while Clay stood guard near the door.
The sight of Asa holding a broom and dustpan must have set Ms. Hampshire at ease.
In her world, the scary guys must not be domesticated.
“Oh good.” She smiled at Clay and Asa. “Thank you both for helping our Rue.”
“We’re happy to, ma’am.” Clay ducked his head. “Thank you for going out of your way for us.”
“It’s no problem.” She waved him off. “Fresh air does a body good.”
“How much do we owe you?” Clay pulled out his wallet. “Pass me that ticket, Rue.”
“I won’t take your money or hers.” Ms. Hampshire lifted a hand. “Consider it a gift from me and Frank.”
Outright refusal would hurt her feelings, and I had become a person who cared about others’ feelings.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t fuss. “You won’t stay in business if you don’t start charging people.”
“Eh.” She flipped that same hand. “I’m about to retire. Let the person who buys us out worry about it.”
“Let me help you.” Clay offered her his arm. “The floor is still slick in here.”
“And they say chivalry is dead,” she tittered. “Thank you, young man.”
Clay was old as literal dirt, since he was made from the stuff, but he did look around forty.
Clive ducked his head into the store. “Are you ready for us to seal it up?”
“Yes.” I passed him his bags of food. “Thank you all for your help today.”
He grumbled to accept even that much payment, but the teens had their stomachs in their eyes.
Once Clay returned, Clive set the final sheet of plywood in place and began nailing it over the door.
“The Kellies replied.” Clay shook his head. “The phones are both off. He can’t track either of them.”
The girls never turned their phones off, which meant the copycat had done it for them. “Last location?”
A slight hesitation told me how much he didn’t want to say what came next. “Main Street.”
The immediate powering down of the phones reaffirmed the killer was tech savvy, which truly sucked.
On the upside, the privacy allowed Colby to stretch her wings for the first time in hours, but she kept her perch on my head. Pretty sure she had been asleep and had gone right back to napping to pass the time.
The wood blocked us from view off Main Street, and I deflated a bit, as if this version of me, this Rue, had been punctured with a sharp needle. Past and present, the two halves of my life had collided right out of the gate. I had been a fool to think I could keep this part untainted by the darkness of the other.
Black Hat was a cancer in its agents, and I was proof there was no cure.
15
The phone rang.
Ten hours and change after we arrived at the store.
I had been staring at it, willing its display to light. For a panicked heartbeat, I couldn’t decide if it was real or wishful thinking. The handset slipped across my damp palm when I grabbed it and answered.
“Hollis Apothecary, Rue Hollis speaking.”
Asa ducked into the office, mop in hand. Clay was right behind him. Both were listening in.
So was Colby, who was cuddled into a jacket Arden had left in the office, her dark eyes wide with worry.
“You have something I want,” a quiet, male voice informed me. “And I have two somethings you want.”
“You’ll have to be more specific.”
“I want the loinnir.” He paused. “Give it to me, and I will return the girls I took from your store.”
The long wait had cured me of any urge to play games. “I want proof of life.”
Twin screams pierced the air behind the caller, and he sucked in a breath, as if savoring their pain.
In a blink, Colby shot off the desk, shrank, and nestled down until my hair hurt from her yanking on it.
“There is your proof of life.” His voice grew huskier. “Meet me at Tadpole Swim.”
The lack of qualifiers stumped me. “When?”
A soft laugh flavored his tone. “Now.”
The call ended before I could ask more questions. No doubt that was the point.
“He didn’t tell me to come alone.” I flung the phone at its base. “That’s not a good sign.”
Villains loved their catchphrases, and that had to be number one.
Maybe number two, right behind don’t call the cops.
Which, now that I thought about it, he hadn’t used that line on Miss Dotha either.
“He knows you won’t come alone.” Clay didn’t sound worried one bit. “Why bother lying about it?”
Apparently, he appreciated a criminal willing to cut through