Bloodfire (Blood Destiny 1) - Helen Harper Page 0,41
of day, I knew I could expect to find Nick at the police station, probably filling out paperwork from that day’s dealings with the crime underworld of Trevathorn. However, it was past five and I also knew that Perkins would be closing soon. I debated whether to visit the hardware store, or Nick, first. Remembering the glint in Nick’s eyes when I saw him last, I decided that I would try the store first. Then I might be able to avoid talking to him altogether.
The village was busy at this time of day, with both locals and tourists bustling around. Most of them gave me a wide berth when they saw me striding towards them though. I guess my expression contained enough thunderous determination that they figured it was better to just get out of my way. It suited me fine. Tourists were irksome at the best of times, and I was not exactly in the mood for small talk with any of Trevathorn’s inhabitants. My bloodfire was glowing in the pit of my stomach as I was forced to consider the idea that John had been deliberately targeted. Perhaps the wichtlein pebble wasn’t so much a harbinger as a marker beacon, pointing him out to whichever big bad nasty had decided to chomp on him as a snack. The heat curled savagely around my lower intestines, threatening to take over at a moment’s notice. I ignored it. This was a time to focus, as John would have said.
By the time I reached Perkins, it was almost half past five and I could see the eponymous owner, Perkins himself, up at the glass door and flipping the little yellow sign from Open to Closed. Good. That meant I’d have peace and quiet to quiz him. I stepped up to the glass plate and rapped sharply. He gestured at the sign and his watch, shrugging expressively. I ignored this and rapped again.
He opened the door a couple of inches and poked his head out. “We’re shut.”
“I need to talk to you.”
“And I need to go home and see my wife and kids.” He tried shutting the door but I stuck my foot in the way.
“Please, Mr Perkins. It’s important.”
He sighed and appeared to consider the matter. It was not as if I was really going to give him the choice though. “Fine. But only for five minutes.” He opened the door and let me in, then locked it behind me.
Perkins stood in the entrance, hand on his hips, and waggled his eyebrows questioningly. He was a small man, human of course, with a bald patch and slightly greying hair. He wore a red apron that proclaimed the words ‘We’re proud to work at Perkins!’
I opened my palms out, in a gesture of non-confrontation. “Can we sit down? I’d like to ask you a few questions about the robbery a few days ago.”
He sighed expansively. “Why? Has the cult decided to become vigilantes now?”
At least he wasn’t accusing us of breaking and entering. “No, but I think there might have been other similar break-ins in the area and I want to help out.” I put on a pretty smile. “Please, Mr Perkins? I really do want to help.”
He looked at me assessingly but I could see that he’d already given in. “It’s probably more than the police are going to do, I suppose,” he grumbled. “Here, come this way.”
He took me into a little backroom where there was a small table and a couple of chairs. Along one side of the wall there was a sink, a little fridge and a kettle. “I suppose you’ll be wanting tea, too?”
“How about coffee?” I asked, pushing my luck.
“Fine,” he muttered, and set about getting two cups, flicking the switch on the kettle to on. Before too long, it was spitting steam so he poured the hot water onto a scoop of instant granules. I was a bit of a coffee purist and usually hated instant but I didn’t think any further comments regarding his choice of brew would be useful at this point. I declined milk and sugar and he passed me the cup, sitting down at the table with me.
“So what exactly is it you want to know?”
I asked him how they got in.
“Broke the glass at the back.” He pointed to a boarded up window behind me. “Figured it must have been kids ‘cos it’s so small.”
I nodded briefly, thinking that it could have been any thing of any size that could