Crowbones

CHAPTER 30

Vicki

Thaisday, Novembros 1

The Jumble. Vicki speaking.”

“It’s Pops. Listen, I’ve set aside a box of supplies for you. Things I figure you wouldn’t want to do without. Ineke’s coming over to pick up the box I set aside for her. You should come soon. And pull up behind the store.”

“What’s going on?” It seemed like a sensible question, but I actually heard Pops gulp before he answered.

“Barricades across all the roads,” he said. “Looks like the village is cut off from . . . everywhere. And no one is going anywhere. As soon as enough people figure out they can’t get to Crystalton or Bristol, there’s going to be a run at the store for whatever supplies I have in stock.” Another gulp. “And you’ve got guests.”

Who were supposed to check out tomorrow morning. “You don’t think the roads will be clear by tomorrow?”

“You should talk to Chief Grimshaw. Come soon for the supplies.” Pops hung up.

The good news? I didn’t end up sitting on the floor this time. The bad news? Pops Davies’s general store was the only store in Sproing that carried food as well as a wide variety of other goods. Most folks went to Crystalton or Bristol to do a big grocery haul every couple of weeks and then picked up a bit of this or that at Pops’s when they needed it. But if nobody could get anywhere, everyone who hadn’t already stocked up for winter would panic. Including me. I didn’t have employees last winter and didn’t know how much food they might expect me to provide, to say nothing about having guests. And I hadn’t stocked my pantry with the view of feeding an extra five people three meals each day for several days, and I didn’t know what I’d do with the guests who were supposed to arrive tomorrow afternoon—if they managed to get here at all.

Get supplies now. Panic later.

I collected my purse and car keys, asked Natasha to keep an eye on things while I ran to the store—and then whispered that she should contact Ilya ASAP. She didn’t ask why, which made me wonder if she already knew what was going on and hadn’t told me or if this would be her mate’s first lesson in the importance of communication.

I hurried out and caught Julian as he finished loading up empty boxes. He looked pale, distracted.

“Have you heard from Grimshaw?” I asked.

He eyed me, and frowned as he focused on the purse and car keys. “Where are you going?”

“To the general store. Pops has some items on hold for me.”

“Something changed while I was inside,” he said quietly. “It feels . . . different . . . out here. Unsettled.”

“The roads out of the village have been barricaded. I’m going to the store for supplies before everyone else figures it out.”

“I’ll drive you to the village.”

“Then you’ll have to come back here.”

He looked so pale, the scar on his left cheek seemed to disappear. “Vicki . . . don’t go anywhere alone.”

So not what I wanted to hear.

We didn’t attempt small talk on the drive to Sproing. Julian was hyperalert, watching the road and the sides of the road. I watched on my side, not sure what I was watching for or if I could do more than scream before whatever it was pounced on us.

Julian drove behind Pops’s store, loaded the box Pops had already made up for me, then filled up a couple of his empty boxes with canned soups and fruits as well as toothpaste and paper products. I did a quick walk around the store, choosing a few more food items along with two jigsaw puzzles, a few coloring books, and a couple of boxes of colored pencils and crayons. I figured giving my guests safe activities might distract them from realizing they were trapped—at least for a few minutes at a time.

Ineke came in as Pops was boxing up my additional items.

“Good idea,” she said after looking at my additions. “Won’t be much longer before the news gets out, but it’s a bit like snow. People aren’t going to get antsy until they realize they really can’t leave. Most folks are going to expect the roads to be open by morning, so they’ll enjoy simple entertainments this evening.”

“I just talked to Wayne,” Julian said quietly, tucking his mobile phone in his jacket pocket. “Roads won’t be open anytime soon, but Ilya Sanguinati will be meeting with Mayor Roundtree and Chief Grimshaw in the morning and hopes to offer some insight into the situation then.”

“Who’s supplying Mr. Sanguinati with these insights?” Ineke asked.

Julian just looked at her. “Don’t ask.”

Silence.

“Is this another predation?” Pops finally asked.

“I don’t know,” Julian replied. “But we all need to be careful. And if any of you see anyone behaving oddly, tell Chief Grimshaw or Officer Osgood. There has to be more to this than some jackass dressing up in a costume on Trickster Night and scaring the Crows.”

When we were back in the car, I suggested placing a large order at the Pizza Shack.

Julian smiled. “Already did that. One of the TV stations is running another horror movie marathon this evening, so you’re doing an extra pizza night this week for your guests.”

“That’s my story?”

I wasn’t a fan of horror movies. They scared me. I could read horror stories; I just couldn’t watch them. Neither could the Crows, although they did find the rent bodies of the victims a lot more interesting than I did. That was why, when we did watch a horror movie, we insisted that Conan stay in his furry form, so that the four of us could hide behind him and peer at the screen over his back.

“That’s your story,” Julian agreed. “I also ordered a pizza for each of the Mill Creek Cabins and have a box of canned goods the men can split between them.”

“How long do you think this—whatever this is—is going to last?”

Julian pulled into a spot in front of the Pizza Shack. Then he turned off the car and looked at me. “Until it’s done.”