Mark Del Franco - Undone Deeds

Janey started laughing and threw Murdock a wide-eyed expression. “Yeah, that’s it. Tell him about the case, Leo.”

Murdock blushed, and I finally got it. Janey and Murdock, together, having a coffee in a part of the neighborhood neither of them lived. Murdock was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Janey was wearing a long casual dress with a sweater over her shoulders. In other words, neither of them was working, and I was an idiot for not seeing it. “Oh…. um…. oh,” I said.

Murdock focused on wiping crumbs off his hands. “Yeah, um, Janey says there’s something up with that arrow.”

“Did you get a signature off it?” I asked. I cringed at the overly polite tone in my voice, like I had just met them.

Janey kept the wide smile on her face. “Several actually, mostly residual, but the odd part was that it wasn’t elf-shot. The charge sent through the arrow had some kind of solitary essence on it. Isn’t that right, Leo?”

Murdock smiled uncomfortably. “Yep. That’s what the report said.”

“The one I wrote. Right? Was there something about coffee in there?” asked Jane, then laughed.

“I don’t remember,” he mumbled.

“Did you get that ID I sent?” I asked.

Janey tilted her head, waiting for Murdock to respond. He slipped his hands in his pockets. “It’s unofficial, but I was able to confirm that Alfren was working for the Guild. Mostly, he passed information about the Tangle and movements of Eorla’s people.”

“Has the Guild taken over the case?” I asked.

He shook his head. “He’s still in the morgue. No one wants him.”

“That sounds like political dodgeball. I guess we wait and see who picks him up. That’ll tell us who has more to hide,” I said. I wanted to bite back my words, but they were out.

Janey could not keep the smile off her face. She was loving Murdock’s discomfort. “Maybe everyone should go out for coffee.”

Clearly defeated, Murdock eyed her with amusement. “Coffee is good for a lot of things.”

I decided to let them off the hook. “Speaking of which, I could use a cup. You guys want anything?”

“No, thanks. I’m meeting someone for dinner,” Janey said.

“Yeah, me, too,” Murdock said.

I rubbed my hands together. “Okay, then. I guess I’ll check in with you later. Let me know if something comes up.”

Janey lost it. She backed away, laughing. Murdock glared at me in a way that told me I would pay for that. Amused, I watched them walk away. When they reached the corner, Murdock held Janey’s arm above the elbow as they crossed the street.

I sighed and went into the coffee shop. It never crossed my mind that they had any interest in each other. I guessed I wasn’t good about predicting the future.

Late the next morning, a knock at the door startled me out of sleep. I was expecting Meryl for lunch, but it was too early, which meant that Ceridwen’s messengers might be rousting me out of bed for something. I had been avoiding Ceridwen since yesterday because I didn’t want to give her the answer she didn’t want to hear. I didn’t want to go to Ireland, at least not now. As she lay dying, I had promised to help her get revenge against Maeve, but that didn’t mean I had to do it her way.

I opened the door and cringed as my mother grabbed me in a full body hug. “Still an early riser, I see.”

“How did you find me, Ma?” I asked.

She entered the room, eyeing it with suspicious appraisal. “I asked.”

I closed the door behind her. “Mother, I’m in hiding. You didn’t just ask for directions to my apartment.”

She peered down at the seat cushion on the armchair. “Actually, I did. I asked Amos the Apothecary, whom I have known for years. He gave me the general direction and a contact on Ceridwen’s staff, who referred me to that rather disheveled dwarf who keeps the lookout on the water tower next door. He told me.”

I pulled my jeans on and sat on the bed. “And why would he tell you where I lived?”

With a deep breath, she sat in the chair. “I told him I was your mother.”

“And he believed you?” I asked.

She put on an innocent face. “I knew his mother. We played cribbage years ago. She stank at it.”

“You shouldn’t have come down here. It’s dangerous,” I said.

She pulled her chin in. “Is it? It looked rather shabby as I came through. Not like the old days. Do those trolls still live under the channel? They kept things lively down here.”

“There’s only one troll. He pretends to live under the bridge but has a nice underground apartment nearby,” I said.

She clicked her tongue against her teeth. “Only one left? No wonder there are so many feral cats around. Do you have any tea?”

I glanced at my empty kitchen. “I haven’t been shopping. Why don’t you give me a sec to wash up, and we can grab lunch?”

She waved her hand. “No need. I have a luncheon date already. I wanted to see you.”

“Is everything all right?” I asked.

She pursed her lips. “Hmm. Yes, of course, everything’s all right. I have spent half an hour sitting on top of a water tower talking to a lonely dwarf because everything’s all right.”

I sighed. It was going to be one of those conversations. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m worried about your father. This business with the Seelie Court has taken the wind out of his sails,” she said.

I was getting more lost by the second. “I thought the entire court was sent home.”

She brushed her handkerchief on the arm of the chair, draped it over, and rested her hand on it. “Yes, that was after he was shut out. Oh, he didn’t think I knew, but I’m no fool. He’s had a hard year. It started with him being dropped from the missions to the Continent. Then Maeve put him on desk work entirely. You know your father loves travel.”

I couldn’t believe I was hearing this. “So, um, what exactly do you want me to do?”

She waved her hand in the air. “I don’t know. Guy stuff. Get Callin to join you. He’d like that. All you boys together.”

I stared at my stocking feet. “Mother, I am never, ever going camping with Callin and Da again.”

“Well, what about bowling? You used to be quite good,” she said.

I hid my disbelief beneath an amused smile. Sometimes mothers forget that their children outgrow their childhoods. “I’ll see if I can find Cal. Maybe he might have some ideas,” I said.

“Oh, I already went to see him. He said he would love to do something. Now that you mention it, he did say to suggest camping to you. He said he has fond memories of the two of you in the woods.”

He would. He spent all our camping trips making my life miserable as only older brothers can do. I have had enough of bugs in my bedroll to last a lifetime. “You went to see Callin? Where?”

“His apartment. He’s not much better at decorating than you, but the view is lovely,” she said.

I had no idea where my brother lived. No one ever seemed to know. “Mother, have you been walking around the Weird looking for us? Do you have any idea how bad an idea that is right now?”

She huffed and fell back in the armchair, then bolted forward, eyeing the cushions for dirt. “I’m desperate, Connie. If I don’t get your father out of that hotel, I’m going to scream. He needs something to do.”

I didn’t laugh, but I did smile. My parents loved each other but tended to get on each other’s nerves. “Okay. I’ll think of something.”

In a bright flash of pink, Joe burst into the air. He held a take-out cup half as tall as he was. A tag on a string dangled from the lid. He held the cup out to my mother. “I thought you might be here and like some tea, Momma Grey.”