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“Hey, Ben, you have any free time in the next couple of days?”
“I believe I do have the day off Thursday,” Fraser replied. “I was originally scheduled to liaise with Ray, but we wrapped that case up yesterday, thanks to your help. I offered to come in and assist with the paperwork, but Ray said he needed time without any extra reminders of the details.”
Ray totally understood. “Yeah, not every day you find an Osseomatic typewriter.” Which was a good thing, truth be told, and not just because typewriters were pretty much obsolete. “Not the most reliable way of contacting the dead.” He paused, thoughtful. “Well, unless all the bones are from who you want to talk to. Still, pretty messy, literally and spiritually. And the one you two found was pretty unique.”
“I believe he even rescheduled a dental appointment because of it.”
“Ouch, that was bad timing,” Ray agreed with a wince that morphed into a hopeful look as he went on. “Please tell me he was worried they'd take his teeth for keys.” Which would be a totally understandable reaction. Most Osseomatics had keys that were carved from bone; this particular one had keys made from actual teeth, with letters carved into them.
“He might have said something to that effect.”
Ray clapped his hands together in delight. “Excellent! Always good to have something to razz him about.” Fraser gave him a stern look, which he replied to with a raised eyebrow. “Give me a break. Vecchio and I communicate best through insults and mockery. No way am I letting this go.”
He could see Fraser stop himself from arguing the point. Smart man. “Why did you want to know if I was free, Ray?”
“Oh yeah, almost forgot. I have to drive to Indy and thought you might want to tag along.”
“What's in Indianapolis?”
“Some stuff I need for a client, herbs that have to be fresh as possible.”
“I would think you'd shop locally for those.”
“I would but LivingStones doesn't have them. They won't grow in a city this size, too much metal and tech or something.” He waved a hand. “There's reasons. So road trip it is. You coming with?”
“I'd love to.”
*****************
Much as Ray loved Chicago, sometimes it was nice to have a change of scenery, even for a day. Especially on as nice of a day as this was – sunny, with a few clouds here and there breaking up the brilliant early summer blue. Warm but not crazy-hot, and the road was fairly construction-traffic free, which was a miracle. Or maybe not, considering it was mid-morning on a Tuesday, but Ray still appreciated the lack of slowdowns. He also appreciated that for once, he wasn't making the trip alone. He glanced over at Fraser, who seemed perfectly happy to take in field after field.
“Not the most glamorous drive,” Ray remarked.
“No, but there is something to be said for getting away from the city.”
Ray bet there was, especially since from what Fraser had told him about how he lived, places Ray considered civilization were few and far between.“Is it getting to be too much? Chicago, I mean.”
“No, it's just not what I'm used to,” Fraser assured him, a wry smile playing at his lips as he went on. “Not that I'm used to all this farmland either, but it's nice to be see more of mother earth.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Ray agreed, even more pleased he'd asked Fraser along for the trip. “I mean, I'm a city boy born and raised, but Chicago's changed a lot since I was a kid. Hard not to feel hemmed in sometimes.”
“Exactly,” Fraser said with a smile.
“Thanks for coming along,” Ray said after a few minutes.
“Thank you for inviting me. I”m looking forward to visiting Indianapolis.”
“Not a lot to see, after Chicago,” Ray warned. “Especially not the little bit we're going to. It's not really part of the city itself.”
“Even better, for a change of pace, that is. I'm sure I'll find it interesting.”
“After some of the stuff I've seen you pay too much attention to,” Ray teased, “I'm sure you will too.”
It was another two hours before they arrived at their destination. The drive had gone quickly, a mix of swapping stories and Ray's continuing efforts to introduce Fraser to the wonders of modern music. Ray got out of the car and stretched, happy to be standing after the long drive. He watched Fraser do the same, winking and waggling his eyebrows when he got caught looking. Fraser shook his head, but Ray could see the pleased little smile that ruined the admonishing look he could tell Fraser was trying for.
“This is the place,” Ray said, said as he parked. After making sure the car was locked, he strolled over and opened the door, gesturing for Fraser to enter.
Ray watched Fraser take in the facade as they made their way over, skepticism clear on his face. Not that Ray could blame him, considering he'd had the same reaction the first time he'd been here. The shop was a converted house, a small, two-story place. The front yard was also small, but tidy, with a few little bushes and flowers lining the front porch. A wooden sign hung from a post by the walkway proclaimed it as Madame Ruth’s; the logo, a sweep of stars going into a potion bottle in front of a crystal ball was so kitschy that it always made Ray chuckle. The house was in good condition, no peeling paint or rotted wood. But everything about it practically screamed “scam magic.”
Ray just raised an eyebrow at Fraser when their eyes met. “You judging books by their covers here? How'd that work out for you at my place?” he asked, sliding past Fraser to lead the way in. Fraser followed, but Ray was betting he still wasn't convinced the place was on the up and up.
The inside of the house was as well-kept as the outside, though there was a sense of something hanging in the air he'd never been able to place. Whatever it was, it gave the shop an air of mystery which, given the nature of the business, made a lot of sense. The entire front room was set up for customers – there were displays of different types of cards, a few cabinets with books, and a display case full of jars and bottles of various shapes and sizes that looked to be more for show than for sale. Ray knew the parlor beyond was for readings; the rest of the house he assumed was either storage or living quarters, similar to his own, albeit larger set-up.
Ray went right up to the counter, leaning against it as he watched Fraser prowl through the shop, politely of course, but definitely with intent. They'd been there less than a minute when he felt a strange vibration in the air and a woman's voice came from the next room, accent unidentifiable.
"Welcome to Madame Ruth's! What you desire, I can provide, if the stars are aligned and your heart is true."
"Your third eye on the fritz?" Ray called back, rolling his eyes at Fraser. "You haven't tried that spiel on me in years."
The woman who came into view looked out of place with the atmosphere of the shop, wearing faded jeans and an equally faded t-shirt that had probably been black back in its day, the writing on it so worn it was impossible to read.
"You're no fun at all, Ray Kowalski," she admonished with a frown, cutting a glance in Fraser's direction as she walked toward them, her long, loosely braided dark-blond hair swinging as she moved."Maybe that wasn't for your benefit."
Ray snorted. "He won't buy your act either, Lil, so why bother?"
"No. Fun. At. All." she repeated, moving close enough to poke Ray's shoulder with her finger to emphasize each word. With the last poke it was as if a bubble of energy popped, and the room was brighter, the air clearer. She brushed her hand on her jeans before extending it to Fraser, smile wide and friendly, and when she spoke her mystery accent was just as mysteriously gone. "Elianora Abernathy, but my friends call me Lil."
"Benton Fraser, ma'am," he replied, taking her hand after getting a tiny nod from Ray. "Very pleased to meet you." Ray watched his eyes widen for a second as their hands touched, and he wondered just what Lil had let him see. Whatever it was he felt had him struggling to find something to say next. “This is your establishment, then?” he finally asked.
“Lil's been running the place for what, about a decade now? Couple years more?”
“Sir, have you no manners?” Lil huffed, seemingly offended, but Ray knew better. “You'll be telling my age next, you rude man.” She narrowed her eyes at him before turning her attention to Fraser. “But yes, this is my shop. Has been since I opened it an unimportant number of years ago.” She gave Fraser a sharp look. “You're doubting it because I'm much too young to be a businesswoman, right? Must have started in the cradle?”
Ray decided to rescue Fraser; he didn't know Lil well enough to not take her seriously. “Cut it out, Lil. He's gonna explode from overpoliteness otherwise.”
“I did have a question,” Fraser said, “but it was about the name of the shop. I've no doubt you're fully qualified to own and run it.”
“I like this one,” Lil told Ray with a nod, grinning. “And I know what you want to ask. If my name is Elianora, and I go by Lil, then why Madame Ruth's, right?” Fraser nodded. “It seemed fitting, I suppose. After all, Ray's not the only one who gets to play with song references,” she said, grinning when Ray rolled his eyes.
"Love Potion #9," Ray explained at Fraser's blank look.
"Ah." Fraser looked around, obviously not enlightened, and Ray gave an inner sigh - he still had a lot of work to do on getting Fraser's pop culture knowledge up-to-speed, especially where the supernatural was concerned.
"So you do sell potions?" Fraser asked Lil.
She shrugged. "Sometimes full potions, but more often just ingredients. Depends on the skill of the buyer as to what I'll trust them with, of course." She sighed. “But as far as most folks are concerned, my main business is fortune telling. Not that you're here for a reading.”
“Like I need to drive all the way from Chicago for that,” Ray said, shaking his head. “Lil's got ins on all the freshest, best quality stuff,” he told Fraser. “Don't let the touristy schlock fool you. You should take a real look around while Lil and I talk shop."
“Please do,“ Lil encouraged. “I get so many mundanes in here, it's nice to have someone new I can actually give real answers to if they have questions. Especially ones as lovely as you,” she added with a saucy grin.
Ray dragged Lil away before she could fluster Fraser any more. Their shop talk took very little time. He'd called his order in ahead of time; it was only the fact that what he needed was extremely perishable, plus it couldn't be shipped safely (well it could, but the price, while understandable, was seriously out of his range) that had made the trip to Indianapolis a necessity at all. Normally he hated making a long drive for such a small amount of business, but having Fraser along definitely offset any annoyance. Plus, it was always good to check in, see if anything hinky was brewing that might make its way to Chicago. And in Indy, Lil was the woman in the know. At the moment, it seemed like things were pretty quiet, which was always a good thing.
Ray glanced over as he and Lil traded customer horror stories to see Fraser had moved on from the wide variety of tarot cards Lil sold, and was now perusing her display of oddly shaped bottles. He tried not to laugh at the look on Fraser's face as he read the labels. Lil caught on and followed his gaze, hiding a grin as she walked over to the locked glass case.
"Are these really pixie skulls?" Fraser asked, pointing to a light blue bottle half-filled with what looked like tiny, glitter-dusted skulls.
"All of my wares are genuine." Lil replied, her tone almost dramatically serious. Ray raised an eyebrow, and she shrugged, eyes twinkling with humor. "I didn't say genuine what, now did I? But yes, those are real. Pesky buggers, they can ruin a witch's garden in the span of a few nights if you aren't careful."
He pointed out another bottle, this one a milky gray. "And eye of ghoul?"
"I know, you're wondering why not newt, right? Well, it's a trade off. Newt eyes do carry more power, despite their smaller size. But newts are so very, very stupid, and that dulls the energy. Ghouls are smart, so even though they have less bang for the buck, they're sharp, have a good edge."
Ray looked over the labels as Fraser continued to ask questions, no longer doubting that the stuff was real – now he wanted all the details. Of course he did. Probably a good thing she had them all behind a locked door, or else he'd be asking to sniff them or lick them or something.
When it became obvious that Fraser was going to ask questions for as long as Lil let him, Ray decided to step in and let her off the hook. The man's curiosity was insatiable. “So, where's Dan today?”
“Why, do you have a need to irritate someone?” Lil asked, shooting him a suspicious look.
“Now why would you say a thing like that?” Ray replied, giving her his best innocent face.
She rolled her eyes, asking Fraser, “Does that work on you?”
“Not as often as he'd believe,” Fraser stated matter-of-factly, earning a laugh from Lil.
Ray mock-glared at them both. “Hey! No ganging up on me! That's not buddies.” Fraser tried his best “who me?” look, and Lil held up her hands in surrender. “That's better. So, Dan?”
“Sorry to tell you he's off running a couple of errands for me, and won't be back for awhile.”
“Aw, did I scare him off?”
“You did not.” She paused a moment, considering, then went on. “But maybe my next appointment did. It's one of my regulars. She's nice enough, but gets a little grabby.”
Ray barked out a laugh at that, not at all stopped by Fraser's stern look as he did.
“Laugh it up, but trust me, Dan making himself scarce is the better option here for everyone. And as much as I'd love to continue our conversation, she'll be here soon, so you need to skedaddle, unless one of you want to risk being her next target.”
“That does not sound like a risk worth taking.” Ray went to the counter and picked up his box. “Thanks again for getting this together so quick. You'd think, since this is a yearly event and all, that I wouldn't be getting last minute rush orders.”
“You could always order ahead of time, you know.” It was a variation of the same conversation they'd had for more years than it was polite to count.
“At the prices you need to charge, and with the almost zero shelf life it has? Nope.”
Fraser held out his hand, and nodded as Lil gave him hers to shake. “It was very nice to meet you, Lil. Thank you for indulging my questions.”
“The pleasure was all mine. Feel free to stop by anytime. Door's always open for a true gentleman.”
Ray raised an eyebrow at that. “If that was a dig at me, it didn't work.”
Lil swatted his shoulder as she got the door for him. “It was not, you scoundrel. If it had been, you'd have had no doubt about it.” She winked at Fraser. “I was just stating a fact.”
“One I can't argue,” Ray agreed, giving Fraser a wink of his own. “Take care of yourself, Lil.”
“You too, Ray. Safe travels to you both.” As the door closed behind them, Ray was pretty sure he heard Lil start humming a song neither of them looked old enough to recognize.
“Who is this Dan you asked about?” Fraser asked as they walked toward the car. Ray shifted the box to get out his keys; Fraser held out a hand to take them, then opened the trunk for Ray. Because he was, as Lil had stated, a gentleman.
“That is a question best answered over dessert,” Ray replied as he closed the trunk. “Luckily, there's a place down the road that serves the best piece of pie you've ever had, outside of Elaine's of course. It's the other reason I don't mind the trip down here.” He slung an arm over Fraser's shoulder. “You game?”
Fraser leaned into Ray, smiling as he gestured ahead. “Lead the way.”