Last time, Roe and Owan agreed to help Gladys find her younger brother, and O’Rourke invited them on a stakeout to attempt to catch the jewelry thief.
As he promised, O'Rourke picked me up that evening just around sunset. Well, I say he picked me up, but given we didn't want to draw attention, we didn't take his car. Instead, we walked several blocks to the jewelry store we were watching that night. The owner, Samuel Levy, happily let us in the back entryway and showed us to the office, separated from the storefront by a velvet curtain. The room was small, and cramped with a desk, bookshelves, a workbench, and filing cabinets, but I hadn't been expecting anything like a five-star hotel. He gave us a spare key in case we needed it, then locked up and headed home.
I slid the curtain to the side, just enough that I could see the front door, and watched the sun set over the buildings around us as I turned over the events of the day. My prodding at various police stations closest to Gladys's home address had turned up at that, yes she had indeed filed a missing persons report about her little brother, one Nicholas Connor, aged twelve. So that was on the up-and-up. But if so...what was the idea about trying to fool us with glamoured jewelry? To make herself seem older, more legitimate? The way the officers I'd spoken to had talked, it seemed like Gladys had lied about her age there too.
I didn't blame her. Chances were, if anyone official knew she was only in her teens, as Roe had guessed, that she and her brother would have been put into an orphanage or foster care, which came at risk of being separated. Still, the question of where and how she'd gotten her hands on glamoured earrings wouldn't let my mind rest. Relics were expensive, and this was the second case we'd run into where someone who shouldn't be able to afford them had gotten their hands on one.
"Care for a game?" O'Rourke produced a case of well-worn cards from his pocket, tapping the edge of the deck on the worktable.
"Sure, why not?" I helped him move the worktable out at a slight angle, so we could use a corner for our game. O'Rourke turned out the overhead lights, then flicked on the table map, and I adjusted the curtain so that no light would filter into the storefront.
"You have any idea when the other robberies occurred?" I asked.
O'Rourke shuffled the cards, his fingers moving in a lightning quick pattern that told me he was very experienced. I might have to watch myself--it would be embarrassing to lose a poker game in just a few rounds to a guy I was trying to impress.
"Most of 'em, the owners discovered when they came to work the next morning. In the two we've caught in progress, it's been shortly before midnight. That doesn't necessarily indicate a pattern, though."
One of those was the one Roe and I had witnessed. I propped my chin on my hand, watching him shuffle out the cards for a moment before checking my watch. It was nine o'clock, so we had some time.
We played a few rounds of poker, though I didn't have my mind fully on the game. I could tell by the way he paused and tilted his head toward the curtain from time to time, O'Rourke didn't either, though that didn't stop him from gaining the upper hand quickly. I had no need to tilt my head--I could hear the occasional delivery van driving past on the street, and the occasional clatter of feet as folks walked back and forth. But as we sat and played, even those sounds died away, and all was quiet until about ten minutes until midnight, when someone knocked furiously on the back door. Both of us jumped, and O'Rourke grabbed for the gun strapped to his hip.
I held up my hand, listening. From behind the thick door, I could hear someone saying, "Detective O'Rourke? Detective! There's been another break-in!"
I stood, motioning for O'Rourke to put his gun away, and crossed the room, quickly unlocking the door. A disheveled-looking flattie stood in the alley, looking slightly panicked. "Where?" I demanded.
The cop blinked hard at the sudden, though dim, light coming from the doorway. "Umm--"
"What's going on?" O'Rourke demanded, pushing past me.
The flustered cop finally recovered himself enough to answer O'Rourke's question. "There was another break-in, sir. C'mon, I've been sent to bring the two of you to the scene." He gestured to the end of the alley, and I noticed the hurriedly-parked vehicle there, still running. We hurried into our seats, and the cop turned, speeding down the street.
I glanced from side to side as he drove, trying to see if I could spot anything beyond the glare of the street lights, but the alleys and storefronts flicked by too quickly.
A couple of corners and quite a few blocks later, we pulled up outside a building surrounded by several cars. By the flashlights bobbing around, I could see that several policemen had already arrived, and that the front of the store had been smashed open. O'Rourke barely waited for our car to brake before he was out the door, hurrying to the middle of the action.
I climbed out more slowly, looking at my watch in the light of the car's headlights. Not for the first time, I thought I should trade in my older watch for one of those new glow-in-the-dark ones. It would certainly make my life a bit easier.
It was just after midnight--the trip from our stakeout had barely taken ten minutes, if that. I straightened and glanced around. This time of night, there was no crowd of gawkers to fend off, so now one was paying attention beyond the circle of cars that had all parked to illuminate the storefront with their headlights. I made a show of slowly walking toward the building, but keeping my head turned away and letting my eyes slowly readjust to the darkness.
A flicker of movement in the shadows of the alley across the street caught my attention. I turned my head, watching out of the corners of my eyes. Someone was watching the commotion.
I turned my back to the watcher and stepped backward, as if wanting to survey the scene from a distance. Behind me, I could hear the rustle of clothing, but it didn't sound like anyone was trying to run for it. I slowly sidled back and to the side, still listening.
After a moment, I sprang around the corner. The watcher gasped and startled backward, and I grabbed for him, my fist closing on a rough denim jacket. The watcher made a high-pitched yelping sound as I dragged him forward.
He was a kid. A kid standing a little shorter than my shoulder line, glaring up at me, his eyes two bright green sparks under a mop of tangled dark hair.
I recalled how Gladys had described her brother to me. This kid was tall for twelve, but still "Nick?" I said.
The kid's glare deepened. "Who wants to know?" His hands moved from his jacket pockets, his fingers clenching into fists.
I shifted so that I was holding him more at arm's length. "Your si--"
Something wrapped around my ankle and yanked. I staggered forward, hopping on one foot to stay upright. The kid wrenched free of my grip and darted back down the alley. I looked down to see that a vine had grown out of the side of the building, wrapping itself around my ankle. I kicked free of it and ran down the alley after the kid, but by the time I rounded the corner, he was long gone.
I sighed. Well, that explained one thing about this mystery...whoever that kid was, he was a Green Man. The choice of a golem was still a strange one, but at least now, the power behind it made sense.
I had to get hold of Roe.
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