Than tipped his chin and blinked quickly. “That is… I see,” he said. “And who do you believe is to take on the mantle of Heimdall?”
“Cooper Clark.”
“What actions have you taken to find him?”
“We put out an all-points bulletin. Every cop on the West Coast is looking for him.”
“Yes. Of course.” He lifted his mug again, drank. This time he hummed just a little after he swallowed.
“Was that a happy hum?” I said. “It sounded musical.”
He ignored me. “Which non-mortal actions have you taken to find him?”
I blinked. “What?”
His eyes hardened with something that looked an awful lot like glee. “You have a town of vacationing gods who could easily regain their powers for a brief time. At least one among them must be a hunter. And then there are the vampires who seem quite capable in scenting familiar blood, the werewolves who are quite possibly even better hunters than the gods or vampires, and any number of far-seeing and divining creatures and deities who may offer some small amount of use.”
I stood so quickly that the table shook. Than lifted his hot cocoa to safety before it spilled.
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.” Yes, the gods had offered to help, but I’d assumed they meant something with lightning bolts and locus curses. It never crossed my mind to drag them into the very mundane action of tracking down a runaway.
“You are a beautiful genius!” I stopped beside him and impulsively planted a kiss on his cheek.
He grunted, but his mouth curved up what might, almost, in the right light, pass for a smile.
“Yes,” he said, smoothing his features until he appeared uninterested and irritated. “I am.”
I waved over my shoulder and hurried out of the Perky Perch.
Just as I hit the parking lot and was trying to get my keys out of my pocket, Myra pulled up in her cruiser. She rolled down the window. “I thought you were going to call this morning and come in to work.”
I held up my hand to tell her to hold on, and walked over to the passenger side of the cruiser. She popped the lock so I could get in.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nope. What’s right. I need you to get me to Bertie. Fast.”
Myra had the car in gear and the lights on before I even had my seatbelt buckled.
And for the first time in a week, I thought we might actually be one step ahead of this disaster.
~~~
WE CAUGHT up with Bertie in front of her house just as she was walking out to her car. Having a sister who always showed up at the right time really came in handy.
Bertie hadn’t wanted to take any time out of her very tight schedule to deal with us, but we promised we would let her get back to the final wind-down of the Rhubarb Rally, which seemed to involve an awful lot of costume judging, dancing, and something with eggs I didn’t quite catch.
“And the breakdown will last until at least nine tonight…” Bertie said.
“All I need is a basic schedule of some of deits and creats,” I said.
She paused in her rambling list of complaints. “What did you just call us, Delaney Reed?”
“It’s just cop talk… Look. I know you’re busy. But if I don’t find Cooperverysoon, there will be no town left for the next Rhubarb Rally.”
She frowned. “Is the power giving you that much trouble? Your father always seemed to handle his duties without interrupting the festivals.”
“He had a little more experience. I’m sure there were a few times, maybe when he was new to this, that things went less than smoothly.”
