Cold Hard Magic (3 page)

"Sounds great, Rob," Larry said. "I just have to find my camera. Dang grabby kids make everything disappear then don't know nothing about anything."

"Don't know much about that," Rob said. "But I'll take your word for it. I'll talk to you soon and thanks again."

"Later, gator."

Rob snapped his phone shut and turned back to his computer. In no time, he found the university's web site and their animal husbandry department. Professor Gloria Wallenstein was the person to talk to if all her degrees and published papers were any indication.

Rob stared at the faculty photo. She looked nice, too. There was a warmth that emanated from her eyes even in the photo. Professor Wallenstein —
Why did that name sound so familiar?
— was sure to be interested in his glowing deer. Easy peasy.

He grabbed his phone and called.

Unfortunately, it wasn't so easy.

After being transferred, put on hold, disconnected, put on hold and transferred again, Rob was starting to get frustrated. He was relieved when a live person finally came on the line for longer than ten seconds.

But that too, was short-lived.

"No, sir," the sharp sexless voice said. "I cannot give you Professor Wallenstein's home number or address regardless of how important your new discovery is."

"Could you give her my number and have her call me back?" Rob asked.

"Sir," the voice said with an annoyed huff, "you will just have to wait for when classes resume after the holidays and visit Professor Wallenstein's office hours. I’m sure your
new
species can wait until then. Good day."

Click.

Rob sighed, then looked at his computer and smiled. Pulling the chair closer to the keyboard, he hit Google. After all, if it wasn't on Google, then it didn't exist.

After ten minutes, Rob decided that Professor Gloria Wallenstein didn't exist.

At least not outside academic papers, the university faculty page and an occasional photo, also related to the university. It was almost as if she had magically hidden all information about herself.

Rob sat back on his chair. Wallenstein. Wallenstein. It felt so familiar in his mind. He looked at the icon on his desktop. It couldn't be that easy, could it?

He clicked on the database of orders and did a quick search.

No Wallenstein on Cold Hard Coats. On a lark, he tried Cold Hard Facts.

Bingo!

A Nancy Wallenstein had ordered a chalice set which was shipped to one Gloria Wallenstein. Rob smiled. He remembered that order even though it had been over a year ago. Nancy emailed a couple of times asking about the details of the chalice. She had been really nice, too.

There was no guarantee that this Gloria Wallenstein was the same Professor Wallenstein, but then again, if she wasn't, he could ask her how she was liking the chalice set and ask about Nancy.

Rob wrote down the address and grabbed his coat. It was only bitterly cold outside. Perfect day for a social call.

Rob pulled up to the address he had written down. The house was in a newish neighborhood. It had only been around for ten years and consisted of spacious single story houses with wide driveways.

Good thing too since the address he was headed to had several cars already packed in tightly like metal sardines.

Undaunted, he trudged up the sturdy rock path to the house, passing several bright flowers. That stopped him in his tracks. Hyacinthus, Calluna vulgaris, Lavandula. All associated with protection and blooming. In the middle of winter.

"Huh," Rob muttered. He leaned forward and touched a silky petal. "I thought you were fake there for a minute." He took a big sniff. "I have to remember to ask what she's using for fertilizer."

He turned away from the plants and headed up the porch steps. There were more colorful flowers but this time in planters. All had extra meanings. Symbols of protection, wisdom and watchfulness.

"Well, it's the right house for the chalice," he said. "That's for sure."

Rob looked at the Greenman doorknocker and smiled. He tapped once at the handle and was about to do so again when the door opened.

“Come on in!” A voice from inside called out. "We just started."

Nice voice.
He shrugged and made sure to wipe his feet before entering. Rob closed the door behind and looked around the hallway.
Nice house.
Turning the corner, he stopped at the doorway to the living room.

The white robed women, lined up in a circle surrounding a table, looked up. Then stiffened.

"Hi there." Rob smiled and waved, looking at each woman until he recognized a face. “Professor Wallenstein?”

The woman at the apex of the circle nodded.

“My name is Rob," he said as he stepped forward and into the room. "Hi. How are you?" He nodded to each woman he passed until he met the warmest brown eyes he'd ever seen and stumbled.

Soft, pink tipped hands reached out to right him, holding his arms even after he straightened.

Their eyes met again and time, at least for him, stood still while he stared at the lovely, pixieish woman. She was a tiny little thing, barely coming up to his chest, but she had hands of steel that were still gripping his arms tightly.

"Excuse me," he said in a raspy voice that to his embarrassment nearly cracked as if he was fifteen again.

A slight movement in her cheek drew his eyes to her lush pink lips. He must have stared too long because she suddenly folded her lips inward and dropped her hands.

A sharp, clearing of the throat caused Rob to look up and meet Professor Wallenstein's quizzical gaze.

"How you doin’?” Rob stepped forward, hand outstretched. "I'm Rob."

Wallenstein met his eyes through a slightly furrowed gaze. Her eyes dropped to his hand, then she sighed and reluctantly took it.

"May I help you?" she asked, guardedly meeting his eyes again.

He was slightly disappointed that she didn’t appear to recognize him, peer to peer and all, but he shrugged it off.

“Sorry to bother you," he started, "but I have been troubled about something. Could I ask you a question?"

She nodded reluctantly.

"That’s gracious of you," he said trying to keep his focus on the Professor and the pixie blonde now behind him.

"Yes?" Professor Wallenstein prompted.

“Oh, right," he stammered. "I saw a doe off of highway 810 near the Oldhousen’s place."

"You don't say," one of the other women muttered.

Rob licked his lips and forced his eyes to remain on the Professor. "Do you know that area? It's about a quarter mile or so away from the Rumhilde's?"

"Do you know anything about what happened there?" Professor Wallenstein asked sharply, her posture stiffening further as if priming for an attack.

"Very disturbing, that's for sure," Rob said. His eyes unfocused and he shook his head. He thought back on his conversation with Walt and Peggy. Something just didn’t sit right about it being just a drifter. "A drifter, they say."

"You don’t think so?" The voice came from behind him. The same nice voice that had invited him. He wasn’t surprised that it belonged to his pixie. He turned.

And forgot what he was going to say. She looked at him expectantly, but all he could think about was that she was as cute as a button.

"You don’t think so?" The pixie asked again.

His voice, or brain, started functioning again. "Well, it just doesn't feel right, you know?' He shrugged. "I haven’t been able to divine anything and I've tried just about anything I could think of but nothing came to me. It just….Well, it doesn’t seem like a drifter to me."

Her head tilted sideways, considering what he said and slowly nodded.

"Say," Rob said turning back to Professor Wallenstein, "you ladies haven't tried to divine anything, have you?"

Professor Wallenstein sighed and crossed her arms. "The doe?"

"Right," he nodded. "Well, this deer was real friendly," he said. "Came right up to me and all, butted me with her head to get my attention, but what struck me odd was that it glowed."

Professor Wallenstein blinked. Slowly.

"I searched on the internet but all I could find was…" His voice trailed off as his brain went immediately to the glowing lingerie. "Well, Christmas decorations and all," he continued. "I was thinking, maybe it could be a new type of deer." He looked at her expectantly. "Have you heard of glowing deer? I figured you'd be the one to ask because the university website says you would know these things.”

"Glowing deer?" she asked. He nodded. She looked at him for several long seconds, then shook her head. "Can't say that I have."

Rob cocked his head to the side. “Well, now that’s odd.”

“Could it have been a trick of the light?” One of the other women asked.

“No," he shook his head. "I thought about that before coming here, but I don't think so. It was pretty dark and nothing was glowing but my coat compass. I don’t see glowing things as this, everyday, you know.”

"A coat compass?" Another woman piped up with interest only to shrink back when her sisters glared at her.

"Oh yeah," Rob continued, unperturbed. "It's going to be my new bestseller for sure. I run Cold Hard Coats and this new coat has the compass attached to it. Works great, too."

He smiled at the woman who asked the question, but she only returned a small tight grimace that could pass off as grin if one looked real hard.

"I could show you a sample if you want?" He offered.

"No!" Another woman answered.

“I regret that I cannot help you with your glowing deer," Professor Wallenstein said. "Was there anything else?"

"A translucent gopher," came a whispered reply that was quickly shushed.

"No," Rob sighed, "that was it. I was sure it was a new species."

He nodded. She mimicked, then realized what she'd done and shook her head.

His eyes drifted back to the center table. "Say," he suddenly remembered the chalice, "how do you like your ceremonial set? That's from my other store, Cold Hard Facts."

He missed the sharp look directed at the pixie as the tapestry on the opposite wall caught his attention.

“That’s a nice pentagram, too," he said. "Not mine, though. Could I ask where you got that?”

The Professor turned and followed his gaze, blinking several times as if trying to remember. “I picked it up at the occult fair in Sioux City.”

The other women shifted their weight, losing interest in the conversation.

“Oh sure," Rob agreed. "That’s a real nice one." He nodded. "Well, look at me," he said. "I’m intruding. Thank you for being so kind. Let me get out of here so you can go on about your business. Good night to you all.”

Rob waved and trudged out of the house. He was halfway down the driveway when he remembered the fertilizer question. Turning half-way, he stopped when Professor Wallenstein appeared at the front window.

The fertilizer could wait. He waved again and headed for his truck.

Rob sat in food court of the local mall partaking in his twice weekly guilty pleasure of a tropical flavored smoothie. Only this week had been such a disappointment all around— no discovery of a new species, no resighting of the doe, no fantabulous sales — he decided indulge on a third smoothie.

So he sat on the hard metal chair of the food court and watched as people walked about the mall. It was one of his favorite things to do while drinking the smoothie. Look at people as they went about their lives and wonder if what they just bought was a gift or an indulgence. Once in a while, he spotted one of his coats passing by. Though he was never sure if the person had actually bought it from Cold Hard Coats. He liked to think they had and that he'd made a little difference in someone's life.

His eyes travelled the mass of moving bodies until it collided with startled, guilty brown ones.

"Hey, you!" he called out with a wave. Several people stopped and looked at him. "Sorry, ya'll. I meant her." He pointed to the pixie blonde trying to crawl back into her coat. “I know you. From the other evening? I'm Rob, remember?”

Her lips twisted in an awkward smile. A small jerk of her fingers showed she saw him, too.

Rob got up and sauntered out of the food court and to the bench she was sitting. He sat down next to her. "I'm Ro-"

"Rob," she finished. "I know. Remember." She smiled.

He smiled back and nodded. Waiting.

"Oh," she blustered. "Right." She paused thinking, then sighed. "Nancy. Nancy Wallenstein." She stuck out her hand.