Keeper: Chapter 48

Chapter 48.

The inspection was more difficult than Jamie thought.  In his mind he pictured dozen’s of crumpled bodies lining the perimeter of House’s protection.  He also somehow suspected there would be a line on the ground marking the edge of House’s perimeter.

“House said the perimeter extended to the tree line on this side,” Jamie told Del as the two of them tromped through the yard.  “I don’t see anything. There ought to be something if people kept throwing themselves against the perimeter all night.”  Dimly Jamie wondered if House had been mistaken and had some sort of glitch in the system.

“I think I might have found something,” Del said.  Jamie walked over to where the smaller man stood looking at the ground. He looked down and for a moment saw nothing.  Then a gust of wind stirred the leaves and something more along the ground.

“Is that dust?” Jamie asked.  Del shook his head.

“Ash,” he confirmed. “Apparently your House is quite thorough.” Jamie stared at the shifting ash on the ground.  He kept his eyes focused on the ground but shifted his line of sight to look along the tree line.  Now that he knew what to look for, he couldn’t stop seeing small piles of ash.  The wind was stirring the ashes, but Jamie noticed that no matter what direction the wind blew, none of the ashes crossed the perimeter.

“Even in death they are denied entry,” Jamie said softly.

“That would keep even death magic out I expect,” Del commented.

“Death magic?”

“Just scary stories from what I know,” Del said with a shrug.  “Never saw anyone use it but if it isn’t just something to scare children with then it seems like a good thing to keep out.”

“Oh,” Jamie replied, not quite sure how to comment. A soft rustling sound in the trees distracted him and Jamie focused his attention on the underbrush rather than on the accumulated ash. He wondered if it was the wind.  Del grabbed his arm, the small fingers feeling like bands of iron.

“Whatever it is,” Del said softly, in a voice barely above a whisper. “Make it cross the perimeter first if it is able.”  Jamie nodded at the wisdom of that thought and took a large step away from the perimeter and towards the house.  Del nodded his approval and stepped back as well. The rustling sound came again.

“Hello,” Jamie called.  “Is anyone out there?”

The rustling stopped and they heard a tentative, “Jamie?” called out.  Jamie frowned.  The voice sounded familiar.

“Michael?” He asked.  The rustling sounds increased and Jamie saw a hand reach out to part the underbrush.  Slowly, his brother crawled forward into the open.  He crossed the perimeter with no problems and Jamie helped him to stand.  Del still eyed Michael warily as he regained his feet.  Michael looked much worse for wear than Jamie had ever seen him.  His hands and arms were scratched and dirt was imbedded in his fingernails so that they looked like little black crescents above his fingers. There were scratches along his face as well and it looked as though his nose had been bleeding.  To Jamie’s eyes it didn’t look broken, just bloody. The biggest change in Michael was his eyes.  They were wide and frightened and darted around as though looking for an attack.

“Michael, what happened?” Jamie asked.

“Where am I?” Michael asked.  His fingers bunched in Jamie’s shirt. “Where,” he repeated, a trace of the old Michael’s demanding tone coming back.

“You are at Albe’s place,” Jamie told him. “Were you trying to break into the house?”

“Albe’s place?” Michael repeated.  “How did I get here? I was with Renee. Did she bring me here?”

“I don’t know,” Jamie said frowning.  He let his eyes scan the underbrush, wondering if Renee, his brother’s sometime girlfriend, was somewhere in the woods as well. “We can call her house and see if she knows how you got here,” Jamie suggested. ‘Of course if she doesn’t answer we will have to search the woods.’ He avoided looking at the piles of ash.

“Do you have your cell phone?” Jamie asked Michael. Michael fumbled his phone from his pocket and Jamie could see that his index finger was swollen and might be broken.  Jamie looked to Del, who had noticed the finger as well.

“Might as well get that looked at while you give the girl a call,” Del said a little reluctantly. Jamie nodded and got Michael to let go of the front of his shirt and move to where Del could inspect him. Jamie pulled Renee’s number from Michael’s contacts list and pressed the call button.  The phone rang. Tinny music came from the underbrush.  It was not in the same place Michael had crawled from, but off about twenty yards to the right. Jamie started to step forward.

“No,” Del said.  Jamie stopped, looked at Del and nodded.  Del stepped forward, crossing the perimeter and entering the underbrush.  Jamie let the phone ring.

“Found her,” Del called.  Slowly he escorted a small brown haired woman out of the trees.  She looked nearly as scratched up as Michael and had a bruise coming out on her left temple. Del was muttering the sort of nonsensical comforting comments one normally said to those in shock. Jamie noticed however that when they approached the perimeter, Del let her go and had her walk across the line on her own.  Apparently House deemed her safe.  Once across the line, Del once again began escorting her.  Jamie put a hand on Michael’s elbow and Jamie and Del guided the two unexpected guests towards the house.

‘This should be interesting,’ he thought. He didn’t know if their condition was due to their other late night visitors or House’s protection.  Jamie brought them into the house, leading them into the kitchen rather than either of the parlors.  Once seated at the table, Del began seeing to their various cuts and bruises, cleaning out the dirt and bandaging when necessary.  Both looked wide eyed and somewhat shocky.  Jamie stepped back into the hallway, shutting the door to the kitchen so that he couldn’t be heard.  Somehow he didn’t think adding someone who talked to a house into the mix would help either of his visitor’s mental state.

“House,” Jamie asked. “Did the two of them come in contact with the perimeter last night?”

“No Keeper they did not come in contact with my perimeter last night.” Came the reply.  Jamie paused.

“Did they come in contact with the perimeter anytime prior to when Del and I found them?” Jamie asked, figuring they might have reached the border in the early morning.

“No Keeper.”

“Good,” he said.  “Do you know anything about them being here?”

“No Keeper,” House replied.  “They were not within my sight so I could not see them.”

“Well that rules out Michael trying to break in.” Jamie said half to himself.  He wondered if the Brotherhood of Shadows had something to do with their condition.  “After all it seems highly suspicious for everyone to be running around last night in roughly the same area without running into each other.” 

“Thank you House,” Jamie said and he opened the door, stepping back into the kitchen.  Both his brother and Renee were cleaned up with smears of antiseptic goo covering various cuts and scrapes.  Del was bandaging Michael’s finger as Jamie stepped back into the room.

“The finger’s broken,” Del said, both to Michael and Jamie.  “But it is a clean break.  Keep it straight and it will heal that way.” The kettle Del had put on began to whistle and as Jamie slid into one of the empty kitchen chairs, Del moved to make the tea.  Both Michael and Renee started at the sound of the kettle.  The sighed with relief when they saw what it was.

“So is there anything you can tell me about last night?” Jamie said. 

“It a blur,” Renee said softly. ‘I don’t...I...” Jamie covered her hand with his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Do you remember how you got out here?” He asked softly.

“I...drove, I think,” Renee said.

“You think or you know?” Jamie asked.  “Do you remember driving?”

Renee closed her eyes as though trying to picture it.  “Yes,” she said.  “I drove.  We were at the bar, The Silver Star,” Renee began.  Jamie nodded, knowing that Renee worked there at least part time. “I was working,” Renee continued and Michael came in.  He said he had figured out a way to make you sell the land but that he needed my help.  So after my shift was over I drove us out here because he didn’t want to bring his car for some reason.”

“I see,” Jamie said.  He tried not to get angry about whatever his brother’s latest attempt to get Albe’s property was.  Del settled the mugs of tea in front of the two people.  Jamie noticed that the mug set down in front of Michael was set down rather forcefully and Del’s lips were compressed in a thin line. He kept his own council however and said nothing.

“Do you remember what happened next?” Jamie asked, keeping his voice calm and deliberately not looking at Michael.

“We had a fight,” Renee said.  Her hand fluttered towards her bruised temple almost without thought.  “I think...” She started to trail off.  Del placed the honey pot gently in front of her and she added a spoonful of honey to her tea.  Michael started to reach for the honey, but the look on Del’s face stopped him cold.  Michael’s hand retreated and he picked up his mug, taking a sip of the hot, unsweetened beverage.

“I think we had stopped at the gate,” Renee continued. “But everything is vague.  I remember getting out of the car, but nothing solid after that, you know?”

“I know,” Jamie said softly to her.  She wrapped both of her hands around the mug and brought the mug up to her mouth. She inhaled the scent of the tea deeply before taking a tentative sip.  Jamie turned towards Michael.

“Well,” he said, not nearly as gentle as he had been with Renee. “What do you remember?”

“I remember wanting to come out and see you,” Michael said.  “After all you have been holed up here all week doing god knows what and I was concerned, what brother wouldn’t be?” Michael began, regaining some of his normal tones.  Apparently the shock was wearing off.

“And?”

“And,” Michael repeated sarcastically. “I figured since you had not been very polite last time, you might feel more hospitable if I brought Renee with me. Her being company and all.”

“So she drove you here and you parked at the gate?” Jamie asked, ignoring the side commentary.

“Yes,” Michael said.  “And we got out because that gate of yours is always locked. Really Jamie, how are you going to have any friends if you lock yourself away out here and then bar the only entrance?”

“So you jumped the gate?” Jamie asked, trying to keep Michael on track. He made a mental note to check the video surveillance footage of the gate as soon as Michael left. He didn’t feel the need to alert his brother about the gate being under surveillance, especially if Jim decided he wanted to take Michael to court for the damages to his car.

“You don’t need to make it sound so nefarious,” Michael snapped.

“What happened next?” Jamie asked.

“Next,” Michael began.  “Next...,” his voice faltered and Michael frowned.

“You can’t remember?” Jamie asked.

“Of course I remember,” Michael said.  “I must have run into a tree or something because there are no lights out there at all, I could sue for that you know, I got knocked out by a tree because you didn’t properly light your driveway.”

“Do you remember running into the tree?” Jamie asked.

“Who remembers getting knocked out by a tree,” Michael said dismissively. “Don’t be stupid.”

“You weren’t found anywhere near the gate,” Jamie said.

“So I walked in my sleep,” Michael shot back.  “I was having nightmares.”  Fear flickered across his face for an instant.

“What sort of nightmares?” Jamie asked.

“That’s none of your business,” Michael snapped, his fear edging into anger. Jamie knew that if he pushed, he would get nothing more.

“Renee wasn’t too far from you.”

“So she followed me,” Michael said.  “Unlike you, I have people who care about me.”  Michael stretched a hand across the table towards Renee.  She stared at it for a moment but kept her hands wrapped around the mug.  Michael cleared his throat and pulled his hand back.

“Clearly that’s what happened.” Michael pronounced.

“Did she get knocked out by a tree too?” Del asked dryly. Michael frowned but did not bother to answer.

“Is that everything?” Jamie asked.

“Yes now I think it is time we go,” Michael said standing.  “You will of course hear from my lawyers unless you want to make a financial settlement out of court. I’ll give you a few days to think it over.  Come Renee.”  Renee stood slowly, placing the mug back down on the table.

“Do you still have your keys?” Jamie asked her. She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and extracted the keys with a jangle. “Then we will walk you back to the gate.”  Renee seemed relieved by the offer.

“Thank you,” she said softly. Michael also looked somewhat relieved by the offer.

“If you feel it necessary,” he said.  Del led the way back towards the front door and the group of them trouped off to the front gate.  It was a quiet march, with Michael somewhat sullen and Renee listening nervously to the sounds in the woods.  They reached the gate and found Renee’s car parked just where she thought they had left it.  She quickly unlocked her door and got in, locking her door behind her.  She started the engine and Michael had to scramble to get into the passenger’s side before she took off and left him.  Del and Jamie watched the car recede into the distance.

“How much do you want to be those dreams weren’t exactly dreams,” Jamie asked Del.

“That’s a sucker’s bet,” Del told him with a rather grim smile.

“True,” Jamie admitted as they turned and began walking back towards the house. “Do you know of anything that could affect their memories like that?”

“Not personally, no,” Del said.  “But I might know someone I could ask.”

“I think asking might be a good idea,” Jamie said softly.  Even without Michael’s sham of a lawsuit he had the feeling whatever this was would not fade away anytime soon.