Because he was aWaryeor.For always.
* * *
It took some doing, but Rey had at last tracked down that POS tin can the fucking bitch got out of town with. He had pulled up to a large auto shop, not at all like one of the chop shops that he was familiar with inEl Monstruo’snetworks. They did a lot of business with that Renfaire crap right outside of town, since they had tons of signs advertising it. He walked past all the signs to where cars waiting to be worked on were parked. Past all the used cars that had FOR SALE signs on. That crappy Ford Fiesta, still with the plates that she had left with, stood out like a neon sign to him from the back of the lot.
But there was no FOR SALE sign on it. Interesting. He got zoomed in on anyway, by an eager mechanic who looked hungry for a commission. Or just hungry for something that Rey could provide, in exchange for information.
He was right. Two glassine envelopes of TheRageand Rey learned what he needed. The bitch didn’t have money for the repairs —he had let out a whistle when he heard what the problem was—-but she swore that she would have a deposit soon. One more glassine envelope, and he found out that even though she hadn’t left contact information, the last call she had made was just a few days ago. The dude had slipped the glassine envelope into one of the zippered pockets of his coveralls, after looking up the exact time and date in the owner’s call log.
The mechanic’s face lit up, when he was promised more. All he had to do was he call Rey the minute the bitch was heard from again, especially if he could get information about where to locate her.
In case the bitch had lied about getting money for the repair and skipped town instead, Rey’s next stops were the closest train and bus stations since the time of the call. Tons of signs everywhere for that Renfaire crap, but he guessed that was the big draw for this shithole of a town. It’d make sense that she’d hang out here because her car stopped working. There was no other reason to.
His instincts were screaming that she was nearby, though, and after a few more creative persuasions, he confirmed that none of the ticket booth attendants nor security footage showed anyone matching her description leaving.
Where to next. It was already getting dark.
Rey’s hand throbbed and itched as he thought.
She’d be needing a way to make money, and a place to stay. He looked again at the Renfaire ad—not hard, because they were posted every few feet, with a huge billboard right across from him besides— and smiled.
This ad featuredYe Olde Taverne, which didn’t require admission to the Renfaire or —exqueeze me—MedievalFaire crap. It was on the grounds of the Faire, but open to everyone. It would be a good place to ask around for information. And who knows, maybe she’d even be there, working or looking for work.
Progress.
It wouldn’t be long now.
* * *
Simon had called earlier. It would be another evening off for Lily, as all the boys were tending to some other emergency back at the house. Lily assumed it was something like the missing hiker, and as much as she would have wanted to see Col, it also warmed her to know that he —and the others—were using their skills for something so important.
Simon assured her that the next night she would be starting her one-on-one dinner dates, the one with Aylwyn. But tonight, she was on her own.
With her evening suddenly free, Lily immediately asked TraceyAnn for the additional shift, which the woman was only too happy to give her, especially as Luna was out again, with a new injury. It was nothing too serious—for Luna—but it did mean that Tracey Ann was even more grateful for additional coverage.
She gave Lily profuse thanks, in between rants about Luna’s continual bouts of maladies and accidents, and a hefty dose of gossip about Alfonso’s mother, who was one of the scullery wenches at the Royal Court of Food. Lily had uh-huhed and oh-noed at the appropriate moments.
Although Lily really didn’t give a flying fig about whether Alfonso’s mother was dating a vendor or someone from the Ops Team, it was preferable to being grilled about Miller, or having TraceyAnn try to wheedle out more gossipy tidbits about Simon or the boys. And while TraceyAnn vented about Luna, she would never fire the girl outright.
But at least it kept TraceyAnn in a decent enough mood, even to the point where she insisted that Lily take an early dinner break at the Staff Caff. It wasn’t worth arguing about, and with TraceyAnn it was so much easier to acquiesce, so Lily gathered up her long linen skirts and walked over to the Staff Caff.
It wasn’t that busy, probably owing to how early it was still for dinner, and Lily was able to see the familiar face of the Twins’ mother right away at one of the food stations. Rosa’s face immediately lit up when she saw Lily, but she was uncharacteristically hesitant, and jumpy. Her hand was shaking a bit as she ladled an extra portion of steamed vegetables for Lily.
“Rosa, I can tell something’s the matter,” Lily said in a calm voice, as she took the plate. “I’m going to sit and eat here at the Staff Caff instead of taking the food back to the center, so if you can get away for a few minutes and chat, I’ll be back there for a bit. Or you can find me at Staff Childcare, I’m there tonight, too.”
Instantly Rosa’s eyes shone with unshed tears. “I’ll come join you in a few. Thank you so much, Katie.”
Someone else came up to Rosa’s station behind Lily, and the Twins’ mother looked at Lily apologetically.
“See you soon,” Lily said, and made her way to one of the tables by the side. She had her pick of seats, so she chose one that she thought would allow her and Rosa to talk, if the mom could take the time. She settled in, watching the few employees who were grabbing a meal break at this time. There were a few Ops and Security folks, whom she suspected had to take the rare opportunities to sit down and eat when they could get it. She figured that was why she never ran into Jordy or Rika seated at the Staff Caff. If they got food here, it would be as a grab n’ go.
Not too long after, Rosa came over to where Lily was sitting. A big slab of strawberry cheesecake was placed in front of her empty plate, and the Staff Caff worker deposited a fresh fork and napkin next to it.
“Rosa, you’re the best! You didn’t have to!” Lily looked up at the Twin’s mother, who was clearly anxious despite the smile on her face. She was nervously wringing her hands, and when she sat, she perched on the edge of the chair next to Lily, as if she was poised to run.
Lily instantly reached out her hands to take the woman’s into her own, feeling them trembling.
“Tell me what’s going on, Rosa.”
