Page 29 of The Forsaken (Echoes from the Past #4)

TWENTY-TWO

London, England

Quinn eagerly set aside the stack of party invitations when she saw Dr. Scott’s name pop up on the screen of her mobile.

She and Gabe had dropped off the boxed remains and all the samples a few days ago when they’d returned to London, and Colin had promised to work on the skelly as soon as possible.

He was up to his eyeballs in postmortems, he’d said, but his true love was forensic archeology, and he relished the opportunity to unearth someone’s past through science.

Colin’s assistant, Dr. Dhawan, performed many of the tests, but Colin studied each skeleton in person, paying attention to every detail, no matter how minute.

“You two just keep tripping over bones, don’t you?” Colin had joked as he accepted the box and the half dozen plastic bags. “And you found a medieval sword. Now, that’s something I’d like to see.”

“I plan to show the sword to a medieval weapons expert we have on staff, but once he’s finished his examination, you are welcome to take a look,” Gabe offered.

“I’ll gladly take you up on that,” Colin replied. “I have something of a thing for medieval weaponry. I bet Logan would enjoy seeing it as well.”

“Does Logan like history?” Quinn asked. Her brother had never mentioned an interest in anything that took place before the turn of the century, so Quinn wasn’t sure. Their acquaintance was still new, and she was learning things about him day by day.

“If watching Spamalot constitutes being interested in history, then yes,” Colin joked. “Logan is more of a science fiction buff. He likes all those apocalyptic disaster and clones-take-over- the-world programs.” Colin shuddered dramatically and rolled his eyes.

“I can just imagine the epic battle for the remote at your house,” Quinn quipped. “Do I suspect Logan usually wins?”

“We compromise.” Colin chuckled.

“What does that entail?” Gabe asked.

“It means that we watch Call the Midwife followed by Torchwood . Everybody wins.”

“Sounds like you two have it all figured out,” Quinn said. “I’m more partial to Call the Midwife myself.”

“Excellent program,” Colin agreed as he glanced at his watch. “Well, I have an autopsy in a few minutes. Good to see you both. I’ll ring you as soon as I have anything.”

“Thanks, Colin,” Gabe and Quinn said in unison.

Quinn answered the phone, her voice breathless with anticipation. “Colin, hi. Do you have something for us?”

“I do, indeed. Would you like to come by the mortuary?”

Quinn glanced at her watch. She was due to meet Gabe for lunch in an hour. Perhaps they could skip the meal and visit Colin instead. She knew that Gabe was as anxious for the results as she was. “Would noon be convenient?”

“Absolutely. See you then.”

Quinn fired off a text to Gabe and returned to the party invites.

Emma had asked for a Frozen -themed party, which wasn’t the easiest of feats to pull off in August, but Quinn was determined to make Emma’s first birthday with them as special as possible.

She’d booked a private instructor at Queens skating rink.

The instructor would teach the children to skate for half an hour, then give them another thirty minutes of free skating time.

After, the kids would adjourn to the arcade, where they’d be allowed to play only age-appropriate games, and then on to the in-house restaurant for pizza and birthday cake.

“Quinn, I don’t think that venue is geared toward children,” Gabe had protested when Quinn brought up the idea. “They have a bar, and some very violent games. The other parents won’t approve,” he’d added lamely.

“Leave it to me,” Quinn had replied with more confidence than she’d felt. “I have a plan for keeping the children in line. Besides, I seriously doubt there will be many hard-drinking, snooker-playing types at Queens at ten in the morning.”

Quinn wasn’t at all sure if her idea would work, but it was worth a try. She’d had no contact with Jude since the dinner Sylvia had invited them to, and thought this might be a way to make inroads with him. She’d asked Logan for Jude’s mobile number and left him a voicemail, asking him to call her.

Jude had taken his time but did return the call eventually. “What’s up?” he’d asked.

“Hi, Jude. How did your tour go?” Quinn asked.

“All right.” Jude wasn’t a man of many words, but he’d called her back, and that was a start.

“Your mum said that you’re between jobs at the moment, so I was wondering if you might be interested in a paying gig,” Quinn said, praying that Jude wouldn’t be mortally offended by her idea.

“What gig might that be?”

“We’re having a birthday party for Emma on August ninth, at Queens,” Quinn began. “She’s turning five. ”

“So, you’d like my band to play some heavy metal for the kiddies?” Jude asked. He oozed sarcasm, but he hadn’t hung up yet.

“No, actually, I’m in need of a prince.”

“What?”

“Emma has asked for a Frozen -themed party and I thought that some of your friends might like to make some extra money by dressing as the characters and mingling with the children. I’ll rent the costumes, of course.”

“You must be joking,” Jude sputtered.

“Well, if you have no need of money…”

“How much you payin’?”

“Fifty quid for two hours, for you and any willing victim,” Quinn replied. Fifty quid was nothing to sneeze at, especially when all they’d have to do was some glorified child-minding and amateur skating. No triple-axel jumps required.

“Any nibbles and plonk included?”

“I’ll spring for pizza, but there won’t be any alcohol at a children’s party.”

“Is your wanker of a husband going to be there?”

“Yes, he’s going to be there, and don’t call him that. He was well within his rights when he called the cops on you, and you know it.” Quinn wasn’t about to apologize for Gabe’s behavior. He had her undying support, now and always.

“All right. Fine. I’ll think on it. How many people you need?” Jude asked.

“Four. ”

“Right. Let me ask around and see if anyone is desperate enough to make a complete ass of themselves.”

Jude hung up without saying goodbye but called Quinn two days later.

“Okay, I have a couple of mates lined up. Bridget thinks it’s sweet what you’re doing for the kid.

She liked Emma. So, here’s the deal. Bridget will bring a friend, and they’ll be Elsa and Anna.

I’ll do Prince Kristoff, and I have a mate who’s willing to make a fool of himself as Olaf.

That’s two hundred quid, cash up front, lunch included, and if you post any photos of us on social media, I’ll put a hit out on you. ”

“You drive a hard bargain, Your Highness,” Quinn replied, smiling. The hardest part of the deal would be not posting photos on social media, since some of the children might like to be photographed with the characters, and their parents might post them despite promising not to.

Quinn couldn’t help smiling to herself. Beneath Jude’s prickly exterior, she could sense a thawing in his attitude toward her. Perhaps this could be the first step in establishing some sort of a relationship.

Quinn winced when she remembered the bond she’d thought she was establishing with Brett. He’d certainly led her up the garden path, but she’d be more careful with Jude.

“I reserve the right to strip-search him before he enters the premises,” Gabe had threatened.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Quinn retorted. “Sylvia said Jude is clean.”

“About as clean as a fireship,” Gabe replied, still annoyed.

“Gabe, that’s uncalled for. Comparing Jude to a pox-ridden prostitute is beneath you,” Quinn said, putting her hands on her hips for emphasis.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I just worry about Emma. ”

“I know you do, but give Jude a chance. You did misjudge the situation last time.”

“I made a judgement call based on the facts I had available to me. And I would call the coppers on him again,” Gabe said. “Now, can we drop this? I’ll be nice to Jude and his friends, but I will keep an eye on them. You can be sure of that.”

“This ought to be fun,” Quinn muttered but allowed the subject to drop.