Chapter 11
Chapter 11
She only had a few minutes to wait. Beth opened the door as Natasha walked up the steps. "Hey."
"Hi, so did you find anything out?"
"Yeah, well, kinda, come on in, and I'll explain." Natasha entered, and walked over to the couch, Beth sat across from her. "Ok, Julia Stevens, she's a news paper reporter who's writing a book titled, Wronged Man."
"Let me guess, it's about Lee Jay."
"Yeah, and she doesn't have any clue about who, no, what she's dealing with, she truly believes he is innocent. I tried to put her on her guard, but I don't think it did any good."
"If she is writing a book called Wronged Man, then she probably believes what she is writing, and, if that is the case, then I doubt anything less than seeing Lee Jay do something wrong would convince her."
"You're probably right. What about you, find anything?"
"Nope. Mick was a bit on edge from telling Josef everything, but nothing major was said."
"What do you think he's planning?"
"Who, Mick or Lee Jay?"
"Well, I meant Mick, but now I think about it, both."
"Well, Mick is probably going to try and get Lee Jay either dead, or back in prison. Lee Jay will be out to do the same thing to Mick. Personally, I think Mick would prefer being dead to being in prison."
"What, I mean I know what vampires can't be in prison, but couldn't he just change his identity?" Natasha looked at her for a minute.
"If he did that neither of us would see him for decades, and maybe never for you."
Beth froze, the thought made her want to cry. "At least he'd be alive."
"Would you really be willing to let him go completely?" Natasha asked gently.
Beth hesitated. "I-I'm not sure." She shooed her head, and changed the subject. "Hopefully things won't become so bad that we have to do that. Do you think Mick will do something stupid?" Natasha looked at her. "Yeah, stupid question." Natasha nodded. "Ok, how stupid do you think he will be?"
"I don't know."
"Beth sighed. "I guess we'll just have to wait for something to happen." Natasha nodded. "I hate waiting." Natasha laughted.
"Most humans don't, vampires on the other hand, most of us are quite patient; my brother being the exception." Beth chuckled, and Natasha continued. "We have the, well, the ability to wait for decades, centuries even, if we have to."
"Beth smiled. "I'll be sure to remember that."
"Natasha grinned. "I'm sure you will."
Beth stroked Phantom's head, and Natasha stood up. "Well, I'd better be going, or Josef will have my head."
Beth smirked. "On a silver platter?"
"Perhaps."
"Well we wouldn't want that happening now would we?"
"No I suppose not."
"Well, I'll see you."
"Yeah, bye." She headed over to the door, then turned back, her hand on the doorknob. "If I find anything out I'll give you a call, or come tell you in person."
"Ok."
Natasha left, and Beth went upstairs, Phantom tagging along. Beth walked into one of the spare bedrooms. She mostly used the upstairs for storage, except for this room. Inside there were knives, swords almost. Some were almost two feet long. These she kept here unless she thought she might need them, and now she thought she might soon. She grabbed a duffle bag, and looked at her 'collection'. Beth decided on one, and then grabbed a pair of throwing knives. She slipped on their protective coverings, and put them in the bag. Now she would just have to remember to put them in her car. With her luck, if she didn't do it now, she would never get it done.
Beth grabbed the bag, and took it downstairs. She was just about to head out the door to put it in her car when she realized it might be a good idea to refresh how they worked before putting them there. She backtracked to her room, changed, and went down to the basement.
She unlocked one of the hidden panels, and pulled out one of her training dummies. She quickly set it up, grabbed her throwing knives and began to practice. She practiced with them for a good half-hour, then switched over to the really long knife, or the very short sword, whichever you wanted to call it. With this she was a little careful, so as not to completely destroy the dummy, she'd done that before, and she kept the coming on it, it was easier that way, and it also made it heavier. She dunked it in a colored powder so she would know where she had hit.
She ran the length of the room several times, then put the coverings back on, grabbed the bag, and put it in the car. She went back in, showered, got dressed, and headed to the kitchen for some food. Her stomach was protesting rather loudly to her lack of food. Phantom wandered in behind her. Beth looked in her fridge, and decided on a bowl of cereal, she didn't feel much like cooking. As she grabbed her bowl and spoon, Phantom meowed up at her, rubbing against her legs. She went back into the fridge, and pulled out some leftover meatloaf from last weekend. She dumped it into a bowl, and set in on the floor in front of him. He immediately started eating. Beth shook her head, the way he acted people would think she's never fed him before.
She finished her, rinsed out her bowl and spoon, and set them in the dishwasher. Phantom looked up at her, his bowl empty, so she put his in as well. She put everything else away, and headed out to the living room. She grabbed her phone from her purse, and called Mick.
"Hello, long time no see."
Beth chuckled. "Yeah. Ok, question, are you working on any cases at the moment?" She knew he probably wasn't, but it felt safer to ask.
"Well, hello to you too, I'm fine thanks for asking."
"Oh hush, but hello, so are you?"
"No I'm not, why?"
"Because I could use some help on the case I just got from Mo, interested?"
"Before I say yes tell me what the case is."
"Dang you're to smart for me."
"Somehow I doubt that." He said wryly, and they both gave a small laugh.
"Maybe, so what do you say?"
"I say nice try.'
"Darn, ok I'll tell you. It's about Lee Jay Spalding, you know, the guy getting out of prison."
"Yeah, but that one's pretty strait forward, why do you need my help?"
"I-this is going to sound crazy, but-I just think there has got to be more to it than that."
Mick was silent for a second, then spoke slowly, as though picking his words carefully. "Are you sure, I mean a lot of people seem to think he was wrongly convicted."
"So you don't agree with me." She forced herself to sound disappointed.
"No I agree with you-"
"So you'll help me?"
"Now I didn't say that."
Mick gave a rather large, exaggerated sigh. "Well since you asked so nicely and if someone's not around you'll probably do something foolish."
"Hey!"
"What?" He asked sounding perfectly innocent.
"Please, pretty please, I really want your help on this."
Mick asked sounding perfectly innocent.
"Oh never mind." He chuckled, and she stuck her tongue out in retaliation, and made the noise to go with it.
"Hey, are you sticking your tongue out at me?"
"And if I am?" She paused and then the words popped out of her mouth before she could stop them. "What're you gonna go about it, bite it?"
"Um no, not what I had in mind."
Beth chuckled, but inside was wondering what had possessed her to say that. "OK, I'll sop teasing you."
"Please do."
"So you'll help me."
"Didn't I just say something about you getting into trouble if someone-"
"Ok, ok, that's enough." Beth interjected.
"Yes I will."
She gave a glad cry of glee. "Yay, thanks."
"You do realize you sounded like a teenager whose mother just gave permission to go do, or to something right?" He sounded like he was having trouble keeping his laughter in."
"Are you laughing at me?"
"No…not fun when you're on the other end of the teasing now is it?'
"Be careful, or I might just have to hurt you."
"You could try."
"I would find a way."
"Oh really, how?" He said this so dryly that Beth spoke once again without thinking.
"I'll ask Natasha to get you for me."
There was silence at the other end, then Mick spoke his voice guarded. "How do you know her?"
"She helped me find Professor Ellis' class. I found out who she was, and told her what I was really doing there, and that I knew you, and now we have each others numbers."
"Oh."
"Alright, how about I talk to you tomorrow, and I'll give you a ticket to get in to see Lee Jay at the official opening of the book, Julia gave me-"
"No, that's alright, take you're boyfriend, I'm sure-"
"I don't have one."
"Oh, ok, I guess I'll go then."
"Where do you want to meet?"
"Um, either your house, or mine is fine."
"Doesn't matter to me."
"Well, you're a lot of help, why don't we meet at yours, it's closer."
"Ha, ha."
"What, it makes sense."
"Yes it does."
"Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow, bye."
"Yeah, night."
"Oh, is it night?" She looked at the clock, it was 7:45. "Oh. I guess it is, well, good night then."
"Bye." They both hung up.
Beth stood up stretched, and went into her bedroom. With all that had happened yesterday and now Lee Jay after her Mick she was tired-wait her Mick, where had that thought come from? She shook her head; it was probably just from being so tired. She changed, and burrowed under the covers; Phantom jumped up, and curled up next to her. She was asleep within five minutes.
