6:24
6:24
The cat looked at him with that look. You know the one. The cat look.
The beaver glared back with that look. You know, the beaver look … OK, no one knows the beaver look. But trust me, it’s a look. A look even the cat trembled before.
And so the beaver passed on, knowing he had won the contest.
And the cat, well, the cat squinked her eyes closed and settled back to dreaming of giant tasty rats.
6:23
6:23
Gareth swallowed the last of gulp of cold beer and set his glass down on the table.
“It was really, really odd. I signed a bunch of papers. I have no idea what they were, but I have them here somewhere.”
He dug out a crumpled, rolled-up tube of legal-size sheets covered with tiny type, and tried to flatten them out on the table.”I thought about trying to read them over, but after skimming the first page I figured it was a fool’s bet anyway. And the old guy was looking a bit impatient. Oddly enough my dad seemed to be OK with the whole thing by that point. I guess he’d resigned himself or something. So I skipped to the part marked with those little stickies and initialed like a mad fool. On the last page I signed by the x. But it had already been signed, a long time ago…”
6:22
6:22
Once a day, so the story goes,
The sun will rise to a brand-new pose
The masses cheer and celebrate
Sit back, relax and learn the fate
Of heroes bold and maidens fair
And of that itch in their underwear
But the pace is hard, the timing brutal
With results akin to soggy wet noodle
But never fear, do not despair
With each new day there’s more to share
And if we wait oh so patiently
We’ll see something good, eventually.
6:21
6:21
“So you know that scene at Gringotts or whatever in Harry Potter? Well, this lawyer’s office was weird and creepy like that. I felt like I was entering some sort of secret Masonic lodge or something. Everything just felt … well … off. Like they weren’t used to outsiders.”
“Freaky. So after your father, sorry, step-father …”
“Father. Father’s fine. He’s always been my old man, always will be. This other guy’s just a name and a picture to me.”
“Sure. Father. So after he showed, what then?”
“Well, they showed us into this big office, all wood and leather and old stuff, like something out of a movie. There’s this old guy behind a big desk. Black suit, grey hair, beady little eyes. Anyway, he gets us to sit down and asks my old man what he can do for him. Totally ignores me like I’m not even there. Pissed me off.”
“OK. Now it sounds really freaky.”
“Ya, so I said, ’I’m here to pick up my father’s things.’ The old guy just looked at me all squinty and distasteful-like and repeated his question to my dad. Then my old man dived into it and repeated what I’d said: ’He’s here to pick up the papers his father left with you. I’m just here to provide a introduction.’ Then the old guy sort of raised his eyebrows in surprise or something and started to stare at me like he just recognized me or something. Let me tell you, that really was the weirdest part. Well, except for the package itself ….”
6:20
6:20
The beaver hadn’t expected to find the lemon tree where he’d left it. That would have been too easy. But he had figured he’d pick up a few clues. The stupid rabbit had been all too closed mouthed about the jerks who were screwing around with his life. The jerks other than the rabbit, that is.
Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? Well, this bunch of trees were certainly a bust — didn’t even look very tasty, really. Time to move on. Next stop Gareth’s place. If they’d tracked him to the park, then they had to have been keeping the apartment under close watch. Maybe he’d pick up some sense of who the hell they were there. It was a sure thing that if he didn’t deal with the interfering morons first, he would never be able to get back to business.
The beaver crossed the field, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. If he was lucky he could flush out any watchers by acting oblivious. If not then at least he could try to maneuver them into attempting something on his home turf. There still a few surprises left behind at Gareth’s place.
And the beaver was looking forward to being the surprise this time.
6:19
6:19
Gareth pulled out the chair and dropped a big bundle of worn manila envelopes on the table. They were all different sizes and tied together in a neat package with butcher’s string.
He smiled at Rowan and said, “Can I get a beer or something here?”
“Sure, bottles, or they’ve got a pale ale on tap.” Rowan gestured at the passing waitress. “So, everything good?”
Gareth smiled halfheartedly. “I guess. My old man showed, eventually, and it all went the way it was supposed to. Creepy place though.” He nodded towards the bundle. ”And I got what I wanted anyway.”
He paused while the waitress dropped off the beer and mumbled, “Thanks.”
“Not sure how I feel about my old man, though. I thought I’d let it all go,once I got my way, but I still can’t figure why he did it and that just keeps pissing me off again.”
“Hey,” Rowan said slowly, “y’all remember I don’t know nothin’ ’bout this, right? Always did seem a bit too much ’citement about a minor thang. Not enough to rile ya up so much anyway. Not prying, mind ya, just sayin’ is all.”
“Minor? I suppose, but there are a few things you probably don’t know. Like that guy we call my dad … well, not so much. And this stuff here on the table: these belong to my real father. so you can see why it might ’rile me up’ some that he wasn’t letting me have them.”
Rowan stifled the urge to let her jaw drop. She’d known Gareth’s father all her life, or at least she’d thought she had. This certainly changed her viewpoint, more than a tad.
6:18
6:18
Rowan glanced down at her phone for the 25th time in the last 10 minutes. Still 10 minutes or so before he was supposed to show, and no new emails or texts to distract her. Served her right for showing up early. She thought briefly about firing up the Kindle app but she didn’t think she could read right now. Besides, her current book was just a bit depressing and she didn’t need any more anxiety right now, thank you very much.
Even Dots couldn’t keep her distracted, and the thought of word games made her slightly ill. She glanced at the phone again and then sighed audibly. She was acting like a 14-year-old.
Rowan wondered if she would ever find out what this was all about. She knew Gareth’s dad had been keeping stuff locked away in some box somewhere and she knew that fact had pissed Gareth off royally when he decided to move out. For some reason he though it belonged to him and his father wasn’t coughing up the goods. When she’d first heard about it she’d figured both of them were acting like silly jackasses and they’d get over it. But as far as she knew yesterday was the first time they had talked in years.
“Men, huh, who can understand ’em?” she muttered to herself. But with any luck this meet-up of theirs would fix it all up and bygones would be called bygones . And she’d get her curiosity salved. ‘Cause right now she was as antsy as an itchy beaver. An’ that sure as shit weren’t no comfortable way to be. No siree Bob..
She looked down at her phone again; still five minute to go. If he was on time …
6:17
6:17
Gareth strode into the lawyer’s office with a lot more confidence than he was actually feeling. It had been a long wait, but it looked like today was actually the day. It had the feeling of ‘rightness’. He’d get this over with, collect his stuff and meet up with Rowan later.
There wasn’t much to go wrong unless somehow his dad managed to fuck it up. He didn’t think at this point he’d do it deliberately, but communication between the two of them had never been their strong suit. For all anyone knew the two of them were sitting on opposite ends of town: he’d looked it up, and there wed at least six different Jones & Jones Barristers and Solicitors locations in town. Originality apparently wasn’t lawyers’ strong suit.
The receptionist glanced up as he paused to check out the foyer. Nope, no dad. Actually, no one at all; the room had an empty, unused feel to it. There were no months-old magazines, and the carpet wasn’t worn, even though the furniture looked like it had been retrieved from the set of Mad Men. In fact, the place looked like it hadn’t seen any action since the ’60s.
Gareth looked up at the receptionist and tried a greeting. “Uh. Hi. I’ve got an appointment with Mr Jones. Not sure which one, though; I’m meeting my … I’m meeting someone else. He made the appointment.”
“Very good. If you would have a seat until your companion arrives, I will let Mssrs Jones know that you are here.” The receptionist stood up and left the room through a small, dark wooden door in the wall behind her. As she walked away Gareth noticed she wasn’t actually that much older than he was, but she sure as hell gave the impression of a stern old school marm.
I wonder how she pulls that off? Makeup, maybe? And where the hell is Dad? This place is giving me the willies.
6:16
6:16
For a few moments Edward seriously considered losing his temper. It didn’t happen often and when it did, well, it had been said that he resembled Marvin the Martian quite closely. But that bit of entertainment was going to elude any bystanders today as Edward slowly regained any composure he had lost and looked around.
There was no sign of when or where the beaver had left the path. They hadn’t gone more than a hundred metres, but by choosing to leave the roadside, Edward had inadvertently provided numerous options for the beaver to skip away. And, Edward admitted to himself, he hadn’t helped matters by getting a little self-absorbed. It was a weakness the beaver had exploited time and time again. It was also a habit that Edward had no intention of breaking just because some trumped-up pond-dweller thought he was so smart. He would simply deal with the situation as always and, in the end, the beaver would find what comes around coming around.
But that left the next step. It seemed to Edward there were three significant factors at play: one, the beaver was at large and not likely to stop interfering; two, someone or someones were starting to take an active role in hindering either him or the beaver, or both; and three, he had managed to do little but smooth over the effects of Barney’s remaining legacy—he’d made no actual progress in implementing any permanent solution.
Then Edward smiled sleepily. Still, he had managed to rile up the beaver. That was always worthwhile.
6:15
6:15
With an unstoppable sweep of his blood-encrusted sword he swept the last of the weak and pathetic creatures from his sight and rocked back on his heels to survey the carnage he had reaped.
Steam rose from the blood-soaked and bowel-ridden hillside, and the gorge-churning smell would likely to turn any less battle-hardened soul.
A sharp crack from behind him resulted in his death-heightened reflexes sending his sword whistling in a vicious arc as he stepped to the side and whirled to see one of his minions fall to the ground, blood spilling from the sword cut that appeared from his groin to shoulder.
“Fool!” he growled and turned back to the death ground. “I am surrounded by fools and cowards. I have been robbed of my rightful prey and I will deal with the thief in a manner sufficient to the crime. The destruction of these putrid dolts will be nothing to what awaits that interfering rodent.”
He swung the sword over his shoulder with practised grace and settled it in the sheath across his back. With a kick he swept his final victim aside, spraying the soil with magenta fluid and strode thought the killing field oblivious to the dignity of the hacked and dismembered corpses who were the only other occupants of the now-sullied plain.
And within moments those corpses were the only sign that he had ever been there.