Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
It turned out I had a lot more questions than I’d originally thought. “But you’re still okay with a challenge?”
Her face lit up as Mr. Tom came in with drinks. “I love a challenge! I love puzzles, and Niamh said you’d have no end of them for me. That I’d be taking on worse than those companies, and people around here didn’t go to the cops for stuff.” She put her finger to the side of her nose. “Fits me right down to the ground. I love cracking open impenetrable firewalls and peering inside.”
I looked at Austin. She sounded fine to me. It probably wouldn’t be hard to keep her in line, and Niamh surely thought she could keep the woman busy and entertained. The magical aspect of all this, though…
“Is that normal attire, then?” Niamh asked without expression.
“This?” Fred petted the head of the fox. “Are you kidding? No! This is fun attire. I wouldn’t go out like this normally, but—well, you already have my info, and half the town walks around in capes. I figured I had some artistic license.”
“And Fred is not your real name,” I surmised. “You could be anybody.”
“No, my real name is Wilma. Wilma Rebecca Foster. I don’t mind my last name, or even my middle name so much, even though it’s boring. But Wilma? I’m not a Wilma. I could be a Fred, though,” she said. “The name Fred has personality. I figure my birth name is for my mom. She likes it, she has terrible taste in names, but she gave me life, so she can call me Wilma. It’s not like she could ask for my opinion at the time. But now that I’m older, I should be able to pick my own name, right? So I did.”
I didn’t know how Rebecca was somehow boring but Fred wasn’t. Biting back a Flintstones joke, I decided she wasn’t any weirder than anyone else in this house, so I left it alone.
As Mr. Tom brought in a cheese plate, I said, “His real name is Earl, but he chose Mr. Tom himself. So you’d be among company.”
“I’ve always wanted to be a Tom,” Mr. Tom explained.
“Right?” Fred slapped her knee with a huge smile. “Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about.” She bobbed her head again, and then basically her whole upper body while looking around, tickled. Her gaze stopped on the mantel carving, and then her brow furrowed. “I might’ve had too much coffee before I came here, but I could have sworn the fox was on the other side of that fireplace when I walked in.” She blinked quickly and shook her head. “Anyway,” she said, reaching for the cheese, “any other questions? Want me to prove my talent?”
I looked at Niamh. “What about the other thing?” I asked her.
“What other thing?” she replied, clearly playing dumb.
I widened my eyes at her, and then pointedly looked at the mantel. “The other thing. The”—I whispered—“magical thing.”
Austin pushed to standing, taking his beer with him. “Niamh, give Fred the details about this town and us. Mr. Tom, could you bring Jess and me up a plate of food? We’re going to our room. Long day.” To Fred, he said, “It was nice meeting you. We’ll be in contact tomorrow or the next day with an answer for you, assuming you want the job after Niamh fills you in.”
“Yeah, sure.” She stood and put out her fist. Austin touched his to hers, and I followed suit after I rose. “Thanks for the opportunity. Sounds great so far, so long as it’s not a cult. What about you? Do you use your birth name?”
Austin stopped, a smile playing on his lips. “I was born Austin Baraza, but I’m now Austin Steele, even though the name isn’t exactly legal. Jess came to this town as Jacinta Evans. She’s now Jacinta Ironheart. Tristan won’t tell us his real name, and for all we know, the gardener outside doesn’t even remember his last name. If you’re looking for eccentricity, you’ve found it.”
Fred laughed and put up her arms like she’d just won a race. “This is great! I’ve always been called weird, but here, I might fit in.”
Boy, would she. Nessa and Sebastian would be tickled.
Thinking about them, I said, “And if you can find our friends, I’ll give you a sizable bonus. Niamh will explain the details.”
A crease formed between Fred’s eyebrows. Before she could ask questions, I turned to leave, only to find Ulric and Jasper ducking their heads in.
“Hey,” Ulric said before spying Fred. “Oh, you’re busy—”
“Oh, wow, look at that!” Fred pointed at Ulric’s hair. “Look at this!” She pointed at her own. “What’s your real name?”
“Ulric,” he said in confusion.
“What’s your chosen name?” she pushed.
“…Ulric?”
“Oh, yeah?” She nodded with her upper body again. “I dig it. An original. And more capes! You guys really love those capes, bruh!”