Chapter 12 — Deputies, Detectives and Deities

Rachel didn't expect a moment of rest for days at this rate.

As small of a town as Rallsburg purported to be, Rachel and Jackie still found enough incidents of confrontation between the Awakened and the mundane to find themselves occupied at every hour. They'd only managed to squeeze in breakfast before they were called out to defuse the confrontation between Robert Harrison and Cinza, which was by far the worst pairing Rachel had expected. Luckily, that had been settled relatively amicably, to Rachel's surprise—and relief.

Instead, it was the less dramatic entanglements that drew the greatest anxiety. Some people loved surprises, but Rachel absolutely was not one of them. There were elements to the town she rarely considered, and when those elements were roused to confront the new reality that had been thrust upon them, Rachel was smothered in fear-mongering, distrust and—as Cinza feared—outright witch-hunting.

For all her attempts to remind people of due process and innocence, there were still rumblings for blood. People—especially the mundane elements of the community—wanted someone to blame for the murders. Two college kids were bad enough, even if they weren't locals or particularly popular, but Jenny Wilson would be more than enough to start a crusade. Rallsburg didn't have that many children anymore, so everyone knew them well. Jenny wasn't a universally beloved figure or anything, but she was liked well enough—and with an incident like sudden, brutal murder, that was more than enough to turn her into a martyr.

Public evidence had placed one person squarely in the crosshairs.

Rachel didn't think much of what Rika had done in the past, but she knew she had to protect her friend in the present no matter what rifts might exist between them. Rika was innocent. She knew that without a doubt. If she were convicted, their entire community was at risk. This was to be the first major challenge of their emergence.

How could she disprove Rika's involvement?

The car bumped and crashed over a pothole as they swerved around a corner. Jackie had just answered a call from Deputy Bowman asking for backup. Something was happening at Hector's grocery, which sent Rachel's heart sinking. Hector had been revealed through her own actions at the town hall, where in her haste she hadn't thought to signal him in some more discreet way. He'd come to her aid, as he always had, and now he was starting to pay the price for it.

"Please, I don't want any trouble," Hector said meekly, his hands in the air behind the counter.

"We don't either, but you've gotta tell us how." The leader of the trio, a student from the University who'd stayed for the summer (Logan Bowerson), was leaning over the counter with an eager glint in his eyes, while his cronies leered.

"Logan!" Rachel shouted, after Jackie faltered. The sheriff had noted to Rachel how using someone's given name was vastly more effective at getting their attention, but she would never have Rachel's capacity to recall every single person they ran across in an instant. Logan turned at the call, giving them the delay they needed to close in and give Hector some support.

Hector looked even more flustered at the sudden crowd near his store's counter, backing into the corner with his hands still raised. Logan had a knife at his belt, though it hadn't been drawn, and his wingmen looked ready for a fight.

"What do you want?" Logan snapped.

"Just to talk," Rachel said, raising her own hands to try and placate the group. Jackie stood a few paces behind, just close enough to intervene if needed. Rachel's blood was already beginning to race. She never liked being surrounded by people. She enjoyed having the attention of a crowd, certainly—but they needed to be at a remove, as with the town hall meeting. Up close and personal sent her heart pumping and her head spinning.

"Gonna answer my questions, then?"

"What questions are those?" Rachel asked innocently, though she knew full well.

They'd be the same questions that were sweeping the town, the same questions that she knew would eventually break out of the curtain of silence they were currently maintaining. Between the delayed train and the internet filtering she'd put in place with the cooperation of the Mayor's office, they were carefully monitoring communication out of the town. They couldn't prevent phone calls, of course, but Rachel hadn't seen any attempts to spread the revelations to the outside yet via the Web. She doubted anyone would be using only the phone for such news. Still, it was only a matter of time before the question would explode into the world.

"How can we learn to use magic?"

"Hector can't help you with that," Rachel answered, and—as with most answers she gave—it was technically true. Hector couldn't awaken someone, as he purposely didn't keep any pages. He didn't like the idea of it, though he was still willing to use his power to help the Council. The only page he'd have was the Scrap they'd entrusted to him a few days ago, but Hector had confided to her that he'd secured it away for the time being. He was utterly useless to Logan and any other would-be mages.

"What, and you're saying you can?" one of Logan's friends sniggered. "Campus air-head's gonna teach us magic?"

"Hey Rachel, how many pages are in a five-page paper?" the other chimed in.

Rachel felt heat rushing to her face, and anger rising in her chest. She refused to back down. "There's nothing here for you."

"You heard her," Jackie growled, taking a step forward. "Scram."

Deputy Bowman was approaching from the street, having fobbed off a few interested passersby. With the full attention of both officers, Logan and company seemed to finally take the hint. They slouched off.

Hector let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you, Miss DuValle. And you, Miss Nossinger."

"Yeah, sure," Jackie said, pulling off her hat.

"Rachel, this is just escalating. It's the third time today we've had to pull people off Hector or Cinza," the deputy added, glancing over his shoulder at the retreating trio.

"It should diminish over the next few days," Rachel said. "There's a lot of interest right now, but the word should spread. Once people realize this won't work, they should be left alone." She turned to Hector apologetically. "Hector, I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

He shook his head. "It was my choice, miss."

"Can we do anything for you?"

"Just keep shopping here like you always do," he answered with a crooked smile. "The strawberries are very good right now."

Rachel nodded, offering a smile in return, but it didn't seem to comfort him much. After a few moments he bustled away to the back, leaving her alone with the two officers.

"You really think it'll die down?" the deputy asked.

Jackie snorted. "Right up until they remember there's three kids dead, Preston."

Rachel inclined her head at the sheriff. "That's a timebomb waiting to go off. The two college kids isn't as bad as it could be, since they're both out-of-towners and not really well-connected. But once they hear about Jenny…"

"We're in a shitstorm," Jackie finished. "I've been delaying it, in case any clues pop up from her identity being a mystery, but it's Rallsburg. She'll be figured out in no time. Her parents are already all over me." She frowned. "What's the word on the hunt, anyway?"

"Nothing out in the woods," Rachel replied. "We had one period of activity relatively nearby, but by the time we got there, whomever had cast the spell had broken camp and vanished. We couldn't track them at all."

"Who's 'we'?"

"Not to sound ungrateful, but I'd really prefer not to tell you."

Jackie furrowed her brow suspiciously. "I'm doing the best I can here, Rachel, but murder's still murder. I've got the law to enforce. That's obstruction."

"Consider it a protected witness, then, under RCW 7.69.030."

"Let's assume I don't know that one off the top."

"'There shall be a reasonable effort made to protect individuals from harm or threats of harm arising from cooperating with law enforcement investigations and prosecutions.' The individual in question would be at serious risk of harm if it were revealed the extent of their ability to track magical activity." Rachel paused for a moment—imagining her beloved's face in her mind—before continuing. "Our community is a collection of individuals, many of whom have significant reason to keep their identities and abilities private. Some of whom would act if they felt that privacy threatened. The individual is willing to cooperate in this case because it has far-reaching implications beyond the usual, as well as a personal favor to myself. However, to keep them safe, their identity must remain absolutely private. Is that all right?"

Jackie frowned even deeper, a state that hadn't seemed possible on her face until that moment. "I don't like it, but I guess I have to live with it. Not like I have any better ideas for finding these people."

"What about motive and alibis? Do we have any suspects?" Preston asked.

"Not a one. Just the one suspicious person, who you can be damn sure I'll question soon as I find her." Jackie glanced at Rachel. "Word is she was a friend of yours."

"Except briefly at the one Council meeting we've had since the last train, we haven't spoken in months," Rachel answered. "I've been trying to call her. But her arrival in town would put her after the time of the murders, wouldn't it?"

"Assumin' she actually arrived on that train."

"The station clerk vouched for that," Preston chimed in. "Talked to him this morning. He watched her get off the train alone and head into town straight off."

"Alone? He's sure?" Rachel asked.

"Uhh, yeah. Why?"

Rachel shook her head. "Nothing."

"Nuh-uh, girl," Jackie snapped. "Cooperation, remember? You've gotta fill me in on anything, no matter how trivial it might seem."

Rachel hesitated. She didn't want to implicate the guy if he'd come to town alone, but the fact that Rika had attached herself to him already damned Zack in the eyes of the town. It was just poor luck. "Since the Council meeting, she's had someone with her nearly all hours. A teenager named Zack. I've never met him, but something about him seemed off, both to me and to my associate."

"The one with the tracking power."

"Right. Zack wasn't awakened—err, he didn't have access to magic. So it wasn't that. It was something else about him. I'd have to be closer to be sure."

Jackie cracked her knuckles, turning to stroll out to the cruiser. "Which takes finding the pair. Rachel, you still with me?"

"Of course," Rachel said, reshouldering her bag and hurrying to catch up.

They combed the town without any particular direction in mind. Jackie simply followed her usual patrol schedule. They figured a Japanese girl with blue hair would stand out pretty well in a small town. Rachel offered suggestions on how to optimize her route to move through the town quicker, use less gasoline and still cover the same ground as frequently. It was a stark contrast to the old Rachel, and Jackie commented as such.

"You think?" Rachel said absently, her mind currently working through an idea for a way to fuel cars while they spoke. A typical car engine was just a series of rapid explosions causing pistons to move and generate mechanical energy, and Rachel wanted to know if there was a way they could improve that somehow. The real trick in her opinion was how to approach it. Would it be better to try and recreate the same explosion effect and rotate the axles in the usual way, or could it be more efficient to toss the entire existing engine design and find a new method entirely propelled by magic? There were so many theoretical possibilities that it kept Rachel's mind entertained during such tedious things as travel or rest.

"Hell, girl, a year ago I'd be picking you up and giving you a ride back to campus because you were lost in a ten-street town and asking strangers what day it was," Jackie snorted. "The look on your face, too."

"Oh," she replied, her thought process broken for a moment. "...I'd forgotten about that."

"I thought you didn't forget things."

"Not since I changed that about myself," Rachel answered. "Things before that…"

"Why didn't you do it sooner, then?"

She hesitated. They were entering dangerous waters for casual conversation topics. Rachel didn't want to reveal too much. On the other hand, Jackie already felt like she was second-rung, and Rachel valued her both as an asset and as a friend. Of the two major town officials, the sheriff was much more likely to be the neutral party. Rowan wasn't hated, but he wasn't exactly loved either. Many groups—particularly the loggers like Robert Harrison and friends of Gordon Merrill the journalist—were vocal opponents.

Rachel still didn't trust the mayor with detailed information about magic, but Jackie wasn't a power-grabbing politician. There were very few who had a bone to pick with the sheriff. Here was a tried-and-true officer of the law, and one that preferred quiet streets where she could enjoy the town as opposed to a crime-laden district where she could lay down the law. Given sensitive information, Rachel believed Jackie wouldn't act on it unless she needed to.

"Jackie, if I give you some information, you don't have to pass it on to the mayor."

The sheriff frowned, turning the next corner a bit more sharply than usual. "Weird way to answer my question. Not officially, no. I like to keep him in the loop on anythin' important though."

"Well, let's say this isn't something important to the investigation. Knowing it will help you police the town, but if it became more common knowledge, it would be dangerous for everyone."

"And you think the mayor can't keep his trap shut," Jackie concluded.

"I don't, but I also don't know him that well yet. We've worked together all year though. I can trust you, right?"

"'Course you can, girl."

Rachel pointed out an alleyway they were quickly approaching, a secluded spot behind the Kettle and Bones bar. "Pull over there. I have something to show you."