Episode 23: Contacts and Keeping Up Appearances

Aubrey Lance, S.S. (Supernatural Sleuth) -- Season 1, Episode 23: Contacts & Keeping Up Appearances

We all headed back to my house, with the cheer hawks driving Collin, Lockley, and me back in the SUV so it would appear we’d just returned from the supposed study group. Trenchcoat Man covertly “traveled” my father back to his vehicle elsewhere so he could drive home. The cheer hawks and the Trenchcoat Man were certain no one had spotted him portaling us out of my neighborhood earlier, so from the outside, it would appear as though all was normal, with me having some friends over for a bit and my dad returning from work as usual—or so we hoped. We couldn’t afford to attract any unwanted attention.

Of course, anyone watching my house would have no idea that a man in a trench coat traveled himself straight into my living room as soon as all the rest of us were there. 

Once my mom was caught up on what happened in the woods, the rest of our little pow-wow didn’t take long. Together, we all decided that my parents and I would maintain as “normal” a daily life as possible, as would Collin and Lockley and the cheer hawks. Meanwhile, my parents would continue their secret investigations as they had been, since it had drawn no extra attention so far, and the Trenchcoat Man and the cheer hawks would continue to follow any leads they got from their supernatural contacts—which actually was business-as-usual for the cheer hawks and shouldn’t raise any eyebrows from any supernaturals watching them. I would focus on re-examining my notes from Emery and following any leads or clues I uncovered there. Collin and Lockley would discreetly help me investigate leads, where possible… though I couldn’t help worrying that I wouldn’t uncover anything of value, and wouldn’t have any leads for them to assist in investigating.

Once we’d laid out this basic plan, the cheer hawks headed out in the SUV before it would get late enough to seem unusual, and Trenchcoat Man, apparently in his typical fashion, portaled right out from my living room to who-knows-where. Collin, Lockley, and I were alone with my parents again.

Mom and Dad both moved toward me and enveloped me in a family hug. Between my dad’s woodsy cologne and my mom’s apple-y shampoo mixed with her citrus perfume, their hug smelled like a pleasant walk through a grove of fruit trees.

“We’ll figure this out, Aubs,” my dad said, squeezing me tight. “We’re a team, okay?” 

Tears swelled in my throat as I nodded. “Okay.” I just hoped I could pull off my part of this group effort. The thought of failing Chloe and Emery sat like a boulder on my chest—it made it hard to breathe.

Mom and Dad held me for a long moment, then pulled away. 

“We’ll let you say goodnight to your friends,” Mom said, squeezing my hand. 

She and my father headed to the kitchen.

I turned to look at Collin and Lockley. 

They stared back at me, seeming a bit in shock. 

Not until that moment did it fully hit me what I was asking them to do. 

“You don’t have to be a part of this,” I said quickly. “This isn’t your fight, and my parents and I can handle this withou—” 

Lockley gave me an appalled glare. “Are you kidding me? This isn’t my fight? Em was my best friend, Aubrey. If there’s any chance she’s still out there, or even that we can find out what happened to her and bring whoever did it to justice, of course, this is my fight.” She took a breath. “Besides,” she said, her expression softening. “I would never leave you to do this alone. Now that Em’s not here, you’re my little sister to watch after. We’re family.” She looked a bit hurt that she’d even had to say that.

I swallowed. “Thank you.” What else could I say? 

I turned to Collin. “I know this wasn’t how you expected your day to go when you agreed to drive me to school. I really appreciate how much you’ve helped me so far, but if you want to walk away from this now, I would und—”

He blinked. “Are you serious? I’m having the best day of my life!” 

I stared at him… and realized he might actually mean that. 

“You can’t tell anyone any of this,” I said, suddenly worried Collin might be having a little too much fun with this new supernatural reality.

He scrunched his nose in disgust. “Of course not. You think I haven’t seen these kinds of TV shows? I’m the trusted confidant who helps the supernatural heroine fight the evil magical baddies, not the narking coward who nearly gets them all killed.” He stared at me like I was the crazy one.

 Lockley snickered. “He has an interesting way with words, but he’s being honest. He would never tell anyone about something like this. We both understand what’s at stake.” 

Collin nodded. “See? She knows what’s up.” 

My dad poked his head out of the kitchen. “Collin? Lockley?” 

We all turned to look at him. 

He looked uncomfortable. “Mrs. Lance and I were just discussing your… involvement… with all this. Are you both certain you want to be a part of this? It’s not without its risks.” 

“We know,” Lockley answered immediately. “And yes, I’m certain.” 

“Me too,” Collin chimed in.

My mom joined him in the doorway. “And I’m guessing you would be tempted to continue helping Aubrey investigate, even if we were to ask you not to.” She was looking mostly at Collin.

Collin smiled at her. “While I would like to answer no to that, my integrity demands I confirm your assumption. To be completely honest, I’d most likely continue to investigate on my own, even if Aubrey didn’t ask me to help. At this point, Pandora’s box has been opened. Not knowing what happens from here would literally drive me insane, and no one wants to see that. I’m not sure I’d be a pleasant crazy person.” 

He said it in complete seriousness, and though I could tell my mom was fighting back an edge of amusement at his response, my parents were both still genuinely concerned.

My dad cleared his throat. “Well, then… despite the risk of bringing anyone else into this, Mrs. Lance and I feel it’s irresponsible not to read your parents in on what’s happening, given the, well, the danger this whole situation presents. It’s getting late, and it’s a school night. I’m sure your parents are expecting you home soon. This is something best discussed in person. Could you call and let them know we’ll be coming by shortly?”

Lockley’s expression tightened. “Um, they’re actually not home. They’re on a work trip again.” 

“Oh,” my mom said. “For how long?” 

“A few days?” Lockley shrugged. “They’re in Maui this time, I think.” 

My dad’s brow wrinkled. “Is there a number where I can reach them? The last time I called your father, it went straight to voicemail and his mailbox was full.” 

“Honestly, sir, I don’t think our parents are very worried about what we’re getting into while they’re gone,” Collin said. “After all, they left Lockley in charge.” He glanced at Lockley with a smirk.

My parents didn’t seem to share his sense of humor.

My mom clasped her hands. “What hotel are your parents staying at in Maui? Perhaps we can reach them there.”

Lockley gave a smile that seemed a bit forced. “I’m not sure, and they don’t have good cell service where they are. I’ve tried calling three times this week, and all I got back was a text from my mom saying she’d call when they had a better signal. But it’s fine—this isn’t that unusual. I’m more than capable of looking after Collin and myself while they’re away.”

“I don’t need to be looked after. I’m barely even younger than you,” Collin muttered. 

My parents exchanged a glance, and I could tell this whole revelation had unsettled them. 

To be honest, it unsettled me a bit, too. For how long had Lockley and Collin’s parents just been vanishing for days at a time? Was this truly normal for them? 

My parents leaned close, muttering to one another. I could only hear every few words, but it was clear they were concerned. 

I interrupted. “Maybe it’s best if Lockley and Collin do keep helping us for now? I mean, only on safe things, of course. But if I figure out anything about Emery’s notes, I might need help with research. That would be safe. And you know if you send them out on their own devices, Collin is likely to get himself into trouble. He probably wouldn’t be able to help it.” 

Collin gave me a look of faux offense. 

“They’re already in this now,” I pressed onward, addressing my parents. “They might be getting watched just as much as the rest of us. Wouldn’t it be better to keep them involved so you can be sure they are staying safe?” 

Collin shot me an appreciative look. “Yes. Exactly.” He turned to my parents. “Undoubtedly, it’s best to keep us close so you can keep an eye on us. Besides, those people already went after Chloe because she was friends with Aubrey, right? Given how much time Lockley and I have spent with Aubrey lately, we could very well be next.” 

A little strangled sound escaped from my throat. Though I’d understood it was risky for Lockley and Collin to help me, the thought that one of them might be taken intentionally to get to me hadn’t occurred to me until that moment. 

I turned to my parents in horror. “Do you think they would?” 

They stared back, then my dad gave a sad, slow shake of his head. “We can’t know for sure. It’s possible.” 

A feeling of dread clamped right onto my sternum. “I’m so sorry,” I said, spinning back to Collin and Lockley. “I didn’t—I mean, yes, I asked you to help, but I never—”

Lockley reached out and grabbed my hand. “You needed us, so we’re here. End of story.” Her eyes locked on mine. 

I never knew it was possible for a weight to lift off your chest yet settle in your stomach at the same time, but that’s exactly what I felt. I was grateful for Lockley’s friendship and support—so grateful—but if something happened to her or Collin because of me, I didn’t know how I would live with it. 

Collin caught my eye and gave me a single nod—but the confidence in his gaze said volumes. He wasn’t leaving, either. He wanted to help me, even with the risk. 

Collin turned to my dad. “Does this mean we can stay?” 

My dad gave a heavy sigh and ran a hand across his forehead. “I suppose you are safer near us than trying to follow up on things behind our backs.” 

Collin smirked. “And you know I would.” 

“Are you sure we should’ve let them in on all this?” A female voice spoke, making all of us jump.

We spun to find that Trenchcoat Man and all three cheer hawks had portaled into our hallway unannounced. 

“Please don’t do that again,” my father said, gaping at them.

Trenchcoat Man tipped his head. “My apologies. We only needed to bring you this.” He handed my dad a folded piece of paper. “Names of our contacts in Europe. They’ve heard some whisperings of the underground ring—could be nothing, but might not. Thought you’d want to follow up.” 

My dad took the paper. 

Trenchcoat Man smiled. “I’m sorry for startling you. I’ll work on a plan for contact that doesn’t involve me traveling into your home without notice.” He tipped his head toward my mother. “My apologies again.” 

“Wait,” Jillian said to Trenchcoat Man. “I don’t mean to be a jerk, but I meant what I asked a minute ago. Lockley seems trustworthy, but we barely know Collin. No offense.” She glanced at him, then continued. “I know he and Lockley were sort of a wrong-place, wrong-time situation, but that’s no reason to keep them in on things moving forward. Maybe it would be better if we didn’t.” 

Collin gave her a dead-pan expression. “We’ve already had this conversation without you and decided it most certainly would not be better to exclude us.” 

Jillian shrugged. “It’s not personal. I’m just being practical.” 

Trenchcoat Man looked at her. “Aubrey has the right to assemble a team to assist her, just as I have. She understands the risks if she were to involve the wrong people. If she is confident in them, then we must trust her judgment.” 

His response surprised me. I looked up at him. “Thank you.” 

He nodded. “Of course. Besides,” he said, glancing at Jillian, “if Collin does get out of line, I’ll just memory-wipe him.” 

Collin laughed… but Trenchcoat Man did not. 

“Wait,” Collin said after an awkward moment of silence. “You’re joking, right? You can’t really do that.”

“Have a fine night,” Trenchcoat Man said, and with a clap, he and the cheer hawks vanished. 

There was a long, tense moment, then Collin turned to me. “That was a joke, right?” 

I stared back. “I don’t know.” I looked at my dad. “Was it?” 

My dad tipped his head and thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.” 

Well, that was a bit unsettling.

Trenchcoat Man sure knew how to make a dramatic exit.

***

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