“Fuck! Are you human?”
“Yes. But not a bad one.” I wince, shoulders braced, ready for her to put the phone down.
“I thought you were a sprite.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. With that sing-song voice, you sound like a sprite.” She laughs. “I guess you know my brother’s bitch of a fiancéewas a sprite. But hmmm, human… that’s unusual. Not a peripheral?”
“No, absolutely not a peripheral. I’m Jax Summers’ sister.”
“Ohhhh, right.”
Clearly Amy knows of my brother. Seems everyone does.
“You’ve heard of him?”
“Oh yeah, we all know Jax, he’s an okay human,” she says, but doesn’t elaborate.
There’s a long silence. I still feel sure she’s going to turn down my request.
Finally, Amy says, “You were right to call me.” Her voice cracks a little. “I’ve been angsting about visiting Mom. I’ll talk to the twins, and we’ll come and see her, I promise. Very soon.”
“That’s great, Amy.” I beam, gripping the phone tight in my fingers. “I’m so glad we got to talk.”
“Yeah, well… sorry to hear about your mom. That’s the pits.”
“Yes, I guess it was— still is.”
“And Clem? Thanks for… being Otis’s friend. He’s a really good guy with a solid gold heart.”
“I know,” I say. “Goodbye, Amy.”
“Goodbye, Clem. Guess we’ll meet soon.”
“I hope so.”
When I put the phone down, I’m smiling.
I’m so relieved I had the courage to make the call. My hunch was correct. Amy needed a prompt to visit her mom, but it clearly wasn’t going to come from Otis.
I hope my little nudge will do the trick.
I guess now I’ll have to fess up to Otis that I’ve been playing Cane family go-between.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
OTIS.
I walk into the sheriff’s office where a small group of my assistant sheriffs are assembled. These are the trusted inner circle, all of them party to our plan to infiltrate Sparkle. They are gathered in the usual, unconventional monster fashion; Shinto, a bald-headed eagle, sits on one of the beams supporting the rock roof. Kazmo leans against the back wall with Larry, a centaur, both of them too big to fit into the chairs, and Sidney, a naga who has the difficult job of managing untamed monsters on the lowest levels of the Labyrinth, is coiled on top of his hat on the floor.
Tony is already in place on his stool next to my desk. Everyone murmurs their greetings.
My eyes scan the room. “Where’s Jax?”
“Not here yet, boss,” Tony supplies.
I roll my eyes. Jax is the most important player in all of this, and he’s treating it like it’s a casual meeting at Digger’s Diner on a Friday night.
