Harvest Moon, Part 3

My head whipped around from the pure force of the blow. My knees wobbled, then simply gave out and I collapsed against the side of the building. I steadied myself as best I could, unable to get my senses straight. Until they both were above me.

No light revealed their faces, it shone behind them and gave off silhouettes. Although, it made them difficult to see, it also made it clear they were not human. The first, the one that hit me, was far too big. He towered above me by a solid foot and a half, putting him well over seven feet tall. And he had the bulk to back it up.

The second was shorter, much closer to my height. But in his shadows I saw the presence of a pair of horns. They curled around his head like a goat’s. He spoke first, “this is your warning Reardon. Just go home, hide in a bottle till this all blows over.”

“No thanks, I was beginning to enjoy having work again.”

The big man’s fist may have been slow, but then that’s the same as comparing an automobile to a bullet. Sure, one is slower but it more than makes up for it in size.

I was about to offer another point, but they didn't let me.

What followed was blow after blow. At first, it was easy to see who was throwing what. A foot from the little one. A fist from the big guy, he really liked to throw them. But within seconds, they all blurred together. They beat the stuffing out of me, and left me in the alleyway. It was awhile before I managed to collect myself and leave. I wasn’t going to let anyone see me like that.

My place wasn’t that far from Chinatown. I would get a few hours to myself. I could patch myself up and do exactly what the guy suggested. I hid in the bottom of the bottle. But at first light, I was going to crawl out and question the kid’s teacher.

I’ve worked cases before. And never once have the thugs come after me that soon and that hard. It meant someone didn’t want me to work it. Well, that someone just ruined my day. And I certainly felt like ruining theirs.

There was cotton in my mouth when I woke up. The bourbon was all gone, so I was left with water to wash it down. I switched into my second suit, it was less wrinkled from having not been slept in. Once I had finished cleaning myself up, I called for a cab and got to work.

The Dietrich’s had given me a "small" retainer to use while I worked the case. It more than covered the cab. And would more than cover rent for the next year.

Notion City had pretty clear class lines, even if people didn’t like to admit it. Public schools had little funding, as the government had lost its hold well before the Guilds and the Courts began to work their way into society’s basic needs. Schooling wasn't a big concern of the guilds, it really didn’t churn much of a profit. So no one picked it up. Windows were shattered. Roads to and from were pockmarked with potholes like the moon’s craters. They even emitted a foul aroma, the smell of decay and death. The Dietrich’s did not go to such a school.

My eagerness to get a little more information got me stuck in the principal’s office for a few hours. The chair they had me sit in was designed for children, not fully grown adults. It was not so much my curiosity that was excited when the recess bell rang, but more so my rear end.

“Please have a seat Mr. Reardon,” the Dietrich’s teacher waved a hand towards her students desk.

“You can call me Elroy, Ms. Hughes,” my eyes gravitated towards the chairs. “And I’d prefer stand, thank you.”

“You can call me Julie, Elroy. Please, Ms. Hughes makes me seem a tad too old.” And she really was not. I was used to the sisters doing my schooling, none of them looked like her. She was nowhere near leaving her forties and knew enough about make up, to know she only needed a touch of it. A classical beauty they called it.

I took out my little pad of paper and shook the thoughts out of my head, “could you tell me more about the Dietrich boy’s accident?”

“Kind of you to call it that,” she gave me a soft smile then began to erase notes from the chalkboard. “It was during recess, not but two days ago. Jacob was playing a rough game with the other boys. I didn’t see a need to break it up, boys will be boys after all. That was until I notice Jacob was injured and the others were backing away.”

“You thought it was strange?”

“It wasn’t the first time they had played that game. And it wasn’t the first time one of them had been injured. But you were a young boy once, weren’t you, Elroy? Nothing gets bigger bragging rights than an injury. Who has the worst, and what can be seen from it. But this time, the boy’s were terrified.”

“Because he bled straw?”

She nodded, “it’s awful. I can’t even imagine what it has to be like for those poor children.”

“Faery is many things. Chaotic is the best way to describe it. It’s hard to say really, to some it’s paradise and others," I said while scribbling a note or two down. "Perdition."

“I didn’t mean the children taken. I meant those left behind, the fetches.”

I blinked and looked up at her. She had finished the chalkboard and had moved back to her desk to sit down.

“They don’t know anymore than we do. They’re given all the memories of those children. Given their lives. For all intents and purposes, they are those taken. Yet the moment we discover we reject them. Fear them. Hurt them. It’s awful.”

"Yea," I nodded. "You have no idea."

“Sorry,” she said and standing back up to tidy the rest of the classroom. “I shielded Jacob from the other boys as their fear turned into anger. I called the father as soon as I could, but his mistress answered instead. Told me to take both Jacob and Margret out of class and she would personally pick them up.”

“Sorry, his mistress came and got them? I didn’t-”

“Oh,” she laughed a little. “Sorry, it’s what we around here call his fiancé. I’m sure you’ve had the privilege of meeting her. She hasn’t left his side in the past month. A gold digger is what she is. Men might not see what’s in her eyes when she looks at her husband to be, but a woman can. She looks at him and sees a paycheck.”

I added a few notes to my book, “did you notice anything before the day the Dietrich boy was injured? Anyone strange hanging around the school?”

She laughed again, it was soft and warming, “have you taken a good look around the school Mr. Reardon? We’re one of those that the Human Only League cries out against. Fae children left and right. Offspring of Fae and human. Honestly, I’m not sure there is anything left in this world that I could define as strange.”

“Someone shady then?”

“No.” she said.

“Anyone other than students, teachers and those connected to the Dietrich family ever visit the children?”

“No,” she replied again with an adamant head shake. It made her hair bounce around a little. Auburn to match the season. “I would have certainly mentioned it when I first noticed Jacob. Whenever they were taken, they weren’t taken from here. I can be absolutely sure of that.”

“Alright,” I said while flipping the notepad closed and replacing it in my pocket. “That should be everything. Thank you very much for your time, Julie.”

“Wait,” she stood and followed me to the door. “There is something I want to ask you Elroy.”

“Me?” I stammered a little. “What is it? I mean, how can I help you?”

“Would you like to get a drink with me?”

Usually I was on the other side of the questions and not used to curveballs coming my way. But in that moment her body language shifted, she angled her hips towards me and gave me a smile that made my knees shake like the punch that knocked me senseless.

“Why would you even think I’d engage in something like drinking?” I asked.

“You investigate missing persons. In this town, that has to be a job that puts more in your lose column than your win. I’m guessing that you need an escape. I was just hoping that you might want to make that escape with someone.”

She pursued her lips a little while she spoke. I couldn’t seem to work mine.

“Corner of sixteenth and Vine, meet me there tomorrow night at around eight. I know this great little gin joint. You like jazz right Elroy?”

“You’re awfully forward, aren’t you Julie?”

She smiled as the bell rang, she quickly shifted back into school marm stature, “a girl has to be in this city. All the good men seem to get snatched up really fast.”

Before I knew it, the door slammed open and about a dozen little children flooded in. Some shoved by me, others stared wide eyed. Quite a few were obviously not human, luckily I had spent enough time in Faery that I didn’t give them the same look back.

Once the door was clear, I moved to it and began to swing it close when Julie winked at me, smiled and then turned to face her class all in one swift movement. All the good men were snatched up she said. I didn’t have time to tell her I wasn’t one of those. She’d only be a little bit broken when I didn’t show. But that was better for her than getting involved with the likes of me.

I continued to watch her for a moment through the glass of the door. Then turned my gaze to the rows of children watching her.

Two seats were empty. I left, intending to fill them.