The Sword and the Scythe

Chapter 9: Sinister Kid

When Charlotte woke up, she was curled up against Leroy's side with his arm wrapped around her, her face buried in his neck. Her cheeks flared up as she looked at Leroy, his hair falling into his face like it did every morning. She leaned over his chest to look at the clock on the bedside table next to him. It was five o'clock PM; they'd been asleep for ten hours. Charlotte took a deep breath and crawled out of bed to get dressed.

Charlotte took a long shower, letting the hot water run over her as she tried to clear her head. After four years, why did she just now feel uncomfortable with their sleeping arrangement? She didn't need to feel ashamed that she was comforted by his body warmth or that the smell of his skin made it easier for her to sleep.

But for the first time in years, she thought about Peter—really thought about him and everything he'd done for her. If there was a detective after her, she couldn't imagine that spelled anything good for Peter. He'd helped her, and she'd repaid him by not even being concerned for his safety. Why did she get to waltz off into the sunset with her strange Grim Reaper companion and leave Peter with the consequences of what she'd done?

With a sigh, she hopped out of the shower, dried off, and got dressed. When she emerged from the bathroom, Leroy was starting to wake up, stretching his tattooed arms over his head. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and swung his legs out of bed, wrapping himself in his robe.

"Are you feeling better today?"

He smiled at her. "Much better. There are few things a good night's sleep won't fix."

"Does that happen every time you shadow travel?"

"Not every time, but each time is draining, and I don't usually have to take that many trips in such a short amount of time." He smiled at her, a big smile that showed his dimples and perfect teeth. "Worried about me, were you?"

"You're my friend, Leroy, of course I was worried about you."

He nodded and went into the bathroom to shower. He came back out sometime later, his wet hair falling into his face just as the detective woke with a start.

Charlotte sat up from where she'd been lying on the bed flipping through TV channels. "Um, what are we doing about him?"

After three trips to and from the car to be ready to leave, Leroy slipped into the driver's seat for once, but he didn't go straight for the highway. Instead he started taking random turns, driving until they were so lost in the wilderness that Charlotte was sure they'd never find their way back out. She didn't even know what state they were in, let alone how to get back to the highway. It wasn't until they were completely lost in the wilderness that Leroy pulled off the dirt trail into a small clearing in the trees.

He got out and grabbed the bat from the backseat before popping the trunk. The PI woke with a start when Leroy threw him to the ground.

"Good of you to join us," Leroy said as he gripped the metal bat tighter and squatted in front of the man. "I need some information from you, so if you cooperate, this'll be painless. If you don't, then I guess I get to blow off some steam. Either is fine with me, but I'm guessing your kneecaps won't feel the same way."

The man nodded.

"Great!" Leroy said, pretending to smile, "And if you'll notice, we are in the middle of nowhere. I'm going to take this gag off now, but don't think about screaming because that is just going to waste everyone's time. That'll make me mad, and then I'll have to hit you. Okay?" The detective nodded, so Leroy took the gag off. The man didn't bother to scream. Charlotte took this as a good sign. "Smart man. Are you the Jason Mallory who left the business card on my dining room table?"