The Mask of Omegon (Gwen Farris Book 6) (4 page)

She sighed.

“Helping trees. That and some minor
vigilante work. Um… Amateur crime fighting? A local merchant was cursing
people, but Tomas couldn’t prove it, even though he located the man. So he
counter cursed him, to prevent the asshat from being able to attack again. It
sounded like a lot of ceremonial work?”

There was a slow nod then.

“I’d say it sounds like. That would
be a complex thing to arrange. It would explain the power levels being used. No
sacrifices?”

“None that I could find. He used a
knife, but there was no blood around. No one is missing, but I didn’t find a
pet cemetery out back or anything. It was in a cave, which…”

That got a nod. Instantly. Then
Derrick had been there, so he knew for himself how hard that would be.

“Understood, Miss Farris. That…
Honestly, it sounds harmless enough. A bit of illegality, with the counter
cursing, but we can look the other way, for a celebrity artist. Are you
planning to check out the story? The store clerk that’s been abusing his power?
The trees?”

She nodded.

“I… Already did the trees. Tomas
took me to see them. That seems legit to me. Then… I sucked him off and told
him we’re dating now.” She swallowed, looking at the man, knowing that he’d
probably fly into a rage and order her off the case.

Instead he looked at her closely
then nodded after about ten seconds.

“Good. There’s been some worry
about you around here for a while now. You didn’t feel abused or as if
liberties were being taken? We can go and thrash the man, if you do. That won’t
be a problem.”

Her tongue poked out as she smiled.

“Nope. Even if he ditches me now.
It was… I think that I’m not in a healthy mental place, to be honest. He stole
a kiss, but then
I
pretty much did the rest. That’s pretty bad, isn’t
it?”

There was a smile that was a bit
curled at the sides. Not really happy, but also not condemning her for her
actions.

“No? Then a Westmorland might not
be the one to ask about that kind of thing. My take on this however is that you
should avoid pregnancy, unless you intend to marry. Perhaps some discretion is
in order? Other than that… Have fun? The situation isn’t that serious, I don’t
think.”

She nodded then, and smiled.

“Plus, I don’t think he really
believes that I’m me. I
told
him who I was, but he was off in the woods
playing super hero and I think he got the idea that I was playing at being Gwen
Farris, girl investigator. It was cute, but…” She was a bit baffled by the
idea, to be honest.

Derick however just nodded.

“I can see that being an issue for
him. It is a popular magazine. Likely why he dared to kiss you in the first
place.”

“Um… Sorry? What are you talking
about?”

That got a slightly shocked look.

“Gwen Farris Investigations? I
thought you would have known about that. The children’s book where you and
Bethany West, your close friend, go around uncovering crimes? It’s fairly
saucy. Adult in nature and not what any good parent would have their sons
reading. You and Beth are… Um… Lovers. There are depictions of things that…” He
cleared his throat then, but didn’t seem embarrassed. Not really.

“Oh. I knew nothing about that. It
sounds
sort
of scandalous.”

“Popular, as well. If you didn’t
sign off on it, then you might wish to look into the matter? Or not. After all,
polite people don’t read such things. That leaves only those that are impolite
to contend with. Which may well explain why you haven’t been made aware of it
as of yet.”

She could see that one, to be
honest. Plus, if it had taken place in the last few years, then her being a
lesbian in the funny pages was probably the
good
press. Still, tracking
down who was talking about her made sense.

“I’ll look into it. So… Should I be
pulled off the case? I mean… Conflict of interest here, right?”

That took a second for the man to
parse, but when he answered his words were pleasant.

“
All
sorts. On the good side
you’re aware of the fact, which means you can correct for it. Do
you
think you need to be pulled from the investigation? It sounds to me that you
have it mainly worked out. Still, if we must, then I can have the work done
again?”

She stopped breathing for a bit,
then shook her head.

“I don’t think so. I’ll keep my
eyes open, but I think we can nearly put this one to bed. That means I can
focus on…” She was about to say the other cartoon book. The one with her in it.

Derrick grinned.

“Having fun with your new friend?
You should get with Molly. Westmorland. In the morning however, since she’s
likely asleep now, being a sane person. I’m about to turn in myself.” He stood,
stretched a bit and then winked at her, which was out of character. “I’d invite
you to come with me, but you seem to have a boyfriend already?”

The look he gave her was slightly
alluring. He was a bit older, having salt and pepper colored hair, but not
unattractive. The funny thing was that she couldn’t tell if it was serious or
not.

So she shrugged.

“Well, if that falls through, I’ll
keep you in mind? It
was
kind of fun. I… Really, we should do that, if
things aren’t…” She didn’t know what to say toward that end, but the man didn’t
laugh at her.

“I should have suggested it
earlier. Well, I need to leave before I try to take liberties and confuse the
issue, shall I?”

He walked out quickly enough that
it was hard to tell if he was teasing her or not. The man was acting different however.
Inappropriate for his world, but
not
if he were talking to a
Westmorland. That was a thing that she’d noticed a few times before. A lot of
the Westmorlands would sometimes forget that she wasn’t one of them. Then
they’d act like it was a huge insult to be called a super soldier, once they
worked out what they’d been doing.

Still, if the thing with Tomas
didn’t work out, she was doing it. Maybe with several men. The Westmorlands
were even pretty safe that way. Some had been getting their sterilization
undone, but most of those were women. The men
could
do it, but that
wasn’t the trend yet. So if she wanted to get with some guys, that was a good
pool to start with.

If Tomas didn’t work out, of
course.

She got back to her hotel room
directly, teletransporting in easily, being alone. It was a bit strange,
sleeping there, but she was tired enough that she didn’t just lie there all
night or anything. In the morning she had to take some time to get ready. A
full shower, makeup and a nice, but not really pretty, dress. Then Gwen went to
a restaurant to get something to eat.

That killed nearly an hour and a
half. It was good enough food, but the tiny portions came one at a time. There
was a gap between each of them, too. A single egg, poached, followed by a half
slice of toast. Then a tiny dish of fruit. Today it was fresh peach.

The woman that served her was
courteous, but not exactly friendly. That was the norm there however, so she
didn’t assume that the woman was spitting all over her food. She had to eat anyway,
so didn’t let herself consider the idea. It had probably happened though. Her
face had been in the papers, after all and some of the people in the Western
Kingdom had to not understand that she wasn’t Katherine. It was confusing, so
stuff would eventually be happening. So far they’d all kept it fairly quiet,
but sooner or later it was coming back on her.

She couldn’t even blame them for
it.

Still, spit covered or not, the
food was fine. Good even. At the end she paid for her meal and didn’t tip. That
wasn’t a thing there. It was reasonable though, coming in at two decs. That was
a bit pricy, but not robbery for the service and time investment. Back home
that would have been about twenty cents. It was here, too. Except that a cent
was worth a lot more, in most places.

After that she walked for a bit,
considering what she needed to really do. Investigating Tomas was, suddenly, a
lot harder for her, she realized. After all, she wasn’t asking after the man
just to see if he were on the up and up. No, it would be spying on him, in some
kind of stalker-like fashion. The girlfriend that was way too concerned with
her new boyfriend.

Not that she wasn’t going to do the
basic part of things. Making sure he was actually who he said he was, for
instance. Not married. That one was fair even. He hadn’t had a ring on the
night before, but no one wore that kind of thing in the Western Kingdom. That
was more of a Christian tradition, which this world didn’t have. So you had to
count on being told about a wife, if you wanted to know.

Still, she wasn’t a creeper. It was
one of the few things that she could be proud of in her life. That meant
working things out the hard way. Starting with what she knew.

Omegon.

Which meant finding a store, she
thought. One that sold books. Except that, walking down the street, which was
mainly empty given how early it was, she saw a news stand. The papers were just
that. Newspapers. Just like they would be back home. There were magazines as
well however, so she smiled, clutched her hand bag a bit, then approached the
older man that was running the thing. He wasn’t fat, but for this place he was
slightly rounded.

On his head there was a funny cap.
It was flat, and had a bit of a brim. There was a wooden pipe in his teeth as
well, with redolent smoke coming out of the end.

“Hey there missy. Come out to see
the news? We’ve got your Herold, The Daily and even The Scan, if you enjoy that
kind of thing. Pretty much anything new that’s in print.” He smiled at her,
leering a tiny bit. She would have figured he were about to attack, even a few
years before, but now she got that he was just staring with lust in his eyes.

“I’m… Do you have any graphic
novels? Omegon? Or the Gwen Farris things?” She didn’t know if the man would
carry that kind of material. As had been pointed out, it wasn’t exactly
polite
.
Even if he had it, the man might not admit it to a woman.

“I do at that! Behind the fold, of
course. Let me… I have the last two Omegon? The last Gwen Farris Investigations
as well. Those sell out fast. That do it for you?” He pulled the things out,
both seeming to have full color covers.

She nodded.

“How much?”

The man winked at her, then looked
up and down the street.

“Three decs. Or, if you rather, we
could
trade
for it?” There was a wiggling of eyebrows, his slightly
wrinkled face seeming devious.

She got the reference, if only from
old movies. From back home, in a different world. It seemed a bit cheap really.
She was worth more than a few decs, even if she wasn’t very skilled. She pulled
a met from her handbag, then paused, curious.

“What did you have in mind? As for
trade? Not that I’m
not
just paying, but I wonder what you’d be asking
for, if I took you up on it?”

That got him to chortle. It was an
honest sounding thing.

“Ah, calling my bluff then?
Honestly, if you’d said you were good for it… I would have gotten a kiss. On
the cheek? Only so much can be done out here on the street, right?”

She nodded and passed the bill
over.

“I see! Well, good to know, in case
it ever comes up. Normally I travel with a friend, but she’s pregnant at the
moment.”

The man smiled and nodded.

“Bethany Westmorland? I heard about
that. Big news, her being with child like that. In The Scan? They cover a lot
of stories that get missed otherwise. Would you like one of those? I might as
well make a sale, if I’m not going to get to take liberties.
That
would
be a story though, wouldn’t it? Gwen Farris comes by, purchases questionable
material from me, then gives me a kiss?”

Looking up and down the street, she
pulled a dec from her change, then, feeling insane, leaned in and gave him a
peck on the cheek. No one was watching, after all. He was right though. That
probably would make a good story.

“Just don’t tell your wife until I
get out of town? I don’t need to be lynched.”

The man snorted, but his eyes shone
happily.

“There was a time when you might
have stayed for more than that. Thirty years back, but still…”

Except that she was in another
world back then. Also so horribly deformed that the man wouldn’t have wanted
her attention at all. She didn’t mention any of that, however.

Instead she winked.

“I’ll read up on things then.
Thanks for the help.”

“Not a problem, missy. Is there
something going on here? A real investigation?”

She wanted to flip a palm up, but
had to use her words, her hands both being full at the moment.

“Nothing major. I have a date,
later tonight. The man that does the Omegon books? At least that’s what he said
he did. I suppose he could be selling me a bill of goods, to impress me?”