Chapter 64
The Tao of Tea had a closed sign when I walked up to the main door. Renovations? Well, crap. A hot mug of rose almond tea would've gone well with the newest PowerPoint I had to complete. Dodging raindrops, I walked back to my Malibu and slumped back into the driver's seat. No peaceful Zen for me today. Guess I'd actually have to work from home instead. However, I was still craving some tea.
There was a spice and tea shop nearby in the Pearl District that I'd shopped in a few times before. It was owned by a Fuchsbau named Freddy Calvert. (I was getting better at learning names.) Unlike most Foxes I'd met, Freddy was more demure. He still acted flirty, as was his nature, but he wasn't as suave and sophisticated about it, like Mr. Foxy Loxy, for example. Although he wasn't entirely genuine, I'd liked him immediately. Freddy might have some tea I could make at home.
I pulled out of the parking lot and drove from Northwest Everett Street toward Fulton Street to the Exotic Spice and Tea Shop. When I arrived, I was happy to find a parking spot right out front.
As I walked in, I bumped into Adalind, who was headed toward the door to leave.
"Renée!" She regarded me with her blue eyes wide. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise."
"It is," I replied with a smile. "How are you?"
"Good. Just on my way home." She paused, and then with a raised eyebrow she asked, "What brings you here today?"
"I'm craving a good cup of tea and Freddy has a great selection." I beamed over at Freddy, whose eyes were just as wide as he watched us both. "So do you come here for the tea or the spices?" I asked Adalind.
"The… spices," she said hesitantly and gave me and awkward chuckle. "I have baking to do for the party and for that guy I told you about."
"Ah," I nodded with a smile. "Well, it was good seeing you. I look forward to Thursday."
"Looking forward to it!" Adalind's artificial smile was fixed on her face as she walked out of the store. The bells on the door jingled as I shut it behind her.
I turned back to face Freddy, who was fixed on me, tugging at his blue, paisley tie under his tan, button-down sweater.
"You, uhh... know her?" Freddy stammered with his brown eyes still as wide as saucers as I approached the counter.
"Yeah. She's an acquaintance," I smiled back at him. He turned a little pale at my response.
"So, what can I get you, ma'am?" Freddy asked with a quiver in his voice. Ma'am? Since when was he calling me ma'am? He had a woge then retracted quickly. What had come over him? Regardless, my face stayed smooth.
"I'm really craving some rose almond tea. Tao sells it, but they're closed today. You wouldn't have anything similar to that, would you?" I asked.
Freddy stood frozen in place and shakily pointed in the direction behind me. "The teas are over there."
Well, I already knew where the teas were. Normally he'd go over with me and help pick out what I needed. Something was off about him today. Maybe he wasn't feeling well.
I walked over to the open shelves that were out on the floor, labeled 'Exotic Teas.' There were quite a few to choose from. But in this place there was always a wide selection of everything. It held a whole treasure trove of things I'd never seen at Whole Foods, for sure. If I knew how to cook, I'd probably know more, but I focused on the teas. Tea I could make without much effort.
The shop itself had such an old world feel to it. Wow, I was starting to use Monroe's words. He was rubbing off on me. The fragrant smell of fresh herbs tinged my nose. Oriental rugs, antique, wooden counters, open glass shelves, and an apothecary cabinet (which reminded me of the one in Nick's trailer) added to the ambiance. Tall, wood shelving lined the walls, filled with a myriad of jars, bottles, and books. Dried flowers and herbs hung here and there. Every time I came in I always spotted something I'd missed the time before. Today it was a library ladder in the far corner, attached to the shelves. God, I hadn't seen one of those in ages. Perhaps I ought to bring Monroe in sometime. He'd love the raw ingredients.
I held up two jars of teas that were labeled, "Rose Almond.' What was different about them? I looked up to ask Freddy, but he still hadn't moved from behind the counter. He kept looking at me like he'd seen a ghost.
"Hey, are you all right today, Freddy?" I asked with concern.
His head bobbed quickly. "Just please don't hurt me," he practically squeaked out his reply. "Anything you want is on the house."
Holy crap! Did he know that I could see him? I was getting awful at this. Why was I slipping? No use playing stupid. Guess I needed to add another Wesen to my list of those in-the-know.
"Freddy, I'd never hurt you." I gave him an assuring nod. "I've known you were a Fuchsbau since the first time I met you. Just because I'm a Grimm…"
"What?! A Grimm?!" Freddy gulped out. "I thought you were a…"
Before he could finish his sentence, two guys rushed into the spice shop. I caught a glimpse of a gun and instinctively ducked down behind the shelves as they ran toward Freddy. I stayed down and held my breath, peeking through the gaps in the shelf.
The one dressed in a denim jacket demanded Freddy tell them where his 'J' was. The other guy, whose back was turned, had on a black hoodie and was aiming his gun directly at Freddy. Freddy tried to run, but Denim Guy took hold of him, slamming him into the shelves behind the counter. He fell to the ground. Denim Guy continued to scream at him for the 'J'. Drug addicts, just great. My pulse quickened, and I continued to hold my breath, trying not to make a sound.
"In the basement," Freddy faintly made out from behind the counter. Denim Guy punched him hard once more.
"Let's go," Denim Guy said to Black Hoodie Guy, and they rushed downstairs through a door on the far wall.
Once they were out of sight, I crossed the room and closed the basement door carefully, locking it from the outside. I ran over to Freddy, who was pretty dazed, lying on the ground.
"Are you okay?" I asked him as I knelt down.
"Grimms aren't supposed to help us," he groaned as I tried to lift him up, but I wasn't strong enough. "The last one I met sure didn't."
"You've got to get up and we need to get out of here before they burst through that door," I urged to Freddy. He was still unable to stand up and I forced my reckless woge to come out as I drug him partially across the room. He lifted his hand near the security alarm.
"Press it," he muttered. I moved over to the counter and pressed the button. A shrill alarm went off in the store. Heavy footsteps pounded up the basement stairs followed by loud banging on the door of the basement.
"You better open up this fucking door!" one yelled as the banging became louder. Why couldn't it have been a silent alarm? I let out a brief sigh. With everything I could muster, I tried to drag the poor Fuchsbau out of harm's way.
Suddenly there was a gunshot followed by a second. The robbers were shooting at the door! I tried again to pull Freddy up.
"Go!" Freddy said and motioned me back toward the shelves.
"I can't leave you here," I said breathlessly.
"They'll kill us both. Go!"
Another shot was fired at the door. There was nothing I could do but go back to my hiding spot. I got there moments before the door flew open.
The robbers were both screaming at Freddy for locking the door, and Denim Guy gave Freddy a swift kick.
"Thanks for the 'J', man," Black Hoodie Guy said.
Freddy grabbed Denim Guy's leg and bit down hard. Denim Guy let out a blood curdling scream as he had a woge into a Skalengeck. Oh, this was even worse! Skalengecks were typically irrationally hostile Wesen. If that lizard spotted me... Oh, I didn't want to think about what he might do.
The screaming continued. Denim Guy pulled out his gun and fired at Freddy a few times. I grabbed at my chest and had to put my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming.
"Clint, come on!" Black Hoodie Guy cried out. He reached for Denim Guy, who was hobbling, and they left the spice shop.
I moved quickly back over to Freddy. There were bullet holes in his chest. I reached to his neck for a pulse, but he was already gone. Oh, God! The alarm was still blaring loudly. I sank down on my knees and pulled out my phone, dialing 911.
I forced my calm to take over so I could speak clearly. "Operator, I need to report a robbery and a murder," I had to yell into the phone to drown out the alarm. I gave the operator the necessary info and hung up. I called Nick next.
"Burkhardt," said the young Grimm on the other line.
"Nick, it's Renée." Panic was creeping back up in my voice. "I just watched a Skalengeck shoot and murder a Fuchsbau," I yelled again.
"What? I can barely hear you," Nick yelled back. The incessant alarm was giving me a headache. I went over to the counter and pressed random buttons until the damn thing shut off. I repeated myself to Nick.
"Where are you?"
"The Exotic Tea and Spice Shop over on..."
Nick cut in and said, "I know which one you're talking about."
"I already called 911, so can I just leave? I can just go, right?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.
"Renée, just stay where you are," Nick said calmly as he whispered his reply. "We'll be there as soon as we can."
"Okay, but please hurry." I was almost in tears. "I really don't want to be here." The calm was high-tailing it out of me and I couldn't hold on. As I hung up I began to cry. I couldn't handle any more death. Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths and forced back my emotions. I had to keep it together.
I sat with my eyes closed for a while, just chanting, "Calm in, stress out." It wasn't helping. I picked up my phone and called Monroe. I needed to hear his voice.
"Whoa, Freddy is dead? Renée, are you sure you're okay?" Monroe asked with a ton of worry when I told him where I was and generally what had happened. I didn't want to go into the details again.
"I'm shaken, but physically I'm fine." I assured him. On the inside I was still an absolute mess. "You knew Freddy?"
"Yeah, of course I knew him, but how did you know him?"
"I didn't all that well, really. I visited his shop a handful of times for loose-leaf tea and we chatted when I would come in. That's why I was here today. I just wanted rose almond…" I started to cry again.
"Honey, don't cry," said Monroe soothingly. "You said you called Nick, right?"
I brushed off my tears, trying to choke them back. "Yeah, he said they'd be here soon."
Sure enough someone outside yelled, "Police!"
"They're here I gotta go." I hung up as the cops began to enter the store as quick as a stampede.
"I'm the one who called it in," I said as one cop aimed a gun my way. He put his gun down and came toward me.
"Let me talk to her," a familiar voice said from behind the cop and Nick emerged.
"Renée, are you all right?" he asked in a hushed tone as he put his arm around me and guided me outside.
"I'm just fantastic," I said sarcastically, trying to keep my composure around the Grimm. There was no way Nick was gonna see me babbling like a scared little girl.
Nick ignored my sarcasm and replied, "Could you identify the guys that did this?"
"Yeah they had reptilian skin and…"
Nick shook his head. "Renée, can you be serious with me please?"
"If I saw them again I could identify them without a problem." I had a great memory and these guys were etched in my mind. "One of the guys called the other one, 'Clint,'" I added.
"Good, then maybe we can try to track these guys down. I'm going need a statement from you, so I'll need you to go to the station and wait for me. We're going to go over some mug shots together and see if we have these guys already in our database. Can you handle that?" Nick asked. I really didn't have a choice, so I just nodded that I understood.
"One of the officers can drive you, so if…"
"No, I can drive. It's okay," I interjected.
Nick raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're okay, Renée?"
"Yeah, just another fun day in Portland. I'm getting used to these." I feigned a smile for effect. I was swearing off tea for a while.
I got into my Malibu and took in a deep breath before starting the engine, pushing up the sleeves of my green turtleneck sweater. I called Monroe to let him know I was headed to the police station.
"I'm starting to see why you frequent there so often." I forced out a chuckle.
"Yeah, well it happens from time to time," Monroe replied. "Come over once you're finished, okay?" He didn't have to ask, but thank goodness he did because I was coming over whether he liked it or not. I needed someone desperately.
I was on autopilot on the drive to the station. I turned my radio to classical and didn't really pay attention to what was playing. I just needed something to distract me from my idle thoughts.
Well over an hour later, Nick found me sitting in one of the chairs in the hallway lobby.
"You ready to do this… again?" he asked, voice strained, looking down at me.
I stood up to face him and forced a smirk. "Sure. Maybe this statement will be better than the last two."
"Just stick to normal facts and we'll be okay," he replied with a smirk of his own.
"This is anything but normal, but you already know that," I whispered as we walked out of the hallway.
Nick led me to his desk instead of a room this time. I told him again, with as much supernatural-free info as I could, what had happened. I was detailed about Clint the Denim Guy that did the beating and the shooting, since Black Hoodie Guy just seemed to be there to rob the place. Nick motioned me over to his computer. We went through mug shots until the two Skalengecks who had come in and robbed and murdered Freddy Calvert were staring back at me on Nick's computer screen.
"So, we know who they are. Now how we do we find out where they are?" I asked.
"We won't be finding anyone." Nick gave me a stern look. "The police force and I will find out where they are."
I sighed heavily. "Well at least I was able to do this much."
"This is a lot, Renée. We know who we're looking for now," he smiled. "Wait here a moment, so I can print these off and talk to my partner, Hank, about what we have.
I nodded as Nick walked off to the printer. He pulled off the copies and brought them over to Detective Swagger, who looked over at me and smiled. I could hear them fairly well from where I was sitting.
"Isn't that the clock guy's girlfriend?" Hank asked.
"Yeah, she was the one at the spice shop when the owner, Freddy Calvert, was murdered today."
"Dang. She's becoming as much of a regular as her boyfriend," Hank chuckled.
Nick shook his head as he crossed his arms. "She was just at the wrong place at the right time."
"And her boyfriend wasn't with her this time?"
"No, she was there by herself."
"Well, if I had to choose which one I want to see in here, at least she's easy on the eyes," Hank grinned and waved in my direction. I waved back. If only Detective Swagger knew how easily I could hear him. I stifled a laugh.
They talked more about the suspects, and Nick went over what he had so far on the two Skalengecks. I pulled out my phone and texted Chloe.
I miss you. :-(
Nick walked back to his desk.
"There's more we need to talk about," I said with a knowing look. "You need the rest of my statement."
"I'll come over to Monroe's tonight and we'll finish our talk. Right now I've got to contact Freddy's next of kin." Nick let out a breath, clutching a few papers as he spoke. "That's always a pleasant experience," he said sarcastically.
I put a hand on his shoulder, but removed it quickly. Right, remain professional. Captain Debonair had already put two and two together that we were acquainted, so it was best if no one else figured it out.
After Nick had what he needed from me, I was allowed to leave. I drove to Monroe's a little faster than I probably should've, but I needed to be held desperately. I plugged in my MP3 player, found Tom Petty's 'I Won't Back Down' and played it full volume, taking in the words.
"Gonna stand my ground, won't be turned around.
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down.
Gonna stand my ground and I won't back down…"
I had to stand my ground, no matter what, and get through this, too. Death and murder were beginning to follow me, but I couldn't back down. Between watching Wesen battle in cages, guards get arrowed to death, and now a Fuchsbau being shot in front of me, trouble needed to stop finding me and dragging me down.
Once Tom Petty was over, I played 'Ooh Child' to keep feeling better.
"Ooh-oo child, things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child, things'll get brighter..."
Easier and brighter. Hopefully both of those things would come true.
Monroe already had the door open as I pulled into his driveway.
"I used to look forward to working from home," I said as I walked through Monroe's door. He reached for me and pulled me toward him.
"What am I gonna do with you?" Monroe asked while squeezing me tightly.
Just love me, Monroe, I wanted to say, but I kept that to myself. He held me for a while in the hallway. Yesterday was long gone from my mind. Monroe was always there for me. Nothing else mattered.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he finally asked as he let me go.
"I'm fine, but the Fuchsbau, no, he's not fine at all." I started crying. "Monroe, I tried everything I could to keep him safe. I couldn't save him. What good am I?" I'd let a Wesen die right in front of me. Some great protector I was.
"Honey, you can't save everyone. You tried and that's all you could do. Even Nick doesn't save everyone, and he has more background in, you know, the lifesaving business than you have. Don't beat yourself up over this, okay?"
"I need a hard drink," I said, wiping my eyes.
One of the many clocks read quarter till one. It had to be five o'clock somewhere. Jimmy Buffet said so. There, maybe I wouldn't feel like a drunkard. No, I was taking advice from the King of Margaritaville. I was definitely going to be a drunkard.
"I don't carry tequila," Monroe grinned gently. So much for margaritas.
"Give me wine to wash me clean of the weather-stains of cares," I replied wistfully as I sank into the gold couch.
"Okay, Miss Emerson, pinot noir coming right up," Monroe gave a short laugh, putting his strong hands on my shoulders, massaging them soothingly.
"That's one of the reasons I…" No, not drunk yet, thank goodness, "I adore that sexy brain of yours. I can quote Emerson and you know exactly what I mean."
"If it's a quote on alcohol, I probably know it," he replied with a smile in his voice.
Monroe went to the kitchen and came back with two wine glasses and a bottle of Big Fire pinot noir. He poured me a generous glass full and then filled his own. I put the glass to my lips and breathed in the aroma as I took a sip. Monroe had a knack for selecting the best wines.
"I gotta stop drinking," I said and then took a large gulp. All I did was drink anymore. I shook my head.
"You're under a lot of stress," he said as he settled on the couch beside me. "You've got a free pass right now."
I nodded, leaning into his arm. "Maybe a glass or two of this, a run through the park, and a nap. I need something to forget all this for a while," I mumbled while finishing off my glass rather quickly.
"I'm sure we can find something to occupy your mind," Monroe replied with that devilish grin in his voice.
I sat up to face him. "Wanna play a little 'catch me if you can' in the park?"
"Catch you if I can…? You know the answer to that," Monroe laughed then cleared his throat. "But I'm trying to abstain from that."
"I know, but maybe you could just run with me?"
"You know that never works out," he grinned some more. Those red eyes seemed to flash at the thought of our outdoor activities.
"Okay, how about just a quick game of catch and release?" I replied with a smirk.
Monroe gave me a knowing look. "Oh, if I catch you, then I won't be releasing you."
"That's what I'm hoping for, Mr. Wolf," I grinned at him.
"Okay, I gotta stop you there. We discussed this already. Calling me a wolf, I mean, that is such a misnomer. I'm not a wolf, I'm a Blutbad. Totally different species there, dude."
I gave him a look. That Freudian id again. Since when was our little game under scrutiny?
"I completely realize you're a Blutbad." I shook my rattled brain at him. "I only mean that in our little..."
"Well, we gotta set some boundaries. Let's just stick with Blutbad. I'm just working so hard on my id, man. If I go back to Mr. Wolf…Well, that could be bad."
I bit my tongue from adding 'big and bad.'
"Okay. I respect that. So can a Blutbad romp in the woods with his girlfriend?"
Monroe let out a breath while he shook his head. "You know I want to, right?" His eyes flashed a sexy red as he spoke.
"Then let's just run. No worries, no fears. No... anything," I insisted.
"Running isn't exactly, you know, conducive to my regimen."
"Okay. No, you're right." I stood. "Well, I'm going for a run... You stay here."
"Now, dude, you can't be running on your own..."
"No, Monroe, I need to run. So run with me, or let me go. It's your choice." I was being an enabler. He needed to watch what he was doing. But I needed this. Oh, I was a terrible person.
Monroe let out a deliberate sigh. "No, I'll run with you," he said finally.
"Good, because I need that catch tonight."
"Dude, you realize that this is bad stuff right?"
"I'm sorry. I'll do better next time." I didn't want to ruin his Wieder, but I needed to run. It was better than sitting on the couch, drinking.
"Man, I'll have to explain this one at my next meeting," he sighed as we went upstairs to change.
A/N: Can we say Island of Dreams, anyone? Back to Grimm story mode.
So Renée tried to save Freddy, but it's just his fate to die. Adalind is baking up more than just cookies it seems.
Thanks for the responses on the last few chapters. Glad it was received well! Comments and favorites always appreciated!
Four more chapters today. Enjoy! (: