Bradley stared into the darkness of the outflow pipe. “This,” he said, “Would be a really damn good time to explain what you have in mind.”
At our feet, in an ugly, rust-stained concrete channel, water trickled out towards the lake. I stepped into it.
“I hope you aren’t too attached to those shoes,” I told him.
“I’ve stepped in worse,” he said, and walked into the water.
Into, not on, I thought sourly, no matter what he thinks.
“Now,” he began.
But I could feel my cell phone buzzing in my pocket. I took it out and checked the caller ID. “I’ll be able to tell you more in a second,” I said.
I flipped open the phone, “George,” I said, “What have you got?”
“What I have got?” he asked, “I’ve got a partner who nearly got herself killed, is what I’ve got. What the spurk do you think you’re doing?”
“Your concern is touching, as always,” I said. “But we’re busy solving a crime over here, and I need information.”
“Hey, we’re –” George said, but I cut him off.
“Right, you’re working the case too. But we’re the one who, you and Colby decided should go chasing down the real lead while you talked to Jackson’s sister. And let me guess, her story checked out. No matter what went down, she was out of the loop, right?”
He muttered something that he was probably lucky I didn’t hear, then added, “Yes.”
“So what I need from you, George, is two things. I need you and Colby to go to Jackson’s place, secure the crime scene and look for evidence. Everyone else is manning the Border, and you guys are already briefed.”
He said something else, to Colby at his end, I think, then said, “Fine.”
“You can’t miss it,” I told him, “It’s the room with the bullet holes, the smell of scorched leaves, and a cop-shaped hole in the door.”
“Yes, Bobs,” he said, “Fine. I understand, okay?”
“Good. Just so we’re like spurking crystal on the comprehension front,”
“The other thing,” I went on before he could grace me with another comeback, “Is to know more about what the spurk I…” I glanced at Bradley, “That we’re dealing with. You saw the APB. What is this thing?”
He was silent for a minute, and I could almost hear him thinking. “Well…You’re right, he’s not a standard mythotype. Probably a localized personification of nature. I see two possibilities. One is, he’s an autumn fairy associated with trees. The other is that he’s –”
“I swear,” I said, “If you say, ‘a tree fairy associated with autumn’ then I will reach right through the phone to punch you.”
“Well, excuse the spurk out of me,” he said, “But those are the choices, and yes, the difference is relevant, okay? Would you like some suggestions about how to deal with this guy, or keep winging it? Since that’s been working out so well.”
“Oh, by all means enlighten me,” I said.
“The fact that he scorched, rather than melted, that says to me that he’s a tree fairy. But the problem with that is, Fae associated with trees are associated with specific trees.”
“So,” I replied, wincing at the unavoidable pun, “We need to know why he’s out of his tree.”
“Exactly,” George said with a professorial sort of chuckle.
“But why the autumn?” I asked.
“Not sure,” he said, and I could infer the shrug. I waited for him to continue, but no. Apparently that was it.
“That really, really doesn’t give me a lot to go on,”
“I could speculate,” he said, “But it would just be giving you a license to yell at me some more.”
“Hey!” I began, then stopped myself.
I hate it when George is right.
I inhaled. Exhaled.
“I just got punched in the head,” I said.
“I know. Look, I’ve told you what I know. The tree is the key. Sight unseen, I can’t be sure of anything else,” George said, and he even managed to sound apologetic.
“We should all get moving,” I told him.
“Yeah,” he said, “Look, Bobs, just… just take care of yourself, partner.”
I tried to think of something clever and mood-lightening.
I finally settled for, “You too. I’ll be in touch.”
“Okay,” I said over my shoulder as I slipped the phone back into my pocket, “We know a little more than we did before.”
It was, I suddenly noticed, oddly quiet.
I looked up. “Hey, Bradley,” I said.
But Bradley was gone.
To Be Continued