Page 55 of Once a Rogue
“Thank you,” Sebastian said hastily. He took the map from Ernie and moved Wesley’s hand off the bill. Ernie snatched up the money and disappeared.
Wesley pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s a cover for a speakeasy, isn’t it? Miss Robbins is sending us to a speakeasy at midnight.”
“Seems likely,” Sebastian admitted. He wasn’t an expert on haberdashers or speakeasies, but Ernie’s map had included the alley next door to the hat shop and marked it with an arrow.
“Is this a bootlegging thing or a paranormal thing? Are we going to have drinks or are you lot going to strip naked and howl at the moon? Because if you’re planning to take off your clothes, Iwillclear my schedule.”
Sebastian snorted. He set the map down on the table. “But what are we going to do until midnight?” he asked, because they still had some hours to wait. “Do you want to go back to the city?”
“No, we’re here, and it seems the others are too, even if they’re hiding still,” Wesley said grumpily. “Might as well stay and see if we can learn anything.” He eyed Sebastian’s plates. “Two pieces of apple pie?”
“That’s right.” Adopting an innocent expression, Sebastian pointed to the second plate. “Unless you wanted this one?”
Wesley gave him an unimpressed look. “And why would I?”
“Because it’s good,” Sebastian said, “and you don’t let yourself have enough good things.”
Wesley pursed his lips. After a moment, he reached across the table and pulled the plate over to his side. “The things I do when I’m with you.” He took a small bite, chewed for a moment, then paused.
Sebastian propped his chin on his hand. A pause like that from Wesley was practically a sonnet. “Good, yes?”
“Don’t be smug, that’s my job,” Wesley said, going back in with the fork.
After lunch, they walked the few blocks of Tarrytown’s main streets, stopping in at the stores. The bookstore clerk had sold a stack of recent issues ofArgosy All-Story Weeklyto a short, scowling man with glasses three days ago. The man behind the deli counter thought he remembered a tall man with black hair coming in to buy several sandwiches, also three days prior—and he was willing to give Sebastian some scraps of meat, which earned a suspicious look from Wesley.
They stopped in a pharmacy down the street from the inn and found a clerk stocking the shelves with headache powders. Sebastian stood by a display of liniments as Wesley asked him, “What are the chances one could hire a car around here?”
“You’ve come in the wrong season to hire anything,” the clerk said. “Half the town closes up for the winter at the end of September. You’d be better off going back down to the city.”
Sebastian sighed, gaze going to a row of vitamin tonics like it had any answers for why the others had come to Tarrytown but vanished three days ago. Did they have the pomander relic with them, and had it not been safe to bring it back to Manhattan? But why not get in touch with them sooner? Why make Sebastian and Wesley chase them up here before sending a message?
He waited as Wesley bought more matches and a pack of the cheapest cigarettes, and they went back out to the street.
“Could they really not have left anything more than another cryptic telegram?” Wesley said, lighting up. “I’d like to broaden our search, but I doubt we have time to get back to the city, hire or hell, purchase a car, motor back up here and investigate all before midnight.” He inhaled from the cigarette and grimaced. “This tastes uncannily as if someone collected discarded butts along the subway tracks and rolled them back into another smoke.”
Sebastian cringed. “That bad?”
“I guarantee licking an exhaust pipe would be an improvement.” Wesley blew out the smoke. “Truly the one thing in New York that has gone according to my wishes. I wanted something vile, and this exceeds my wildest hopes. But we still don’t have a plan.”
Sebastian made a face. “We do have another option,” he admitted. “But it’s not great.”
“What’s that?” Wesley said.
“We steal a car.”
“Sebastian de Leon.”
“Isaidit wasn’t great.”
“Is this how it actually works, in the paranormal world?” Wesley said. “You pretend to play by our silly mortal rules, humoring those of us without magic, but the second those rules are an inconvenience it’s straight to grand larceny?”
“I just want to find out what’s going on,” Sebastian said.
“Wait.” Wesley inhaled with a raised eyebrow. “I thought I was speaking in hyperbole, but you’re perfectly serious. You would help yourself to a car if you thought you needed it, mortal laws be damned.” He blew the smoke back out. “Why do I find that so attractive?”
Sebastian huffed. “You make it sound like a crime.”
“Yes, darling,” Wesley said, slow and patronizing. “Because itis.”
