I stared at him a moment. “What else does Hank do?”
“Hank monitors the reports that come in. And he keeps in touch with a number of the other companies. We’re part of an umbrella organization I started, that offers membership to around ten other sites. It’s called Urban Legends, Inc. But we have no say over the other companies who belong to it, although we all share information.”
I frowned. “Conjure Ink is a pretty complex company, isn’t it?” I was beginning to get the feeling it was far larger and more far-reaching than I had first thought.
“Yep. We actually have ties with the government. Now that they’ve opened up about UFOs, we’re digging into those reports because a number of the sightings were located in the Pacific Northwest,” Hank explained. “Urban Legends runs a database that we all contribute to, and we all have access to.”
Tad motioned to the empty desk in the corner. “You’ll work there. I’ll have a key made for you today. The key opens the front door, and then the door to this office. Wren usually mans the front desk, by the way. You’ll need to learn the security code. We have tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment here, and while we back up all our info to both the main server and to a backup database, we really don’t want to have to replace fifty thousand dollars’ worth of tech. So we keep a tight watch on the place. I will be running a background check, but from what you told me, I doubt if there will be a problem.”
I grinned. “Depending on how petty my ex is, you might find a report that I torched his tuxedo and did a number on his convertible before I left. Given that he bilked me out of the company, well…I felt it was a fitting parting gift.”
Tad snorted. “I’m not worried about domestic disputes, so no worries there.” He glanced at the clock. “I have a meeting coming up. Be here tomorrow, eight a.m. Wear comfortable clothes. I plan to have you out in the field by noon.”
As I left, I couldn’t help but smile. The job still sounded a bit odd, but I was excited. I had loved the magazine, but this was something new. From what Tad had said, I didn’t expect to be bored, and I hadn’t expected decent perks like vacation time and insurance. Also, from what I had seen of them, I liked Tad, Caitlin, and Hank.
Leaving the building, I glanced back at the modest sign on the door that read, conjure ink. Yeah, I could probably get used to working here.
Chapter Five
By the time I got home, it was five. I stood inside my door, suddenly realizing I had no clue what to do. I hadn’t formed a routine yet, I wasn’t acclimated to being back in Moonshadow Bay, and everything still seemed alien. I wasn’t hungry, given I had stopped on the way home to buy a caramel latte and a brownie to celebrate, and we had unpacked all my things, except for what I had bought today.
“I’m not used to an empty house,” I said to myself, my voice echoing in the foyer. Even though I had come to loathe the sight of Ellison, having somebody else in the house made everything feel—different. I pulled out my phone and called Ari.
“Hey, what are you up to?”
“Just getting off work. How was your day?” I could hear her teeth chattering.
“Are you outside?”
“Trudging to my car. It’s going to snow again.”
“I got the job. Conjure Ink hired me. I start tomorrow!” I wanted to celebrate something. It had been a long time since I’d had reason to celebrate. “Come over for dinner?”
“Congrats! And sure, I’ll come over. I have to make one stop, though. What are we having?”
“I haven’t a clue. I bought food this morning but I have no idea what I want.”
“I’ll bring dinner and wine. See you in about half an hour.”
As she hung up, it occurred to me that I needed to reacquaint myself with old friends. I couldn’t just lean on Ari all the time. While I had met Millie at the store, there were other people I knew from growing up, people who had never left. And I remembered some of them fondly.
While I waited for Ari, I put the new sheets in the washer. Then I busied myself washing the new goblets and kitchen gadgets and tucking them away. Finally, I made a pot of coffee in case Ari wanted some, and pulled a couple shots of decaf for myself, adding milk, chocolate syrup, and peppermint syrup. Peppermint mocha…the perfect holiday drink.
Speaking of festive…I carried my mocha over to the trapezoid bench seat below the wide bay window. The cushion was a black and white gingham, and the three-sided bay window looked over the front lawn, out into the street. The rest of the houses on Fern Street were aglow with the wash of lights and decorations.
“I should decorate,” I murmured to myself. Ellison always wanted “tasteful” displays—I used to needle him about being like Frasier Crane, with his snobbish view of what the holidays should look like. I celebrated Solstice, but he insisted on Christmas, although he was about as religious as a pumpkin. So I performed my rituals alone. But when it came to the decorations, he wanted pure white lights, gold and silver ornaments, an understated tree with a few ivory ribbons. Absolutely nothing flamboyant or colorful. The only outside decorations he had agreed to were a couple of wreaths.
“That’s changing this year,” I whispered to myself, watching as the snow began to fall, captured by the street lamps. The cheerful houses up and down the street glowed in the snowfall, their multicolored lights and displays offering warmth in the winter night. Sipping my mocha, I felt a sudden sense of peace surround me, and leaned my head against the windowpane.
Ari showed up a few minutes later with a bucket of chicken in one hand, bags containing mashed potatoes, gravy, and biscuits, and more, and a dozen roses. “These are for getting the job,” she said, shoving the bouquet of white and red roses into my arms. “I also have brownies and wine.”
We fixed ourselves a couple of plates and settled onto the sofa with chicken, potatoes and gravy, and wine. I had found a vase for the roses and they sat prominently on top of the entertainment hutch that my parents had bought when I was eleven.
“Tell me about the job,” Ari said.
I told her, leaving nothing out. “I start tomorrow. It sounds fascinating.”
“Well, I can hardly wait to hear what you’re going to be investigating. I have to say, it sounds like a dream job to me.” She paused. “Hey, I doubt if you heard the news, but do you remember Arabella Jones?”
I frowned, thinking back. “Wasn’t she in our graduating class?”
“Yeah, she was. She was found dead this morning. I just talked to her the other day.” Ari shrugged, but I could see the worry in her eyes.
“What happened? She was too young for a stroke or a heart attack, wasn’t she?”
“That’s the thing,” Ari said, staring at her drumstick. “They have no clue what killed her. She was just found dead out in the snow…near the old asylum.”
I shivered. “What the hell? What was she doing out there?”
Moonshadow Bay had its darker aspects, and the Stellarview Institution for the Criminally Insane had been one of them. Located on the outskirts of Moonshadow Bay, Stellarview was the brainchild of George Leeland, a psychologist who later ended up in jail. The institution was more of an asylum, specializing in housing the criminally insane in Western Washington.