Mystery Noir

Mawaska Part 9

After a couple more days, when I was able to walk around and make sense of the world, I went back to the hotel. Before then, I had not had enough power in my thought process to argue with the fact that I was staying right in the lion's den. Or wolf's den. I had not yet decided what kind of shapeshifters the two men were.

I had also not fully understood what their relationship was. Not that it was any of my business, but they had separate rooms, but seemed to go everywhere else together. They were close, but I never saw them as intimate, though they may not have wanted to be seen as intimate. And my mind had a limited capacity for figuring things out still.

I didn't open up my computer until I got to the hotel, forcing myself to go through extra security protocol, in case they were watching me even closer. I had several emails from rich people wanting me to investigate employees or spouses, and just one, sent a few hours after the fight on the back road, from the mysterious employer.

Don't worry. I've sent you back up.

I frowned at the message, then replied with my own clipped response. If your backup is who I think it is, they were more dangerous to me than the town.

I closed my eyes and tried to fight off the headache, knowing that I would need to take a break, even after only a few minutes on the computer. But just as I was reaching for the lid to my computer, I heard the notification that another email came through.

I opened my eyes and frowned at the response.

It is not who you think it was. I think you are close. I'll double my initial offer if you tell me the secret of Mawaska.

Now, the only reason why I had put up with this unidentified idiot and the games of information that they seemed to be paying, was because they had offered me a lot of money. Over $100k as an upfront nonrefundable starting fee, guaranteeing that I wouldn't ask them questions about who they were or why they wanted the information I was going to find with a final payout of over $500k.

I don't risk my life for peanuts, thank you very much. That didn't include the extra money for the danger pay.

But for them to double the amount, without me making mention of what I had found or what had happened, and to leave it as broadly requested as they had ...

That was weird.

And it narrowed down the type of person who would be sending me on this goose chase. $500k could have been a bunch of concerned family friends of some of the missing, pooling together their resources in blind hope that something could be found out for their missing loved ones. Double that meant that it was someone, or some organization, that had a reason for wanting to know where the people were.

I closed the computer and let out a slow breath, shaking my head and going through the actions of washing up and getting dressed in my own clothing, before I walked out of the hotel and decided to stroll around town on foot.

The day was cloudy, but I needed sunglasses, and even then, the heat, movement and light started making my head throb a bit, even after the first block. So, I turned into a small diner and stopped dead in my tracks.

I noticed the maid from the hotel first, though out of uniform I knew exactly where I recognized her from. Not from the missing person poster that had been included in my original hiring email, but from the video of there, wearing the same baggy hoody that she was wearing now. And she was standing there, speaking with Mika, who was dressed in a very uncharacteristic pair of ripped jeans and 80s band t-shirt.

Mika noticed me after a couple seconds and he broke into a large smile, before his expression faltered and he lowered his half-raised hand. "Oh. Hi."

I narrowed my eyes at him, before glancing to the girl with a frown. "Karly."

She jerked in surprised, her eyes opening wide as she turned to face me, baring her teeth, which elongated.

I knew she was supernatural now, and that she had changed from whatever picture had been put on the missing person poster. But her growing fangs and claws and sprouting fur over her face was still a little bit of a surprise.

The rest of the diner was not very full, but everyone who was in it turned to look at me, with mixtures of fear and aggression. A couple more people flashed fangs, though no one got up to attack. I got the distinct impression that they were waiting for me to open fire or something, like any innocent patrons of a diner.

I shook my head, sighed and walked to a less busy part of the diner, seating myself in full violation of the "Wait to be seated" sign.

With a look at Karly that had her bolting out the door half shifted, Mika hesitantly approached me, though I opened up one of the menus and ignored him until he slid into the seat across from me.

"Hey." He offered, carefully. And though there was a fair bit of guilt on his face, I could also read fear there.

I had literally risked my life for the kid a half dozen times and given him the shirt off my back to make sure he was safe, and he was afraid of me?

"They painted your car, you know." I muttered, before turning to look at the waitress who walked hesitantly up to the table. "Coffee, Fish and Chips Please?"

Mika winced and shook his head. "You know I was a medical student before all this shit. You shouldn't be drinking coffee with a concussion still bugging you."

I scowled at him, before glancing to the waitress. "Fine. Water, with lemon."

"It was... the hardest part of all this, giving up the car. Sam cried a little." Mika murmured softly, shaking his head to the waitress to indicate he didn't want anything and watching me.

He his expression was scared and half pleading. As if I was holding a gun to his head.

I glanced around the diner, then fixed my gaze on him. "Mika, what the fuck? What is this? Why are you looking at me like I'm here to kill you?"

"Well... you're a mercenary... and there's a lot of rich people who want to move into town and take the place over. A lot of people who want us all dead too." Mika shrugged and glanced down to his hands.

"I'm a private investigator. Not a mercenary." I snorted, before accepting the glass of water. But when I looked up to thank the woman, the glare I got made me push the glass away from me with a frown.

Mika looked up, fear shining like tears in those brown eyes of his. "You investigate the paranormal, Doctor. For a lot of people, that's just the same as being a mercenary."

I thought of the price tag I had just been offered and sat back in my booth seat, digesting his words. I knew there were a lot of bad people who believed that just because non-humans were different, they didn't deserve to live. I knew that when people asked me to look into a nasty monster, that sometimes I would be hunting down someone who was scared of themselves and just in need of help. That some people who did the same job as me wouldn't care about the distinction between monster and non-human.

So as much as it bothered me to admit it, I inclined my head in agreement, then frowned as I saw Enzo and Ver walk through the door and fix me with glares before stalking in my direction. As they approached, I turned to the man sitting across from me, sighing softly. "I'm not here to hurt anyone. And I'm not a mercenary, Mika. I am glad to see that you are doing ok though, and I would never accept any amount of money to hurt you, I promise."

Mika smiled to me, beaming happily. "I know. I didn't think so, but everyone's been on edge..."

"Mika. I thought we said to steer clear of the good doctor here." Ver's voice was a growl that made my temper flare.

Though I forced myself to grin and stay leaning back in my seat, as if I didn't have a care in the world. "Mika and I are old friends, Sheriff, why wouldn't I be able to catch up with him?"

"Because we decide who we trust in this town." Enzo growled as well, looking just as angry as Ver.

I wondered if they were regretting helping me, now.