Chapter 7

“Tonight? Why tonight?” I stared at the invitation in my hand, rubbing the expensive paper with my thumb and biting my bottom lip. What did I do? Cancel on Davin? Put Katsuro off?

I released a long breath and put the card in my pocket. How did I even tell Katsuro yes or no? He owned the coffee shop. I could probably leave a message there.

“Damn it.”

First off, I needed to head over to Mayday Hills, look into the job at the bookstore Jaz had mentioned might be available, and do a little wardrobe shopping. Actually, first I needed to go to the pet store.

“Well, Nimbus, ready for an adventure?”

He rooed at me, wagging his fluffy curled tail. The anxiety that had threatened to take up residence in my chest dissipated at his adorableness. He trotted along at my side with a jaunty little swagger to his gait. I chuckled and went to my car.

The little guy jumped in the back like he’d been riding in cars his entire life. Which, since I knew nothing about Nimbus, other than that he was adorable and a puppy and fluffy beyond belief, and soft, and okay… anyway—maybe he had been in cars quite a bit in his brief life.

I put the pet store in my GPS, turned on some tunes, and headed out.

The pet store was a cute local place not too far into Mayday Hills and they had everything I needed. Little Nimbus won over everyone in the store. Conveniently, the bookstore was right next door. If I did get a job, I might be able to bring Nimbus to the pet store. They had a small play and boarding area. For today, I was going to take him inside with me. I’d been told it was pet friendly.

The bells on the door jingled when I went inside, and the mingled scent of old books and coffee eased a tension in my shoulders I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying. Though I’d never considered books as any sort of career in my old life, now the idea was all I could think about. Even if I never actually wrote anything good, maybe I could be surrounded by them and sell them. I wasn’t being negative about my aspirations to be an author. It was simply a new skill, and I wasn’t sure how it would go for me. Courtesy of the government buying me out of my old life, I had the time to give it a try, and the leeway to take a lower-paying job. It was also so radically different from what I’d done before that it was unlikely to trigger any suspicions should there be any surviving members of the trafficking ring out there.

“Hello!” A woman popped up, nearly literally, from behind the counter.

It took an act of will to keep from yelping. She looked like an owl had mated with a goblin and produced a somewhat human offspring. After the last few days in Beechworth, I was almost willing to believe she wasn’t human, and it startled me.

“Hi.” I made myself smile back. She certainly sounded friendly enough.

“Are you here for the séance?”

“The what?” I glanced around, wondering if somehow I’d gotten confused and gone into the wrong store.

“We summon dead authors and ask them about their books once a month. This month we’re summoning Chaucer.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Uh. No, actually I came about a job?”

“Oh?” She narrowed her eyes and peered at me. Squinting, she removed her glasses, cleaned them, and looked at me again. “Ahh, I see. You’re hired.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yes, stand here.” She gestured to her spot behind the counter.

“Okay?”

Nimbus rooed, and she leaned over the counter.

“Yes, of course. You’re hired, too. Now, have you ever worked a register before?”

“It’s been a few years. Do you want to see my resume?”

“No. You’re the chosen one. I’ll show you the basics now, and if you have any questions, they’ll have to wait until after the séance. Just do the best you can.”

“Of course, Miss…?”

“Clare. Now, what’s the dog’s name?”

“Nimbus.”

“Excellent. Nimbus, you sit here and look adorable. It’ll increase sales.” She pointed to a spot next to the counter. “We’ll get you a bed.”

For all the world acting like he understood, Nimbus sat where she indicated and gave us his fiercest puppy dog eyes. My heart melted into a puddle.

“Perfect.” She turned her attention to me. “We have fifteen minutes. Let’s get started.”

Completely confused, but willing to go with it for now, I let her show me how to work the register and the basics of selling books in her shop.

Exactly fifteen minutes later, the first patron of my employment entered. She was every bit as esoteric as Clare.

“Anita!” Clare came around the counter and held out her arms. They hugged and air kissed, and she took the younger woman’s coat. While Clare had to be in her sixties, Anita was closer to twenty-five. She was a tall, thin Black woman and wore a beautiful gray shawl that someone had skillfully made, and she had the brightest pink hair I’d ever seen.

Clare introduced her to Nimbus, who got a great deal of cooing and kisses, before she waved vaguely in my direction, and led Anita to the back room.

I couldn’t even be offended. Nimbus’ cute little roo roo of greeting totally stole the show.

Before I could process that interaction, an older Asian man came in. Suspenders stretched over his ample belly, holding up linen slacks, and his tweed jacket was a touch threadbare around the cuffs. He doffed his flat cap before bowing to Nimbus and making his jolly way toward the back. And those two were the least strange appearing of the crowd.

Every single one of them made a big deal of Nimbus, greeted me like I’d always been there and headed to the back.

By the end, I just waved and accepted that my job was going to be as odd as anything else about this place. I hadn’t realized the strangeness surrounding Beechworth extended out to Mayday Hills. Still, it wasn’t going to be boring.

After about twenty minutes, one more person walked in. He was tall, portly, wore a long jacket of some really old style, and had a well-manicured white beard.

“Ahh, hello. Is this the Chaucer séance?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Geoff. Nice to meet you.” Oh, he was British. Too old for me, but cultured sounding, and seemed like he had a good sense of humor by his tone of voice.

“Hannah.” I offered my hand, which he shook.

“Roo!”

“And Nimbus.”

He kneeled and gave the puppy a good scratch behind the ears.

“I suppose I’d better pop back there. Good day.” He doffed his cap and sauntered into the back of the shop.

“Nimbus, what on earth have we gotten ourselves into?”

He wagged his fluffy little tail and rooed happily.

***

After no one came in for a bit, I shifted my feet and looked around for something obvious to do. Nothing presented itself, so I turned my attention to my dilemma about tonight. Maybe I could let Davin take me out to dinner, but tell him I had to see Katsuro, too? He had told me I should accept the coffee shop owner’s invitation, after all.

Scenes from romantic comedies flashed through my mind about having dinner with both of them in the same place and taking lots of “bathroom breaks” to dash between one table and another. I knew that wouldn’t work regardless, but it was a fun thought exercise for a few minutes. Then I had to move on to figuring out what to wear. For that, I’d have to go shopping.

The time stretched, and I finally pulled out my phone and started looking up clothing stores. I doubted Clare would get mad at me when I hadn’t intended on staying. I’d have to interrupt soon if I was going to go shopping and meet up with Davin on time. Not to mention figure out what to do about Katsuro. Hell, maybe I’d ask Davin’s advice. Or Oliver’s. That was a thought.

He might even have an idea what Katsuro wanted. Bridger had claimed he was flirting with me. Surely not.

Finally, I decided direct was best. I pulled out Davin’s business card, put his number in my phone, and sent him a text.

Davin, this is Hannah. I guess Katsuro wants to meet tonight.

I wasn’t sure what else to say, so I left it at that. He’d understand the context.

It didn’t take long before he replied.

Hannah, that’s no problem. I can make sure you’re at the coffee shop just after dark. He won’t show up until then, anyway.

Great, thank you! I sent back.

After dark? What the heck? It really was strange here.

Embracing the vampire image a bit much? Or just a night owl?

I hoped I didn’t regret sending that somewhat joking text.

Davin’s reply took a little longer, and I started to get anxious again when the others came out of the back room full of laughter and good cheer at how successful the séance had been. Their departure was nearly the same as their entrance. They showered Nimbus with love, waved at me like they’d known me for years, and left.

Sometime during that, my phone dinged, but I couldn’t spare a second to look at it because Clare came over with a huge grin on her face.

“You’re perfect. What hours can you work? Part-time? Full-time? Ahh, part-time to start with?”

I raised my eyebrows. That was exactly what I’d been hoping for but hadn’t had the opportunity to say it aloud.

“Yes, of course. We’ll see how it goes,” she said before I could reply.

“If you don’t mind a bit of an early morning, we can meet here at nine am tomorrow before the shop opens, and I’ll get you up to speed. Probably should do all that pesky paperwork, too. Discuss pay, all that.”

“That’s great, Clare. Thank you.”

She smiled and patted me on the hand. “Let’s call it three hours today. I’ll add that to your timecard. See you tomorrow.”

She kneeled and gave Nimbus a good scratching. He rooed and gave her a soft nose kiss before trotting over to my side.

“Oh, go to Francine’s for clothing. Some new, some used, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for.” She waved me toward the door before I could ask how she knew all that. Was she telepathic?

Not a hundred percent positive I should be taking clothing advice from my new boss, considering her style and mine were very different, but willing to at least give it a try, I pulled out my phone and typed in the address. It was within walking distance. Excellent.

The text reply button flashed at me, and I chewed at my lower lip as I hit the icon while I walked.

See you at four.

Well, that was a non-answer if I’d ever seen one. What did that mean?

My puppy brushed against my leg as if trying to reassure me while I shoved the unreasonable anxiety away.

Had I screwed up?

I pulled my glasses off and cleaned them on my shirt.

Backward pressure on the leash and a quick bark were all that saved me from plowing into someone on the street.

“Oh, sorry!” I shoved my glasses back on my face.

The man that stared back at me gave haughty a textbook definition.

“You should be.”

Every warning sense I’d developed over the last couple of years dealing with the trafficking ring went off, and I backed away, hating myself for retreating, but not at all interested in making myself memorable to this person. Besides that, there was something vaguely familiar about his voice and his profile, though I was certain I’d never seen him before now.

I pulled Nimbus into the nearest store, heart racing.

“We’re closed,” a familiar voice said.

I spun around, noticed I was in more of a dance club type setting than a store, and widened my eyes when I saw Jaz behind the bar.

“Jaz?”

“Hannah, you shouldn’t be here. It’s not at all safe.”

“This guy—” I pointed at the door just as the bell chimed and “this guy” followed me inside.

Jaz’s eyes narrowed. “She’s under Katsuro’s protection. Leave.”

The guy smirked. “She’s not in his territory, Jaz. She’s in ours. As are you. Best you remember that.” He sauntered past, his gaze lingering on me before flicking toward Nimbus. He widened his eyes in surprise.

Nimbus had his lips drawn back in an impressive display of teeth for a puppy his size.

“I’ll discuss this with you later, Jaz.” The man went deeper into the club.

Jaz turned toward me. “Leave, now.”

I figured I could get answers later, so I split. So much for not making myself memorable to whoever that was.

I hurried on to the clothing store, heart racing. Nimbus trotted along at my side, tail curled up over his back, but an alertness to his expression I’d not seen before.