Ghost Light

“Hey,” I said, answering the call.  “Miss me already?”

“Kaye said you were on your way home,” Jinx said.  “But we got a problem.  I need you to stop by the office.”

“Seriously?” I asked.

“Dude, I need you down here,” she said, and hung up.

I stared at the blank screen and sighed.  Shoulders slumped, I trudged to the office.  All I wanted was my bed, but there was no rest for the wicked.  Some days it sucked to be me.

I turned the corner to see a crowd assembled in front of Private Eye.  The gargoyle gave a rumbling growl of warning and I looked up to see his ears lay back flat against his head.  I reached into my sleeves, making sure my blades were one flick away from my hands.  My right wrist was stiff, but if I ignored the pain, I could grab the throwing knife.  I just hoped I didn’t need my weapons.  I’d be able to fight, but it wouldn’t be pretty.

Faces turned toward me and I stopped dead in my tracks.  For a moment, I felt a sense of déjà vu.  The crowd was made up of the same fae parents from a previous morning, but the assembled fae were no longer gnashing their teeth and wringing clawed hands.  This time they were smiling and waving at me, though many had tears in their eyes.

This mob wasn’t here to lynch me.  Considering my current state of health, that was a good thing.  When Jinx saw me turn the corner, she jumped into the street and yelled, “surprise!”  I slid my hands away from my weapons and gave the gargoyle a quick nod.

“It’s okay Humphrey,” I said.  “That’s my friend and business partner Jinx…and a few of our clients.”

The gargoyle’s stone hackles disappeared and he came to rest on a nearby building.  He started licking his front paw, ignoring the people milling about below.  Apparently, Humphrey was satisfied that the crowd didn’t pose a threat.

I turned a stiff smile to Jinx and limped forward.

“Um, hi,” I said.  “What’s going on?”

Jinx gestured at the crowd behind her.

“These peeps heard you were recovering and wanted to say thank you,” she said.  “When Kaye announced you were coming home today, we put together a little welcome home party.”

A surprise party, for me?  I’d spent years avoiding parties, even going so far as to beg my parents not to celebrate my birthday.  Crowds and presents usually filled me with dread.  But looking at the smiling faces of the parents whose children I’d helped rescue, produced an entirely different emotion.

The faeries lifted a banner above their heads to flap in the breeze.  I examined the banner through joyful tears.  Someone had painted “thank you” in the center of the banner in big, red letters.  Around the words were numerous drawings and paintings of happy families.  The families were all different, some had wings or horns or fur, but they were all drawn with smiling faces.

The children from the cemetery had each drawn a picture of themselves at home with their family, safe and happy.  The children’s artwork was one of the nicest gifts I’d ever received.  Tears filled my eyes and I bit my lip as it began to tremble.

Most days, being a hero meant blood, sweat, and potential insanity, but then there were days like today.  Days like this?  They make it all worthwhile.

Chapter 26

I leaned back in my office chair, boots resting on my desk.  I closed my eyes and sighed.  I could stay here for a week.

It was getting late and Jinx and I were the only ones left in the office.  The place was finally quiet.  The parents of the fae children were gone, but I wasn’t ready to climb the stairs to our loft apartment.

I was tired and sore, but happy.  Each parent had taken the time to sit with me and tell me about the moment they heard the phone ring, knock at the door, or splash in their fountain heralding the good news that their child was alive and safe.  I’d laughed, drank copious amounts of coffee, and cried as these clients shared their stories.

I usually met face to face with a client at the end of case.  I had found that it helped clients to understand my findings if I explained the details of the case in person.  It also gave us closure.  But I’d never had a case as satisfying to bring to an end as the case of the thirty-three missing fae children.  Every child had been saved, every family reunited, and I had sat with each parent to bring the case to a close.

I hadn’t realized until today just how terrified I’d been with the lives of so many children hanging in the balance.  I’d tamped down my own emotions and did what had to be done.  With the case solved there was no need to keep that fear and self-doubt locked inside.

The worry I hadn’t allowed myself to feel while searching for the children came crashing back with the meeting of every parent.  I’d spent the day with clenched fists and tight shoulders as I retold the most important events of the case, but now that it was over I felt completely relaxed.

Jinx clapped her hands together and I opened my eyes.

“Case closed,” Jinx said.  “I just finished logging the payments from our clients.  Time to get you home and in bed.”