Page 97 of Dead Serious: Case 3 Mr Bruce Reyes
“Not here.” I shake my head out of habit, even though he can’t see me. “The box I have is full of loose papers. It’s possible it’s buried somewhere in the bookshop. I got a brief look when I was there helping Viv pack up to move over here. I don’t think the family ever threw anything away. Seriously, there are rooms upon rooms filled with boxes of history from the last hundred and fifty years. Even if it is in there somewhere, it’s unlikely we’ll find it in time.”
“Damn it,” Harrison curses. “I’ll keep searching but I’m not optimistic that I’ll find something before the eclipse tomorrow. It would be really helpful if we knew how the gateway was re-opened a second time and by whom. Any magic I use has to be tailored to counteract the circumstances of its creation—magic isn’t a one-size-fits-all. It’s incredibly complex. I’ll probably spend the rest of my life studying it and still wouldn’t know everything.”
“Unfortunately, I think there’s only one person who can answer most of your questions, and he currently has amnesia.” I pout in frustration.
“I know,” Harrison replies, his own frustration matching mine. “I’ll keep looking and call if I find anything.”
I say goodbye and he hangs up. I look across the table to Danny, who’s now seated at one of the retro diner chairs.
“I guess we keep looking.” Danny glances down at the stack of paperwork I still need to sort through. “Need some help?”
“I do, but not with this,” I say decisively as I push back from the table and stand, careful not to disrupt any of the neat piles I’ve sorted.
“Where are you going?”
“Harrison is right. Now that we know how the gateway came into existence in the first place, we need to figure out how it was opened the second time.”
Danny stares at me for a moment. “And logically, there’s only one person you can go to. You’re going back to the bookshop, aren’t you? You’re going to ask Bruce?”
I nod. “He’s the only one who might know something. I know he can’t remember much, but maybe there’s some tiny clue we’ve missed. Last time I talked to him, I was focused on his death, not the gateway itself. Maybe he can help even if he doesn’t realise it.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
I shake my head. “No, you need to keep searching for Jack Miller. Finding out about the gateway is only part of it. I feel like all roads lead back to Bruce, like he’s the key somehow. We need to figure out his unfinished business to free him from his death cycle and maybe then he’ll be able to remember. I don’t know though, it’s not like it comes with a handbook.” I pause. “Okay, it totally does come with a handbook, but since it was written by an eccentric drug-addled alcoholic from a hundred and fifty years ago, it’s not as helpful as one might think.”
Danny gives a small snort and then his expression sobers into something more akin to unease. “I don’t like you going there on your own.”
“That makes two of us.” I blow out a breath and try to ignore the churning in my stomach. “But we’re running out of time.”
He nods slowly and I lean down and give him a kiss.
“I’ll have my phone with me, but if I don’t call or am not back in an hour, you may need to come and rescue me.”
He sighs deeply. “Don’t even joke about it.”
“Who says I’m joking?” I cup his face. “Besides, if I don’t laugh right now, I’ll be heading straight for a nervous breakdown.”
“I’ve got you, love.” He lifts his face and closes the gap between us to kiss me softly. “Now go and figure out how to save the world.”
* * *
The monotonous clanking of the shutter as it opens echoes down the empty alleyway, the grinding sound audible above the hard clatter of the rain. A slow, shallow stream of rain trickles down the slope of the pavement since the drains became overrun with the constant downpour, and water tumbles over the toes of my boots.
Unlocking the shop and pocketing the keys Viv gave me, I open the door and once again feel that same wave of dread. I want nothing more than to close that door, turn around, and walk straight back to the flat where I’ll be safe and warm, and with Danny.
But I can’t. Dusty is in there and so is Bruce.
Steeling every last nerve I have, I step inside and nearly jump out of my skin when the door behind me swings closed with a creepy whine of unoiled hinges. It’s never done that before. Fumbling for the light switch closest the door, I flip it to illuminate the room.
The hairs on the back of my neck rise up and my skin prickles, making me feel itchy. Heaviness blankets the air as I cross the shop floor. I don’t bother locking the door behind me; to be fair, burglars are the last thing on my mind right now, and even if some did turn up to rob the shop blind, at least I wouldn’t be alone.
I hurry through to the stock room, flipping on lights as I go. Pausing for a moment, my heart thumps as the lights flicker alarmingly. For a brief, terrifying moment, I’m afraid they’re going to cut out altogether, but then they settle, and I approach the wall which I know leads to the heart of this place.
The room containing the gateway.
Holding my breath, I step through and once again experience the cold, trickling sensation that feels like I’m stepping through a curtain of water. Shivering, I blink against the darkness, my heartbeat speeding up once more. At this rate, I’m going to need a pacemaker.
The vast space is so dark now that I almost can’t see one step in front of the other, but I can make out a dim light and the edge of the dais where I know the gateway is. Every single cell in my body is screaming at me to run in the other direction, run and don’t look back, but I force myself forward even though it feels like I’m wading through thigh-high mud.