Underground

I knew that feeling. It may be part of my job, but sometimes digging around in other people’s lives seems dirty—it is dirty. Everyone in the business has a justifying excuse and some limit beyond which they won’t go, but there are times when it seems there’s not enough soap and hot water to remove the muck.

I stood up straight and took a long, bracing breath. Then I caught Quinton’s eye. “Let’s go find out what they know about John Bear,” I said. “And the rest of this.”

We came around the corner and began a slow walk toward the group near the light.

A tumbling knot of energy rolled in the air around them, and a scent of burning wood and pot with a hint of rust and mold met us as we neared. The auras around Tall Grass and Je

Tall Grass saw us coming and as his attention centered on us, it pulled Je

“Hey, the Mighty Qui

“I don’t see you jumping for joy.”

“Got the joy part covered my own self.” He put his arm around Je

The dim light of their tiny fire in a large metal pail threw a yellow shine on Je

“We were looking for John Bear and Little Jolene, or Lass, or Tanker. You seen any of them?”

Dan just grunted, but Je

I was confused as to which of the men was an asshole and which didn’t want to party. Unless it was Bella, but it was fairly obvious she hadn’t been in a party mood.

Quinton looked stormy. “Damn it. I told Lass not to tag that dog.” He turned to me. “Didn’t I tell him to stay away from Tanker?”

“Yes, you did,” I affirmed.

“See, that’s what I was afraid of. They both said they were coming down here and sure enough Lass has to act like a jerk.”

“Hey, dude, don’t be so rough,” Je

Quinton sighed. “If you say so. So Bear and Jolene were down here, too?”

“Nah, stupid. Just Dan, here, and Lass and Tanker. And monster dog.”

“When did Bear give you his hat?”

Je

“Don’t hassle my girl, Q,” Tall Grass warned, leaning into the light so he looked like a monster from a silent film. “We found it down here with some crappy broken stuff someone dumped over there.” He pointed into the dark just behind my right shoulder where the street wall was. “Isn’t that so, Grandfather?”

Dan didn’t actually answer, but Tall Grass took his silence for confirmation before going on. “Just keeping it until Bear comes around again. Haven’t seen him in weeks. And not Jolene, either. Lot of folks gone to warmer places, I think. Bear probably got smart and went, too.”

“Not hassling you, Grass. Just trying to find some people. Seems like there’s a lot of people missing and dead this year.”

“Well, that’s sad, but it’s the cycle of life, brother. Some go, some come. Like those guys with the wagon and like that crazy lady in the park—you know, the one who laughs at everything?”

“Yeah, I know. She’s native, right?”

“First Nations, white eyes.”

“What’s with the politically correct Candianism? I thought you were a Washington Nisqually.”

Grass tried to look noble but didn’t carry it off. “We are all one great people, without boundaries. It’s your people who want to cut everything up and make countries and territories and reservations out of it.”

Quinton did not take the bait. “I just wondered if she was from a local tribe. I hadn’t seen her around before Thanksgiving.”

“I think she’s Kwakiutl—funky accent like Bella Coola Valley. Y’know—in Canada,” Tall Grass added with a sneer at Quinton.

“Dudes, you’re bringing me down,” Je

“All right.” Quinton squatted down near the pail of burning junk and held out his hand.

Je

Quinton took a swig from the bottle, but I noticed he didn’t swallow. “Nah. Gotta work tonight,” he added, handing the bottle back to Je

Je

“Working,” Grass said with a laugh. “That’s not work, brother. That is a long, slow pleasure ride.”

“Can’t ride what you can’t catch,” I started, then was cut short by a soft snort from my left. Tall Grass just laughed, hearing nothing of the sound and not even noticing the old man getting to his feet.

He was still bent even standing and the light made red rivers on his creased face. It almost seemed as if only I could see him, for all the notice the others took. He just stared at them and then looked around at the fluttering insects and deeper into the blackness beyond the fire’s light. I watched him, tuning out the conversation on my other side as I noticed a silvery shadow clinging to his form.

“Fools,” Grandpa Dan muttered at last, the ghost shape gleaming on him. “The ravens say death comes here.” He glared at the air. He paid none of us any heed as he started off into the dark, disrupting the fluttering moths that swung in crazy circles, making odd eddies in the Grey mist that almost took form before collapsing into nothingness. A rustle of feathered wings trailed away behind him, and the shadows of crows closed him into the dark.

I stared after him, wondering what that meant. Then I was jarred from my thoughts by a hand on my back. I turned to see Quinton, his brows drawn down and a small orange light outlining his form as he peered at me in the waning light of the fire.

“Did he say something?”

A rattle of wings from the darkness made me cover a shiver with a shrug.

“Something about death and fools. I think he’s unimpressed.”

“Grass and Je

I’d lost a few minutes in my reverie. I glanced at Tall Grass and Je

Je

“Jet fuel is what it is,” Quinton corrected.

“S’good though,” she replied, and broke into half-swallowed guffaws that sounded like whale hiccups.

Tall Grass wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his chest, kissing drunkenly at her head and mostly getting the hat under his lips. He growled and jerked it off, revealing messy, butched-out brown locks. He managed to snare her short hair in his fist and yank her head back, exposing her thin face to his slobbering assault. They tumbled sideways into the ice-coated wall, groping and pawing at each other.