then ran away with my loot and my jewelry. Not my proudest moment I must say.
I was long gone by the time they realized I was not there anymore, and they never could catch up to me while I traveled the world I had so wanted to see.
The rest of the story you know. I met Uriel, found out I was pregnant while in France, and decided to settle here to build my own family, one where love would not be a faraway dream.”
I squeezed her hand, listening to Uriel musings.
“If they are our warlocks, and it looks increasingly likely, fleeing when you did might have saved your life. The increased surveillance might have been an indication of the little time you had left.”
“We could use the attempted abduction and the invitation we got to get the police on their case. We’d just have to gloss over the theft part.”
“This, and get the P.I. to look both at them and other possibilities to cover our bases. I don’t want to get sucker punched.”
“Agreed.”
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Our course set, we all decided to call it a day. I made sure to leave extra food for the pixies, along with my favorite silk scarf they had been eying for a while. The little rascals had more than earned it today.
I gently stroke my sister’s cheek until she awakened, motioning towards the house when she opened groggy eyes.
“Sleepy time imp. You’ll be more comfortable inside.”
“…m’kay…”
I followed after her, suddenly dying for a good long hot shower. I was dirty, with bits of icky stuff here and there, and all my muscles were hurting. By the time I had gotten rid of the last of the bug guts stuck into my hair she had fallen asleep again. In my bed.
Oh well, I could let her sleep with me for once, if it could help her adjust to the situation. Besides I was not so hard-hearted to awaken her once again just to chase her away.
My sleep was fitful, invaded by visions of creatures all more horrendous than the last one, mostly of the spider kind, until a cool hand stroke my brow.
“Sleep Abigail. No one will harm you under my watch.”
Only then could I rest for a while.
I got up to the sensation of small paws scampering up my arm, and a sight of a smallish pink mouse showing off her brand new silk cloak to my sister. My father, if I hadn’t dreamed him up, was long gone from the bedroom.
I yawned, stretching my stiff limbs in the morning sun. Better move to get breakfast, today would be busy.
We both followed the scent of baked goods to the kitchen, where the others were already eating to the sound of the radio station.
“Good morning. Anything good on the news?”
Mom hugged us both.
“Good morning you two lazy bums. And no, apart from another tourist disappearance in Palavas there’s nothing new. Probably another one who tried to swim when the flag was red. Nothing about an abduction or strange events in Montpellier, so I guess we had no witnesses.
Oh and a fisherman caught a new species of fish in his nets. Apparently it was completely transparent, but without the abyssal looks.”
Uriel folded the newspaper he had been reading.
“Nothing in the newspaper either, apart from the abysmal performance of our soccer team. You’d better eat quickly and get ready, the policeman will be here in an hour.”
I nodded, pilfering some goodies from the table. We ate in a comfortable silence, the perfect tableau of a regular family.
I was once again mourning the loss of my lipstick when the doorbell rang. Not that I truly needed it, but I liked the color, dammit. One set of make-up for the mice added on the grocery list.
I heard mom inviting the Inspector in the living room as I descended the stairs of our home. I made a last-minute survey of the place, making sure nothing weird was showing. I had even tied the crystal vine for the occasion.
We also had decided to keep the men out of sight for now. Might as well avoid the cumbersome lies and explanations when we can.
“Thank you for coming Mr. Leroy. I didn’t know who I should call to help us with our current crisis.”
I made a side trip to the kitchen, retrieving coffee and cupcakes for our guest, which I presented to him with a smile, before sitting on one of the armchairs.
“Good morning Miss Ortiz, Mrs. Ortiz. Miss Ortiz, you’re an angel. This is so much better than police station’s coffee! And are those cupcakes homemade?”
Looking at the dark bags under his eyes, the poor man had probably been living off said coffee for a while now. He looked utterly spent.
“This is so good; I was really craving real coffee…”
“You look exhausted Inspector, are there so many crimes in our city lately that our policemen can’t even get a good night of sleep?”
He closed his eyes, expressionless.
“Not that many, but the ones we have lately are quite…disturbing. Be careful if you have to be out at night. Try to take a cab, or get someone to escort you. There have been too many occurrences of pretty women getting targeted lately.”
“You think there’s a serial killer on the loose?”
“I can’t tell you more than that. Just be careful, ok?”
“Thank you for the advice Mr. Leroy. We’ll pay attention.”
“So, I see you look much better than the last time we met. Tell me, is this crisis you were talking about related to the last incident?”
“We don’t think so. You caught the culprits for last incident anyway as far as I know?”
“I guess there are too many loose ends I still hope to tie one day…but since it’s not today’s topic why don’t you tell me what is troubling you?”
“Ah…we are not sure the police can help us with this, which was why I asked you if you knew some good investigators we could hire. We’re not rich, but we have some savings we can use.”
I listened to my mother’s masterful description of our situation while scarfing down the cupcakes. She managed to convey exactly what we needed without lying even once, though she did damnable things with the truth.
“So basically, you think your parents are trying to abduct your youngest daughter to continue the family tradition?”
That’s one way of putting it I guess.
“But why wouldn’t they try to get Abigail since she’s old enough to learn the tricks of the trade, and pretty enough to be ornamental in society dinners?”
I wrote a note for him.
“I already sent their lackey packing when he came here. Besides, I’m the handicapped one.”
“Mr. Leroy, what we want is make sure we’re not barking up the wrong tree, so that we can decide our course of action to protect ourselves, that’s all. Do you know anyone with the right skillset for this?”
“Actually, I had asked them to come with me. They’re ending a job nearby right now, so they should be here soon.”
I started sweating while trying not to look at the kitchen counter directly. What was the damn mouse doing with a stranger in the house? I got up under the pretext of fetching more cupcakes, trying to block the view of the policeman.
I swiftly caught the mouse, pushing it in the direction of the hallway with my foot, but no dice.
“Was that a mouse? What’s with the weird color?”
“Oh, don’t worry, that’s one of Kate’s pet. She’s doing a science project with harmless animal dyes, so we’re used to seeing pink or blue mice in the house. They never stray far from their cage though, probably for the easy food. I guess the cupcakes attracted this one.”
Mom, you’re the best.