"What about my exclusive?" Loretta shouted.
"Maybe later," Orion told her.
We hurried to our car and slipped into our seats. I looked to the street at what remained of our small gathering. Orso was having a chat with Loretta. His deputy was beside him, but Elliot was gone.
I jerked my head toward the blond. "So is she an old friend of yours?"
He grinned as he backed us out onto the street. "Jealous?"
"Of that Barbie doll? A joke like that is going to get you demoted to sidekick again."
"You are jealous, and that all happens to be real."
"And you'd know that how?"
"Let's just say I gave her an exclusive once."
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him as we drove down the road. "Uh-huh. I'm sure it made the front-page news."
He cringed over the wheel. "I hope not."
Toughs stuck her tongue out. "Grownup talk is so weird."
I glanced over my shoulder at our short passenger. "You might want to leave that book in the car next time or you're going to be a headline."
She squeezed the book against her chest and shook her head. "No. It's mine."
"Are you able to read those Latin inscriptions?" Orion asked her.
Toughs pursed her lips and turned her face away. "No, but it's still mine."
I slumped down in my chair and sighed. "I guess we'd better go see Troy."
Orion arched an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"
I snorted. "We're at a dead-end with the investigation with two out of three of the village elders having disappeared. We need to go see the third one before he decides to go on a vacation, too."
CHAPTER 7
A few minutes later our trio walked into Troy's small motel office. The man was nowhere to be found, but his furniture of the couch and a wooden crate stared at us like we were intruding.
Orion walked over to the desk and rang the bell. "Troy!"
The door to the office opened and Troy stepped out with a smile on his face. "Something I can do for you three?"
I leaned my elbows on the desk and arched an eyebrow. "You can start by telling us how you know there's three of us when Toughs here is too short to look over your desk."
Troy walked around the desk and stopped in front of our short companion. He knelt down and smiled at her as he held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Toughs."
Toughs returned his smile and gave his hand a shaky shake. "Hiya mister!"
Troy tilted his head to one side and studied her necklace. "That's a very nice necklace you have on. Do you know where you got it?"
Toughs looked down at the jewelry and slipped the cat's eye into her palm. She shook her head. "No, but it's mine. Like this book." She held the tome out for him to see the cover.
Troy chuckled and stood. "That's some heavy reading material, but I'm sure you can get through it."
She beamed and nodded. "I will!"
Orion stepped forward. "We need more than just small talk, Troy, we need your help. Mab's gone missing and the Librarian's shut the library."
Troy turned to Orion and me, and his eyes twinkled with his sly mischief. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry too much about."
"But Mab's never shut the diner, and we can't find her anywhere," Orion pointed out.
Troy walked around to the other side of the desk and faced us. "I'm sure she's not far, but that's not all you came here to talk to me about, is it? You want to know about the ship."
I raised an eyebrow. "You know about it?"
He nodded. "Quite a bit, and you might, too. Have you ever heard of the Flying Dutchman?"
I snorted. "Just us and every other coffee drinker in the world, but why? Are we dealing with a Flying Dutchman?"
Troy smiled and shook his head. "No, not a Flying Dutchman. The Flying Dutchman."
Orion and I glanced at each other before my mate returned his attention to the increasingly senile old man before us. "What are you saying? That the ship that sails around here is the Flying Dutchman?"
Troy nodded. "Exactly."
I snorted and turned to Orion. "This place should have been called the Missing El Dorado of Triangular Atlantis."
He shrugged. "Apple Hollow had a better ring to it."
I ran my hand through my hair and shook my head. "This is just nuts. I mean, I've heard of wrong turns, but isn't this thing supposed to be sailing somewhere around Africa?"
Troy nodded. "It's normal route is the southern tip of the African continent, but every thirty-three years it sails up the river for three nights before it returns to its usual haunting grounds, or in this case waters."
I arched an eyebrow. "And you know this how?"
He chuckled. "Through experience."
I pursed my lips and glared at him. "That doesn't really answer-" Orion set his hand on my shoulder and met Troy's gaze.
"Can you tell us about the curse that sends it here?" Orion asked him.
Troy furrowed his brow. "My memory is a little rusty on the subject. I-"
"A man did it."
We all turned to Toughs. She glared at the floor and her shoulders shook. Tears slipped from her eyes and down her red cheeks. "A bad man did it."
Orion knelt in front of her and put his hands on her shaking shoulders. "What bad man?"
She shut her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know, but he's bad. He wanted to hurt me."
I frowned. "I don't think you're its target, Toughs. This ship's been taking this detour for a couple hundred years."
She glared up at me. "I'm not lying!"
Orion glanced at Troy. "Does a little girl jog your memories?"
Troy studied Toughs for a moment before he smiled. "Somewhat. The general curse of the Flying Dutchman states that her captain bet his soul to the devil he would reach shore. The devil ensured he wouldn't reach land by cursing his ship and his crew to an eternity of sailing."
I leaned against the desk. "Sounds like a nightmare cruise even the current companies couldn't beat."
He nodded. "Yes, but I recall that the devil mentioned in the story wasn't the real Devil, but a very human foe."
"You happen to have a name for this foe?" I asked him.
Troy shook his head. "Unfortunately, that's all I remember."
I turned around to face my other companions and leaned my back against the desk. "This story's got more holes than a rat-eaten old newspaper."
Orion checked his watch. "Thinking on an empty stomach isn't going to help. We should get a bite to eat at the house."
"I'm hungry," Toughs spoke up.
I glanced at our pipsqueak. "You should be grounded for running out on us last night."
She glared at me. "I didn't run out last night. I ran out this morning to get this." She held up the book.
"And get yourself caught by the truancy squad," I retorted.
Troy raised his eyebrows and looked to Orion. "What's this about?"
Orion pursed his lips and shrugged. "We found this girl last night one street down from the park. She had a couple of Death's Messengers on her tail."
Troy frowned. "I see. Did you find who cast the spell?"
Orion arched an eyebrow. "I was hoping you could tell us who it might be."
The old man rubbed his chin and his eyes twinkled. "I'll have to give it some thought, but I think you should get this young lady some food. She's rather pale."
I had to admit Toughs wasn't looking so tough. Her skin was covered in goosebumps and she shivered.
Orion set his hand on Toughs shoulder and smiled at Orion. "Thanks for the help."
Troy bowed his head. "It was my pleasure." He escorted us to the door and held it open for our little party. The dark skies released a soft white curtain of snowflakes that covered the worn snow in a fresh layer of icing.
Orion paused on the sidewalk outside the door and half-turned to our host. "If you happen to remember anything else, give me a call."
Troy smiled and nodded. "
I'll be glad to." He glanced up at the gray sky and sighed. "With all this mess it's a pity about the ice show. It's a rare treat to see them perform."
Orion arched an eyebrow. "Yeah, it is. See you later, Troy."
Troy waved to us as we got into the car. "Good luck on your search."
"We'll need it. . ." I mumbled as I slipped into my seat.
We pulled out of the motel parking lot and wound our way down the snowy streets.
I glanced over at Orion. His lips were pursed and his eyes narrowed. I folded my arms and sighed. "Come on, out with it."
Orion smiled. "Out with what?"
I rolled my eyes. "I know that look. You're plotting something, now what is it?"
He shrugged. "Just a lead. Something Troy reminded me about as we left."
I arched an eyebrow. "You mean about the ice sculptors?"
Orion nodded. "Yeah. The sculptors had a good view of the ship."
I snorted. "Some of them almost became a part of the ship."
Orion nodded. "And that's good for us. It means they might have seen something we might want to know."
I furrowed my brow and nodded. "Not a bad assumption, but a good reporter would've asked Troy straight-up what he meant."
Orion smiled. "A good reporter knows when to keep their mouth shut when they're given a free tip."
I grinned and slid down my seat. "Touche. Looks like some of my lessons are starting to rub off on you."
He shuddered. "Perish the thought."
"Are you two married?"
Orion's involuntary twitch made him slam on the brakes. We slid to a stop and whipped our heads around to face the backseat.
Toughs glared back at us. "What? You two act like you're married."
I looked to Orion and jerked my head toward our pipsqueak companion. "Are you sure she's not your long-forgotten illegitimate orphaned daughter? She's got your sass."
He got us back into our lane and rubbed his chin. "There was that cute Eliza May in high school, but Toughs doesn't look anything like her."
I arched an eyebrow. "You sound like you've been around as many times as cars in a used-car lot."
He grinned and shrugged. "What can I say? I'm just a stunningly handsome fellow."
CHAPTER 8
I folded my arms and curled a sly smile onto my lips. "Don't get cocky, Mr. Ace-Reporter. We haven't figured out a lot about this sloop scoop, or her." I jerked my thumb over my shoulder.
Orion grinned. "All in good time, Sidekick, all in good time, and right now the time is lunchtime."
We pulled up to his house and stepped out. A noise to my right caught my attention, and I glanced over my shoulder at the neighbor's house. The Room For Rent sign was gone, and in its place was a handsome young man of eighteen. He was half a foot taller than me but shorter than Orion. The man wore a plain white shirt with buttons up the front and a pocket on the left side, and an open jacket on top of that. He had on a pair of brown suit pants that were a little to baggy for him and covered half of his black, stiff-leather shoes. His brown eyes were covered by the thick black frames of his glasses.
I looked to Orion. He stood in his open door and frowned at the man. I grinned. "Looks like you've got competition for that 'handsome' business you've been running."
"Yeah. . ." he agreed as he slammed his door shut.
The handsome young man walked over to us. In his hands was a plastic container, and in the container was an assortment of colorful store-bought cookies. Orion moved to stand by my side, and Toughs hid behind him.
He stopped a yard away from us and held out the container. "Hey, neighbors. I just moved in and thought I'd give you some treats as a peace offering."
I smiled at him. "Who told you we bite?"
He grinned and shrugged. "Nobody, really, but it's always a good idea to make friends before enemies. Besides-" he held up the store-bought cookies and gave me a wink, "-I worked really hard on them."
Orion leaned toward me and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Don't trust geeks bearing gifts."
I rolled my eyes and pushed him away. "That's nice of you, Mr-?"
He laughed. "I've forgotten the basics, haven't I? My name's Mel Palaemon."
I gestured to myself. "I'm-"
"Trixie Lyal, and you're-" he turned his attention to Orion, "Mr. Huntley. Your reputations proceed you."
I snorted and folded my arms over my chest. "And your new landlady's the the gossip queen of the town. You'll know everyone's family skeletons before you know everyone."
He laughed and nodded. "Probably, but-" The man's eyes widened. He leaned to one side and smiled at Toughs who was still partially hidden behind Orion. "Who do we have here?"
"This is Toughs," I introduced him.
Mel glanced from me to Orion and back. "That's an unusual name. Is she yours?"
Orion shook his head. "She's-"
"Orion's niece," I spoke up. Orion blinked at me and I glared back at him. "She's visiting for a little while."
He knelt down and smiled at the girl. "Hello there, Toughs. It's nice to meet you." Toughs shrank from the man and clung harder to Orion's leg. He popped open the plastic container and pulled out a cookie that he held out to her. "Would you like a cookie? They're delicious." She furiously shook her head.
"She doesn't really have a sweet tooth," I told him.
Mel stood and shrugged. "That's okay. I wasn't much for sugar at that age, either. Anyway, these are yours-" he held the container out for me to take, "-and it was a pleasure knowing you."
I held up my hand and shook my head. "We're not much of a sweet-tooth household."
He smiled and held up the lone cookie. "Then take this one as a token of our friendship."
"Um, thanks. . ." I mumbled as I plucked the cookie from his fingers and tucked the sweet into my coat pocket.
His eyes flashed with a strange emotion and he nodded his head. "I'll be seeing you." He turned around and left us alone in the falling snow.
I looked to my companions. Toughs was slightly more visible around his leg, but she still had a death grip on his limb. I glanced at Orion. "You might've been on to something with that 'geeks bearing gifts' thing."
He arched an eyebrow. "Is that why you lied about Toughs?"
I looked down at our trembling tag-along. "Yeah. Something about that guy rubbed me the wrong way."
"C-could we go inside now?" Toughs pleaded.
Orion smiled down at her and ruffled her hair with his palm. "Sure thing."
We tromped inside and shook the snow from our shoulders and heads. The warmth of the house swept away the nervous feeling that guy left in me, but it didn't sweep away my curiosity. I plopped down on the couch and cupped my chin in my hand as the pair of children fumbled around in the kitchen for food. There was a great banging of pots and lots of yelping and laughter. I worried for my safety.
I glanced over my shoulder and looked toward the kitchen. Water boiled on the stove and Orion's cute butt stuck out of the fridge. Toughs was atop a chair at the chopping block with a large knife in her hand and a defenseless carrot beneath her blade.
"Hey, Orion!" I called out.
Orion removed his head from the fridge. A pot was perched on his head. "Yeah?"
"How can we get a hold of those ice sculptors?" I asked him.
He walked toward me and leaned over the counter that separated the living room from the kitchen. "Anybody can go see them. The trick is they might deny they were ever there."
I arched an eyebrow. "Why?"
He shrugged. "Let's just say they don't like to brag about their community service. It might make a damper on their reputation. Oh, and I'm going to have to sit this one out."
I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He sheepishly grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "To be honest, it's the same wizarding guys who I stole the seal from, and they aren't exactly a forgiving bunch."
I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "And where might I find these
reputation-minded magical ice-sculpting wizards?"
Orion nodded out the window toward the woods. "They're down the road past the junkyard. You turn a left at the big rock and go into the woods for a mile. You can't miss the place."
"I want to go," Toughs spoke up.
I glanced at the little girl with the big knife. Her lips were pursed and she clutched the handle tightly in her tiny fist. "Sure, why not?"
She smiled and gave a nod. "Great! We'll go after lunch!"
I looked to Orion and arched an eyebrow. "What are we having?"
He shrugged and nodded at Toughs. "Beats me, she's the one doing all the cooking."
"He's just my slave," Toughs added.
I grinned and stood. "It's amazing how fast girls grow up these days."
Orion's eyes flickered to Toughs and studied her from toe to head. "Yeah, amazing."
In a few minutes we sat down to a meal of vegetable soup and stale bread. Toughs sat between us and held up a slice of bread. "You dip the bread in the soup to soften it. That'll help with the flavor of the soup, too."
I did as instructed and was surprised by the rich flavor. "Where'd you learn how to cook?"
She shrugged as she spooned the soup into her mouth. "I don't know."
"So that means you still can't remember anything?" I guessed.
Her eyes flickered to me and she frowned. "You're the reporter. You should know."
I glanced across the table at Orion who sat at the other end. "Are you sure she's not your daughter?"
He took a bite of his bread and shook his head. "If that's true then don't blame me for your hereditary sassiness."
"Less talk, more eating," Toughs scolded us.
I shrugged at Orion. "You heard the sass."
We finished the meal and left a pile of dishes for Orion. I paused in the doorway and looked the girl over. "You don't happen to have a coat or something, do you?"
She shrugged. "I don't even know if I have parents."
I snorted. "Good point." I opened the nearby closet door and rummaged through the castoffs of years gone by. "Do you have any small coats?"
Orion came up behind me and reached into the closet. He plucked a medium-sized coat from a hook and held it out to me. "This is all I've got."
I took the coat and studied its makeup. It was pink and fluffy. My eyes flicked up to him. "Is there something you need to tell me?"
He shrugged. "It's from an old girlfriend. She didn't like the coat, or me."
"So she left you both," I commented as I slipped Toughs into the snow gear.