Hank Mossberg, Private Ogre: Murder in the Boughs Read online

  “What could I do? I didn’t even understand it… I mean, how could this even be real? How could this creature just completely change my life overnight? And then when I saw that it was all real, I didn’t know what to do. I pushed you away, tried to forget everything. And after a few years, I saw that you and Jenny were doing fine, and I thought maybe it was just all my imagination. Maybe it really was just a crazy dream.”

  “She’s ten years old,” I said. “He doesn’t take children until they’re ten. That’s the rule. They can still be groomed and trained at that age, and that’s all that matters to him.”

  “Groomed?” Roxy said. “Groomed for what?”

  “He makes them into slaves. His homeland is in a distant… call it a dimension. He takes children there, trains them to work, and then sells them off as slaves. He has the power to convert his wealth in that world to human wealth in this world, which is how he gave you all those things. It’s a kind of magic. It takes a cut out of his profit, but just a percentage. It’s still a lucrative business.”

  “But who is he?” said Roxy. “Who is this creature?”

  “He goes by many names, but most often he’s known in this world as Rumpelstiltskin.”

  “Rumpelstiltskin?” Roxy said incredulously. “This is too much. I don’t know what kind of game this is, or how you two worked it out, but I’m leaving. And I’m calling the police.”

  “Wait!” Tom said. “Roxy… I’m sorry. Do you understand that? Can you forgive me?”

  She glanced back and forth between us, measuring his words. I could see the struggle that was happening inside of her. She didn’t dare believe what she’d just heard. Not if she wanted to keep her sanity. But how could it be anything but the truth? How would we have come up with such a ridiculous story? And for what purpose?

  “You know it’s true,” I said, rising to stand next to her. “Forget what your logical, rational human mind says. Look at Tom’s face. Don’t you believe him? Why would he make this up? And look at me, Roxy. Really look at me. What do you think I am?”

  Thankfully, she did it. She stared at me, for the first time letting go of her preconceived ideas, letting the wall of rationality down. “Where do you think fairy tales come from?” I said. I stared into her eyes as her gaze flitted back and forth across my face. I saw her studying my features. The thick, heavyset jaw, the green-tinted skin, and the hair of my beard. My not quite human eyes, deep forest green and flecked with gold.

  And finally Roxy saw, and her eyes went wide. I put my hand on her arm, guiding her towards Tom. Then I took a step back, giving them room. “Call to him,” I said.

  “Him? You mean him?” said Tom.

  “Yes. Both of you. Call his name.”

  Despite everything, Roxy was still struggling. She was there, teetering on the brink of full acceptance, and yet dangerously close to slipping back into human delusion. Her reality was calling to her, the safe place of her childhood, the rock solid world where everything was as it seemed and nothing magical could ever happen.

  “Do it, Roxy,” I urged. “You’ve come this far. You’ve gone through so much. I know it sounds silly, but why not do it? Why not at least give it a chance? Don’t leave here without giving Jenny a chance.”

  She looked at me, and I saw the change in her eyes. That did it. The sound of her daughter’s name reminded her of what was truly important. “How do we do it?” she said. “We just call out his name?”

  “Yes. You two had a bargain with him, so he will come to you.”

  Roxy took a deep breath. “Rumpelstiltskin!” she called out. “Rumpelstiltskin can you hear me?” Behind her, Tom called the name out as well.

  “Rumpelstiltskin!”

  On the third time, something happened. It was like a wind blew through the room, only it was different. It was the kind of wind that doesn’t touch your skin, but blows through you, deep into your soul, leaving you only vaguely aware that something has happened but not exactly sure what that something was. I noticed a shadowy movement in the corner of my eyes, and turned to see him sitting on a chair in the shadows. He was perched on the back of it, with his legs up on the armrests. He wore the odd, somewhat medieval looking clothing of his world, and wore his lute strung across his back with the end of the neck curving over his shoulder.

  “Ah, the happy couple!” he said gleefully. “This is a nice office, Tom!”

  I stepped around the sofa, putting myself between them and the imp. “Stiltskin, it’s time to undo your bargain!” I commanded.

  He laughed at me. It was a great resounding belly laugh, a sound that hardly seemed like it could come out of a creature half my size. He jumped up in the air and came down on the back of the chair, balancing tiptoe on one foot. His other leg was curled up at an odd angle and his arms were outstretched to either side. “Bargain!” he repeated. “Bargain smargin! Bargainy wargany margin! Bargany largany jargon! Would you like to hear a song?”

  He reached for his lute but I took a step forward, reaching out towards him. “If you touch that lute I’ll bust it over your head,” I threatened. “And then I’ll sap the energy out of you like a juvenile delinquent goblin and lock you up somewhere that you’ll never escape.”

  That gave him pause. He lowered his hands, feigning a great deal of fear. “Deary, dear! So very near to my fear! Very well then, Steward. What’s it to be, then? What have you to offer?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “You stole this woman’s child. Give it back.”

  He made a strange grimacing face, something that was almost a smile but too horrific. “Bargains, bargains,” he murmured. “We had a deal, Tom!”

  I glanced over my shoulder and saw the couple standing together, both looking terrified and helpless. “I don’t want this anymore,” he said. “Take it all back.”

  “Oh, sure!” Rumpelstiltskin said in a sarcastic voice. “I’ll just go back through time and undo everything I’ve done for you.” Then he looked at me and shook his head. “Where do you find these fools?”

  I didn’t give an inch. “This woman didn’t bargain with you,” I said. “And the fact that they were never married means Tom didn’t have the right to bargain his firstborn. In this world, the woman has the right to choose for her offspring.”

  The imp scratched his chin thoughtfully and then looked at Tom. “Alrighty, nighty nighty… I’ll take the other firstborn!”

  “No!” Tom cried out. “You can’t have my children. Never!”

  I glanced back and forth between them, a feeling of satisfaction growing inside of me. Jenny was coming home. We’d already made the deal, now we were down to haggling over semantics. “You can do better than that,” I said.

  Rumpelstiltskin looked me over, feigning deep contemplation. “I only do children,” he said. “But I might make an exception.” He turned his attention back to Tom. “You owe me ten years, human! Let’s go!”

  Tom looked horrified. “But my family!” he said. “My children! They won’t manage without me. I can’t leave them for ten years!”

  “Five,” I said firmly.

  Rumpelstiltskin looked angry. “But-”

  “Five,” I said again, cutting him off. “Five, and there won’t be any need for intervention by the Elders.”

  He looked crestfallen. “It’s a deal.” He looked at Tom. “Agreed?”

  Tom hesitated, glancing back and forth between us. “My family…” he murmured.

  “Your family will be fine. Time travels more quickly in Rumpelstiltskin’s world. You’ll be back sooner than you think. Your children will still be children, your wife will still love you, and you’ll still have all of this.” I swept my arms around, indicating everything that Tom had gained from his deal with the imp. “I suggest you take this bargain, Tom. You could do a lot worse.”

  He dropped his head and sighed. “All right. Do it.”

  Rumpelstiltskin snapped his fingers. Instantly, they were gone. Roxy and I were standing alone in the office. It took a moment for us
to catch our breath. Then Roxy’s face went ashen. “Jenny!” she said. “Where’s my Jenny?”

  “Here, mom!” a small voice said behind the desk. Jenny came crawling out from underneath the desk. She jumped up, grinning from ear to ear, and raced into her mother’s arms. Roxy lifted her, embracing Jenny like she was terrified to let her go.

  “You look different,” she said at last, pulling away to look into Jenny’s face. “It’s these clothes. Where did you get these strange clothes?”

  “He gave them to her,” I said. “That’s what they wear in his world.”

  I didn’t have the heart to tell Roxy that Jenny had been gone for more than a few days. In her reality, Jenny had probably been gone more like half a year. A lot can change in that amount of time, especially for a child. I could already tell by looking at her that Jenny had changed, and it wasn’t just the clothes. She was fae now. She wasn’t a fairy or an elf, but there was no doubt in my mind that she was fae.

  I couldn’t guess as to how that would affect her over the long term. Often, children who’ve been touched by the fae are never quite normal again. They take on unnatural interests. They develop a deep longing for the woods and the quiet places of the world. They grow fascinated with nature and magic. They spend ridiculous amounts of time reading silly fairy stories and fantasy books, and often they develop a fondness for swordplay and renaissance fairs and costuming. No, she’d definitely never be normal again. Lucky girl.

  Chapter 14

  We needed to buy an extra ticket for the flight home. I was happy to pay for it, but I couldn’t help worrying a little about my bank account. I hadn’t started out with much of a balance. After our little trip, I was afraid to look at what was left. I just hoped Roxy would remember to pay me before the checks started clearing. Then again, there was no telling if she’d actually have a job when she got home. After all, everything that she’d owned had ultimately come from Rumpelstiltskin, and he was none too pleased at having to retract his bargain. Did that mean he would retract everything else? I didn’t think so since he had a replacement slave, but it wouldn’t have surprised me if he tried to slide something by. That was a bridge we’d cross when we came to it.

  I called Butch on the flight back home. We had a lot of catching up to do, and not just about Roxy and her daughter. I wanted to make sure that our prisoners were still safely locked up, and that Butch had ordered another meeting of the Elders’ Council to resolve the matter. Unfortunately, Butch didn’t answer the phone. I thought he might have been out of the room, so I called back again a bit later. Still no answer. On the third try, I started to get worried. At that point, I’d been trying to call him for almost an hour and my plane was about to land.

  After we touched down at SFO, I put Roxy and Jenny in a cab. Roxy was a changed woman, now that she had her little girl back. The life was back in her face. Her cheeks were rosy and she was smiling, maybe even beaming. “I can’t thank you enough,” she said as we stood next to the cab. Jenny was at her side, and Roxy had her arm draped over Jenny’s shoulders. Roxy leaned over to give me a hug, but kept her arm around Jenny the whole time. I could tell Roxy wasn’t going to let her daughter out of sight for a long time.

  “Keep an eye on her,” I said.

  “I will.”

  “And if she… if she seems a little different, don’t be too concerned. Jenny’s been through an unusual experience. She might not be like a regular kid anymore. Just give her some space.”

  “Oh, she’s just fine,” Roxy said. “I can tell.”

  I could see denial in her eyes. Roxy was already trying to convince herself that things hadn’t happened the way she remembered them. In a year or two, Roxy probably wouldn’t even remember the slave-trading imp or the bargain he’d made with her ex-lover. She’d just wonder why her daughter had such a strange fixation on fairy tales and role-playing games.

  “Just the same,” I said. “Go easy on her.”

  “Don’t you worry about us, Mr. Mossberg. Now that I’ve got Jenny back, we’re going to be just fine.”

  “Glad to hear it.” Who knows? Maybe she was right. In a few years, Jenny might not even remember the ordeal. I doubted it, though. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be too long before Jenny found her way to the tree.

  After they left, I picked up my Blazer and drove straight to the jail. It was a gorgeous San Francisco afternoon and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Someone had replaced the front door on the building, and I pretended not to notice as I entered and made my way towards the stairs. I knew the bill would catch up with me, but for now I didn’t want to ruin a perfect day by asking about it.

  It seemed everyone wanted a word with me. Brian was first, reminding me that I hadn’t bought today’s paper yet. “You don’t want to miss this one,” he called out. “The Giants made it into the series!”

  I paused long enough to grab a paper and hand him the last of the change in my pocket. I turned around to find myself facing chef Malachi. To my surprise, Diana was at his side and they were both smiling. “I just wanted to thank you,” she said. “After our talk yesterday, I realized how much Malachi and his place meant to me… how much you all mean to me. From now on, I’m a changed woman.”

  “Well, I’m happy for you,” I said. “I take it Malachi’s not going to fire you.”

  Malachi smiled. “No, actually I’m promoting Diana to staff manager.”

  “Manager, that’s great!” I said. “Congratulations.”

  “Well, I had to do something,” Malachi said. “You see, I had already filled Diana’s position on the wait staff.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah, I gave Shulzy that promotion you suggested. And you know what? He surprised me. He’s really good.”

  “Good for him,” I said. “I’m glad you gave him a chance. You do know that it’s his dream to be a cook, right?”

  “Yes, yes, we’ve already talked about it. He’s going to be cross training, so that next time I have an opening in the kitchen he can move up. Diana’s overseeing everything.”

  “That’s great,” I said.

  “Well, we’re off to a matinee,” Malachi said. He reached into his pocket and handed me a piece of paper. “Here’s a ticket for two free meals. Next time you’re hungry, come visit. I’ll give you the best seat in the house.”

  “Thanks,” I said. I watched them walk out the door, arm in arm, wondering if they were on a platonic date or if there was more to the story that I hadn’t heard. I shook my head and smiled. I’d hear about it soon enough.

  Finally, I made it down to the jail. The first thing I noticed was the briefcase sitting on my desk. Yes, the briefcase. I opened it up and checked just to be sure. The pixie dust was still there, every bag of it. “It’s about time,” Butch said. I jumped. I hadn’t even realized he was there. I swung my gaze around the room and then realized he was in Vinnie’s cell. Vinnie was gone. Butch was rubbing his head and he had a few drops of blood on his cheek. I glanced at the cell next to him and saw Brutus slumped over on the ground, his eyes staring vacantly towards the ceiling, a look of horror frozen onto his face.

  “What the… what happened here, Butch?”

  “I don’t know. I just woke up a few minutes ago. Last I remember I was just sitting there, playing a game of solitaire. Somebody hit me over the back of the head.”

  I brushed my hand along the roots and they parted, freeing Butch. “That doesn’t make sense,” I murmured.

  “What, that somebody hit me?”

  “No, the fact that they locked you up. The Mother tree doesn’t follow instructions of just anyone. She knows my touch.”

  “Well, somebody else figured out how to do it, then,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. He walked over to the soda machine and pulled out a bottle of cola. He put it to the back of his head and closed his eyes. “Feels like my brain’s splitting apart.”

  I eyed him and then glanced back at Brutus… at his corpse. “Butch, I’m going to ask you a very im
portant question. I need you think carefully about the answer.”

  “Huh? Okay, Boss.”

  “Did you kill Brutus Kaiser?”

  “Did I what? Brutus?” Butch frowned. He stepped around me so he could look into Brutus’ cell. He let out a low whistle. “Somebody killed him?” he said. “You know I wouldn’t do that, Hank.”

  “I didn’t think so, but I had to ask.” I opened Brutus’ cell and stepped in to examine his body. “Strangled,” I said. “He’s got abrasions all over his neck. Looks like he cut his hands up pretty good trying to get away… interesting.” I touched him and Brutus’ entire body disintegrated into a fine gold powder. “At least an hour,” I murmured. “Probably more like two. That sound about right?”

  Butch glanced at the clock. “Yes. Last time I looked at the clock was almost two hours ago. That was right before…” Butch suddenly realized the briefcase was sitting on top of my desk. “Is that the one?” he cried out. “Where did that come from?”

  “It was here when I came in.” I said. I sounded just as bewildered as Butch. Then a thought occurred to me. “Vinnie’s gone -what about Julius?”

  We both raced around the corner and down to the lower level of the jail. When we got there, we found Julius’ cell wide open. He was gone, too. “They both escaped,” Butch said. “Somehow, Julius and Vinnie got out together. But why did they leave the briefcase?”

  “They didn’t,” I said. “They wouldn’t have left that pixie dust here any more than they would have killed Brutus. Something else is going on here.”

  “What do you mean? You think there’s someone else involved? Do you think we’ve got a vigilante?”

  I scratched the back of my head, considering. “I don’t know,” I finally said. “It almost looks that way. Maybe whoever killed Anthony came back to finish the job.”

  “But why would the murderer kill Brutus and then let Julius and Vinnie go?”

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. Maybe Anthony and Brutus had done something to the killer, but Julius wasn’t involved?”