Twelve

Jayrell led me up a winding branch that was surprisingly flat on top, making it easy to walk along. The branch swung out from the trees and wound around back onto itself.

We hopped off the branch into the hollow of a tree. The space was a little cramped but there was an air of elegance about the place.

“Welcome to my home.” Jayrell walked into the middle of the little room and stretched out his arms and did a little spin.

All of the furniture was made of timber. It looked as though the wood was still living. Decorations were sparse, but were mainly green, gold, or brown in colour.

A beautiful tapestry of the giant snake I had seen outside ran the length of one wall.

“Faelana, we’re here.” Jayrell approached a spot in he wall, and as he did, a hole opened up. Mist danced out of the hole and Jayrell pulled out a green glass bottle that looked fancier than anything I owned. As he walked away, the hole closed again.

“Fancy fridge you got there,” I said.

“This is Sweet Nectar, the strongest stuff I own. Would you like some?” He pulled out three short glasses and filled each one of them.

“Yes, please.” I couldn’t believe that an elf was offering something so nice to me.

By the time Jayrell had handed me my glass, Faelana had stepped into the main room.

The dress she had worn last night was gone, replaced with a fine satin robe that was a pale green in colour. The fancy golden chain was still in her hair. She looked as though she hadn’t gotten any sleep at all.

“Morning Detective Clay. I’m surprised you’re giving him something so fancy, brother.” Faelana took the glass that was offered to her and took a sip of her drink.

“It was Heston’s favourite, and he’s here to help solve Heston’s murder. I though it appropriate.” Jayrell took a whole shot of his drink and slammed the glass back down on the table. His eyes went wide for a moment, and he shook his head.

Unsure of what I was getting myself into, I took a sip of the stuff. There was a sickly-sweet taste to it that reminded me of some long-forgotten candy I’d had as a child. It burned on my tongue within moments, and I involuntarily swallowed it. It burned all the way down and left a strange tingling in my mouth.

“How’d that go down?” Jayrell asked me. He had poured himself another shot. Now I loved whiskey and rum, but this stuff packed a real punch.

“Yeah, wow. That’s harsh.” Jayrell let out a soft chuckle. Faelana’s concerned face refused to change.

“Please, Detective, what have you learned so far.” Faelana glided across the floor and as she went to sit down, a chair grew up out of the floor. It looked like a mini throne of some sort.

Jayrell approached the doorway and the hole closed for him. He came back to us, and a throne popped up out of the floor for him too.

As I went to sit, one of the chairs that was sitting at the table, raced across the floor and came to rest under me. It definitely wasn’t as fancy as the two the elves were sitting on.

“Well, I went and visited my good friend Grob last night. The owner of the Cracked Cauldron. Your fiancée was there with Jayrell here on Saturday night just gone by. You had your friends Jackson and Vulug with you. You’d had a run in with Brigg, a cranky sort of dwarf that openly hates humans.” I shot Jayrell a glance when I said this. His posture didn’t change, and he took another shot of the nectar.

“What else?” there was a tone of urgency in her voice. But I could tell she wasn’t annoyed, not yet.

“His body was found in a back alley. A butcher and some sort of warehouse each back onto the alley. I’ll be checking them out soon. I still need to interview Brigg and I have no idea where to find this Jackson fella. Vulug is a suspect too.” I found myself taking another sip of the nectar. The sensation as it went down kicked out the last feelings of sleepiness that I had hanging about.

“Have you seen Heston’s body?” Jayrell asked. Faelana’s hand covered her face, as though she were reliving the sight of her dead fiancée.

“Yeah. The back of his head was crushed in. Ugly stuff.”

“Well, you’re here to talk to us, aren’t you? What do you need to know?” Jayrell asked. I noticed a single tear had rolled down Faelana’s cheek. I pulled out my little notebook.

“I understand this is a rough time and I’m sorry in advanced if any of these questions are a little sensitive. But I’m trying to build a narrative here.” Faelana waved her hand for me to continue.

“That’s okay, we’ll do the best we can,” said Jayrell.

“Okay, let me ask this one right off. What was Heston’s, and through that, your relationship with Vulug?” It was a curiosity that had been burning me up inside ever since I’d heard his name was involved in all of this somehow.

“Heston and I had become friends of his through the many matches of his we had watched. He’d made us each a lot of money, and one night after a match, Heston and I had drinks with him. He’d become a part of the group pretty fast, much to Jackson’s annoyance. I understand he’s the boxer that put you out of commission.” Jayrell sized me up. “You’ve still got fight left in you.”

“I’m all right these days. I like the job I have now. So you guys were fans and had become friends? How close are we talking here?” I made sure to keep my emotions in check when Jayrell had taken that little jab. I was above that.

“Close enough that he has come to my home,” said Jayrell. “He’d become more than just someone we’d made money off.”

“You mentioned Jackson was annoyed that Vulug had become a part of your little group?”

“Even though this Jackson guy was one of Heston’s best friends, he hated us fairyfolk.” It was Faelana who’d answered that one. There was a sting to her voice.