Page 32 of Torrent’s Treasure

She smiled. She loved the rooms in their suite, but there wasn’t much on the walls or decorations in the room. She wanted it to feel a little homier.

She picked the yellow birdhouse and then a smaller pink one for Calliope’s room. Once she had them, Torrent showed her his work area. There were large machines where the tops of the caskets were glued together. He walked her around, showing her the area where the caskets were painted or stained. It was an enclosed area with its own ventilation system, which was why she hadn’t been knocked over by the overwhelming smell when she came in.

Cauldron was working in an area by himself. She waved, but Torrent didn’t take her over that way.

Monster had stayed beside her, his face touching her right thigh most of the time.

“Need to cut some slats. Take you back or…” he trailed off, leaving it open for her to decide.

She tried not to smile at how, with so few words, he could still get his point across.

“Can I stay and watch?” she asked with a hopeful smile, genuinely intrigued.

His mouth quirked up on the side as he nodded. Maybe someday she’d get him to smile, but for now, as long as her grumpy guy kept her safe, she was good.

Torrent found her a chair to sit in as she watched. He had her put on protective glasses. She watched as he moved wood over to his area, measured, and began cutting. Watching him was almost hypnotic and allowed her mind to wander.

Today, as she sat and stared, she ran through the things that had happened. Now that she knew about Horse’s Ass talking with Calliope, she had to wonder if her dad had said something to Useless, as Torrent had called him. She grinned. Her dad had mentioned the Chief’s name was Eustace but that he wasn’t any help. Calling him Useless had made her smile, but now she wondered if her parents were silenced because they suspected something with Calliope. Had her dad confronted Horse’s Ass or Useless?

Something was bothering her about Horse’s Ass approaching Calliope. Twice was when Calliope was with Linny and Judith called Linny away from her. And then there was that weird visit from Judith. How did she know to come to the clubhouse? Cecilia didn’t believe that Calliope told Linny, because Calliope was just happy to be safe behind the walls of the compound. She wouldn’t jeopardize that.

Which brought up the question—how did Judith know to find them at the clubhouse? Had Gunner gone over Calliope’s phone yet?

Cecilia was knowledgeable enough with the computers she used in the hospital ER, but she didn’t have the first clue what was available on the market for tracking people. It couldn’t have been in the clothes they had on because those had been disposed of. Gunner would let them know if there was anything on Calliope’s phone.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that Horse’s Ass had shown up exactly when Calliope was available in certain places. Judith was there twice, but she hadn’t been there when Calliope mentioned the store.

“Deep thoughts?” Torrent interjected quietly, handing her a cold Dr. Pepper Zero and sitting down with a cold water.

She stared at him. She’d been with him days, and he already knew her favorite drink. Her last boyfriend hadn’t even bothered to know the shows she liked to watch on TV.

“I keep coming back to it—how did Horse’s Ass know where to find Calliope, and how did Judith find us?” Cecilia mused, taking a sip as Torrent considered her question. She grinned a little when he rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger, just like she’d seen Dragon do. Torrent might not be his biological son, but Dragon had been the father Torrent needed.

“Strange,” Torrent commented.

“I agree. Judith was there twice but not all three times Calliope told us about. We’re missing something,” Cecilia muttered.

“Missing what?” Cauldron inquired, grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator and sitting down in one of the chairs.

“How Horse’s Ass found Calliope each time,” Torrent replied.

“Huh. How did Judith find you?” Cauldron countered.

“Exactly,” Torrent said.

Cauldron pulled out his phone, putting it on speaker.

“Yeah,” Gunner answered.

“You find any tracking app on Calliope’s phone?” Cauldron pressed.

“No, which is frustrating. I figured that was how Judith found them,” Gunner admitted.

“You run the RF wand over the backpack?” Cauldron asked.

“Fuck! No, give me a second,” Gunner exclaimed.

Cecilia listened to the rustling through the phone. She hadn’t considered there might be something with Calliope’s backpack. A beeping sound came through the phone.