| With Friends Like These ... |
| Still mostly asleep, Harry swatted ineffectively at his alarm clock wishing that shrill noise would go away. It took two more rings before he realized it was the phone, not his alarm. Finally his hand landed on the correct object; he picked up and mumbled into the handset "Harry Dresden."
"Oh, Mr. Dresden! I'm so glad I caught you. This isn't a bad time, is it?" Harry rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock. 9:30 in the morning. Well into the 'official business day.' He really should have been up and around an hour ago. But lately he and Bob had been having some late nights ... Harry shook himself out of that happy thought and focused on the voice on the other end of the phone. "Uh, no, not at all. How can I help you, Miss ...?" "Vandermark. Angie Vandermark. I understand you can find things that have been lost?" "Sometimes. There's no guarantees, but I can try. What is it you've lost?" "My mother-in-law's wedding ring." That didn't sound good. In order to find something, you usually had to have some 'link' to the lost item, some deep personal attachment to the one who had lost it. Mothers-in-law usually didn't trigger that kind of attachment. Although loathing might work too ... "Um, ok, listen, why don't you come over to my shop in about an hour and we can discuss it? I charge 50 bucks an hour, and I'll need a two hundred dollar retainer towards that." "Oh, thank you Mr. Dresden! That's fine, I'll see you in an hour!" Harry hung up the phone and glanced around. Bob must have been off researching again, trying to translate the Asian legend they'd found through Mai's little clue. He smiled affectionately, couldn't help it these days anytime he thought of Bob. Although he had to admit, their 'romance' had been taking up most of his time lately. For the past two weeks, he really hadn't thought about much else. It was about time he got back to the 'real world,' he thought with a sigh as he stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. The phone had startled Bob out of his researches, and when he heard the shower start, he ghosted upstairs with the intention of surprising Harry in the shower. He re-formed in the bathroom, sans clothes himself, and walked right through the shower door. Harry stood there under the spray of hot water, his eyes closed, skin and hair wet, looking about as sexy as a human can when they're not actively trying. "God, Harry, you *are* gorgeous ..." Bob's voice came out as a sigh. Harry's eyes flew open. "Christ, Bob! You startled me ..." Bob chuckled, deep and low. "Sorry about that my love ... may I join you?" His expression left no doubt as to where this would end up ... Reluctantly, Harry shook his head. "Can't this morning, Bob ... got a client coming over in less than an hour ... you know, somebody who wants to *pay* me for something. So we can afford to keep eating out every day." Bob gave an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, well, if you must ... I guess I'll just get back to my translation ..." And with that he dissolved into mist and ghosted out of the shower. Harry sighed. Bob could be so ... theatrical at times. But then, that was part of his charm. Harry knew the ghost wasn't really upset with him. At least he hoped so. He vowed to himself that he'd make it up to Bob later ... By the time Harry heard the storefront door open, he'd managed to pull himself together enough to face a client. Two cups of coffee had gone a long way toward waking him up. A forty-ish woman walked in. To say that she was beautiful wasn�t quite accurate. Her nose was just a hair too big, her cheekbones not quite well enough defined. She looked good in a purple ankle length skirt and a soft green blouse that clung to her ample bustline. Curly dark brown hair came down to her shoulders. But what made her truly beautiful was her smile. She was one of those people who smiled at strangers walking down the street, and they just had to smile back. Harry had a feeling that if he checked her aura, it would be one with every color in the rainbow. This was a person who enjoyed life. "Mr. Dresden?" she asked as she entered the 'office' space. Harry couldn't help smiling. "Please, call me Harry. You're Angie Vandermark?" She came up to him and shook his hand. It wasn't the wimpy handshake some women affected. Neither was it the bone-crusher of a woman trying to out-man the men. She exuded a quiet confidence. "Harry. Nice to meet you. I hope you can help me ... I really am at my wits end." Harry ushered her over to a small table. "You said you lost your mother-in-law's wedding ring?" Angie nodded. "I suppose it must sound strange ... caring about a thing like that. But you have to understand ... my own mother and I never exactly got along. The last time we spoke before she died we argued. And just about every time before that. I met my husband in college, and until she died, my mother was the 'official mother-in-law' of the family. Neither one of us could stand to be around her for very long. Whereas Bonnie, Albert's mother, was a gem. Al would call home about once a month, and the rest of the time she assumed 'no news is good news.' We were free to live our lives ... despite the fact that we never gave her a grandchild. She never pushed, she was just there when we needed her and not a problem the rest of the time." Angie paused, a wistful expression on her face. "You know, Harry, sometimes you don't really know a person until they're gone. She passed away about two years ago, a very sudden, nasty cancer. Just before their 50th anniversary. When she died, Al Sr. told me her dying wish was that I have her wedding ring set. It seems Angie was her mother's name ... she'd never told me in all those years how much it meant to have a daughter-in-law named Angie." Angie shook her head sadly. "I've worn those rings for two years, Harry. But I guess I've lost a little weight lately or something, because one day I just noticed that one of the two rings wasn't there." She held out her left hand. On her ring finger was a beautiful sterling silver wedding band of celtic knotwork. And on her pinky finger, a more traditional looking wedding ring in white gold with an intricate pattern etched into the gold. "Bonnie was a tiny woman ... I always got a kick out of the fact that her rings fit perfectly on my pinkie finger. But out there on the end, you don't have as much protection to keep if from falling off if it's loose. The missing ring is exactly like this one, except it has the diamond in it. We couldn't bear to tell Al Sr. that I lost it ... it would kill the dear old man. My friend Rebecca tells me there's a lot of affinity between the two pieces, and it should make it easier for you to find?" Harry smiled. Rebecca was one of the regulars at the local Wiccan bookstore/shop/coven. There had been a resurgence lately of interest in all sorts of non-traditional spiritualism, from Native American to Oriental, to Druidic traditions. Harry occasionally stopped by the store to pick up herbs and other supplies for his workshop. He'd also picked up a fair amount of business there since the regulars were more likely to be willing to try his non-traditional methods. They *wanted* to believe in real magic. "You're right. If I could have the other ring, I can probably use it to track down its 'mate.' There are no guarantees, though. I hope you understand that?" Angie nodded. "Of course, Harry. There are never guarantees in this life! But you will try?" Harry nodded. "Absolutely. In fact, my schedule is pretty clear right now. I hope I'll have something for you in a couple of days. Where can I contact you?" She rummaged in her purse and pulled out a business card. "That's my home office number. If I�m not there, just leave a message." She reached in again and retrieved a wallet. "Two hundred was the figure you mentioned?" Harry nodded and took the money. This was too easy. Finding half of a matched pair of rings. Bonnie Vandermark had worn them together for almost 50 years, and Angie had them for two. Lots of personal attachment. The only problem would be if the ring had vanished into the sewers or somewhere he couldn't get to ... "Angie, one last question. "Do you have any idea where you might have lost it?" She shook her head. "I just suddenly noticed when I got in the car after lunch one day that it was gone. I know I had it that morning � I can't sleep with rings on, so I take them off at night. But I'd been running a lot of errands that day. It could be anywhere. Do you need a list?" Harry shook his head as he glanced at the card. "Is this your business address?" She grinned. "It's actually both; I have a home-based business. Saves on the commuting time!" Harry chuckled. Her good humor was infectious. "So you were doing errands in that general area?" "Yes." �OK, one more thing. How long ago did you lose it?� �About 2 weeks ago.� Long enough for it to have gotten to just about anywhere. That wasn�t so good. But Harry really wanted to help her. Angie was one of those people who just exude goodness. Life, vitality, a positive energy. The world could use a few more of her around. �OK. There�s a good chance I�ll be able to find it, Angie. I�ll call you as soon as I know something.� She nodded and gave him another of her sunny smiles. �Thank you, Harry, I know you�ll do whatever you can.� Harry just grinned at her as she got up and headed out. The day was off to a good start. He wasn�t at all surprised when, as soon as Angie closed the door behind her, Bob walked through the door to his lab. The sound of a female voice was usually all it took to capture the ghost�s interest. �What a lovely lady! Are you going to be able to help her?� �I hope so. You heard the whole thing?� Bob just gave Harry a �look.� In fact, he�d actually �peeked� in for a moment during their conversation to get a look at their client. And been suitably impressed. Harry chuckled. �Yeah, I thought so. This should be fairly easy." "I doubt you'll need my help then?" Bob asked drily. He knew how Harry got when he had something to work on. Especially when there was a pretty lady involved. Angie was a pretty lady and Harry would take care of her. Be the white knight, save the day, and send her home to her husband. Bob sighed. Harry had a chivalrous streak in him a mile deep. It was part of what made him so special. But at the moment, Bob found himself wishing Harry were a bit more ... physical. What they shared together was wonderful, and Bob wouldn't trade it for anything. Harry was the one he loved, would always love. But that didn't mean he wouldn't enjoy a friendly roll in the hay with a lively wench every now and then. �I don�t suppose that when you�ve found the missing ring, you could convince her to come back here and thank us properly, could you? After all, you *did* promise me dinner with a beautiful woman �� Harry just stared at him. Then he laughed. �God, Bob, you�re *so* predictable! She�s married, all right? Didn�t you get that part about �mother-in-law�s ring?� Bob sighed again, rather theatrically. In truth, while he wouldn�t turn down an evening with Angie Vandermark, the woman he really wanted was Connie Murphy. But he�d pushed Harry enough on that subject � time to let him stew on his own for a while. This had been a diversion; a way to keep the subject in the fore without seeming to. He knew Harry had feelings for Murphy. Emotional and sexual. And it was obvious that she cared about Harry. Bob wondered how *she* felt about their relationship? Would she be open to something? Would she object to Bob 'riding along?' Because he knew Harry wouldn't lie to her about that. He certainly was growing fond of her himself, and she seemed to be succumbing to his charms. Would he have the chance to feel her out on the subject? // Feel her out? Or feel her up? // Bob found that duality quite amusing. While Bob just stood there thinking and watching, Harry had been bustling about. A pot of brown muck was bubbling over an open flame. It occurred to Bob that it might be just as well at the moment that he had no sense of smell. Although it didn't seem to bother Harry in the slightest as he dropped in the ring Angie had left with him, setting off a magically charged reaction. He let it simmer for a few moments while he attached a string to a crystal shaft that had been cut so that one end was pointed. Harry held the crystal over the pot. For a few minutes nothing happened. Then suddenly the crystal began spinning of its own volition, picking up a bluish tint from the pot below. "Got it!" Harry pulled the crystal away, and shut off the flame. With a wooden skewer, he fished the ring out of the muddy glop. Bob smirked at Harry's eager cry. "I guess we won't be going out to lunch today, then?" The ghost gave a long-suffering sort of sigh. Harry glanced over at Bob, saw the disappointed look. He'd missed the smirk just moments before. "Bob, hey, I'm sorry ... I'll make it up to you, I promise." Bob smiled and shook his head. "Go, Harry. Don't worry about me." Almost without waiting for Bob to finish, Harry was on his feet and heading for the door, a bloodhound hot on the scent. Bob watched with affectionate good humor, then reverted to mist, returning to his books. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Murphy hesitated as she came to the door of Harry's place. His jeep wasn't in its usual parking space. He probably wasn't home. But Bob might be ... She fidgeted nervously with the sheaf of papers she was carrying before finally reaching out and trying the door. She felt *something* and then suddenly the lock let loose and the door opened. "Bob?" she called out hesitantly. The fire-specked black dust she'd seen that first night zipped through the room, stopping right in front of her. Moments later, Bob stood there smiling at her. "Connie, my dear! How lovely to see you again!" Murphy felt something tug deep inside her at seeing the handsome ghost again. She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush on a teacher. "Hey, Bob," she said almost shyly, unable to take her eyes off of him. He was dressed differently today; something much more formal, more elaborate. Kind of old fashioned; the sort of elegance that men today just didn't bother with. "Wow. You look gorgeous in that ..." // Did I just say that out loud? // Bob preened, a peacock in his full glory. "I thought you might like it, my dear. Harry's always nagging me to relax, not dress so formally. But it's nice to be able to show off to an appreciative audience once in a while ..." Murphy felt herself blushing at just how appreciative she was. "I take it Harry's not home? His jeep was gone." Bob gave her a courtly half bow. "He's off on a case. A paying customer, of all things." Right now, Bob didn't want to talk about Harry. "But where are my manners? Please, come in, sit down. You're looking quite lovely yourself, Connie. I must say, that color suits you." Once again, Murphy felt the heat rising up her neck as she sank into the soft sofa, dropping the papers on a nearby table. She'd dressed this morning hoping she'd have a chance to get over here after work. She told herself she was just being nice to Harry's friend. So why did she feel like her knees would have given out if she hadn't sat down? Bob 'blinked out' for a moment and reformed sitting beside her. "It truly has been ages since I had the pleasure of such lovely company, my dear. I hope you don't mind my exuberance?" "No, not at all!" she finally managed to say. But somewhere underneath it all, she remembered the look in Harry's eyes yesterday when they talked about Bob. Harry loved this man, and she'd bet good money the feeling was mutual. So what was going on here? "Bob, may I ask you a personal question?" "Of course, my dear." "I'm flattered by all the attention; you're very charming. But yesterday Harry finally admitted he loves you. He's my friend, Bob. I won't cut in." Bob could see the conflict in her eyes. Unless he missed his guess, she was quite strongly attracted to him. But her loyalty to Harry was just as strong. He was glad Harry had such a friend. "I love Harry very much, Connie. Believe that. Enough to literally die for him. He is my reason for existence. But I have always had a soft spot for beautiful women. Especially beautiful strong women, which were somewhat of a rarity in my day. Not that anyone, man or woman, could ever replace Harry in my heart. But the body can enjoy a vast array of delights; rather like eating pizza one day and a gourmet meal the next." "Um, Bob ... unless I've got this ghost thing very wrong ... you don't have a body?" "Ahem. Yes. Well, not as such ..." Bob hesitated, not sure she was ready for this. But Murphy wasn't a detective for nothing. A slight frown of concentration passed over her lovely face. "Ghosts are supposed to be able to possess people, aren't they? Or is that just fiction?" // That's my girl! // Bob thought with delight. "Yes, something like that. Not everything you see in the movies about the supernatural world is true, Connie, but much of it is at least an approximation of the real thing. Ghosts can indeed possess mortal bodies. But my particular ... circumstances ... don't allow me to take an unwilling host. And very few people would be truly willing to share their bodies in that circumstance." "Harry would." As she said it, Murphy was absolutely certain. That big, soft heart of his would have helped just about anybody. For Bob, he'd go to the ends of the earth, she was certain. The gentle smile on Bob's lips said more about his feelings for Harry than any amount of words could have. "Indeed, my dear. Over the past couple of weeks, I have had a chance to re-join the world of the living for a few hours at a time. It has been a gift beyond measure." The import of that statement hit her in a rush. Imagine finally being able to touch things, to taste a meal, enjoy a fine wine, after all those centuries as an incorporeal form. "It must be overwhelming ...?" "Indeed. But so immensely gratifying!" The expression on Bob's face, the tone of his voice led her thoughts away from food and drink and into another realm of physical pleasures. So much that Murphy felt herself blushing. The words were out of her mouth before she could think about what she was saying. "So ... you and Harry ... actually have a physical relationship?" The look on her face was one of intense curiosity. Bob was only too happy to oblige her. "Oh, yes. The first time we shared his body ... well, let's just say our relationship took on a whole new dimension ..." Murphy was intrigued, if a bit embarrassed. "So you're both *there* when you 'borrow' his body?" "Indeed. It is quite the experience, I assure you." Murphy was pretty sure that look was the dictionary definition of a leer. But gradually, Bob's expression changed, softened. "It was almost more than I could bear at first. To finally be able to touch him, after all these years ... do you know how often I longed to be able to comfort him back when he was a child? And then to see him grown into such a beautiful man. This damned curse made it possible for me to live long enough to know him, but it keeps us so far apart ..." This was a vulnerability she hadn't expected. Bob truly had loved Harry since his childhood. She thought about her own daughter � could she have borne not being able to touch her, to comfort her fears, to hold her close? But for Bob, he now had to deal with the adult Harry, and it was obvious their relationship had changed. In a way which made touch even more important. "That's why he's trying to make you human again, isn't it? Because even when you're together now, you're not really there. You are to some extent, but ... ?" Bob nodded, his voice becoming wistful. "We have just one body, one pair of hands, one mouth. Compared to the nothing we had before, it is quite wonderful. But I long to do so much more. Even a true kiss is beyond us at the moment." The ghost looked so sad that Murphy found herself reaching out to touch him, only remembering at the last moment that it wasn't possible. Bob's eyes caught her outstretched hand, and he smiled gently. "Oh, Connie, my dear. You see now what we have faced?" Letting her hand drop, Murphy nodded. Then she remembered why she was here. "Maybe this will help?" she offered, reaching out to pick up the papers she had dropped on the table earlier. "Harry asked me to do some research on the internet for him. An old Japanese legend about a girl named Tsukata ..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The problem with a tracking crystal was that it didn�t have a map of city streets built in. So it pointed in the general direction it wanted you to go, even when there was no street heading in that direction. And while Harry got a general sense of �near�or �far,� it wasn�t all that precise. So when driving you had to do a lot of zig-zagging around and avoiding one-way streets and such. By late afternoon, Harry had determined the general location of the missing ring. The greater Chicago area landfill. AKA � the city dump. Somewhere along the line, the ring had gotten mixed in with the trash. Harry groaned. At least it was findable. But it was going to be a hassle to get it out. At least with the matching ring, he had something to help him draw it out of the mess. But it was still going to be a dirty job. And he needed some privacy to set up the spell. It was only about an hour before sunset, so Harry went off to grab a late lunch/early dinner. It felt kind of strange eating by himself; he was so used to sharing meals now with Bob, feeling his friend�s delight at every new taste. It occurred to him that without actually going home, there was no way he could check in with Bob. Even if he�d had a cell phone and it actually worked, Bob couldn�t answer the phone at home. So much had changed since that night when Justin Morningway tried to cheat death. It would have never occurred to him before to even want to check in with Bob. Who was stuck at home alone, chained to his skull. Harry had recently re-noticed the manacles around Bob�s wrists. They never disappeared, even when he appeared naked. They never mentioned them, never acknowledged it. Harry wondered when they�d become invisible to him in the first place. Usually, the sleeves of Bob�s jackets hid them, but it was more than that. It was almost as if Harry had refused to see them, refused to acknowledge them all along. He thought about his conversation yesterday with Murphy. What had she said? �Doesn't matter to me that you're in love with a 500 year old ghost.� Hearing it said aloud had somehow made it more real. He realized that these last few weeks, he�d been happier than ever before. And the funny thing was, he also felt closer to Murphy than before, too. Part of that was because he�d finally stopped keeping things from her. Now that he didn�t have to hide his whole �world,� he found other things slipping out from behind his shields. Having people to care about sure felt good � The sun set, and Harry shook himself out of these pleasant thoughts. // Time to earn your keep, Dresden. // He headed back to the dump, slipping inside just before they closed the gates for the night. He waited a little while to make sure nobody was around, then brought out the crystal again. Following its lead, he maneuvered around the grounds to a mid-sized mound of stuff. The scent was kind of ripe, but not as bad as some other areas he�d passed; this should be fairly recent deposits. Luckily there was a nearly full moon; it gave him plenty of light. He found a fairly clear area and shrugged out of his backpack. In it he had some supplies he�d used in similar situations in the past. Including a specially charmed magnet. Now gold, being a non-iron-based metal, didn�t usually affect magnets. And this one was really not strong enough to attract any actual iron that might be in that mess, which was a good thing. The first time he�d done this, he�d used a strong magnet and had gotten some iron nails flying toward him at a frightening speed. After the tetanus shot, he�d vowed never to make that mistake again. After all, this was sympathetic magic, not science. All he needed from the magnet was the *idea* of attracting the metal. From the pocket of his jacket, he retrieved the ring Angie had given him. It should be a fairly simple matter to bind it to the magnet so the magic would know which item it was looking for. He placed the ring into a small depression in the lodestone that he�d carved out just for that purpose, and sent a pulse of magic through the ring, into the stone. Almost immediately, the stone began vibrating. It felt the �mate� of the ring bound to it in the pile before him. Harry sent out a bit more magic, �calling� the missing ring to its mate. He felt something trying to respond. But something was keeping it from rising, as if it was stuck on something. Harry �pulled� a little harder, then harder still. He was beginning to sweat a bit from the exertion, and the night was rather chilly. With a grunt, he gave one good solid magical �tug� and suddently everything let go. The mound of refuse in front of him exploded, expelling the hood of a car and a load of everything that had been on top of it. The car hood flew directly at Harry, knocking him over. Seconds later, the top half of the mountain of trash that had been blown off with it landed on him. Harry hadn�t been expecting a physical assault, so he hadn�t had time to prepare his shield bracelet. So he took the full brunt of the load of crap. It left him stunned for a few minutes before the stench finally forced him to sit up. Wiping the mess from his face, Harry felt something wet on his forehead. It was blood. // Great. // It didn�t feel too bad; just one of those scalp things that bled like you were dying when it was just barely a scratch. But with this mess, he�d best clean it up as soon as possible to avoid an infection. He sighed and looked around for the source of his injury. There was the car hood on the ground beside him. // Why the hell did I get *that*? // he wondered as he stood it on its side and tried to shake the muck off of it. His magnet was stuck to the underside of the hood. When Harry touched it, diffusing the magic, it came off in his hand easily. And there, under the hood, was the missing ring. Stuck to a bit of protruding metal. Harry tried to pull it away and couldn�t. A closer look revealed it was mired in a hard blob of something semi-transparent. // Super glue. Somebody pitched a bloody tube of super glue and it leaked and glued Angie�s ring to this fucking car hood! // How the hell was he going to get it separated? He sure couldn�t haul the whole car hood out of here. Setting the hood aside, Harry staggered to his feet and began rummaging in the mess for his backpack. He found it and grimaced; it was going to need a good wash before Bob let him put his skull in there again. He reached inside and rummaged around, pulled out his wand. Yeah, ok, it was a drumstick. It did what he needed it to do � help him �channel� his magic. This was going to take a fine touch. He placed the tip of the wand against the super glue blob and reached for the same magic he used to open locks. He figured that �unlocking� the super glue wasn�t that different metaphorically than unlocking a physical lock. As long as he believed it, it was true, so he forced all thoughts about chemistry and physics out of his mind. // Good thing I dropped out of high school before they could stuff all that useless stuff into my head! // Instead, he focused on the laws of magic that Bob had taught him, and it worked. The glue blob �melted� and the ring landed in his left hand. Harry quickly wiped the remains of the glue off on his shirt; he didn�t want to take any chance of the ring ending up attached to his skin. He put the ring with its mate which was still attached to his magnet, tucking the whole package back into his backpack. Glancing around, he chuckled. Somebody was going to have a real time tomorrow explaining why this mound of trash had �exploded.� But there was nothing anybody could point to as supernatural, so he decided to leave it be. Besides, the stuff that had been down deep inside had a pretty ripe aroma. With his nose wrinkled in disgust, Harry headed back to his car, eagerly anticipating a shower. But he wouldn�t ask Bob to join him until he�d gotten the worst of this stench off � continue to Chapter 6 Send me some Feedback Back to my Dresden Home page Back to the Jade Palace Home Disclaimer: I don't own them, just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Chapter 5 |