Spliced

BANG! BANG!

“Yeah! Score!” Indi cried as she took out another zombie. “Eat that dirt bags!”

Sitting next to her on the couch, her brother Sly raised an eyebrow.

She looked at him with a grin. “I am so kicking your arse right now.”

“That’s no fair,” Sly complained. “You’ve played this version before.”

“Too bad so sad!” Indi quipped with glee. “Maybe you should try gitting good.”

Sly shook his head in mock sadness. “Whatever happened to the sweet little sister I grew up with.”

“She was kidnapped by goblins and you failed to save her.” Indi cried dramatically as she turned back to focus on the screen. “And now she is doomed to defeat all the games.”

“Doomed to defeat?”

Indi nodded sombrely and looked at him with the barely concealed pleasure of one who enjoys a good horror. “I can’t stop playing until I win.”

“Not even to take a break for food?” her husband, Falco, inquired from the kitchen.

Indi’s eyes widened. “Oooh, food! I’m starved.” She dropped the controller on the couch and leapt up to go and join their daughter Jewel who was sitting at the kitchen island already enjoying a burger packed with a patty, salami, cheese, and gherkins.

Sly laughed. “You had lunch only a couple hours ago.”

“Even undefeated champions need to take a break occasionally,” Indi called back from the kitchen.

“Can we have a go?” This question came from Bree, Sly’s daughter, who was sitting next to Jewel. Unlike Jewel, who was fair haired, Bree had brown hair like her father. It was currently tied back in twin plaits. Both girls had indigo tinted eyes, although they were easily mistaken for blue unlike Sly and Indi whose eyes were much more obviously some kind of purple.

“Course you can,” Sly answered as he joined them at the island.

Much to Indi’s pleasure, both Sly and Bree had been staying with them over the last few days. She still hadn’t introduced her brother to her friends but that didn’t matter so much, for now she was just happy that she got to spend so much time with him.

Jewel sighed softly. She wasn’t quite as into computer gaming as Bree was. A lack of enthusiasm she shared only with her father.

Falco didn’t really understand the appeal of pretending to shoot things on a screen but he knew Indi enjoyed it so he would watch for that reason. It was the bulk of what the two siblings had been doing over the last week. That and watching horror movies. Falco was baffled at how, despite spending most of their time between the couch and the fridge the pair of them, never seemed to gain any weight. That was vampires for you though. He did see Sly go for runs sometimes but the only exercise Indi ever seemed to get was in the bedroom and over half the time she was on her back for that too. He kind of wanted to drag her there now but that wasn’t really an option with everyone else in the room. He’d just have to wait until later. To distract himself he turned to the kids.

“So, how was school?”

Jewel grinned. “The linguistics teacher got a phone call and burst into tears in the middle of class.”

Sly gave her a concerned look.

Bree who had also been smiling at this, caught her father’s look and shrunk down on her seat looking a little ashamed. In a quiet voice she explained, “Nobody likes Mrs Kamp. She’s really mean.”

Jewel nodded and continued on with unabated glee. “She was sniffing and wiping her nose on her sleeves and everything.”

Falco narrowed his eyes. Sometimes he was concerned they were raising a monster. He was at least glad to see that Indi looked equally concerned.

“What was the phone call about?” Indi asked.

Jewel’s eyes lit up like she’d been hoping someone would ask that question.

Bree at least had the decency to sink a little further down on her seat and look embarrassed at Jewel’s enthusiasm.

“Her husband was found dead in some motel room in bed with a prostitute,” Jewel declared, obviously proud of herself for having found out what the phone call had been about. At the looks everyone was giving her she added as if it were an explanation, “Well he was cheating on her. The filthy man whore got what he deserved.”

Bree shifted uncomfortably and glanced at her father. Evidently she was aware of her own father’s indiscretions.

Sly took a sip from the cup in front of him and pointedly didn’t look at anyone.

“Jewel, where did you hear such things?” Falco asked, more than a little surprised by her language.

Even Indi looked surprised, and she often brushed off a lot of Jewel’s more precocious behaviour as the ‘natural boundary pushing of an intelligent child’. Intelligent she was, that was for sure. Jewel had taken after her father in looks and her mother in brains. She certainly ran rings around Falco and most of her teachers.

Jewel glanced around at the looks people were giving her with a little more trepidation than before. She widened her eyes and gave her father that innocent look her mother was so good at. “It’s what Mrs Kamp said”

“What? In front of you kids?”

Jewel dropped her eyes. “No. I might have accidentally overheard her talking when she went into the hallway.”

Falco had no doubt that Jewel had been eavesdropping on purpose but he knew if he accused her of it she would just deny it.

“Jewel...” Falco was about to scold her for eavesdropping in general when Indi butted in with a question.

Leaning forward with a look of curiosity Indi asked, “Were they both dead?”

Falco gave his wife a disapproving look. In front of him he noticed Sly crack a small smile.

Jewel sat up straighter and the look of glee returned to her face. She nodded eagerly. “And listen to this. They’d been there for days. The only reason they were found was because of the smell.” She screwed up her whole face at the thought of it.

Falco sighed. He was fighting a losing battle.

Bree actually looked curious too now. “What do you think they died of?”

Jewel shrugged. “I heard Mrs Kamp say they died in their sleep. Some dream monster got them or something.”

Bree hugged herself. “Freaky.”

“Yeah,” Jewel agreed.

“Wait, when did this happen?” Indi asked.

“Today,” Jewel replied with a blank look at her mother.

“No, no, I mean when did they die?”

“Indi,” Falco warned.

Indi held up a hand to stop him talking but she kept her inquisitive eyes on Jewel.

“I dunno, a few days ago, a week maybe,” Jewel replied.

“Where did it happen? What motel?”

“Indi!”

Jewel shrugged.

Indi sat back with a thoughtful look on her face.

Falco frowned.

Sly raised on eyebrow.

“Have you heard of any other things like that happening?” Indi asked Jewel.

Jewel pursed her lips in thought and then shook her head.

Indi looked almost disappointed.

But then Bree perked up, “Well there was that whole thing that happened with Agatha.”

Jewel wrinkled her nose in disgust. “You mean fat Agatha,” she corrected meanly.

Her mother ignored her. Her gaze was now fixated on Bree. “What thing?”

“The whole her getting almost eaten by a haunted house thing.”

“Oh right.” Indi definitely sounded disappointed this time.

“And she hasn’t been in school the last couple of days,” Bree added.

“She hasn’t?”

Bree shook her head.

“Why not?”

“I don’t know,” Bree replied.

Jewel stifled a yawn.

Bree, having finished eating, leaned in toward Jewel. “Do you want to go shoot zombies now?”

“Okay,” Jewel replied with only a mildly increased level of interest.

Both girls jumped down from their seats and headed for the couch.

Falco crossed his arms and gave Indi a disapproving look.

Sly busied himself with making a second burger.

Indi looked at Falco like she’d just had a brilliant idea. She opened her mouth to speak.

“Indi,” Falco repeated in a tone of disapproval again.

Suddenly she registered how he had spoken. She gave him a confused look. “What?”

He sighed and gestured toward the two girls. In a voice to low for the kids to hear he asked, “Do you really want to encourage that behaviour?”

Indi still looked confused.

Beside her, Sly chuckled and then immediately tried to pretend like he’d just been clearing his throat.

Falco sighed. To Sly he said, “Do you have something to add?”

Sly shook his head and resumed a serious expression.

“What? The eavesdropping?” Indi asked.

“And the language, and the happiness that her teacher is crying because her husband died.” Falco gave her a look of incredulity.

“Oh that, she’s just, she’s young. She’ll grow out of it,” Indi replied.

Falco could see that Sly was trying very hard not to laugh, but he did not feel like laughing very much right now himself.

Sly met Falco’s gaze and his expression changed. Looking at Indi, Sly asked softly, “Why all the interest anyway Ind?”

She glanced in the direction of the couch, presumably to make sure the girls weren’t eavesdropping. “Because they died in their sleep. What if it’s the dreamweaver?”

Falco shook his head. “Neither Cat nor Wolf could find any indications of it.”

“It doesn’t mean it’s not out there,” Indi insisted.

Falco glanced at Sly. He looked thoughtful. Sly was as smart as Indi was and when Falco was with them he always felt a lot like the dumb one in the group. He shook the feeling off. It wasn’t important. What was important was that his family was safe and happy and his daughter grew up learning from good examples. He wasn’t sure that all this focus on tiny loose threads was a good example but on the other hand if it was the dreamweaver and he ignored it that would make him responsible for anyone it hurt. He felt conflicted. He considered Sly at least a little more responsible than Indi was and he wondered what his big brain would think was the best thing to do.

Sly shrugged. “Maybe it’s worth stopping by this Agatha person’s house? Checking her and her family are okay.”

Indi didn’t look like she liked that idea. “I dunno, I don’t want to bring memories of it all back up if they’re all fine and just trying to move on.”

“She didn’t see you lot when she was in the house though did she? So you wouldn’t need to say anything about it. Just pretend you’re there selling something. Maybe it’ll even give them a sense of normalcy.”

Falco frowned at the suggestion of deception but said nothing.

Indi seemed to think it over. “I suppose. The only person she saw was Cat. And I could look into the police records to find out about the other case, see if it’s a lead.”

Falco pinched the middle of his forehead. “I’m not going to ask how you have access to the police records.”

“Oh, you should see their security system, it’s a mess.”

Falco didn’t even try this time. He just closed his eyes. When he opened them Sly was smiling at him again.

At the look Falco gave her next Indi shrugged. “Well, they’re so terrible at their jobs I figure we might as well give them a helping hand in exchange for a little information sharing.”

“Involuntary information sharing,” Falco chided, but his heart wasn’t in it. At least her goals were noble.

“I can help,” Sly offered.

Indi grinned.

And despite all the mess Falco felt content. At least everyone he cared about was happy.

The next morning Indi was up bright and early at 9:45am. Sly had promised he’d join her on her trip to check in on Agatha and her parents. But when she went downstairs to see if Sly was awake yet, she found all of his stuff gone and a note that simply said,

‘Sorry for leaving so suddenly. Something important has come up and I need to leave town for a few days. Can you please watch Bree for a night or two? Sara should be back to pick her up either Thursday or Friday. Lots of love,

- Sly’

Dejected, Indi sat down at the kitchen bar. Lazily her eye line found today’s newspaper. Falco or someone had obviously been reading it because it lay open on the second page. Indi absently scanned the titles of the articles, not paying them much attention until a familiar name and face caught her eye. The title read:

‘Body pulled from Quartz Ridge Lake Identified!’

“Lake? That’s taking some liberties.” Indi frowned. She’d been up to Quartz Ridge before but she’d never actually eaten there. It was expensive even for her tastes. It was largely frequented by sorcerers and aristocrats. But she knew enough to know that the man-made swan sanctuary was no lake. The place was covered in reeds and mud. It was prettier than it sounded, designed to look natural and wild, with winding paths through various gardens which a person could easily get lost in, or as it turned out, hide a body in. Except this one evidently hadn’t been so well hidden. Below the title the article read:

‘The recent discovery of a body at Quartz Ridge has now been identified as Mercy politician, Cornelius O'Hara.’

A few paragraphs further down was a small photo of the man’s face which Indi recognised as none other than Lily’s father.