Chapter 29

 

WE DROVE TOWARD the city and I made Renee pull over. I could see the river snaking its way through the countryside. There was some kind of magnetic pull which had tugged at me until I begged Renee to follow.

It was strange because there was no industry here. There was nothing but the bank, some park, and the mighty flowing Ohio trundling on past.

We sat on the hood, soaking up the lunchtime sun. It was quiet, pleasant. Birds chatted away nearby.

“Any ideas?” Renee asked, munching on a sandwich that Aunt Bess had shoved her way. I was kinda glad to see her eating. Sometimes when she got tense, she forgot to. Nan had always believed in fueling up and I guess Aunt Bess was much the same.

I glanced back to see Aunt Bess stretching out, wandering about as if she was taking pictures with her hands.

“Nothin’, but I know she’s been here.” I couldn’t explain why. I reached in my pocket and held the lock but it stayed dormant. I eyed the river. She wouldn’t have gone in there. She was terrified of water.

“You aren’t going in there either,” Renee mumbled between bites. “There’s a lot of traffic on this stretch of the river too.”

I closed my eyes, knowing that she was right. The water looked murky here too. I walked over to a rock on the bank. It was pretty much like most riverbanks I’d sat on. Only thing different was that the rock under me felt funny. I got up and stared at it.

“What’s the matter?” Renee wandered over, folding her sandwich paper up all neat and tidy and tying it in a knot like always.

“It ain’t right.”

Renee raised an eyebrow at me. “The rock?”

I nodded.

She met my eyes for a moment, then knelt beside it. “When I met Urs, I was looking after a woman who . . .” She sighed. “I have reason to believe was much like Huber and his ilk.”

She tapped the rock. It thunked. Rocks didn’t make that kinda noise.

“Urs later told me how she knew I was in trouble.” She felt over the rock with her hands. “They used to leave messages in hollow rocks, stones, that kind of thing. All defunct now. Burner cells are a lot easier.”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know why Renee had been protecting a slave owner. “My mother?”

Renee smiled. “We didn’t have you back then but thankfully, I met Urs.”

Frei had said something about rescuing and being rescued by Renee once. Renee pulled open a hatch of some kind and bit her lip.

“No critters, you’re safe,” I whispered to her. Renee really hated spiders.

“Thanks.” She stuck her hand in and scrunched up her face as she felt around. She pulled out a book and a key. She opened the book. “Last date was a while ago. It’s not been used for years.”

She handed me the book. Dates and names. “Last one has M and H?” I couldn’t get anything from the book. I guessed it didn’t retain energy or maybe it was so long ago that it had faded.

“Megan and Huber I would guess.” She held up a key. “What do you think?”

I nodded and looked back at Aunt Bess who was chatting to a pair of birds watching her from a branch. They kinda looked to be enjoying the conversation by the sound of their happy chatter. Although, that could have had a lot to do with whatever she was throwing for them.

“If you need to, ask for her help to get me back in the car, don’t try doing it yourself, okay?”

Renee raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “You think I can’t cope.”

“I think Aunt Bess is here and she can help to save your back.” I flexed my fingers, plucking up the courage to touch the key. Before all my burdens had been dimmed, I could have just hovered my hand over it. “I don’t know what’ll happen, if I’ll pass out or somethin’.”

“You’ve never done that before.” She frowned. “What’s going on?”

“Maybe the burden is still dimmed or somethin’ so it takes more out of me?” I wasn’t sure but it hadn’t completely returned, none of them had. “I ain’t sure who touched it neither.”

Renee took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “You can do this.”

I nodded and she placed the key in my hand.

 

“Don’t worry about that thing,” Megan muttered as she stepped out of the car. “If she gets caught, so what?”

Huber narrowed his eyes, the key in his hand. “If? She’d better not get caught. She’s too valuable.” It was bad enough that the silly woman had sold Suz. He didn’t have enough slaves to keep losing them. He’d warned Locks, reluctantly, that her sister was in trouble. He’d heard rumors that Jäger had his eye on her. If they failed the sister, he’d have no power. She was a fine musician, beautiful, but if they gave him a notification of failure, he wouldn’t be able to afford that kind of price.

Locks had been angry when he’d told her the blunt truth. If she’d thought saying nothing would fool him, she was more naïve than he thought. Her eyes told it all. The rage that filled them was unfortunate. Why would he want to lose property? “Far more valuable than you.”

Megan shrank back at his words but he tightened his grip on her arm. “Locks is my property. I’m not paying her fees to be empty handed.”

If she tried to get rid of Locks, he’d get rid of her. Locks was worth more than she’d ever realize.

“You can train another just as well.” Megan’s smile was all charm. It bored him. She was more tiresome the longer he knew her. “You’re the genius. Besides her sister will fetch a nice price.”

Typical of the woman to think she understood business. Typical that she would equate shallow things to value. “She’s worth more than her looks but you don’t need to worry yourself about such things. Concentrate on what you’re good at.”

Megan sucked in her chin. Not attractive. “Which is?”

“Looking pretty.” He tapped her rump and nodded to the man waiting for them. “Let Locks do the thinking.”

 

“Huber. He had the key.” I scratched the side of my neck. “Megan had sold off somebody called Suz and her sister was in trouble of being failed.” I frowned. “It sounded like Caprock.”

“She wasn’t with Huber?” Renee fiddled with the sandwich knot she’d made. She had a thing about attempting origami with her trash.

“No, but they were talking about her. Megan didn’t like her a whole lot. She was trying to get rid of her.” I looked down at the key. “It was the first time Huber and Megan were here. I get the feeling Frei was trying to get him enough money to afford her sister.”

Renee nodded. “Megan was jealous; I know that much.” She stared out at the river. “Huber is insanely rich though. I don’t understand why unless her sister was that highly valued to the buyers?”

I wiggled my legs. I weren’t used to being cramped up in a tin can for long. Maybe my knees were wobbling from that? “They were meeting somebody, being a distraction, while Frei did her thing.” I glanced back over at Aunt Bess, still in conversation with two very contented birds. “I don’t think Huber was always as rich.”

Renee led me back over to the car. She popped the trunk and placed the key and book inside.

“You find anythin’?” Aunt Bess bid a farewell to the birds, hanging something that looked like a feeder on their tree.

I cocked my head, wondering where she got that from.

“My box, Shorty,” she said with a smile, I guess reading my expression. “Never know when there’s friends to take care of.”

Renee beamed at her. “Sounds like someone else I know.”

“I ain’t that organized.”

Both looked at me and chuckled.

Renee tapped the car. “Can you place the man Huber met?” We got in and Renee tapped the dash. A load of pictures flashed up on the screen. “Any of them familiar?”

I leaned back as the screen fuzzed with my close proximity. “No . . . this guy didn’t look like he’d done time.”

“Kinda fancy car,” Aunt Bess mumbled. “Mine just about makes it to town an’ back.”

Renee cast a smile at her and tapped away on the screen. A couple of minutes later the guy’s face did pop up.

“Him, there.”

She tapped on his face.

“Missing . . .?” I sighed. “Guess that lead ain’t helpful.”

Renee’s eyes gentled. “Actually it is. He owned properties and a shipping company in the city. He went missing not long after you saw Huber meet him.” She tapped the screen again and a whole lot of other data came up. “We’ll check them out.”

“There’s a load of them,” Aunt Bess said. “You think we can just walk on in?”

“Urs said to keep to the river and there’s not many near it.” Renee smiled as Aunt Bess shoved a sandwich my way. “So eat something and we’ll go through the list.”

My stomach grumbled so loud it filled the car. “Guess my stomach’s with you.”

She patted my stomach. “Wise move.”