2. Venomica and a headdress full of lies

I felt well rested when I woke up in the morning. I concidered just forgetting about Turi and move on; she didn't have that much potential as a contact and the prize for her friendship was high, but I really wanted to continue down this line, even if just for practice.

I was not experienced with murder. I had never even been close to killing someone. I was not very strong. I did not know karate or any other martial art and the few hands on fights I'd been in as a kid had usually ended with me losing. Fire arms should be easier to come by here than in Sweden but a shooting would be a risk, the police would be there in no time and I was not ready to deal with that Grimm Turi said worked for them. If I was to get someone else to kill Swamp-skull for me it'd have to be someone I really trust would not just betray me, and since I did not have any close contacts in the entire country and it would take time for me to build up that kind of relationship I did not consider it a viable option.

I did have a questionably vast knowledge about poison I possibly could use that I had gathered during a weird phase in my childhood. The guy was a dealer, meaning it wouldn't cause much suspicion if he died of what would look like an overdose. It would be preferable to use his own stuff to really make it look like accidental suicide but I was not sure he sold substances that were dangerous for him. I knew Skalengecken had high resistance against a lot of different toxins so maybe it was the same with Skalenzahnen. They were quite similar. Botulinum toxin was a reliable poison that worked quickly and would not be a suspected cause of death if the victim was not a user of Botox but it was expensive and hard to come by in deadly doses. Was Turi really worth the effort?

Possibly, I could "give him an offer he could not refuse" and make him leave town. Probably that'd be a very bad idea to try out. He was a tough guy and I was just some woman who talks too much. I should wait with the blackmailing until I actually had something to threaten people with.

There was a third option.

I could frame Swamp-skull for a crime and get the police to lock him away. That could work. Maybe I didn't even have to frame him, just prove the crimes he'd committed. I needed to get close to him either way so I decided I would go searching for clues about him sometime today, but for the moment my first priority was to get breakfast.

There were many people in the streets today, the mild spring weather filled many hearts with a lust for shopping. I saw the regular workers and shoppers whose type I recognized from Stockholm but also the famous Portland hipsters who up close weren't as magical as the legends foretold.

I walked quite far until the grumbles in my stomach were greater than my will to save my money from the expensive cafés and stayed at a cute little place where I could sit outside. It was rather empty and I thought it could become a favorite place of mine if it was always this peaceful. I bought my food and sat down, closing my eyes to bathe in the sun. It was lovely.

"Hello? Excuse me?" A male voice asked for my attention. I opened my eyes and saw a rather good-looking man holding a sandwich and a cup. He smiled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't wake you up, did I?"

This guy looked like he was looking at a girl who was way hotter than me. I was flattered of course but not interested and decided I could just play a flirting game for fun.

"No, no I was just enjoying the weather." I adjusted my clothing and smiled back.

"Can I sit here?" There was a second chair at my table.

"Oh! Of course, no problem." The man sat down.

"The coffee here is good. Stronger than usually."

"Really? That's good to hear. I'm new." I bent forward a little bit and winked way too many times to show submission. Hopefully he was into that.

"I can hear that in your accent. How long are you staying?" I shook my shoulders and took a sip of my coffee. It was quite good.

"I'm not planning on leaving if I put it that way."

"Oh. Good!" I frowned.

"Good because… Portland needs immigrants to fill all houses?"

"No, maybe, I mean it's a nice city."

"I hope so." He was so awkward I suspected he was only acting to seem cute. His blue eyes were piercing mine through his fringe. Were we both just playing?

"So… What's your name?" he asked.

"I'm Laura", I said. I didn't have to give out false information so I decided to stick to the truth.

"I'm Anton. It's nice to meet you."

I acted shy and pulled my hair out of my face.

"So what are you doing here then?"

I was just about to answer that I was a writer looking for inspiration when a barista who'd just come out to clean the tables saw Anton. The barista hit the table she was closest to with her fist, making a loud sound that caught Anton's attention. Anton looked up, startled. I was also surprised, unsure what was going on and how I should handle the situation. They stared at each other for an intense moment; the barista boiling with rage and Anton embarrassed.

"Oh… You work on Thursdays?" Anton smiled nervously.

"Leave." The barista's voice was sharp and commanding. Anton stood up and looked at me but I was clearly not his number one priority anymore.

"See you around, Laura." He winked at me and left, looking over his shoulder at the barista who was still staring him down.

"Uh, excuse me but… What's going on?" I asked the barista who was slowly calming down.

"You probably shouldn't drink that", the barista said, finally turning to me and nodding towards my coffee. I had already had some.

"Who not?"

"He could have put something in it. I know him."

"Oh." He had definitely been acting then. This wasn't good.

"Do you think he drugged me?"

"Maybe. Give it to me." Why would one want to drug someone in broad daylight? Was I feeling nauseous? Did I see more colors than usually? Should I get help? I gave my mug to the barista who sniffed it, frowned poured it out on the ground.

"Yeah, that's not good."

"If this is some bad joke I'm not the one to-"

"I have some experience with this venom so you'll just have to trust me on this one, girl", the barista interrupted.

"Venom?" My voice was a little higher pitched than I wanted it to be.

"Please don't freak out." That's easy for her to say.

"Shouldn't I call someone? Like a doctor? Maybe the police?" The barista seemed conflicted but eventually made up her mind.

"Nah. I've dealt with this before. Hang on. I'll give you an address." She got a pen out and scribbled something on my napkin.

"Go there, it's a spice shop but they've got other things as well. Say you were poisoned with Falsch-Feder Gift. I better write the name of that down too, I guess." She reached for my napkin again but I put a finger on it, holding it down and looked up at the barista. There was no way this was a coincidence.

"Hang on. Falsch-Feder Gift?" The barista raised an eyebrow.

"You know what it is?" I was about to get upset about that I had become upset for no reason. I didn't want to risk sounding really angry at the innocent barista so I just woged and showed her what I meant. As a Falschdieb I knew every aspect of Falsch-Feder, false-feather. I had lots of that kind of feathers and their chemical effects in potions and poisons could not harm me in any way.

"Ooooh", she said, "I guess you're lucky then." That wasn't a bad reaction. She was as obviously not as prejudiced as Turi. I shook my frustration off and sighed.

"Thanks for trying to save me and all but I think you owe me a coffee."

The barista grinned and pulled her hand through her short afro. She seemed relieved and was probably a nice person but it disturbed me that she hadn't woged as well to even the odds and show respect. Maybe she wasn't even wesen and just happened to know more things about the world than everyone else, like my mother. Either way I felt I wanted to know more.

"Haha, I can get you a refill, no problem."

She noticed my face and particularly my eyes, hinting that she had forgot to tell me something.

"Oh", she said when she understood what I meant, "you don't want to know. You don't even want to know how much time and money I've spent on yoga-classes to keep myself in check. It's pretty bad."

"Aha. Envious I guess?" I asked, a little dissatisfied.

"Kind of, yeah."

"I bet you don't have to hide from people who want to flay you alive and sell parts of you as a love potions."

"That's true. Hey, I need to get back to work now. And stay away from Anton, will you?"

I suddenly got an idea. This could work. It could at least be fun to try.

"Hey, you wouldn't be interested in a job I have for you tonight?"

"Eh, it depends on what kind of job it is."

"If done right, it could pay off way more than this one."

"It's illegal, isn't it?" She did not sound like someone who got kicks from breaking the law.

"Not… Really… I think. Maybe. I don't plan on hurting anyone anyway." I could use a few more minutes deciding the details of the plan.

"Fair enough. Meet me here in five hours and we'll talk." That went well.

"Deal. What's your name?"

"Veronica."

I kept the napkin Veronica had written on. Via the address I asked my way to the tiny spice shop. I'd never been to a spice shop before but it at least it smelled better than I imagined. When I opened the door a bell chimed. The walls were cluttered with books, bottles and boxes on shelves. There were herbs hanging from the ceiling and despite the lack of space to move around in the shop felt homely and safe. A young woman showed up from behind a drape covering a second room.

"Hello. How can I help you?" She appeared friendly and smiled, though she kept a distance and walked up to the counter.

"I... need to know if you have a... something", I said.

"Well of course. What is it you need?"

"How... how big is your stock of Falsch-Federn?" Good thing I chose to learn german in school instead of spanish. The brunette at the counter looked suspicious of my request but remained professional. I knew it wasn't the most common thing to find in a spice shop but the circumstances made me think she had some.

"That depends, do you want them pulverized or in their original condition?" Did this mean she had both?

"I'm mostly after intact goods."

"In that case... I might have some. Give me a moment." She hurried back into the second room and I heard her open several drawers. Finally she came out with an object that was both one of the most beautiful and most repulsive things I'd ever seen.

It was an ancient-looking indian headdress with lots and lots of black and white feathers. The ribbon holding it all together was deep red and reminded me of old blood. This was not like a Lausenschlange seeing a pair of snake skin boots, these feathers were from people I somewhere deep down were related to. It was a symbol for the vicious hunting exerted upon my kind. It was a gorgeous headdress, but I wished it didn't exist. There was no way I was going to let it continue existing.

"It's old, but I assure you it's in perfect condition."

"Can I have a look at it?" I reached out my hands and had the thing carefully handed to me. After examing it, estimating the feathers came from at least five people, I looked up at the woman and shook my head.

"I'm afraid I can't let you keep this one. Sorry." The woman frowned.

"Why, what do you mean?"

"I'm taking it. And if you have any of the pulverized stuff or so I suggest you get rid of it fast because when I return I'm not sure I can control my behaviour if I see another sign of you selling the remains of slaghtered innocents."

Speechless the woman watched while I turned to the door and began to leave. Just when I opened the door I decided to say one last thing just in case.

"Oh and if you call the police you won't only have to deal with me, but also the special someone who gave me the address. I know she has quite a temper."

I smiled, spat on the ground and left the spice shop.