Page 24 of Dead & Breakfast
“Found out something interesting—” Lore began, but Arthur cut her off.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Ms.Lore…” Arthur began, but Lore’s eyes narrowed and a small growl escaped her throat, so he trailed off.
“Don’t do that.”
“Sorry! Sorry, it’s just that it might not be wise to speak in the open like this. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
“No, not the interruption. Don’t call me Ms.Lore. It’s totally weird.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t think elves had surnames, but I wanted to be polite.”
Nora barked out a laugh. “Sorry, it’s just—you were trying to be polite, but youwereinterrupting.”
Lore grunted. “That, too. But I meant quit with the prefixes, okay? I get that it’s a thing in human and even former-human cultures, but it’s actually kind of derogatory to do that with elf names. We believe all names should be respected, so adding any kind of honorific is basically saying that some names don’t deserve respect. Elves may look similar to fae, but we’re not hierarchical like them.”
Arthur, who’d spent his life stubbornly ignoring the existence of paranormals and his undeath mostly around other, as Lore had put it, former-human paranormals, knew little about elves. Before he’d become a vampire, he’d thought of all paranormals as one thing, but from the moment his heart stopped beating, that misconception had melted away bit by bit.
Within the paranormal community, there were many differences and divides. Vampires and werewolves, for example, had their various disagreements. Even more pronounced, however, was the difference between those who were born paranormal, like elves and witches and dryads, and those who were once human, like vampiresand werewolves and ghosts. What Arthur knew about the former couldn’t even fill a teaspoon.
“My sincerest apologies. I didn’t know,” Arthur said.
“Well, now you do.”
“I won’t make the mistake again.”
Lore surveyed him with narrowed eyes but then nodded. “Yeah, you won’t. I like that about you—you’re not an asshole like the sheriff.”
Arthur wasn’t about to disagree with her there, but it wasn’t exactly a high bar. He’d do his best to live up to her expectations and then some.
“Should we reconvene elsewhere?” he asked after a short pause.
“Yeah. Meet me outside city hall in ten minutes. The benches on the lawn,” Lore said quickly before stalking off in the opposite direction.
“Is all this really necessary?” Nora asked. “I don’t think we look that suspicious.”
“Don’t we? We’re an odd bunch, to say the least.”
Nora shrugged. “I suppose…but an elf, a vampire, and a Black woman hanging out in Trident Falls is going to draw attention no matter where we meet.”
“Perhaps I’m being overly cautious, but the sheriff doesn’t yet know I’m investigating things myself.” The hairs on Arthur’s arms stood up as a bracing breeze swept down the street. A peculiar feeling rose in him even as the wind died, goose bumps pebbling his flesh. He spun around, certain he was being watched, but as he scanned his surroundings, he found it was only Rumble staring at him from her hiding place in Nora’s purse. “McMartin could have eyes anywhere, and I’d like to avoid his observation for the time being.”
Rumble flicked her tail, as if insulted by the insinuation she’d be working for the sheriff. Arthur really had to stop projecting so much personality onto a simple stray cat. One of them had to keep their head. If history was any indication, it wouldn’t be Sal, and Arthur still wasn’t sure he could trust Nora.
Nora politely ignored Arthur’s paranoia. “I mentioned it before, but it might be a good idea to get a lawyer now. I don’t know if Salvatore can last the night in lockup.”
“He’s more resilient than he looks,” Arthur said, slowly turning and leading Nora toward city hall. “He was on a famous passenger ship that sank in the middle of the sea once. Claims he swam all the way back to shore.”
“TheTitanic?” Nora gasped.
“If you believe him, yes.” Arthur had heard Salvatore tell the story dozens of times, the dramatization and similarity to the 1997 film increasing with each retelling. He knew better than to believe Salvatore had actually sailed on theTitanic, but that wasn’t the point. Salvatore was stronger than he let on. And more secretive.
“Well, if Salvatore asks, let’s say I believe it.” Nora chuckled. “Bet that was an adventure, life or death—death or death? Can vampires drown? Never mind, I don’t need to know. The point is, I know Salvatore can handle a harrowing situation. But sitting in the police station for twenty-four hours is the worst kind of boring. Can Salvatore handle boring?”
Salvatore, in fact, could not, which was why he always brought drama, and apparently a harmonica, to whatever surroundings he happened to be occupying. Arthur wondered who’d break first—Sal, or the sheriff once Salvatore really got going.
Arthur sighed. “I wouldn’t know where to start with hiring a lawyer, and at this hour on a Friday, in Trident Falls?”
“Get someone from one of the cities. They’ll probably be better lawyers, anyway.”
