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I turned the phone to face Titus. “Gill called from Nell’s number.”
Titus slid his glasses down his nose to get a better focus on the screen. “What’s he doing with Nell?”
“Baiting Jade? I don’t know, but it can't be good.”
Titus nodded in agreement. He turned from me and squinted at the mind map. “Any clues where he went?”
“The last few songs came so fast. I don’t know what to think. Let’s head to D.M.”
“Who’s D.M.?”
I unzipped my hoodie and pointed to the branded tee beneath it.
“A cinnamon roll?”
I shook my head. “No,” I answered, forgetting Titus hadn’t been with me the last few days. He hadn’t walked and talked with me like Jade had, so he didn’t have the scoop. “D.M. stands for Delish Mode. Jade’s pet project. Her dream business, a food truck.”
“She’s a baker?”
I nodded and zipped back up. “If you had any sweet treats at the Cozy, they came from Jade. D.M. is her food truck-to-be. Pax and Gill are working on getting it road ready but—”
My thoughts trailed to all the chats with Gill about faulty parts and how Pax and Nell were forcing Jade away with their bickering. Except he had it wrong. Jade was staying until Pax and Nell made things official. Now that they were about to, what would Gill do to stop Jade from leaving?
“Follow me,” I told Titus. “I’ll explain on the way.”
Titus straightened his coat and allowed me to pass him on my trek to the door. “You’re good at this, Penny.”
“If by this you mean getting my friends in mortal danger, then yes, I’m a pro.”
I held the door for my podcasting heartache, and a whiff of stale paper, petrichor, and cinnamon hit my nose as he passed by. A sigh escaped. I’d missed him. Not just his voice or his face on the screen, but him. His presence. His nearness.
I shoved away my feelings. Jade needed me, and if I was correct, Nell and Pax were in peril as well. The door clicked as I pulled it closed.
“Down the stairs,” I said.
Titus began the walk without me. I trailed behind him as his long legs took two steps at a time, and my clumsy feet could barely handle one. At the landing, a pungent funk overshadowed Titus’s yummy scent.
“Gas,” Titus muttered before I could.
“There’s a stove inside the shop,” I said.
I went to open the door. Titus grabbed my hand. “It's metal. What if we set off a spark?”
I paced in panic. “If we can smell it that strongly from here, imagine what it’s doing to anyone inside.”
“You’re right, but we can’t risk it. Is there another way in?”
“The front door is metal, too.” I frowned. I grabbed Titus’s hand, ignoring the feel of his skin against mine. “This way.” I tugged Titus behind me and around to the front. “Can you break this?” I stabbed a thumb at the plywood window.
“I can help.” A voice from behind startled me. I clung to Titus’s arm in reflex before embarrassment overcame my fear.
Titus’s smile reached his eyes. He softly patted my shoulder with his free arm. “Stand back,” he said.
The owner of the mystery voice, Scrubb, joined Titus in the attack against planks. It took less than five minutes for them to dislodge the edges enough for us to pry the wood free. I placed one leg into the shop before Titus stopped me.
“I have to,” I struggled to explain.
He held one of his monogrammed hankies. “It can’t hurt,” he said.
I took it. “Thanks,” I said before taking a large breath of outside air and charging inside. Even with the hankie, I wouldn’t last long. I knew from experience.
I headed straight for the kitchen, searching for victims as I went. I was ecstatic when no one was obviously in danger. My breath didn’t last long enough to get to the kitchen. I hustled outside.
Scrubb and Titus were there to yank me from the poisonous shop. “Anyone?” they asked.
I shook my head as I kneeled on the sidewalk. “Did you tell the police to come along?” I asked Scrubb.
“They didn’t have any available patrols.” Scrubb rolled his eyes. “They said they’d be ten minutes behind me.”
Titus frowned as I coughed. “Are you alright?”
My head fuzzed, but I’d been worse. “I just need a moment to catch my breath. Stay here, Scrubb,” I ordered politely. “I couldn’t reach the leak.”
“You got it,” Scrubb said.
“We’ve got to find Jade,” I told Titus before leading him back around to the storage garage gate. As soon as my breathing regulated and little black dots stopped swirling in my peripheral vision, I continued my clue explanations to Titus.
Titus kept time with my ramblings fairly well. “Gill is the big baddie? Does he mean to hurt anyone, or will he accidentally hurt someone?”
“I think his attempts before were benign enough. However, after he spills his feelings, I don’t think Jade will be his favorite person. Her truth bomb may have explosive consequences.”
“Meaning Gill thought she loved him too?”
“Love is blind?” I said, knowing the cliché was all too true. I punched in the code to the gate, but nothing happened. Slowing for precision, I tried again. “The bugger changed the code.”
“Can you open it from inside?” Titus asked as he squatted beside me and made a hammock with his hands. “Come on, I’ll boost you.”
I frowned. Old Penny wasn’t a stick figure. I was sure Jade’s treats had only widened my diameter. I scanned myself and was shocked to notice my pants were loose and my hoodie hung limp. The opposite was true. That didn’t mean I was thin enough or graceful enough to allow Titus to lift me.
“Any time now,” he said, unfettered by what I thought was my most obvious flaw.
I reluctantly grabbed two posts of the gate and heaved myself over, using Titus's hands as a launchpad. My bad ankle turned when I landed and splattered on the gravel.
I missed witnessing Titus’s vault over the tall gate. His shoes hit the ground just before I rose. “You okay?” he asked, steadying me with his hands to my elbows.
“Just clumsy,” I said.
A step or two later, I realized I was not. My foot cursed at me with each movement. I limped along as rapidly as I could. Titus grimaced as he followed, but he didn’t dare try to stop me.
“That’s Jade’s garage.” I pointed to the third RV storage space. Titus looped a powerful arm around my waist and nearly lifted me as he hurried to the garage.
“It’s just Godzilla,” he said as he rounded the open door.
I stared at my tiny house. Each wheel rubbed the dirt. “That punk slashed my tires,” I said. “They’re less than a year old.”
Titus leaned me against Godzilla. I ran a hand down the red metal frame in apology. “Where else could they be?” Titus asked.
I shrugged and pointed to the spot next to mine. “Delish Mode has been parked right there, over that oil slick, for months. Each time Pax got it running, something happened before he could pull it out of the garage.”
“Gill has it running now,” Titus said. “Do you think he’s taken the truck out of town?”
I squatted, using Godzilla for support to check on my ankle. “I don’t think so,” I said.
Titus walked into the garage. He peeked into the supply room and shut the door, offering no revelations.
“Why? If he loves her, then why would he want to pin her down?”
I blinked. “Feelings don’t always make sense.” Mine sure don’t. “Gill’s had feelings for Jade for years.”
“You know this because?”
I smirked. “She was his tutor.”
The blush from before lighted upon Titus’s cheeks. “Oh.”
“The Raven bringing you here was twofold. One to trap you in his plot and two to hurt me. However, he used songs that were crystal clear in their meaning if we had the right context.”
“Me being the context?”
“Yup. Jade spotted it straight away. Though without your link to a tutor, it wouldn’t have stuck.”
Titus ran a hand through his hair. His haphazard waves fell in rivulets on his head. The blush faded. “What do we do now?”
D.M. had been the only clue where the villain and his victims might have gone. I didn’t know where to start after that. Until I’d smelled the gas, I figured they’d be right here by Godzilla. When the fumes were a red herring, I was certain of it. Yet here we stood with nothing but my bus, gravel, and sunflower seed shells to be found.
“The shells!” I stood too fast and toppled when my ankle chastised me for moving.
Titus hurried to steady me. “The seeds?” he asked.
“Gill chomps on them when he’s nervous.”
Titus turned in a circle, searching the ground. “They’re everywhere.”
“Yes, he’s a slob. I bet the highest concentration of seeds is where he paces the most often. Here and his own unit.”
Titus grinned. “How far is it?”
I made an arc with my hand. “Opposite side of the lot.”
“There’s no way you can make it on that foot.” Titus nodded to my swelling ankle. I’d be lucky if I didn’t have to cut off that sock.
“Godzilla’s a no-go,” I said. It ticked me off Gill had touched my baby bus.
Without hesitation, Titus turned his back to me. “Hop on.”
I scoffed.
He looked at me over his shoulder. “Really, Penny, it’s moderately offensive that you don’t think I can carry you. Do you really assume I’m that old and tottering?”
What did I think about Titus? I thought he was a man of noble character and compassion. He was handsome in a professorial sort of way but also in a curious kid manner. His faith made him sparkle with genuine hope. These were all facts about the man before me. I’d never really considered his body strength. It was more me thinking about me—again. I’d have to work on that. Later.
“Promise me—”
“Nope! I’m promising nothing. Jump on my back and point the way.”
I obeyed while holding in an ill-timed girlish giggle. Then, I steered Titus to the next row of garages and straight toward danger.