Malediction: An Old World Story (8 page)

Lex stood, easing herself to her feet so the bargest wouldn’t be alarmed. “I’ll keep my end of the bargain,” she said stiffly. “I’ll be gone by sunset. If somebody can take care of my rental car, I’ll go straight to the airport from here.”

Scarlett nodded. “I’ll get someone from Dashiell’s team to handle it.”

 
Lex tilted her head in acknowledgment. She looked up at the sky for a moment, eyes squinting to take in the top of the palm trees that speckled the school’s landscaping. “And I hope I never come back,” she added, mostly to herself. And with that, she started toward the parking lot, already pulling out her phone.

Jesse heard himself say, “I’ll give you a ride.” Lex paused, looking surprised, then nodded her thanks. She went and got her duffel bag out of Scarlett’s car and walked over to Jesse’s. He beeped the remote to unlock it so she could climb in. Before he followed, Jesse squatted in front of Scarlett. “You okay?” he asked, resting a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded, her eyes cast down, lost in thought. He wondered if she was seeing bodies going into a furnace. He certainly was. Jesse started to pull back, but she reached up and squeezed his hand where it lay. “She’s not wrong, is she?” Scarlett asked conversationally.

“No, she’s not,” he said. “But neither are you. And punishing yourself for what happened won’t solve anything.”

Her bright green eyes lifted to him in surprise, then narrowed. “You’re one to talk. How’s the new job, Jesse?”

He flinched. Stood up to leave. “See you around.”

“Yeah?” Scarlett said, hope in her voice.

Jesse paused, considered it. Shrugged. “Maybe. Yeah.”

The drive to the airport was silent and heady, like a black cloud had squeezed into the car with them. Jesse pulled over at the Frontier terminal and put the car in park. “Are you all right?” he asked Lex.

Her face was impassive. The soldier again. “I will be.” Without another word, she got out of the car, hoisted her duffel bag, and began walking toward the airport entrance. Jesse almost put the car back in drive, but he remembered himself just in time. “Lex, wait!” he yelled through the open window. She paused and turned back, a question on her face. He grabbed the bag from the glove compartment and followed her onto the sidewalk.

“I have something for you,” he rushed to say. “Almost forgot.” He thrust the little evidence bag toward her, and Lex accepted it with a frown before turning it over and opening the seal. She reached in and pulled out a shiny silver Rolex. Lex turned it over in her hands, exposing an inscription on the back.
Congratulations, college graduate! We love you–Mom and Dad.

“This was Sam’s,” she murmured, then looked up at him. “How did you get this?”

“She left it for us,” he said gently. “Remus drugged her so she wouldn’t fight back, but she still had the sense to take it off and drop it outside the shed, so we’d know she’d been there. Your sister was smart. If Remus had been a normal man the LAPD could’ve arrested, this evidence alone would have helped us convict him.”

She nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. “But how did
you
get it?”

“Called in an old favor. The case is very closed, so they’ll eventually return all the evidence to the proper owners. But they’re backlogged. I just thought … while you were in town …” he drifted off, feeling suddenly embarrassed. To his surprise, she stepped forward and threw her arms around him, hugging him close. Her shampoo smelled like evergreen trees and she was surprisingly solid with muscle. Jesse returned the hug, and for just a second he had that feeling again, like he’d helped someone. Done something good.

Lex stepped back, smiling with embarrassment. “Err … sorry. And thank you.” She clutched the watch to her chest. “I’ll get this to Charlie.” She hesitated for a moment, then added, “Would you tell Scarlett I’m sorry for hitting her?”

“Of course. And … try not to judge her too harshly, okay?” Jesse said tentatively. “I know what we did was awful, but I swear, we were respectful to Sam. And the others.”

She nodded. “What I do for the Old World isn’t all that different, it was just … easier to be upset with her than with Lizzy.” She shuddered. “Thank God we don’t have werewolves in Boulder.”

As he drove out of the LAX traffic juggernaut, Jesse felt exhausted—and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d made a mistake with Lex. He should have corrected her, made her see that not all werewolves were evil any more than all professional football players were womanizers. There was something a little ominous about her attitude, and he had a feeling the next werewolf who crossed her path might pay for it. Then again, he thought, werewolf PR wasn’t his job.

Of course, that thought only reminded him of his actual job. Jesse sighed, and headed back to work.

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About the Author

Melissa Olson was raised in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and studied film and literature at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. After graduation, and a brief stint bouncing around the Hollywood studio system, Melissa landed in Madison, WI, where she eventually acquired a master's degree from UW-Milwaukee, a husband, a mortgage, two kids, and two comically oversized dogs, not at all in that order. She loves Madison, but still dreams of the food in LA. Literally. There are dreams.

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